The Preschooler's Busy Book

Okay, so...this has been MC's and AB's fall break...this week.  Needless to say, this has interrupted my routine and schedule, just a little bit.  Interrupted in a good way, but changed it all the same.  We have made great use of their time at home.  We have been to Monkey Joe's.

 

We also went to the Pumpkin Patch.

I know, I have a super cute family :)

And...we have done a lot of hanging out at home.  Thursday, I made a Goodwill run and found a super book, that I absolutely had to have (for $.50).  When I saw it, I knew that it was going to offer me lots of wisdom and sage advice that I would have to put into practice.  Enter Exhibit A:

So, I got home, began to leaf through the book and saw some really great suggestions of how to fill my their time.  I thought that we would start with a somewhat simple activity...so easy that you are going to laugh when I tell you about it.  

Our first "fun" activity was money cleaning.  Seriously.  Money Cleaning.  All they needed was an old toothbrush, a bowl of warm soapy water, and some change.  And they were busy for 30 minutes.  Now, that might not sound like a lot of time, but trust me, when you have a 2 year old and a 5 year old, 30 minutes is a long time.  Enough time to unload the dishwasher, fold a load of laundry, and sweep the kitchen floor...maybe even use the bathroom if you are quick.  Basically, this activity bought me some time, and they had a blast!  They could not believe that I was letting them clean their money.  I couldn't believe that this actually worked.  If you try this, let me know how it works for you kids.  By the way, isn't that the cleanest money you have ever seen!!!

Saturday, I got out the construction paper, glue, and child-friendly scissors, and we made decorative halloween chains for our kitchen. MC wrote on hers and AB just cut fringe on her construction paper, but all in all it was a very fun, relaxing, time-consuming activity.  It kept them very engaged and busy for at least 2 hours.  Lots of fun and great memories made.

MC's chain

My chain

Also last night, after the gluing and crafting, my table was pretty disgusting...so I busted out the shaving cream and let them do some painting before bath time.  They had a huge time, and I have to tell you that my table has never been cleaner!  I am ahhhmazed at how sparkling clean and soft (weird?) my table is!!  Love. It.  We will do this once a week from here on out!

So, the smiles tell me that I did something right over the past few days, and that to me is priceless.  We will be trying out a lot more suggestions from my book, and I will share those as we go.  Let me know of  your great ideas for spending time with your preschoolers, and let me know if you try any of these!

Best Finds Contest

Okay Friends,
Doing my last post on Claire's finds, has really made me curious about what all of you have found.  Send me pictures and prices of your best finds and they will be put on the blog.  Not only that, but everyone who sends an entry will be entered into a contest to win a $10.00 Michael's gift card.  I will use Random.com to generate the winner.  Fall is upon us and I would love to see your best fall treasures:  clothes, holiday decorations, halloween costumes...whatever you have found.  Let's see who is a great thriftsperation, and who can inspire us to go out and find amazing things at thrift stores (by the way, that is the definition of Thriftsperation)!!!  I can't wait to see what you send me!  All entries need to be sent to thriftysparkle@gmail.com.  The contest lasts until 11:59pm October 14th.  The winner will be announced at 12:00pm on October 15th.

This is my sweet Ella Rose, and by the way, it has nothing to do with the contest, but she is wearing a really cute set that I got at Goodwill for $1.50, and it IS monogrammed with an actual "E."  I. Love. Her. So. Much!!!

The Amazing Claire and her Amazing Finds!

I have a friend named Claire, and I told all of you in my previous post that my next post was dedicated to her.  Claire sent me her deals to look through, and I had the BEST time checking them out.  Claire is a GIFTED thrift shopper, and has an eye for beauty in things that are not yet beautiful.  She can look at items and turn them into something great.  She has found many things at Goodwill that she has transformed into treasures.  I so enjoyed reading her great ideas, and I hope that you do too!!!

These are Claire's favorite find.  A pair of Frye Boots that retail for $249.00

Guys, I have to tell you, these are just a FEW highlights of Claire's amazing finds.  I am so thrilled that she chose to share them with me and with you!  She is such an thriftsperation...new word I am trying out, what do you think?

Claire,
Thanks for sharing with all of us!!!  I hope that I can share more of your stuff later on!!!
Anyone else who has awesome finds, send them to me and I will highlight you next!!

Remember to stay sparkly, but in a thrifty way :)

Baby Bedding and Home Decor!

Hi everyone!!!  Sorry that it has been a while between posts, but I am going to make up for it here in the next few weeks.  I am LOVING this weather, and it really puts me in the mood for SHOPPING, ThriftySparkle style! 
The first deal that I am going to share with you, is actually one that I found quite a while back...actually about 1.5 years ago.  At the time, I knew I was pregnant with our third baby, but I did not know if it was a girl or a boy.  I was shopping at Goodwill for clothes for my older girls, and of course had to check out the linens.  Sitting there on the shelf was a set of the bedding that I had wanted for both of my older girls, but had never been willing to pay what it cost brand new.  It was the bumper, the quilt, and the diaper holder...all for $8.98.  It was the pattern Bubblegum by BananaFish.  I had literally drooled over this bedding for both of my other girls, and was not going to pass it up here at Goodwill, even though I didn't know if I was having a girl or a boy.  Luckily, we had a girl and I was able to use the beautiful bedding, but I just have to say, that was my FIND of the year!  That bedding brand new is $100.00 for the 4-piece set.  I think we can all agree that is major savings!!

Another great Goodwill find is actually from this week!  I was at our Frankfort Goodwill and came across this beautiful oil painting, and it is going to look GREAT in my living room.  I bought the painting for $15.50 and there is an actual price tag on the painting of $65.00.  Definite Deal!! The painting is 2'x3'.  LOVE.IT.

Thanks for checking out my deals on this post.  My next post is going to be about some great finds from my friend Claire.  She is an EXPERT Goodwill shopper as well, and you will want to check out all of the neat stuff that she has found!!!  Remember to send me any of your deals, I would love to feature them!!