Test Post-Trying out a Tablet

My husband brought home a tablet for me to try.  I haven't had a working computer for some time so almost anything is better then that.  This tablet is an android system, which I like, because it's similar to my phone.  It also has a detachable keyboard which is a major plus for blogging.  I haven't written a post in months and this could help me get back on my feet.  So far so good; typing is not a problem so now, for a picture....

Here's my youngest daughter who turned 1 last week.  We had her party over the weekend at a local park.

Here she is in cake coma.

Well I think this could work.  I miss writing and am confident this will help me get back into the groove.

And in case you're interested, here's what I am using.  

The Clue is in the Blue! Diaper Review

This post is sponsored by SheSpeaks & Luvs Diapers but all opinions are 100% my own. writing  

I have a busy life and a busy baby.  She recently began walking and is faster then ever.  I don't have time for leaky diapers, which leads to extra clothes, extra laundry, and extra baths.

I've tried Luvs in the past and actually love them.  I think they are a fantastic diaper at a fantastic price. I wish my club store carried them because they would have been my first choice from day 1.

But now these new Luvs can be bought at Wal-Mart.  They claim to be super absorbent....and they are! Compared to the other diapers I've recently purchased, Luvs absorbed it all.  My daughter normally has a blow-out at least once a day.  Since I've been using the new Luvs, I haven't had extra laundry which saves me time.

Time saved means extra time chasing my own little monkey!

Connect with Luvs through Twitter and Facebook using the #TheClueIsInTheBlue to discover more.

Do you have an opinion or product to share?  Check out SheSpeaks and join the conversations.  

Keeping Cool with Snow Cones on It's Playtime

It's hot.  My kids are hot.  My dogs are hot.  Must be summer.  It's difficult to find motivation to play when it's so warm.  Why not combine play with a yummy, summer treat promoting both imagination and health?  

Learn Play Imagine put together a simple Make Believe Snow Cone Stand using whole food purees, offering both creative play and a healthy treat.  

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button." 

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)

* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma

* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

By linking up you give us permission to grab a picture and feature you here, on a site we write for, on FB or Pinterest.   If we share your link, we will always credit you, send people to your original post and use only ONE photo.

Magic and Fairies on It's Playtime!

Finally, a moment to write!  My 8 month old has decided to take naps.  Yup, 8 months later she is sleeping.  Maybe I'll get more done now....ha!  Who am I kidding?  But here I am now, ready to write with plenty of It's Playtime activities to share.  

Kids love to pick flowers.  Why not put those petals to use and create some Fairy Soup?  The Happy Hooligans share this magical and simple idea.

JDaniel4's Mom created some magic in their yard by Building a Gnome Home.  Think those gnomes might like some fairy soup?

We've created Fairy Gardens before but how about a Toyrarium?  Inspiration Laboratories shared this gardening idea which promotes play and imagination alongside nature.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

 

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)

* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma

* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

By linking up you give us permission to grab a picture and feature you here, on a site we write for, on FB or Pinterest.   If we share your link, we will always credit you, send people to your original post and use only ONE photo.

Fun on the 4th with It's Playtime

Happy Birthday America.  Tomorrow is your birthday.  Now some of you readers may be enjoying a quite day at home, like I am, but still need to entertain your children (or at least get them away from the TV for 5 min).  Or maybe you are in charge of the neighborhood BBQ.  Either way, here are some ideas to engage your children this Independence Day.

What could be more exciting then Exploding Fireworks Paintings from Inspiration Laboratories?  Art, science and exploding baggies....AWESOME!  They also have links to other firework art/play ideas.

 This 4th of July Sensory Bin from Gift of Curiosity will keep your toddler scooping, mixing, and pouring using mostly items from around the house.

JDaniel4's Mom shared 10 4th of July Books to read with your kids.  

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 

It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)

* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma

* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

By linking up you give us permission to grab a picture and feature you here, on a site we write for, on FB or Pinterest.   If we share your link, we will always credit you, send people to your original post and use only ONE photo.

100 Days of Play Presents: Ice & Lava Sensory Baths

Have you been following the 100 days of play?  If not, it's not too late to start.  This terrific blog hop has been put together by Sun Scholars and Life at the Zoo in order to inspire and challenge you to spend more time playing with your child(ren).

For my day of play I'm sharing one of my son's favorite activities: shaving cream in the bath.  He would do this every day if he could.  Our last round consisted of creating an ice bath one day and a lava bath another.

All you need for either bath are shaving cream and food coloring.  The shaving cream I purchased at the dollar store.

 For ice, mix blue food coloring with the shaving cream.  

Add some blue coloring to the bath water then let them go wild with the water and the shaving cream.

 My son, splashed around in the "cold" water.  He often wears goggles so he doesn't get water in his eyes.  

After playing with the shaving cream, the residue floats around in the water.  My son thought it looked like snow.  He's pretending he's "frozen".

My son does his own thing but you could add Arctic/Antarctic animals to your bath.  If you have easy access to foam sheets, cut some irregular shapes from white foam, creating icebergs for the animals to float on.  If it's a hot day, add some ice to help them truly cool down.    

Of course after taking a "cold" bath, the next night my son wanted to take a "hot" bath.  He asked me to make him some lava.  I mixed red and yellow food coloring into the shaving cream.  More red, then yellow.  

I also added red and yellow color  to the bath.  

It wasn't long before he painted himself with the lava.  

He had some dinosaurs join him in his lava bath, but my son is a fickled one.  He wouldn't let me take any more pictures.  His dinosaurs got very clean that night though.  

Now go, have a bath!  What will your kids imagine the shaving cream to be?  

And don't forget to check out the 100 Days of Play Blog Hop!  Take the challenge.  There's still plenty of time.  

100 Days of Play Blog Hop

Sharing simple ideas on how to connect with your children through play!

New ideas shared each day from 4/1 - 7/20.  

Help us spread the word!

Grab a Button to Share on your Blog!

<a href="http://www.sunscholars.com/p/100-days-of-play.html" target="_blank"><img alt="100 Days of Play" src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7xMRCn21cODfJd2ZI2EQFfq6yx6t0ADeta7OiUatrBzhYiD6k1QVCay-O6RAPtxgDFjFxSMH0kxHg1Ny2kZRJ3FQGGxVQdVukz9LNkdd3ijN3zCrU9DCe2xrZO2KhdXZwDResBO6-A3F/s1600/mommy+playdate+button200.jpg"/></a>

100 Days of Play is brought to you by these wonderful bloggers

SunScholars . Frogs, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails . Playful Learners . Train Up a Child . Fantastic Fun & Learning . Scribble, Doodle & Draw . Learn. Create. Love. . Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas .Nothing if Not Intentional . My Little 3 & Me . Buggy & Buddy . Sun Hats & Wellie Boots .Twodaloo . True Aim . The Educators' Spin On It . Blog Me Mom . Life At The Zoo . Putti's World .Kitchen Counter Chronicles . Triple T Mum . Busy Kids Happy Mom . Crystal's Tiny Treasures .Rainy Day Mum . Momma's Fun World . My Little Bookcase . Craftulate . One Perfect Day .MumCentral . Artchoo! . Creative World Of Varya . Simple. Home. Blessings. . JDaniel4's Mom .NurtureStore . Me & Marie Learning . Child Central Station . Mamas Like Me . Mama Miss. Making Boys Men . Powerful Mothering . Craft to Art . 3 Dinosaurs . Domestic Goddesque .Lessons Learnt Journal . Royal Baloo . Smiling Like Sunshine . Adventures at Home with Mum .B-Inspired Mama . PragmaticMom . Eazy Peazy Mealz . Gluesticks . TheBoy&Me . Learning is Messy . My Nearest & Dearest . Growing Book by Book . How to Run a Home Daycare . Here Come the Girls . Think Magnet . Dandelions Picked . 123 Homeschool 4 Me . Our Ordinary Life .Parenting with Professor Poppins . 2 Little Hooligans . Fun-a-Day! . The Non-Martha Mamma .Angelique Felix . My Very Educated Mother . Creative Playhouse . Go Explore Nature . Zing Zing Tree . Sense of Wonder . Childhood 101 . Crayon Freckles . KZ & Me . Serenity You . This Mumma's Life . Leapfrog & Ladybugs . Blue Bear Wood . Growing Together . KC EDventures .Mommy Lessons 101 . Nature & Play . Like Mama Like Daughter . Mums Make Lists . From Wine to Whine . Messy Kids . Babble Dabble Do . Sugar Aunts . Teaching @ Home . Preschool Powol Packets . Clothed in Love . Curiosity Creates . The Magnolia Barn . Strong Start . Stay-at-Home Mom Survival Guide . Learn with Play at Home . Mummy... Mummy... MUM! . Science Sparks. Toddler Approved . Thrive 360 Living . Rockabye Butterfly . Mud Hut Mama . Coffee Cups & Crayons . Playing with Words 365 . My Lil Love Bugs . Creative Connections for Kids . LalyMom .Love, Play, Learn . Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers . The Pleasantest Thing .Teach Beside Me 

Chalk It Up To It's Playtime

Drawing with sidewalk chalk is classic outdoor fun......but.....at the same time, gets old quickly.  Shared on previously on It's Playtime, here are some new ways to explore and learn with sidewalk chalk.  

Reading Confetti posted their recipe for Frozen Popsicle Chalk.  If you don't have popsicle molds, try simply making Ice Chalk.  

Train Up a Child shared their post, Top 10 Ways to Learn with Chalk.  Here you'll find some great learning games and play ideas for kids toddlers through school-age.  

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

  

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 
It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma
* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

By linking up you give us permission to grab a picture and feature you here, on a site we write for, on FB or Pinterest.   If we share your link, we will always credit you, send people to your original post and use only ONE photo.