Showing posts sorted by relevance for query magna. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query magna. Sort by date Show all posts

8/10/15

A Toy Worth Investing In: Magna-Tiles

I can officially attest that Magna-Tiles are the BEST toy. Are you familiar with them?! They are colorful shaped building magnets with endless possibilities.

A couple weeks ago, my mom asked if she could buy my children something to get us through these last few weeks of summer and home stretch of pregnancy. Thank you, Mama!


I immediately thought of Magna-Tiles.


They have been on my Amazon wishlist for awhile. I was planing on buying a set for Christmas, but they have come in so handy right now.

They day they arrived, we had a Magna-Tile marathon. Hours of fun.

And ever since, we've just been going and going. Cousins and friends love them, too - all ages and stages.


The end of summer is SO hot where we live. Think jungle of Vietnam. That hot.

It has been wonderful to have an inside activity to keep their hands busy.


This last picture, Laurie is lining up all her creations before bedtime.



Though they are a little pricy on the front end, this toy is totally worth the investment.

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Also, I notice if they begin to lose interest, all I have to do is start building something myself and they jump right in.
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Along those lines, this blog post, Self Entertainment and Settling In, was helpful and inspiring.

11/25/19

Some Tried and True Gift Ideas for Kids

A friend was telling me she wanted to be extra thoughtful about Christmas this year, not go crazy buying "junk" and really stick to her budget. We bonded over the fact that we have both experienced the start of a good plan, panicked last minute, and bought too much. We exchanged thoughts and gave ourselves a pep talk about showing restraint with children's gifts.

Last year was my first truly successful year of getting a modest amount of the right things, gifts my kids actually used for more that 12 minutes. One of them commented, "We didn't get a lot of stuff this year, but it was still a good Christmas." They couldn't deny they were satisfied with what they got. They were all smiles!

Motivating us to have self control was the fact that we were staring down the nose of a job search and months of living off our savings. My husband was in the middle of a major career change, which turned out great, but not a fun process, FYI.

The cool thing is that most of those gifts received last Christmas are still loved and enjoyed literally - today - bikes and helmets, colorful puffer coats, and Alexa that constantly has an audio book going in my son's bedroom.

I know that every blogger and their brother has a gift guide this time of year.
These ideas are my 2 cents. These gifts are actual things we have gotten and loved. Tried and true.

 Here we go.

1. The start to a classic book series
Can't go wrong.



2. A sturdy water bottle
These are the best. Keeps the water cold and doesn't have a bunch of parts.



3. For and older child, an Echo Dot is great!
My 10 year old got one last Christmas. It's was the perfect way to give him some tech freedom without giving him a screen. He enjoys listening to music, podcasts, books, trivia. All parental controls are in place.




4. A watch
My 8 year old wears one every day. She always knows what time it is.
 


5. An awesome pair of cowboy boots.
My daughter has this exact pair. They are great looking and so well made.





6. Costumes. We love a costume.
How cute is this pioneer girl get up?!



7. Magna-Tiles
Go on and get the 100 piece set. The more the merrier. This is truly my #1 toy recommendation.




8. Favorite character/movie T-shirts.
We gave my nephew this Star Wars shirt for this birthday. He wears it a lot, just sayin.'
Great for stocking stuffers.


9. High quality art supplies. Faber-Castell makes my favorite water colors. I think things like this make the perfect gift for when you don't know what to get!



10. Also, in the art department. Kwik Stix paint sticks. These make the best kid art. The colors are highly saturated and mess free! We've loved these for years.




11. Did someone say balance bike?
These things are miracle workers. It will teach your kid to ride a bike. Great for ages 2-5. Don't fret if they don't take to it right away. They will come around to loving it.




12. U.S. States puzzle. Already mentioned it before, but it's the best puzzle.



13. A tin tea set. For half a decade we have adored this exact tea set. Still going strong.




14. Water Wows! Caroline received one of these for her birthday, and all my children fought over it constantly. So fun and only uses water. Great for restaurants or car rides.


15. Lastly, this swing is up there with the Magna-Tiles as far as I'm concerned. We have this particular one, and it's great, but there's lots of good ones out there.

That's all I've got. What's your best tried and true gift recommendation?

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All links are Amazon Associate links. If you buy something, I will get a small commission.

10/22/18

Somehow We Manage BEST OF FALL - link round up

Finally, the temps have dropped, we have hit our stride with school routines, and our Halloween costumes are all planned out. We feel ya, fall! And we love you.

Since my blogging has been nonexistent for weeks, I thought it might be fun to do a little round up of the best of SWM with a nod to fall.

Here we go....

Back to School 2016 - Two Things Making Me Not Crazy

Forever and always the best after school snack - banana bread

My go to fall meals

Use What Ya Got (how I stored our backpacks, lunchboxes, and shoes before our lockers were built)
 
Tip for Wearing Button-Down Shirts

New Coat + I'm so over buying expensive clothes

Dressing For Fall When It's 80 Degrees

Spending and Saving + Girls Clothes tips for taking summer dresses to fall and winter

Halloween 2015 feels like yesterday

20 bags in 20 days I know de-cluttering is typically a spring thing, but it's not a bad time of year to do a big clean out in anticipation for Christmas, speaking of....Five Great Toys and A Toy Worth Investing In: Magna-Tiles

I snapped this picture on a school holiday, for sure a day we had to push past the boredom.


So what's new with you?

11/21/18

What are you getting your kids for Christmas?

Lately, my kids have been "playing martial arts" - it's what they call it. They pretend fight in our front yard for large portions of the afternoons after school. They also like to sword fight with sticks (yikes! I can't watch).
It's good, clean fun - the kind I read articles about how kids need to play outside more without adult supervision.

Point being, mostly...they don't play with toys. So I am a little stumped as what to get them for Christmas. Sure they have extensive lists, but really the fun is in the list making not receiving ALL the things that just don't hold up.

So...what are you getting your kids for Christmas?

Here's a few suggestions from Christmases past that have been winners, things in which the glory has lasted more that 12 seconds and I'm not chunking in the trash come January.

We have spent hours on our spider swing, adults too!

 


The only toy you really ever need. These are worth every penny. Buy as many as you can afford.

 

Tempera paint sticks
These are so fun. The tempera paint sticks make vivid pictures but without the crazy mess of getting out the paint. Tip: be careful to put the tops back on because they do dry out. 



balance bike
Balance bikes are the best for learning to ride a big bike. Caroline is getting one this year. Shh!


Much to my surprise, this Kidizoom watch was a huge success. My kids received these last Christmas when they were really pushing us for a techy gift. It satisfied their craving for screen time, but it's way less memorizing than an iPad. Way less.
VTech Kidizoom smartwatch




What gifts have been a big win at your house?
What are you getting your kids this year?

Links are Amazon Associate Links

11/14/16

Classic Toys for Girls and Boys, Ages 3-6

Today I'm sharing my all time favorite toys. These are tried and true, all things my kids actually play with, well, except for the baby doll.

But I'm hopeful that my one year old daughter will eventually fill the void that my oldest girl left in my heart. (She has never played with babies!) Even though our dolls have been neglected, baby still deserves to be on the list.

These toys are great for lots of ages, specifically ages 3-6. These are toys that don't annoy me because they actually get the love they deserve. I have a girls' list and boys' list, but many of the toys are gender neutral.

I always ask my kids what they want for Christmas, and I try to get them at least 1 or 2 things they ask for (within reason). I also like to be up front about what they are not getting. I try to soften the blow so we don't have any major melt downs on Christmas day. No, you will not be getting an iPad or a cat!

All the links are Amazon affiliate links.
 
GIRLS


1 balance bike

2 helmet

3 soccer ball

4 baby doll

5 tea set

6 toy kitchen

7 ballet costume

8 Magna-tiles

9 Beatrix Potter books


BOYS


1 dump truck

2 Duplos

3 capes

4 scooter

5 sandbox

6 ball

7 dinosaurs

8 train tracks

9 trains

2/7/14

Reader Questions + Goal Review + Facebook Break

I posted here about our massive toy overhaul, and L commented: I am curious as to what toys made the cut and got to stay out in your house.

Here's a list of what stayed:
Legos
1 basket matchbox cars
3 stuffed animals
2 baby dolls
3 - 4 tractors
magna doodle
train table and trains

play kitchen
1 set toy sandwiches
1 pot
1 spoon
1 knife
1 tea kettle

a few bath toys
box of art and craft supplies that contains construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, crayons, & water colors
2 boxes dress up clothes (boys and girls)
outside toys (bike, tricycle, scooter, cozy coupe)

As you can see there are still plenty of  toys to play with. But to give you an idea of how much I put away, I have 4 large boxes of toys packed and stored to rotate later.

The neatest thing I have observed since packing up so many of the toys is how hard they play with what they have. Stephen (age 4) has fallen in love all over again with his alligator, Shaun (formerly known as Jean Bordeaux). We take Shaun to the park, to speech therapy, to the store. We put Shaun in a seat belt. He gets a snack, an occasional bath, and he has been known to dress him up as Super Shaun a time or two, sporting a cape. His imagination has run wild with Shaun. I believe there is a direct correlation between the toy overhaul and his new found friendship with Shaun. Quality over quantity.


My daughter (age 3) loves her Melissa and Doug sandwiches and often they double as "pancakes." She flips them with her one toy knife.

Less is truly more. And it does not take me a long time to clean up. In fact, it is such a reasonable amount of  mess, I actually get them to clean up. And they do it!

(making coffee)

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I posted here about how I make a bunch of sandwiches for the week and L asked the question:
Ok, I've got a question and it is going to sound so snobby and it is NOT meant that way! Promise. :) Making sandwiches in bulk. Um...is that not gross? Do that hold up? I honestly would never fathom doing that so I haven't tried it but for some reason it seems really gross to me?! Ha.  

Short answer: No.

Sure, the mayonnaise, mustard, pickle combo is very married by the time its been in the fridge all week. But not much more than it would be sitting in your lunch box all morning. I can see how this would bother some people, but we are totally okay with the situation and it saves me so much work and effort to make a bunch of sandwiches at once. I even make peanut butter and jelly for the week. To keep those from getting soggy, I coat both sides of the bread with a thin layer of peanut butter and put the jelly in the middle.

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Goals 2014

Bible reading and prayer life
read 1-2 Kings before March 1st
prayer journal - write one page a day
memorize one Proverb a month

Fitness/Wellness:
Pure Barre 3X week
Plan afternoon snack and enjoy it (I always eat badly in the late afternoon).
Sleep. If tired from waking up early, try to coordinate children's rest times and take a nap. Sleep late one day week.

Children and Reading:
Read 2-4 books at breakfast
20 minutes in the afternoon
20 minutes at night
(less TV, more outdoors)

Blog
2X week
 (more if possible)

I'm loving my goals. I'm making progress and sticking to them. A couple tricks I've picked up to keep me in line is I write them down everyday. When I'm writing in my prayer journal, I just flip the page over and write down all my goals. Yes, almost every single day! This keeps them on the forefront of my mind. I have also altered them to be more specific and changed them a little as I find what is working and what is not.

*I picked up the writing your goals down everyday tip from this podcast by Kat Lee @ Inspired to Action.

For example: reading to the kids for 20 minutes in the afternoon was not working. It was like herding cats. They fought over the book and my lap. Chaos. So I've tried to lengthen our reading time at breakfast. Instead of just one book, I try to do 2 - 4.

My proverb to memorize this month is

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come to you like a robber and want like an armed man.  Proverbs 6:10-11

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Lastly, I have to share a book recommendation with y'all. I've mentioned it before but its too good to not share again. Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine. Moms of young ones, read it. While reading this week about time management, I was inspired to log off of facebook. I did not delete my account. I just decided to log off for the week when I added up how much time I spent on there and how much stuff was left undone each day.

It was such a huge distraction for me. I'd get on the computer to look up a recipe and then I'd end up on face book. I'd get on to do some online banking and then get sucked in to facebook. I'd try to write a blog post and then facebook would call my name every other minute. The pull was too much. So I logged off and I don't know my password. It's like I've been given hours of my day back. 

Just call me or e-mail me if you need me. sbspooner@gmail.com

I'm thinking I will make facebook a weekend thing.

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Forgive me if there are typos I don't have time to edit this post.

Happy weekend!

2/7/17

Toy Storage

The Spooner kids don't have a basement or a playroom full of toys.

We have one toy closet, 2 baskets of dress up clothes, 2 small baskets in the main living area, a toy kitchen, a dozen or so stuffed animals/dolls, several outdoor riding toys, plenty of books and games, and some crafting supplies. We also have 4 extra large stuffed animals, gifted to us by my parents with the birth of each child.

We have a huge yard and mild weather year round. I realize what an advantage this is!

That pretty much sums it up.
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Kids don't need tons of toys. In fact, the quality of their play is much better the less they have.

There are countless articles and research out there supporting this, but I'm speaking from my personal experience.

Without a bajillion toys...my kids are more creative, they play outside more, they read, they craft.
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Fewer toys is for their well being, but even more so....it is for my well being.

Over the years, as we have pared down our toys, I have become a better parent!

I have become a better parent because our home is more manageable. 

I have less to pick up. Also, my children can actually play a valuable role in clean up because it's not overwhelming.

But let's keep it real...it can still get really crazy. And my kids are not always contentedly doing a puzzle with classical music playing in the background. They whine, complain, fuss, get bored. They are human.


A low point over the weekend.
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Here are my three nuggets of advice. This is what my 33 year old self would tell my 26 year old self....

-Don't have more toys than you can comfortably store.

-Don't have more toys than your child (or children) can reasonably clean up.

-Declutter the toys until you are not constantly irritated. You'll know when it's the right amount.

Take these tips with a grain of salt. Kids go through phases and stages. You do what works. You do your best!
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Here's how we store what we have...

The building toys - Legos, Magna Tiles, blocks, and trains are stored in clear plastic containers.




These containers are stored in our toy closet in Laurie's room.
 

I'm pretty conservative on my purchases of storage bins and containers. I repurpose shoe boxes, plastic ice cream tubs (the gallon size for smaller Legos), and other sturdy boxes to round up all the odds and ends that children collect.


We have one basket of girls' dress up and one boys' basket. I regularly go through and throw out torn or stained dress up clothes though I try to keep enough for a group of 4-5 friends to play and all have a costume.


This toy kitchen is mostly abused, but I'm keeping it long enough to see if Caroline will play with it.



These baskets hold the toys we keep in the teen room. I use them as a catch all if I'm doing a quick clean up and don't feel like sorting everything.


We do birthdays, Christmas, and gifts from grandparents. There are surges when we have more toys, so I will store things away or do a purge or find plenty of forgotten or broken toys that can be trashed.

There is an ebb and flow.
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Please share, do you struggle with the amount of toys your kids have?

How do you store your toys?

Advice? Questions?

8/12/15

Dinner Idea: Taco Salad

I forget about taco salad. Do you?

Do you ever make it?

 

We had it the other night, and it was a win win all the way around. For the children, I served it deconstructed


I love meals like this that don't involve a full blown recipe. You merely have to assemble.

Make taco meat. Open and drain a can of beans. Wash and chop lettuce. Pile on some tortilla chips. Grate cheese. Top with diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, and jalapenos. The end.

Also, I love to add black olives. None are pictured here because we ate them all, and this salad was one I made for lunch the next day.

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P. S. Several of you have told me that Zulily is having a great sale on Magna-Tiles. Awesome!
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