No More Muddy Swingsets

For this week's WFMW (Works For Me Wednesday) I'll share something that I implemented just this summer.

I love for my kids to go outside and play on the swings or the trampoline. However, after a good rain, encouraging them to play on the swings can be like asking for them to go play in the mud. I've found a wonderful solution! These mats keep the kids out of the mud and therefore keep the mud out of my house!!






The mats that you see in these pictures can be purchased at any Home Improvement Warehouse or Sam's Club. They are called anti-fatigue floor mats. If you are patient, you can use an Exacto-Knife or other razor type cutter and slice them into appropriate sizes for your outdoor play equipment. I don't even hesitate to send my kids out after a rain now.

Oh, one more thing, the mower doesn't pick them up. I just mow right over them. Hope this helps you as much as it has helped me!

For more great Works For Me Wednesday ideas visit Sharon at Rocks in My Dryer.

WFMW - Birthday Decorations

I've never REALLY participated in WFMW (Works for me Wednesday) before. Although, before I was a "blogger" (which I still don't consider myself one - not yet anyway), my friend Katherine posted an idea for me called Color-Coded Kids. Here is my first official contribution to WFMW.

When having a themed birthday party (or any themed party for that matter), decorations can be expensive. I have a trick that I've been using for a few years now and it's affordable and fun. I purchase two plastic tablecloths that match the theme of the birthday and that is just about ALL I need for decorations. No, I do not use them as tablecloths, because we all know what can happen when a little kid grabs the edge of the tablecloth and pulls.

Most themed tablecloths are folded in such a way that there are four even strips. The two outside edges have the most color and the biggest pictures of the theme and then the inner two strips have a repeating pattern (to a lesser degree) of the same theme. So, from my two tablecloths, I get 8 strips for decorating. Here are some pictures of how I used this idea this past weekend at Austin's third birthday party.

The picture above is only half of one strip.

In the picture above, the part on the left is from the outer edge of the tablecloth and the part on the right is from the inner strip of the tablecloth.

Partial strips help to decorate everything!

In the end, I use the eight strips (or even more if partials are used) all over the house!

After the party, I moved a few of the strips up to the room of the birthday boy and voila, more celebrating!

For more WFMW ideas visit Rocks in my Dryer.