He didn’t quite get through the song as perfectly as he usually does, but all his practicing has paid off.  Rudolph is topping the charts coming in as the number one request at family events and get togethers now.

As for the commentary in between songs…I was standing with my back to the window almost right up against it and apparently the little kitty from the video below felt it necessary to attack my bee-hind through the glass.

2 Comments

I know this is a busy time of the year.  And I know I ordered a lot of crap online.  But if anyone should be complaining, it is the UPS woman (they have those?  They do here).  Not you.  I think you have brought about three packages.  The UPS lady has you beat.  By a lot.  She smiled and was quite polite when she was still scrambling to make her deliveries at EIGHT THIRTY at night!  But dear mister postman, why, why, WHY do you refuse to knock on the door?  I mean I may have appreciated that you didn’t knock yesterday, as I was standing in the hallway in a towel playing ball with the kid.  But you could still knock without peering through the glass.   But really, I need to know why you felt the need to leave my Borders.com order sitting in the rain rather than just knock on the blasted door.  You’ve been rude since the first day we moved here.  You barely acknowlege people when you are spoke to, but damn, the box would have fit inside the storm door, or you could have just….gasp…KNOCKED.  You don’t even have to stay and wait on me if I’m that scary.  Just let me know so I can get my package out of the pouring down rain.  Thanks.

Sincerely,
Your irritated customer on your route who doesn’t want to file a formal complaint because then they’ll make you call me on the phone and address the issue.  God knows I don’t want you to have to speak to me.  Plus it’s the holidays.  I don’t want to get you in trouble.  Scrooge.  Bah Humbug!  (I know about the complaint thing because I called when we were living in our previous house.  The super nice lady bent an envelope from Shutterfly to wedge it in the mailbox.  She was nice about it and apologized, and she always brought all my packages to the door with a smile.)

Leave a Comment

It seems we missed that chapter in Christmas decorating 101.  Because Caleb and I just keep adding more and more ornaments!  I think we added about 30 more balls today and my mom is bring a few more for us tomorrow!  I gave a lot of thought to going in the storage building and digging out the wreath and outdoor decorations.  But thinking was as far as I got!  Maybe tomorrow.

Every tree needs a Herbie

We like a ‘busy’ tree!  Ha!

2 Comments

Naked tree

Plus lights

Equals this

Inspecting for dead bulbs

For some reason, I love throwing the tree out of focus.

I don’t know which is cuter, the kid or the Christmas bear I finally took possession of.  It was a “gift” that my parents kept at their house for several years.

Caleb was really into the decorating this year.  He was so anxious, we could barely get the lights on the tree.  Let’s just say the bottom of the tree is heavily decorated.

Perhaps distant cousins?  I see family resemblance there.

Ta-da

Some might say we’re easily entertained

A family portrait.  Scott is off right of me in the background (at the computer).  Caleb is no doubt on a mission to break a third ball in this picture.  That is this year’s running total by the way.  He wanted to use the branches as a “marble run” for the paper thin glass ornaments.  Last year I learned that you can still break these balls on carpet.

2 Comments

But now that I’ve seen the Sprig Discover Rig in person, I’m even more excited to give it to Caleb for Christmas.  This thing is about twice the size I was imagining.  Scott and I couldn’t wait to get Caleb to sleep so we could take it out and play with it!  Adults?  Yes.  Grown?  Not necessarily.

One of the best parts?  It comes in a cardboard box that is clearly made of recycled products.  The box has a large open window so you can touch the truck immediately.  The first thing we noticed was that the wheels have a rubber coating on them, so no worries about your floors.  Then, are you ready for this?  You open the box (no ripping required) and lift the truck out.  That’s it.  Notice any missing steps?  Like the necessity of a pocket knife, scissors and a WWF wrestler?  No tie wraps taped down with plastic braces and a mile of industrial strength tape.  No strong arming required.

The truck itself is actually made of recycled milk jugs and plastic containers combined with reclaimed sawdust!  It is extremely sturdy and built to last, and it has lights and sounds with no batteries!  I dare say this is the gift I’m the most excited about!  Now that I’ve ordered from FAO Schwarz, they send their book for the rich and famous catalog.  Seriously, a ten thousand dollar gas powered junior 1942 Willys military jeep (2/3 scale)?  If your seven year old is driving a vehicle that requires gasoline, you have too much money, here let me help you with that.  Anyway, the Sprig vehicles are in their catalog and Caleb picked them out looking through it the first time.  They just have a kid friendly look to them.  The rack on top is a soft rubbery material also, so no worries about it breaking.

3 Comments

Last holiday season I was reading another mom’s blog and she was discussing Christmas traditions.  She mentioned that she wrapped up Christmas books and put them in a basket each year.  Books like the Polar Express, captivating stories that can be enjoyed by a wide age range.  Every day beginning on the 1st of December, and through until Christmas Eve, one of her (seven) children would pick a book out of the basket and unwrap it and they all sat around the fireplace reading.  I thought that was such a wonderful idea and tucked it away in the back of my head for this year.  You’re probably thinking the same thing I was though…”But I don’t have 24 Christmas books!”  Yeah me neither.  The library is your friend. I did purchase several to add to our collection, but I figured I’d drop by the library and try to find a few to fill the remaining days.

I’ve found that Amazon in general seems to have the best prices on books (gotta love that free super saver shipping!).  I didn’t focus so much on finding the stories for a wide age range because I just have Caleb, and he enjoys children’s picture books most.  We still need to be flipping pages every 60-90 seconds.  Which, I think, ain’t half bad for his age.  When I was looking for books to order this year, I mostly stuck to the four and five star amazon reviews.  Ones where the review title had words like “endearing” or heartwarming” or “the true meaning of the season.”

A Wish to be a Christmas Tree

How Murray Saved Christmas: According to the reviews, this one is hilarious, so I’m anxious to read it!

We have the Bad Dog Marley book and just love it.  So I knew a A Very Marley Christmas book should be on the list.

Bear’s First Christmas

This is one of the books I purchased last year.  We have every book in the Bear series (they are all adorable, but especially Bear Snores On).  Bear’s friends wake him up for Christmas and all gather in his warm winter den to celebrate the season.

The Polar Express: You knew that would be on the list

Russell’s Christmas Magic: The reviews may end up being right, the story doesn’t have that classic ring, but we have a different Russell book and the illustrations are precious.  I flipped through this book on the Amazon Reader, and again the pictures are adorable, so I bought it since Russell is a recognized book character already, even if the story isn’t a perfect 10.

Santa Claustrophobia

The Snow Angel: Classic Story combined with beautiful illustrations

Merry Christmas Stinky Face: We have the board book I love you Stinky Face, this Christmas version is on a Christmas book display at our Walmart.

Winter’s Gift: I teared up reading through this one at Lookybook.  This one is a story of a man who lost his wife beginning to heal during his first Christmas without her.

1 Comment

Okay, so Val over at Stinky John Jones mentioned in a recent comment that I should do a Christmas List post. I’m always up for discussing this type of thing, because twice a year, it becomes my CIA mission (for those who know us personally, there’s a pun there) to find the most unique items in existence.  Seriously, it is like an addiction.  An expensive addiction.  I will spent countless hours scouring the internet for obscure toys.  I hit all up my major natural and European toy retailers like Oompa, Maukilo, and Moolka.  Let’s face it, everything is prettier in Europe, toys included.  Beautiful long lasting wooden pieces.  Higher toy safety standards to boot.  Take a look around the Haba and Selecta websites.  Why can’t Walmart carry stuff like that?  I might hate them a little less.  And be even more broke than I already am.  But other countries, the US included do manage to make neat things, they are just a bit harder to find.  I like to do a yahoo or google search for natural toys or wooden toys and see what pops up.  I’ve probably been through every toy store in its entirety for the first eight pages of search results.

Now just in case I hadn’t spent enough time finding the toys and games, I then try to research them and see what other parents had to say about them.  I can’t tell you how many games I’ve thought “looked neat” only to find them on amazon.com with terrible reviews.  People saying the pieces broke easily or didn’t work correctly, etc.  (If you haven’t noticed by now, Hi I’m Rachel and I’m addicted to the internet.  It is my best friend. Just ask my husband. He runs to the computer chair if I get up to go pee just so he can check his email!)  So without further ado…

*Tip: I keep up with all this crap using wishlist.com so my bookmarks don’t become overrun.  Okay well they are anyway, but wishlist.com is awesome!*

Neat things I’ve found, but have not gotten/tested:

Baufix: I think these are a neat take on a construction toy.  Sort of like K’nex, only not.  They are wooden (scores extra points in my book!).  Caleb is big on the tool thing.  He likes to feel like he’s using tools just like dad.  He will get his screwdriver out to work on something that needs fixing.  If you are trying to super glue something, he wants to be all up in the middle of what you’re doing, whether you want him there or not.

Cargo train terminal (by Maxim I think): My mom saved all my Brio stuff from my childhood.  I can still remember my ‘train table’ back before they were such a popular thing.  Mine was just a sheet of plywood with rounded corners on top of a table.  We added an eBay lot of trains and tracks to the things from my childhood, and Caleb has been playing with train stuff for over two years now.  I found this train cargo terminal add on that has little magnetic “packages” to be lifted on and off.

Castle blocks: These are incredibly gorgeous.  That’s just all there is to it. Handcrafted in Indonesia, they are made of mahogany, only available at finewoodentoys.com

Lacing Caterpillar Box: Lacing seems to be on the list of toddler skills to be mastered.  But most of the ‘toys’ look so boring.  I found this adorable caterpillar box that seems like it brings a lot of whimsy and fun to the activity though.

Diggity Dog:  It’s no secret, I love kid games.  I made a mission out of finding ones other than Hungry Hippos and Elefun, after asking some other moms about games and hearing that one woman’s daughter beat the crap out of Ele”fun” when she was a little girl.  She got frustrated with it, and the mom just stood out in the hallway secretly snickering to herself!  I was surprised to find what a wide assortment of games you really can play with three year olds once you look past the Walmart shelves

Hugg-a-planet: Bigger is always better, right?  Click the link to see an adult holding this huge Earth.  Caleb loves his map, I think this is a great way to bridge the 2-d flatness of the map to the concept that it is actually a sphere.  find it cheaper here!

Traffic Dominos: I’m always on the lookout for anything car themed.  Because quite frankly, I didn’t know that such a thing existed as “car genes” nor that they could be passed down from generation to generation.

Melody Express Train: Each color track makes a different note when the train rides over it.  Build a song, and start the train moving to hear it.  Comes with a songbook.

Martian Matter: Some people say playdough.  Martian mud sounds cooler though.  This is something you actually can find at Walmart!

Wooden ramps racetrack: Cuter, safer and nicer than their noisy counterparts.

Plan City Deluxe Road System: For those transportation enthusiasts, notice the train crossing piece.  Compatible with most of the wooden train tracks, just make sure you have your railroad crossing signs up for those Hot Wheels!

Sprig Discover Rig: I’ve previously written on this guy.  Sound and lights, but no batteries.  This one is kid powered with interchangeable explorers from different countries, each with their own story to tell.  Read more here.

Hearth Song Memo: I have tried and tried to find this elsewhere, as I don’t particularly care for the overpriced shipping, but it is not to be found anywhere else.  All wood.  Check.  Flexibility.  Check check.  You can start out with just a few pairs if you’re playing with a younger child.  You can substitute other small objects or stickers under the little caps to mix things up.

Spinning tops: Courtesy of Etsy.  Careful, if you haven’t been to Etsy, you will become addicted.  It is a homespun eBay for handmade items.  No big retailers here.  Just skilled crafters and fine craftsmen.  Looks like a great stocking stuffer!

Marble runs: Click the pictures for individual product links There must be 100 different takes on this activity now.  The block and marble set we have, similar to this one, has been a big hit.  I’m partial to the types that allow more flexibility rather than the ones that have little room for variation in set up.  I’ve even seen a few that are ball tracks which I would assume from the pictures are big enough to eliminate the choking hazard if you have younger ones wanting to play also.

I even found a car/city themed one!

Tried and true:

Moon sand: What?  Wait, where are you going?  It doesn’t grind into the carpet like playdough!  Yeah I thought that might get your attention.  We do keep this on our screened porch though, and I ditched the “no mess” playmat it came with and just got a shallow rubbermaid container.  It is really neat too.  Lots of extra molds you can get, one set being a monster truck…molds for crush cars and a monster truck…yeah Caleb loves it!

Froggy Boogie: Don’t poke your eyeballs out playing Candyland.  This is an adorable “green” game.  100% made of wood, and the company, Blue Orange, plants two trees for every one used in their products.  The baby frogs are trying to sneak around the lily pads in the pond without being seen by the  mommy and daddy frogs.  Each frog has one eye with a frog on the bottom, and one without.  It becomes a game of memory trying to recall which eye to pick up, and practices colors, by finding the frog coordinating to your two color dice roll.  The pieces are just adorable too!

Bunny Hop: Another big hit here.  Even Charley plays (which just allows Caleb two turns in a row!).  Roll the dice to see which color to press down and then press your farmer to see if your bunny hops.  First one with all four color bunnies wins.  Of course, when we’re done playing a few rounds, we have to press down all the bunnies at once and squeal with delight when 12 out of 20 of them fly up in the air all at once.  Then repeat seven times.

Books:

If you haven’t tried out Lookybook, head over there and look around.  You can actually preview and read (if you squint) full children’s books before buying them.  It is a reasonably new site, so they are gradually building their book database.  But I found several of these books through Lookybook. Click the books for individual links

The longest book you’ll ever ‘read’ with no words!  We checked a Polo book out from the library and it was an unconventional hit.  Much like your 80 page long cartoon newspaper.  Don’t let that number scare you, it ‘reads’ quickly.  It is just a unique take on a book.  You can look through some of it at Amazon for a better idea of what I’m talking about.

Did I mention a car theme anywhere?

Thanks to Val for introducing SkippyJon Jones.  I absolutely have typed in Stinky John Jones looking for the books and become so annoyed when I couldn’t find them.  Caleb loves Skippy and has taken to calling people Mr. McPooh and bunny boots.  We get some strange looks.

Also available, SkippyJon Jones in Mummy Trouble, which we already have.

Woody Click Sets: We have the fire station and police station sets.  You can also get a construction theme, a farm theme or a hospital theme.  These don’t seem to have been a huge hit (retail wise), as they are a bit hard to find now.  We love them though.  They are similar to Playmobil sets, except they are made of wood.  The vehicles and buildings come into several pieces so you can arrange it any way you want.  A few more pictures here.

Coming up next: More books I’ve found, with a Christmas tradition idea/theme.

4 Comments

This adorable cow pedal tractor from FAO Schwarz has been hanging around at the top of the Christmas list, as it is pretty expensive ($200 + tax & shipping).  Well they just marked it $40 off today AND you can get an additional 20% off using the code SECRET when checking out, making the total $144.94 shipped (plus tax in applicable states)!!!  I am so excited it is ridiculous, so just wanted to share the good deal in case anyone else wanted to jump on it.  The 20% coupon is only good through tomorrow (11/26/08).  If you’re late seeing this, you may be able to get a 20% off -good til the end of the year- coupon by signing up for their email offers at the top of the page.

4 Comments

Dear Santa,

Puh-puh-puh-please, just hear me out.  I am trying to be a good boy, I really am.  I am writing this to reassure you that I don’t belong on your naughty list.  All that stuff my mom said earlier, she’s just talkin’ out her…nevermind.  Anyway.

So I signed up for that program you were telling me about.  Kinda like road squad = early release right?  Santa’s pit crew = guaranteed placement on the nice list.  I learned all about shinning sleigh runners and servicing the reindeer in the training class.  I’m even sporting the uniform they gave me to wear.  They tell me I have a world record to live up to.  I will do my best sir.

I figure I also have one other thing working in my favor….Mom says if you could harness my energy, you’d have no problem making your rounds Christmas Eve.  You might not even need all those reindeer.  One thing though, I’m not much on carrots.

If I might make just one last point…

I helped mom rake leaves last Friday.  See how much she we did.  I was an integral player in the redistribution of the leaves along the curb.  Mom would like to add that you may or may not wish to place a lump of coal in Dad’s stocking for the black skid marks in front of our house.

Santa, let’s be honest with each other.  I mean, could this face belong on your naughty list?  I don’t think so. These eyes spell pure innocence.  Between you and me, Mom’s just trying to blow smoke up your….nevermind.

Give the Mrs. my best and tell the crew chief I’ll be sure to be on time for pit practice next week.  Please don’t send Prancer to pick me up again though.  He’s kinda stuck up.  You know, just sayin’.

Yours truly,
Caleb

P.S. Do you want me to make you some sandwiches?

2 Comments

I’m a very visual person.  I’ve admitted it before and I’ll say it again.

We want to take Caleb on the Polar Express ride this Christmas season.  I realized today that we actually have two conceivable options.

Option #1 – 140 miles closer, tickets are more expensive, the train is…well…this:

Option #2 – 140 miles (280 miles round trip further) but the tickets are less expensive and the train looks slightly more authentic.

Am I being too demanding?  Apparently, or so my hubby informs me, steam engines aren’t the the big thing anymore?  But what about the whistle and all that smoke pouring out?  That’s what the Polar Express does.  And last time I checked, it ain’t red and yellow.   Just ask my equally literal kid which one looks like the Polar Express.

We are even gonna stop on the way home and cut down our own Christmas tree from a tree farm!  It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

4 Comments

« Previous Page — Next Page »