I watched my toddler carefully, as he pretended to be the scary Frankenstein he was so fond of ever since he spotted an old Halloween prop in his grandparent’s garage.

That Halloween, he had changed his mind about 10 times when contemplating what he wanted to dress up as. Yes, kids will do this to you…even after you’ve purchased a costume or two.

But after this impressive reenactment (which he picked up on from marathon-watching Alvin & the Chipmunks Movie featuring Frankenstein) I knew Frankenstein was the perfect Halloween costume for my toddler!

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Last year with Halloween only a few days away, it called for a little creativity. I wasn’t going to find anything in time so yes, I had to use whatever was lying around the house to make my toddler a Frankenstein costume.

Here’s how we created our homemade Frankenstein Halloween costume:

Materials

• Small box
• Green & black paint (acrylic paint like this works best!)
• Paint brush
• Milk caps
• Green t-shirt
• Dress jacket

Instructions

The first step is to find a small box that will serve as the Frankenstein headpiece. I was lucky to have just the perfect size box — I made sure I measured around my son’s head first to get the approximate length, width and depth and then compared that to the boxes available. You want something a little larger in width than a milk carton.

Once you have your box, cut one end so that it covers the back of your child’s head, but sits right at his eyebrows.

Gather your paints and go at it, starting with a bright (or even florescent) green acrylic paint color. You may have to do several layers to cover up any markings.

Allow the paint to dry for a few hours (ideally you’d let it dry overnight) but if you’re really pressed for time 2 hours should be enough.

Then you can go ahead and add eyebrows and a scar with the black paint. You don’t have to be super talented to do this — trust me, I just googled an image of Frankenstein and worked from there.

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures, but we added bolts to our headpiece after it was painted. We used milk carton caps (the ones you find on the half-gallon milk containers) and hot-glued them on to complete the monster — but I just realized these water bottle caps would have worked even better!

For the body, we went with an oversized suit-jacket– a little too big for my then 3 year-old — but perfect for a real Frankenstein body where the shoulder pads came in handy!

We purchased an oversized bright green shirt that was on clearance. If you buy one like this (which your child will actually wear all the time) you can simply wear it backwards with the full costume.

The Frankenstein costume was such a hit — not only did we get comments from trick-or-treaters impressed by the creativity going the homemade route, but most importantly, our toddler loved it! He was beaming every time he got to show-off the costume.

So glad “I created a monster!!” (A cute one, anyhow ;)!)

If your child is like mine and in the process of changing his Halloween costume, our version makes for an easy backup costume. If you still have time, be sure to check out the cute Frankenstein kid’s costumes below for purchase!

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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With a preschooler, toddler and baby in our home, mornings are a bit hectic. This an understatement of course.

Mornings are simply TOTAL CHAOS. Especially back-to-school mornings.

After begging my kids to get up each day (on school days of course!), they manage to reluctantly make it down to the kitchen, after about 20-30 minutes of coaxing.

Crying baby in one arm, 2-year-old tugging at pajama pants whining for milk and cereal with ONLY the Elmo spoon and dinosaur bowl and 4-year-old pretending to be a jungle cat closing in on its prey (aka little brother). As the whining turns into wailing, I am tending to a wound and already threatening time-out at 7 am. And that’s the easy part.

Because when it’s time to get dressed, it seems as if all hell breaks loose!

I’m pinning down a 2-year-old, hoping to go from the Paw Patrol pajamas to everyday shirt and pants before chasing a 4-year-old from kitchen to bathroom to living room, bribing him to get dressed immediately if he wants to watch that cartoon after school. And then with only a few minutes to go before I have to load all three kids into the car, I realize my 2 year old’s shoe is missing! We will be late once again.

Yep, this is our typical morning routine during the school year.

It’s no surprise, I’ve been desperately seeking any and every way to make the mornings a little less crazy.

Simple Way to Get Kids Dressed in Time for School

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Of course, I wasn’t looking for anything super fancy or time-consuming to put together, since as you can tell there’s no time for that in our crazy house. So fortuitously, while nursing in bed late one night I looked over to my side and the solution was clear: my plastic little side table would work perfectly to organize the kid’s clothes and outfit for the day!

I took the side table — this super convenient plastic storage bin — and set it up in their bedroom right before the dreaded “get-ready-for-school-routine.

I simply use a drawer for each kid and label it. Anything they need to wear for school that day is placed inside for the next day. This includes bottoms, tops, underwear, socks, and sneakers.

This not only saves me hours rummaging through laundry baskets and kid’s rooms, frantically searching for last-minute outfits, it also ensures mom won’t turn into a madwoman hunting down a lost shoe!

I just wish I would have thought of this ingenious idea sooner!!

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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The post Sanity-Saving Morning Routine Hack for Moms appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.

It makes a beautiful wintery wonderland painting to add to your list of indoor activities when you just can’t get outside.

Related: Winter Activities for Toddlers
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We loved creating a super easy icicle craft and snow sensory bin, and knew this snowflake art craft a friend mentioned was a must to add to our list!

Tape-Resist Winter Painting for Toddlers

Supplies:

• Painter’s tape
• Scissors
• Washable paints (blue and white)
• Paintbrush (I like these kinds for messy toddler art)
• Canvas – (You can buy a value pack online or wait for an after-Christmas sale at your nearest craft store!)

Start by cutting up pieces of painter’s tape and using them to create snowflakes of various sizes. You don’t have to cut perfect little strips — in fact the different sizes will create a nice contrast in the painting.

We added a wintery tree along with the snowflakes for a more realistic scene.

Once ready, grab blue and white washable paints. We used various shades of blue and mixed with white for a nice overall color.

Let your kids go at it any way they like. Younger kids and toddlers may want to use their hands to paint and older children and preschoolers may like to use various types of paintbrushes.

The great part about this tape-resist kid’s craft is that anything goes — the tape barrier makes it easy to create a beautiful masterpiece.

Let the paint dry overnight and carefully remove the tape to reveal a glorious winter scene to add to your kid’s art collection!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like:

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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My 3-year-old is always looking for an excuse to dump glitter or salt all over the table. It must be that exciting rush he gets from doing what’s forbidden as he asserts his toddler independence (and looks for a reaction from mommy)! What can I say, he knows how to push my buttons.

But with the cold winter keeping us indoors more and more these days, I thought I would give him the chance to dump as much glitter as he desires with a fun icicle craft.

We had so much fun exploring snow with our winter sensory bin, that I figured it was only fitting to continue the pattern. If you have a child around the same age, or one that is looking to do a craft inspired by Frozen, this one is an easy one to try!

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Simple Icicle Craft

Materials

• Glitter (we used a mix of white and blue)
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Tray (to contain the mess – if you don’t have one this works too!)

This is a really easy craft that only takes a few minutes and is a great way to help kids understand more about the changing seasons — especially as the snow begins to fall and icicles form around the house. It was inspired by this wonderful post from Inner Child Fun.

Tape a piece of construction paper to a tray or box to make it easier to work with and catch all your glitter.

Then instruct your child to draw a line with glue at the very top of the paper. For smaller children, you can draw a line with a marker and then ask them to trace it with the glue. I did this with my son and he had no problem.

Let the kids go over the line several times to make it thicker.

Then tilt the tray up and watch the icicles form! The kids will stare in amazement :).

We drew two lines of glue to make it even more fun.

Now let the kids go wild with glitter. It’s best to use a glitter jar that has holes punched out so you can limit how much glitter is used…otherwise there will be none left ;).

Let the glue dry and you have a beautiful piece of winter art!

This icicle craft is perfect for teaching kids about the letter “I” if you do letter of the week type activities. It is part of the fun collection of Kids Crafts from A-Z hosted at Playdough and Popsicles through the month of January. Check out the remaining crafts and activities HERE.

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Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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The post Icicle Craft: Easy Winter Activity for Toddlers appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.

I know Valentine’s Day is still over a month away, but the day will be here before we know it. Sure you can always run to the store and pick up some ready-to-go Valentines, but it’s so much more fun and personable to create your own at home with the kids.

I saw the prettiest heart-shaped pops from Pottery Barn and knew we had to create our own version.

I figured we could decorate the pops as different types of flowers for a super cute Valentine!

RELATED: CUPID-INSPIRED CRAFTS & GOODIES

How to Make a Flower Lollipop

Materials

• Flat lollipops
• Colored card stock
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pen

To start, simply gather an assortment of colored lollipops to decorate as flowers. The more variety of colors, the cuter the array of flowers  you can create.

Next, draw out various flower shapes. We made tulips, daisies and lillies by freehand. If you have cookie cutters, even easier!

If your child is of cutting age have them help cut out the various patterns — if not, you can do this yourself. You can even trace your flowers and use several pieces of paper at once to cut in bulk. Saves time if you need Valentines for the whole class.

Then cut out green stems to intertwine onto the lollipop stick. We used some Elmer’s glue to attach the flower and stem to the lolly.

Personalize your Valentine on the back or leave as is.

As I mentioned, these Valentine flower lollipops are as easy as it gets and make a fun way to transform a simple treat.

You may also like:

Valentine’s Day Popcorn Recipe

Easy “Eye Heart You” Valentine Card

DIY Valentine Puzzle for Kids

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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The post Flower Lollipop Craft & Treat appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.

Oh wait there is ;)! It’s called a delicious Melt Your Heart Valentine’s Popcorn recipe that combines both sweet and salty flavors for a romantically delicious treat you can both enjoy while you snuggle up to view your favorite movie.

Of course kids will LOVE this too! Just be sure they don’t hog the whole bowl :).

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Valentine’s Day Popcorn Recipe

To make this easy snack you’ll need 3 ingredients only:

• Freshly popped popcorn
• Conversation Hearts
• Wilton Candy Melts (I used this cute pastel flavor)

1. First, you’ll want to microwave your favorite popcorn flavor and prepare to your liking. (PopSecret is my go-to choice!)

2. Next, gather about 1 cup of chocolate candy melts and microwave for about 1 minute – stopping 30 seconds into the clock to give a good stir and break up the candy.

3. Lay out your popcorn in a pan to give an even coat of chocolate. Then you can combine the popcorn mixture into a large bowl and use a spoon to further distribute the chocolate.

4. Top with your favorite sweets – I love conversation hearts but you can add sprinkles if you enjoy those too!

The result is a delicious sweet and salty popcorn mixture. So easy and so yummy!

You can even pass the bowl and share with the kids if you’re feeling extra generous ;).  

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like:

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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The post Valentine’s Popcorn: Melt Your Heart Sweet & Salty Snack Recipe appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.

Families everywhere gather to watch this movie based on the Peanuts comic strip, which has such a great message about the true meaning of Christmas. It’s family-favorite for sure!

We’ve been watching Charlie Brown and the gang throughout the holiday season and were inspired to make this easy Charlie Brown Suncatcher Ornament for Christmas.

It is a quick and easy way for kids to practice fine-mother skills and color identification (focusing on one color at a time here).

Charlie Brown Suncatcher Tissue Ornaments

Materials:

• black construction paper
• scissors
• contact paper
• yellow tissue paper

Cut out a circle and zigzag shape from black construction paper to be used as your sun catcher template.

Cut up tiny squares of yellow tissue paper – your child can help you here if practicing scissor skills – just be sure to supervise.

Lay your template on the sticky side of contact paper and have your child pick up the tissue squares and attach to the paper.

Help your child stick another piece of contact paper on the completed projected and cut the edges to complete.

So easy and a fun way to add a Charlie Brown personal touch to your Christmas decorations!

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Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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The post Easy Charlie Brown Suncatcher Ornaments appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.

Those are the ornaments you can look back on each year and remember what Christmas is all about. Spending time with family and loved ones making memories.

With that in mind, I was inspired to make some salt dough ornaments myself this year with the kids. It was messy fun and also allowed me to get a little keepsake ornament to use every Christmas moving forward.

Looking to make the holidays extra special with your kids with homemade ornaments too?

I’ve rounded up 12 salt dough ornaments you can make with little ones this Christmas.

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For most of these salt dough ornaments, all you’ll need is flour, water, a shape cutter (or handprint and footprint) plus some colorful acrylic paint like this for decorating!

 Click on the links below for some inspiration!

Let the kids roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter while you help paint this adorable Penguin Ornament.

Create a cute Fingerprint Christmas Tree Salt Dough Ornament using the kid’s fingerprints as lights!

Make a beautiful keepsake ornament using handprints for this Santa Ornament.

Use those fingerprints again to make the cutest Salt Dough Snowman.
Don’t have a cookie cutter? Use your child’s hand to make your own unique Christmas Tree Handprint Ornament to decorate!

Love Rudolph? Try making a Salt Dough Reindeer using a footprint for even more fun.

You can also use your ornament for the tree or garland with this sparkly beaded Salt Dough Snowflake.

Make these cute Mitten Salt Dough Ornaments while reading a favorite Christmas story.

Let the kids explore their creativity while decorating in these Beaded Salt Dough Ornaments.

Make an adorable keepsake with these Gingerbread Man Ornament using fingerprints.

Do your kids love decorating with glitter? Help them make a Snowflake Salt Dough Ornament to make your Christmas tree extra sparkly this year!

Want your kid’s to have complete creative control? Let them paint Salt Dough Ornaments the way they please for an authentic toddler look :).So many different ways to decorate ornaments and truly cherish the holiday memories with kids!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share the image below and follow me on Pinterest & Facebook.Want more Christmas crafts? You may also enjoy the following:

Angel Crafts

Charlie Brown Christmas Crafts & Food

DIY Christmas Snow Globe

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

mommysbundle.com

The post 12 Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments for Kids appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.

Like most people, this time of year with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching is one of my favorites! I love everything about the holiday season from the delicious aroma of turkey and pumpkin pie that fills a room to the seasonal decorations popping up from house to house. But one of my favorite memories of the holidays is getting together with family — because that’s truly what the holidays are all about.

As a Latina, getting together with family is everything. Whether it’s gathering for a feast or special occasion, it’s a chance to reconnect with loved ones, share a delicious meal and watch the little ones play together….because these days there are many of them. Babies, toddlers, preschoolers running all around and making every moment even more special.

And because most family members are traveling from near and far when getting together for the holidays, it’s important to make them feel extremely welcome.

As a mother, one thing I know that is super important when it comes to accommodating family is making sure they have everything they need in stock so they don’t have to run out in the cold to pick anything up. Things like extra paper products and diapers can make a big difference.

So as I prepare for the upcoming get togethers, I’m making sure I have plenty diapers on hand. On a recent trip to BJ’s Wholesale Club, I was able to stock up on Huggies. With an assortment of products including Kimberly Clark’s, they make prepping for the holidays a breeze. BJs is currently having a special offering 60-day free membership for all who sign-up here!

I thought it would be even more fun and welcoming for my family to add a little holiday twist to our typical diaper station with a festive diaper cake! This way the house shows a little holiday spirit and my guests can feel free to grab a diaper as needed.

Related: DIY Candy Cane Wreath & DIY Snow Globe

Diaper Cake Tutorial

1. To start, make sure you have all the necessary materials handy. This includes:

• 14 or 16 inch cardboard cake tray
• Glue gun
• Paper towel roll
• Mini rubber bands
• Colorful ribbon or other embellishments
• 40-60 diapers
• Cake topper (faux flowers)

2. Next, hot glue the paper towel roll to the center of the cake tray.

3. Once secure, beginning rolling your diapers. Use a rubber band to secure the diaper rolls.

4. Begin laying out your diaper rolls in position. Secure with a white balloon ribbon to ensure they stay in place. You can then remove the rubber bands.

Since I went with a 3-tier cake, I needed plenty of diapers. I  used 6 diapers to compose the center row of the first layer, then 13, then 16. For the middle layer, I used 6 diapers again for the center and then 13 for the outer layer. For the top layer, I used 6 diapers.

5. Repeat step 4 for the next two layers.6. Embellish the diaper cake with colorful festive ribbons. I used a glitter candy cane pattern and then added another green ribbon and pom poms for some more pizzaz.

7. I topped off the cake with some faux flowers — poinsettia to bring out the holiday spirit even more!

I love how it turned out and can’t wait to share with my family!

Click here to see how others are preparing for their families this holiday!

***

Interested in more DIY projects for the holidays?  Check out some fun ideas below!

DIY Candy Cane Wreath

DIY Sugar Scrub – Homemade Gift Idea

Christmas Tree Salt Dough Ornament

You can also connect with us on Pinterest for year-long project ideas!

***

GIVEAWAY

BJs is hosting a giveaway to help get your home ready for the holidays – enter below for your chance to win!

KCC BJs Holiday Giveaway
How are you preparing to welcome family this holiday season? Have you ever made a diaper cake?

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

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The post How to Make a Diaper Cake for the Holidays appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.

So what do you do when it’s scorching hot outdoors and you’ve run out of ideas to keep the kids cool? You get a little creative with what you have lying around so the kids can beat the heat!

Water Activities to Keep Kids Cool

One super easy way to cool down right in the backyard is with a DIY sprinkler made from a pool noodle.

Or if you have a toddler that can’t get enough of playing with the hose, try this fun Water Hose activity.

To add even more fun and keep the kids splashing about for hours, bring out the creative juices and make an awesome Kiddie Carwash!

If you have a tarp handy but don’t want to do too much work, the little ones can still have a blast with this DIY Splash Pad – one of my favorites!

Water Balloon Piñata is a another really fun way to keep kids cool on a hot summer day – it also makes for a great summer party game!

For keeping babies cool in the summer, a kiddie pool is the perfect option. Here are five fun games to play in your kiddie pool PLUS five toys to use in pool or bath!

For kids with extra energy who love to run around, nothing beats the heat like a good old (gentle) water fight with these Sponge Water Bombs.

And when all else fails, there’s nothing like simple water table fun. Here are 20 ways kids can play with a water bin.

Keep Cool with Ice Play

When the kids have had enough of the water and looking for other play ideas, what better way to have fun and stay cool than with some ice play!

My toddler LOVED cooling off and creating some art with this Painting with Ice Activity we worked on last summer!

Need to pass some more time? Try an Ice Excavation activity filled with anything your kids love. They’ll have a blast digging into the ice to recover treasure!

More Ways to Keep Cool

And we didn’t forget about one of the most favorite ways to refresh: ice cream or popsicles!!

There’s nothing more refreshing than homemade popsicles on a hot summer day. Take your pick from this popsicle recipe list featuring mango, raspberry, lemonade, chocolate and more!

And finally you can let kids decorate their ice cream any way they choose with this Painting on Ice Cream treat!

You may also enjoy:

Ana @ Mommy's Bundle

Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.

mommysbundle.com

The post 12 Fun Ways to Keep Kids Cool in a Heat Wave appeared first on Mommy's Bundle.