About us:
I'm Tara, wife in the Stockberger family which consists of Nathaniel, my amazingly handy and crafty husband and our precious gifts, Avadelle and Liam. Avadelle turned 2 in July and is very busy these days. Liam is my calm one, being that he's almost 5 months and content to just watch his sister and roll over once in a while. I try to update this family blog whenever something eventful happens or when I think the kids are growing up too fast that I must document the present!
How do you spend your free time?
With two, there has been a major decrease in that thing called "free time." I didn't realize how much time I had with one! When they are both napping, I try to read (I usually have about 3 books going on at one time), catch up with friends and just relax. I also love watching movies with my husband after they go to bed.
When you were a child, what was one of your favorite ways to spend your day?
I loved making breakfast with my mom and having a lazy Saturday morning with the family and cartoons. I also loved going shopping with mom and then coming home and talking walks with dad and making my brothers perform dances with me!
Fondest memory with your mom as a child?
Definitely in the kitchen. Most holidays we would cut out sugar cookies and frost them together. It became our family tradition and the toppings and designs grew more extensive as we grew older.
What does special time with your children look like?
I appreciate one on one time with Avadelle so much now. Just simply reading her favorite books or turning familiar music and dancing is so special. I also secretly love it when Liam wakes up early from his nap and it's just us cuddling and giggling while his sister is sleeping.
Favorite outdoor activity with your kids?
When it's not so hot, I love taking walks in the neighborhood and going to the park. I also love letting them splash outside in the kiddie pool and eating watermelon together.
Favorite blog for children's activities/crafts/parenting?
Passionate Homemaking is just so encouraging and covers so many applicable topics for wives and mommas.
A favorite tradition that you want to pass down with your children?
Family devotion and reading aloud as a family. I have a mental list of books we need to all read together. Also, we have already become a dancing family. Turning on Pandora and jamming out together has recently become a fun tradition that I don't see going away anytime soon.
Inspration from here
Ready to make your own?
For 26 busy bags, I used:
- 9 packages of 3/4 inch dowel rods from Hobby Lobby at 1.99 each
- 2 packages of 75 pairs of Velcro dots 5/8" (ordered from Amazon at 6.99 each with free shipping)
- 4 colors of craft paint (already owned)
-4 colors of ribbon (1.49 each)
- sandpaper (owned)
-hot glue gun (owned)
-clear coat spray paint (owned)
-a handy husband (already had that too!)
Around $38 total/26= $1.46 per busy bag
Here's how I made them:
I decided on cutting the rods two inches in length so I would get 6 out of each 12in dowel rod. This also cut down the cost from what it would have originally been. Enter handy husband. He hand sawed each rod into 6 pieces for me and also sanded the edges to get rid of splinters and make them smooth. I seriously couldn't have done it without him.
Each busy bag has 4 pairs of velcro rods. Instead of the original design that uses craft paper, I decided painting them would be easier. To make it a matching game for toddlers and preschoolers, I used 4 colors- red, blue, yellow and green- and painted 26 2" rods of each color. Then we covered them in a spray clear coat so the colors wouldn't rub off on each other. (I tried painting the rods before they were cut, but it turned out to be pointless because once they were cut and sanded, they had to be repainted.)
For the corresponding unpainted velcro rod, I cut a piece of matching ribbon and hot glued it to the unpainted rod. Then, I wrote the name of the color with a black paint pen.
The last step was to put the velcro on one side of each piece.
After I had one set complete, I had my sweet little guinea pig try them out.
She was the perfect age for this activity. As soon as I said, "Can you match them together?" and showed her they stick, she was all over it.
Here's she saying, "they stick!"
Since we are learning our colors right now, I was able to ask her things like, "Can you match the red ones?" Where is the red one?"
Good job, sweet girl!
She was impressed with herself and the fact that she could stick them together all by herself.
When she gets older, we can use the words more and learn how to spell the colors.
And soon, I can probably ask her to find the color that starts with "R" or "Y".
Downloads:
Go check out the Silly Faces busy bag on Planet of the Apels today.
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