Saturday, January 26, 2008

10 Creative Uses for Cheerios

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Just some ideas to get you thinking.

1. Use as counters for math.
2. Use as toilet targets for little boys.
3. String into a necklace for a little girl.
4. Have your child glue them onto paper in the shape of letters, numbers, etc.
5. Use for bird/duck food and observe the animals.
6. Lay out in a "trail" and have your baby follow it.
7. Make a quick rattle by filling a small plastic container with them.
8. Glue together into interesting structures and buildings.
9. Have child write a note and use cheerios in place of all o's
10. And of course, always keep a small baggie in your purse or vehicle for a quick, non-perishable snack.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Creative Ways to Announce Your Pregnancy

You can tell what's been on my mind... but, it's never too early to start planning. I will have to have a plan all in place, because once I find out I am pregnant I just can't wait to let my husband know that day one way or another. I'm just not good at keeping secrets. Here are some funny ideas I found online:

  1. Buy a baby rattle, baby booties, baby bottle, a bib and a small teddy bear. Tie them together with ribbon and hang them over the rearview mirror in your husband’s vehicle.
  2. Hang a “Baby On Board” sign in your husband’s window.
  3. Put a baby doll in the front seat of your husband’s vehicle, seat belt the baby in with a card of Congratulations.
  4. Have a Parking Sign Made and put it in your driveway. “Pregnant Women Only” or “Dads Only”.
  5. Rent a Stork yard sign – have them write on it “Welcome Home Daddy”
  6. Post signs on the side of the road – on the route your husband takes home from work. Attach two balloons to the top. Write, Congratulations (name) you are going to be a Daddy.
  7. Announce your pregnancy on a “Billboard” that is on your husbands way to work.
  8. While your husband is taking a shower, go in and write on the mirror, “We Are Having A Baby” and a bunch of little hearts with your lipstick.
  9. Have a Bath towel embroidered saying “Daddy-To-Be” and hang it on the towel rack.
  10. Put Baby Shampoo and baby bath in your shower or by the bathtub.
  11. Buy Pre-Natal Vitamins and put them by the kitchen sink or next to sink in your bathroom.
  12. If your doctor writes you a prescription for prenatal vitamins, give the prescription to your husband and ask him to get it filled for you.
  13. Wear a t-shirt that says, “Baby on Board” or “Baby due in ... (the month that you are expecting)".
  14. Buy small baby toys and put them under your husband’s pillow and under the covers on his side of the bed. If he asks what’s going on, tell him he is going to get used to toys being around the house.
  15. Put a baby diaper in your husband’s underwear drawer. Write on the diaper,”You are going to be a Daddy”.
  16. Decorate a bedroom in you home with balloons, streamers and a Banner that says, “Future Baby’s Room” include your due date.
  17. Buy a “Shhh..Baby Sleeping” Door Hanger and put it on the future baby room.
  18. Play a game of scrabble and do your best to create all words pertaining to baby.
  19. With a washable marker, write on your belly, “Hi Daddy”.
  20. Wrap a ribbon around your belly area and put a bow on.
  21. Buy a bag of Pink and Blue balloons and helium tank, blow them all up and have the pregnancy test wrapped around a ribbon from a balloon.
  22. Put pink and blue balloons filled with helium in a large box with a pregnancy book. Wrap it up and give it as a gift to dad.
  23. Put your Positive Pregnancy Test in a Card that says Congratulations.
  24. Have a T-Shirt made, “Daddy-To-Be”.
  25. Buy a glass jar and have them engrave “Daddy-To-Be” with your due date on it. Fill it with pink and blue M&M’s.
  26. Buy a Key Chain that says “Daddy” on it and put it on your husband’s key chain.
  27. Make a mini scrap book from the time that you met all the way to you getting pregnant. On the last page put a picture of a stork with your due date.
  28. Have a Custom coffee cup made, “Daddy-To-Be” and exchange it for his favorite coffee cup.
  29. If your husband is a cook, have an apron made that says, “Cooking for 3”.
  30. Create a Dinner Menu that lists Drinks: Baby Formula, Baby Apple Juice, Appetizers: baby peas, baby carrots, baby green beans, baby squash, Main Course: Baby Back Ribs, Baby turkey, Baby Turkey Dessert: Applesauce, Teething biscuits ect and ask him what he wants for dinner.
  31. Next time your husband asks you to get him a drink, fill a baby bottle up with his favorite beverage and hand it to him.
  32. Bake your husband a cake and write “Congratulations Daddy” or “Daddy-To-Be”
  33. Order a cake or large cookie announcing the news and have your husband go pick it up.
  34. Order pizza for delivery and have them write “Daddy”, with your husband’s favorite topping.
  35. Take your spouse to his favorite restaurant and have them put a little flag in his drink or in his dessert saying, “Congratulations! You are going to be a Daddy”
  36. Take your husband to lunch or dinner and ask the hostess to bring a high chair to the table. When your husband asks what it is for: share the great news.
  37. Make reservations at a restaurant for “3”, when your husband asks who else is joining you, just say they won’t be here for 9 months.
  38. Prearrange with a restaurant, give them little plastic booties, bottles ect and have them put one in his drink, one on the appetizer plate, one on his meal plate ect. See if he can figure it out.
  39. Go out to dinner and order more then you usually do and burst out with, “I am eating for two”.
  40. Have fortune cookies made that say, “We are having a baby”.
  41. Take your husband to the same place that he proposed to you and get down on one knee and hand him a bracelet box that has your pregnancy test enclosed.
  42. Buy Baby Bibs that say, “I Love Daddy”, “I Love Grandma” or “I Love Grandpa” wrap them up and give it as a gift.
  43. Buy Baby Booties, wrap them up and give it to them as gift with a card saying Congratulations.
  44. Buy a Photo Frame that says, “#1 Daddy”, “#1 Grandma and Grandpa” or “#1 Aunt and Uncle”.
  45. Have a picture taken where you are holding your belly, at the bottom of the picture write “Expecting a Miracle” and “Due Date”. Frame it and give it as a gift.
  46. Go to the store and visit the baby department. Say to him, “Do you think we will be having a girl or boy in “The month you are due”?
  47. If your husband reads the local newspaper daily, put an ad in the newspaper announcing your pregnancy.
  48. If you know a police officer, have him stop by the house telling your husband he is under arrest because of an unpaid ticket – have the officer give his a ticket saying “Congratulations”
  49. If you attend church on a regular basis, share the news with others and ask them to walk up to your husband and say “Congratulations” ONLY! Have your preacher come up and Congratulate him on being a Dad-To-Be.
  50. At Christmas – Hang Stockings over the fireplace and have one just for “Baby”
  51. At Christmas time. When you sign the cards that you send out to family and friends, put your name, your husbands name and TBA in “the month you are due”.
  52. If it is Christmas time, buy an ornament that says new mommy, new daddy, Parent-To-Be or Baby’s 1st Christmas and put it on the tree.
  53. Around Valentines Day, Buy a Large Hershey Kiss and remove the tag, stick in your own tag reading “Congratulations Daddy”.
  54. If you want to surprise your mother around her birthday or Mother’s Day – Order a cake that says Happy Birthday Grandma or Happy Mother’s Day Grandma.
  55. Buy a “Grandma’s Brag Book” to announce the news to the grandparents.
  56. Have a puzzle made announcing your pregnancy.
  57. Have a 12 month calendar made with picture of you and your husband and family. The month that you are expecting, have a picture of a stork and the baby’s due date.
  58. When you have your first sonogram, get copies and put them in greeting cards to announce your news to family and friends.
  59. Create a family tree and add an area for the soon to be baby and put TBA or due in “whatever month the baby is due”.
  60. Send out “Save The Date” Postcards – Have the date the baby is due.
  61. Send out an invitation to join you at a family gathering, on the inside write your due date, the hospital, and ask for RSVP’s.
  62. If you husband plays golf, write on his golf balls “Daddy” before he goes out for the day of golf.
  63. Hire a singing telegram to announce the news.
  64. Get a hotel room and have them put flowers, and baby items on the bed, along with a crib in the room.
  65. Print out a candy wrapper that announces the due date, the parents, any brothers and sisters ect.
  66. Create a website site or online journal and have the details listed.
  67. If you already have a child, buy them a t-shirt that says, “I’m going to be a Big Brother” or “I’m a Big Sister”.
  68. Change the screensaver on your computer to say “Congratulations Daddy”.
  69. Write a letter from the baby and give it to your husband.
  70. Go over to your parents’ house or your husband’s parents’ house and take the video camera. Be nonchalant about taking it out and let them know that you want to test it because it had been giving you problems earlier in the week. Walk around the house with it videotaping random things and then rewinding it every so often to “check” to make sure it has recorded. During one of these “checks” (make sure you’re recording) get both of your parents in the frame and then offhandedly say “Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. We’re pregnant.” Not only will this come as a shock to them, but you will get their genuine reaction on film for your family and future child to cherish for many years to come.
  71. If you are too far from your parents and in-laws to announce your pregnancy personally, go to a card store and buy some beautiful blank cards. Inside, in a child’s handwriting, write something like, “To my future Grandma and Grandpa. I can’t wait to meet you in 9 months! Love, Baby.” They will get the picture!
  72. If you or your husband is technically inclined, develop a website and send a link to it in an e-mail sent to your friends and family. Write something that doesn’t disclose what the website is about like, “You all HAVE to check out this website. It is hilarious!” On the website itself you can choose how to design it. It can be as simple as having the phrase, “We’re expecting!” centered on the page or maybe a scanned image of the baby sonogram centered on the page with an approximate due date listed on the bottom. Remember, it can be as detailed or simple as you want, as long as it gets the point across!
  73. Take a picture of your positive pregnancy test and frame it with the words, "Positive proof that in nine months you will be the best dad around, just wait, you'll see."
  74. Have a fun afternoon at the paint-your- own-pottery store and make him an ice cream bowl that says, "You're going to be a dad!" Fill it up with his favorite ice cream and watch his reaction when he gets to the bottom.