Bike Fun

                Summer is here and it is time to have some fun with our bikes. Kids love to ride their bikes all over the place and show them off. So today I am going to give you some fun things to do with your bikes. You should not have to buy anything for this project because you should have these items already at home. How many children or grandchildren like to decorate their bike with all those store bought items? All those ribbons, bells, baskets and special seats can add up to a lot of money very fast. So today I am going to show you a few things we did as kids to decorate our bikes for free with things we had already around the house. Let your children and grandchildren get creative with this bike project.

1.       First, find some old ribbons from Christmas that you used to tie up your presents. You can tie some bows onto your handle bars. You can also make some streamers of multi colors or just one color and tie them onto you handle bars.

2.     

  Take some old garland and wrap it around your handle bars and around the frame. Do not put too close to your tires so you do not get it tangled in your tires. Use different colors to make your bike sparkle.

3.       This one was my favorite thing to do to my bike. Since bells were expensive we needed something else for our bikes to make noise.  Take an old deck of cards that you do not use anymore and clip them onto your spokes of your front tires. Depending on how loud you want your bike to be, put on three to four cards scattered around your tires spokes to make a fun and loud noise. We always had a contest to see who’s bike was the loudest. If you have a speed bike do not put the cards near the gears, this will get caught and may damage your bike. Use just the front tires for the noise makers.

Summertime is for fun in the sun with your bikes. Having a decorated bike does not have to break the bank when you have everything you need right at home to decorate your bike for free, I’m sure everybody also has an old deck of cards and a few clothes pins around the house you can let your children and grandchildren use to make their noise makers on their bikes. You don’t have to go out and buy all those expensive toys for your kid’s bikes anymore. Let your children and grandchildren be creative when they decorate their bikes. Have some fun biking this summer from Suzie Homemaker.

Dress Up Clothes

                How many of you have very young children or grandchildren ages 3 to 10? This is the age when boys and girls like to play dress up. When I was little my 2 sisters and brother would borrow old clothes from my parents and grandparents. We would have a box of clothes to use as dress up clothes. I also had clothes for my kids I used to baby sit for to play with and dress up. Ask some neighbors if they have some old clothes they may want to get rid of.

                There are so many different types of clothes you can use. Take some old dresses for the girls and some old dress shirts and ties for the boys. Grab some old straw hats, baseball caps, cowboy hats and throw in some old dress shoes for the boys and old sandals for the girls. Mix and match to make all kinds of unique outfits for both girls and boys.

                We used to hang an old sheet or blanket from our garage door so we could put on a show. This would be our curtain for our show. Then we would have our friends, neighbors come over to watch our show. Let your children and grandchildren use their own imaginations to create a play for you.

                You would be surprised how many different kinds of clothes you can find and use to have some fun. Children love to dress up and this will keep them busy for a very long time. I used to love to walk around in my dad’s old boots and shoes. One Halloween I dressed up as Fat Albert. I used my dad’s old flannel shirt, a pair of his jeans and his tennis shoes. I stuffed myself with a lot of pillows and put a printed sign on me saying Hey, Hey, Hey I’m Fat Albert.

                Young children like to dress up and express themselves, I know I did as a child. Children grow up way too fast, let them enjoy their childhood. Using a little imagination and some old dress up clothes helps them create something all their own. I hope you enjoy the show from Suzie Homemaker.

Summertime Fun

                Now that summer is in full swing, it is time to have some fun in the sun with your children or grandchildren. How many times have you heard them say, I’m bored what can I do? When I had my own baby sitting service I had to think of many kinds of games to entertain the kids. Since it is summer the kids like to be outside a lot, I needed a lot of outside fun games to play and do with them. So today I will give you a very easy game to play outside with your children and grandchildren. Be prepared to get wet with this one.

Fun in the Sun

                The next time you are in town stop at your local dollar store and buy some cheap water balloons. I have a few fun games to play with water balloons. For about $1.00 you can buy a lot of balloons. Start filling your balloons and put them into buckets.

1.       The first game is really fun. I played this game as a child and had a lot of fun getting wet or watching someone else getting very wet. Make teams of two people. While facing your partner take two steps backward and toss the balloon to them. Take another two steps backward and toss the balloon back. Keep backing up each time and toss the balloon. See how far you can go before you either drop the balloon or the person catches it and it breaks. See who gets wet first. Then repeat the game with different partners. See who can go the longest without dropping the balloon or gets wet.

2.       The second game we played was by drawing squares or circles with chalk on the driveway. We would take turns throwing the balloons to see who could get the most water balloon into the Squares and circles.

3.       The third game we played was by placing different sizes of buckets or boxes at different lengths to see how far you could throw. Every time you made one inside the box or bucket you got a point. We would keep score to see who made the most of the buckets and boxes.

4.       The fourth game, which is just throwing the balloons at each other and have some fun getting wet.

Water balloons are cheap, and a very fun way to have some fun outside in the summer. Parents and grandparents can join in and have some fun too. A little water balloon can’t hurt and besides, you will dry off pretty fast anyways. Always remember to pick up your broken water balloons and throw them away. Always watch the very young children so they do not put them into their mouths. These are a few of my water balloon games I used to play with my children I use to baby sit for. They loved it and it was a very cheap way to keep them entertained for a while. Have some fun in the sun this summer with water balloons from Suzie Homemaker.

Together For Dinner

                I have a question to ask you today! How many of you have dinner together with your children each day?  When I was growing up dinner time was family time, we would discuss how our day went at school or my parents would talk about their day at work. It seems like more and more families are eating on the run instead of making time to sit down with their families and connect with each other. I know sometimes you work late or just are working different shifts, but spending time together for a meal is important. Try to make this a priority in your house. Children who sit down to eat with their parents and talk about their day will eat better and be healthier. Children who eat at home with their parents tend to get more fruits and vegetables and less fried foods like fries and greasy food. Having dinner at home gives them a time help prepare the meal and have some bonding time. Eating at home gives them healthier choices of things to drink also, like milk instead of soda.

                When I was growing up my father worked a lot of overtime in the summer so he could not be home for supper. Since money was tight my mother would take what we had for supper and pack it up for him. We would go to my father work and on his dinner break give him a home cooked meal. All 4 of us kids would go along just to be with him at supper time and to talk about our day. Spending time together was very important to my family and my father really appreciated a warm home cooked meal instead of a cold sandwich. When he worked overtime he would get home late and sometimes we would be in bed already. This was a way we could still have time together as a family.

                Children need to be with their parents after school and supper is a time of day to have family time. If this is a problem at least try to have them with a Grandparent, Aunt, Uncle or very close family friend for supper. Children need to talk after a long day at school and dinner time is the best time to reconnect and learn how their day went and if there are any problems that need to be addressed.

                Try to make dinnertime together a priority in your family at least 3 to 4 days a week. Your children will be happier and healthier. Having dinner together as a family brings you closer together.  This was always a priority when I was little and still is today with my own children. I want my children to know that mom and dad will always be there for them, even if it’s only for a quick meal together. Think of dinner time as a time to share, your children will thank you for it from Suzie Homemaker.

Fourth of July Angel Food cake

                Happy Fourth of July! I hope everybody has a nice day off on the Fourth of July and has some fun with the children and grandchildren. I hope you all get to see some really nice fireworks too. Take some time and enjoy the day with family and friends. My family starts with a picnic of brats, hamburgers and hot dogs. Then, later on, we go to our local park for music and finally the fireworks. But first, we have to have a nice Fourth of July dessert. Today I will show you how to make a very easy Fourth of July Angel food cake.

1 Angel Food Cake any variety                                       Angel Food Cake Tin

1 very large bowl for mixing in                                       1 electric mixer or use your mix master

Colored Icing   (Red and Blue)                                        Powdered Sugar for Frosting or Store bought icing

Butter

1.       Take your Angel Food Cake mix and make according to directions.

2.       Let cool.

3.       Put your knife down the side of your Angel Food tin to release your cake.

4.       Cut off the bottom to make it level. Place the cake on a plate or nice stand.

5.       Take your powdered sugar and melt enough butter to make your white frosting. Frost your cake white.

6.       With your colored icing start making red and blue stripes or wavy lines. Start with red then leave a little space and make blue. Now you have a red white and blue Fourth of July Cake.

7.       On the top, I am going to put red raspberries. If you like try strawberries.

8.       If you really want to get creative make a flag around your cake with the colored icing.

Have your children or grandchildren help you decorate the Fourth of July Cake. This cake is very inexpensive to make. The whole cake cost under $3.00 dollars to make.  Have a wonderful Fourth of July and enjoy the fireworks. Make family time the priority and enjoy the day from Suzie Homemaker.