Sponge Fun

This summer we picked up some packages of sponges at the local dollar store. The initial reason for getting them was to cut them up into strips so we could use them as a "quiet" building tool to make towers. But, it didn't take too long before the girls took them and made long lines, put them in piles, and then took off with them to their play kitchen for some cooking. I was able to corral them for a little bit to do some counting, sorting, & patterning. Then, they were off again! Sometimes I find a random sponge piece under the couch or stuck in a shoe..... I guess the main point is do not underestimate the power of the sponge! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the water ball sponges too. You have to try it while the weather is still warm, or I guess you could toss them in the bath! Just check out the pics and links below.

Here is where we got our inspiration for building towers and sponge balls.
I'm sure as you surf the web and pinterest you'll find lots of ideas too! (and different types of sponges that you can use). Yes, please send more ideas my way and have fun!

Sorting

Patterns

     

Building

Water Sponges

10+ Mini Snack Cup Uses

The last year I've taken to using these little mini plastic snack cups for items like condiments & little snacks and putting them in lunches, taking them on road trips, picnics, or camping. Obviously, you could easily use little snack size baggies for most of these items, but sometimes cups are a bit more fun and less crushable for items like goldfish or cheerios.  And also, I'm not the best at always washing the reusable containers- or sometimes they just mysteriously vanish and are never to be seen again (maybe that only happens to me). Well, here are some uses I've found for them (food & nonfood).  I would love to hear your ideas too!

1- ranch dressing
2- peanut butter
3- salsa
4- hummus
5- nuts
6- cheerios
7- goldfish
8- raisins/dried fruit
9- chocolate chips/ m&ms
10-marshmallows

Hey, I didn't say it was all necessarily healthy!

Here are some more ideas.....

11- blueberries
12- peas
13- oyster crackers
14- any condiments
15- lego pieces/barbie shoes
16- pills
17- earring/rings
18- loose tea
19- coins
20- seasonings

Have fun thinking up ideas!

Blog Hop at Frugal Crafty Home Blog

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Coupon Cutting Tots

2 Girls + 2 Pairs of scissors + expired coupons = busy fun time

Here is my new version of coupon cutting....

Break out the kid scissors and let the kiddos have at it. Of course I tried to guide them about cutting on the lines to work on some fine motor skills, but who was I kidding. They cut and cut and cut to their little hearts content. It was fun just to watch them cut strips of paper, cut adds, cut pictures they liked. Be prepared for a little bit of mess, but for me it was well worth it. I even held back a pile of coupons/adds to save for another "rainy" day. I'm sure you could could have them cut out specific things like, colors, letters, numbers, fruits, veggies, animals, etc. We've done that before, but I didn't even feel like getting out the glue to make a collage. Maybe we'll try that next time.....

Let me know how it turns out for you!

10 Easy Sensory Bin Ideas

Over the past year, I've been keeping my 2 & 4 year old busy with a sensory bin (well, now they are 3 & 5)! My husband brought home a large blue plastic container from work, and I thought, "the kids will have fun with this." I don't think that was his original plan. Really, you could use any type of plastic container.

Here are some things we've tried or will be trying. I try to usually pick things that are simple, cheap, and not too messy. Despite my best efforts, there is inevitably a mess of some sort. Of course, we do things like water & sand outside when the weather is nice. This is also nice for days that are too hot or too cold.

I don't usually have a theme, because I'd never get it organized on time and sometimes we keep it out for a day or sometimes a few weeks at a time! I'm sorry I don't have pictures of them all right now (working on that!). You can add any spoons, bowls, cups, toys, etc. that your kiddos might like. I think you'll find that your kiddos will get creative with it all on their own. Have fun!


1-pom pom balls

2-dry noodles

3-dry beans

4-plastic eggs & grass

5-popsicle sticks

6-water (snow in the winter, bring indoors)

7-cotton balls

8-sand

9-leaves (real or fake)

10- nut & bolts


Do you have any more ideas for a sensory bin? Please send them my way!

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Springtime Fun-Top 10

Yeah for warmer weather!! I can finally send the kids outside more to burn up that excess energy. You know you've been thinking the same thing. We do have some family time too, of course :)  Here are some of the kiddos' favorite things to do on these warm spring days (that usually keep them busy for quite a while!).

1-Riding their bikes

2-Walking around the neighborhood or on the bike path

3-Bubbles (buy them or make your own homemade bubbles )

4-Sandbox (we just use a large plastic tub & put sand in it)

5-Playing with water & spray bottles (fill a plastic tub with water, grap some cups and you're set!)

6-Hula Hoops (found a good deal at the dollar general store)

7-Going to the Park (luckily we have a few parks to choose from)

8-Picnics (in the backyard or at the park)

9- Picking grass & flowers (yes, they throw it into piles and buckets & cook it up)

10- Sticks, dirt & rocks (they are just drawn to these things, can't keep them away!)

What keeps your kiddos busy outside?

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10 Apps On Our iPad Right Now

Our iPad is shared by the whole family, so we have a variety of apps on it. Here's just a few that we use pretty often these days! (in no particular order)

1-Pandora (we like our music stations)

2-Netflix (movies at the touch of a finger)

3-Angry Birds Space & Star Wars (is there such a thing as too many angry birds ?)

4-Cookie Doodle (make & design cookies .... less mess & low calorie :)

5-Pinterest (why not? easy access to my recipes)

6-Chicktionary (fun word making)

7-Make it Pop (pop objects to practice letters, counting, colors)

8-Monkey's Lunchbox (early learning concepts)

9-Math Ninja (fight a killer tomato & do some math)

10-Toddler Alphabet (sing abcs, trace & identify letters)

What apps are on your iPad or iPhone? Any recommendations?

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Advent Calendar Activities (10, plus 15 more)

I'm always looking for new ideas for advent calendars for the kiddos. Last year I made a calendar, but I wanted to try something different this year.  As a cruised through Pinterest, I saw an idea of using paper sacks that the kids could open each day. So, that was my starting point, and I adapted it for my kiddos (ages 8, 5, & 3).  Each sack has either a treat or special activity to do. I wrote the activities on index cards and stuck them in the sacks along with the items. I tried to make it as budget friendly as possible and use whatever we already had around the house.  I plan to stick the sacks under the tree and let them take turns opening a sack each day. Well, here's my list and what I stuck in each bag. Hope it's helpful! Have Fun! (scroll down for a few quick pics)

25 Activities 

1-M&M treat (m&m's)
2-Glow stick fun (glow sticks from dollar store)
3-Make Christmas Juice (kool-aide & straws)
4-Pick a toy to give away (Walmart sack)
5-Milky Way candy (mini Milky Ways-to remember Jesus is the way...)
6-Watch a Christmas movie (DVD we already have)
7-Balloon Fun (balloons to blow up & play with)
8-Drink Hot cocoa with marshmallows (baggies of marshmallows)
9-Make coffee filter snowflakes (coffee filters)
10-Pez candy treat (Pez candy & dispensers)
11-Write a thank-you note to someone (thank-you notes)
12-Read "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas'  (Santa hat for the reader)
13-Make Tree Craft (foam tree craft from dollar store)
14-Redbox movie night (popcorn & licorice)
15-Camp in the living room (mini flashlights & batteries)
16-Make Christmas cookies (cookie cutters)
17-Make Christmas cards to give away (holiday stickers)
18-Nerf Gun battle (nerf bullets)
19-Surprise in your stocking
20-Make a snowflake ornament (Popsicle sticks & puzzle pieces)
21-Family game night (deck of cards & LRC dice game)
22-Drive around and look at Christmas lights (mini light string)
23-Candy cane treat (candy canes- to remember Jesus is the Good Shepherd..)
24-Pick a gift to open early (gift bow)
25-Read the story of Jesus' birth (board book- but we'll read kids bible as well)

**Helpful tip: make sure you write down what you've put in each sack so you can be prepared for the activity or make a last minute change if needed!

What are your favorite Advent activities?

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10 Ideas for Do-A-Dots (aka Bingo Stampers)

Several months ago, I printed some alphabet pages for my girls (3 & 5). I thought they would enjoy abc stamping, so I found some bingo stampers at the dollar store. You can order Do-A-Dot markers online too, but we are sticking with bingo stampers for now.  Since my girls enjoy using them so much, I starting searching for other activities we could do using the stampers- here's what I came up with. There are lots of great sites out there with activities & printables. Check out the links below.

1- Do-A-Dot ABC pages
Make sure to scroll down to find this download.

2- Alphabet Mazes
You can stamp on the letters (or use stickers, color, etc.)

3- Stamping Games
Create your own bingo game and/or practice letters or numbers with these blank printables

4- Make patterns
Red, green, red, green.  Blue, blue, orange..... you get the idea.  Kids can make their own, or you can make some for them to copy.

5- Create your own picture
Grab some stampers, paper or paper plates and get creative

6- Dot Counting
Roll the dice and stamp the correct color & number

7- Bingo Dot Art
A collection of printables from DLTKs for seasons & holidays

8- Art Ideas
Ideas for fingerprint art and crayon resist art using stampers

9-Addition & Subtraction
Take a break from paper & pencil work and use some stampers instead

10- Do-A-Dot Activity book
There are books available to purchase to use with do-a-dot markers/ bingo stampers

I know there are more ideas out there. Please share!

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10 Baby Items for the 4th Baby

I don't think you need much for the 4th baby on the way, especially when you already have one boy, two girls and another girl on the way.  Regardless, it's still fun to go browsing at the latest baby items, and family & friends might be asking what you need. Or, if you give away items and/or get a "surprise" baby after you've sold everything at a yard sale,  you might need a few basic items again! So, here's a list of some things I came up with that might be helpful to you too (especially when your mind goes blank when someone asks......which rarely happens to me)!

1- Diapers  (You can never have to many diapers)

2- Wipes & Diaper cream (Ditto)

3- Infant car seat (Can't really go without this, especially when you give yours away ;)

4- Stroller for car seat (Who doesn't need a third stroller! I'm not lugging the double stroller unless absolutely necessary! The others are old enough to walk for a bit.)

5- Baby memory book- (I've tried to write notes for each kiddo, though not consistent, I give it my best try. Hopefully they'll appreciate any notes I can manage to write down)

6- Bibs (Always nice to have a few new bibs, after a few kids they get a little yucky)

7- Infant Medicine (Baby tylenol, gas drops, teething tabs..)

8- Pacifiers- (Need new ones for every baby, gerber nuk is our binky of choice)

9- Fisher Price Rock & Play Sleeper (Where was this when I had the other three kids? Thanks Mom & Grandma! Small, foldable, & light- guess where this baby will be sleeping?)

10- Gift Cards (For getting more diapers, wipes, formula, take-out dinners, and all the other things I can't think of right now and probably won't til the baby arrives....)

Hope this is helpful to you.  Now, what else can you think of that I've forgotten?

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10 Kids Memory Verses

The last few months we've been working on some easy memory verses with the kids, mainly our 4 & 8 year old. I thought it would be good for myself as well! We keep it simple and write about 1 new verse on an index card each week (or course, sometimes things just happen and we get a little behind!) We write in different colors - I think my four year old likes this best because she associates the colors with some of the verses. My 8 year old is doing a better job than I am! Well, without further delay, here's some we've worked on so far and a few that we will be doing sometime in the future. They are in no particular order.

1-In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1

2-Do not be afraid for I am with you. Isaiah 43:5

3-Every word of God proves true. Proverbs 30:5

4-I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

5-Children, obey your parents in all things. Colossians 3:20

6-Whatever you do, do everything for the Glory of God. 1Corinthians 10:31

7-Every good and every perfect gift is from above. James 1:17

8- Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2b

9- Pray without ceasing. 1Thessalonians 5:17

10-Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Is there a special verse that you like to do with your kiddos?

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10 Sensory Bottle Ideas

I just made some sensory bottles for the kiddos this week. I found many ideas out there so I thought I'd share a few. We ended up using glitter & food coloring, dice, ribbon, plastic squares, and beaded necklaces. I also found VOSS water bottles at our local Kroger store. The labels were easy to peel off too, but you could use any kind of bottle you like!

Here are some things you probably already have around the house that you could put in the bottles.

1-glitter
2-curled cut ribbon
3-dice
4-bead necklaces
5-plastic beads
6-small pebbles
7-little Legos
8-plastic buttons
9-foam shapes
10-oil

I'm sure you could even mix & match some thing too. Try sand & pebbles, or food coloring & oil. We also found some little plastic frogs, colored paper clips & a few other things we wanted to try, but we ran out of bottles. Is there such a thing as too many bottles? I think I'll have to limit myself, but these would be great inexpensive gift ideas too! Oh, make sure that when you are happy with the bottle, glue the cap on.

Check out these links for even more sensory bottle ideas!

The Jandernal Journal- sensory bottles

Pink Pistachio- sensory bottles

Southern Thomas- discovery bottles

Meet The Dubiens- I Spy bottles

If you have any more ideas, please pass them my way! 

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10 Books That Make Us Giggle

Here are some books that the kids & and I have enjoyed reading the last few months, and usually get a good chuckle! Some of them are a series of books. Most we check out at the library and a few we own.  The nice thing about these books is they are funny & a pretty easy read, so my second grader could read them to the younger two kiddos if I'm busy doing something (of course, that doesn't happen very often!) Are any of these your favorites too?

1. Elephant & Piggie (series)

2. Knuffle Bunny (and Knuffle Bunny Too & Free)

3. Fly Guy (series)

4. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

5. Olivia

6. Pigs to the Rescue

7. Ninja, Cowboy, Bear 

(try this if you like to play rock, paper, scissors!)

8. Little Critter's: The Trip

9.  I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

10. Oh, David!

Happy Reading! 

p.s.  My 4 year old gave me her approval of these books while I was posting the pics! She gives them two thumbs up!

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10 Road Trip Snacks for Kids

So the kids (ages 7, 4, & 2) and I are getting ready to head out on a 8+ hour road trip this coming week, so I am starting to get packed and gather some goodies for the car ride.  I thought I'd share a list of the things I most commonly pack for them to munch on- which is usually easy, kind of healthy, and what I know they'll eat and hopefully not to messy! Well, it also depends on what's in the cupboard or on sale at the store too.

I try my best, but usually road trip + kids + snacks = mess anyway.

1-String cheese
2-Apple slices
3-Pretzels (stick pretzels & waffle pretzels are fun)
4-Fruit chews or fruit strips
5-Sliced red or yellow peppers
6-Squeezy applesauce pouches
7-Granola bars
8-Goldfish
9-Dried pineapple
10-Dry cereal (something fun like apple jacks, etc.)

Some of their other favorite things for when the going gets rough...
-licorice
-M&M's
-lollipops
-marshmallows
-fun juice boxes 

Here's a few pics of some things that might be handy.

Squeeze applesauce

Sippy cap for water bottles

  

Fun juice sippy & reusable too

   











What works for your kiddos on long trips?

Also check out Disneyfamily.com  for some more ideas.

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Top 10: Postive Words for Kids

Here's my first Top Ten Post. I may not be consistent, but I'll give it my best! 

When I was teaching I always found it helpful to keep a list of positive phrases by my desk to either say or write on papers, etc. You wouldn't think you'd forget these, but it happens in the midst of all the day to day hustle and bustle.  I think they would be helpful for anyone that's around kids.
Here goes...... 

1- Way to go!
2- Super
3- Good Job
4- Great Thinking
5- Awesome
6- Keep up the good work
7- Brilliant
8- You are so creative
9- Excellent
10- I'm proud of you

The list could go on...... here's a few more
- Cool!
- Very Interesting
- Wow
- You're a hard worker
- High Five
- Nice Work

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One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, BLUE Fish......(part 2)

Here's a few activities we did last week to go along with the Dr. Seuss book, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  (Better late than never, right?) We kept it very, very simple, plus I still didn't get to do everything I planned. I have a small collection of Dr. Seuss activities on my pinterest board too.

Also, as a side note, our BLUE beta fish is still alive & swimming! And no one has stuck any goldfish in the tank yet either!

Goldfish Sorting

Simple sorting. The possibilities are endless though. Sorting & eating was enough for us

Sorting & Eating, Eating & Sorting

Blue Jello Snack

We made a batch of blue Jello and stuck in some Juju fish (from Kroger).

Yummy! (see helpful link below)

Simple Girl Blog- Dr. Seuss snack 

More Juju Fish Fun

Patterns

Sorting (again)

 Paper Plate Fish

I would recommend using small plates, but we did large because that's what we had. Painting anything with q-tips is fun and you can just toss when done!

Paint & Q-tips

Painting the plate

Here, fishy, fishy.

One fish, two fish, red fish, BLUE fish...... (part 1)

We just recently got a new brilliantly BLUE beta fish at our house. Sadly, we needed to give away our dog, so to ease the transition we bought a fish.  Of course, when we went to the pet store the kids were attracted to every animal except the fish! But, we remained strong and came out of the store with one beta fish in one small fish bowl (the bowl does have a cool color changing LED light though). Having a pet is always interesting with three kiddos. I have a feeling some interesting things might happen. Here's what I've been pondering...

1) Will the bowl get knocked over, or how long before it gets knocked over?
2) Who will be the first to stick a toy through the hole in the lid?
3) How long before my 2 year old feeds the fish her snack?
4) When will the bowl get hit by a flying nerf bullet? 
5) Will they forget we even have a fish?
6) How long will this fish live? Can we find a look-a-like?

All of you parents know what I'm talking about.....
 

I'm also a big fan of Dr. Seuss, you know his birthday is March 2nd. (March 2nd- Read Across America Day ) I thought I'd post a few fun ideas & some links as a tribute to this brilliant author whose work has never been matched! I'm sure you'll find an abundance of ideas this week all over the internet! To keep my life simple and because I can never get everything done that I plan for, I'm just gonna stick with one book- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and do a few activities with my 2 & 4 year old. You'll have to stay tuned for more..... See you again very soon! 

Chalk it up

Did you ever feel like you wanted to jump into a chalk drawing- you know, like Mary Poppins- which we watched not so long ago! Okay, I really haven't either.

 The reason I mention it though is because I sent two of my kiddos ( 4 & 7) outside to get some fresh air with a bag of sidewalk chalk. About 45 minutes later I was surprised to find this rather detailed chalk drawing - maybe springtime is on it's way!  I'm pretty sure my son drew most of it and my daughter "supervised" and added a tornado (who doesn't like a tornado). I couldn't help but post the pic cause I was so impressed. Don't chalk drawings and lemonade stands go hand in hand? Well, here's a song while you ponder that thought.

Mary Poppins- Jolly Holiday song

To go along with this chalk theme, I gathered a few ideas for chalk. Okay, I know it's not quite the season yet, but you can file it away for a sunny day.  Here you go!

Nick Jr.- 5 Favorite Chalk Games

10 Ideas For Sidewalk Chalk

Chalkboard Wall Idea (from Nest of Posies)

From LMNOP to L - M - N - O - P

Today's menu special:  Now I Know My ABCs

How do you move from singing the ABCs with your toddler or preschooler to helping them learn to recognize & write the ABCs ?  I've always been highly interested in early literacy, and I used to get asked often from parents about what they can do at home with their kiddo. There are so many ideas out there it almost gets overwhelming. But, here's one quick resource that I think you'll like.  I hope you'll join us on this "literacy adventure".

I was browsing the internet looking for ideas for alphabet fun for my little ones (ages 2 & 4) and I ran across this site. I thought I'd share this find with you, especially if you have a little one learning the ABCs. It has almost everything listed that I could think of myself, including ABC read aloud suggestions, so rather than retype that all- here's a quick link.

I personally prefer more hands-on type of activities at this age to expose the kiddos to the alphabet. Pencil & paper can come later.  As you know though, no two kids are the same, so I'll think you'll like the variety of activities.  Hope it's fun & helpful.

PreKinders- alphabet practice ideas

You probably have a lot of these items sitting around your house already, or would be easy & cheap to pick up @ the Dollar Store. (ex. magnetic letters, shaving cream, clothes pins, abc stickers, divided trays, burner covers to use for sand writing, paper plates, bags, ...... the list could go on.....)

Since you know I also like music AND it's a great memory device for kids too,  I just had to include a few of my favorite fun ABC songs. Feel free to dance along or make up some ABC actions (I won't peek, I promise)!

If-you-like-to-talk-to-lemons.....

Lemonade (tune: Veggie Tales theme song)

If you like to talk to lemons,

If an orange can make you smile

If you like to drink lemonade

soaking in the sun a while....

-Have I got a drink for you..

Lemonade, Lemonade, Lemonade, Lemonade

Lemonade, Lemonade, Lemonade, Lemonade

There's never ever ever ever ever been a drink like lemonade

There's never ever ever ever ever been a drink like lemonade

Mix & stir, stir & mix, no cute tricks

Lemonade

Drink & sip, sip & drink, give a wink

Lemonade

There's never ever ever ever ever been a drink like lemonade

There's never ever ever ever ever been a drink like lemonade

It's time for lemonade!

Yes, we have been watching A LOT of Veggie Tales around here lately!!  And yes, it was worth the time to write this catchy tune, even if I am on the only one entertained. I'm sure I could improve upon it, but that might really be a waist of time :).  I just can't help but make up silly songs- it must be in my DNA (thanks dad).

We've had a lot of nice family moments lately snuggled up on the sofa watching these interesting, silly & clever shows- might I add, there's a good message in all of them too.

If you have never had the pleasure of watching Veggie Tales, prepare to be enlightened.... here's two links for you. Enjoy! The pleasure is all mine. If nothing else, the child sitting on your lap while you try to type with one hand will be entertained for a few minutes :)

Veggie Tales Theme Song (you tube)

Veggie Tales Home Page (games, videos, songs)

We have also been watching the Veggie Tales movie,  The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, which has some catchy tunes. You can't help but just tap your foot or bob your head when you hear the "Rock Monster" song (or maybe that's just us.....) I would hate for you to miss out, so here's a link for you! 

Rock Monster Video

Paper + Glitter Glue = Sweet Hearts

Roses are red

Violets are blue

If I can make a craft

So can you...

I will tell you from the start that I am not a crafty person. The following may not even qualify as a "craft". When my kiddos want to do a project I usually see what we have in our cabinet and resort to pulling ideas from my mental files of kindergarten projects or solicit help from a teacher website or  pinterest.  I may even ask them ......what do you think we should do (isn't that higher level thinking).

Trying to be in the spirit of this loving season we made some paper hearts with glitter glue (some of our family members might be receiving these in the mail soon).

You may ask, why paper hearts & glue?  Well, I opened up the cabinet and we had construction paper and glitter glue. I'm sure you could do drops of paint or even put paint in old glue bottles that they can squeeze. 

So, I cut out a variety of heart shapes for my 2 and 4 year old, and they went to town with the glitter glue. My 7 year old even decided it was cool enough for him to join in too. To make it a little more interesting, we folded the hearts in half so we could get a symmetry effect.   I'm sure you could go a step further and turn them into sweet little heart critters or butterflies, but I was tired by that point.  We may write some special messages on them though :)

Here's a few pics of this complicated process.......

*I am slightly biased, but I love the chubby fingers squeezing the glue*

Squeeze the glue

Finished with glue

Fold in half and gently pat or rub

Open the heart

Lots of hearts !

Really I know this is nothing extravagant, but we all had fun. I could barely sneak away the glue from my 2 year old to make my own!  (9 for kids + 1 for momma = 10 sweet hearts)