Sunday Funday Activity - Salt Dough Handprints

So as many of your know my family always (for the most part) gets together on Sunday to have dinner and spend time with one another. It is also my opportunity to do our laundry for free (Its $2.00 a load at our apartment). We have always called these special days our Sunday Funday! Now usually we just have dinner and then hang out after ward, usually on the back porch just talking and catching up with another.
On a side note: it has always amazed me that on Sunday we hardly ever turn the TV on and if its on we usually dont watch anything. It is merely a day that we enjoy being with one another and are too busy talking, eating or playing with the kids to really watch TV. That is one of the reasons I love my family so much, is we dont need the TV or other things to make us happy, all we need is each other :) I know that may sound corny, but its the honest truth.
The last few Sundays we have had together, we have been doing fun activities as well. One Sunday we played "Corn Hole", well my mom and the boys played, Kelly and I just sat and played with the babies; Another Sunday we did a impromtu "Egg Hunt" with the kids. Well a couple weeks back I found on Pinterest this cheap and easy activity called  Salt Dough Handprints, so I thought it would be a fun activity we could do with the kids, even the babies. It was fairly easy and we had all the ingredients to make the dough and craft supplies to decorate after. You really dont have to decorate them at all after, that was just something we decided to do.

I thought I would post the recipe, in case anyone wanted to try out.

Ingredients Needed

2 cups flour
2 cups Salt
1 cup water
Food Coloring (optional: you can add food coloring to ingredients to dye the dough before baking)

Instructions:

1. Combine Flour, Salt and Water and knead until a dough forms. Roll out until its about 3/4" in thickness.
2. Create handprint and stick on a ungreased cookie sheet
3. Bake on 200 for about 2-3 hours or until handprint is complete dry.
4. Decorate!

Like I said before, this was such a fun and easy craft and cant wait to try again when all the kids are a little older and can decorate themselves. Here are some pics of our fun activity day :)

Stay at Home Mom vs. Working Mom

http://carolynee.net/a-letter-from-a-working-mother-to-a-stay-at-home-mother-and-vice-versa/

I saw these letters in an article posted on Facebook about a week ago and it has been in my mind ever since. There is this age long debate on which job is easier, being a stay at home mom or being a working mom.

I say NEITHER! They are both demanding jobs and both have their positives and challenges. I do not think being a stay at home mom is any easier or harder than being a working mother. I have been on both sides of the spectrum currently being a working mother, but was a stay at home mom for 3 months when both my boys were born and got a taste of what it is like being home with the kids all day.

Just because a woman chooses to stay at home with her children does not mean she has it easy all day, you are in fact still at home with KIDS :) They are WORK! Trying to keep them entertained and happy for however many hours a day is daunting and that is not even including the diaper changes, temper tantrums, meals prepared, cleaning of the house, constant picking up toys, and the list goes on and on. Whoever says that is not a full-time job has clearly never been home with a child for a least 24 hours straight. Although it is challenging, it is also the most rewarding thing a mother can do for their children and themselves. Because there is also the cuddling, the hugging, loving  and tender moments that happen frequently throughout the day. There is also, the opportunity to be there for pretty much every milestone a child will accomplish, especially in the early years of a child's life. It is the best job a woman could have and if you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom you should grasp it. I cannot wait until I am able to do that for my boys.

But let's not forget the working mother. She does not get off easy, because "she gets to get away" for 8 hours a day. Yes we do get to get away, but we are still going off to WORK, not getting a mani and pedi and running errands all day. Not only do we have to work but we have to do it with a little guilt and sadness in our hearts because we are not able to be there with our children. In todays age, it is almost not financially feasible to be a stay a home mom. Many homes require that extra income to survive. Many of us dont choose to work, it is a necessity. But even for those that choose to work, doesnt mean they dont miss there kids and look for opportunties to brag about there little ones at home, just to see a picture of them. Also, when we go off to work, it is only our first shift, because when we come home our second shift begins. Dinner needs to be made, kids need to be bathed, house needs to be cleaned and that list goes on and on, yet we have a fraction of the time. But there is one thing a working mom gets that a stay at home mom might not - that excitement on their childs face when they first see them because they have not seen them all day. It is the face that keeps me going.

There are so many other positives and challenges to both sides of the debate but like I said earlier, i dont think any side has it easier, its just different. Being a mother is an exhausting job, no matter how many hours a day you have your child. What matters is how you spend that time.

I am so thankful to be a working mom so I can help provide a better life for my children. Although I may not be with them all the time, I know they are loved and are in good hands when I am away and I just make my moments with them special. I also cannot wait until I hopefully have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom and be able to witness all the precious milestones they will accomplish in there lives.

"The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children."