Say WHAT?

                               

“Don’t clean the windows with your pizza.”

Yes, you read that correctly.  We were done eating lunch, but Charley was still nibbling.  Cole and I were cleaning the windows.  He is my official “Squirter Guy” and Mommy is the wiper.  Charley just had to get in on the action.  So she walks over and slaps her piece of pizza against the glass and starts smearing it.  I am sure she thought it was wiping, but Mommy saw it as smearing.

At least she was trying to help clean.  :-)

Chalk another one up to things I never thought would come out of my mouth.  What have you said lately?  C'mon don't make me feel like I am the only one. :-(

Alphabet Crafts

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be recommending Alphabet Crafts today.  I think we all know how much I adore Allie at No Time For Flash Cards.  Well guess what?!? Alphabet Crafts is HER BOOK!

                             

That’s right.  She just released Alphabet Crafts this week.  It is an amazing e-book filled with the cutest crafts for letters of the alphabet.  A lot of you are like me and have preschoolers and/or toddlers in your home.  This book has crafts that would be great for both, while helping them learn their letters and phonics.

The coolest thing about this e-book (other than it was written by a mom for moms, is full of cute crafts, and it helps your child learn) is that it is only $8.00.  No, that is not a typo.  It is only $8.00!!

After reading this book I was inspired to do my own letter craft.  I did not want to do one that Allie has done, because I really want you to buy the book.  But this is “Allie inspired”. 

     We did W.                          W is for wheel.

We just used glue and wheel shaped pasta.  He is concentrating so hard while putting the glue on.  :-) By the way, that is a rhinoceros temporary tattoo on his cheek. That is where it HAD to be put.

 

Here is the information on the book:

                                 

Title: Alphabet Crafts

Author: Allison McDonald

Publisher: Memetales Publishing

Here is the link to get the e-book:  http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2010/03/ebook.html

To purchase the item you will need to right click the “Add to Cart” button and open in a new window or tab.  But it will take you there and you will get to buy it for only $8.00!!!!!!

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this e-book to review.  I asked Allie if I could do a post about it and she generously offered a free copy to review.  I received no compensation for this post.  I am supporting an immensely talented friend with her new project.  I have strongly recommended Allie’s site, No Time For Flash Cards, before this book was published and I read her site every day.

This post is linked up with Feed Me Books Friday over at The Adventure of Motherhood.  Janna hosts this meme as a great way for moms to share neat books with other moms.  Go over and check it out.  Why not share your recommendation, too?

Kim

Review of ToysandGamesOnline.com and a Giveaway:Closed

I was given the opportunity to review a site that has a great selection of childrens toys and games.  It is appropriately called ToysandGamesOnline.com. 

They have a great selection of neat items at really good prices.  Like this cool crafty Clamp On Paper Center for only $9.99!!!

                        

I was given a credit of $30 and got to shopping.  I spent forever looking through their selection.  I finally decided on this cool easel.

                         

I was sent a confirmation email of my order.  Then I was sent an email when the item was shipped with all of the tracking information.  My experience with ToysandGamesOnline.com was very pleasant.  I was extremely satisfied with the entire process.  You guys know me, I am not making this up just to be nice.  Their prices are very competitive and some are down right bargain bottom.  I strongly recommend going over there the next time you are doing some shopping.

You want to know the cool part?  They are providing me with a Step 2 Easel for Two for one of you!  That is right…it’s giveaway time.  Just enter the form below for a chance to win this easel.  Once again, this is just for me to be able to select a winner.  I do this entry form to keep your information off of the internet and make it fair for everyone.  So please enter. :-)

This picture could be of your kids enjoying your easel.

     

This giveaway is closed.  One winner will be randomly selected and notified by email.  The winner will have 3 days to claim the prize or a new winner will be selected.  This giveaway is limited to U.S. addresses.

Congratulations to Michelle! Check your email.    :-)

Disclosure: I was given a $30 credit to purchase an item for purposes of reviewing the site.  I did not receive any compensation.  I have written an honest review and the credit given has no bearing on that review.  This giveaway was generously sponsored.  While I appreciate this company giving this opportunity to one of you, it does not effect my review in any way.

Teaching Preschoolers Anatomy

I think we all know that my son has a serious Curious George obsession.  He LOVES Curious George.  I love Curious George.  Any show that has my 3 year old building something and saying, “Look Mommy, a cantilever!” or “We need a stick to use as a lever.” has my official seal of approval!  This activity I got right off of an episode of Curios George.

    

I took a bunch of paper that was used as packaging in a recent box and taped it together.  You can use any paper or even get an inexpensive poster board.  Cole laid down and I traced his body.  Sorry, it is hard to see in the picture below.

                        

We talked about our body and why we have different body parts.  We talked about bones and what they do.  My son told me, “Bones keep us from being mushy lumps on the floor.”  I had told him this only 100 times when we watched the episode when Curious George breaks his leg.  He still remembers.

                              

We felt different areas on our bodies to try to feel for bones.  When we found bones, we tried to figure out the shape of them.  He said his ribs were “stick bones”.  Then we drew the bones on the trace of Cole’s body.

We talked more about different body parts and the jobs that they have.  We talked about our heart, brain, lungs, and stomach.  I drew some on construction paper.  I cut out the brain and stomach, but Cole cut out the heart.  Yipee, he cut curved lines!!

                           

We talked about where he thought those body parts were in his body.  The only ones he got right were the heart and stomach.  LOL, a true boy!  We talked it over more and through some guided questions, he figured out where they are.  He taped the organs to the appropriate spots.

Now we have an “inside” look at Cole.  He got such a kick out of this.  We talked about body parts for days.  Well different ones than we usually talk about. *wink, wink*

This is a great way to teach your young one about their amazing body and how it works!  Try it.

What body part do you end up talking about the most at your house?

Kim

Memetales: A New Way to Interact with Books

It is Try and Tell Tuesday.  I have a neat new site I want to share with you.  Memetales is a great interactive site founded by a mom.  Memetales has online books and so much more. 

                   

You choose a book, try it out, buy it.  Is that it?  NO WAY!  Memetales helps inspire creativity and a love for books.  Linked with every book are activities related to the theme of the book.  There are also items from Etsy shops that are related to the theme of the book.

                   

Memetales is the only site I know of that takes reading a book to the next level.  Imagine being able to read a story about peacocks to your child at the computer, buying a peacock plush toy while there, and then going to the other room to make a peacock craft.  I think an experience like that would help reinforce that book with your child.  I think an experience like that would make your child love reading books that much more. 

                  

Memetales is a new site and I am more than happy to give my full support to an entrepreneur mom.  Tuesday night from 9-11 pm EST, there will be a twitter party to help launch the site.  If you are on twitter, I would love to see you there.  If you are not on twitter, it is pretty cool once you get used to it.  A twitter party is a great way to jump in.  A twitter party is like instant messaging with hundreds of people all talking about ways to make your kids love books (in this case).

You can go here to learn more about the twitter party.  I hope to see you there.  I will be a little late, though.  I have my foster/adoption licensing class until 9 pm CST, but I will be there.  :-)

Well that is what I have to share today.  What do you have?  Link up below or tell us in a comment.  If you join in below, please remember to link back here so others can find great sites and they can find you.

I can’t wait to see what you have to show!

I am part of the Mamarazzi

Do you chase your kids with your camera in hand?  Have you been told, “No more pictures, Mommy!”?  Is your memory card full of chocolate smiles and bare bottoms?  Then you are a part of the Mamarazzi.

                           

                                     They can try to outrun you.

 

          

                                    They can try to climb away.

 

               

              They can try to go to the center of the earth to escape.

 

                      

                             But the Mamarazzi will catch them.

 

                              

                         Until their bodyguard steps in, that is.

                That looks means I need to stop taking pictures.

 

So are you a member of the Mamarazzi, too?  Go over to Household 6 Diva and link up your pictures on Mamarazzi Monday.

Kim

Say WHAT?

                             “Can you put that in the A hole?”

 

This line is from one of my friends.  I won’t say her name.  We had a play date a couple of weeks ago and she told me about that line and how she immediately thought of me.  I laughed really hard! 

Now for the explanation behind the line.  “Jane” was playing a shape sorting game with her youngest.  After her child had successfully placed objects in corresponding holes, she asked about the next shape…the letter A.  And that is when she said the above statement.

Now “Jane” can chalk one up to things she never thought would come out of her mouth!

I thought it was hilarious and wanted to share it with you.  Now share yours with us.

Kim

Teaching the Scientific Method to Preschoolers

Yes, I love science.  I admit it.  If there were enough hours in the day, it might be fun to take an online class or two in science. I love teaching my son neat things about it, too.  Science can be so much fun for preschoolers and they never know they are learning, but you are building a great foundation for future understanding of basic terms.  Like the scientific method.
To demonstrate the scientific method we had a liquid race.

                            
I grabbed an empty cookie tray (this tray just might happen to be from Oreo’s  :-P) and some liquids of different viscosity (thickness).  I propped up one end of the cookie tray and we poured the different liquids in the lanes.

                   
I asked as we poured which one my son thought was going to win the race.  He told me the red one was going to win.  When I asked him why, he told me that red was one of his favorite colors and that is why. 

       

So we felt each liquid with our fingers.  We compared the textures (stickiness) and thickness.  We talked about if really thick and sticky syrup would go fast or slow.  Then we talked about the differences between the Kool Aid, the syrup, and the barbecue sauce.

My son then decided that the Kool Aid would win.  When asked why, he told me that it was runnier and more like water.  Yipee!

                 
So we did the race.  He was so excited to see the red win and be right.  I was excited to be there as he learned the scientific method, whether he knew it or not.  :-)  Try it.
Are you a science geek like me?  Or do you loathe it?
This post was linked up with Science Sunday over at Adventures in Mommydom.
Kim

Big Universe Site Review and Giveaway:Closed

                

Big Universe is a website that puts thousands of books at your fingertips.  Your membership allows you to access these books and read them right on your computer screen.  I am not talking about just having the words written on the screen, I am talking about the entire book.  You know how you can read the weekly ads on stores’ websites?  You can actually turn the page and see them just as you would if you had the ad in your hands.  Big Universe is like that.

I was given a free trial membership to review Big Universe.  It was very neat to be able to read a wide selection of books.  It was also extremely helpful while my children were sick.  Because no one wants sick kids at the library, including the mom. 

        

While there is no substitute for actually holding a book and having your child help you turn the pages, Big Universe has some very cool advantages. 

You have thousands of books a click away.  No loading up children and coordinating around naps and feeding schedules. 

You live outside city limits in a rural area like I do.  City residents take for granted that library memberships are free, because you pay for it in your city taxes.  If we want a membership at our local library it will cost us $145 a year!  Not kidding.  Then you have to drive back and forth as well.

Are you a military family?  Then you know that books are heavy.  You know that you can’t just load up a box full of childrens books without giving up other things.  Imagine not having to pack boxes full of books to move across the country or across the world.  All of the books would be right online.

          

Are you a homeschooling mom?  Big Universe allows you to let your child discover their inner author.  You can create and publish your own books.

Want to get a sneak peek at what Big Universe is about?  Click here to see a sample.  There is also a membership to create and publish your own books.  You can click here to see more about creating your own book.

Now I would love to let you win a 6 month membership to Big Universe!

Just fill out the form below.  After the post on Friday about sharing my favorite Dr. Suess with my children, I got inspired for a fun twist to this.  For an extra entry into the giveaway tell me what your favorite childhood book was.  You can get another entry if you tell me why it was your favorite book. 

This giveaway is closed.  One winner will be selected at random and notified by email.  The winner will have 3 days to claim their prize, or a new winner will be selected. 

Disclosure: I was given a free trial membership to conduct an honest review of Big Universe.  The free membership or the sponsorship of this giveaway by Big Universe had no impact on my review.  My words are my own and my opinions are honest.

Kim

Still In the Process…

Okay, I am still in the process of playing around with my sidebars.  Both of my children have been pretty sick.  Cole has an ear infection and a nasty cough.  Charley has a double ear infection and croup.  I haven’t been doing much computer stuff. 

Before I had buttons from some of my favorite blogs.  Well I have a ton of blogs that I like and want to share with you.  So I am going to be adding some buttons to the sides very soon.  :-)

Now there is one problem, though.  I have quite a few great blogs I read that I want to share with everyone.  But they don’t have buttons.  So I have decided to steal an idea from Allie at No Time for Flash Cards.  Allie is so wonderful!  I want to be just like her when I grow up, too bad I am older than she is.  :-(   I’m getting off course.

Sundays are going to be a showcase of my favorite sites that do not have buttons.  Each Sunday will have a new site.  I will also put a reminder to check out the buttons I do have displayed.  While I don’t have a ton of traffic to offer, I have my support.  Hopefully some of you will venture over to the other sites to check them out.  Who knows, your site may be the next one.  :-)

Kim

New Look for Rainbow Brite

                    

I am not the only one getting a new look around here.  Remember Rainbow Brite from your childhood?  If you are too young to know who Rainbow Brite is, you are no longer allowed to come to this site.  I am just kidding.  :-) 

I was given the opportunity to help spread the word that Rainbow Brite is coming back, and back with a new look.  Instead of looking like a 4 or 5 year old, Rainbow Brite and her friends look more like 7-8 year olds.  Still very sweet and cute looking.  It is nothing too grown up.

MomSelect and Hallmark sent me 10 CDs with Rainbow Brite games and activities on them.  They asked me to review the games/activities and Rainbow Brite’s new look. 

Unless Rainbow Brite’s new look consists of driving an excavator and having a talking dog, it is going to be of much interest to my test subject (my 3 1/2 year old boy).  My daughter is just too young.  So I gave one of the CDs I received to a girl in my son’s preschool class.

She is 4 and very into pony characters (you know the ones) and other girly things.  Her review of the CD was a BIG thumbs up.  She kept thanking me for the games.  Her mom told me that the games and activities were great and she liked the new look of Rainbow Brite.  The mom agreed that the look was more up to date without being too old and inappropriate for very young girls. 

Now for the remaining 9 CDs of Rainbow Brite games and activities.  Would you like one of them?

Well as usual, just fill out the form below.  Just to reiterate, this information is ONLY SEEN BY ME.  It doesn’t go anywhere but a goggle spreadsheet so I can have the entries numbered to determine the winners easier. 

Someone is going to win, it might as well be you!  Complete the form below before 9 pm CST on Wednesday, March 3rd to enter.  9 winners will be randomly selected and notified by email.  The winners will have 3 days to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected.

And the Silver goes to…

I am trying to watch the Olympics.  I am trying to get my son interested in some of the different sports.  Right now all he thinks is cool is, “Skiing really fast down the hill and jumping in the air.”  Makes my heart skip a beat just to think about him doing that.  AH!

So we have different pillows and cardboard pieces on various pieces of furniture to be “Jumper Skiers”.  We have even made medals.  All of ours are silver, though.

Do you recognize these?  If you do, you are my kind of woman.  These are the ends to tubes of cinnamon rolls and crescent rolls.  I just kept unrolling the package until the cardboard rolled out. 

   

Now you can use construction paper or get your child to color regular paper.  Draw lines on the paper and have your child cut along the lines.  It is very good practice for them and you might be surprised at how well they do.  Littler guys obviously will need Mom to do this. 

Tape the strips together (we did 3 strips) and tape the lid to them.  We found someone in our house that was willing to do the tape.  I wonder who it could have been?? ;-)

     

Tada!  You have an official silver medal for the Pillsbury Olympics.  Not really official, and no this is not affiliated or sponsored by Pillsbury, but you knew that. :-)  The kids have a blast performing the medal ceremony.  Mine get such a feeling of accomplishment.  It really is a lot of fun.  Try it.

Watching my children get excited about earning a medal in a pretend Olympics for pretend sports might be silly to others, but brings me a lot of joy.  That is why I am sharing this on Just For The Joy of It at Good, True, and Beautiful.

Kim

Sippy Cup Coozie

Okay, you guys are going to laugh at me, everyone does when they see my child with this (well they laugh at me for many other reasons, too). 

I put a coozie on my child’s sippy cup.  No, it’s not a brand named beer coozie.  Just some promotional pieces I have from various things over time.
Now as it is sinking in more, you see how useful this can be?  Friends laugh then they think about it and start doing at home, too.  It is nothing genius or monumental, but keeps your kids’ hands from freezing in the cold weather and keeps their drinks cooler in the warm weather. 
Insulated cups work great, until you put them in the fridge.  Then they are cold all over, not just inside.  So this is what I do.  It works for me.  Try it.
Since we are talking about kids taking drinks, who was the first person to give your kids a sip of soda? 
To my knowledge, it was me.  Now you tell…

Try and Tell:Tape Dispenser

My son has an obsession.  You see, he has an obsession with tape.  His preschool class has one of these.

Stock photo from Discount School Supplies

He has single handedly annihilated their tape supply.  He has started a trend in his class, too.  All of the boys make these crazy creations of tape, and then wrap them.  I have bought replacement tape for the classroom, but his need to create has now spilled over to our house.

The above tape dispenser is really neat, but did you know that the dispenser alone is $25-35?  Really?!?  He doesn’t even use the toothed little strip to easily cut the tape.  He prefers to cut it with scissors. 

I bought some rolls of masking tape at Walmart for $1 each, but he was having trouble getting it to unroll easily while he held it.  So I started looking around the house trying to figure out a solution.  Ah-ha!  A wire hanger.  Stay with me.

 

First I made sure it was a hanger with the looped hook, so there are not sharp points.  Then I turned the hook to be straight forward (90 degrees) instead of sideways.

 

I took off one side of the cardboard tube.  I slid the roll of tape onto it and reattached the cardboard tube.  Now my son can hold the hook with one hand and pull the tape with the other.  The hanger even keeps the open end of the tape in one spot so he can get more without Mommy finding the end on the roll.

He makes these lovely creations.  I have no idea what they are, but he loves them.  His creativity and excitement make me very happy. 

So now I encourage you to give your preschooler some masking tape (not clear tape or duct tape) and let their imagination run wild!  Try it.

Now I would love to see what you have to share.  Please link up your post below.  Please be sure to link back to Try and Tell so your readers can find other neat ideas and their readers can find you.

Guest Post on Real Life

I am very open about my name and my children's names.  I don't hide my life, but I don't really talk about it on this blog.  Today I am sharing a personal story on Real Life.  You can find it by clicking here.  It is about a very important decision on our part to pursue adoption. 
Have a great day and a great week. :-)

Bersica:Stain Free Clothes? Review

I was approached by Bersica Futurewear to review their new line of childrens clothing.  The email said “virtually stain-proof”.  After I scoffed, I replied and agreed to review it.  I was sent a shirt for my son and pants for my daughter.  I was set on giving these clothes a test!

Down to it. Because I know you are dying to know.  I put my son in some pants that would show stains, but I didn’t mind ruining.  The shirt was a Bersica Futurewear shirt. My daughter was opposite, Bersica pants and our shirt.  Here is the video of our test.  If you are reading this in am email or reader, click on the post title to come watch the video and enter below for the giveaway.  It’s worth it!  I promise.

It may look like I am completely missing my son, but the drinks were just running right off of the shirt!  It was crazy!  Now here are the before and after shots of the items. 

 

Here are the before and after pictures of the tops.  The green shirt is Bersica Futurewear and the other is just a regular shirt that my daughter has.

 

Here are the before and after pictures of the bottoms.  The pink bottoms are the Bersica Futurewear.  Isn’t that AMAZING?  I followed the washing instructions by washing in cold water with no fabric softener or bleach.  I let the items hang dry.

I have to say I am completely impressed and overwhelmed by the performance of this clothing line.  There are so many neat features of this line, including UV ray protection.  Please go over to their site at Bersica Futurewear to find out more.  There simply isn’t enough room to include all of them.

The only thing I have that I would improve on with Bersica Futurewear is the color selection.  I would expand on the colors offered, but they are a very new company and I am sure that more colors will follow their success.  I am certain of their success, because they are truly remarkable clothes. Oh, and how about some Mom shirts?  I tend to have more stains than my kids. :-)

How would you like to have your choice of a shirt or bottom for your little one?  You would?  I thought so! 

This giveaway has ended.  Thank you so much for entering.  The winner is Mary P. !

Winner will be notified by email and have 3 days to claim their prize, or a new winner will be selected.

Disclosure: I did receive two items to review from Bersica.  This had no effect on my honest review of the product.  Bersica was very generous to sponsor a giveaway when I asked them to.  No compensation was ever exchanged or discussed.  All of my statements are my own and based on my experiences reviewing this amazing product.