Magic Puppets- Super Awesome Guest Blogger

Today I am happy to have a very, very special guest blogger!!! My daughter Logan. She is the queen of recycled crafts in our house. She has the amazing ability to take something someone has thrown away and see beyond the trash and turn it into something wonderful. She is always asking for empty boxes, milk cartons and plastic bottles.

Here are few of her most recent and amazing transformations:

Minute the Bird (Minute because "it took me 'bout a minute to make)

Hour the Penguin (not because it took her an hour but "because it's a bigger bird and an hour's longer than a minute"...we're still waiting on a small bottle so she can make Second.)

Slickady The Snail

A few days ago she came downstairs and asked for what seemed like completely random supplies. I couldn't wait to see what she was making. The final project was so clever that I asked her if she would share it and be a guest blogger. I think it's a great kids craft because you probably already have everything you need and if you don't, just use your creativity! She was super excited and we had a lot of fun working on the post together. I have a feeling she'll be a reoccurring guest blogger!

So without further ado....I give you Logan...

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My name is Logan. I like to do crafts and to read and eat a lot. I like my family. I am six years old. 

Magic Puppets

I found this in a book and I thought that I wouldn't be able to do it, but when I saw that my family had the materials we needed I got to work. Instead of using two of the same shape and gluing them onto the paper clip, I cut one shape and taped it to the paperclip. I think this is good for kids older than six because you need to use scissors.

Supplies:

• an empty, THIN box 
• scissors
• crayons or markers
• paper
• paperclips-you will need one for every puppet you want to make, it must be made out of metal.
• magnet
• tongue depressor or popsicle stick
• tape or glue
• paint (optional)

Step 1

Cut off the top of your box. It's important that your box is thin!

Step 2

Cover your box with paper or colored paper or paint with dark paint. Decorate however you want if you want to.

Step 3-Making your puppets

Take your paperclip and bend into an "L" shape. Now you draw your puppet, any character you want. Even a person. Mine is a fish. Now cut out your puppet. Then tape the paperclip on the back of your puppet. 

Step 4

Now do the background of your stage. Mine is fish and water. Bend the bottom of the paper and glue or tape it to the inside of the box.

Step 5

Take the magnet and tape or glue it to the tongue depressor or popsicle stick. This is to move the puppets on the stage. 

To use your Magic Puppets you have to put one puppet or two on the top of the stage. Now put your magnet stick inside the box under your puppet. Now move it CAREFULLY and if your box is thin enough the puppet will move. 

I really hope you like this project and it's fun for you! BYE!

LOGAN

Monumental Half-Full Circle

This past weekend I ran my first post-pregnancy race, The Indy Monumental Half. It was cold, damp and started to rain at towards then end, but I was really pleased with my performance. Three years ago my running partner Traci ran the Monumental for her very first half marathon. I ran it with her, keeping her mind off how far we had to go and encouraging her along the way. This year it was Traci's turn to be the cheerleader! She did a great job and really kept me motivated. Around mile 5 I was feeling tired and drained, my back was hurting and I really didn't think I could run the rest of the way. I asked her to distract me by helping me plan my meals for the week. We started discussing our favorite recipes and before I knew it we were at mile 8! The last 5 miles actually flew by. Around mile 12 we were passed by the leading three men of the FULL MARATHON! It happened to us the first year we ran it too. It is so amazing that someone ran twice as far was we did, twice as fast! I also partook in my favorite post-race ritual, a huge double cheeseburger from Five Guys, a cold beer and a long nap! This race took a lot out of me and I was so lucky that the hubby took charge of the little ones so I could recover! 

I had two goals, run the entire race and finish under 2:30. Happily I achieved both goals-whoo hoo!

My stats:

Overall time-2:21:19 (time includes one potty break)

Pace-10:46

Overall Place-3440/4985

Age Group-312/468

Certainly not by best race from a time perspective, but I felt strong, ran the whole way and had a great time. I'm so lucky to have my Bestie/Running Partner Traci! We make a great team!!!

Normally I end my running season in November, but since I got a late start this year the hubby and I added a half in December. It's called The Santa Hustle and I'm so excited! You get a Santa hat, beard and your shirt looks just like Santa's (you know how much I love my swag!!!), they even play Christmas music along the race route. It sounds like the perfect way to end my (short) running season!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

As you might have guessed, Halloween is a pretty fun time around here! We have so much fun thinking about our costumes and getting into the Halloween spirit. One of our favorite traditions is going to Zoo Boo. The girls get to wear their costumes and go trick-or-treat through the zoo while seeing all their favorite animals. 

The theme this year is BIRDS. I love that the girls are into matching costumes and I really hope that it's something that we can continue through the years.

I love how Lo's costume came out! She really wanted to be a peacock, "but a girl peacock that is colorful because you know the boys are really the pretty ones but I want to be a pretty girl." It required absolutely NO SEWING...just A LOT of tulle and hot glue!

The headband is one of my favorite parts! Lo took one look at it and said, "Cute, but you know peacocks don't wear peacocks on their heads right?"

She loves all the sparkles and twirliness of her tutu and I love that she loves it!

Noa's owl required a little sewing and A LOT of cutting of ovals! She wanted to be a pink owl and I think Mommy delivered.

With all the corduroy and her cozy hat she'll be the warmest of the bunch trick-or-treating.

We all had a great time at the zoo! GG was even so generous and shared all his candy with Mommy and Daddy.

Another family tradition is the carving of the pumpkins. Honestly it's not my thing so I am happy to let the hubby run the show and he and the girls have a blast. There is lots of planning and drafting involved. It's a very extensive process. This year the girls decided on a larger family pumpkin instead of individual pumpkins. 

Have a happy, happy Halloween! It's supposed to be cold and rainy here in Indy, but that won't stop my flock of birdies! We're looking forward to a large loot of yummy candy that Mommy can steal while the kids are at school...shhhhhh they'll never know!

Fall Fun At The Pumpkin Patch

Thank you all so much for your input on our family picture! While it was pretty close, the "winner" was the full color photo. I can't wait to get it printed and up in our house! The backdrop for the photo was our trip to the pumpkin patch. Like most families it's been an annual tradition and each year we've been in Indy we've visited a new patch. This year we checked out Pumpkinfest in Zionsville and I think it may be our new patch! Even though it was a little bit of a drive, the whole family agreed that it was a ton of fun! The girls loved all the activities and the hubby and I loved the price (why does it cost a fortune to go to the pumpkin patch lately?!?!?!). We paid to get into the patch which included all the activities except the pony rides. Each child under 12 even gets a small pie pumpkin to decorate and take home. The day we went was unseasonable warm so it was pretty crowded, but it didn't seem crowded. There was plenty for everyone to do. It was a great day full of family memories!

I had "warned" everyone that I wanted to get a few family pics-mainly one of all three kids together and of course, our family picture. I thought it was best to get the kids shot out of the way first. G had just been fed so he was fairly happy and I knew once the girls got into their fun they wouldn't want to stop. We got a few good ones-as I've said before, it's near impossible getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time so as long and they are looking forward and their eyes are open I'm happy!

 GG was tired of being propped up by pumpkins!

There were so many activities for the kids!!! You could see the huge slide from the road. Noa wanted to do that one first!

 Logan picked the hayride as her first activity.

The girls have never met an arts and crafts table they didn't like. They had a great time decorating their pumpkins. I loved that there was even a drying table so we didn't have to carry the pumpkins around while we were enjoying all the other fun activities.

The big bikes were also a huge hit! That area was utter craziness!

There was even a little "train" for the kids to ride.

Daddy was so nice to wait in line TWICE for face painting so they could get both cheeks painted.

GG was there too...he was such a good baby! This is what he thinks about not being able to do any of the fun activities!

There was even an area full of wooden animals and hay bales to climb. It's no wonder that Noa crashed as soon as we were in the car!

There was a little snack area with live music and even a few more areas that we didn't even get to. SO MUCH FUN! We will definitely be back next fall!

This is my favorite picture of the day. Not because it's a great quality picture, but because it is so sweet and spontaneous! It wasn't planned or posed, Lo just took her little sister's hand and I was fortunate to have my camera ready.