thank you for a better creamer!

For years, I guiltily indulged in the "naughty" coffee creamers filled with plasticky ingredients all sorts of frightening sweeteners just because it made my morning coffee that much yummier. Now I am pleased to see many different brands coming out with more natural alternatives with simpler ingredients like milk, sugar, and natural flavoring. It tastes just the same as the more chemical counter-parts. No wait, maybe it tastes even better because it isn't quite as frightening. Thank you creamer manufacturers! Me and my coffe are grateful!

Great Toy for Girls

WOODKINS! Woodkins are these great wooden toys with cutouts of people and rooms and scenery and they come with scraps of fabric (and you can add more of your own) with which the child decorates the people and the furniture. A friend gave my 3 y/o daughter a set and she played with it for hours! That's like a year in 3 y/o time!! The photo shows my 6 y/o son and my toddler enjoying it as well. You can find them at places where "hands-on" toys are sold. One of my favorite sites is : http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/small_world_toys/woodkins.cfm

What's great about these toys is that they are durable, safe, and evoke creativity. They would make a good choice for a "take along" toy as well when you need something for a car ride or doctor's office waiting room survival item (or heaven forbid, the DMV). WOODKINS! Do your children have woodkins? What do you think about them?

must have BOOKS!

The book is called UNPLUGGED PLAY by Bobbi Conner
It is all over the internet on blogs and reviews. This is the BEST book (other than the Bible, of course) for families to own. Who doesn't wish for ideas to lure their kids away from video games and television? With the simple but fun ideas in this book you won't have to bribe them or be the meany who just says "no". They will want to turn it off and follow you to play. There are over 700 ideas of playtime and games for people of all ages and group size. Indoor, outdoor, everything! Almost all the ideas are able to be accomplished with items you already have around your home. I just can't say enough good things about this book! Look for it anywhere books or parenting things are sold.
Do you have any good, simple, unplugged play - type ideas?

health and beauty: sunless tanners

LOVE the IDEA, not so impressed with the results... I recently purchased a tube of L'Oreal sunless tanning cream/lotion. I was hoping to get a little pigment to my freakishly pale self and therefore have a little more confidence in wearing shorts this year. I usually wear long pants or capris and skirts in the summer but I wanted to be daring this year. I followed the directions exactly. First off I was disappointed in the mass amounts of glitter in the lotion. It did not advertise that there would be glitter in it. I had no desire to be "glittery" so that was a negative. It did dry quickly which was a plus, but the next day to my dismay I realized how patchy it was. I had orange splotches all over me. I chalked it up to user error and decided to try again and even myself out. That time it worked half-decently, but I did realize that it was an obviously unnatural tan because normall you are less dark on the undersides of your arms, etc and I was uniformly orange. It did blend well on my face. Then in washed/faded off in a few days. When I reapplied it was even worse than the first time. I tried to even it out again but it still made weird orange speckled designs on various parts of my limbs. I cannot believe I paid for that. LOL Lesson learned. The "safe" tan is a novel idea - but its execution is lacking IMO.

blog-MUSTS

We all have come across a blog or two that we just adore and frequent often. What are yours? One of mine is hillbilly housewife at www.hillbillyhousewife.com . There are tons of recipes and meal plans and tips and tricks for living within your means. That is always at the top of my list so I appreciate the information I find there. She even has a $45 and $70 emergency weekly menu/shopping list complete with daily instructions. I have tried many ideas and recipes from her site over the years and am never disappointed. Please share with us some of your favorite blog links for moms and families!

Practical Accessories

I came across these encouragement bracelets in a magazine and thought they were such a good idea I had to share them with you. They have encouraging reminders written on them such as, "We are a smiling family". What a great way to remind yourself and loved ones to have a better attitude! They would make a great little gift for someone or just for your own pick-me-up throughout the day. I found them at www.aboverubies.org in the book and music store under the category (bracelets). What encourging items have you come across? Do you know of any other accessories that are just as practical as they are charming?

KID-friendly websites

I just HAVE to share the new internet site we have added to our computer for our family. It is called ZOODLES. The basic version of this program either for your computer or your mobile device is free - but we quickly decided to pay for a year subscription upgrade after we saw how convenient and fun it was. There is now a ZOODLES icon on our desktop. The kids click on it when they are granted computer time. It takes them to a ZOODLES page we've created with folders for each of them. They click on their picture and it takes them to a "play area" full of educational games and books and videos all geared for their age group. With the parental control feature we were able to block all ads and tailor the content to their needs : like increase math and science for one child and literature skills for another. We also have the ability to go in and set a time limit that will automatically boot the kid off after the time is up. That is so handy for me as I often forget to set the oven timer when they are turn-taking. We are really enjoying it! I have the free version on my android phone that keeps them busy in the car or in waiting rooms. I love that it is all educational content and not just "entertainment". Good job, ZOODLES! go to www.zoodles.com