With the cost of childcare at the going rate of at least $10 an hour and some charge another dollar per child per hour (with my clan it could be as much as $12/hr-yikes!), needless to say it can get pretty pricey to go anywhere for any length of time! (We definately miss the built in sitters of grandparents and in-laws!)
It's such a great idea to trade off with a family or two that you trust and whose kids your kids get along with...thankfully for us, the Lowery's are just the ticket. Our kiddos absolutely LOVE when Will, Hayes, Olivia and Caroline come over! Mine and Rebekah's birthday's were both in October so we traded off date nights, which was such a treat!
Here's a little recap of our time together. With 7 kids ages 6 and under it's helpful to have a few planned activities to pass the time along.
They all played great together then we moved out onto the porch and made a few crafts (everyone colored a wooden turkey that I picked up from Hobby Lobby) then put stickers on construction paper and colored with markers.
After that we made rice crispy treat pumpkins with the oh so yummy stems made of tootsie rolls and leaves made of icing. The kids had a blast helping to roll them into pumpkin shapes, getting their hands slathered in butter to help the rice crispy's keep from sticking, added to the tastey treat!
For dinner, we enjoyed some good ole pizza then gobbled up our cute pumpkins for dessert.
To finish off our evening we piled up pillows and blankets on the floor in the family room and the kids laid mesmerized by Ratatouille which is such a cute movie. It really was a fun night, the kids had a blast and Adam and I enjoyed it too. We'll have to plan another co-op again soon!
Miss making food for you. Just say-in.
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