Time

I've read, many times, that you should spend "quality" time with your children. I've also read, far fewer times, that it is the quantity that matters even more.

I put in my vote for quantity.

It is easy for us as adults to get discouraged about doing things with our children - especially the very young. We sometime feel that we have to do "big" things and have adventures: Go to the amusement park, go camping, big shopping trips and spending lots of money.

Not necessary, not even a little bit.

Sure, you want to have big adventures with your kids sometimes, but what they will really remember about you is if you were there every day for all of their little adventures - did you see her when she caught her first lightning bug? How about when she found that beautiful leaf? Or when he rescued the little bug?

Just today, I was planning on a big "daddy date" for Marisa and things went wrong. I lost my wallet, which meant no cash, no driver license, and no credit cards - which in turn meant no special lunch out, no gas for the car and no trip to the mall to the big play place. So, instead, I made PB&J sandwiches and went to the dollar store. We spent a total of $4 on toys that she picked out: Bubbles, plastic maracas, a small rubber ball and a scratch off glitter sheet that she could draw on. For the last two hours we have played with these toys in the driveway and the living room. She has giggled and laughed and had the best time doing what, to us big people, is so very minor and little.

Spend lots of time with your kids and don't worry so much about if you are doing the big stuff. Just make sure that they grow up remembering that you were always there for them.

More Cheap Entertainment

If you need to entertain your kids, but you have limited income resources, thes ideas are perfect.

It doesn't take much to entertain young children. Usually all they need is something new and unique to play with in order to have hours of fun. There are many ways you can accomplish active play without spending a fortune. Here are a few ideas:

1) Gather all the cushions, pillows, and blankets from around the house. Pile the cushions, pillows and blankets in an arrangement directly in front of your sofa. Make sure the pile is very thick and cushioned and covers a large area of the floor. After you've prepared the floor area, direct your children to climb upon the sofa and jump into the 'jumping pit'. Not only will they be entertained by the novelty of being allowed to jump in the house, but the activity will help to wear them out so that they sleep well in the evening.

2) Buy a pack of balloons and blow them up. Toss the balloons in the air so they fall wherever they may. Then sit back and watch as your children create their own games using this new toy. The balloons will last for a couple of days as long as you buy quality balloons that won't pop easily. Get a variety of colors, too, to make the fun even better.

3) The most time tested selection of toys can be found right in you kitchen. Drag out your pots and pans. Drag out a large selection of spoons and measuring cups and whatever else may be used to make noise. Set the pots and pans out for the kids to enjoy. **BE SURE TO INSTALL YOUR EARPLUGS BEFORE YOU HAND OVER THE GOODS!**  Pots and pans will entertain most children. Your teenagers may not be likely to fall for this cheap trick, but up until your child is 8 or 9, you can continue to get away with this.

4) If you're looking for a less noisy use for those pots and pans, set the kids up in the bathroom with pots, pans, and bowls of various sizes. Be sure to spread out a few towels before you begin to help minimize the mess. Provide your kids with a few ground rules (no throwing the water) and a few cups and spoons of various sizes. A strainer or two is also a good addition to this game. For younger children, give them a few cups of water to play with. For older children, give them permission to use the faucet in the bathtub to obtain their water. The kids will enjoy getting their own water in the amounts that they determine will be appropriate for their tasks at hand.

You may end up with a mess to clean, but your kids will be so happy with their entertainment that they might even offer to HELP with the clean up. Of course, even if they don't offer to help, you will have accomplished a length of quiet time. And we all know that quiet time is PRICELESS!

Inexpensive Entertainment

We've been cooped up in the house for way too many days because it's cold outside and I have a broken toe - which makes it somewhat difficult to drive anywhere.

Today, I pulled out a couple of packs of blank cards with envelopes. I passed the packs over to the eager monsters - ahem, children - and let them go wild. They've made cards for friends and cards for family and cards for fun. They mostly enjoy stuffing the cards into the envelopes.

Marisa spent some time matching the cards up like puzzle pieces.

Each pack of cards cost me $1.00, so it wasn't a very costly loss. Plus, I just happen to have dozens of packs of cards around the house from my card making obsession that occurred last year. They are just sitting in a box not being used right now... This is a good way to use them.

Sushi...

I recently picked up a booklet of coupons that had this really cool recipe inside - Candy Sushi Rolls.

I just had to find some pictures and share this with all my wonderful readers. I will absolutely be making this for the girls one day soon.

Here is the recipe: (I found the recipe and photo online at Family Fun.)

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
4 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups crisped rice cereal
20 to 25 gummy worms
1 to 2 boxes fruit leather

Directions

Grease a 12- by 17-inch baking sheet. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until smooth.

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the rice cereal until it's evenly coated. Turn the baking sheet so that the shorter ends are at the top and bottom. Then press the marshmallow mixture onto the sheet, distributing it evenly.

Starting at one side an inch up from the lower edge, place gummy worms atop the mixture end to end in a hortizontal line. Gently roll the lower edge of the marshmallow mixture over the gummy worms.

Then stop and cut the log away from the rest of the mixture. Use the same method to form 4 more logs. Slice each log into 1-inch-thick "sushi" rolls and wrap them individually with a strip of fruit leather.

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I did read on another site that these should be eaten the same day you make them because the fruit wrappers get sticky over night.

Music

Music is an important part of every person's life. Children should be exposed to music early and often - and not just one type of music, either. Find ways to expose your child to a wide variety of musical styles and methods.

Take them to concerts of various kinds.

Listen to different radio stations.

Bring in an assortment of instruments for you child to play with and experience.

Most importantly, let your child decide what music they like and enjoy. You may be surprised to find that you teenager actually enjoys classical music instead of rock and roll. (I know I was...)

With so many different types of music available in the world, you're sure to find something that your child enjoys (and you can tolerate).

Make Believe

Most kids love playing games of make believe. You can encourage this particular type of play by providing certain materials to assist your children in their imaginary games. Here's a short list of items that your child might find amusing to play with.

- different types of clothing for dressing up (The thrift store is your best friend.)
- cardboard blocks for building cities or forts
- pillows and sofa cushions
- blankets of various sizes and colors and fabrics
- stuffed animals
- kitchen stuff (dishes, food, pots and pans, etc)

Turn them loose with a variety of objects and let them create their very own special games. You might just be amazed at the games they come up with.

Painting Walls

Do you have to repaint a wall or two? Do you want a bit of willing help with that painting job?

Well, enlist your kids to help.

Small children love to paint. You can give them a small paint brush and teach them how to paint the walls. Let them help with the first coat of paint. They'll be happy. You'll get some much needed help. Their painting skills will be irrelevant because you'll be painting over their work when you do the second coat of paint anyways.

I recommend letting your child use a small 1 inch painting brush or even smaller art brushes for their masterpiece. The smaller brushes hold much less paint and has a smaller chance of leaving clumps of paint on the wall.

Glow Sticks

For $1.00 per kid, you can have a night of fun and entertainment with very little effort.

Visit your local dollar store or Michael's, and pick up a pack of glow sticks for each child.

Open each pack, then activate all the sticks. Hand them over to your kids and turn out the lights.

This is what I did tonight. My girls have been running around with their glow sticks for nearly an hour now.

For a bit of added fun, pick a room that you want to decorate.

Clip the tips off of a few of those glow sticks so that the liquid can come out.

Stand in the middle of the room with the lights off and shake each opened stick vigorously.

Let the kids enjoy their new starry room.

Oh - and don't worry - the color will fade in a fairly short time.

I Did It

I went to the Dollar Tree today and purchased several squeeze bottles - the red and yellow ones generally intended for ketchup and mustard.

I bought a big bottle of clear laundry detergent.

I came home and poured detergent in each squeeze bottle.

I put a different food coloring in each bottle.

While I was doing all this, Randall was depositing the children into the bathtub.

After the paint was finished, I went to the bathroom and began squirting paint onto the girls, who immediately started begging for my paint bottles.

They spent nearly an hour in the bathtub painting rainbows on the walls and each other.

The water was a dark and dingy green color within a few short minutes, but I have no doubt that each and every inch of those girls is completely clean now, not to mention the giggling that I heard from the bathroom.

Bathtub Body Paint

I found this in the Razzle Dazzle Doodle Art book written by Allison Weston.

I haven't tried this, yet, but I know my girls will absolutely love this when I get my act together and turn them loose.

What You Need:

Opaque white liquid soap, such as Ivory

Several squeeze bottles with small openings such as the picnic condiment bottles that can be purchased at the dollar store.

Food coloring

What You Do:

1) Pour about 1/2 cup of liquid soap into a squeeze bottle.

2) Add about six drops of food coloring. Shake to mix. Keep adding coloring until you get the color you want.

3) Make several different colors.

4) Fill the tub with about 2 to 3 inches of water.

5) Let the kids climb in and 'paint' the tub, the shower walls, themselves, each other...you get the idea, right?

You might consider making a set of paints for each child to avoid the inevitable fights over ownership. You might also be prepared to make more paint when the first set runs out.

When the kids are done painting, give them each a washcloth so they can wash their paint off the walls. You get clean and happy kids PLUS a clean shower - THAT makes Mom happy.

Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere

We took Marisa out to the park last night for a picnic dinner. She was far too busy watching kites and frisbees to be bothered with eating. While we were there, a mom just a few feet away from us broke out the bubbles. As any seasoned mom knows, bubbles are magical objects that can entertain children for hours at a time.

We don't do bubbles here very often because I have asthma and blowing bubbles is not an easy feat for me. Two or three puffs of bubbles and I'm done, while the kids are still begging for more. Well, this wonderful mom had this amazing battery operated contraption that used a small fan to blow bubbles by the hundreds. It was the coolest little toy. She would dip the front into the bubble solution and then push a button. The fan would turn on and the world was covered with hundreds and hundreds of bubbles, much to the delight of every child within 50 feet of her, including my own. She was quickly the most popular parent in the area.

Turns out this nifty little bubble maker can be found at Wal-Mart. She was nice enough to share her information with me, much to my husband's dismay. See, after we left the park, I insisted on going to the store to get my very own bubble maker. Indeed, I ended up with FOUR bubble makers of various sizes. Today at Grandma's house we were able to experiment with my new bubble makers. The girls absolutely loved these new toys of mine. They were even able to operate the bubble makers themselves. I was surprised that my (almost) 2 yr old was able to make her very own bubbles. She, of course, was thrilled to no end by this whole process of creating her very own bubbles.

I highly recommend these new machines. You can find them in the toy section of your local store. I would give you the manufacturer's name, but I never noticed and now the packages are gone.

Be sure to buy lots of extra bubble solution. You will go through the solution that is included in the pack within just a few minutes.