Tot School

33 months

Another week has passed us by. We had a busy week, again! I am training for a half marathon so I am having to make it a priority to run most days so I will be ready. The kiddos are also sick again, which means they are really whiny and clingy. We didn’t do a whole lot this week, but as always we had fun!

I was able to buy these stacking pegs for the kiddos recently. I have been wanting them for awhile. I loved them and so did they. We played for at least an hour the first time I pulled them out. It is great to work on colors, shapes, and fine motor skills!

We also made red jello and used our heart shaped cookie cutters to cut them out.

That was it. Although we did a few more things, I just didn’t get pictures. And we also played outside a lot because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Check out 1+1+1=1 for more great ideas!

Tot School

33 months

This week we got to do some Valentine’s activities! We got more snow so we also got to play in the snow, make snow ice-cream, and hang out in our jammies!!

This is a new favorite with both kiddos. Buddy got this for his birthday! It is great b/c Moo-Bear is good at stacking, but not in order and Bud is just learning about taking them rings off and putting them on. I love things that they can do together. And, we have a new addition to our family that also loves this toy!

Some Valentine pages from COAH. She was coloring the heart black and I was telling myself I didn’t need to be concerned. And she did a great job with the Valentine letter matching!

Here is the little man playing with the stacker toy. And daddy got to join us for some Tot School b/c he didn’t have to go to work the day we got 12ish inches of snow!

I finally found the cheese shaker I have been looking for. I got out the pink pipe cleaners to use to stick through the holes. Moo-Bear did great with this!

This guy loves to put objects in things. H is playing with our Candyland shapes game. He just puts anything into the slot!

Here are some more pages from COAH. We did the heart lacing for about 1 second, the pom-pom/magnet page, and the candy heart matching. She has asked to do the candy heart matching almost every day, but I think that is b/c I let her eat the candy hearts whens he finished!

Snow day!! Daddy took her outside to play in the snow and she loved it.I bet it was hard for her to walk in b/c it was past her knees.

Love these kiddos. Here we are making snow ice-cream. I have never heard of it before, but it was so easy and yummy. We will probably make it every time it snows now!

How about those fine motor skills! Earlier in the day our new puppy had this little toy in his mouth and I used the tweezers to get it out b/c I didn’t want to stick my fingers in there. So, when daddy got home she told him to pretend to be the dog so she cold get it out of his mouth.

So, that was our week. We had a lot of fun and a lot of snow! Check out 1+1+1=1 for more great ideas!

Tot School

33 months

This week we did Q for Quilt, which was quite fitting with all the cold weather and snow we had! I had a lot of fun with my kiddos this week. Most days we just hung out in our jammies. On Friday I took Moo-Bear to a town about 45 minutes away and went to a gymnastics place. They have open gym on Friday mornings so we took advantage of that, along with some other mommies from our MOPS group. It was a wonderful time. After that we went to lunch and did a tiny bit of shopping. It was so nice to get out after being in the house all week!


Moo-Bear did such a great job with her tongs this week. She is getting so much better at using them to pick things up. These are some heart erasers and the ice tray I got from Ikea.


We are working on size order and it is very difficult for her. This is the quilt size sort from COAH. I am just going to keep making these and attempting it every week.


Here is my little man hanging out while we are doing some Tot School. When Moo-Bear does her letter of the week work he either naps or just plays with some of the tot school toys.


Moo-Bear was so proud b/c she only put dots on the circles this time. And, once she was finished she covered the whole page, but at least she started out doing it right ;) This is also from COAH.


We got out the Valentine's bin this week and it was a huge hit with both kiddos. We played with it for about 45 minutes the 1st day and it was gotten out every day after that!

I got Buddy this "jar" with hearts on it b/c he loves to put things in and take them out. He had a lot of fun playing with this all week.


Moo-Bear is learning how to cut with her scissors. She only does 1 cut (she doesn't get how to cut across the page), but it's a start. And she is so proud of herself! Also from COAH.


Her Aunt got her this cute camera. She absolutely loves "taking pictures" with it!


And Cooties. She asks to play with her cootie bugs all the time.


So, that was our week. We had a great time and check out 1+1+1=1 for more great ideas!

2011 Walgreens $100 Challenge: Week 5

Ok, this week was awful. Because of the snowstorm I had $10 RR's expire!!! I was so upset when I realized it,but what can you do. Anyway, I went on Friday night b/c that was my first chance to get out and they were out of everything I was planning to get. So frustrating. I am not even including a picture.

1 Lysol No-Touch System

Price: $11.99

Mfg coupon: $3.00

Store coupon: none

Final price: $7.99
RR Earned: 7

1 Skittle (fillers)

Price: $.89 each

Mfg coupon: none

Store coupon: none

Final price: $.89

RR earned: none

1 Diet Dr. Pepper (fillers)

Price: $1.59 each

Mfg coupon: none

Store coupon: none

Final price: $1.59

RR earned: none

RR Used: $10 Joint Juice

Subtotal before coupons: $13.47

Subtotal after coupons: $.47

Sales Tax: $1.17

Savings Percentage: 97%

(Note: Since I have no control over the tax rate in my area, savings percentage are calculated prior to tax.)

RRs in hand: $7.00 Lysol

*****

Yearly Totals

Amount Spent (including tax): $24.81

Amount Remaining: $75.19

Amount Saved: $99.02 (this doesn't include my 1st week b/c I threw away my receipts before adding this in)

Tot School

33 months

I must be a total slacker because we didn't get in much Tot School again this week and I don't have many pictures. I was sick for a couple of days, Bud had his 1 year check-up and I am now watching another little one 2 days a week. So, I guess that is why I didn't get much done. We still play with "educational" toys a lot, but we haven't been doing a lot of the themed activities and such. I really wonder what I am going to do when Moo-Bear starts "real" homeschool because I won't be able to slack as much. I guess I will just have to enjoy it now and worry about that later ;)

We had a couple of days in the 70's here so we really took advantage of it. We went on lots of walks and even had a picnic one day! We were out running a couple of errands and I told Moo-Bear we could have a picnic when we got home. So, we got home and I told her I had to get lunch ready and she cried because she "didn't want wunch, I want a picnic". I got to explain to her that a picnic is when we eat lunch outside.

Papa and Grandma were visiting from Texas because we had Buddy's birthday party this weekend. So, grandma was able to join us for our picnic.

Moo-Bear is totally attached to this Clifford costume right now. In fact, one day we went to Panera for lunch and I let her wear it and she barked at someone. Thankfully the lady was very nice about it ;) Anyway, here she is gluing cotton balls onto a paper to make a snowman. Anything with glues and cotton balls is a hit around here!

I got her this Cranium Caribou game at a consignment sale. It doesn't have directions so we just played with it and figured some things out. I don't know how to actually play the game, but there is a little key and you stick it into the holes and the little "thing" pops up. She is trying to find all the bouncy type balls underneath these "things". Once you find them all you put them in a little slot and the treasure chest opens up. There are cards with it and I think somehow you are supposed to match colors/letters/numbers, etc. But, she just had fun looking for the balls and making the treasure chest open up. I plan on looking on-line for instructions for next time!

So, that was most of our week. We have a lot going on again this week so we probably won't do a whole lot. On Wed. we are having a coffee playdate here and then going swimming at the YMCA. Then on Friday we are going to a Youth Fitness Zone about 45 minutes away. It is for gymnastics, but on Friday they have open gym. Then we will probably have lunch and do a little shopping. We live in a small town so there are a few stores I would like to hit up while we are there. My sweet hubby is taking off Friday so he is going to stay home with Bud so Moo-Bear and I can have a girls day!!

Saturday we are welcoming a new family member, our puppy!! He will finally be 8 weeks old so we get to go pick him up and bring him home!!! We are getting an English Mastiff. My hubby has always wanted one so this is very exciting!

Hope everyone had a great week. Check out 1+1+1=1 for more great ideas!!

Walgreens $100 Challenge- Week 4

I didn't go shopping at Walgreens this past week. There weren't any great ways to roll my RR's so I just decided to wait until next week and see if it was any better. I checked out Wild for Wags and it looks like I will have quite a few options for how to roll my 20RR's before they expire so I should have some good shopping this week!

Product Review: Oliver's Labels

My daughter attends a mother's day out type program every Tuesday morning and one requirement is that all belongings need to be clearly labeled. Being the thrifty mom that I am I decided to try return address labels because they were so inexpensive. I have to admit this was not my best idea. Every time I need to wash the cups (which is daily) I have to put a new label on afterward because they come off and leave just a white strip. Then, if I am really picky I need to use Goo-gone or something to get that sticky layer off the sippy cup. I wasn't even going to attempt clothing or shoes because I did not want small sticker pieces in my laundry.

I was thrilled when I found out I was chosen to do a review of Oliver's Labels. Name labels tend to be pretty pricey, at least compared to return address labels, so I wanted to see for myself how much better they were. I looked through the Oliver's Label's website and chose the "Rococo" design. I also chose the optional "Found-it" code. This is basically an on-line lost and found system. If my daughter loses something the person who finds it just goes to the Oliver's Labels website and inputs the 9 digit code found on her labels. This connects directly to my e-mail and will notify me. Oliver's Labels then acts as an intermediary so that I don't have to disclose any of my personal information, but I will have my missing items returned. What a great feature!

These labels shipped very quickly and I was excited to try them out. I did notice that I received the polka dot design rather than the rococo that I requested, but they were cute so I just kept them and did not contact anyone about the mix-up.

These labels are adorable and there are so many designs to choose from. I was very pleased when I got mine in the mail. I put the original and mini-labels on my daughter's sippy cups and put them to use. After 2 weeks of being carried around, taken in her back pack and run through the dishwasher these labels are still on her sippy cup and look just like new!

I applied the stick-eez clothing label to my daughter's hooded sweatshirt, which she wears all the time. I love that they are small, yet easy to read. They are also super easy to apply as there is no ironing or sewing involved. Just peel the label off the page and stick it on the clothing tag. After a few washes these labels are still on my daughter's clothing and look great. These would be great for coats, hats, and mittens that tend to get left places!

Finally, I applied the shoe labels. I think it is adorable that they are actually shaped like feet. My daughter wears these shoes almost on a daily basis and the labels are still in the exact spot I placed them. She is quite picky about how her shoes fit/feel and she has not complained about these labels one bit. She thinks it is great fun that she has name stickers in her shoes!

I am very pleased with these personalized labels. They are super cute, durable and a cinch to apply. If you are looking for a great company and cute kids' labels check out Oliver's Labels.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.