Toddler fun with Glow Sticks!

Welcome to Toddler Tuesday!  A place where I share some ideas to do with your toddler!

Now that it is getting darker earlier (here in the Midwest) we have been having some fun with glow sticks.  I found mine at Micheal's Dollar section.  I was able to get 15 glow bracelets for $1.

It has been great to have something fun to do during that last hour before bed time that is known in our family as the "witching hour" 

Here are some of the fun things we have done:

Play follow the leader.

We walk around the  house in the dark with our glow sticks and have everyone copy what the leader is doing.  

We take turns being the leader.  

Here are some things that we did:

Walk with our sticks up the the sky.

walk while twirling the sticks in a circle. 

Walk with the sticks on our heads

... you get the idea! 

Play a version of Simone Says.

My son is too young to understand the real Simone says rules... so we just did  copy mommy. 

Put your glow stick up in the sky

Put your glow stick down to the ground.

Spin it fast

Spin it slow

Put it on your head, nose, feet, hand...

Dance Party!

Turn on the tunes and boogie out! 

Race cars:

We used the connectors to make out glow sticks into circles and pretended that they were steering wheels and raced around the house.  I can see this being a hit with the boys. 

Glow stick hide-n-seek:

Hide the glow sticks and have the kid(s) find them!  You can make it easy or hard depending on the age. 

You could also have the kids play hide-n-seek in the dark with the glow sticks on their body.

It seems like so much more fun because we are doing it in the dark!

Tip to help keep the glow sticks glowing:

Put them in the freezer when you are done for the night. It will make them last for a 3-4 nights of fun!

Here are some other fun crafty ideas with glow sticks for older kids:

Glow Stick Butterflies from Little Page Turners

Glow Stick Spiders from Martha

Welcome to Mommy Tsunamis

If you look in the mirror and wonder, "How did I get like this?"...you may have been hit by the Mommy Tsunamis.

If you say and do things that you swore you would never say or do as a mother...you may have been hit by the Mommy Tsunamis.

If you are still in shock over how many disgusting bodily fluids a mommy deals with on any given day...you may have been hit by the Mommy Tsunamis.

When I first became a mommy, now almost 7 years ago (Yikes! Has it been that long?? All those people at the supermarket were right! It does go fast!), it was as if I had been hit by a Tsunami. I felt like a giant wave had come crashing over me and I really didn't know which end was up. I was drowning, gasping in a sea of dirty diapers and sleepless nights and doubts about my qualifications for even being a mother. Not knowing if I would ever again see the shores of the life I used to know. A life filled with hot meals and long showers and spontaneous romantic escapades with my husband.

There were times when I would finally get to the surface and take a deep breath and think, "Alright, now it should be smooth sailing!" Only to be hit by another wave...another pregnancy (let's add a couple more tots to this three-ring circus!), a new "stage" (potty training, tantrums, pooping in the tub...I mean, seriously?), a change of location (Let's make things interesting and move across the country!), or some major mommy moment... like Kindergarten. (You totally think you're ready, and you've actually been looking forward to it for like five years, and then it hits you..."My BABY is in Kindergarten!" Followed by soft sobs)

So in the midst of these waves of babies and poop and days of ceaseless whining (Lord, Help me!!), when I thought I might actually drown...I didn't.

I was rescued.

Not by the Coast Guard or the Navy Seals, but by other mommies who were trying to stay afloat in their own Tsunamis. Mommies who would listen to my sob story, and then would smile knowingly and say, "Oh, that totally happened to me last week!" My lifelines became MOPS groups and other "Mommy" groups, telephone calls to understanding mommy friends, and blogging. And it is amazing how laughing about the poop in the tub with another mommy can keep one afloat for the rest of the day or longer!

Friendship and community are powerful, beautiful things. They definitely have helped me not only stay afloat, but also to become a better mom. I have been so deeply encouraged and totally inspired by other moms!

And so, it is this concept of "friendship and community between mothers" that inspired my sister, my sister-in-law, and myself to start a blog-community for moms. We wanted to create a place where we can share ideas, ask questions, express our creativity, and encourage one another. And we wanted to invite other mommies like yourself to join us on our journey.

So if you are sinking, feel free to grab on. And if you are floating, perhaps you could lend us your aid.

And if we stick together we just might be able to relax and enjoy the ride, as we all try to figure out how to surf the waves of motherhood...the Mommy Tsunamis.