Family Chic

Just fill a tube sock with a ziplock bag of ice and tie to hold in place.

You can pick up a pair of long tube socks at Target - they're inexpensive. Place ice in a ziplock bag.

Slip ice inside of sock, position it in the center and tie icepack sock onto your patient.

For head injuries, tie the ends of the sock together twice to create a hand held bag.

The knot creates a handle to make the icepack easy to hold in place.

Here's another quick trick - we saved this snowball from January in a bag in our freezer - it makes a great icepack too. I find distraction techniques to be helpful when kids are in pain - this snowball gets their attention and helps to jog the mood along.

A dark glove and part of an egg carton are used to make this Mummenschanz inspired hand puppet.

My inspiration - Mummenschanz.

To make your own Mummenschanz puppet - cut out the end section of an egg carton. Make sure you include the last two compartments and the entire peak. Create eyes with a black magic marker.

Put on a black glove and position puppet head on hand by inserting middle finger into the back of the peak.

A few sheets and a few minutes and a fort is formed.

I start out by placing a sheet underneath the table - tuck all corners underneath the legs of the table to keep it in place.

A good fort needs total coverage - sheets must touch the floor. Drape one sheet over half of the table.

And another sheet over the other half.

Drape a patterned tablecloth over the top and, to create an entryway, clip up a section with a few clothespins.

Clothespins - I can't live without them and I don't even dry my clothes on a line! I use them for everything from keeping a bag of opened chips closed to displaying my girls' artwork.

Add a lot of pillows and a strand of lights (I attach mine underneath the table with small cup hooks).

It may seem obvious, but children really appreciate this sort of extra attention - I always get a huge reaction when I set this up for my girls and their friends.

Let your kids make their own stationary using neon index cards and round color coding labels.

My kids love this kind of play on words.

There are no rules with this - just give your kids a few examples, set out the supplies and let them go.

Jane made this ladybug card by cutting a large, round address label in half.

This project unleashed a 3 day long fascination with creating works of art from these stickers.

My daughter had a half day at school today so we went for Indian food and henna tattoos which made the day seem so much more exotic.

We went to Bibya on Western Ave in Chicago (773-743-2020). The cost is $7.00 per hand - the ladies there are so lovely and really talented.

They tell us this will last for about 10 days - I think I'm hooked on henna now.

Your kids will be thrilled when they receive a letter in the mail from you - out of the blue. Make up your own card with a funny message and add in a stick of gum, a tattoo or a pressed flower - your kids will love it!

Share a good joke with your child and watch it spread - they will happily tell it to all of their friends. I like add a some new one's to the mix every so often. I look online, write a few down and tuck them into my daughter's lunch.

Surprise your child after her bath with a warm towel - straight from the dryer.

I chose to write a story about my daughter's bed head - this book has my kids rolling on the floor with laughter.

When Jane wakes up in the morning - her morning hair is really stunning - I had to make this book.

A book like this makes a great birthday gift for a child. I am thinking of making about 3 each year and building a series for our family.

Jane's morning hair never disappoints!

My 5 year old daughter loves to pretend that she is a shop owner - it keeps her happily occupied for at least an hour or more. The other day, I made some felt fruits and vegetables and we set up an imaginary roadside stand - complete with twine, bags and signs. Now I have to keep an eye peeled at garage sales for a scale!

Tomatoes, carrots, bananas, eggplant, lemons and a pear are available at Jane's produce stand today.

Funny thing - it doesn't matter how much I buy at this stand- the total is always $1.00. What a deal!

To make your own felt produce - cut two pieces of your desired shape from felt and sew together, leave an opening so you can add stuffing.

Turn inside out, add stuffing and fold edges in.

For the carrot, I made simple green leaves by fringing a cut of green fabric.

Add the greenery to the opening of the carrot and stitch closed with a thread of the same color. I use a blind stitch.

I don't make a pattern for each piece - I cut out my shapes freehand - so no two are the same.

Dancing in the bathroom - teeth brushed, pajamas on and song is still running!

Any paper will do & you will need two different colored pens or markers for this.

Have your child start the game by making a scribble mark on the page.

Using a marker of a different color - you try to make something out of that scribble.

You make the next scribble and hand the pad back to your child - it's their turn to create something.

Using two different marker colors allows you and your child to look back and see the progression of each drawing. It can truly be amazing to see what others can make out of a random mark on the page.