CoCo's Daughter

HAPPY JULY!!!!!

Big month over here for our fam. The Twinados and I celebrate our birthdays this month! So, with that in mind, us Summer Babies celebrate all month long.

All. Month. Long.

...in the only way we Crabby sign gals know how. By feasting! And, being sentimental. Lawd, I love cheers-ing things! So, with that in mind, tonight we're kicking off {31 Days of Happy} by having a big old fat pan of Mint Chocolate Chip Rice Krispie Treats for dinner.

#BecauseChocolate

My Grammie RoRo always taught me to stray from traditional Krispies by jacking them up. Ro's specialty is to always add in a handful of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to sweeten the deal. Seems so simple, but I still can't make them as good as her. I swear she adds a dash of something else magical in there, but never tells me. I'll get that broad to spill one of these days!

Anyhoo, I figured me and my baking babes could create another special family recipe. So, off we went to Weggies on a marshmallow mission for the ages. Game faces were on. Choco was in sight. Butta was on deck.

Here's how it went down when we came home,,,

We melted 4T of butter in a large pot on low, then gently stirred in a bag of mini marshmallows {with a spatula that was drenched in cooking spray}. When the mix resembled melted fluff, it was time to sprinkle in a few drops of peppermint extract and pop in 4 cups of chocolate Rice Krispies cereal. We sprayed a 10 x 13 with Pam, then plopped the mixture in to cozy on up for our Friday night fun.

See this PINK princess? Buy her at JoAnn's.
It's part of the Olivia Collection by Buttercream. Ceramic lined.
Leaves no knife marks, yo.

When it cooled, we cut up little Andes mints and mini choco chips and threw them on top. In order for these chocolate gems to stay put and not fall off, we melted a handful of green chocolate wafers and drizzled it on like the bad mammajammas that we are.

Like a freakin' mountain of marvelous madness.

Here's to Day 1 of our birthday month fun! Try these, ya dollfaces!

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Summa, summ-ah, summ-ah tiiiiime.

Oh, Will Smith - you're right. We all SHOULD just sit back and unwind.

But, while we kick up our Havaianas on the hammock and bust out a fresh new issue of People - what will the little kiddos do? Well hey girl, here's some Summer Toy inspiration to fill up that backyard so you can fill up on all things Ryan Gosling.

{Airplane}

Walmart sells it! Papa, CoCo + Aunt Shees gifted the Twinados with this last year, and they pretty much talk about ti everyday. The girlies' preschool had this on their playground, and it sits 5 passengers for playtime fun! It's a steep investment - but YOLO!

{Beachy}

Stock up on beachy stuff - pails, shovels, rakes, plastic botas/cars/trucks, etc. - and keep it in one of those reusable bags in the checkout line at Marshall's. When you're done at the beach, just toss everything in the bag, clean off when you get home and stock the bag back up so it's ready to toss in the trunk the next time you're headed to sandy land.

{Bench}

My vintage heart was swoonin' up a storm when I saw this little number by Step 2. It's multi-purposely magical, I tell ya. We keep ours in our garage right next to the door. The gals have a spot to take off their jelly flats, and we have a spot to store more toys. The seat flips up for extra storage.

{Basketball Hoop}

We have the one that adjusts to match the height of the kiddos. Keep it by the pool for big kids, get a neighborhood game going in the drive, or move it in the garage when it's rainy. We scored a pink/purple version at TRU. It includes 1 lil basketball.

{Bikes}

This is pretty obvi, but I thought I'd throw it on here because last year, we busted out the 12-inchers and our girlies looked like Le Bron at a Kindergarten table. {p,s, #Believeland #StillInIt} Whoops! Have those kiddos hop on those bikes right when the weather breaks and size em up. Here's a little sweetie by Radio Flyer that we adored when they were wee little babes. The old school vibe was on point.

{Bounce House}

Kohls. 30%. On a Friday or Saturday. You know the drill!

{Bubblemaker}

Soapy water - and drippy sticks - and spilled bottles. Totes gross. But, those lil pumpkins love 'em, of course! Get a bubblemaker to soothe your OCD self and know that my own OCD self is rooting for you from the side of mine.

{Carriages}

Got little mamas at your house? Let them take their babies on a walk with these vintage Step 2 baby carriages. While you work off that Ben and Jerry's, they're able to show off their little darlings to their neighborhood friends.

{Cones}

Kohls again! Buy this Melissa & Doug stack. It has several colors. We bought 2 sets of these 8-packs and the girls have done everything with these - Red Rover, obstacle courses, play food ice cream cones. Whatevs. Your kiddos will think of something clever to do with them!

{Cozy Coupe}

A classic. Never gets old. Never! Back in the day, my Sheesh and I rocked the original red/yellow one - but now, they have some sweet designs! Our gals loved the 30th anniversary addition ones with the little faces on them. Can't go wrong with one of these! {Unless your long-legged ladies grow up and can't fit in them anymore. Wah!} A few years ago we scored an 80s-style one at a garage sale and spray painted it with Krylon paint to zhoosh it up. Worked like a charm!

{Easel}

Same drill - garage on rainy days and backyard when 'ol Sunny's out. We found a Step 2 version with a dry erase board on one side and chalk on the other. There's a clip to attach blank paper to draw or paint on. For cheap paper, we broke out old Christmas wrapping paper, turned it over to the non-patterned side and watched Picasso and Monet go to work.

{Fence}

We grabbed one of these play yard fences, opened it up and stretched it from one end of the garage door opening to the other. This way, kiddos can play in the garage and when that ball goes rolling toward the driveway, Little Lucy isn't going with it!

{Fishing Game}

Another back-in-the-day beaut! I stalked this one for over a year on eBay and Craigslist. Scored one in our hometown! Thought I'd pass out! Kiddos can work on some fishing skills with this playful little peach. The fishing pole line extends to try to hook around the tails of the plastic fishies. {Yep...I said fishies, hehe}

{Fishing Poles}

Get those kiddos on a dock. Stat! 'Ol Babs has a girlie version for those out there with pond princesses.

{Gardening}

Put those junior gardeners to work! Melissa & Doug sells a bag 'o gardening fun. Step 2 ups the ante with a wheelbarrow set.

{Gas Tank}

Hours. Of. Fun. Let them gas up their Cozy Coupes and feel like they are sweet sixteen!

{Gator Golf}

I kid, You. Not! My gals received this for their 3rd birthday from twin friends of theirs {born just 3 days after them!} and they literally said "Gator Golf" for the next 6 ~~hours~~ ~~days~~ MONTHS after opening the gift. They fell asleep in the backyard that birthday party night with plastic golf clubs in hand. You need this. Trust me!

{Hula Hoops}

Classic. Just a sweet 'ol classic.

{Jungle Gym}

On my Bucket List. Gotta make it happen. YOLO strikes again!

{Lacrosse Sticks}

Get those middies and attackers prepped for the field. Chi-LAX on the sidelines and take pics!

{Lawnmowers}

These were given to the girlies by Uncle WW and Auntie Jules. We're saving them for our grandkids because we love them so much! Have the kiddos "help" with the yard.

{Moon Bounce Balls}

It's like the pogo ball of our day - only this one doesn't have an ode to Saturn rings and you sit on it.

{Outdoor Movies}

Get to Kohls. Get a projector. Get outside. Get some s'mores going {with peanut butter cups, yo!}. Zootopia just came out, so you know what to do. Hop like Judy and get to the backyard!

{Picnic Table}

Keep one in the garage. Keep one in the backyard. If you buy ANY one thing on this list - buy THIS! It seats 6 kids. SIX!!!!!! Comfortably. With room! And designated seats. I can't even deal. Adults can fit on these too. {Take the outside seat, sweets.} Kohls has em. Craigslist has em. Garage Sales have em. Stalk these. I'm tellin' ya!

{Plasma Cars}

No words to describe this alien-style ride on toy, so I'll be posting a video to show you exactly how these out-of-this-world toy works! It can hold up to a few hundred pounds. No joke! It has some epic gravity deal going on where you don't even have to use your legs to gain momentum - you can just turn the handles and be on your way.

{Play House}

New or old - it never goes out of style! Even if you find one that's a little gently loved - your kiddos won't care one single bit. Step 2 rocks our world again with a cottage from their Naturally Playful line.

{Play Kitchen}

Find a little kitch and toss her in the garage. Add play food and a picnic table and you have your very own 5-star restaurant. Let your little chefs feed you such gourmet goodies as a ketchup bottle sammich, pickle soup and french fry ice cream.

{Play Yard}

Got wee ones? Put a sheet down in the grass, prop up this play yard from Tar-zhay {best price on the 'net} and toss in some plastic balls. Instant ball pit! and, that darling dumpling is safe and sound while the big kids run around.

{Pool}

There have been many baby/toddler pools made throughout the years, but none are as great as the vintage Step 2 Big Splash. She's gorgeous! She's perfect! She's a damn unicorn. It might be tough to find these, but search to the ends of the ocean for one, love. Just do it.

{Produce Stand}

I know your garage is getting full - but move out that Mustang and make room for this gem! Have the kids keep their play food in here and teach them how to run a business. Very dear family friends of ours own a produce company {oh, hey there "R" famiglia!} and their littles have one of these. It's just so cute I could squeeze it like a perfectly locally grown potato.

{Roller Coaster}

We kept one of these in our basement for anytime fun - but I know some peeps who keep these Step 2 sweeties on the patio. We sure didn't have these back in my day. Wowza!!! Your coolness card will sure coast to the next level with the kiddos if you get one of these! There's even an Extreme version of this. I die.

{Sandbox}

Who had the turtle back in the day? Raise 'yo hands high so I can see em! They make ones now with little canopies. Crazy!

{Scooters}

Don't forget the helmets!

{Shopping Carts}

The little will have lots of "fun" picking up the toys they've scattered around the garage or the backyard. Make a game out of it and high five yourself on the trickery!

{Sidewalk Chalk}

It will get everywhere. EVERYWHERE. It'll be tracked in your house, it'll be on crazy wittle faces, it'll be all over sandals and found in random places. SOAK IT UP! They'll grow up too fast and you'll be longing for your driveway to have a garden of delightful daisies, a happy hopscotch game and a marvelously misspelled name.

{Slide}

It's a staple! Any kind you buy will be a hit. We found stationary ones at first, and then Step 2 sauntered in with her sassy self and now we have one whose steps fold in for easy storage.

{Soccer Nets}

Little Tikes for the win! Super cute colors. Super fun time.

{T-ball}

Don't forget to pick up a bag of extra wiffles!

{Teeter Totter}

Oh, Step 2 how I...love...you. Another one from their Naturally Playful line. This is the BOSS of all teeter totters. Sturdy and well-designed doesn't even begin to describe how well-made this diamond is.