nanny poppins

I never wanted Mary Poppins to be my nanny. I wanted to be her when I grew up.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/nanny.html#LDc3wxEji0kB6W8v.99"I never wanted Mary Poppins to be my nanny. I wanted to be her when I grew up."

"I never wanted Mary Poppins to be my nanny. I simply wanted to be her when I grew up."

put your hands together for fall

 Ok, corny title, I know. But this is hands down the easiest hands-on craft and it turned out handsomely.

W's tree. I love how he has the leaves at each finger.

Hands-on Fall

• Brown and blue construction paper
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Glue stick
• Foam leaf stickers (DollareTree find)

Trace your hand on brown construction paper then cut out and glue to blue construction paper. (Older kids can do this all by themselves!) This is your tree. Then let the kids go to town with the stickers making a fall tree! Quick, cheap, easy, and pain free for everyone involved!

E chose to show the leaves were all falling off the tree and blowing away in the wind. She also drew the wind with white crayon all over her tree and sky. Very creative!

cavity free candy corn

Keep it simple.

It's almost the first official day of fall. Already, the PSL (pumpkin spice latte) is being served, leaves are changing colors, temperatures are dropping, and everyone is stocking up on candy.

Yes. I did just use candy as a segue.

Check out those glue sticks

This year, I decided to make my own healthy, cavity free version of a traditional fall favorite-- candy corn. I found this on pinterst and made a few tweaks to make it work for me.

Cavity Free Candy Corn 

• Orange, yellow, white, and black construction paper
• 3 plastic bowls
• Glue sticks
• A white crayon

Such straight lines!

 First, tear up the yellow, orange, and white construction paper into small pieces. Size and shape do not matter. Place them into the plastic bowls. (While it is easier to tear several pieces of paper at a time, take the time to tear each piece separately. It will be difficult to separate them later and will make it more difficult when the kids are trying to glue the pieces onto paper).  
Next, draw a rounded triangle on the black construction paper using the white crayon. (It is easier for kids to see than pencil).
Then, divide the rounded triangle into three horizontal sections. (Reading ready kids might enjoy writing where each color goes to practice spelling and reading).
Finally, Place glue on one section at a time and glue the corresponding construction paper pieces. It's easier for kids to work on one color at a time. (We started at the bottom and worked our way up). The object is to cover as much of the dark paper as possible.

Aren't they cute?!

E is almost 6 and thought it was like a super cool jigsaw puzzle trying to get the crazy torn pieces to fit together and cover up space without leaving gaps. W is 3 and had fun grabbing little handfuls of paper and slapping them on the paper. Both were occupied for quite a while and their parents were thrilled!

Left to Right- E age 6, W age 3, Me age unknown.

 TADA! 
A healthy candy corn "recipe!"

campfire trail mix

In the midst of finishing lunch, pre dinner prep, potty trips, packing a toy/activity bag and ballet bag, and trying to arrive at the bus stop on time, somehow I remembered snack.

After a full day of school and swim practice last night, I knew E would need a decent snack. Because we were out of bread and bagels, my usual fallback, a pb or a strawberry cream cheese sandwich, were not options.

The say necessity is the mother of invention. Today, campfire trail mix was born, so I would have to agree.

Pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows, teddy grahams, and a few peanuts (gotta have protein!) were thrown together in a snack bag.

"Sooo....what's for snack?" E wanted to know as soon as she hopped and flopped her way into the car. Instead of saying "we had a little bit of a lot of things and I threw them together along with the kitchen sink," I told her we were having campfire trail mix.

You know it's a successful snack when both W and E stick marshmallows onto pretzel sticks and decide they are roasting marshmallows for s'mores!

Somehow, both kids finished their snack during the car ride to ballet and I managed to get Ella dressed and ready for class on time.  

WHEW! Today was Ella's first day at a new ballet school and it was my very first day of ballet ever. Only thing I messed up was hair. Now to Google a YouTube how-to video on the ballet bun, complete with hairnet and bobby pins.

apple pie minus the pie part

After apple picking two weeks ago, our apples started going bad. Who wants to eat a rotten apple? Not me! And neither do the kiddos. Solution?  
Cooked Apples

• Chop up the apples that are going bad. Remove anything that looks disgusting. Add at least one good apple. Mixing up the apples seems to help. 
• Place in a frying pan or wok of sorts. Add enough apple juice to sufficiently cover the bottom of the pan. 
• Sprinkle cinnamon all over. 
• Add some vanilla. 
• Cook several minutes on high heat, stirring as much or as little as you want. 
• Add more cinnamon. 
• Continue cooking until apples are soft and juice evaporates leaving behind a small amount of almost syrup consistency.

*Today's recipe was brought to you by 6 apples, 1.5 organic apple juice boxes, a tablespoon of vanilla, and a LOT of cinnamon.*

The results are in and the judges are raving! And believe me, a 3 and 5 year old are tougher judges than anything they show on "reality" television! And the apple juice didn't have added sugar! Bonus points for no sugar highs! Nanny Poppins strikes again!

Nanny Poppins, reporting for duty

They call me Nanny Poppins, or so I like to think. I am introduced to friends, family, teachers, and neighbors as the "childcare provider extraordinaire." Everyday has good and bad moments. At the end of a day, I'm still thankful for my nanny family kiddos and love what I do.
With a 3 year old and an almost 6 year old, everyday is different, full of surprises and disappointments. Some days we spend extra time cuddling and reading, while other days we race around town running errands, going to practices, and trying to time it all perfectly with making it to the potty in time.
If you're lucky, we might just let you dance with us in our next performance!