Discovery Toys

I was introduced to Discovery Toys a few months ago by my sister-in-law. I loved the toys and the fact that they are educational, sturdy, have a lifetime guarantee, and each toy is labeled based on what skills it develops... not to mention they are colorful and FUN! Anyway, I threw my first party in Feb. and from that I got a bunch of toys for TJ. Every day since that time he has literally played with one of his Discovery Toys. I thought I'd share a little bit about some of his favorite toys:

Busy Farm

This comes with a set of colorful little farm animals that are in and of themselves fun to play with. It also comes with 20 or so cards that are really fun to play with and teach all sorts of things. Right now TJ can maybe play with half of the cards since they get progressively harder, but it's nice that it will grow with him. Some of his favorite cards are matching cards (put the orange duck on the orange duck), sorting cards, alphabet card, and the one that has items that the animals produce, such as wool, and then you match the animal to the product: sheep on wool.

Roll and Play

This is the best game for toddlers/preschoolers that I have ever found! This is definitely TJ's favorite of his Discovery Toys and he plays it at least twice a day. There is a big soft cube (about 8 inches big!) that has a different color on each side. You roll/throw/kick the cube and find a card that matches the color you got. You then do the action pictured on the card: ex- flap your arms, play hide and seek, hug Mommy, draw a picture, put on a hat, etc. TJ can play this by himself or with us (it's a GREAT family night game). I'm also excited to have the colored cube if I ever teach primary again....

Playful Letters

This is a pack of traceable sturdy letters (one uppercase and one lowercase) that TJ loves to get out and play with. He'll use them to make words on the carpet or put them on his paper and trace them to write his name. He thinks its wonderful to be able to write letters and he uses these quite often. They also hook together, but TJ hasn't figured that out yet. My only complaint about these is that he uses them so much that we are constantly picking them up... but I guess that is a good teaching moment too:)

Wipe Clean Books 123s and ABCs

I wasn't sure if TJ would like these books right now or if we'd have to wait a while for him to use them. He loves being able to color on these books and then clean them off (he can do both great!). These have turned into great church books and they keep him quiet and entertained for a long time. They also come with stickers to put in different places (I think they come off again, but I'm not sure). We are just saving the stickers for when he is older since he has so much fun with it as it is right now. (Notice the playful letters in the picture- he loves to trace those into this book). My only problem with these books is that TJ uses them SO much that we had to buy more dry erase markers, but even after all the time he used them they still clean up great and look brand new.

We also have these toys which TJ likes, but I don't have pictures of:

Zip Track- TJ loves this Zip Track and it works great, the car is self powered and the track is easy to assemble, change, and take apart. I think Jeff has as much fun with it as TJ does.

The Potty Train (book)- This book is SO cute and the pictures are just wonderful. TJ loves reading it and gets so excited about going potty when he does. I love how it talks about how it can take a while and sometimes there can be accidents or nothing happens, but that's ok. Whenever TJ goes potty he likes to say, "Chugga-Chugga Poo-poo!!" (Now, if we can actually get him going poo-poo that would be great).

Labyrinth (game)- This is a great game for older kids and adults. It's easy enough for school-age kids (though TJ plays it with us with help), but fun enough for adults. Also another fun game for family night.

Baby books and cds- I also bought a bunch of baby books and cds for gifts. I have a lot of friends that have just had babies, or are going to have babies, and these have made such great gifts. The books are so cute and of high quality and the cds are really sweet. I LOVE that I have something nice to give them instead of going to Wal-Mart and trying to find a nice baby book there...

Happy Easter!

New Book Contest by Matthew Buckley!

Those of you who have read Chickens in the Headlights know what a great book it is and are already smiling while you think about it. Those of you who haven't read it are totally missing out! Here is a NEW book from Matthew Buckley that needs enough copies pre-ordered before they will actually publish the book. You can help out by posting this widget (go to his site to get) on your blog and you'll be entered to win 1 of 10 signed copies! Please help out- I was totally excited when I heard about this and am going to pre-order my book today!

Help for Haiti

The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appealed to members today to send help to those suffering in Haiti. Anyone wishing to donate should go to the Church Humanitarian Services site and send money directly that way.

The people in Haiti also need our spiritual help through this hard time so please take the time to pray for those in need and ask for those souls to be watched over during their suffering and challenges. Our hearts go out to those in need and any help that you can send would be greatly appreciated.

To read the First Presidency's statement and also to learn more about how the Church's Humanitarian efforts go here.

50% off Ramada Hotels

Hurry up! If you book between Janurary 19-26 and you'll get 50% off your Ramada Hotel booking! You can only use this link (and then the other link) to use this coupon. You need to complete your stay by April 30th, 2010. So if you are planning on staying in a hotel between now and then this is the perfect time to book! It can be used for hotels in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Good luck and happy traveling! (We're going to try to get to Mt. Rushmore... with us luck!)

What Kind of Message are They Really Sending?

What do you think about this?

“If ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray” (2 Ne. 32:8).

If you'd like to learn more about the Book of Mormon watch this or click here to request a free copy.

Free Download of "UP" Soundtrack today only

Go here to get a FREE download of the UP soundtrack and use the code LATIMESDISNEY.  Good luck!

DownEast Basics Giveaway

Supermom Central is giving away an outfit from DownEast Basics!  These clothes are all so cute, modren, and modest (which is hard to find).  The winner will recieve rockstar jeans, your choice of tee, and a 3 string of pearls!  Giveaway ends on November 23rd so don't forget to enter.

Free 8 x 8 photo book from Smilebooks

Head on over to the Smilebooks blog and for refering 5 friends to smilebooks you will recieve a coupon code for a FREE 8 x 8 soft cover smilebook worth $26.95!  Your friends will in turn recieve 30% off their next order. I've tried many photo book sites and smilebooks is probably my favorite. 

Free $15 coupon code for Kodak Gallery

Head on over to Kodak Gallery and sign up today for their newsletter and you'll recieve a $15 off coupon code for your next purchase. Just click on the Get Your Free Gift button.

Strider Running Bike

Check this out!  What a fun product- I totally want one for TJ now.  Go to the Funky Monkey to enter to win one- ends Oct. 22nd.

Kid's Toy Car Mat- Tutorial

This is not a step-by-step picture tutorial since I didn't take pictures of the process, but still I hope I can tell you how I did this so you can make your own if you so desire.

Materials:

Canvas (as large as you want- mine is about 6' by 8')

Double-wide bias tape (I used blue, but any color will do)- 3 packages or 9 yds

Tacky Glue

Fabric Paint Markers (as many colors as you'd like)

Grey Acrylic Paint

Green Acrylic Paint

Paint brush

1 Sponge

Green Flower-pot Foam (just a square)

2 pencils

Black Sharpie (not too thick)

First you want to draw out your plan on a separate piece of paper. Draw the roads first- leave enough room for many houses and buildings- you can draw your city with straight or curvy streets, I did a combination of both. You can also add a train track and river.

You will then need to decide where each building/house is going to go. Decide what you'd like on your mat- some suggestions: you house, Grandparent's houses, hospital, park, gas station, school, church, ice cream store, fire station, parking lot, police station, zoo, airport, lake, swimming pool, soccer field, etc. Add places that your child will recognize so it is more personal. Be creative and have fun!

Once you've got your design then you'll want to start drawing (with pencil) on your mat. Push your two pencils into your green foam so that they are 1 1/2-2 inches apart. You'll use this to draw your roads and keep them even. Once your roads are drawn then you can start putting in your buildings. Draw your buildings- lightly- with pencil then color them in with your paint markers. You should also color trees, flowers, and bushes, but DO NOT color in grass yet- that will be at the end. 

Once your buildings, trees, bodies of water, flowers, bushes, etc. are all drawn then you can start painting the roads. It works best to use grey acrylic paint with a paint brush instead of a paint marker. The canvas might get bumps in it, but don't worry, the cars will drive just fine on it and the bumps will disappear eventually. I liked to outline my buildings with my black sharpie so they were more defined. I also used the sharpie to label the major buildings on the mat and outline the roads.

Once all your roads and buildings are drawn and colored then add all the finishing touches- stop signs, railroad crossing signs, a footpath, animals (cows, sheep, etc.). When your mat is all drawn as you would like then it is finally time to do the grass. Use the sponge and dab it into some green paint. Make sure you test it on paper before you put it on your mat so it isn't too thick. You then sponge all over the mat and put grass on all the empty spaces. I did some fields of yellowish grass since it is very brown and yellow by where we live. The rest I did just green or a combination of green and yellow. I also sponged yellow around the lake and pond to make it look like sand.

Let you mat dry overnight then it is time to put the binding on. Put the seam of your bias tape against the edge of your mat. Glue the bottom on first with your tacky glue while folding over the corners. Once the bottom is glued on then do the same thing with the top. Cut your extra bias tape in half and you have two ties to tie up your mat with after you roll it up to store it. I rolled up my mat then glued the middle of each strand to the back of the mat so that they would be there to tie each time I rolled the mat up and I wouldn't lose them.

And now you have a wonderful, personalized car mat that your kids will play with for years and years!

Harry Potter Boxed Set Giveaway

I'm currently reading the Harry Potter series again, and it's still good!!  Here is a great opportunity to enter a giveaway to win the complete boxed set of Harry Potter books.  These would make a great present (to me), a great add to your library, or a great oppotunity to finally read the books that all your friends, nephews, co-workers, neighbors, and cousins have been pestering you to read for the past 7 years.

Go on over to the Park Avenue Princess and sign up for her Harry Potter giveaway.  You have until October 16th so don't wait until it's too late!

The Workbox Giveaway- AMAZING!!!

As you know, I don't blog about a giveaway unless I think it is truely something that I would love to have and this is one of those items. I've been freaking out just looking at it and have already imagined it in my house with myself at that cute little desk working on all my awesome crafts and scrapbook projects. Think of how organized you would be and of all the space you would have for all your Scrapbook storage needs. Sigh... Ok, I'm back:) I wanted to tell you all about it as well so we all have a chance to win (although you have to let me come over and do crafts or scrapbook with you if you win).


Anyway, here are the deets: There are 10 blogs that are participating in this giveaway and you can enter at all of their sites. Then, on Oct. 10 (some of the blogs ends on Oct. 8), each blog will select a winner who will win either a ScrapMaBob or a Ribbon Box. Then one of those 10 winners will be selected as the grand winner and they will get their $1295.00 Workbox from The Origianl Scrapbox.


So what are you waiting for?! Go on over to each of these blogs and enter to win and good luck!
Make it and Love It

Rachelle Writes (Make sure if you sign up on her blog that you mention that Rachel Whitchurch send you there and I'll get extra entries!)

Vanilla Joy

Priscilla Styles (mention I sent you!)

My Organized Chaos

My Life as Lou

The Mommy Files

Auntie Thesis

Capadia Designs

Cricut Christmas

Also you can use the coupon code: 100WRITES for a $100 shipping discount.

The Original Scrapbox

So this is now one of my favorite companies and I just found it today! Granted, they are pretty pricey, but I love the products they offer. I've always had a problem with crafting/scrapbooking and SPACE. I'll start a project and it just takes over the house, which was annoying when I didn't have kids and is pretty impossible now that I do have a kid! I think the Workbox and Minibox (seen here) are a stylish and great organizable solution. Take a look at their site- The Original Scrapbox and see what I mean! Enter this code when you place your order to get $100 off your shipping: 100Writes

Oh, and don't forget to enter the giveaway for your own Workbox (see next post!)