And She Wasn't Even Close to Being Six Years Old

Molly turned five this fall.  Even before her birthday, we were already agreeing on what we would buy her for her sixth birthday -- the American Girl doll Felicity (whom she always is mistakenly calling Fill-a-CITY).  Molly has often been found telling complete strangers that she will be getting Felicity for her sixth birthday.

While this is not a technically correct photograph at all, since Molly was sitting so close to me, I was glad to get her expression captured when she opened this surprise gift on Christmas Eve.  (Check out those big eyes!)

I hope that your Christmas was filled with fun surprises and lots of joy as well.

Great Deal Alert: Nintendo DS Game Deal

I'm not sure how much longer this deal will be up, but the newest Club Penguin game for the Nintendo DS is marked down from $34.99 to $9.98 at Amazon.com!  And, not only is it the game, but it the bundle pack, so it comes with the game, a Club Penguin DS skin, a special Club Penguin stylus, and a code for 2500 coins on ClubPenguin.com. 

I just knew I had to pick up one of these at this great price!

7 Quick Takes: December 4, 2009 (Volume 23)

~ 1 ~

I. must. clean.

In just a few days, I will be hosting a baby shower for my sister-in-law at my home.  Nothing like a party to force you into really a nice deep cleaning around the house, I suppose.  I actually have a bunch of things to do before the shower, but it should be a nice afternoon.

~ 2 ~

We are gearing up for St. Nicholas Day this weekend.  My kids are very excited, just like I always was when I was a kid.  Although we only do one small gift (between the three kids, the gifts averaged at right about $5/kiddo), they are eager to see what will await them.

On the topic of small gifts though, what are some of your favorite stocking stuffers for kids?

~ 3 ~

We just got our paperwork for Eric's health insurance for next year.  We have just a few days to make decisions and get it all turned back in.  I'm not sure why it has to be that way every year, but it is.

More importantly, I don't understand why we have to pay more for our monthly premiums each year, yet we also get an increase in our copays and introducing this year -- a deductible as well.  Oh well, I guess I can understand the increase in price, because they are cutting some of what they cover and making us financially responsible for more of it.

Yeah, it makes perfect sense.

~ 4 ~

I know that a lot of people around the U.S. right now are probably at the point where they are tired of coming up with creative ways to use leftover turkey.  But do you know what?  I only got to have turkey on Thanksgiving and then a few rolls with some turkey on them on the drive home the next day (from my grandparents house).  So, darn it -- I'm in the mood for turkey.

Good thing I went to Aldi's for the first time ever and picked up a Butterball turkey at a great price.  I have to decide when to make it (so I know when to start thawing it), but then I'm all psyched to have some turkey at home.

In preparation for when we get tired of turkey though, anyone have any great leftover turkey ideas?

~ 5 ~

I was excited to get to change my ringback tone on my cell phone to "Carol of the Bells" by Straight No Chaser just after Thanksgiving.  It was apparently a whole family event, because the kids had to call my phone and then so did my Mom.  Then the kids made me play the song on my iPod several times.  I didn't know it, but it is apparently Noah's favorite Christmas song.

~ 6 ~

I recently searched around town and the Internet for this Pastry Chef set from Step 2 for Molly for Christmas.  I just thought it looked so cute after reading about it in the most recent issue of Family Fun Magazine.

Much to my displeasure, what I thought was going to be a single click on Amazon.com actually ended up being an all-out search.  I have not linked you to Amazon, as a matter of fact, because they are out and there are third party sellers trying to get almost $60 for the set right now (which should be around $25).

I was thrilled to then find that Step 2 sells them on their website!  But, the catch is that they only sell a two pack of this toy on their site.  Get this though -- it was on sale for $29.99 for the two pack!  (Right now, it's up to $49.98 for the set of two, but that is what retail price would be for two.)

So, not only did I manage to get a toy that I wanted, but now we have another gift just waiting to be given to someone else!  WooHoo!

~ 7 ~

I recently heard this passage from Matthew's Gospel (when my friend Amanda put it on a mixed media painting) and I realized that I need to think of it a lot more often than I do:

Learn from the wildflowers in the field, and behold the birds in the sky.  Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will wear.  Your Heavenly Father knows what you need before you even ask Him.

This post is linked to 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Photos by: cleaning by The Shopping Sherpa / turkey by Another Pint Please... / flowers by Martin_Heigan

7 Quick Takes: October 30, 2009 (Vol. 20)

~ 1 ~

I have been working on trying to find time to exercise every day lately.  It's funny though, I feel like I am wasting time when I am doing it.  It's like time exercising is akin to time spent reading Facebook to me.  I seriously need to adjust that thinking.  If I could manage to exercise as often as I was on Facebook, I would be a size 2 now.

~ 2 ~

Speaking of that exercising, I have noticed an interesting thing about Wii Fit Plus
(which I really, really like by the way, and think it's a great addition to your existing Wii Fit).  You see, when I used to do it once every couple of weeks, they would say things like, "It's nice to see you again, Angie."

Not anymore.

Now, I skipped one day, and they said to me today, "Too busy to exercise yesterday, Angie?"  Well, yes, yes, I was.  Thank you animated Balance Board for your concern.

~ 3 ~

I'm super excited to share that I have purchased my ticket for Blissdom 2010, and even have my hotel room reserved!  I kept thinking that it was a long way away, but then realized that it's actually only three months away.  Wow!  I think I need to start saving my pennies, using the Wii Fit a little more (or a lot more), and get some business cards printed up!

Anyone else going?

~ 4 ~

This week, I was delighted to do something for the first time.  I actually spoke on the phone (at length) to one of my blogging friends.  Of course, I have spoken to friends who blog on the phone before, but never anyone that I only knew because of blogging.

I had a delightful conversation with you, Brenda. Can't wait to talk (and email) more!

~ 5 ~

Do you know what else I enjoy?


 Cottage cheese.

In fact, I just had some as a late night snack.  (Don't tell the Wii Fit Plus Balance Board though, okay?  They keep talking to me about my late night snacking.)  Here's the funny thing though -- I have got to use a fork when I eat it.   The idea of using a spoon to eat cottage cheese literally gives me a chill up my spine that I can't explain.

Very odd.

~ 6 ~

I would love to post a little bit about my beloved local homeschooling group.  We had a meeting about restructuring our group this week.  I was excited about the idea, but it appeared that there were two distinct view points on what our group should look like, and a lot of people left still charged with emotions.


I expected the meeting to go like that, but I guess it really surprised some people.  And then, after having to talk to many people on the phone about it the next day (the other former co-coordinator and I got an awful lot of phone calls), I wondered if things could be healed.

And, then the funny thing is -- just 48 hours after such a meeting that left a lot of people feeling miserable the next day, it already seems like there is a lot of healing, and I'm so encouraged by it.  I just pray that everyone will continue with this new spirit of trying out some new ideas.

Do you know what my favorite thing about it all might be though?

I got to meet someone that goes to my very own parish that I had never met before, and I think she is just delightful.  I am so excited to have gotten to know her just a tiny bit, and I can't wait to get to know her better.  Life is funny like that, isn't it?

~ 7 ~

Speaking of life being funny (and apparently the staying power of Post It notes), those Post It Notes I mentioned last week that I let the kids stick all over the walls -- a couple have fallen, but otherwise, they are all still there.  I have considered taking them down, but then I look at them and smile.  So, I leave them there.

This post is linked to 7 Quick Takes Friday and Weekly Wrap Up.



photos by: carbonated (cottage cheese) / google images (post it notes)  /  JaviC (Wii Fit)

Are The Toys Still Organized?

I recently had a reader ask about the organization that we did with Molly's toys. She was curious how things were going with the bins and picture labels, three months after I originally posted about it.

I really wanted to take an opportunity to write about it because I think that often, as bloggers, we get a great idea and post about it right away. But, then we often don't post later to say, "Wow -- this totally didn't actually work for us" or "Things are still going great with this!"

I am thrilled to report that Molly (and everyone else in the family, as they were often culprits in not keeping things organized as well) has continued to enjoy this system and has been keeping her toys clean and organized. Of course, there are times that everything is sitting out. But, it's easy to get it all cleaned up.

As a matter-of-fact, I realized how well the system was working when she was putting some toys in one of the tubs, and then saw a Care Bear in the Littlest Pet Shop tub. She laughed and said, "There's a Care Bear in the Littlest Pet Shop box," as though it was the funniest thing she had seen in a while. She then promptly removed it and put it in the correct box.

I had previously tried over and over to organize toys into tubs, but it always ended up disorganized later. The labels, however, seemed to make all the difference. And what a difference that is!

Thanks for the great question!

Review: Activity Bus from Plan Toys

I was recently able to review a toy from an online store called ebeanstalk. Ebeanstalk has great educational toys, as well as educational baby gifts. The toy that my family got to review is called Activity Bus from Plan Toys (a company that makes eco-friendly wooden toys).

The Activity Bus is for kids three and over, due to some small parts. I will admit that when I first saw it, I thought, "This is too young for Molly," as she is almost five. But, as soon as I opened the box, I realized that this was right up her alley.

Molly was excited as soon as I pulled it out. I told her that she was going to be my very important toy tester, and that she had to tell me what she thought of it. I liked that the set not only looked nice, but it felt nice. It was definitely well made and just looked fun.

Molly initially played with it for at least 30 minutes. I walked by several times, and she was happily playing school in the school bus turned school house. This toy was definitely a hit with her!

She and I did both have one issue with it, however, it was difficult to get the people to sit in the desks. While we could get them in (Molly often needed my assistance at first), they did sometimes "pop" back out.

Overall, I would say that this is definitely something that I might give as a gift to someone, but probably not for a younger child (who is over three), just because of the difficulty with keeping the people seated. However, I am really interested in seeing more toys by Plan Toys based on how well made the Activity Bus is.

Disclosure: I received this toy for free to review. Although I was asked to include three specific links, I was not told how to review this toy. I did not receive any compensation for this review other than to keep the toy following the review.

Webkinz Can Be Inexpensive Entertainment (and Educational!)

One of the things that works for several people in my family (including my own Mom!) is Webkinz.

Okay, sure -- Webkinz has the possibility of being expensive. I'm sure many of us know some child (or adult!) with some large amount of webkinz. As a matter of fact, I know some people that have anywhere from 40 - 100 webkinz.

Now, let's look at it as the possibility of inexpensive entertainment.

Lil Kinz (the smaller version of the stuffed animals) can be purchased for just $5 or $10 (or less!). (There is a big price variation on Amazon for Lil Kinz, but some of that is based on retired pets and hard to find ones.) They also come with a code and it allows you one year of access to the online gaming site. So, for just $5, you can play for a whole year. And, only then would you need to purchase another pet (again, a $5 one can be picked up) for another year of fun.

Why do we enjoy Webkinz?

We love that there are a great variety of games. There are games that help with typing practice, logic puzzles, spelling, patterns/math, and so much more. There are also quizzes where the kids are given answers (when they don't know them) that help them learn all kinds of information -- subjects cover most typical school subjects. It is also interesting for kids to understand some monetary situations, one such is that while items can be sold back to the "W Store" after they have been purchased, you only get back half of your original purchase price. (Ouch!)

Of course, there is also just some general fun activities that don't have any particular educational value. But, so many of the games and activities involve real thought.

Being able to use all of these features for just $5 a year not only works for me, I think it's pretty frugal option too.



This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Fridays.

photo by ouvyt

Cool Learning Products for Preschoolers

Not too long ago, I was reading Let's Explore, which is a blog that I love. Always lots of great ideas! While I was reading, I saw this cool spinning letter toy (it's wooden and made in Vermont). I thought it would be perfect for Molly, as we are beginning PreK at home this year.

When it arrived in the mail, we were thrilled with it! Not only did she quickly learn how to sound out the letters and read many of the words on the toy, but she also kept asking me if I wanted to play the "game" with her.



Yes, there we were, working on early reading skills, and she was thrilled because she was calling it a game!

Since I was already ordering from the shop anyway, I decided that I would finally order the Crayon Rocks that I have seen so many blogs rave about. I always thought they looked neat, but couldn't commit. But, if I was going to be ordering, why not?

We loved the Crayon Rocks as well! Not only are the cool and vibrant colors, but they come in a pouch with a three different color options. Molly was thrilled to have a purple pouch! Apparently this made them seem extra special, as she has been pulling them out to show every single visitor we've had at the house since they arrived.

We also ordered the Wikki Sticks Alphabet Cards to work on during school time as well. We haven't opened them yet, but considering how cool everything else was, I just know that they will be awesome as well!

I can't wait until we place another order from Let's Explore!

In interest of full disclosure, I was not asked to write this nor compensated for it. I just really enjoyed the things we ordered, and wanted to pass along the word!

All photos from Let's Explore ~ Creative Fun for Curious Kids

7 Quick Takes - June 19th (Volume 6)

~ 1 ~

While at Walmart with the kids today, I spent $10 on a bubble blowing machine.

What a totally fun way to spend $10! If the plastic toy doesn't break, it is going to continue to be a ton of fun. I'm glad that I picked up one to give as a gift as well.

~ 2 ~

Speaking of blowing bubbles reminds me of being outside. And, that makes me think of our new neighbors. They are a young engaged couple (with no children).

As soon as we went out to try our new bubble blowing machine, Eric told me that they had been sitting outside and then immediately went inside. He told me this after he said, "I don't think our new neighbors like kids."

I said, "Maybe they were just ready to go inside."

He told me, "I've seen them outside and then they go inside as soon as we go outside."

So, I guess this will remain a mystery, but I'll be keeping my eye on it. Of course, it's not like I can do anything about it (or should). But, now it will be one of those things that I won't be able to not notice.

Operation Neighbor Watch 2009 is officially in effect.

~ 3 ~

Last week, we had a little run in with UPS. I won't get into the whole story, because then I may sound like I can't let anything go.

But, suffice it say, while receiving several UPS packages, I told the driver that one was missing and was listed as being on the truck. He was rude to me, said there were no more packages, and wouldn't go look. Of course, the package that was missing ended up being one that Molly had been waiting for all day long. She was heart broken.

I called the 1-800 number for help, and they claimed that the driver would have to bring it back when he found it still on the truck. I was skeptical. Then, when the customer service agent informed me that UPS has no way to contact their drivers once they are on the road, I knew I could officially not believe a word that he said to me.

Seriously? It's 2009 and they are trying to claim that once a truck leaves, they are completely unable to contact them? Unwilling to contact them -- that I can believe. But, don't try to tell me that nobody has the ability to contact them once they are on the road.

Of course, the package was later changed from "on time" and "out for delivery" to "missed at drop off/rescheduled." I could comment more on this, but I will just let you imagine the nasty words I had to say about it.

~ 4 ~

Oh, Feedburner. Dear, dear Feedburner. Don't you know how crazy it makes me when you drop my subscriber number by 124 people in one day?

I try not to be a slave to the numbers, but I notice these kinds of things. I can't help it. Why do you do that sometimes? And, if you could, would you stop it.

Thank you.

~ 5 ~

On Monday of this week, I had a biopsy of a little spot on my face. The doctor said that I didn't have to have it removed. He didn't really think it was anything. But, apparently the spot bugged my mother, and it seemed like the thing to do.

I worried for a whole week about getting it done. And, then about two hours before my appointment, I had a calm just wash over me. Sure, I did still say an Our Father and a Hail Mary while I was in the chair. But, prayer is always welcome, right?

I'll get the results in two weeks, but I'm not concerned. Quite frankly, the only thing that concerns me right now is having to keep a bandaid on it for a week. My skin itches!

~ 6 ~

And, as long as we're talking about my face -- I actually went to the dermatologist because I was pretty sure I have rosacea. Yuck!

I'm on medication for it now, as he thinks it could be that. But, it also appears that a good portion of the cause for my newly bumpy, itchy, red skin is that I have been slowly killing it.

Okay, perhaps killing it is a bit extreme. But, when he gave me a list of things I should be doing and things I shouldn't be doing to my facial skin to properly care for it, with one exception, I have doing everything I shouldn't be doing, and not doing anything that I should be doing.

Oh, my poor skin!

~ 7 ~


Eric installed the ceiling fan in our screened in porch this week. Because there was no wiring to it, this meant he actually had to punch a hole in the house, wire out to it, and so on.

Confession #1: I was terrified to hear that he would be putting a hole in the house to do this project, though I'm not sure how else I thought he would do it.

Confession #2: I was slightly more terrified when he told me how "lucky" he was that the hole ended up being in the exact right spot (since it was difficult to precisely pinpoint the spot).

He did a great job, of course, as he typically does with projects. I almost said he always does a great job with projects, but he and I both know that we once had to trade in a truck and tell them that although it was still running great, it would no longer stop, thanks so somebody's "repair" of it.

Seriously though -- Eric worked really hard on it to be sure that we would have some breeze out there once summer really hit. And, the extra sweetest part about it is that he even let me sleep in one day while he worked on it. Thanks, Eric!

photo credits:

Bubble photo: //amy// Skin Cream: sunshinecity UPS: iirraa Feedburner: magbag

Using Picture Labels to Help Pre-Readers Keep Their Toys Organized

Last week, I wrote about organizing Molly's toys. I had to continue to work on the toy organization this week because I wanted to place picture labels on each bin, in the hopes that it would be easier (for everyone in the family!) to put the toys in the correct bins.

If you missed it last week, here is what the bins looked like to start with (although this was actually when I was mid-way through organizing -- trust me though, it wasn't pretty to start with):


Here is what the bins looked like last week in my post about decluttering her toys as my "after" picture:

As I said though, I wasn't done because darn it -- I've organized these toys before! I have done it many times, and each time, all of the bins get all mixed around. So, it was my hope that if I added picture labels, everyone would clearly be able to see what types of toys should go in each bin.

After the fun of setting up something representative of each bin and taking photos of them, I had them printed -- two pictures per 4x6 print. I then laminated each picture (with the actual word labelled on the back of the picture), hole punched it, and used yarn to attach it ot the appropriate bin.

Here are the bins with their pictures attached:

And a close up of a couple of the bins:

It's been just under a week since I finished it all up, and I have to say -- so far, it's been a success! I'm so psyched! Hopefully this is one toy organization system that will finally work out for us.

How do you keep toys organized?

This post is linked to: Works for Me Wednesday, Talk About Tuesday, and Tackle It Tuesday.

Trying to Tackle A Four Year Old's Toys

I have been working on decluttering around the house now that we have finished our homeschool year. It was something that I had really been wanting to do, and it seemed like a good time to work on it.

I was surprised when I whipped through several areas that I thought would take a long time. But, I was not surprised when it took me several days (working off and on) to finish going through Molly's toys (which we keep in the room that we use for school as well).

I forgot to take before pictures, so really, these are "during" pictures (but, I'm afraid to say that it does not look a lot different than the before pictures, other than that in the before pictures, the white shelves were full):

And, thankfully, here are the after pictures:

Actually, I have one more thing to finish off before I will officially consider this project done. Eric and I worked to take pictures of a sample of what is in each basket on her shelves and then I'll make a laminated tag with the picture on one side (I already got each picture printed as a 3"x4") and the words on the opposite side.

Here are two samples of the pictures that will be on her labels (for Care Bears and for Calico Critters):

This post is linked to: I am Blissfully Domestic, Talk About Tuesday, and Tackle It Tuesday.

Being Expensive Doesn't Make Toys Better

Indeed, sometimes it is the most inexpensive of toys that create the most fun. First off, in interest of full disclosure, my kids are totally in to playing video games, so don't think that I'm trying to say that my kids are always playing with inexpensive toys and using their imagination.

But, somehow, watching them play a video game just doesn't compare to walking into the living room to find them setting up little plastic Army men that I was just sure they would love when I picked them up at Target for just a couple of dollars (for a bag of them).

The kids acted like I got them the latest toy with all the bells and whistles when they saw the bag of Army men!

It was also fun to hear them tell the back stories of these soliders, while setting them up -- which ones were the good guys, which were the bad guys, where some of them were hiding, and the like.

Sure, you do have to watch where you're stepping, lest you take a solider to the bottom of your bare foot (ouch!). But, this is one purchase that was definitely worth way more than the couple of dollars that I spent on it.

This post is linked to Finer Things Friday and Frugal Fridays.

Old Toys Made New and Exciting

This week, Works for Me Wednesday is a themed edition -- the "Mom, I'm Bored" edition, which will feature ideas for keeping your kids from saying those dreaded words to you all summer.

Sometimes, to mix things up a bit around our house, I like to drag out some toy or playset that the kids haven't played with in a while. Old toys that haven't seen the light of day in ages suddenly become new and exciting.

Pictured here are the kids with the Thomas the Tank Engine set that they hadn't touched in forever. Now that they're older, they worked on setting up the track (though I still had to help) and trying out new ways to set things up. Another favorite (that my kids actually just did today!) is to get out a bunch of Fisher Price houses, vehicles, trains, and people for a giant Fisher Price-a-palooza.

Of course, if you pull out something that the kids haven't played with in a very long time and they still don't want to play with it, that probably means it is time to pass it along to someone who will love it.

What toys might you be able to bring out this summer that your kids haven't played with in ages?

Spring Cleaning for the Summer

I had previously decided that I wanted this to be a productive summer. I suspect that I felt more strongly about this because now that we're homeschooling, this break time feels more important than summer break ever has before.

One of my goals for the summer has been to do some "spring" cleaning around the house. To start this goal, I have been decluttering around the house.

Surprisingly, I whipped through the kitchen. I got rid of some things (some to friends, some to Goodwill) and then reorganized the cabinets. WooHoo!

Then, I still felt really pumped to keep working on this task, so I decluttered in both our bedroom, and in the boys' closet (which is where all of their toys are). It was nice -- it was the first time I remember not having to secretly get rid of toys. The boys told me what they wanted to keep and what they just weren't interested in anymore. With their help, I did all of these rooms in just about two days.

But now, I'm trying to tackle Molly's room/toys. It's not fun. She is willingly parting with some things, but all for the strangest reasons. For example, she brought me some Fisher Price Little People whose hair styles she just didn't care for. Likewise, she gave me a F.P. animal whose expression she was suspicious of.

I did manage to work through some things in Molly's room, but it's pretty slow going. I guess I'll just have to count my blessings that I have made it through so much already, and I'll have to remember that we have a long summer ahead of us.

Do you have any big projects that you want to tackle this summer? Have you worked on them yet (or do you have a plan)?

This post is linked to Tackle it Tuesday

photo by Rosa Say