I had a busy and fun-filled spring break visiting with friends and family, participating in some free events, celebrating Easter and, of course, doing a little Mommy Camp - Easter Edition. However, we were having so much fun doing other things that we only managed to finish two of the four days I planned for Mommy Camp. I'm not worried as I'll have it for next year or if we get bored over the next few weeks.

We kicked off Spring Break by visiting some family out of town. Derek wanted to go hiking with some friends and I wasn't interested in taking the kids on an all day hike so we went to the Museum of Discovery with my Brother, his wife and my Mom. We had a really fun time and topped it off with some pizza and local ice-cream.

When we got home from our mini-trip we spent Monday focused on Mommy Camp. The theme was jelly beans and we did a ton of things including a jelly bean taste test (You can find the worksheet I made here.), learning how they're made, jelly bean math, science and art! Arthur wasn't as in to participating as Lilly except for eating the jelly beans.

Above you can see Arthur doing the "eat every jelly bean regardless of flavor" style of taste test. Then you can see Lillian analyzing each one. We judged them on their flavor, texture, smell, taste and color. She did not like the sweet tart jelly beans and like the jelly belly the best. I did kind of test Arthur and gave him a buttered popcorn and a cinnamon. He was not a fan of either.

After the taste test we did some jelly bean math and graphing. For the graphing we dumped out a random amount and then analyzed how many we had of each color as well as how many when certain colors were added to each other and an over all total. We also discussed which we had the most and the least of.

This was a quick and fun art activity where you place jelly beans on paper and then squirt them with water. Then you can let it sit and dry or dump them off to create lines. It was a little messy but messy is fun! Arthur, of course, enjoyed eating the jelly beans more than the project.

This jelly bean art project was also very easy. Arthur was, again, more interested in eating them. After we finished I went to wash my hands and heard a cascade of beans hitting the floor. Arthur had attempted to pick his up but, not being dry, they all slid off of the paper. The kids cleaned it up and Arthur ended up with some interesting art.

On Tuesday, my Mom and Step-Dad decided to drive up to spend the day visiting and we went to the spring break activities at the nature center in town. The kids got to pet a tiny owl, learn about native animals, go on a short walk and do some art. I have to admit that I haven't taken the kids there very often in the past but neither was ready to leave and Lilly was somewhat upset that I didn't bring a picnic lunch like a few other families. I genuinely thought we would be lucky to be entertained for an hour but I was so very wrong. We actually went to the center two more times this week for other craft and animal activity events and each time the kids were not ready to leave!

Wednesday we spent the morning at the library for both of the kids story times and the afternoon just playing. We always attend the summer story times because I'm off for the summer but we don't go during the school year. So, this was the first time since summer that we've attended and it was a world of difference now that Arthur is two. He was engaged and participated in all of the activities and basically did everything Lilly did. It was adorable. 

Thursday we did our second day of Mommy Camp which was egg focused. We decorated pancakes to look like eggs for breakfast, dyed eggs, did "eggcercises" (They can be found here.), had egg spoon races, made egg prints, conducted egg "science" with baking soda and vinegar and made a cardboard egg ramp.

Egg shaped decorate yourself pancakes was a hit with Lillian. Arthur was less of a fan until I doused his pancake with whipped cream and strawberries for him.

Egg "science" was a big hit that kept them happy and playing for at least 40 minutes! Even after most of the baking soda had been covered with vinegar Lillian experimented with color mixing. It was an easy project to set up too! All you need is a muffin pan, plastic eggs, baking soda, vinegar and food coloring. Prep by putting the baking soda, eggs and food coloring in the muffin tin (I set it inside of a sheet pan to eliminate extra mess.) and give the kids eye droppers and cups of vinegar. Such fun!

Using plastic egg halves to create egg prints was a big success and yielded some pretty nice art! I also tried potato prints to make egg art but it didn't work out nearly as well. The potato was hard to grasp as well as pull away from the paper and the prints weren't very pretty. I think a sponge would work better for that. Not long after these pictures were taken, Arthur was pretty paint covered so, I ran a bath and carefully guided him through the house to get in. When I returned 2 minutes later to get Lilly for the bath I found her creating splatter art and a big mess! I told her that I appreciated her creativity but that we can only do splatter painting outside. Once they were clean it only took me about 10 minutes to clean up what I perceived as an enormous mess so, no harm done.

The cardboard egg ramp was really fun for both of the kids. They pretended they were working in a factory. I also gave Arthur a bowl filled with eggs and a large spoon for playing.

After they got bored with the ramp we did "eggsercises" and had a spoon race. For the "eggsercises" you just put different activities inside each egg and draw eggs one at a time. Then they do them. Lilly had a lot of fun with this one.

Friday morning was spent doing a little spring cleaning. We rearranged Lilly's room a little bit to make it more conductive to play and also cleaned out some of the toys she didn't play with to donate. In the afternoon, we visited the nature center again to participate in some snake themed fun. They provided us with gourds to paint to look like snakes and also had small wooden toy snakes for painting. Arthur got to pet a snake and spent a good majority of the time looking at them. We also met with some friends and enjoyed the other offerings at the center together. 

Saturday morning we tried a new local restaurant for breakfast and did a few errands. In the afternoon we went to a friends house for dinner and egg hunting. We also played beanboozled which was so much fun! If you haven't played I definitely recommend it! Even Arthur and Lilly played for over an hour! I'll warn you though, vomit flavor is as bad as you imagine and is definitely the worst! That night we planted some jelly beans for the Easter Bunny to magically turn to lollipops for Easter morning. It's a simple activity that is really magical for the kids.

Sunday morning, the children awoke to find eggs hidden all over the house and their Easter baskets. Each got a book, a cape (Lilly had recently asked for one so it was perfect!) and a few cheap toys. As a side note, I found some bubble blowers at the dollar store that looked similar to the ones that gymboree sells and they are amazing! They make a ton of tiny bubbles and entertained both kids for at least 30 minutes.

For breakfast I made bunny butt pancakes and we spent the morning playing before heading to Derek's parents house for lunch, family time, bubble blowing and a few egg hunts. 

I recently purchased a Sally Hansen nail design tool kit like this one at Target and my daughter and I have been having a blast creating fun nail designs. Apparently we've had so much fun that I have forgotten to snap pictures of the last few which included ladybugs, flowers, hearts and snowflakes. But, we decided to get into the easter spirit this week and went with bunnies! All I do is find a few inspiration images and give it a go using my handy tools. The inspiration for this week was this sparkly design.

This stuff is seriously amazing and you don't have to use it with their colors. I apply it on top of everything and it generally keeps my manicure looking great for a whole week! I thought it was so adorable that I gave myself the same manicure but with only two bunnies like the picture. I mean...I am an adult. I also painted Lillian's toes but only did bunnies on her big toe. ​

If you and you're daughter (or just you) love playing with nail polish then the $6 investment is totally worth it! Pinterest is full of inspiration for nail art designs or you can come up with your own ideas. You can also follow my Pinterest nail art board. Good luck and keep in mind that it should be fun and nothing is permanent so, don't stress if you mess up. Just keep some remover nearby! Enjoy!

Here are some of my favorite ideas for getting crafty on St. Patty's Day! All of them take very little prep and will definitely be fun for any age!

I hope you have as much fun with these crafts as my kiddos and I did! Enjoy!

For Christmas, I got a gigantic stack of various books covering topics from child psychology, crafting, sociology and even how to make Kombucha. Last week I finally got around to picking up a small and unassuming book called, "the life-changing magic of tidying up" by Marie Kondo, and I am in love. There are so many nuggets of wisdom and entertainment as well as a lovely perspective on life found within this book that I find myself smiling while reading it and feeling very at peace.

​The book is a #1 New York Times best seller and has sold over 3 million copies and I fully understand why. Even though the content can sometimes sound crazy. As you read you realize that her perspective on viewing your items and how to keep your space clean is beautiful. The main tenants of the book are that you should first go through all of the items in your house and only keep items that "spark joy" the author states that doing this will allow you to truly appreciate the items that you keep and will contribute to an overall feeling of contentedness and peace. I have to admit that while reading I have found myself feeling so excited and eager to clean that I have had to put it down and stop reading to calm myself. I generally read before bed and tearing into my belongings at 10:30pm is not a great idea. 

So, my husband and I are planning on attacking the house this weekend while the children are at their grandparents house and I can't wait! I am so excited about having a space that feels calm and collected and getting rid of all of the unnecessary things cluttering my life sounds exhilarating. I'll keep you updated and will make a post as soon as we finish! I hope you have a productive and fun weekend too and if you haven't read the book you should definitely check it out. I mean, she says things like this:

Spring break is only a few weeks away! That means it's time for another Mommy Camp! Since the break this year falls right before Easter I've made it Easter themed! You can read about a few of the specific activities we'll be doing and download some printables I created, including the lesson plan below.

Theme One: Jelly Beans
The first focus is on jelly beans. We'll be conducting experiments, participating in a taste test, learning how they are made, making necklaces and more! (A list and links to all of the activities can be found in the lesson plan download.)

Theme Two: Eggs
This is a very fun-filled theme that includes egg science, growing "egg heads", paint-filled egg bomb painting, a glowing egg hunt and "egg-ing" the neighbors. Plus a ton of other fantastic activities focusing on math, reading and sensory experiences. (A list and links to all of the activities can be found in the lesson plan download.)

Theme Three: Bunnies
In the bunnies focus we will learn about rabbits, do the bunny pokey, learn how to draw a bunny, dig for sight word carrots and make bunny handprint art along with some fun math, reading and cooking. (A list and links to all of the activities can be found in the lesson plan download.)

 Theme Four: Peeps
Everyone loves peeps! Delicious, sugary marshmallows!  In this section we will conduct some peep experiments, learn how they are made, create puffy paint peeps and make peep play dough  along with doing some reading and math. (A list and links to all of the activities can be found in the lesson plan download.)

Click the link below each image to download the printables that I've created as well as the lesson plan. Enjoy!