We were blessed to receive Ophelie and her Chicks from Lilliputiens of Belgium for review. HABA, a German toy manufacturer, also distributes some wonderful European brands of toys in the U.S., and they just added Lilliputiens to their exclusive line here. My almost two year old loves his new toy. Actually, I have seen his older brothers playing with it too. "Lilliputiens is based in Belgium and its toys are made by hand with care in Asia. The toys, patterns, fabrics, characters, are all 100% its own creations, designed by a team of five young and trend-conscious moms who ensure that in a world full of little wonders, every toy has its own fun story."
Ophelie and her chicks have been entertaining my little guy with finger puppet fun, hide the chicks in the egg, hide the egg in Ophelie, throw the egg like a ball, and many more creative games. The chicks all make different sounds which adds to the fun. One of them makes the cutest little chick sound. Ophelie has become a favorite toy and one that we will enjoy for a long time.
This Lilliputien toy is well made. In fact, one our chicks took a leap through an open window and had an unfortunate landing in a mud puddle. She came out squeaky clean and all in one piece after a bath in the washing machine. Her squeaker still worked too. Daddy even got in on the fun. Ophelie is also a hand puppet and her chicks are little finger puppets. You can see my son playing with Ophelie and her chicks in the video above.
Remember the anticipation before your precious little one was born and the joy you felt when he finally arrived. You can make those memories last forever with Tiny Prints. Tiny Prints offers a wide selection of top quality, beautifully designed birth announcements so that you can share your joy in style. I have three beautiful children and with each one I sent out birth announcements to my family and friends to share our love and excitement. Tiny Prints also offers unique baby shower invitations so you can celebrate this life changing event with designs as special as your new baby. You will want to save these invitations in your memory box or scrapbook to remember the fun and excitement you shared with your family and friends as you anticipate the arrival of your sweet baby. To make life a little easier (because after the baby comes, life gets busy!), Tiny Prints offers matching address labels, thank you cards, and gift tags. Are you on Pinterest? Join the Tiny Prints #TinyPrintsBaby Pinning Party™ with @ResourcefulMom on May 30th at 8 PM ET You can enter to win $50 off total order at Tiny Prints. Enter on the rafflecopter form. Disclosure: I have been compensated with product in exchange for posting this information. As always, any opinions are honest and are my own.
The boys and I made some personalized tea towels for gifts and had a lot fun in the process. Actually, Daddy helped too. He was the Transformers expert. My five year old really got into it, creating Transformers designs. I would love to take credit for this idea, but I saw it on a favorite blog, I Can Teach my Child. To make these towels, you can purchase finished kitchen towels and attach the handmade design or make homemade towels. I made homemade towels since I had lots of fabric on hand. Supplies needed: Tea towels or fabric to make towels Cotton fabric for artistic design T-shirt (fabric markers) Pinking shears sewing machine I bought two natural colored fat quarters and cut them each into 4 sections with pinking shears. I needed 7 pieces of fabric for the boys to color. I used pinking shears to help prevent raveling. The boys had a lot of fun coloring the fabric pieces. Make sure to use t-shirt (fabric) markers so that the drawing will not wash out of the fabric. I used one of my towels as a pattern and cut the new towels out with pinking shears. I folded the edges over once and hemmed them. I figured by cutting the fabric with pinking shears, I would reduce raveling so I didn't turn the edges under. If you have time, I would turn the edges under. I pinned the artwork fabric to the tea towel and sewed it in place with a simple straight stitch.
My wonderful husband and my three sweet boys planned a special surprise for me this morning. First, my husband let me sleep in, while he got up with the kids. (Thanks honey!) When they were ready for me, my husband led me into the kitchen and had me sit at the end of the table where I could not see into the kitchen. Then he cued my oldest to come out from hiding in the kitchen by announcing "one green and speckled frog". My oldest brought me this gorgeous bouquet picked fresh from the yard. Next he cued our middle child by announcing "two green and speckled frogs" and I was presented with a beautiful homemade card signed by each child and my husband. I don't know how my husband got our 22 month old to wait behind the counter for so long, but he did. He was announced "three green and speckled frogs" and excitedly brought me a box of chocolates from our favorite candy store, Fannie Mae. The boys had such fun planning the big surprise.
We had breakfast, sampled some candy, went to church and enjoyed a fun Mother's Day. Then my husband took the boys out to play for the afternoon and I had the house to myself. It was wonderful. I clipped coupons, wrote out the grocery list, did some laundry and cleaning and enjoyed the peace and quiet. How did you spend Mother's Day? I would love to hear.
Purex is teaming up with Little Tikes to make parents' lives this summer just a little bit easier. Enter to win prizes including a playground, a washer & dryer from LG, and a year's supply of Purex!
Wouldn't your kids love having a playground in their backyard? I know mine would. Think of the adventures and endless hours of fun. Enter the Kick Back and Play Sweepstakes for a chance to win these awesome prizes.
To celebrate their 110th birthday, the 8 original crayons are throwing a birthday bash at the new fun-omenal Crayola Experience, the world's only interactive Crayola family attraction. How can you join in on the fun? You can FOLLOW the crayons on their adventure, LEARN more about each color and enter to WIN a trip for 4 to celebrate their birthday and the Grand Opening of the all new Crayola Experience this coming May, 2013! Visit the Crayola Facebook page and click "enter now" for your chance to be first in line when the Crayola Experience reopens. The new Crayola Experience features four floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that will bring the magic of color and your child's creativity to life! The winner will be among the first to experience the fun, along with a three- night, all-expenses paid stay. It's an experience your kids will never forget - and neither will you! Disclosure: Crayola provided me with this information.
It’s Prom Season!· A Special Offer: Prom planning is gearing up, and with all the excitement for the big night often comes empty wallets for teens and families. As the ultimate pre-prom dinner destination, Olive Garden offers prom goers a great meal at an affordable price, and now through June 2, every couple who orders pre-prom dinner will also receive dessert on the house—just come dressed for the dance and mention “prom!” · Picture-Perfect Prom Instagram Contest: Olive Garden is hosting its Picture-Perfect Prom photo-sharing contest on Instagram with a weekly grand prize of a $500 prepaid credit card. Every week of the contest, Olive Garden will also give away five restaurant e-gift cards each valued at $50. Guests can enter now through May 14 by sharing their prom-themed photos on Instagram with #OGProm and following @OfficialOliveGarden. Rules: OfficialOliveGardenRules.com. Disclosure: I was provided with a promotional item, however any opinions are honest and are my own.
 It has been a teary eyed morning for me as I have been doing my housework with the TV on and seeing the images from the bombing at the Boston marathon. My heart weeps for the victims and their families. I just learned that an 8 year old boy passed away who had gone to see his father run and I can't help but feel such deep sadness for his family. I read a good post this morning and thought I would share. The thing to do now is to pray. Pray for the victims and their families. Pray for those helping them to recover. Pray for our President and leaders and those involved in the investigation. I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV)
I am excited to share some information on a free live parenting webinar with you. I follow a blog, Inspired to Action, which is sponsoring the event. Inspired to Action is a positive Christian parenting blog with lots of great motivational ideas, and inspiration. Amy McCready of Positive Parenting Solutions will be leading the webinar on Thursday April 11th at 9:00 pm EDT. What You'll Learn: Parents of kids ages 2½ - 16 will learn: - why kids really misbehave — it’s probably not what you think!
- how your personality may actually fuel misbehavior
- the 5 R’s of Fair & Effective Consequences so kids listen the first time you ask
- training resources to reduce your parenting stress & stop nagging, reminding & yelling
I just signed up and you can too. Seating is limited so RSVP right away if interested.
It's refreshing to discover a line of toys that promotes imagination and discovery. There are no beeps and whistles on these toys. The only sounds you'll hear are the sounds your children make as they use their imaginations to create and role-play and discover. Manhattan Toy has a new and exciting "imagine i CAN" line that includes 28 arts and crafts, do-it-yourself, games, and role-play and puppet kits. There is something for everyone and at an affordable price too. I think these toys would be great birthday gifts and if you plan ahead for Christmas like I do, many of these would be perfect stocking stuffers. Plus, most of them come in tins which are handy for storage or travel. My oldest was excited to receive the create & color space alien. He loves to craft and create so this was perfect for him. This kit comes with pre-punched pieces that come together to create an alien. It also includes markers and googly eyes. He loved the googly eyes. He was so excited to put the eyes on the alien. There is also a space scene inside the box to encourage imaginative play. We also received a fun game called cheese chase. The boys enjoyed playing this game because it was simple enough that they could play together without any adult assistance and challenging enough that it was fun. I like that the game pieces are well made wooden pieces and that they store easily in the provided tin. I played this game with my three year old too. He loves it. He asked to play it several times today. In addition, we received an awesome finger paint set. The boys love the creative tools and the paint is thick and easy to use. It also cleans up easily. Plus it comes in a cool storage tin. Watch the boys at work with the art tools and paint in this video. We have been having so much fun playing with our "imagine i CAN" toys from Manhattan Toy and are excited to offer a giveaway. One lucky reader will win an "imagine i CAN" toy of his or her choice. Enter on the rafflecopter form. Disclosure: I received products for review. All opinions are honest and are my own.
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