Spiriteds, I have never loved playdough. It crumbles. I find it on the floor, in between my toes, and ground into the kitchen floor grout. I would rather step on a LEGO than clean up playdough. And both of those things have happened to me in my actual real life. So when we discovered a wheat allergy in our family and also that store-bought playdough contains wheat, please note my not-so-maternal glee at saying bye-bye to that madness. Until now. Lately, we’ve been getting super crazy in our ... continue reading...

Welcome to the first edition of Side Notes & Shenanigans! This new monthly series will highlight our lives behind the scenes, maybe in the kitchen, but most likely in the family room, or when weather permits, the backyard.  So grab your favorite cuppa joe or tea or sparkling water, and join me! WHAT WE’RE EATING The weather has officially transformed into autumn, friends, and so have our culinary preferences. K-Hubs and I are slurping Dairy-Free Homemade Creamy Vegetable Soup like it’s ... continue reading...

Spiriteds, school starts today. A summer full of shenanigans comes to a close, and Twinkle and I are back to our dynamic duo status. It’s our last year at home together before she heads off to kindergarten. I am ALL UP IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS. Excited for new beginnings and weepy over the end of an era. For ten years, every day will have been “take your daughter to work day.” It wasn’t easy but it was my normal. Melodramatic much? Ooh, and dear Spiriteds, you only have an entire calendar year ... continue reading...

If you want a super-easy, hands-on activity for your preschooler (or maybe second grader), may I highly suggest Easy Cloud Dough? It is exactly like it sounds. Easy to make and easy to use in sensory play activities. It's also gluten-free! I have a confession, though. While I totally found a version of this in Asia Citro’s ridiculously amazing book 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids, I managed a similar recipe WAAAAAY back in the day when Toodle was two. Back then, I didn’t even know “sensory ... continue reading...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about sensory play ideas for preschoolers. I provided a rundown of activities we do at home. But then I realized, it might be more convenient for you if I broke those activities down into individual blog posts with more specific recipes. So here we are! Today’s blog post focuses on our family’s beloved rainbow rice recipe. It is modified from Asia Citro’s priceless book, 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids.  For this recipe to work, it had to meet a few criteria. ... continue reading...