Water Balloons Just Got an Upgrade

     Water balloons are great summer fun. However, they're messy, and really not great for the planet. But that's okay, because these water balloons just got an upgrade. They're quick and easy to make, and your kids are going to love them.

Water Balloons Just Got an Upgrade

    I've been wanting to crochet for years. As a kid, my great gran and gram taught us to make chains, but that was all I could ever do. This past March I finally decided it was time to learn. So for my birthday I got some hooks and a few skeins of yarn, turned to YouTube, and I've been "hooking" ever since. 

    A few days ago I discovered a tutorial for reusable water balloons. I was immediately hooked. Think about it. No filling balloons, no little pieces of breakage, and a fun project to crochet. I immediately went through my yarn stash and got started.

Why Crochet Water Balloons?

    I don't know about you, but I've long been discouraging my son from playing with water balloons. First of all, it takes me an hour to fill them, and takes the kids about five to ten minutes to break them all. That's not cool. Secondly, they leave little piece all over the yard. That's not good for our fur babies, our Earth. The kids never want to pick them up, and I sure as heck don't want to. Third, these reusable water balloons are so much better for our planet. So this tutorial is a win win.

How Do They Work?

    It's simple really. Get a bucket or two of water. (You can use them in the pool, the lake, or even the creek like us!) Place the crochet balloons in the bucket(s) and press them down in. Get them good and soaked. Now step back and let the kids have a blast. That's it! 

    When they're done, wring them out and hang to dry. You can wash and dry them in your machines too. Which makes them perfect for families. They would make a fantastic gift too! These balloons would be a wonderful way for kids to work on fine motor skills, while having fun at the same time! I love play therapy!

I'm Hooked, Let's Make Some

    I know by now you're just as hooked on this idea as I am. So grab your 9mm crochet hook, and some Bernat Blanket Yarn. This is key for a few reasons. It holds more water. They suck up the water, but don't retain it in their fibers. They also crochet up quickly. I made six for this post in just over an hour. 

    I only made six, because I used the Bernat Blanket Yarn I had on hand. However, we're headed to Walmart this week, and I will purchasing some bright and fun colors to make more. Now that I have you hooked on this amazing idea, here's the YouTube video by Left in Knots, that started it all! Enjoy! If you make some, come back and share some pics!

Our Review of the Jiggler Gator Oral Motor Tool

         Today's post is a review of this:

The Jiggler Gator Oral Chewy (this sucker vibrates too!!)

 I can't remember where I first saw these AUSOME chewies....I know I was blog stalking, but I can't remember whose blog introduced them to me....I am sorry...If you know who you are, PLEASE tell me so I can give you props!!!
  When Liam saw these chewies he got really excited!!!! Momma went to Amazon to find them. There are many to chose from, and prices vary, so do you research! I aid $9.99 for Liam's and $4.99 shipping.
  These are made and distributed by Abilitations. However, they are pricey!!! They charge more than other stores that are selling the same product. As I said, I ordered Liam's through Amazon, but it came from Sensory Junction. You can CLICK HERE to go to their Amazon Store, or CLICK HERE to go to their website.
 So what did we think? Well for starters I was first concerned with the size. Liam is a gagger. EVERYTHING makes him gag. I was worried about the size of it and it just causing him to vomit when place in his mouth. He REALLY wanted it. I have his grant money set aside from Autism Hearts, so I figured, what the hell, let's get him one.
  When I opened it, I wasn't happy about the way it turned on. I installed the battery and when you turn it to turn it on, the bottom comes loose. Last thing I need is :Liam to be gnawing on a battery. Well, surprise, surprise, if I READ the directions, I would have avoided this. PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!!! Loosen the screw, install battery, then tighten the screw. This will keep the bottom from coming off when turned on. Okay, now momma was happy.....BUT, was Liam???????
  YES! He loves it! He mainly chews on the arms, because as I thought, the head is too big for his sensitive gagger. But he likes it!!!! He loves how it vibrates, and I have literally seen him with it at least 10 times a day. This is good!!!! No more chewing on his toys. No more chewing on me!!!!!
  So all in all, it was a great buy. I'm happy with it, he is happy with it, and I totally recommend getting one for your little chewer :)

                       The proof is in the pics:

He liked it so much, he even slept with it!!! He chewed himself to sleep :D

Fine Motor Fun

 Yesterday we had fun making noodle necklaces! Liam has been sick, as have his friends, so it was a nice to make them feel a bit better with some fun. LJ and his friends loved it. It was also great for his fine motor skills, and the pincer grasp. All disguised as fun! What could be better?!?!?!
 We started by dying the pasta the day before. 2 projects out of one is AUSOME!!!! I made a handy dandy pic to explain this process :)

Dying rice is the same way. We love our dyed rice too! (Neon food dyes do give brighter colors. We didn't have any left :/ )

Once the noodles are dry, its time for fun! We waited until the next day to be sure.

We used thick fishing line to string ours. Plastic lanyard would have worked great, but of course Liam got into mine so it was nowhere to be found. The kids made some gorgeous necklaces :)

It was very hot out yesterday, but being the kiddos are sick, they couldn't swim or really get wet. So instead, I broke out the colored cubes, and some watercolor paper, and they went to town making art  :)

To make the ice cubes, simply dye some water, and pour into trays and freeze. Again, the neon dye was brighter and worker better. (blue was the only neon I had left and it worked much better for this)

All in all, we had a blast with our crafts, and Liam worked on motor skills without realizing it. A win win for this momma. Hope you too have as much fun as we did :)

<3<3<3<3

Letter recognition/sight word fishing game

I finally finished the fishing game for my son. I am so proud of this one because it not only lets him work on retrieving letters to the sound I call out, but we also use it to build his sight words, all while working on his fine motor skills, and LJ thinks its a game, so he WANTS to play it :)
Below I will post pics and describe each step on how I made it. Try it and have fun with your kiddos :)


                                              Step one

I upcycled LJ's letter tub toys. Using paper clips, I bent the smaller end straight and poked it into the letter, then made a "hook" at the top. I used white paper clips on the consonants and black paper clips on the vowels.

Step Two

Next I had hubby get me a stick. (okay so he got me a branch, but we made due :)) Using wire tires (I upcycle these from opening toys at Christmas) I took yarn, tied a knot in one end, and every so often, wrapped a wire tie around the stick and the run, running it to the tip of the pole. I then took another paper clip, bent it open, and tied the end of the yarn around the small hook on the paper clip. Then I bent the larger end into a hook shape.

Step Three

Now is the fun part. I went out and got LJ's wading pool. I found it was cracked, so we couldn't add water. (we will have to get a new one when they are out) We put in the letters and the fishing began. I asked him to catch the "c" and he went on to fish out "cat."

LJ had so much fun letter fishing! I am going to work it into his daily lessons. We also made another fishing pole so when he has a friend over, they can "fish" together :)