Reston Mom

easiest DIY play stove EVER!

I needed a storage option for some toys that are out in the girls' playhouse in the backyard - including some plastic food and dishes.  They like to play house/store out there and so after I bought this cheap 3-drawer plastic storage container, I decided to use a sharpie to turn the top of it into a stove so that they could play cook outside.  Voila!  And there is convenient storage for all the little foods and dishes underneath.  

This would be great inside too for toddlers while mom is working in the kitchen and could easily be pushed into a pantry or wherever when wanted out of sight.  

 

Thinkfun is really fun!

We were familiar with the game Zingo by Think Fun - but I didn't realize they hadso many great games for a variety of ages!  I want them ALL for our family!  I saw a display at Barnes and Noble while I was there and got really excited about this line of games.  I also happened to see that they make a bunch of brain teasers (they call them serious puzzlers) - which I LOVE and wanted to buy them all for myself! Then, I discovered on the website, they have online demos for 6 of the games so you can just play those there and three more besides here.  I'd rather my girls play these games than some others on the computer anyway - so I thought that was really cool. 

Family Points Success = High Ho Cherry-O

A little while ago I wrote about the tactic we are using to teach our kids about "family is a team" - you can read about that here.  Well, we finally reached our goal of 25 family points - hooray!  So we went out together and chose High Ho Cherry-O to purchase and play together.  Now the girls are busy working towards another 25 points and the opportunity for our family to choose another game.  I feel like I have started to see the mentality of family and cooperation and team and selflessness reinforced in the actions of our girls.  We will continue with what we focused on a lot last round; helping eachother, creating a peaceful and orderly environment to live in together, and resolving their own sibling conflict peaceably.  I felt like the correlation between what we've been working on and the prize of fun family time together around a new game was appropriate and true to the lesson.  This was all a very experimental tool for teaching, but so far I'm pleased.

Note about High Ho Cherry-O - The girls really liked this game and it was easy enough that Maddie could play confidently too.  I must say though that it is terribly simple for adults (translation: zzzzz....booooring!) but short enough that it is over quickly - which isn't much help in our home since much like Candyland, that means we end up playing a gazillion rounds in a row until Mommy and Daddy can't stand it anymore.  We had a lot of fun playing it together though and that is what it was all about.  

Bump and Chuck

I was actually introduced to these Kid Galaxy  RC Bump and Chuck bumper cars over at Jorge Garcia's blog (that's right, the actor from Lost - on a side note, I don't know how I became a regular visitor to his blog, but something about his humor kind of tickled me and it just sort of stuck). I thought they looked like so much fun.  They are a kind of like remote-controlled bumper cars - you just chase each other around trying to hit your opponent's eject button and send their driver up into the air.  

cuddle bug kids

A long time friend of mine has opened an Etsy shop - Cuddle Bug Kids - featuring her beautiful products designed especially to provide structure and sensory support to kids with ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, PPD-NOS, and Sensory Integration Disorder.  

Her weighted stuffed animals and lap blankets are not only beautifully homemade but totally cute!  You'll also find great reading pillows and hand toys/fidgets. 

Also, you can purchase neat visual schedules for home and school.  

moov over lame toys, this one rocks!

 

This Moov toy is fantastic!  You can build up to 4 different vehicles all from this one kit.  Tools aren't necessary, just the rings, axels, frames, and planks that come with it.  I think it is geared for kids ages 8-12, though actually I think some mechanically-inclined children could do well with this even a couple of years younger.  Somehow, I see this as a toy that boys in particular would love.  Spend time building a scooter and then ride it around for a while, take it apart and build a 4 wheeler.  Some kids are really into building things and taking them apart and I think this brings a good opportunity for being constructive, engaged, and entertained for a while.  I'm not counting out girls though, there are some that would totally dig this too!  Find out more here and even watch a video of some kids putting it together. 

best homemade playdough

This is my favorite recipe for homemade playdough.  The dough is so soft and smooth and put in an airtight container will last a long time.  Even I like to play with it, especially the kneading it while it is still warm feels so good on my hands!

I've made lots of kinds of playdough, from salt doughs to edible doughs for my girls to play with.  But I just really like the texture of this one.  The woman who passed this recipe on to me makes it with spices so that the dough smells like gingerbread or cinnamon...my girls like food coloring and glitter in theirs! 

1 C flour

1/2 C salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 C water

1 tsp. vegetable oil

food coloring (optional)

• mix the dry ingredients together
• mix the oil, water, and food coloring first, then add to dry ingredients
• cook the mixture in a pot on low/medium stirring constantly (3 - 5 minutes maybe?)
• the dough will thicken, pull away from the side of the pot, and stick together in a large ball in the middle, take it out (recommended to take it out when you see a VERY faint skin on the dough, but you'll recognize the texture of a soft playdough)
• take it out of the pan and let it cool enough to handle 
• knead the dough until smooth 
• allow the dough to cool completely before storing in an airtight container 

  

I can't help but think that this would be a fun gift for kids to make and give to their friends or as party favors.   I usually double the recipe and split it between my two girls - which makes quite a bit! but does take a few minutes longer to cook. It does make your hands feel a little bit salty after playing with it, but cleans up easily.

back to basics

I like this site. I found out about Back to Basics toys through my friend Amy.  They have lots of great classic toys and learning toys.  Maybe I just like them because they are the only ones I've found so far who sell fashion plates - anyone else remember these?  

I totally adored my own set back in the 80's and played with them a ton.  I can't wait to find a reason to give a set to my girls.  

 

This is the kind of company where you'll also find Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots, Mrs. Beasley doll, Raggedy Ann and Andy and awesome circus and choral tops (I adore the tops!!!!) and the Bandmaster Stack-O-Matic...if you're up for a trip down memory lane.  But all the toys and games and gear are great, there is a great variety for everyone.  Next time you're up for buying toys and want something a little more unique, check out Back to Basics.

Uncle Wiggly

For my daughter's birthdays, a friend gave them the board game "Uncle Wiggly."  I had never played it before, but she recalled really enjoying it as a child.  I was pleasantly surprised as we all really liked it as well.  It's your very basic board game based on a character from a series of books by American writer Howard Roger Garis.  It features a path numbered from 1 to 100 (great counting practice for little ones) and cards that you draw to allow you to move up to 20 spaces at a time (more great counting practice).  I love that there are more options for how many spaces to move and we found that with the path numbered as it was, we could actually use this as addition practice for Hope, while Maddie is working on counting to higher numbers.  

Perhaps the best part is that each card is a little rhyming poem - great reading practice for Hope and enjoyable for Maddie to listen to.  The numeral is also displayed on the card for younger players who can't read yet.  

We really enjoyed the illustrations as well.  There aren't really any bells and whistles to this game, just a really great basic game that is totally enjoyable..and let me tell you - I was soooo ready to turn in Candyland for something else! This was perfect! 

Monchichi

This is a bit random, but I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into Safeway tonight and saw Monchichi dolls (or are they more aptly stuffed animals? I'm not sure) for sale.  I totally remember these from my 80's childhood and thought they'd sort of disappeared from the face of the planet.  A little research revealed that the cartoon all but has (probably good since it was terrible, short-lived, and based on these weird dolls)...and yet, Safeway.  There they were, all happy and freckle faced smiling back at me.  Does anyone else actually remember these guys?

play top

This play top looks like so much fun! 

pop beads

I recently came across a bucket of pop beads by Parents at Target - which of course brought back lots of memories from the 80's.  If you don't remember these...they are little plastic beads with a hole on one side (shall we call it the female side? :) and a..we'll just say that there is a "male" side too.  You "pop" them together to make an assortment of colorful beaded necklaces and bracelets.  We bought them that day for a friend's birthday, but I couldn't help but go back and buy some later for my own girls.  This particular set is fabulous.  It has the typical size round beads and an assortment of other shapes and textures too, plus a decent amount of large beads too which are great for smaller hands like Maddie's.  Also, there are some new surprises with the addition of rings and bracelet forms upon which you can snap your choice of beads as well as nifty little things which you can use to make dangling charms and special beads that come together to look like flowers.  Even I had fun sitting there on the carpet with my girls designing jewelry.  I was especially intrigued by the versatility and the variety...leave it to Parents to turn pop beads into a tool for helping kids develop small motor coordination, creativity, and learn about color and texture. 

Boobie Buddies Breastfeeding Dolls

I couldn't decide whether I thought these were creepy or not.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for breastfeeding and helping younger children to understand....but, even though it may not be as politically correct or teach the benefits of mother's milk to little girls - I still might rather that my daughters feed their own baby dolls from a bottle.  It seems to me that the "natural way to role play" might be by placing the baby doll under their own shirt (Hope used to do this), but it seems a little strange to roll play with someone else's bosom, including a busty mama doll.  Maybe not.  Am I alone in feeling this way?

puppy in the window

I was at the Reston Town Center tonight (where I am loving the coming additions of stores like J. Crew and Urban Outfitters, by the way) and as we passed by Origins we saw this little lost puppy in a cardboard box with a sign that reads: "I was found by the fountain and miss my owner but Origins is taking care of me."  If you know me, or have been following this blog for any amount of time, you are probably aware of the 5th member of our family - a little brown, well-loved and worn puppy that goes practically everywhere with us in the possession of my 2 yr. old Maddie.  I have myself grown to love that puppy a ton a because of the comfort it has brought to Maddie, the sanity it has brought to me, and because it is practically an extension of one of the most precious people in my life.  So, needless to say, I was touched by the little puppy in the window - somewhere there is a little child who has loved this little stuffed animal to the point of looking nearly as ragged as our own "puppy" and I can't help but appreciate the person at Origins who realized the treasure in that toy as they passed and so could not leave it there. 

the perfect playhouse

The men at my church decided to get together regularly for a couple of weeks to talk about men stuff and....to build this amazing playhouse for my girls! How cool is that?  It's beautiful.  The details are amazing - inside a little white board and a bar for playing/eating at; outside fully trimmed with silicone caulk to water proof it and the most adorable little window ledge and corrugated roof.  So much time and effort and finance went into this and I feel so totally honored. The girls are absolutely loving it and are negotiating for their favorite paint colors.  Those guys don't know how much joy they've brought to my little girls - what an amazing gift!  Thank you seems too small.

clics

Recently, thanks to Nana, my girls became the excited owners of a bucket of clic's which they bought at Cradle n' Crayon.  Not legos....not blocks....sort of a hybrid of ideas which come together to make very fun and super-versatile construction sets.  They are still a little difficult for Maddie to snap into place, but Hope is loving them!  and I've enjoyed building with them too!

Nostalgia and Fisher Price

My family was browsing through the toy section at Target the other day when I was suddenly hit by a wave of nostalgia.  There on the shelf in a neat little row in front of me stood three classics reproduced to match their original versions introduced in the early sixties.  I'd bet you recognize some of these too - the "talk-back phone" (later renamed chatter phone), the teaching clock, and the Fisher Price television.  They seemed so sweet to me and I totally wanted to take them out of the boxes to hold them and play with them and reconnect with long ago memories. It was strange how just a few little toys brought back so many other things as well.  I love these because of their simplicity. 

enlarging the fun

Hope had been bugging me for a magnifying glass for a while, so I included them in the Easter baskets this year.  They've been a big hit!  The girls are having tons of fun exploring their world a little more closely.

Mr. Chocolate Easter Bunny

While I was in Tree Top Kids recently, I spied a cute item in the Easter section - it looked exactly like those chocolate easter bunnies you see from Russell Stover and other companies....except inside the box was a cute milk or white-chocolate plush bunny.  I somehow remembered that it was made by Ganz and searched all over the internet to try to find it again and didn't have much luck.  I did also happen to find this cute chocolate bunny from Lilly Bean.  So, if you aren't so keen on stuffing your little one's basket full of sugary, caffeine containing, messy melty treats - then perhaps you'll fall in love with these alternatives too. 

Rubber Ducky 101 week - lesson five

When choosing the perfect rubber ducky for your child:
Say yes to Dr. duck and superhero duck:

Say no to Bill Clinton:

Rubber Ducky 101 week - lesson four

When choosing the perfect rubber ducky for your child:
Say yes to designer ducks:

Say no to religious ducks (no offense here):

Rubber Ducky 101 week - lesson three

When choosing the perfect rubber ducky for your child -
Say yes to fun-loving party ducks

Say no to Kiss and Scream ducks

Rubber Ducky 101 week - lesson two

When choosing the perfect rubber ducky for your child:
Say yes to cool guitar-playing ducks

Say no to Ozzy and SnoopDog

Rubber Ducky 101 week - lesson one

When choosing the perfect rubber ducky for your child:
Say yes to Pink Ribbon and Camo ducks:

Say no to lingerie and PMS ducks:

stuffed animal storage

I've been wishing for a long time for a suitable storage solution for the stuffed animals that seem to just keep adding up around here.  We have a couple of tall collapsible mesh bins that work pretty well - especially since they are semi-transparent so we can still see what is in there to play with.  I generally don't like this solution because it is bulky (like the stuffed animals themselves) and doesn't encourage playing with the toys that are contained there.  I also don't like those toy hammocks that you can hang in a corner of a room and fill with stuffed animals for the same reasons and the fact that I just don't like how they look.  A long while ago, I posted on this as a really fun and interesting alternative storage solution - but it has some of the same faults.  But.....hooray!....this I like!  A stuffed animal organizer tree, for just over $30 at organize.com. I really, really want this.  There is also this chain option.  And I must say, I love organize.com - it's a great and helpful site and like The Container Store, holds very strong attractions for my inner type-A organizational neediness.

Put a little Oompa in your playtime

And, though the toys go on and on...and so does my fondness for them, I'm going to wrap up my little excursion and showcase with these by Deglingo. I love Molo the lobster. So cute in that quirky, offbeat kind of way - they just beg to be taken home with you! And you can find these and all the other toys I have highlighted this week at Oompa toys.  I hope you have as much fun perusing as I did!

This toy really stacks up!

I'm not through with my big toy kick yet - I just couldn't leave these out! They are everything a basic block set is and so much more!  Creative, fun, versatile and ultra cute! Haba Stacking Animals.

a real treat from Yellow Label Kids

Okay, how can you resist these???? They are just too sweet! Utterly Irresistible!
Knitted donut assortment from Yellow Label Kids.

I'm hung up on P'kolino!

Continuing my obsession this week with really cute toys and items for the kids, I have to include this. Love it! It would make such a great item in our play room to hang dress-up clothes on, or brilliant in the winter for all those hats,scarves, coats, snow gear and things that seem to be floating around the house, or just every day in the bedroom for miscellaneous apparel. Any little boys out there with growing ball cap collections? Totally cute! Clothes tree from P'kolino.

Sigikid for your kid

I'm still on this toy kick, so here are some more goodies for you to look at.  They were all so fun that I couldn't choose just one! ibedoo from Sigikid.

Gotta have the Haba

I don't know how I missed this company!  I simply adore everything!  I spent a long time looking at toy after toy and more...every one I could find, just because it was so much fun!  I liked everything I saw and couldn't help but wonder, why haven't I noticed this company before? I LOVE this town carpet...love, love, love it!!!! and check out the Fantasy Voyage Platform bed, both from Haba - obviously a new favorite company of mine, and of course, they do more than furniture and decor - the toys are superfabulous! I'm head over heels for their food for my kitchen/grocery store obsessed daughters. More to come from them soon!

more amazingly cute toy finds

I am a blue robot, from Jellycat: the most cuddly interpretation of a big, artificially intelligent hunk of metal I've ever seen!  I'd love to make this a new bunk mate for my girls!

mobile too cute for words!

Adding to my list of super-cute toy finds, is this adorable mobile! I don't have little boys, so blue hasn't been the most abundant color here, but if I ever have another baby, I WANT this! - whether it is a girl or a boy.  Hey, I'd love to wake up to this cheery little thing every morning myself! This Big Birds Mobile is made by Blabla, and each and every one of their knit toys are perfectly cute and cuddly!

I'm a kid in a toy shop

I've never had the extra money to splurge on toys for the kids.  Luckily they have still managed to gain quite the collection thanks to family and friends. But, having never really shopped for toys, I've missed out on eyeing and playing with some really fantastic stuff out there!  Recently I've stumbled onto the mecca of cool toys, so I'm like a kid in a candy shop...or well, a toy shop - and since I can't just buy them all up, I'm going to post them up instead.  So, please be patient and bear with me over the next little while as I just throw cute stuff for small kiddos up for you to see and drool over with me.  Here's one of the first: HOW ADORABLE ARE THESE!!!! Stacrobats Acrobates Magnetiques Empilables from Kushies.