"DIY"

Four years at Notre Dame teaches you a few things.  God. Country. Notre Dame is a strictly held mantra for life… and St. Patrick’s Day comes second in celebration only to Christmas!  So of course I HAD to host this week’s It’s Friday, We’re In Love featuring all things green, rainbow…

April showers, bring May flowers… Help us celebrate the beauty of Spring by linking up your flower posts.  From how to grow them, how to decorate with them, or how to make your own, we want to see your best flower crafts, DIYs, decor ideas and more.  If it features…

Despite Easter being less than a month away, it snowed here again this week… and since moving to New England nearly 10 years ago, I have seen more than my fair share of egg hunts amidst patches of snow, it’s always important to plan indoor fun for Easter, just in…

Lil’ M has been struggling with recognizing her colors.  We keep practicing through play, and she now names about half of them correctly, most of the time.  For this month’s Rainbow-themed Top 10 series , I sought out to find more fun color matching activities. Top 10 Color Matching Activities for Toddlers…

My girls love math games – especially when they involve lots of shiny, new loose parts.  But official math manipulatives can be expensive, ranging anywhere from $10 to upwards of $30 for larger sets.  The good news is you can play and teach all sorts of arithmetic with math manipulatives that…

After the mudroom, my next favorite room in our new house is the playroom!  Getting the toys out of our family room was huge. Having a place for all the kids’ stuff AND in sight line of the main living space was a double win. But a playroom can also…

Nothing makes the one you love feel more special than a unique, customized gift. MY M&M’S let’s you do just that!  This Valentine’s Day, I am creating a special gift for my husband from our own little M&Ms, featuring MY M&M’S with silhouettes of the kids and framed portraits to…

The season for love is upon us!  Find all my Valentine activities for kids, crafts, DIY gifts for kids and grown-ups alike, and even some party games here. Whether you are a parent looking to celebrate the V-Day with your family, a preschool teacher looking for fun crafts for the…

How often do you and your hubby or significant other make it out these days?  I know for me, the biggest adjustment after having Big M, was the abrupt halt to our social calendar.  We went from DINKs who met out for dinner after work 2-3 nights a week and…

You get everyone out of the car, and they race into the house.  As you schlep extra bags, coats, the baby carrier and anything else left behind, you follow to find a trail of evidence in their wake.  Backpacks thrown on the kitchen counter.  Coats draped across the stairs.  Boots…

Do you love Instagram as much as I do?  I love that it isn’t proliferated with ads (yet), and with the use of simple hashtags you find great new ideas, communities and fellow mamas to share and learn from!  One of those communities is #KidBloggersofIG.  I have found some awesome fellow…

“…27, 28, 29… Mom, what comes after 29?” This became a recurring conversation with Big M (age 4) over the holidays. She has mastered counting to 20, and quickly caught on to the pattern thereafter. When she starts asking repetitive questions on a subject, I like to seize on her enthusiasm.…

Here on the Playground Parkbench, I share everything I would talk about with my fellow parents sitting on the parkbench as our kids play on the playground.  That mostly fits into the broad categories of Parenting and Kids Activities. As my kids have gotten older, where we talk may vary – the…

Have you been following our Nutcracker holiday mini-series? This marks the final post in our Plan the Perfect Nutcracker Party series with activities, decor, and favor ideas, paired with festive food contributions from Eats Amazing.  Today’s Jingle Bell Ribbon Sticks will have your tiny dancer party-goers dancing along like Sugar Plum…

The Nutcracker is more than just ballerinas and tutus!  The battle scene features the Nutcracker and his army of toy soldiers versus the Rat King and his minions.  Today, I’ve recreated this battle with a fun Nutcracker game on a cinnamon stick tic tac toe board! The Nutcracker Series Welcome…

People thought I was crazy when I took Big M, then age 3, to see The Nutcracker last holiday season.  She was captivated from the opening curtain to the final curtsies.  She still watches it almost daily, narrates the scenes, requests to listen to the soundtrack in the car, and re-enacts…

Whether you are planning a holiday party or a birthday party for your tiny dancer, I have partnered with Grace from Eats Amazing to bring you a two-week series featuring food, decor, crafts, activities and games for your Nutcracker Party! Click on the images below to plan your Nutcracker-themed Holiday Party! Day 1 –…

Along with the cheer of the holiday season comes the drear of colder and wetter weather, making for long dark days stuck indoors.  We cheered things up with some holiday games, including this fun Christmas twist on the traditional cup-and-ball favorite, Cup and Jingle Bell! Cup & Jingle Bell, A…

Everyone knows about Black Friday.  And Small Business Saturday has gained a huge following driving consumers to Shop Local.  But how about as moms we support fellow moms?  To make it easy to do just that, I’ve put together a list of great Gifts for Mom that you can purchase…