A spooky little adventure
mat | food cutter | plates | cups | snack pods | books |
Harper’s leggings | dress | bow | shoes
Nolan’s shirt | shorts | shoes
When the weather is nice and breezy, we make it a point to spend time outside. This time of year is perfect for picnics and thanks to Peppa Pig, our children request them quite often. Our backyard is lined with trees, and the fields around us give us the perfect amount of shade and breeze. Our entire family is loving all things spooky and cannot wrap our heads around how quickly this month is flying by. The kids had a spooky-themed picnic outdoors which included their favorite things: snacks and books! I think the key to any kid’s picnic are three things: something to lounge on, fun snacks to eat, and something to do. The best part of it all is enjoying the time we spend outside. It is so important to take some to reconnect with nature; like I say often, it helps everyone recharge their batteries.
We love our leather-bound play mat from Let’s Playground. It has traveled many places with us and has been a part of many fun times. Nolan and Harper grab it randomly and request picnics outside and in our kitchen for morning snuggles. I always make sure we take it when we are traveling out of town for playing in hotel rooms and taking breaks while sightseeing. It’s super soft and easy to wipe down and clean after we use it. This is so much easier than taking a bulky blanket outside to eat on and then having to deal with all the clean up! I love the neutral colors and how multifunctional it is. I’ve even used it as a background to take pictures on, and it made a really beautiful backdrop! It has held up to our near daily wear and tear, and I couldn’t be more pleased with it!
My kids eat all of the time. I mean I feel like they both can take down bigger plates than Derrek and me! I try and find new ways to switch up their food presentations to be visually appealing to them, and it’s really fun! I love using my FunBites cutter and cutting triangles into their food, but the company has a ton of other shapes, too! I really love their products because, even though my kids are great eaters, the fun shapes help make healthy foods more appealing to them! It comes with two pieces: the carved cutter and matching popper top. To use it, you just place the cutter on top of the food, hold the handles and rock it back and forth 6 times or so, then insert the popper top into the top and push down until the pieces pop out! I created monster faces in their plates with cut cantaloupe, dried apple slices and dried cranberries. I’ve also used the Funbites cutter to cut quesadillas, pizza, toast, pancakes, cucumbers, cheese and peppers into triangles. For our next cutter, Nolan requested the Minion goggles!
At this point, the kids have a vast variety of Replay Recycled products, and if you’ve been reading the blog for any time at all, you know I’m a huge fan of the company! It seemed only fitting that they get the Halloween set to use during the holiday season. What I love about these is that after Halloween, you can split them up and still use all of them without looking like you don’t know the holiday has passed! We switch up the colors now and mix and match cups to lids and forks and spoons to the plates. I really love this company because they use recycled milk jugs to make their products! Recycling one milk jug will save enough energy to keep a 100-watt light bulb burning for 11 hours! The cups are amazing because they are no spill! We took them to the beach all summer and never once did they get filled with sand! The kids can safely sit with these in their carseats without me having to worry about someone spilling their drink all over themselves! They go with us EVERYWHERE! The snack pods also go with us everywhere; they can be stacked together or used separately, but either way we fill them with snacks for the kids and they love carrying them around. For their picnic they had fresh blueberries, pretzel chips and carrots with hummus! These are lifesavers when we are traveling because we can take healthy options for them to have instead of buying just what’s convenient.
Another thing that I am so happy they request to always have around is a great selection of books. We are a little obsessed with The BabyLit series because it helps introduce kids to classic literature. Growing up, my way out of every day life was reading books. I would read books all day and all night sometimes, and if it was a great read, I could do it within a few hours. When school would let out, I would head to the library and wait on my mom to come pick me up after she left work. Reading helped get me through some tough times, and really, it still does! I love diving into a good book and getting lost for a little while! Nolan requested all things spooky, so he has Edgar Goes to Bed and Frankenstein! BabyLit took the classic stories of Edgar Allen Poe and made them into Edgar the Raven. We read this one before bed time pretty much every night! It helps get everyone calm and settled for the night. Edgar doesn’t want to do any of the things he is supposed to before bed, but finally his mother talks to him and gets him to oblige. The Frankenstein book is really neat because it teaches them the different parts of the body. It also helps take a scary monster and help him become relatable to the kids. Nolan requests this one A LOT and walks around like a zombie Frankenstein himself afterwards! The kids also have The Jungle Book, The Wizard of Oz, and All Aboard Paris. These are the cutest picture books, and it’s really cool teaching my children about classic literature.
I highly suggest taking the time to picnic outside with your little one or ones. It is a stress reliever and allows a little break from being couped up inside. Children love food and outdoors, so combining the two is a fool-proof way of giving everyone a break. The weather is perfect for hanging out. Get yourself some snacks and enjoy the scenery!
*Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this post, and I shop these boutiques in real life. I did receive these items as samples to review, but my opinions are completely my own.*
