Sidewalk Chalk Paint that costs $1

I originally wrote this post last summer, but now that summer has seemed to find Montana, my kids and I decided to try this again. If you are interested in the original post, you can find it here.

We live in Northwest Montana where the pleasant summer weather is limited to just a few months, so when a good day comes along we try to find activities that we can enjoy outside as much as possible. One day I saw a picture my friend posted of her daughter painting outside and I asked her what she was using, to which she replied “sidewalk chalk paint.” I’ve seen many recipes for sidewalk chalk paint on Pinterest, but they’ve all required artificial dye, an ingredient that I no longer keep in my house. With this in mind I was apprehensive about asking how she made it, but I asked anyway. I was pleasantly surprised when she told me that all she used was chalk dust and water! I already had a ton of chalk on hand, and I can always find more at the dollar stores when I run out, so I gathered my supplies and got started

How to Enjoy a Rodeo with a noise sensitive kid.

What is the first thing you think of when you hear Montana? Is it the mountains? Big sky? Glacier National Park? Cowboys? Well, whatever it is I am sure I have thought it. Then I moved here. I can tell you, Montana are all of those things. I will say that we do have a lot of cowboys. With cowboys comes rodeos. Now, before I moved here I never really understood what the big deal was about rodeos. Then I went to one my first summer here. I loved it and have gone to one every summer since. It has become a tradition for our family. The trick is attending them with a kid that doesn’t like loud noises. This summer we tried a few different things and think we have finally figured out how to enjoy the rodeo as a family!

Setting a healthy Example for my kids.

I haven’t always been fat or out of shape. In all honesty I have always been in shape. I was always active, then I got pregnant and took the phrase, ‘eating for 2’ literally. The day after I had lost all that baby weight I found out I was pregnant with my 2nd. Now I didn’t gain as much with her but I did gain some.  Then came the deep hole of depression. 3 yrs later I am finally pulling myself back up and getting it together. I am slowly realizing that the only way that I will get healthy is to make it a priority. I have to do this for me and no one else.

Banana Popsicles: So easy a 5 yr old can do it!

When I was growing up, my sister and I would spend at least a week every summer at my grandparents house in Missouri. It was so much fun for us. Spending time with my grandparents, helping in the garden and just playing on their farm land. One of my memories is that we didn’t get ‘normal’ Popsicles. We got frozen bananas on Popsicle sticks. We called them Banana pops. If we were really lucky she would dip them in chocolate. They were the perfect treat on hot summer afternoons. So, I am passing that tradition on to my kids. Today, the firefighter had the chance to do the entire process on his own.

An Outdoor Adventure with my kids!

If you are a parent you can appreciate the fear that I had when my kids asked if we could go on an adventure. Most of the time ‘going on an adventure’ means a lot of whining, crying and general sibling squabbles. They most of the time can’t agree on what will happen on said adventure. Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised. They both have been missing their daddy and just really wanted a distraction. So, we loaded up the car and started off!