What My Two Year Old is Wearing this Spring Continued

May 22, 2013May 24, 2013 sofijaburtonkid's fashion, spring outfits for toddlers, Tea clothing, yellow jeansLeave a comment

Hi there,

How is your week going? This is our last week of school. As we are trying to finish up we are also taking turns being sick. Not a fun thing in a family of 8. Any illness takes weeks to cycle through us. Still I manged to take pictures of a few more outfits of my two year old. You might recall the first 4 outfits I did a couple of weeks ago. I hope you are enjoying this as much as I do. Here we go.

Outfit #5:

Jumper by H&M. I bought it during my last year’s visit in Germany. Necklace from World Market.

Outfit #6:

Top from the Tea company. One of my favorite kid’s clothing companies. They design clothes with my girls in mind: stylish, comfy, and soft. I did a photo shoot with my friend last year with our kids wearing all Tea clothing. Shorts are from Target. Mary Jane shoes are thrifted.

And lastly outfit #7:

Yellow jeans from the Gap. Blouse from Old Navy. Socks from Polo. Sock Monkey from Target.

This little two year old is so much fun! Great news, outfit No. 5 and 7 have been featured in Babiekins magazine here.

Have a great day,

Sofija

Family Sport: Horseback Trail Riding

May 20, 2013May 27, 2015 sofijaburtoncedar crest, Cibola National Forest, Horseback riding in New Mexio, Trail Riding in the Sandia MountainsLeave a comment

Friends,

How was your weekend? Mine turned out to be a little more adventurous than I planned for. My 11 year old daughter’s friend stayed with us. She has been taking riding lessons for a few month. My daughter used to ride but stopped a while ago. Recently she has shown a renewed interest in riding, so as a Birthday present I arranged for the two to go trail riding in the Cibola National Forest east of Albuquerque. I wasn’t going to ride since I had not been feeling so well. However when I checked the girls in there was an extra saddled horse waiting for me. I jumped on the chance and went with them. We rode for over an hour through national forest. It was pretty steep going up and down, but the views were rewarding.

Here are the girls getting safety instructions by our horse guide. My 11 year old is wearing the turquoise jacket.

My daughter’s friend is saddling up.

And we are on the trail.

A wish I had captured the view better. It was quite windy, and I am not adapt to taking pictures while holding the rains…

Here we are an hour and a half later back at the stable with me to the right.

This would be a fun adventure for a family with kids ages 8 and older.

I paid $30 per person plus tax for an hour ride. I would recommend starting with one hour if you are not used to riding (I’m pretty sore today). However Cedar Crest Stables also does 2, 4, and 6 hour rides. Click on the link for more info. If you ride in the mountains bring an extra jacket, it is often colder up there.

Have a great day,

Sofija

friday-grams

May 18, 2013 sofijaburtonLeave a comment

Friends,

How was your week? Any exiting plans for the weekend? Our week went by quickly with the kids trying to wrap up the school year.

Today I took my two youngest out on errands. We went to an area near the university called Nob Hill where my favorite children’s clothing store is. The store ended up being closed, not unusual around here. Store hours tend to be mere suggestions sometimes. Anyway, we had fun strolling around and I got a few cute pics to share with you…

Have a lovely weekend!

-Sofija

Are You in the Mood for Camping?

May 15, 2013May 15, 2013 sofijaburtoncamper, oilily photo shoot 2004Leave a comment

Friends,

We haven’t camped as a family for years. Our last experience was so bad that we just stopped going. We went when our second child had just turned one. I still vividly remember her tumbling down the hill we camped on, eating dust, and getting too much sun. To top that off, bears kept us up at night. I was done!

Now, if we had a cute camper like this, maybe we would give it another try. Never mind that our family of 8 could never fit inside…

I love this Oilily photo shoot from 2004!! They come up with such creative photo stories.

How about you, do you like camping? Have you figured out how to do it with the whole family?

Have a great day,

Sofija

Our Family’s Top 5 Fun Learning Acitivities

May 13, 2013May 14, 2013 sofijaburtonCrayon Physics, Dragon Box, elementary age school activities, Fun educational games, geography games, Magic School Bus, Sheppard Software, teaching science conceptsLeave a comment

Today I’m linking up with Hip Home-school Moms. Thank you for stopping by!

Are you looking for ways to keep your kids learning throughout the summer? I’d like to share my children’s favorite educational games and videos that make learning fun. These are all for elementary school age. Maybe it will give you new ideas. I promise you, your kids will not even realize that they are learning…

1. Dragon Box

A game that secretly teaches Algebra
Age 4 and up
You can buy the game at the App Store or I tunes

2. Leap Frog

We stream the movies on Netflix but you can buy the DVD’s at Target or Costco.
Teaches simple math concepts, reading, phonics, sounding out letters
Ages 3 to 6

3. Crayon Physics

A game that teaches motion and Physics
Ages 4 and up
Available for PC, MAC, and Linux
You can buy it here

4. Magic School Bus

A fun video series teaching science concepts everything from the Human Body to Space. I bought the entire series at Costco. Take a wild ride with Mrs Frizzle going on exiting field trips.
Ages 4 to 9

5. Sheppard Software

Online games that teach a variety of things
My family likes the geography games, you learn to put states or countries in the right place on the map.
Ages 4 and up

How about you, what is your favorite educational go to? I’d love to hear. There are so many good options out there that I don’t know about…

Keep them learning!

-Sofija

What My 2 Year Old is Wearing This Spring

May 10, 2013May 24, 2013 sofijaburtonfashion, spring outfits for little ones, styleLeave a comment

Friends,

I had fun doing this post. I really enjoy styling and shooting kids. Especially when they are still at an age where they let me. Hope you’ll like it.

Here is Tasha’s outfit #1:

Top is from Okie Dokie. Apparently that is a JC Pennies brand. I got it at a used children’s store called Other Mothers. This is where I trade in clothes all the time. Yellow jeans bought on sale from the Gap.

Outfit #2

Do you see how much fun this is??

Here Tasha is wearing a dress from the Gap (recently bought on sale, of course). The socks are hand me downs probably gone through 10 kids by now…

Outfit #3:

Pants and top from the Gap. I like that the pants are stretchy and have cute pockets in the back.

Outfit #4 for Mother’s Day or other special occasions:

The dress is from Old Navy handed down from Lucille. The shoes are also hand me downs, bought at Target.

Looking at these pictures explains why she is so popular among her siblings…pretty darn cute! Great news, outfits number 1, 2, and 3 have been featured in Babiekins magazine, my favorite children’s fashion website. You can find it here.

You guys have a lovely weekend!

I’ll see you back here next week.

-Sofija

Making Coasters

May 8, 2013 sofijaburtonCrafts, funfusion, geometric designs, perler beadsLeave a comment

Here is a fun activity for a rainy day, or for us New Mexicans, a hot summer day.

My kids love making these bead designs.

We bought the tub with about 6,000 beads and several shades at Target or Walmart for under $10.

The funnest part is making the designs. I recommend it for ages 4 and up.

Once the designs are finished you iron them. It’s best to have a sheet of parchment paper between the iron and the shape. Once the shape is fused together you take the bottom off and let it cool.

If you have missed a spot you can iron the beads again.

And voila, there are your coasters.

This can be done in as little as one hour, but it can also take longer if you like. You don’t have to iron the shapes. You can just do the shapes to make fun designs and then put them back for another time. It is a great way to keep little hands busy and encourage play with geometric designs.

Pretty easy, and not messy, except for when the tub of beads gets spilled. 🙂

Have a crafty day,

Sofija

Fun Ideas for a May Party

May 6, 2013May 6, 2013 sofijaburtonMay celebrations, party1 Comment

Friends,

we had a nice party celebrating my daughters birthday. I liked how she decorated the house and I had to share it with you. Chances are, you are planning a party of some sort this month, and need some cheap ideas.

Here she used streamers and balloons like curtains.

These fun lanterns cost only $1 at target and come in a pack of two. Esther hung them up on our light. I’m thinking about getting another pack.

Goodie bags from Target for $4!

Homemade cup cakes. $1.40 for the mix, plus some frosting and whipping cream. And the must have party item: a pinata!! They usually cost around $15 plus the candy.

We bought party favors for 12 people. All in all we spend about $50.

Have a great start of the week,

Sofija

Happy Birthday, Esther!

May 3, 2013 sofijaburtonLeave a comment

How did we get from this to this…

…and this?

My oldest baby girl turns 12 today! I cannot tell you how crucial she is to our daily operations running smoothly. From doing her sister’s hair, to baking cakes, cookies, and other goodness, to helping me shopping, and countless other things. And on top of that she is fun company.

Happy Birthday!

We will be very busy with birthday festivities this weekend. See you back here next week.

-Sofija

Dianne von Fuerstenberg’s Collection for Gap Kids

May 1, 2013May 1, 2013 sofijaburtonDianne von Fuerstenberg for the Gap, fashion, gap, geometric prints, kid's fashionLeave a comment

Happy first day of May!! I hope it is as bright and sunny for you as it is in New Mexico…

The latest Dianne von Fuerstenberg collection for the Gap caught my eye, and I thought it might perfect for the month of May, when the weather is hopefully beginning to warm up…

Take a look.

I love everything about this, the bright, geometric prints, the creative styling and props.

Have a great day!

-Sofija

Teach Where You Live

Where homeschooling, style, and life intersect, here and around the world

Author: sofijaburton

What My Two Year Old is Wearing this Spring Continued

Family Sport: Horseback Trail Riding

friday-grams

Are You in the Mood for Camping?

Our Family’s Top 5 Fun Learning Acitivities

What My 2 Year Old is Wearing This Spring

Making Coasters

Fun Ideas for a May Party

Happy Birthday, Esther!

Dianne von Fuerstenberg’s Collection for Gap Kids