The Kids Love Their Po-Knee

Nana and Papa bought the kids a knee horse, which we later learned is called a Po-Knee. They stumbled across it at the Just Between Friends Sale in Tulsa this summer, and the kids can't get enough of it. You actually strap the horse to your leg, and the kids hold the reigns as you make the horse run and buck by moving your leg. It even has a button in the ear that you push to make the clopping sound of horse feet and an occasionally neigh - this was an added bonus that we discovered when we found the battery holder.

My mom bought the Po-Knee for about $12, which we thought was a great bargain for all the fun we have had with it - especially when we researched online and found the retail price. It was listed for $54.95 at at least one online site - Monster Market Place . If you're a bargain hunter like me and you stumble across one at a garage or similar sale, you'll be happy with your purchase. It's a fun addition for your household, and you also get a great leg workout!

In the picture above, my friend, Jessica, is giving her sweet daughter, Baby Lauren, a ride. Connor likes to ride it when it's on the ground too and click the ear sound. Of course, it's just as much fun for us watching them have a great time.

Wild about Homemade Cakes

Why spend a ton of money on a shower cake when you can make one that's lots of fun for a fraction of the price? My favorite site to visit for cake ideas is Coolest-Birthday-Cakes.com. Most recently, I found a cake on this website to make for my sister's baby shower.

Her nursery is jungle-themed. I made the animals using foam sheets, with the idea that I would add magnets to each animal afterwards so she could hang them on the fridge for Baby Noah to play with when he gets older. Based on the pictures, I think other people who made the cake made the animals out of cookies, which seemed way more time consuming, and I liked the idea of saving the animals. My sister loved the cake. It actually tasted pretty good too, thanks to my mother-in-law who baked while I cut out the animals.

Coggy Doggy

We decided to keep it simple for Connor's Halloween costume this year. Kenzie and her friends at day care like to call Connor Coggy, so when I found this costume at the Just Between Friends sale in Muskogee this year, I couldn't resist making Connor "Coggy Doggy" for Halloween. The costume was only $3.50 because I bought it on the last day when everything is 50% off. Can't beat that! To add to the costume, I bought fake fur in the craft section of Wal-Mart and cut in the shape of his shoes and attached using velcro. For his paws, I used some mittens I already had and cut oval pieces of brown felt for the inside and oversized pieces of fur for the outside and compiled using hot glue. I cut the paw prints out of black felt and glued. Surprisingly, Connor loved wearing the mittens. I was afraid that he would rip them right off, but he kept them on all night.

We found that Connor was actually more interested in the animals that would come to the doors of homes than he was trick or treating. He loved to bark at the dogs - it was too cute!

Homemade Wall-E Costume

Wall-E was the first and only movie that I have taken my daughter to see at the theater. She loved it, and of course she wanted to be Wall-E for Halloween this year. I searched online and found Wall-E costumes for $60, which was way out of my price range, and I wasn’t in love with any of the options available either. So, I decided I would make it myself. I had a lot of fun making the costume, and I’m really pleased with the end result. And, it was so rewarding to see my daughter’s face when she saw it.

How to Make a Wall-E Costume

To make the body, I used two pieces of black foam board that I cut to size using a box knife, and then taped all of the edges with masking tape. To assemble the pieces I used masking tape to tape each piece together along the seems on the outside and inside. Then, I used a scrap piece of card board within each corner on the inside secured with hot glue for stability. I cut arm holes on the sides. For the top of the box I used poster board that will go over my daughters shoulders with a cut out for her head. This too was secured with hot glue, and later resecured with masking tape. I first tried to spray paint the body, but the paint did not apply smoothly and the black from the foam board was not covered completely, so I ended up painting with primer and then before it was dry, started painting over it with my orange craft paint, creating a weathered look. I used a sponge to apply the brown paint around the edges of the body, and used the edge of a piece of cardboard dipped in the paint to create the lines and then smudged. I found the Wall-E words online, copied the image, pasted in PowerPoint and made larger and then printed. Since the image was fuzzy, I went over with markers, cut out the letters, and glued to the body. I then went back over the edges with the brown sponge. I made the “hardware” out of foam sheets, painted gray.

For the eyes, I started with a pair of safety goggles I bought at the dollar store. I cut out each eye from foam core and painted, and then cut out spaces around the eyes so that my daughter can see out of them. I glued to the goggles using hot glue. I purchased all materials at Wal-Mart with the exception of the goggles, and think I ended up spending about $20.

We also made Wall-E’s friend, the roach, that my daughter calls “buggy” out of brown felt and pipe cleaners.

We opted not to make the wheels. For the hands, we used light weight cardboard and and painted and glued strips of foam sheet. We attached to her wrists using a single rubber band for each arm. She started out with the goggles over her eyes, but we moved to her head so that she could see better. Plus, we love seeing her cute face.

Kenzie had a blast for Halloween, and she has already said she wants to be Wall-E again next year.