Engaging your children in arts and crafts at home doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need a million supplies or spend a ton of money. You will need some patience and a realistic attitude. Most crafts don’t last a long time. Don’t worry you aren’t doing anything wrong, once you have been crafting a while you will figure out what your child likes to do the most and adjust. Wear washable clothes ( you and the kids) , make sure nothing close by could be ruined by flying paint or glitter and enjoy!

Here are 5 easy peasy crafts that you can do with 5 or fewer materials. Told you it can be easy!

Potato Masher Painting

Shape Snake

Paper Plate Ladybug

Cookie Cutter Prints

Recycled Rainbow

Allie is the brilliant, creative mom behind No Time for Flashcards – a must-see resource for parents looking for craft projects and children’s book recommendations. I know I’ll be hitting up the Letter of the Week posts to help Preschool Boy with shape and sound recognition. Follow No Time for Flash Cards on Twitter and Facebook for the latest projects and parenting discussions.

Erin of The Mom Buzz

I would guess that 90% of women have a New Year’s resolution that involves losing weight, being healthier and/or exercising. Of course, I have no statistical data to back me up, it’s just a guess from listening to friends talk. I personally think it’s a great resolution and there are so many ways that you can get a handle on your well-being! Now, I am going to preface my advice by saying I am not a personal trainer or a dietitian. I am “simply” a mom of two boys who has the same goals – to be fit, for myself and my family. So how do you get started. There are three parts to creating a NEW YOU – Diet, Exercise and Motivation.

1. Diet: Start now. Food is fuel. It is meant to energize you. You put good food in, you will feel good. Put bad food in, you’ll feel bad. Easy. Anything in your house that is a snack for the kids, keep it for the kids. Do not even take one bite of your children’s snacks – it’s a bad habit! Don’t worry, you get a snack too! I call it a Cheat Meal. So if I eat my greens, protein and carbs throughout the week, on Saturday I can have a care-free meal of whatever I want – and it includes dessert. If you want to start even easier, go for a whole Cheat Day. It doesn’t mean eat 5 gallons of ice cream all day, but feel free to have some leeway on your three main meals.

Eat throughout the day – but healthy snacks and meals. Start with breakfast! Oatmeal and Eggs is a great way to start the day. Think protein and carbs. For a mid-morning snack, try almonds in yogurt. It gives it a satisfying crunch. Lunch is time for more protein and healthy carbs. A potato and chicken? Maybe a sweet potato and fish? Midday snack – reach for something that grew in a tree! Apples, bananas or … my personal favorite… pineapple. Finally, have a healthy dinner without carbs. I know, it sounds strange, but you get used to it. Broccoli is a great veggie that helps burn calories and you can eat it with your choice of protein. And at the end of the day, you get one more snack. I often reach for a protein shake made with milk. Stay away from protein bars, they are glorified candy bars!

2. Exercise: I absolutely LOVE the gym. I go to a 24/7 gym so I can workout at night, when the kids are asleep. If you get a membership, you might want a gym that has daycare. Otherwise, ask your significant other to support you on this endeavor and watch the kids while you go. Try to go to the gym 4 to 5 times a week. Concentrate on a certain body part every day, don’t just try random machines. For example, Monday could be the day that you work out Triceps and Shoulders. Tuesday could be Biceps and Calves. Just have a plan. Need ideas of how to work out? I loved Hardbodies by Gladys Portugues! It’s an old book, but the information and workouts are good.

Let’s say you can’t go to the gym. There are plenty of options for at-home too. I personally find it harder to workout at home, because the kids are all over me. But if you have kids in school, P90X might be for you. It will work you out HARD and you will definitely see results if you stick with it. Plus, it comes with a book all about diet! If you have a Wii, you might be interested in trying the Wii Fit or EA Active. Otherwise, look for ways to resistance train with your own body weight. I’ve posted some great ideas that would work out your entire body at the Mom Buzz.

Whatever you do, don’t count on cardio alone to give you a body you want. Cardio won’t build muscle the same way lifting weights or resistance training will. And if you build muscle, it will burn more calories. Make sure you sweat a little and you’ll soon love pushing your body.

3. Motivation: Okay – so you understand that you have to eat healthy and move your body, but how can you make yourself MOVE off the couch to do it? The simple answer I hear from people who go to the gym is … they just do it. It needs to be routine … and you need to have motivation. Whether your spouse encourages you with compliments, or put a picture on the fridge of a fitness model you love or have a goal to work towards. A bridesmaid dress you have to fit in? A svelte dress for Valentine’s Day? Or in my case, a Figure Suit that shows off a heck of a lot of skin in front of a heck of a lot of people! You bet I’ll forgo the Oreos and drink my Protein Shake like a good girl!

So, is your New Year’s Resolution to be a more fit version of yourself? Well, sit down and form a plan! Figure out how you will work out, what your meals will be and how will you stay motivated. You can see some great before and after pics of women like you at BodyBuilding.com to prove you can do it. You can even look at my before and after pictures at the Mom Buzz. I have to say, it’s hard to compile everything I want to share about creating a new you for the New Year in one post. So if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me!

Erin of the Mom Buzz is currently training to compete in a Figure Contest for 2009. If interested in sponsoring Erin on this endeavor, feel free to contact her via e-mail.