Popsicle Stick Prayers

"Popsicle Stick Prayers" Hi All, my name is Robin and I am pretty new to this blogger world but starting to get the hang of it thanks to my wonderful friend Summer at http://www.madebymunchiesmama.com/  I couldn't be more thankful that she is letting me crash her blog for the day to not only share my fun kids project, but to also GIVEAWAY a $20 JoAnn's gift card just for liking my FB page and then following my blog.  Keep reading and I will give my links to enter the giveaway at the end.  If you do not know me my blog is called "Three Water Babies" http://threewaterbabies.blogspot.com/ and it is about the fun crafts that I do with my kids to help their creative minds exercise at such young ages, ( 3yrs, 2yrs & 1yr old) and then also to teach them to sit still for a length of time....focus, focus, focus can be hard for anybody at any age.  So daily we practice focusing on one thing for a period of time.  My challenge is to make it REALLY interesting, and if I can do that then I can usually get a good amount of attention from all 3 babies.   Here is the fun project I did with the babies this past week. I call it "Popsicle Stick Prayers"! You are going to paint popsicle sticks on one end, then on the other end you will write a name of someone you can pray for.  Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Cousins, Friends, someone you know who needs prayer.  Then every night at bed time we let the kids pick one stick and we say a prayer for them at bedtime along with our normal bedtime prayers.  You go through all of the sticks and then start over when you have prayed for everyone.  The great part is you can always add another stick if you hear of someone who is sick and needs prayer.  It's a great way to teach your children the power of prayer and how to make it a part of their daily bedtime routine. What you will need:  1) Popsicle Sticks - This bag was on sale at JoAnn's for .97 cents  (I bought 3 bags)
2) Paint - these I found at JoAnn's for .57 cents each
3) Sharpies  - to write the names on
4) Jar or something to put your sticks in
5) Rocks, jellie beans or just something to fill the jar with so your sticks stand up
6) Paint Brush - I could not find mine so I used a sponge and just cut it up into small squares

Now you are ready to Paint your popsicle sticks.....oh the book is there so I can put the popsicle stick in between the pages to let dry (see the picture below) 

Here is a picture of how I used the book to let the sticks dry - Sorry the book is for my Medical Classes

Here is what ours looked like after the painting was done

Next is the fun part for the kids.  I actually did not let them paint the sticks but I told them that once they were all dry that they could color on them with markers while I wrote the persons name on each one.  They were totally happy with that, and so they colored on the back side of all the names :)  Here is what they look like with all the names on them!

Last all you need to do is put them in a fun Jar that you can place in your home.  We keep ours in the kitchen since we are there all the time and it helps me to not forget about them.  Here is another trick, once you have pulled a stick and prayed for the person you can put it back in the jar upside down so all you see is the paint.  That helps you to know that you have already prayed for that person and to pick a different stick.  Once all of the sticks are showing paint, that means you have prayed for everyone and you now flip them all over and start again! Our Finished Prayer Jar

I hope you enjoyed reading about our fun craft, and hopefully you will try this in your house too!  Now for the fun part.....Who wants to WIN $20 to JoAnn's.   Here is what you will need to do.   1)Like my Facebook Page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Three-Water-Babies/166756870093899?ref=hl 2)Become  GFC follower on my Blog Page PLUS Leave a comment http://threewaterbabies.blogspot.com/ Thanks again to Summer for letting me share on her wonderful Blog :)

Animal Time * A Fun Kids Project Using Flip-Flops

ANIMAL TIME!  -  Fun Kids Project
Hi Friends, I hope you are all having a wonderful week!  As we continue to search for fun things to do with our kids this summer, I came up with a super easy and fun project that your kids might love.
So in our house a pair of "Flip-Flops" are a hot commodity.  My daughter Makenna will steal any pair she can find, even mine for example that are way too big for her and she will claim them as hers and wear them all day.  So in the spirit of "Flip-Flops" I thought I would get the kids some new ones and spice them up!  
So I decorated them in fun ANIMAL faces....and they love them!  Here is what they look like and how you too can make these for your kids.

Here is how I made them:  I bought this box of fun Animal Faces at JoAnn's Fabric Store.  The box was $7.99 - but with a coupon you can get it for half that price.  Or you can check their $1 bins, and they have single packets on sale for .50 cents....although the single packets do take a little more work for you.  On those you will have to cut them to size and use marker or sharpie on them to create the animal face.  I went for the box because all I had to do was hot glue the pieces together and it came with so many that we have lots of extras.

Next:  Once you have the box of animal faces, lay out the faces you want to make.  Next you will need a sharpie, scissors and yarn...oh and of course your flip-flops. Also, you might want to start heating up your glue gun at this point. You will see that most of the faces have 2 pieces to make the face.  Take the piece that will lay against the flip-flop.  Using your sharpie mark on the back side where you want to cut small slits to run the yarn through.  I did this so that I could use the yarn to tie the animal face to the flip-flop.  Here is what that step looks like.

As you can see, I made small cuts in the first layer of the animal face, then used my yarn to tie it to the flip-flop.  The next step is easy.  Just use your glue gun to put the rest of the animal face together.  As you do this you can try your best to glue your pieces over the yarn.  An there you have it, a super cute, fast and easy Animal Face Flip-Flop !!!

The kids just love them....they actually love them so much that we decided to make all the animal faces in the box!!!  Making the cost of the box all worth it.  Oh and if you are wondering about the flip-flops, those are on sale for .74 cents at JoAnn's Fabric as well.  

I hope you enjoy this project and continue having a great summer.
Much Love, 

10 Things To Do With Your Kids this Summer, PLUS something for you!

10 Things to do With your kids this Summer, PLUS something for You!
Hi Friends, I hope you all have been having a wonderful summer.  In our house it sure has been eventful!  This has been the first summer for us with a transition.  I say that because last year was the first year of pre-school for my oldest son Kai (3yrs old).  When his first school year ended this past June, it was the first time ever that I found myself saying, what am I going to do with all 3 kids at home for the summer?  My kids ages are 3yrs, 2yrs, 1yr.  How am I going to continue teaching kai, and the other 2 while he has this break?  And last, how am I going to stay sain myself?
Just in case you don't know me very well, I am a organization freak.  I say that in the best way possible.  I live by my calendar, I love to keep the house and our schedules on track and I rarely steer off the scheduled path.  Boring for many I know, but that's how my mind works.  So for the weekly routine to end due to the school year ending, I am now finding myself in a bit of a struggle.  So what do I do you might ask.......I do what all organized people do.....I grab a pen and pad of paper and I make a LIST :) 
Here is what my LIST (which I LOOOVVEEE to make daily, weekly, monthly, by projects, by areas of the house, by groups...etc...I am sure you get my craziness) looks like:
Wayman Summer FUN with my "3 Water Babies" 1) Swim Classes.....only $2 to go to open swim days 2) Costa Mesa Train Rides - Free 3) Continue to go over Alphabet, Colors, and Numbers Daily 4) Thursdays - Farmers Market and can squeeze in the Farm at the Fairgrounds 5) The O.C. Equestrian Center - Free to walk around and see all the horses 6) Color / Draw / Sticker Fun once a day 7) Kids books - Read a book to kids, have them read it back to me 8) PARK, PARK, PARK 9) Project - have them help me 10) Cook in the kitchen,- have them help me **VBS - We missed the cut off this year but will be sure to register early next year.
Wow, I am tired just looking at this list.  Now, for some of you moms you might be thinking, why don't you just put them in summer school or summer camp, which most cities offer.  Well, the cost is one reason, but as much as I would love to do that Kai is still to young.  For most of those summer camps or programs your kids have to be 5 or older....so we are not there yet.  
While I hope this list might give you some ideas for things to do daily with your kids during these last few weeks of summer, here is what I do for myself.  Aside from my Craft LIST, I love to read books.  Not because I am the fastest reader but because I love to sit by myself with no interruptions.  If I am lost in a good book, that is some good quiet time for me. 
Here is my most recent book purchase:
"The Scarlet Thread"  by Francine Rivers
"TWO WOMEN, centuries apart, are joined through a tattered journal as they contend with GOD, husbands, even themselves, until they fall into the arms of the one who loves the unconditionally"

http://francinerivers.com/
She is a New York Time Bestseller and I have heard great things about her books.  I will be starting her book this week and would love for you to join me in this book read.  My goal is to finish it by August 31st.  Remember I have 3 kids.....really 3 babies so finding this quiet time is tricky, so I need to give myself a few weeks :)  
Happy Reading and Thanks for stopping by!!