1st Guest Post by Inspired By Giving!

I'm so excited to be posting here today at Prose & Company! What a delight! Today I'm sharing a very simple tutorial on creating a fun matching game for your kiddos using some simple and cheap tools that you may already have! If you haven't heard of PicMonkey than girlfriend head over now to check it out! It has all the great capabilities of a larger scale photo editing system and the best part is it's extremely user friendly! Most of the actions are free but for more features you pay a small monthly fee and have access for the year!

So let's get started! First log onto PicMonkey's site and click "Create Collage".

On the left sidebar click "layouts" and select "square deal".

Pick any amount of squares you'd like. Then on the left sidebar click "images". Here is where you'll upload your images of family members.

After that "save" the image to your desktop. Then go back to PicMonkey's main page and click "Edit A Photo".

Pic Monkey Matching Game

Upload the saved image of your family members so that you can add their names.

Click "Text" to add their individual names underneath their picture. Click "save" and your ready to print!

Now the only supplies you'll need is laminating paper and scissors!

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I simply laid the laminating paper over the printed collage. Then folded the access laminating paper around the back. If you want you can add another sheet of laminating paper to the back, but I just left mine as is.

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Then cut out the squares into even pieces. And begin matching! IMG_1159 IMG_1306

It's a great way for the kiddos to learn who is who in the family. It works especially well for us because a lot of my family is out of state. It allows my girls to have a familiarity with them even though she doesn't see them everyday!

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I hope you have fun creating this very simple Matching Game for your kiddos!

Thanks for saying hello!

Toddlerisms

What are "toddlerisms" you ask? Well, they are toddler words, that we as parents {or grandparents/aunts/uncles} learn to decode to better understand our little ones ever expanding vocabulary.

In the beginning, we used think, "what is he saying??" But now, we just want to record every little moment with his sweet little voice saying, "hold you, wanna hold you momma,"...... and cue the water works.  :)

I recently came across an article from Huffington Post online that inspired me to pay attention to my boy's sweet voice and his little toddler words. Be sure to visit the link below to read the article for yourself!

Here are some of my current favorites of Jack's "toddlerisms"
  • "hold you" aka I want to hug you
  • "rain in my eyes!" aka wipe my watery eyes (my boy has sensitive eyes like his mommy when he's sick or the sun in his eyes!)
  • "paydown" aka playground
  • "fends" aka friends
  • "owange-apple juice peese" aka he wants orange juice & thinks all juice is apple juice
In addition to paying attention to how he says things, I've started keeping a journal of Jack's questions, phrases, anything that makes us laugh... Here a little taste for your enjoyment!

Mommy- "Jack, would you like some carrots for a snack?"
Jack- "YES! Umm...no. Carwots are for bunnies."

Jack-"I want more lemons peese."
Mommy- "Lemons? You didn't have lemons? You mean orange?"
Jack-"yes! Owange"

Be sure to read The 10 Toddler Words That I Will Miss The Most. It's a great article and will make you laugh! Also, please share your little one's toddlerisms! I would love to read your toddler's famous words too!!

Meet Tabitha!

I am excited to share a very special treat on the blog, coming very soon! A Guest Blogger! 


Meet Tabitha, of Inspired By Giving. Tabitha's shares her blessed life with two beautiful girls and loving husband. I hope you'll stop by her blog to read her lovely words and visit her cute Etsy shop! You won't be disappointed!

She's gorgeous right? And amazingly talented! I'm blessed to call her my friend and cousin! She is an inspiration and hope you'll enjoy what she shares on the blog soon!

Snowy Spring Break {Part 2}

My little family had such a nice time during our Snowy Spring Break that I had to share more of our getaway!

The majority of this trip, my hubby was working, but in the evenings, we took full advantage of our time together in a new city. 

 During our evening drive to dinner, my hubby showed us the most darling little Township, called Franklin. We ate dinner at Biga, a delicious wood-burning-oven Pizzeria. Totally kid friendly & delicious! Perfect for us and our 2 year old, Mr. Personality!


We're always smitten with our little man, but so were other diners that night at the restaurant! 
 I can't say that I blame them! 

Fun time in the snow, check!
Delicious food, check!
Watch some hockey, CHECK! 

My hubby treated us to another fun evening! We toured downtown Detroit then had great time at a Red Wings game! It was adorable to watch Jack cheer for the hometown team! 


This little guy had a blast rooting and cheering at the game! 
Go Red Wings! 
But we are Lightning fans at heart!! 

Our family time together is an absolute blessing. We had such a great time during our little winter getaway, but we are glad to be home! 

Jack, didn't want to leave the snow!

Until next time Michigan! But maybe we'll visit in the Spring!! 
:) 

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my posts!
xoxo, 
Natassja 










Spring Break in the Snow!!

I've taken a small break from making stuff to doing fun stuff with my guys! We returned last week from a quick getaway to the chilly North. Very chilly!! I'm talking 20s during the day! 

We tagged along on my hubby's quick business trip to Detroit, Michigan and got a chance to visit with my cousin, Tabitha and her family,a much overdue visit and wishing it could have been longer, but we enjoyed every minute!

Here are some of our fun moments during our stay!

This was Jack's 3rd airplane ride & he was great! How cute is this? 
My little guy loved pulling his suitcase! 

We've arrived, now bring on the SNOW!!!! 

Mommy? Time to play outside?
Once we arrived to my cousin's beautiful home, just outside of Ann Arbor, we were ready to play in the snow!!! All Jack kept saying was, "Play in the SNOWWWW!"  


Now for some cousin fun! 

A race around the track in the early morning, why not?? 

Jack was supposed to be Prince Charming, but poor Cinderella, he wasn't into dancing! 
We had a quick tour of the beautiful University of Michigan campus. 

We had a wonderful time visiting with family and getting a chance to enjoy some real winter weather! 


A big thanks to the Kidman family for having us! We love you guys & hope to visit again soon!!