Head's Up

I've got a new post up on the review blog.... there is a $25 Staples Gift Card up for grabs. Check it out!

Very Untimely....

Untimely indeed, but I felt like I should publicly thank the people at Caring Corners who not only sent us a wonderful Mrs. Goodbee Talking Dollhouse to review way back in October (which the girls thoroughly enjoyed), but also sent one for us to give away to another family over the holiday season..... even if the acknowledgement is about a month late!

There were record numbers of people signed up to participate in our county's White Christmas this year on the receiving end, so I was very happy to be able to help even if just a little.

Together with the dollhouse and accessory set, we also purchased a few items to make Christmas just a little bit brighter for another family . I searched for a family with little girls close in age to mine since they enjoyed it so much! My girls did most of this shopping with me.


I would love to report that they were as excited during the "shopping for others" and "giving to those less fortunate" portions of the holidays as I was.... Instead I had to do lots of explaining when displaying all the goodies for the photo above before packing them up to send away last month.

They were, however, happy to give to one another this year which was evidenced by Ella's insistence on personally getting something for each of her sisters and myself. Perhaps by next year they will be mature enough to enjoy giving to those whom they have never even met.

Thanks again to the people at Learning Curve for the opportunity!

Random Catch Up Post

Trying to keep up with everything I want to blog about these days has been keeping me from blogging about anything... well, that and just simply being incredibly busy. But here goes my attempt at catching back up so that I can continue on with the cute little things I'm hearing around here all the time from the girls.

Wednesday night my best friend Amanda and I went to dinner and to see the Gainesville Theatre Alliance's production of Thoroughly Modern Millie as an early birthday gift to me. The entire evening was absolutely fabulous! I could not have asked for anything better... company, food, or performance. Thank you Amanda, for a wonderful girls night on the town.




Usually when I take a night or weekend off I pay for it in some form or fashion when I return home.... either the girls are still awake and wired, they wake up lots during the night, or someone turns up sick.

This time I didn't have any negative consequences to face for my evening's break, except the fact that I had to wake the girls up at 6:45am on Thursday morning in order to make it to a very special breakfast award presentation. Pop C was inducted into the Agriculture Hall of Fame at the annual National Farm-City Week breakfast for a lifetime in farming and working in other agriculture-related enterprises here in our county. It was supposed to be a surprise for Pop, and Nanny C wanted the girls and I to be there, so we made it.

There was a great article on the front page of the paper about him, and they used this picture that I took of him last year painting the fence around the farm. Congratulations Pop! The girls and I were happy to celebrate with you; unfortunately I didn't really set any expectations on the way there regarding being quiet like in church, not that they would have followed my instructions even still, and we had to leave as soon as they were done with Pop's presentation because the girls were just too rowdy.




Afterward, we packed up our swim suits and headed to the YMCA. They have a great aquatic facility at our Y and the girls have been begging me to try out the pool, so Mimi and I decided it would be a good time to give it a shot. All I have to say about it is perhaps I'll take them one on one again as time allows, but I think we'll wait a good long while before taking the whole crew all at once.


On a completely unrelated note, (sorry that was the best segue I could come up with), I have started a new review blog because I've been inundated lately with toys, books, and games that we have been sent to try out. I enjoy doing these reviews, especially the kid products, but I don't really want to post them here on our family blog anymore. So, for a while I'll probably post a note here alerting you when we have a new review up, and then I will eventually stop doing that. I figure that way if you are interested in hearing about what products and books we've been reviewing lately you'll know where the site is, but otherwise you won't be subjected to our thoughts on everything under the sun! Deal? I'm also using it to teach myself a little more html and blog design... I did it myself (3 columns and all, made my own signature) with free help from the cutest blog on the block site. Check it out, if you like!

Our Caring Corners House

A few months ago Whitney from RookieMoms.com contacted me about reviewing a dollhouse that is, "very cute, interactive (read: talking) dollhouse that teaches manners, sharing and other good behaviors, including being charitable".

My response was something like, "Of course... what mom doesn't like toys that teach manners and charity?" So Whitney sent it to us, and this toy didn't disappoint.

Once the Mrs. Goodbee Interactive Dollhouse arrived, I set out late one evening after the girls were in the bed to get it all set up. There was a little bit of assembly required, but I read and followed the directions with no trouble. One of the first things I took note of was the fact that the doll house comes encased in a large sturdy box with a handle and the recommendation that your child fill the box with clothes and toys they have outgrown to give away to other children who may need them. The people at Caring Corners have even coordinated with Goodwill stores nationwide and when children bring their CaringCorners boxes filled with giveaway goods, they will receive a Certificate of Appreciation from Goodwill with a secret code to unlock special activities at CaringCorners.com. So, before the girls had ever played with it, as a mom I was already impressed!


The following day I was amazed to watch as all four of my girls played together with the dollhouse. There are hundreds of activities, songs, and sounds that entertained them from within it's 12 different rooms. Because of all the different activities and large area once unfolded, the girls played for a comparatively long time before fights broke out. Even now, after the newness has worn off, they will still play with the doll house and accessories for quite a long time uninterrupted.... which is always nice!

Our only negative incident with the dollhouse occurred when a newly potty trained Sarah attempted to use the 1" potty herself. Fortunately I caught her while she was still trying to remove the necessary clothing and explained that even though it flushes and sounds real, it is NOT for her to use!!

For those with children just a little bit older than mine, there is a key with a secret code on it that can be used to unlock special games and activities on the Internet through CaringCorners.com that encourages children to display positive social behaviors such as sharing, caring, and preparing for responsibility through online game play.

And the very best part about doing this review was the fact that the people from Caring Corners sent us not one but two doll houses and accessories sets, with the request that in addition to doing this review, we will also find a charity organization or family to whom we'll donate the other set! I have discussed it with Ella, and she and I are going to select a family with little girls off the Angel Tree this year so that we can include this wonderful treat with the clothes and other goodies we give them to make their Christmas just a little bit brighter.

In our house full of girls, we own several different doll houses, and this one is definitely the girls' favorite. The fact that my girls are playing together, learning to use their manners, and being encouraged to give to others makes the Mrs. Goodbee Doll house tops in my book as well! You can find more information about Caring Corners and all their products at http://www.caringcorners.com/.

We're looking forward to passing along a little bit of this joy to another family, and I'll post about our experiences with the Angel Tree soon. Thanks RookieMoms and Caring Corners!

Good Clean Fun

My friends at Team Mom have kept us busy this month with a couple of great toys that they sent for review from Spin Master. Luckily for me, neither of the toys required assembly and neither of them is messy! Woohoo!!


On the rainy afternoon last week when we opened the Aquadoodle I wondered to myself why we didn't already have four of these little jewels?!? Ella entertained herself while the little gals were napping by quietly drawing to her heart's content... without requiring crayons be sharpened every 5 minutes or having to have assistance with paints. Once I filled the Aquadoodle pen with water she was good to go! She thoroughly enjoyed attempting to use the "instructions" printed along the edges of the mat to make the designs and drawings that they show. Once the little girls were up, they each took turns with the pen drawing on the Aquadoodle. For us, the only trouble with this toy is the fact that we only have one of them. It is difficult to share the mat... unless you own a stop watch and have very patient kids. I love the fact that once they are done and it dries we can fold it up to store it away for next time. I feel good about killing a few less trees on the days when we are playing with it as opposed to coloring books or painting on paper. I'll probably be looking for four of the travel sized mats before making any more road trips with my crew.

I will admit to being a bit skeptical about the second treasure, the Bath Blizzard from Kid Kleen. My girls have sensitive skin, so I assumed these bubbles would probably be a treat best enjoyed only rarely, and I sneakily took the Bath Blizzard along to Mimi's house on an evening when I knew the girls would be bathing there. Okay, in all honesty, I was also worried about the potential mess and ruckus it might cause!

The little machine and soapy bubbles proved me wrong on all counts... well except for the ruckus part. **grin** The Kid Kleen products are all safe, non-toxic, wheat and tears-free, and hypoallergenic so we didn't see any negative affects from the bubbles to their skin at all. In fact, they actually used the bubbles to clean... themselves and the bathtub. The hardest part about working this thing was getting it out of the packaging and finding the 4 C batteries to run it. Other than that, it was quite simple. I hung it from the faucet of the tub, turned the knob, and bubbles immediately began spilling out. There were plenty of bubbles to go around for all four of the little bathing beauties. They did all try to get to the spout at once, so it might be best when used one at a time, but I realize not everyone is bathing four kids 3 and under at once.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoy both of these products and would recommend either or both of them to other parents with kiddos in the 2+ age group. Thank you Team Mom and Spin Master!