Thursday

{Sincerely 'Fro Me to You} Idle Hands

{Carnival Guidelines

Welcome to Sincerely 'Fro Me to You, where we post pictures that won't make it into a scrap book because a.) we don't scrapbook b.) the pictures are embarrassing and/or terrible c.) we are lazy. 

Feel free to join in!

You know the old saying, "Idle hands are the Devil's tools?"
It's true.

And it turns out the Devil and toddlers are cohorts.

Buds, friends, BFF's.














My girl loves water. She loves washing her hands 49 times a day or taking 5 baths a day.

Or playing around in the potty. She's not picky about her water.

We did this a lot last week. I put shaving cream on a cookie sheet, donned her mini apron, rolled up her sleeves and let her play.

We wrote the alphabet, drew faces and balanced the checkbook.

Looks fun, doesn't it?















When that got old we moved the fun to the tub. I squirted the shaving cream on a floating plastic tray and she abused her brother's hot wheels.

I love those little hands. 

Busy and idle.


45 comments:

Tammy said...

I love this activity. And on a cookie sheet....brilliant!!


Of course, my 7 year old empties the shaving cream can in the shower now "painting" on the shower walls!

Anonymous said...

Is that one of those flip waffle makers I see in your picture? If so do you love it? Always wanted one, but don't want to spend the money :).
Toni

Anonymous said...

So fun! We used to beg our parents to squirt some on our stomachs before bath. We would finger paint on our own skin. :)

Anonymous said...

Great idea. And since shaving cream is basically SOAP...you have very clean cookie sheet too!

Dawn @ simply transparent said...

if your up to it..the shaving cream rocks..and so do funnels bowls and cups..with rice or beans..they say it builds the the kensentic ( I know I chopped that up!) anyways great job!

Sandy said...

ah, yes, i miss those little hands and the messes they made. love this post :)

littletoesandcheerios said...

God Bless you for this tip, I am so going to do it tomorrow and I'll post a pic to show ya! Pebbles is hyper and gets bored very easily...this will be perfect!

Anonymous said...

I'm too sick to participate this week :-( But I'll be back with a vengeance next week. Unless I'm dead. At this point anything is possible.

Anonymous said...

That is great. Maybe you should have saved it for WFMW!! My little guy would LOVE this.

The Southern Family said...

Oh what sweet little hands! :)

a Tonggu Momma said...

What a GREAT sensory activity! (So says the momma with SPD, who has a daughter with SPD.)

Upstatemamma said...

That looks like so much fun!!!! I will have to do that with my kids sometime.

UtahJenny said...

Looks like a new activity for my boy - Thanks for the tip - and yes, toddlers and trouble go together like rama-lama-lama-kadingidy-ding-de-dong!

Shell in your Pocket said...

She looks like she is having fun. I use shaving cream and my kids practice their spelling words in it..they love it!
-sandy toe

Happy Mommy said...

What a great idea! I might even get to clean the bathroom while they are bathing if I do that!

Jaden Paige said...

That is a great idea for an occupier! Hmm... ;)

Bridget said...

How fun! The cookie sheet is a great idea! I used to have to FORCE mine to put his hands in the shaving cream. ;) "It's FUN, I PROMISE!"

Stacey said...

Oh, fun! When I had a linoleum kitchen floor I let the kids spray it down with shaving cream and skate. They had fun and I ended up with a shiny floor! Now that I have hardwood I let them do this with furniture polish every once in a while. I didn't think as practically as you - a cookie sheet is fun without the hour of clean-up...!

Heather said...

She's so cute! I love that activity idea. Perhaps I'll try that today with my 2-year-old.

LunaMoonbeam said...

Oh! I always thought the pictures had to be vintage to participate in your carnival!

I've got a doozy for you. I'll be back later. :-D I'm gonna win the Mommy of the Year award!

Jerralea said...

I used to do that with my kids, but I put shaving cream on a paper plate and then let them paint on the bathroom walls with it during their bath. Sometimes I squirted a little food coloring in it and tinted it. I miss those days!

Anonymous said...

That is fantastic - love it!

Anonymous said...

I just discovered your blog. I already love it. I guess nowadays almost every family is THAT family!!

Valarie Lea said...

She is such a cut cohort of the devil! :)

I wonder if I did this in the tub for Logan would he stay in there longer than a minute? I mean he is in and out of there so quickly that I think he is allergic to water.

Erica said...

My daughter's preschool uses that trick to clean up some of the toys! The ride-on toys outside get "car washes" occasionally; the kids have fun playing with foam, and the toys get clean. :)

The Animator's Wife said...

Sorry my link didn't work. I'll try to fix it.

The Animator's Wife said...

This should be the link in Mr. Linky.
http://theanimatorswife.blogspot.com/2009/02/oh-smile-already_19.html

Sorry, I'm a bit new to this! :)

TJ said...

My son would love that! He so wants to dig in the dirt outside, but it's still too frozen.

Crayl said...

My kids also love water play. This was a good idea. :)

LunaMoonbeam said...

Forget doing it with the kids - I'm going to do this by myself during their nap!!

Tara said...

What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing this.

Marni's Organized Mess said...

I never thought of this until I saw it on MckMama's blog a week or two ago! Thanks for sharing it here!

The Gypsy Mama said...

I have an old photo that was part of an old blog post that I shared - hope that's ok to add to your little carnival. But I thought my "then and now" theme might suit seeing as Tonggu Momma was pulling out the old pics for her post as well.

Colleen - Mommy Always Wins said...

Great idea! My 2yo would totally dig that! (And of course, the 4yo would too - heaven forbid one do something w/o the other!)

Sarah said...

This is adorable! Great idea! I love her apron! Too cute!

akawest said...

That looks like fun to me. Maybe I should try shaving cream play as a stress reducer.

Anonymous said...

So much fun! I remember playing with shaving cream on tables in headstart.

Unknown said...

Cute!! What a fun idea!

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

Brilliant idea my 2 yr old twins would love it ...and probably eat it !

Raise Them Up said...

You are such an awesome mom! What fun!!!

Our life is a bowl of Barry's said...

My little ones love the foam bath soap that comes out like shaving cream....looks a lot like your little one's art!

Christie O. said...

what a great idea and what a sweet, sweet post!

Anonymous said...

New to your blog...and to this 'fro thing. What does the 'fro stand for? For the life of me I can't figure what letters are missing before the fro and it's making me nuts. I thought it might be a way of saying from except that would be fro' so I'm at a loss.

Kristen said...

If you're new to the 'fro, I got this name because as a child my Mom did so many home perms on my hair, I developed a lovely afro. So, the carnival began with unscrappable photo, both old and new, 'fro and no 'fro hair, etc!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the explanation! The only thing I could think of was afro but I didn't know if that was politically correct anymore. I myself sported a number of home perms and can identify with the 'fro.