Some of my Favorite Toys...

Having two kids means my house has been gradually taken over by toys the past 4 1/2 years.  My kids love any and all toys they receive.  Every new addition to their collection is a treasure and they act as though it were the first toy they ever received (this includes McDonalds Happy Meal toys).  It has been a daunting task to occasionally sift through their collections and thin-out without their knowing about it.  Usually the first things to go are the beloved Happy Meal toys--why my son is so attached to them I don't know, and he ALWAYS knows when I've gotten rid of them.  Oh well, it's a war I'm willing to wage occasionally--we have a small house after all and some things just have to go. 


Over the years I've found that I personally love more toys than others.  My favorites aren't always the kids' favorites, but they are usually the ones I find most beneficial to them and the best quality.  What makes a toy worthy of becoming one of my personal favorites?  Well, for starters I want a toy that is going to make their little minds work.  Now, I don't make them sit and have to think about how something works for hours on end--that's obviously not any kids' ideal play time.  I am just suggesting that an occasional puzzle or initiation of imagination can be a good thing and a nice change after watching morning cartoons or racing toy cars around the house.  Second, I want toys that are going to stand-up to my rough and tumble children.  They can wreak havoc on toys and we've had to bid farewell to many a toy thanks to their turbulent ways.  Third, I look for something that can keep my kids' interest.  A toy isn't very useful to the kids or to me (come on, we all need a little peace once and a while, and if a good entertaining toy is the way to that--then so be it) if it isn't something they find fun.  I don't think those are too stringent of qualifications, and in fact we have many toys in our house that meet the criteria.  However, I'm going to share some of my favorites from one particular toy maker--Melissa & Doug. 


Melissa & Doug make some of the best toys in my opinion and my kids have a lot of them.  They have such a huge variety of things and they range in age from infant toys to things kids can enjoy well throughout childhood.  And, they'll last through several kids (big bonus).  So here's some of my favorites:

This isn't exactly a toy (another reason I love M&D, they don't do just toys).  This is Max's chore list.  It came with lots of little magnets with different chores on them.  We only have a small number of them up for Max, we can add more as he gets older or even add some for Maggie.  Then there are the little smiley face magnets to place on the chart to signify completing a chore on any given day.  Max loves it and it has really motivated him to participate and complete his daily jobs.  He gets paid a nickel per chore--he's saving for his big Disney World vacation this summer!

Maggie got this for Christmas.  She plays with it a lot and for a 20 month-old, she's really done well with it.  You can change out the outfits and faces of the bears.  It takes some problem solving skills for her as she occasionally doesn't understand why certain parts won't fit--but she's figuring it out!

This is Maggie's as well.  I think this is so cute.  It's a little farm house board and when you open the doors.....

...there are magnetic animals inside the doors that can be removed and moved around.  

I love this one!  But, I also love Noah's Ark so....yeah.  It's an ark with holes in it and then the kids fit the animals into the correctly shaped holes.  Max can do it as intended.  Maggie manages to mangle pieces through the unintended holes, but she doesn't mind--she loves putting pieces in and opening the sides of the ark to pour them all out and start again.  Great toy!

This is Max's and it has been challenging for his 4 1/2 year old self.  There are 6 puzzles in one.  Each side of the cubes have different images and you have to match them up to reveal the farm animal scene. It's tricky!

This little guy is magnetic and there are little pieces that can be combined to dress him up.  Both kids enjoy this one (actually the Easter Bunny may be bringing a girl figurine for Maggie this year!).

Here's a completed one...although I'm not sure those are the right pants :)

This one is great for hand-eye coordination.  They were Max's but now he's moved on from them and Maggie plays with them.  She is able to focus enough to fit the lace through the holes that go around the boarder of each piece.  She's getting better, but I think she'll enjoy it even more as her attention span and dexterity improve over time.

We have no shortage of M&D puzzles at our house.  These are a few of Max's favorites.  These each have 48 pieces I believe and are just right for Max.

There are also puzzles perfect for Maggie.  This is an example of an easier puzzle with large chunky pieces easy for Maggie to handle.  We have puzzles with as few as 3 pieces that are a great introduction to puzzles.  

Max is an imaginative little boy and loves dress-up--once again, Melissa & Doug fit the bill.  He loves his pirate outfit and wears it often.  Even little Maggie sneaks it out from time to time (although it doesn't last long for her--Max is possessive of his costume--maybe we should add "shares well with others" to his chore chart!).  

This is a set Maggie got about a year ago.  It's actually missing a piece (it'll show up eventually--I think it is a banana).  Each piece of the set makes some sort of noise: rattle, squeak, jingle bells, etc.  

I love this one for Max who is just learning his alphabet and the order of the letters.  He still needs help with it, but his letter recognition is definitely improving--all while having fun!

The finished Alphabet Train and a proud little boy!

Melissa & Doug also have a large selection of activity books like this with stickers (some that are re-stickable) and coloring pages.  Max love the ones with the re-stickable stickers.

And of course a cute presentation of crayons for said coloring pages.

I have other toy favorites as well, and someday I'll share those too.  Toys sure have come a long way since I was a kid--but I still get excited about them, just not for the same reasons as my 8-year-old self!

Check out more Melissa & Doug!

Meeting Amelia Louise

Clearly, I'm making up for a little bit of  lost time today when it comes to updates.  But, I have the time so it's now or I forget what's on my mind and it never makes it on the blog.

Today, my cousin Susan braved the bad weather (snow and wind) to come up to our neck of the woods for the weekend.  She brought with her the newest addition of our family whom most of us haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, Amelia Louise.  

I just love little babies (obviously...I've chosen a career that revolves around them).  The newness of them is just so pure.  Their tiny features and perfectly formed little bodies are astonishing to me.  They are such miracles.  Amelia is no exception.  She's beautiful and perfect in pretty much every way as far as I could tell.  It was a pleasure getting to meet and welcome the newest family member.

Max meeting Amelia--she brought out the shyness in him!  He just sat there and stared--he doesn't see little babies very often.

Maggie loves babies.  Amelia was especially intriguing because she moved and made noise--unlike her baby dolls!  She was so sweet.  She pet her head and back and said "awe".  She even put a baby doll into her little bed with her.  Sweet sweet girl.

While Amelia slept, Susan and Maggie had some bonding time over toy rings.  Maggie rarely warms up to people she doesn't see often.  Susan must have had the in with her!

My cousin Deana and her kids also came to meet Amelia.  Max and Maggie just love their cousins and played and played with them until we essential had to drag them out of the house.

Max and Mickey (side note: the inspiration for his name has nothing to do with the family affinity for all things Disney...think more baseball--Mickey Mantle),

I love family time, especially when it is time spent with family you don't get to see very often.  We are absolutely blessed with the best family and I (we) love them all so very much.  

A Bit of Magic in the Mornings

One of my favorite gifts this year from Christmas (disclaimer: I got lots of great gifts and I love them all, this one had an unfair advantage, though) was my Mickey Mouse waffle maker.  I have been asking for one of these things for YEARS.  I don't know why I didn't just buy it myself, but I digress.  My mom finally got the memo and got it for me and I have enjoyed many a mickey waffles on it already.  I really don't know who gets more excited about the perfectly formed Mickey waffles I serve at breakfast--me or the kids.  It is so exciting every time--like a kid in Disney World (well, not quite...but you get the idea).  This thing better have a long life, I don't wanna think about what my morning would be like if I had to have normal shaped waffles/pancakes again--sad day.

Anyways, here's a little sampling of what makes our mornings a little more magical!

What kid wouldn't love a waffle like this?!

Almost too happy and perfect to eat--almost ;)

A Flare for the Dramatics

Last night I took Max to his very first live theater production.  The Muse Machine, an educational organization I used to be part of in high school and college, was putting on Seussical at the Victoria Theater in Dayton.  Muse Machine is near and dear to my heart and it was so special to get to introduce Max to a part of my past that is so important to me.

He loved it.  That's about the best way to describe his experience.  I was nervous as he has a tendency to get restless and chattery when and if he gets bored.  Thankfully this show was lively, colorful, and fast paced--definitely a good choice for a 4 year old.  But, although it was a great show for Max, I loved it too.  I'll be honest, I wasn't a huge Seuss fan growing up (note previously stated comments about growing up a Disney fanatic--only room for one fantasy world in my heart).  However, I love theater and appreciate the work that goes into creating a show fit to present to an audience and this production was fabulous.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.  The music was so entrancing--it really drew you right in to the story.  The kids were committed and it paid off.  I am a perfectionist--this show wasn't perfect per se, but I surprisingly paid little attention to the details because I was enjoying myself so much.  Very well done, Muse Machine!

Max's favorite thing (aside from the Cat in the Hat) was getting to go backstage after the show to see the sets.  If that didn't make his night...what a happy little boy he was!

I also got to do the curtain speech last night.  The curtain speech is basically the welcome to the show tid bit where alumni come back and give a little spiel about themselves, their Muse involvement, and then thank the sponsors.  It was my second time presenting, and I always enjoy it.  Its a fun way to reminisce and thank Muse in a way for what they have done in my life and what they have and still do mean to me.

Here's a few pics of my boy and I last night--enjoying our evening together.

Me presenting before the show

Max--entranced.

Max and Mommy after the show.

www.musemachine.com -- Check them out!

Rub-a-dub-dub and a Gingerbread House

Baby bath pictures are one of my favorite things.  Here's a few cute ones from Miss Maggie's bath time a few nights ago.

She's my little ham, and a spit-fire to boot.  Don't know what we're going to do with her in 15 or so years!

Seriously--look at her, she's a hambone!  This is her new baby doll crib she got for Christmas (actually it was mine when I was little).   I remember trying to sit in it as well…who knows, maybe someday Maggie will have a little girl and my granddaughter will have picture like this, too.  

And because I meant to post this in my Christmas post, I'll also add some pictures of Max and I's Disney Christmas Gingerbread house (side note, if you know nothing else about me, know this--I am a HUGE Disney fan…and I'm happily passing that love on to my offspring)! 

Tastes as good as it looks!!!

Sub Zero Snow Day(s)

The weather the past few days has been, for lack of better words, crappy.  We've been stuck in the house for the most part while Brian occasionally ventures out for ingredients needed to make dinner or to work at school (since he hasn't been there since Dec 20).  I haven't worked a whole lot the last month or so, thanks to a low census and time spent on call.  Part of me wishes I was there more regularly, but I sure do like time home with my family.  We've been spending our days watching new movies, playing with their Christmas toys, organizing, putting puzzles together, and reading books.

Today, Maggie pulled out the Potato Head toys and instead of dressing the potatoes, she decided to give the accessories a try herself...

Such a silly little one :)

Max wanted his picture taken as well.  So for the sake of equal representation:

They sure do make me smile :)  So, although I am not in the least bit a "cold weather" person, I'll be thankful for the slow work schedule and time spent at home--because I know the time with my little ones is just going to continue to fly by.

A Shower for Bebe Sophia

Over the Christmas break, my mom and I threw a baby shower for my sister, Lindsey.  She is expecting her first baby, and my first NIECE, February 1!  It was so much fun to Pinterest search for ideas and finally put things together.  Due to it being Christmas time, several people couldn't be there, but we still had a wonderful time with the wonderful ladies who were in attendance.  I think Linds got some really nice things to help her get started with little Sophie and our family was so helpful in offering to help prepare food.  It was a group effort and I'd say it was a success!

Lindsey with future grandmothers, Susan and Robin

Me and my little sister!

Lindsey and the VERY adorable Parisian themed cake--she loved it and for a good reason, it was DELISH!

I put together a diaper cake with a few little things for baby on it to serve as a centerpiece for the diaper raffle we threw (to collect as many diapers for little Sophie's bum as possible)!

Sugar overload!

Guests, guests and more guests!

Our cute little set-up.

Guest party favors: pop corn drizzled with chocolate--About to POP!

The makings of a "Sophia" banner

A LOT of "S" cookies I baked and decorated.

The beginnings of the diaper cake

The reward for the winner of the Diaper Raffle