Kids growing up? Yep, mine too! I now have two teens (16 and 13 years) and a tween (11 years), so lately I’ve had to think carefully about which items we can add to our home to engage their interests while at the same time keeping a playroom of toys for my 8 year old. Of course, if you're one of those fortunate souls with a swimming pool out back, you're already sitting pretty (#justaddpizza). For the rest of you, here’s what I’ve come up with:
That's right - SPRING BREAK IS ALMOST HERE! This year, Spring Break is March 14-18 for The Woodlands schools and most other local districts. There's no shortage of things to do in the area, but here are our Top 25 ideas to get you started:
Happy Groundhog Day! Make it fun for the kids when you prepare this cute & easy groundhog treat for them, using the tasty ingredients you already have on hand. Older kids can prepare this for younger siblings.
For each snack, you'll need two slices of bread, Nutella spread, 2 banana slices, two raisins, and and two peanut halves, and half a grape. So simple, right?
Small changes add up to big results! Here are 3 lifestyle improvements you can start making today that'll improve your well-being in 2022. (We've included Amazon affliate links below for your shopping convenience.)
- Drink more water. You’ve heard it said that we need 8 cups a day, but you might need more depending on your age, size, and level of activity. If you’re not already consuming the required amount, techniques such as drinking a cup as soon as your wake up, or carrying a water bottle with you throughout the day, can be helpful. I highly recommend this HidrateSpark Smart Water bottle! I started using these bottles years ago, and they’ve been worth the $50+ dollars they cost. Many of my friends have purchased their own as well and have been pleased with them. The bottle tracks your water intake by syncing via Bluetooth to the app, and it glows to remind you when it’s time to chug.
Engage with your little one while celebrating the New Year! This WoodlandsMommy.com-created lesson plan includes craft and activities, songs and fingerplays, storytime, links to coloring pages fun YouTube videos, and more!
Did your daughter get a sewing machine for Christmas? Or maybe you’re teaching her (or yourself) to sew on the machine you’ve had stored away for years. Either way, you might need a starting point. You’re in luck! You don’t have to run to Joann’s and sift through drawers of paper patterns. These days, all kinds of PDF patterns that can be printed on your home printer and assembled with tape is the best way to get started. They include easy-to-follow instructions and color photos to guide you along the way.
My little one (age 7) has been asking to sew something for the longest, and we finally took the plunge over the holiday break. She has sewn items in the past, but this is the first apparel project she was able to make with very little help. I thought I’d share the info here in case you’re interested.
Layne’s Ruffle Shorts by CKC Kids can be made by a beginner sewist in just a couple of hours. It's winter time and we're hoping for cool weather, but little girls need shorts to wear under the dresses (plus, it's Texas)! My daughter wore her new shorts the very same day that she made them. These simple shorts have an elastic waistband and can be crafted with or without a ruffle hem. There are only two identical pattern pieces to cut, plus a piece of elastic. The pattern for these shorts is for sizes Newborn up to size 15/16 and also includes a doll pattern so your little one can make shorts for her American Girl doll or similar 18” doll.
When you visit the CKC Kids website, you can sift through hundreds of sewing patterns, and feel free to sort them by skill level. There are beginner patterns for boys also! Happy sewing!
Face it, your kids steal the spotlight at home and will probably continue to do so until...well, forever... so just how do you get your own shining moment?? Simple - keep reading!
WoodlandsMommy.com wants to feature YOU on our website! Our Mom Spotlight is our way of introducing interesting mothers like you to others in our diverse, Woodlands-area community. Celebrities need not apply. This is for the regular, hard-working mother whose efforts seem to so often go unnoticed. Complete the form below, and we will contact you to request an electronic photo should you be selected.
I don’t know who first came up with the idea of hot cocoa bombs, but in recent years, these little gems have been trending as a must-have addition to your festive mug of hot milk or water. Many local sweet shoppes and independent bakers start taking orders for bombs in the late fall / winter.
Interested in making your own? We did all the Googling for you and curated a list of 5 of the best recipes online, based on recipe reviews/comments and website credibility. Enjoy!
NOTE: For starters, these silicon molds were the BEST ones we found on Amazon (ad) based on user reviews for hot cocoa bombs, so order them now so they’ll be on hand for when you’re ready to use them.
Shugary Sweets - This recipe is our favorite from the list, because instructions are super clear, and the photos show you exactly what to do!
Real Simple
Hallmark Channel
Borderlands Bakery - Lots of options involved with this recipe, if you want to spend more money on supplies and do something extra special.
Christmas time has arrived! We're excited to present these favorites of the season that you'll enjoy with your little ones! For ease in ordering, affiliate links are included for each recommendation.
If you’re like me, you started off the gardening season with high hopes in the spring. You dutifully prepared your garden beds and planted your seeds, dreaming of the healthy plants and perfect vegetables you’ve seen on websites and in magazines. But by midsummer, the inevitable battles with Texas heat, drought, plant-munching insects, and various blights and diseases dampened your enthusiasm for gardening. And by Labor Day you were relieved to pull out the shaggy, overgrown, not-so-perfect-looking plants, hang up the gardening tools for winter, and plan for better things next year!
Although this desire to "call it a season" after fighting your way through summer's gardening challenges is certainly understandable, there's good reason to press on and plant a fall garden.
When I was little, I used to want to make homemade ice cream, but I never knew the science of it. So I would mix my ingredients, throw everything in a bowl, and place it in the freezer for hours, only to end up with a rock-solid frozen concoction that nobody wanted to eat.
Cut to me decades later, and I’m older, wiser, and now I know how to make soft, fluffy ice cream that’s creamy and delicious! The best part? There’s no need to purchase an ice cream maker, and the kids will enjoy making this – from start to finish – in 13 minutes flat.
You’re going to flip when you see the ingredients list. It’s super simple, but trust me, the ice cream tastes SO good. The only item that you’ll need that you might not already have at home is rock salt. You can buy it from Walmart or pretty much any basic needs / grocery store. Some stores sell it near the ice cream makers; other stores sell it near the regular table salt.
So here you go. Are you ready? It’s probably the simplest recipe you ever made!
You’ll need:
- One cup of whipping cream
- 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons of Sugar
- A pinch of salt
Here’s what to do:
- In a small resealable plastic bag, combine whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla. Push out excess air and seal.
- Into a large resealable plastic bag, combine about 5 cups of ice and salt. Place small bag inside the bigger bag and shake vigorously, 7 to 10 minutes, until ice cream has hardened. WARNING: You'll need oven mitts or gloves to keep this up for 10 minutes! The bag gets extremely cold!
- Remove from bag and enjoy with your favorite ice cream toppings.
The science behind making ice cream in a bag is that when salt is added to ice, it lowers the melting point of ice to below freezing. This allows you to shake the bag long enough (before the ice in the larger bag completely melts) to get the ice cream in the smaller bag to solidify. So your concoction gets really cold really quickly (mere minutes), much colder than what it would be if you were just using ice without the salt. And because you’re shaking your bag continuously, the mixture is creamy and the perfect consistency of ice cream!
Feel free to experiment with different topics and different base ingredients. (Some recipes use half & half instead of whipping cream.)
