Gift Giving - Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months

Playing with the Fisher Price Learning Home

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and then....Black Friday.  Whether you shop the early sales, wait until the online deals on Cyber Monday or just shop as you go, the clock is still ticking.  Less than 6 weeks until Christmas. 

If you're looking for great gifts for a toddler in your life, whether it's your niece, nephew, grandchild or your own little one, I've got a resource for you; another of my top picks lists: Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months.

I'm a mom who loves reviewing toys, and between Li'l Girlie, her friends and having volunteered in our church's childcare, I've seen what gets played with and what doesn't.  So I made a list of the best of the best.  Hope it helps you!

Did I miss any outstanding toys?  If there's another you'd like to nominate for a Top Toy, please let me know!

Starbucks BOGO Holiday Drinks

If you haven't been taking advantage of the Starbucks BOGO Holiday drinks, get out there and enjoy them!  Sunday, Nov 20th from 2PM-5PM you can get two of the tasty treats at the left for the price of one.  Hubby, Li'l Girlie and I have gone twice to sip them up.  Technically, Li'l Girlie got vanilla milk, but Hubby and I got our Peppermint Mocha fixes. 

This has definitely been cheering me up since this yucky cold or whatever it is has been lingering and tormenting me with a low-grade fever and headache. 

What's your favorite Starbucks Holiday Drink? 

Forgetful Friday (A.K.A. making up for Thankful Thursdays I've missed)

Our Little Gymnast

I've been exceedingly lax in typing out what I'm thankful for these past few weeks.  I'd been on the ball in the middle of a super-busy season of life then just kind of shut down for two weeks afterwards.  So technically, I didn't forget about Thankful Thursdays, I was just too lazy to actually do them.  Gotta own up to that.  Forgetful Friday just sounded better.  ;)

This Thursday there are a mess of 'small' things that I'm thankful for.  Some may seem a bit insignificant, but they're all God's provision for me and my family. 

• Health -- Li'l Girlie and I have had a nasty cold this past week; very glad that she's over it and that I'm following suit.
• Along the Health lines, Zarbee's Children's Cough and Sleep Drink -- A natural cough remedy that helps kids over 2 years old.  It's all-natural and has honey, vitamin c, zinc and a bit of melatonin to help children sleep when they're sick.  You mix it into warm water and your child drinks it like tea.  Smells fantastic, and Li'l Girlie drank it down, saying it tasted good.  It helped her a ton; she went from miserable and congested right before bed to dropping off to sleep and sleeping through the night.  Just noticed that the website says it can help adults too.  I've gotta try it. 
• Gymnastics Class -- Li'l Girlie loves her preschool gymnastics class.  She's getting great exercise doing things she loves -- bouncing, hanging on to things, climbing, etc. and is learning to follow directions from someone other than her parents.  So valuable.  Little Miss Independent is seeing that participating in something is actually turning out to be fun.  
• Husbands That Make Dinner/Get Takeout When Their Wife is Sick -- This is self explanatory.  Thank you, Hubby!
• Coffee and Tea
• Sales at Old Navy

P.S.

What are you thankful for this week?  I'd love to hear.  You don't need to make a list like I did.  I was just making up for missing the past few Thursdays.  ;)  

Thankful Thursdays

Li'l Girlie with her Daddy, Uncle B and Cousin J

So it's November, the official month of Thanksgiving.  The perfect time to join me on the adventure of practicing thankfulness in your everyday life.  This post and the comments you leave are our little (or big) weekly expressions of gratitude for the blessings we've been given.

What am I thankful for this week?  A great trip to Memphis to visit my husband's family and see a few good friends to boot.  Li'l Girlie got to meet her older cousin J for the first time too. 

What are YOU thankful for?  Please share!

Happy Halloween to those who are celebrating. 

We're not big Halloween celebrators, at least at this point, due mostly to two factors:

1. My husband never really liked dressing up and celebrating Halloween.  
2. Li'l girlie's not that into dress-up either.  

She was hesitant to wear this cute shirt that a friend gave to us, but once she put it on, she was fine.  I personally come from the other end of the Halloween spectrum.  My mom made us costumes each year that went straight into our costume play box afterwards.  The costumes Mom made us ROCKED, so we often had our friends over to dress up like mice, Peter Pan, cats, clowns, donkeys, reindeer, hula girls, elephants and even a watermelon.  (That was one my grandma made.  Long story.)  We all had hours of fun making up all sorts of stories to go along with our costumes.

While I'm not into the dark, spookier parts of Halloween, I enjoy a good dress-up and go-get-candy outing.  Maybe next year.

Are you celebrating Halloween this year?  If so, what are you doing for it?  If not, what are you doing instead, if anything?

Top Toys for Babies 3 to 6 Months Old

I know I've mentioned before about some of my top toys lists.  I really like reviewing toys, so it's quite fun to me to make these to hopefully help those of you who just want to know what to get.  The latest installation is for the youngest set of kids....small babies who are just starting out with toys.  Top Toys for 3-6 Month Old Babies will help you shop for your own baby, figure out Christmas gifts for a niece or nephew, or help you find that perfect baby shower gift. 

What do you think?  Are there any toys you think I missed?  Do you think I should be hired as a toy tester like Tom Hanks' character in the movie 'Big'?

Thankful Thursdays

It's Thursday.  Here's your reminder to sit down and take a moment to practice being thankful.  A dear friend of mine whom I really admire would tell her kids to have 'an attitude of gratitude rather than an attitude of rat-itude.'  I like that saying a lot.  I can have an attitude of rat-itude when little things derail my plans, and there are times I definitely need help to even ask myself what I can be thankful for about certain situations.

So, please join me in this weekly expression of thankfulness.  I'd love to hear what you're thankful for.

Here's mine for this week:  I'm thankful for parks with tons of sidewalks for small kids to ride their bikes around in.  Our neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks to speak of.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rococohobo/2750365451/

Thankful Thursdays

Today's thankful for me is a big one:

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage! We've been through a lot, and through the joy, sorrow, tough times, smooth sailing, challenges and all the fun, being married to my sweet hubby has been an amazing testament to God's goodness to us and His grace to two very imperfect people.

What are YOU thankful for today?  You can share something big and/or deep, or one of the little things that makes your day.  I shared about coffee last week, if that says anything.  

We're in this to practice the attitude of thankfulness. 

Grand Openings and Free Festivals

Lots of great stuff to do at this free grand opening event

I love fun. Free fun, especially. That's why I like to keep my ear to the ground about what's going on around town. Grand openings that promise entertainment for the kids = score!

Case in point: our town's brand new community center had its grand opening, which, in my daughter's eyes, was really quite grand. Li'l Girlie ADORES bounce houses. It's not cheap to rent one on a regular basis, or to head out to Monkey Joe's every time the mood hits her to bounce (which is often).

We got there right when they started and she got to bounce for half an hour to the excellent music of a youth steel drum band. Then we got sno-cones, samples of Honest Tea and a little bit of coaching from the gymnastics and cheerleading coaches promoting their classes inside the building. All to Li'l Girlie's delight. All F.R.E.E.

Tell me about your finds of free fun stuff to do!

Thankful Thursdays

Sometimes it's the little things. I'm thankful that it's fall (though my thermometer says otherwise) and that I can get my favorite Starbucks coffee flavor ever... Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Already got it in hand.  :)

What are you thankful for today?  Go deep, go surface-y.  Make it long or short; whatever helps you practice gratitude. 

Starfall

Had to stay home from my Tuesday morning Moms' group today since Li'l Girlie has some tummy issues.  She didn't need to be in bed, but it still wasn't a good idea to have an active day.  What to do?

Perfect day for Starfall.com's Learn to Read with Phonics.  Since Li'l Girlie is only three, we've just used the first level of learning ABC's, and she really enjoys all the interactive pictures that go along with learning each letter and its sounds.  To her, it's sheer entertainment, but she's learned a ton from it.  That's my favorite kind of learning....so enjoyable that it's all fun and being proud of your accomplishments.  Here's a sample of what you'll find on the first level:



So what do your kids like to do when they're home sick? What other learning websites would you recommend for preschoolers?

Thankful Thursdays

When I said that Thankful Thursday comments could be just a few words, I meant it.  This week mine's going to be short and sweet too:

I'm really thankful that my husband's back home from a business trip.  

What are you thankful for today?

Toys that Grow with Your Child -- Fisher Price Learning Home

For a toy to be inducted into my personal 'hall of fame,'  it's gotta give a good bang for the buck.  By that, I mean a toy that your child plays with day in and day out, one that holds their attention so well, and/or they play with for such a long period of time that you are completely grateful you paid every cent for it. 

Behold, the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home.  One of our family's favorite toys EVAH.  My daughter got it for her first birthday.  She's 3 1/2 now, and still plays with it.  In fact, right now it's teamed up with a chair and a blanket to make a house/barn, depending on what she's pretending at the moment.

This thing retails around $85, give or take.  To me, that's a lot to shell out for a baby toy.  However, the Learning Home has proved its value many, many times over.   Here's how:

• Every time we have kids come over for playdates, they all gravitate toward it, whether they're still crawling or they're in kindergarten.
• It's big enough for several kids to play with at once.
• There's a lot to entertain small toddlers/bigger babies.  There are lights to turn on, songs that play, buttons to push, dials to dial and balls.  Balls are always a big winner.
• Pretty much everything on the Learning House lives up to its name...your child is learning colors, numbers, cause-and-effect, opposites (open/closed, on/off, day/night, etc.)
• It's sturdy enough for pre-walkers to pull up on, and there's a lot of incentive to do so...some of the fun features of the home are higher up.
• There are two different sound settings (learning and music) as well as a 'sound off' mode so your child can explore with different sound 
• There's enough sound and song variety to have less annoyance potential for parents.  I know some toys my daughter had as a small toddler only played a song or two, and it drove me nuts.   The songs are pretty appealing, at least to me.  My husband found the singing voice a little syrupy, but I think it's just a generally cheery voice.  
• You can make up a lot of games to play with your toddler using the Learning House.  Our favorites were hiding something unusual in the mailbox for Li'l Girlie to find, having her stuffed animals pop out from behind the closed window, and playing 'knock, knock, who's there?' with the door.  

I've even got a video of Li'l Girlie demonstrating the Learning Home on my Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months website.  This toy is pretty much a home run for that age, and it lasts way beyond that too.

Thankful Thursdays -- first edition

I'm trying to make more of a practice of sitting still.  With a busy, chatty 3 1/2 year old that's sometimes more of an effort than I'd like to admit.  But I know how good it is to come before God with a thankful heart that acknowledges His sovereignty over my life and rejoices in the blessings He's put there. Since Thursday and Thankful start with the same sound, and because Thanksgiving is on a Thursday (yes, I'm corny), I'm starting a tradition of Thankful Thursdays...taking extra time to thank the Lord for His goodness to me.

I want to invite you to join me!  I'm going to write a short post each Thursday about something/someone I'm thankful for, and I'd love for you to comment on this post with what YOU are thankful for.  C'mon!  It'll be fun!

I'll go first:

I'm thankful for these flowers.  Happy little zinnias and marigolds in a ball jar given to Li'l Girlie by my good friend B.   They're so much more than a couple little blooms to Li'l Girlie, though.  We were at B's house today to swim, and she said that Li'l Girlie could choose a flower to take home.  Li'l Girlie LOVES flowers, so she was thrilled.  But instead of just one bloom, B clipped a whole bunch of Li'l Girlie's favorites.

Every time Li'l Girlie looks at the flowers, she says "B said I could have one flower, but she gave me a whole BUNCH of flowers!  That was kind of her." 

The zinnias and marigolds themselves are pretty, but what is much more lovely is my friend's heart to bless my daughter.  I'm so thankful for B's friendship and how she's showing Li'l Girlie the abundance of Jesus' love for us.

Ok, so you don't have to write this much.  Even just a word or two is great, but do feel free to tell us more if you like.  The point isn't how much you write or how good it sounds, the point is to practice thankfulness. 

A farewell to summer - ode to splash pads

Who am I kidding?  It's September in Florida, which means there's still a few weeks of summer left.  However, the highs have dropped out of the 90's into the upper 80's a bit early this year, so I'm seeing a glimmer of fall.

While I'm thrilled to be able to take Li'l Girlie to parks and not be drenched in sweat within 5 minutes, there's been a lot about this summer that we'll miss.  For one, splash pads.  When Li'l Girlie's into them, it's pretty much guaranteed running around and getting worn out for her, and some good time catching up with friends for me.  A little mother/daughter pretend tea time with her plastic tea set gets thrown in too.  Everybody wins!  Our fave splash pad (shown above) is really close to home, FREE and has really entertaining water features.  I know not every area has this style of fountain pad, and we partook of some of the paid entry ones that had bigger water features as well.  Lots of inexpensive fun.

To me, here's what makes a great splash pad:

• Varied water features or water patterns that has at least one fountain kids can use to fill up buckets.  That's truly half the fun for most kids.
• Shade.  'Nuff said.
• Inexpensive or free admission.  
• One that's not overrun with day camp attendees.  Not that I'm against day camps or day camps taking their campers to splash pads....all I'm saying is that the days they're there, all other children pretty much get run over.  

Added bonus for moms with small children who run away a lot...fenced in.  Li'l Girlie's never really been a runner, but containment was great for when we had playdates with kids who were.

Splash pads, we will miss you.  Hope we get to visit a couple more times before the weather turns.  See you next summer!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

As a fan of peanut butter and chocolate, this muffin recipe was a no-brainer for trying out.  The original peanut butter chocolate chip muffin recipe is vegan, but with a few small tweaks (natural peanut butter, milk and gluten-free baking mix) it morphed into more of what this wheat-free/gluten-free carnivore family eats on a regular basis.

And it sure is good!  Just as advertised, the muffins perkily puffed up in the oven and released an amazing aroma while baking.  They're nice and tender with a bit of a crust on the outside.  Kind of a nice touch in my book.

Baking is a favorite activity for my daughter and I.  She gets to help scoop flour, sugar, etc., and pour in other ingredients like vanilla and milk, plus taste-test the peanut butter and chocolate chips.  She gets to be helpful and is starting to learn some basics of measurement like two half-cups make one whole cup.  Plus we get delicious results for our efforts.

While this isn't the epitome of a healthy recipe, it's got its bonuses like protein and a somewhat smaller amount of sugar.  You can also substitute sucanat (natural cane sugar) for the regular sugar and get some nutrients instead of just processed white sugar.

Overall, this is a big winner as a rainy day activity.  Nothing like the smell of baking on a cloudy day!

The 5 best toys of all time

The vast majority of the time I do the toy reviews on this site.  I really enjoy reviewing toys, and Li'l Girlie enjoys playing with them, so that works out well for us.  This time, though, I've gotta hand it to Geek Dad on Wired.  He's written a wonderful compilation of the 5 best toys of all time;  I couldn't have done it better.

Not many toys can come close to the amount of imagination these toys can inspire, and most are readily available in wide areas of the world.  Whatever culture or economic group you are in, it's highly likely that your kid will play with one of these toys whenever the opportunity arises.  (Right now, my daughter is really into toy #1 and toy #5)  That's her in the bike helmet -- it's like her security blanket, except it's a helmet. 

As an added bonus, each of the top 5 is relatively inexpensive and/or can be obtained for free.  That's my favorite price. 

Which of the top 5 toys does your child play with?  Were there any surprises about which ones made the cut?

Finding Rainy Day Fun in Unusual Places

What to do on a rainy, gloomy day?  I love just staying home and playing, doing crafts, messing around with playdoh, etc., but there are just times where you need to break out of the cabin fever and just get out with your kids. 

We didn't discover this newest place to explore under the most delightful of circumstances -- my husband is in the ER with a bad fever and chest pain.  But while they took him to have a CAT scan, my daughter and I checked out the children's section of the hospital and found a Disney-themed play area, a welcome diversion while we waited. 

I wouldn't have thought of a hospital as somewhere to look for rainy day activities, but it sure did fit the bill.  If you've got a good sized hospital in your area (especially a children's hospital) and you're looking for a new place for fun on a rainy or cold day, check to see if they have a lobby with stuff for kids.

Have you found a great place to have fun indoors when the weather's not great for being outdoors?  Please share!

Cash back for shopping online

photo © 2006 Rob Lee | more info (via: Wylio)
Ok, so I wouldn't buy a shirt that looks like a dollar bill, but I'm certainly up for having my online clothing purchases (and all other online purchases for that matter) turning into free money.  I've found a super-simple and very legitimate way to earn a couple extra bucks. 

If you do any online shopping, one of the easiest ways to basically get paid for the purchases that you'd make anyway is to use a cash back website.  They're super-easy to use.  All you do is go to the cash-back site, then

1. Sign up.
2. Choose a store that you want to shop at (most sites have hundreds to thousands of choices)
3. Shop as you normally would, and get cash back on your purchase. 

Just got the latest notification of a rebate check on its way to me.  Yippee!  This year I earned over $18 cash back on my regular Christmas shopping, and I now make sure that any purchase I make, whenever possible, goes through a cash-back/rebate site so that I don't have to pay full-price.

My personal favorite cash-back site is Ebates.  It's the granddaddy of all rebate sites, and is ridiculously easy to use.  When you search for the store you want, it tells you how much cash back they offer, and there are often double cash-back deals around major holidays like Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc.  They have thousands of stores to choose from, including names like Land's End, Gap, Babies R Us, Target, Shoes.com, Bath and Body Works, Sephora and the Apple Store. 

I can always find a use for a little extra cash.  Plus, It's not much effort for a busy mom to use something like Ebates.  Just a few seconds of effort... so easy even a (fill in the blank) can do it.  

Free Chick-fil-A and Learning on the Go

It definitely pays to join Chick-fil-A Insiders.  If  you or someone you love (read:  your kids) enjoy Chick-fil-A, you'll get emails notifying you of when they have exclusive free previews of new products.  Earlier in the year I got a free Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and this month was the Spicy Chicken Biscuit.

Free food was a great excuse for a morning excursion to our favorite fast food place.  Li'l Girlie is beyond enamored with Chick-fil-A...the nuggets, the cows, the play area, not to mention getting to drink milk out of a cute container with a straw.  All happy stuff in her book.

On this trip, we discovered the cow clock table-toppers, which immediately drew Li'l Girlie's interest.  We had fun moving the cow's arms and practicing counting with the numbers on the clock.  We practiced our moos and talked about what cows like to eat and what they do.  Between that and the play area, we ended up spending almost all morning at Chick-fil-A.

And why do I share this?

Well, the first paragraph is all about the free food, of course.  The rest of it is what Miriam Huffman Rockness, in her book A Time for Play - On Childhood and Creativity describes as fanning the flames of a child's interest.  As parents we can push our children to have interest in certain activities, and sometimes our child will glom onto them and have a ball, but what really sparks a child's creativity and desire to learn is parents latching onto something their son or daughter is already excited about and helping them explore that interest.

A boy who loves dinosaurs but doesn't care to read much will readily devour books his parents supply to him about T-Rex, Apatosaurus and Triceratops and learn huge vocabulary words to describe the objects of his obsession.  While that interest may not lead him into being a palientologist, it just might.  Or, at least along the way, it's teaching him both that his parents care about his passions and that there are fascinating worlds of knowledge to explore. 

Right now my daughter loves chicken nuggets and cows.  Who says we have to eat and run when there's an opportunity for learning through something she already thinks is fun.

Saving money and getting famous. Well, not really famous.

 One of my very favorite things is saving money on quality products.  I've met more and more moms, especially in recent years, who've been dipping their toes into the world of couponing to save money on their grocery and household bills, or like me, jumping in and swimming around. 

In fall of 2009, I was fortunate enough to be personally tutored in how to coupon by my friend Kim from MavenOnAMission.  With her encouragement and coaching, I applied what I learned one step at a time, and a few months later I was saving 40-50% on my grocery and household bills, and my family was eating healthier.  

In the summer of 2010, the Orlando Sentinel held a 'Super Saver' contest where they chose the top 10 essays about how people used the newspaper to save money.  As you can guess from the photo, I was one of the winners, and got featured in a print ad campaign.  (They also did radio spots; some of my local friends have heard me on Magic 107.7, but I've not heard myself yet).  While saving money for my own family is rewarding and gives me a sense of accomplishment, I'm also eager to help other moms learn how to save so that they can be better stewards and have more room in their budgets to pay off bills, have more fun, save towards a financial goal or give to their churches or charity.

Along those lines, my first post of 2011 was actually on my friend Kristy's savings & couponing blog, 4our2cents, about my trip to CVS and paying $1 for over $40 worth of stuff.

I'm thankful and honored that Kristy asked me to guest-post on her blog, and it's inspired me to write more about couponing and saving on Mommy's Favorite Things.  If you're new to couponing or not even sure you want to try it ---that Extreme Couponing show is giving it a bad name -- don't worry.  I'll take it one step at a time. 

In case you were wondering, I won a gift card for my Super Saver essay too.  Winning money --that's another one of my favorite things. 

New Year -- Can I Get a Do-Over?

To be quite frank, 2010 was not my best year for writing.  I feel like I let this blog wither like an unwatered houseplant.  Now here I am with the watering can, plant food, and new sunny window to revive it. 

Here's what you can expect for 2011... toy reviews, couponing tips, and family-friendly recipes, to name the main categories.  I'm still centered on the things that help make a mom's life easier, more enjoyable and help save money.  In addition to Mommy's Favorite Things, I also write websites that go more indepth on the stuff I talk about here.

In any case, if you've been following me (you super-loyal and patient person, you), I want to thank you and also apologize for my spotty posting.  I'm kicking it back in gear.

All the best,

Erin
Mommy's Favorite Things