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?