This is a good toy for Dad and son, not to say I haven’t had a blast with it myself!

Caleb wanted to build a fire truck first, I forgot to take a picture before we dismantled it the next day though!

Dad’s big helper

Then came a tow truck, which was a similar build to the fire truck.

Then a forklift

A motorcycle

And this.  The super crane.  I built this one.  Surprisingly, it was not as difficult as I expected.

I joked that I sent it in with my M.I.T. application

Hoisting up a load of Hot Wheels takes concentration

We took apart the big crane and it had a baby:

And built an airplane to go with it.  On the more simple designs, you may be able to build more than one model.  Obviously the super crane above used most of the pieces.

After putting the pieces back into the ziplocks 900 times and searching for the screw that always seemed to be at the bottom of the bag, I had an idea.

Instilling Neuroticism Within Your Child’s Core Values.  Classes offered this fall on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  Instructor: Dr. Me

Pieces or airplane and mini crane are not shown in the box, but I *think* they will fit.

As you can imagine, this is a toy that will definitely grow with your child.  They can go all the way from part finder with a parent putting models together (practices colors, matching, etc) to building models themselves and creating their own inventions.  And of course, 75% or more of the pieces are made from wood according to European toy safety specifications (well above the USA’s).  If you’re wondering where you could find this for upcoming birthdays or Christmas, please take a look at Carl and Me.  They are an awesome family run online toy store with customer service that you just. don’t. find. these days.  I have exchanged several emails with Karen at Carl and Me, and I encourage you to do the same, should you have any questions.  Like I said, outstanding customer service and amazing European toys.  Right now, they are having a Father’s Day sale on Fagus trucks (which I can offically give a big thumbs up on, though I have not written about them yet).  Free shipping over $100.  Check out their whole site, you will not be disappointed!

Cake pan was originally purchased at Sur La Table for anyone landing here from a search engine

Yesterday, yesterday, I bought the Wilton Cruiser cake pan off ebay to make this infamous Herbie cake.

Today, not even 24 hours later, I find this newly listed, apparently extremely rare, not to mention highly detailed cake pan (I say rare because I searched high and low for a VW cake pan already).

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m drawn to cute little monsters for some reason.  Like the Manhattan Toy monsters.  And this cute Target kids monster bedding set.  Caleb however, couldn’t care a thing in the world about monsters, as I might have mentioned in the past, it is all about wheels for him.  So I spotted a compromise.  This absolutely adorable jacket!

I think the cuteness balances out the fact that it is a white jacket for a toddler.  It sort of reminds me of Dr. Seuss in a way.

And it is from…you ready for this…Walmart!

Obviously other people must have really liked it also because they only had two left, a 12-18 month and a 3t.  I had to force myself to put it back because Caleb is just about out of 3t, it didn’t make sense to buy it.  So what to do, what to do.  I know!  Send hubby to the next closest Walmart on his way home from work.  They had ONE left, a 5t, so now we have plenty of growing room (I think the Walmart brand tends to run small too).  And it was $7.50.  It’s the little things that make me stupid happy!

As you know, we have an impending move, hopefully before Caleb’s birthday.  I’ve been mulling over what we could get him for his birthday.  It always seems like Christmas and his birthday are back to back, despite there being three months in between.  So I was thinking for his “big” gift, we could do his bedroom.  My mom bought a set of bunkbeds for his room from a friend with an older child who had outgrown them.  They are currently sitting in the bedroom dissembled (due to the impending move).  Caleb is very excited to have them put together.  I suddenly realized we’ll need linens for two beds though.  I like his current set (and it is still available at Target – a kids Woolrich camping set), but I was thinking of switching to a car themed set.  I suppose there is no explanation needed there.  We could do it the night before his birthday (letting him sleep in our bed that night) and “wrap” the bedroom door with paper and a ribbon or something.  I was thinking of carrying the theme to the bathroom and doing the same thing there.  Anyway, here’s the adorable theme I found.  I think he would freak out if he wasn’t expecting it.  This stuff is from Target by the way!

HAVE TO HAVE IT:

I wanted to do the quilt on one bunk…

…and the comforter on the other.  Because I couldn’t decide which was cuter, we could switch for some variety!

The sheets are so adorable!

THE WATER IS GETTING DEEP:

What color curtains would go with this?  Light tan?  I feel like there’s enough blue already!

Even a little car bank

The lamp has a stop sign pull chain

This is the kids bedding throw pillow:

And this is the toddler set throw pillow:

Dumping the trash!

BUT I CAN STILL TOUCH THOUGH:

Cute, cute, CUTE shower curtain!

NEVERMIND, GONE OFF THE DEEP END:

4X4 toothbrush holder

Umm…Herbie soap dispenser?!

Even the shower curtain rings are precious (Can you tell I’m super excited about this?!)

Lotion dispenser?  Don’t need it, just think it is adorable too!

I can find some use for this right?

These are very cute, but probably an unjustified cost (or overdoing it perhaps?)

I LOVE this shelf that actually goes with a different baby bedding set.

DRIFTING OUT TO SEA, BON VOYAGE:

And this dog blanket (doesn’t match the theme at all), I just had to throw it in here because it is so dog-gone cute!

Road rug

Adorable storage stool (Don’t stand on that!  It’s too cute!)

Wall stickers of vintage airplanes

A light switch plate to go with the nearby shelf.

UP NEXT WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS: A DAYDREAMING MOTHER IS LOST AT SEA.

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.

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.

I just had to get this one, because my friend Amber has said this exact thing about Caleb before.  Seems she should have trademarked it!

There was another cute red hoodie long sleeve tshirt that said “Dear Santa, I can explain…”