Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts this one too. Go over and have a look at what others are doing on this lovely Saturday.
Filed under: kids, SS | Tagged: road trip | 1 Comment »
Fx4: Baking
Posted on October 9, 2009 by Nancy
The kids baked some Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies with Jessica (the nanny) yesterday. Jessica captured some really cute pictures…and a really funny video.
Watching the Cookies Bake
"We made cookies!!"
"Are they done yet?"
And the funny video of Burke trying to hug Marjorie…
(1 minute)
Candid Carrie sponsors this one – head over to her blog and find LOTS of links for bloggers who’ve joined in! (You can join in too!)
Filed under: FFFF, food, TT | Tagged: baking, cookies, hugs | 5 Comments »
Cookbooks
Posted on October 8, 2009 by Nancy
A recent discussion with my twins club got me thinking about cookbooks. Every year, someone from the club decides that creating a club cookbook would be a great idea (I was one of those people about 2 years ago…and then last year, VP, WAC, and I even got together to discuss it.) Life happened and we never actually got around to publishing one, but it was a good conversation.
But what did this recent discussion get me thinking about? Two things.
First: Would people actually purchase a cookbook? In this day and age where millions of recipes are at your fingertips online, would you purchase a cookbook? Perhaps if it were billed as a fundraiser for something I’d support anyway… Don’t get me wrong. I have a ton of cookbooks. There are even a few I crack open from time to time. My favorite one though? A Levenger Circa Junior notebook that I’ve written all of my favorites in. Some from cookbooks I own, some from online, some passed down from my grandmother and Mike’s mom.
Second: Where do these recipes come from? I know…members submit their favorites. But…what about people like me who mostly just use OTHER people’s recipes? Isn’t that, like, copyright infringement or something? I’ve found a few recipes online that I’ve changed around a bit to meet my tastes…does this mean that it’s now my recipe? And what about those that have been passed down from family members..? For all I know, they did the same thing that I did…found their favorites and just wrote ’em all down in one spot.
So…would you purchase a cookbook? Would you contribute to one? And would it be your “own” recipe?
Filed under: deep thoughts | Tagged: cook books, cookbooks, recipe, recipes | 7 Comments »
Way Back When-esday
Posted on October 7, 2009 by Nancy
Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts this one. Go on over to see who else is playing – and join in too!
In honor of my birthday this week, I’m taking you back 35 years.
Nancy
Filed under: WBW | Tagged: birthday, born | 5 Comments »
Toy Review and Giveaway!
Posted on October 6, 2009 by Nancy
Sorry, this giveaway is now CLOSED.
Yesterday, MyBlogSpark.com and Hasbro sent me 2 toys to review. (You can see Burke and Marjorie testing them out in yesterday’s post.)
The Elefun & Friends collection, which includes Elefun, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Gator Golf, provides a great way for parents and their kids to enjoy silly, active playtime together.
We received SCATTERPILLAR SCRAMBLE and GIRAFFALAFF LIMBO. The kids started out with Scramble and then went to Limbo and then came back to Scramble. Both games are for kids 4 years old and up.
.
In SCATTERPILLAR SCRAMBLE kids do their best to balance marbles in the hands of one very wiggly caterpillar. Kids have fun dancing along to the music with Scatterpillar in this fast-paced marble game. The first player to securely place all 8 marbles in Scatterpillar’s hands wins. SCATTERPILLAR SCRAMBLE was named the 2009 Preschool Game of the Year by Creative Child Magazine.
Burke and Marjorie started out with this one…and quickly got frustrated because the Scatterpillar moves so much. However, they did come back to it when we talked about how it takes practice and that if they kept at it they’d be able to do the game in no time. I think part of their frustration was that the marbles would get away from them. Mike fixed this by putting the Scatterpillar in a box top – no more runaway marbles!
As the kids practiced, they actually got pretty good at it. They never really played the game, but they had fun putting marbles in Scatterpillar’s hands.
I liked this game because it teaches kid persistence and hand-eye coordination. It’s also fun to watch the Scatterpillar dance around.
GIRAFFALAFF LIMBO is the crazy new game of “how low can you go?” Spin the dial to try one of the 6 limbo styles: classic limbo, crab walk, crawl, giraffe walk, bend forward or backward. The game’s built-in sound will play an encouraging song as preschoolers try not to bump into Giraffalaff. If he’s knocked over, he´ll roll on the floor in laughter. The player who passes under Giraffalaff at the lowest level wins.
This one makes me laugh. Every time you knock the giraffe off the poles, he laughs…and it’s infectious. And I like that it gets the kids up off their butts and active! I don’t quite understand why the giraffe is up-side-down (apart from, you know, gravity), and it makes the limbo-er have to go very low, but it’s for kids, so I suppose that’s okay. (You won’t catch ME trying to go under that thing though!)
Burke and Marjorie had fun running around and ducking under the giraffe, but didn’t quite get the “spin and do the funny walk” part of the game. We’re working on that. They were really digging the music though – and doing well taking turns walking under.
Now for the Giveaway part.
Would you like your own Giraffalaff Limbo and Scatterpillar Scramble games to enjoy?
There are multiple ways to enter – you do not have to do all of them to be entered!
One entry each for the following comments left. Pick and choose the ones you want to do, but please leave a separate comment for each option – makes for easier random.org picking. 🙂
- What is your favorite children’s toy? (And if you’d like to state why, I’m curious about that as well…but that won’t impact your entry 😉 )
- What is your child’s favorite toy?\
You can also get more entries (1 each) if you:
- Blog about this giveaway and link back to me (let me know with a comment please)
- Tweet about this giveaway (please let me know with a direct link in your comment)
You have until Midnight on Monday, October 12th to enter. Random.org will choose the winner and I’ll post it on Tuesday the 13th.
But Wait! There’s More!
Once you’ve purchased (or won!) an Elefun & Friends game, Kids can also experience the fantasy world of Elefun & Friends online by visiting www.elefunandfriends.com and entering the special code that can be found inside each Elefun & Friends game box. Once the code is entered, kids can access The Tangled Tale, an Elefun & Friends animated short. This entertaining tale features Elefun on an adventure to untangle a kite string, which ultimately leads him to the true meaning of friendship. The Elefun & Friends online experience also lets kids play games and sing along to songs like “Friends’ til the End” and “Follow that String” that help remind children of the importance of fun and play!
Coupon, Coupon, Coupon: visit http://bricks.coupons.com/bstart.asp?o=59048&c=EL&p=ERf0P5lm to download a printable coupon for $4 off any Elefun & Friends game! This valuable coupon offer is valid until December 31, but it´s only available for download through October 31.
Filed under: giveaway, reviews | Tagged: coupon, Elefun, games, Giraffalaff Limbo, give away, giveaway, Scatterpillar Scramble, toys | 11 Comments »
Makes My Monday: New Toys to Review!
Posted on October 5, 2009 by Nancy
I just received two toys to review (and give away!) … the fact that the kids are having a blast with them Makes My Monday!
Giraffalaff Limbo
Scatterpillar Scramble
Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts this one. Head on over to see what else makes people’s Mondays (there are always some really good ones!)
(Stayed tuned for the review and the giveaway…)
Filed under: MMM, twins | Tagged: Giraffalaff Limbo, Scatterpillar Scramble, toys | 4 Comments »
Baby Picture Sundays
Posted on October 4, 2009 by Nancy
Debi hosts the Baby Picture Sundays. Hop on over there to see who’s playing, and join in too!
This week’s theme is Babies Can Sleep Anywhere.
Twins: 2 months old
Filed under: BPS, sleep | Tagged: sleeping babies | 3 Comments »
Saturday Snapshot: New Moms of Twins Brunch
Posted on October 3, 2009 by Nancy
My Twins club had a brunch today for all of the new twin mom members. (No, I’m not a new twin mom, but I’m the membership chair…so it made sense for me to go 🙂 ) Loads of fun!! 🙂
Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts this one too. Go over and have a look at what others are doing on this rainy Saturday.
Filed under: fun, me, SS | Tagged: brunch, moms of twins, new members, twin moms | 4 Comments »
Fx4: New Dining Set
Posted on October 2, 2009 by Nancy
For all of my efforts with Fishful Thinking, I received a very nice gift card that made it so we could purchase a new dining room set! (I love Bob’s!)
Logan seems to like it…
Candid Carrie sponsors this one – head over to her blog and find LOTS of links for bloggers who’ve joined in! (You can join in too!)
Filed under: FFFF, house, Logan | Tagged: chairs, dining set, table | 6 Comments »
Behold: The Power of Stickers
Posted on October 1, 2009 by Nancy
A little while ago Goddess mentioned putting together a sticker chart to make bath time easier. I’d been hearing about sticker charts and other things to encourage kids to do stuff (or not do stuff) since before having kids – but reading it over there kicked my butt into gear to create one for Burke and Marjorie. For what, you ask? Trying to keep the bed dry over night.
Has it worked? Mostly. More to the side of “yes!” … but I still have to say mostly.
Here’s the thing about sticker charts…Mommy has to remember to put the stickers on! Well, I have to remember to have the kids put the stickers on. And, for the most part, the kids would remind me…but on mornings when we’re rushing around trying to get to school on time, the sticker chart slides. And guess what happens when Mommy slides? Yep…the very thing the chart is used for tends to slide a bit. Oh, and sick kids tend to impact said chart as well.
Anyway … I’m actually really impressed with how well the kids are doing. It started out that they’d get one sticker if their pull-up was dry. Three nights in dry pull-ups meant they’d get to wear undies. A dry night in undies got them two stickers. Toward the middle of the month, we ended up changing to two nights in dry pull-ups…then removed the pull-up factor all together. I also got sick of the “in and out of bed” bed-time routine, so I promised another sticker if they stayed in bed all night (unless they really did need to use the potty!)
Oh, one other seemingly very important part is that I let them color the square in with a highlighter before applying the sticker.
Filed under: potty training, twins | Tagged: charts, dry bed, overnight potty training, potty training, sticker charts, stickers | 3 Comments »
The Zimmer Zoo 