Toddler

I don’t know about you, but Fall is one of my favorite times of year. My kids and I get outside more than ever: I love the cooler temperatures and the fact that we don’t have to worry as much about constantly slathering on sunscreen or getting eaten alive by mosquitos. And the colors are the absolute best! My kids are constantly coming home with collections — rocks, sticks, leaves, and yes, even pockets full of carefully collected mulch.

We’re pinching our pennies to save up for a down payment on a new home for our family, so I’ve been trying to find some ideas for summer fun on a budget. Of course, there’s the park, climbing trees, and rolling down grassy hills, but sometimes you need something a little extra-ordinary. A friend of mine posted a photo of her little guy playing in his kiddie pool, but instead of being filled with water it was full of corn – genius!

We’ve see the IKEA BEKVÄM stool in every room of the house, but Kylie shares a hack that I have never seen before. With a few modifications (and nice new coat of paint), see what Kylie now uses it for in her kitchen these days, and the problem it solves… As you can see, the stool got an extra story with just a few pieces of wood and some screws. Now her daughter Matilda can get in on all the action, without asking to be held.

While not everyone is a fan of the toddler bed, they can be good solutions if you have a small amount of space. Even better is this clever hack from Adriel Booker that turns a crib into a toddler bed with room for storage. Adriel kept the frame of the crib basically intact, but raised the bed up so that it’s a small version of a lofted bed. The crib rails provide security for the sleeping toddler. And with all the extra space underneath, she can store ride-on toys and buckets of toys.

This sad little piece is about to make a little girl very happy. Jen took advantage of her town’s “free cycle” program where once a year you can put things you don’t want on your curb and then cruise around looking for things you do want. She grabbed this laminate night stand and envisioned it as a good foundation for a play kitchen for her daughter. The final result is a super low-budget, cheerful toy. A breath of fresh air!

Now that I’ve taken the year off of work to stay home with my girls, I’ve been on the hunt for fun activities to entertain my preschooler while I’m otherwise occupied with my baby. I usually try to involve her in whatever I’m doing – she loves to help with the dishes, vacuum, and assist with diaper changes, and we seriously have the best tea parties, but when I’m nursing a distractible five-month-old I need to bring out the big guns – arts and crafts.

Usually when someone spends the time and effort on a makeover it’s because the original object is ugly or in bad shape. Neither is true in this case. Laura made over a brand new and super cute toy to appeal to both her daughter and her son. Terrific! Here’s what Laura had to say about this project: I wanted to find a good quality wooden stroller that both my son and daughter could play with.

Do you have a fairy garden in your yard? If you haven’t considered it before, you might be swayed by looking at these inspirational gardens we’ve found around the interwebs. Which one is your favorite? 1. The Magic Onions:  2. The Mini Garden Guru: 3. Organized Clutter: 4. Flowers and Weeds: 5. Hedges and Hares:6. Play Create Explore: We love the aquarium rocks as a pool and the stick teepee.7.

Yeah, okay, this bedroom is fine. It’s got some beds, so it’s functional. It’s got walls, you know, because you need those. But it lacked pretty much everything else. Until now…What a transition! Out of nothing, Kelly created this super stylish playroom/studio for her to share with son Aston.

Jolene kept some old nail boxes in her garage for some time, waiting for a way to repurpose them into something useful. Can you guess what she made for her kids? Click to see what she and her husband did with one crate in an hour’s time, with a few tools and additional supplies. I’ll give you a hint: it involves eyebolts.Jolene cut some holes for legs and her husband secured the rope before hanging it from a tree in their front yard.

I love Before and Afters that feature something hideous or lackluster transformed into something beautiful and creative. This is not that kind of Before and After. This is a perfectly nice guest room completely overhauled to become a “big boy” room for a 2-year-old.Amanda wrote to share this house project with us. The carpeting stayed, but that is about the only thing that didn’t change, including the paint on the walls.

You may be looking at this thinking, “I have that exact same stroller at home.” While yours is also likely pink (the non-pink doll stroller is akin to the Holy Grail), you’re probably referring to the state of disrepair this one is in. From how quickly they fall apart, you’d think these kids were pushing around bowling balls not little baby dolls.

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