Baby Brainstorm

Our Favorite New Baby Books for Siblings

2012-01-18T13:33:00.001-05:00

Within the next three weeks we will be welcoming another little girl into our family! We couldn't be more excited! We've been doing a lot of talking and reading about new babies. Here are a few of our favorite picture books on the subject:

The Berenstain Bears' New Baby: I remember reading this one as a little girl before my baby sister was born!

Little Tiger's Big Surprise!: This one makes Isaac giggle every time!

Our New Baby: I just love the real pictures in this book!

Will There Be a Lap for Me?: More for preschoolers than toddlers.

What's In a House?

2012-01-11T13:14:00.002-05:00

We've been stuck inside because of sickness the past week, so what better activity than to design our own dream house!

With the help of the IKEA catalog, the kids each chose furniture for different rooms in the house. It was fun to see what they thought was important for each room, and a good opportunity to discuss with Amy (2 yrs. old) especially the different functions of different rooms of the house.

I just drew a large house with four boxes for rooms, although you could add more stories/rooms to fit the interest and attention span of your child.

Letting preschoolers do the cutting and pasting is great fine motor practice too!

Family Picture Tree

2012-01-03T10:16:00.000-05:00

This is a project I've been wanting to do for a long time! And once I sat down to start, it really didn't take long at all!

The idea was to make a poster of our family tree, complete with pictures, names, and birth/death dates of my children's ancestors back through their great-grandparents.

After collecting the information and pictures I painted a large tree on a poster board with watercolor paints.

I then typed up the names and dates of everyone and cut out the pictures. I glued each person's information on a green leaf under their picture.

My kids are loving this! We don't live near their grandparents, so they love looking at the pictures. Several of their great-grandparents passed away before they were born, so showing them the pictures and telling them stories of their ancestors has helped them feel that they know their relatives.

Happy New Year!

Last Minute Christmas Crafts (with things you probably have in your kitchen!)

2011-12-22T17:09:00.001-05:00

There's something about doing simple crafts with your kids that helps slow down the chaos of the holidays! We recently enjoyed making these two crafts.

A paper plate wreath:

Just cut the center from a paper plate, paint green, and decorate as desired when dry.

Egg carton Christmas tree:

Cut a strip of three egg sections together, a strip of 2, and one alone. Paint, let dry, then glue onto cardboard. Decorate with markers or stickers.

Merry Christmas!

Knife Cutting Practice

2011-12-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

Isaac is very into cutting things right now. Mostly paper with scissors, but lately he's been wanting to cut with a knife at dinner. Our solution to help him learn how to cut with a knife without cutting himself, the table, or meeting frustration has been bananas.

Given half of a banana Isaac will meticulously cut it into at least 20 pieces before eating them. I must say that in the few weeks that he has been doing this his cutting has gotten better and we're no longer seeing banana pieces fly all over the kitchen! :)

Christmas Imagination and Movement Cards

2011-12-16T19:55:00.000-05:00

Elise from Inspiration Surrounds Creativity Abounds created some fun imagination and movement cards based on Christmas themes. Here are a few examples of the cards:

Imagine you are an elf carrying heavy presents.

Imagine you are Santa going down a chimney.

Can you curve your body like a Christmas stocking.

Imagine you are Santa sneaking presents under a Christmas tree.

Can you curve your body like a candy cane.

What a great way to get out some wiggles and imagine! You can download the cards free here.

Build A Felt Snowman

2011-12-08T13:35:00.002-05:00

After seeing this idea on I Can Teach My Child, I wanted to make a kit for Isaac. I didn't use the template Jeane provides, but instead just cut out shapes of hats, eyes, a carrot noes, and other snowman parts. After making his first snowman, Isaac asked for some specific part...have you ever seen a snowman with a Star Wars light saber?

Christmas Tree Shapes and Colors

2011-12-06T13:21:00.002-05:00

This easy-to-make activity was designed to help Amy (25 months) practice colors and shapes. She knows pink and purple without fail, but often mixes up other colors. :)

I cut out a tree from green felt and then circles, triangles, and squares from the colors of the rainbow plus black and white. (You could also use paper and glue this little tree together if you'd like.)

As she chose the pieces (ornaments) to put on her tree I would ask her what shape and color she was using, and correct as needed. Sometimes I would ask her to find a certain color or shape to see if she was able to remember what she was learning.

The great thing is we can play this game again and again. And the little felt shapes were a great fine motor activity for her as well. She was very proud of the tree she decorated!

Can you tell from her outfit that she adores purple and pink!?

Older kid adaptation:

-Isaac (almost 4) enjoyed making a face with the ornaments on his Christmas tree. He also made up a story about how his tree scares away animals...a fun creative thinking activity!

Chapter Book Read Alouds for a 4 year old

2011-12-02T13:02:00.003-05:00

The past few weeks we've been adding read aloud time to the end of Isaac's quiet time. I am excited to be entering chapter books with him! Our favorite series so far is the Magic Tree House Books!

They are a great series for beginning readers (or beginning chapter book listeners) because they do have a picture every 5 pages or so and the stories are fast paced and easy to follow. I have loved how Isaac now plays "Jack and Annie", pretending that he is a charater in their stories.

We checked out an audio version from the library and loved it too! The author reads the stories and uses different voices for each charater.
Here are a few other beginning chapter book series on our to read list:
-The Boxcar Children
-Ready, Freddy
-The Magic School Bus Chapter Books

12 Days of Christmas Giveaways!

2011-11-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

I'm participating in 12 days of Christmas giveaways hosted by Kadydid Designs (remember the awesome car seat cover and burp cloths she gave away on this blog a few months ago?)

You can check out the first few days on her blog, and keep going back...my etsy shop will be featured on the 7th day of giveaways!

Reading Eggs

2011-11-18T14:31:00.000-05:00

Isaac (almost 4) is really getting the hang of using a computer mouse and can play some basic preschool computer programs by himself. We love Starfall (and I love that it is always free!) and have recently discoverd a site called Reading Eggs.

Anyone can sign up for a free 14 day trial without needing to put in any credit card information. We're just in the free trial mode, and I'm not sure if we'll actually subscribe, but both Isaac and myself are enjoying their program.

I love that they focus on letter sounds rather than letter names. Because it's the sound that each letter makes that a child will be using as they decode and read workds!

Any other suggestions for great preschool online learning games?

Battling Anemia

2011-11-15T13:47:00.001-05:00

At Amy's two year old check up her iron levels tested pretty low- low enough to be anemic. Luckily this is a medical condition that can be fixed relatively easily!

Iron deficiency is relatively common in toddlers, and although your child's iron levels are hopefully not so low to be considered anemic, there are some things you can do to make sure your little ones gets enough iron:

-feed your child iron-fortified cereal.

-try to include red meat and green leafy vegetables in your toddlers diet. This one is hard for picky eaters! We have started making green smoothies (there are some great recipes here and here.) to get more of those veggies into our kids diets, and they love them!

-limit milk consumption to 16-24 ounces a day.

If you are at all concerned about iron deficiency or anemia, please talk with your child's pediatrician!

Thankful Trees

2011-11-10T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well all over the blogosphere you can find amazing examples of very cute and crafty thankful trees. (Here's just a sampling.) The idea is basically the same: to write down things you are thankful for.

We are using ours as a kind of countdown calendar to Thanksgiving, putting up a leaf a day. But since we started ours a few days late we played catch up by doing a few extra leaves the first few days. (Most of the leaves are paint chips from Home Depot that were already cut in the shape of leaves!)

From my parenting bookshelf...

2011-11-07T13:26:00.001-05:00

I recently finished reading two parenting books that I thought worthy of recommendation. The first is a discipline book called 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12. I don't believe that there is one discipline method that is perfect and will work with every child, but I did like the basic counting system introduced in this book. We've been using it for about a month with our two children (ages 2 and almost 4) and have definitely seen some positive results. It's worth reading and giving it a try to see if these techniques can work in your home! (And if you're short on time, there's also a DVD version- check it out from the library!)

The second parenting book I read was Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences. I found it fascinating to read about some of the scientific differences between male and female brains, for example, how boys and girls hear differently. As I read I could see so many connections and manifestations of the authors points from my experience as a teacher and as a mom! I must say that I did not enjoy the chapters on sex and drugs (and actually ended up skimming/skipping them), but the rest of the book was worth the read! I liked how the author put in practical ways parents and teachers can use their knowledge of gender differences to help each child reach their potential.

Autumn Leaf Art

2011-10-28T13:03:00.001-04:00

Falling leaves during Autumn make for great "project pieces" in making your own art...

We recently read Look What I Did with a Leaf! and had a blast making our own pictures out of leaves!

Here's Isaac working on his peacock. He enjoyed following the instructions in the book, as well as taking some creative licence!

Indoor Hopscotch

2011-10-26T13:26:00.000-04:00

We've recently discovered the fun we can have with the square tiles on our kitchen floor! Don't have tiles? Lay felt squares on a carpeted area and have fun jumping from square to square.

How far can you jump? Can you skip a square? How about two?

Animal Actions: Large Motor Activity

2011-10-20T13:23:00.001-04:00

Who would have thought that waddling like a penguin, slithering like a snake, and pouncing like a jaguar would be so much fun?!

A while back I picked up a set of Animal Action Cards from the Dollar Spot at Target. (Similar to these Animal Action Cards). Each card has a picture of an animal and a way that it moves, such as "peacocks parade" and "deer prance." My children have had a great time moving around and pretending to be the different animals!

This is a great large motor activity for inside or outside...and it helps little ones get those wiggles out without bouncing off the walls.

If you don't have the cards, here are some easy ways to create your own Animal Actions Game:
-Pepper Scraps has created a free download/printable of 16 animal action cards. You do have to "like" her facebook page to be able to download them.

-Take turns calling out an animal and how it moves. (You don't have the visual of a picture of the animal for this version, so it works best with preschool age and older.)

-Check out a book from the library with animal actions (or even just pictures of animals). Read and move along!

-One "actions" book we've enjoyed that is Halloween themed is Brooms Are for Flying. You'll love reading and moving along to the story!

Have fun moving like the animals!

Freschetta Winner!

2011-10-20T13:23:00.000-04:00

Congrats to #92, auntietina who won the Freschetta Prize Pack. And thanks to everyone for entering. You can find out more about Breast Cancer Awareness on Freschetta's Proud To Support Pink website!

Freschetta Proud to Support Pink Giveaway!

2011-10-14T13:18:00.001-04:00

***Giveaway Now Closed***

This week I was pleasantly surprised to find a package from the Freschetta Fresh Connect Team in my mailbox. Inside was a coupon for a free pizza! and two pairs of pink ear phones. Why? Well, as many of you may know, October is National Breast Cancer awareness month.

Photo credit

Freschetta is working to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research by donating $1 to the Memorial Sloan-Ketttering Cancer Center for every code from Freschetta packages entered at www.ProudToSupportPink.com between Sept. 25th and October 31st.

To help get the word out, Freschetta is giving away a Proud To Support Pink prize pack to one of my readers. The winner will receive:

a coupon for a free Freschetta pizza
two pink Proud to Support Pink Ear phones (one for you and one to give to a friend.)

How fun! Not only do you get to enjoy yummy pizza, but you can support a good cause at the same time!

Mandatory Entry:
To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below with your name and email address. (Emails will be erased after the giveaway ends.)

Extra Entries:
-Follow Baby Brainstorm in GFC, "like" Baby Brainstorm on facebook, or follow Baby Brainstorm on Twitter (1 extra entry for each).
-Blog or facebook about this giveaway and leave the link in your comment.

Giveaway closes on October 19th at midnight, EST. I'll use random.org the next day to select a winner, and will notify the winner by email. Good luck!

Freschetta Fresh Connect sent me a prize pack, I received no other compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Preschoolers and Their Collections

2011-10-07T13:33:00.001-04:00

Did you ever have a rock collection that mom made you keep out in the backyard? Well if you did you're not alone. Collecting things is a popular hobby, and preschoolers are beginning to understand the draw of collecting like items.

As preschoolers learn more about the world around them they become very good at sorting and categorizing. One manifestation of this is by preschoolers collecting things. It could be anything from rocks to sticks to cars or stuffed animals. Even things we parents would call junk!

And it isn't uncommon to find your preschooler sorting, organizing and playing with their collections as well. I love watching this interaction!

Here's Isaac with his cousin Spencer (both 3.5 years) as they play with Spencer's shell collection:

What does your preschooler collect?

Felt Pumpkin Faces

2011-10-04T13:18:00.001-04:00

We're getting in the Halloween Spirit with this simple felt activity. All you need is a piece (or more, depending on how many pumpkins you want to make) of orange felt and one piece of black or dark brown felt.

I cut out four orange felt pumpkin shapes and then lots of little shapes for eyes, mouths, noses and stems. My kids have been very creative with their pumpkin creatures!

I also love this idea for turning the pumpkin face making into a game for preschool age and older.

Shapes Hop Scotch

2011-09-29T15:46:00.000-04:00

We drew a simple path of shapes on the driveway and had a great time playing Shapes Hop Scotch. This was a great activity for my almost 2 year old as well as my three and a half year old.

Here are a few variations we tried:
-Jump from shape to shape (and yell out the name of the shape)
-Try tossing a stick or rock onto a shape and then jumping on it
-Mom calls out a shape and kids run to it

Here's another fun indoor shape activity using just Popsicle sticks and Velcro circles.

What to get a 2 year old for her birthday?

2011-09-27T13:35:00.001-04:00

As Amy's second birthday is quickly approaching next month we've been brainstorming what to get her, and what to suggest to the grandparents as ideas for gifts. Here are a few I think she would like (in no particular order), and are also ones that I would like too (no obnoxiously loud sounds, batteries that never die, etc.).

What other ideas do you have for a two year old's birthday present?

Rody Inflatable Hopping Horse: Have you seen these inflatable bouncy horses? We've test driven them a few times at a local toy store, and they are a hot for toddlers and preschoolers! They come in several fun colors too!

A Little People Toy, like this Little People Lil' Movers School Bus. I've been noticing that at friend's houses, playgroups, and nursery at church Amy has been really into Little People. I love to see what she does with them...like taking a mommy and daddy doll and holding them together while saying, "kiss, kiss." :)

Lil' Doll Cradle by KidKraft: Amy loves taking care of her baby dolls! I looked around at different doll cradles, and settled on this one because of it's high ratings and wood construction. (I just know my children are going to try and climb inside of it!)

A Child's Rocking Chair. She loves rocking with me, and I'm sure she'd love to rock her baby dolls too!

Hunting for Signs of Fall

2011-09-21T13:05:00.019-04:00

It is beginning to look and feel like fall around here! In an effort to blend Isaac's love for taking pictures with a little learning, we made up a new game called Hunting for Signs of Fall.

The way we play is pretty simple:

-Isaac gets to walk around the yard with the camera strapped to his wrist.

-Whenever he sees something that reminds him of Fall he can take a picture of it.

-After taking the pictures we load them onto the computer and talk about what he found.

The last step is my favorite because once again I get to see his thinking as he tells me why each picture reminds him of Fall.

Here are a few examples from our first game:

A dirty welcome mat. Apparently Fall is a dirty season because we get to spend so much time outside. And after the rain we got last week we have lots of mud to go around!

A rake with leaves.

A bucket of rocks and sticks. Isaac informed me this is because beavers use sticks to make their houses for winter. That was a pretty good answer to me!

This will a fun game to continue through out the fall. I can already imagine pictures of pumpkins, apples at the local orchard and garbage bags full of leaves!

Fall Leaves Button Snake

2011-09-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

Here's the newest addition to my etsy shop: a fall themed button snake! And as a special thank you for reading Baby Brainstorm, you can get 10% off anything in my shop by using code BABY10.

Nature Sorting

2011-09-15T13:20:00.002-04:00

Yea for sunshine! Isaac (3.5 years) helped me find some things in nature to sort. We ended up with sticks, lots of leaves, acorns, grass and rocks.

We had a great time talking about different ways to sort them. Isaac did need some suggesting to see beyond sorting the items by type. He was content putting the leaves in a pile, the acorns in a pile, etc. But I wanted him to go a little deeper.

Our first sorting method was things that grow on trees and things you find on the ground. It was interesting to see how a 3 year old's mind works! He really had to think about each item because we had found them all on the ground even though some of them started in a tree.

Our second method of sorting, which got cut short by a 3 year old's attention span, was sorting by color. Isaac decided on a green group (grass and green leaves), a brown group (acorns, sticks and brown leaves), and a gray group (rocks.) After sorting items into those groups he was off to the swing set. :)

How are you and your little ones enjoying Autumn?

Acorn Counting

2011-09-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

For this simple math activity we collected acorns from the backyard (although you could use anything: sticks, leaves, rocks, etc). Amy (22 months) loved helping me find acorns to use.

I was thinking we would find the acorns, line them up, and count them. Amy had other plans. She wanted to find the acorns, let me line them up, and then throw them one by one.

But that was okay too. We just counted (or rather I counted and she repeated the numbers) as she threw them. She had fun and we practiced one-to-one number correspondence, all while using things in nature.

We are trying to take advantage of some wonderful early fall weather this week!

Kid-style Photography

2011-08-26T15:11:00.000-04:00

Our house is looking like this right now...lots of boxes everywhere and a couple of munchkins who are a little hyper with all the excitement going on as we get ready to move next week.

One activity that has been wonderful helping the kids be happily engaged in play while my husband and I pack is photography.

We let Isaac (who's three and a half) use our point and shoot digital camera. He loves going through the house and taking pictures from his point of view. We've gotten some interesting pictures!

As for Amy, since she's not quite 2 yet I don't feel comfortable giving her a digital camera to drag around the house. Our solution? We made a camera out of Duplos for her to use. She loves it! Now we find her all around saying "cheese" and "click" as she takes her own pictures.

The "eye" on the right is the button for "taking" a picture. Amy says click as she presses it. :)

Featured on the Activity Mom

2011-08-23T11:32:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends! Our recycled garage is featured on the Activity Mom Blog today. Go check it out here!

We have gotten so much use (and love) out of that simple, homemade garage!

Looking for something else to do with boxes? Try one of these:
-build a fort with cereal boxes. if you only have a few, how about a fort for dolls or stuffed animals?
-make a ramp for cars and trucks (small ones, or a big one!)
-and for some ideas on how to recycle your tissue boxes, check out the linki list from the Tissue Box Challenge.

Animal Safari

2011-08-16T14:08:00.000-04:00

Going on safari has become a favorite activity at our house. (So much in fact that these two are still in their pajamas in the picture above!)

Here's how we play:

1. Gather all stuffed animals and place them around the house. For other kids (like my 3 year old) we have him try to put animals in places that make sense based on what he knows about the animal. For example, a duck in the bathtub because ducks like water, a bat in the closet because they live in dark caves.

2. Put on you Safari hats (or cowboy hats in our case), and grab your flashlights.

3. Walk through the house hunting for animals. Shine your flashlight on them and tell something about them. For younger children (my 20 month old) we try to have her say the name of the animal.

This is a fun indoor activity and can be a great learning activity as you talk together about the different animals and their habitats in the wild.

If you don't have many stuffed animals you could always print out pictures of animals and use the pictures instead. Here are some wild animal coloring pages from National Geographic. (I love that they also give information about the animals!)

Kadydid Designs Winner...and Awesome Coupon Code!

2011-08-12T12:01:00.000-04:00

Congrats to #88, Gerri, and thanks to all of you for entering and visiting Kadydid Designs!

If you didn't win, you're still in luck! Use coupon code BABY20 to get 20% off any order at Kadydid Designs, including custom orders through the end of the month!

Kadydid Designs Giveaway!

2011-08-06T07:26:00.048-04:00

~~~NOW CLOSED~~~

Oh friends! I am excited to be teaming up with Alyssa from Kadydid Designs to offer you an awesome giveaway!

Kadydid Designs in a sister team of Alyssa and Ashley. They create adorable tutus for little girls,

Custom Burp Cloth Sets,

And stylish car seat covers.

Giveaway!

One Baby Brainstorm reader will win an entire customized set: a car seat cover and two burp cloths in the color scheme of the winner's choice from Kadydid Designs! They can email Alyssa a photo of their current car seat, tell her their nursery's color scheme; whatever they want. How awesome is that! And even if you little one has outgrown their rear facing car seat, this would make a wonderful baby shower gift!

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Kadydid Designs and then comment below on your favorite item.

Extra Entries:

-Heart Kadydid Designs on Etsy

-Like Kadydid Designs on Facebook

-Follow Kadydid Designs on Twitter

-Follow Baby Brainstorm through Google Friend Connect, Twitter, or on Facebook (1 entry per method of following- please leave a separate comment for each!)

-Make sure to leave your email address so that I can contact you if you are the winner. This giveaway will close at midnight EST on August 11th. The winner will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond. Good luck!

Playing (and learning) with Buttons

2011-08-03T13:24:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what it is about buttons, but they somehow open a door to my children's creativity.

Here are some ways we use buttons for creative play and learning:
-Count the buttons
-Arrange the buttons in piles of ten and practice skip counting
-Sort by color
-Sort by size
-Find something in the room that is the same color as a selected button, then repeat with another colored button
-Arrange in a line from biggest to smallest or vice versa
-String the buttons on a cord to make a necklace (great fine motor practice!)
-Create the outline of shapes with rows of buttons (ex: square, triangle, circle,etc.)
-Pretend the buttons are somethings else...by son loves to pretend his are fish!
-Fill a tray with buttons and scoops and cups for a sensory experience scooping and pouring buttons. (My 21 month old really enjoys this!)

Have fun playing and learning with buttons!

Just a reminder: as buttons can be quite small, never leave children unattended when using buttons, and watch them closely especially if they are under 3 years old.

Ode to Sticker Books

2011-07-27T19:02:00.000-04:00

Well, we survived 36 hours in the car with our kids in 3 days. Three very long days. I had packed books, snacks, and toys, but the most successful child approved activity were the sticker books!

Ode to Sticker Books

Oh sticker books, your little pictures that stick to the pages,

You come in varieties for all ages and stages.

Hours of joy,

Hours of quiet!

I think everyone should try it!

The kids learned colors, the kids made shapes.
They loved the matching
And the designs were quite catching.
Thank you, thank you sticker books!

Any other car activity ideas?! We still have the return trip to make in a few weeks!

Our Reading Corner

2011-07-19T13:49:00.000-04:00

This is our reading corner. It's stocked with books from the library. (We fill the large white bag in the background with books every week or so at the library and then bring them home to read over and over again!)

The chair is one similar to this foam one that we were given:

But because it was a very "girly" chair and I wanted both my children to enjoy sitting in it, I recovered it with a gender neutral fabric I had laying around.

My children get hours of use from this reading corner. If I were to change one thing, I'd get a second chair so that they could read together!

Having a comfy place to read and lots of inviting books is one way to encourage a love for reading!

Hot Pad Holders and Ice Pops

2011-07-12T13:05:00.006-04:00

+ = Happy Kids!

We love Ice Pops, aka Otter Pops, although we don't usually buy the name brand ones. But because they are frozen my children have a hard time holding them. And then the melting ice pops get spilled everywhere!

So one day we wrapped a hot pad holder around the ice pop, and our problems were solved! Now when we get out the ice pops we grab the hot pad holders too!

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for a pack of Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers here! Giveaway ends Thursday at midnight, EST!

Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers Review and Giveaway!

2011-07-07T13:33:00.001-04:00

***CLOSED*** Congrats to #27, RealtorSD!

We are a cloth diapering family. And I love it for many reasons, one of which is that I'm doing something small that has a big impact on the earth. But even though I love cloth, we still use disposables for traveling and nighttime (Isaac is potty trained for the day, but we still put a diaper on him at night.)

This week a special box came in the mail with a package of Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers for us to try from My Blog Spark.

I had heard about Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers, but had never tried them before. Have you heard of them? Here's some of the great things about Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers:

- They are free of Chlorine Processing

-These diapers are Free of Fragrances and Latex

-And there are no petroleum based lotions in the diapers

According to Seventh Generation, if every household with babies in the United States replaced just one package of diapers processed with chemicals containing chlorine with Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers, approximately 1,300 pounds of chlorinated hydrocarbons would be prevented from polluting our air, lakes and streams!

When I first opened the package I was surprised at the plainness of the diapers- they are an off white color with no designs. They felt just like normal disposables and worked great. They even held up to my kids' heavy nighttime wetting! These disposables were the perfect fit for our family's needs: great for travel and nighttime while still being good to the environment!

Seventh Generation Free and Clear Diapers are diapers that really work and are good for the environment! Do you want to give them a try?

You can go here http://bit.ly/seventhgendcoupon to download a printable coupon for $2.00 OFF any ONE Seventh Generation Baby Product (Diapers, Training Pants, or Wipes)!

Giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a pack of Seventh Generation Diapers!

Mandatory Entry:
To enter, leave a comment telling me what you think about the new Free & Clear diapers OR what you love about eco-conscious baby products. Make sure to leave an email address so that I can contact you if you're the winner!

Extra Entries:
-Follow Baby Brainstorm in Google Friend Connect, and leave a comment below
-Follow Baby Brainstorm on Twitter, and leave a comment below with your Twitter name.
-Follow Baby Brainstorm on Facebook and leave a comment below letting me know you did.

-Like Seventh Generation on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/SVGDiaperFbook and leave a comment saying that you did.
-Follow Seventh Generation on Twitter: http://bit.ly/SVGDiaperTwitter and leave a comment letting me know you do.

This giveaway will end on Thursday, July 14th at midnight, EST. Good luck!

A big thank you to Seventh Generation Diapers and My Blog Spark for this review and giveaway opportunity!

Disclaimer: This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product listed above. I was provided a pack of diapers free of charge and I provided my honest opinion. No other type compensation was received for this review.

Music Appreciation, part 2

2011-07-01T13:33:00.002-04:00

If you missed part one, you can read/watch the clips here.

A few weeks ago we picked up a copy of Disney's Fantasia from the local thrift store. I hadn't seen this show in years! And my kids never had. Now we enjoy watching a segment together once in a while.

I love that they are being exposed to a variety of music, and it is so fun to be able to talk to them about what they are seeing and how it coordinates to what they are hearing.

My 3 year old, while listening to the William Tell Overture in the car recently said, "The music makes me see a picture in my head." Yea! His little musical self is growing!

Here are a few clips we enjoyed from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 to share with your little ones. Some are a bit long, so don't feel that you have to watch them all in one sitting! Enjoy!

Carnaval des Animaux:

Rapsody in Blue:

Russian Flowers:

The Sorcerer's Apprentice:

The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71A:

Segment from Dance of the Hours:

Quick and Easy Mosquito Bite Itch Relief!

2011-06-28T13:48:00.000-04:00

With summer officially here, so are the mosquitoes! On our camping trip last week we were attacked and everyone had multiple bites! Luckily we had our quick and easy mosquito bite itch relief with us...deodorant. Yup, deodorant.

My sister told be a few year ago how a friend had told her to rub deodorant on a mosquito bite as soon as possible after the bite and it would take the sting away. Sounds weird. But it really works! You have to try it for yourself!

Since this remedy works best when deodorant is applied soon after a bite I now carry a sample deodorant container in the diaper bag, always ready to rub on some one's bite.

My 20 month old now sees the deodorant in the bathroom and holds out her arm, thinking that we always apply it to random parts of our body. We'll have to teach her in a few years where to normally use deodorant, but for now it's our quick and easy itch relief from mosquito bites.

How do you help your little ones deal with itchy bug bites?

Moments that Matter Most

2011-06-20T13:46:00.002-04:00

Do you ever feel like this?

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You can view the video here: http://youtu.be/l70e1TfN34w

Family Facts Pregnancy Organizer & Planner: Review and Giveaway!

2011-06-15T14:41:00.002-04:00

***CLOSED*** Congrats to the winner: Melanie E.!

I'm not a planner-carrying person. Together my husband and I have a planning session Sunday night after the kids are down to plan out the week, and we write important things down on the calendar, but I don't carry one with me.

With that said, recently Family Facts sent me the Family Facts Pregnancy Organizer & Planner to review. This is the perfect gift for an organized mom-to-be. The planner includes:

· Baby Registry Information

· Lists for mom and baby

· Who to call when you go into labor

· Questions for healthcare providers

· And much more!

I looked at the planner and didn't know where to start, so I handed it to my children. They quickly found the sticker pages (that contain stickers for appointments, birthdays, and other calendar events to place in the planner.) They love the planner.

I think it's a good invention, but since I'm not already a planner person, I'm not so sure pregnancy is the time in my life when that will change. Although if you use the planner you won't have to use the excuse of having a "pregnancy brain"!

And others really like this planner as the 2009 Family Facts Pregnancy Planner won an iMedia Parenting Award and was the editor's choice for Pregnancy Magazine!

You can buy the Family Facts Pregnancy Organizer and Planner on amazon.com and buybuyBABY.com

Giveaway!

Family Facts is giving away a pregnancy planner to one of my readers!

To enter please follow Baby Brainstorm through GFC, on Facebook, or Twitter (just one way is fine), then leave a comment below telling me one thing you do to stay organized. That's it!

Winner will be chosen by random.org and emailed. Giveaway ends 6/22 at midnight EST. Good luck!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.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. &
Sponsored by Tomoson.com

Days of the Week Song!

2011-06-14T11:43:00.000-04:00

Remember how I've been looking for a good days of the week song to go along with our calendar? Well, I found one today on the Shafer Family Blog. It's quick and easy and a tune we all know! Here is is:

(Sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday too

Wednesday, Thursday just for you,

Friday, Saturday, that's the end,

Now let's say those names again!

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday!

I love it!

A Summer to Simplify

2011-06-10T13:17:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been feeling that a million things are vying for my attention. Some are just distractions, some are good, some better, and some so important I can't ignore them. Blogging is sliding lower on my list of priorities...and I'm okay with that.

At the library yesterday my son picked out a book called The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered, Baby Brigade by Deborah Diesen. We read the silly story of a group of babies who march on the town hall to declare that they won't eat mashed peas, wash their faces, smile for pictures, or sit in strollers. We were laughing at the thought of babies going on strike, but then the last page of the book grabbed my attention and turned it to the real message of the book:

"We know we're a bad-tempered baby brigade, but we won't be bad-tempered--nor babies--for long."

So in an effort to enjoy my babies while they still fit in my lap, I'll be blogging less this summer.

I hope you enjoy splashing in the swimming pool, swinging at the park and slurping popsicles with your little ones! (I know we will!)

Dot Markers at the Dollar Store!

2011-06-09T13:14:00.000-04:00

Many of the free preschool printable available online contain worksheets for Do-A-Dot Markers. Since we don't have any of those markers I was so excited to find a "bingo dot marker" at the Dollar Tree! (I think it was in the art/school section.)

(Please ignore the fact that the picture is sideways and my three year old is trying to lick the marker!)

Instead of looking for one of the printables and printing it, I just drew circles for Isaac to "dot" in. The letter S is the trickiest for him when writing his name, so I thought the extra practice with a dot marker would be useful:

Isaac enjoyed the project and took his work seriously to fill in each circle I made. We'll be doing this again!

Family Motto

2011-06-06T14:15:00.000-04:00

(Picture from 71toes.blogspot.com)

I love the idea of having a family motto, something that unites our family in purpose and goals and helps us remember our focus. Recently my husband and I have been talking about how we can teach our children to do what's right and become good, kind, hard working and generous people. We decided to create a family motto that would aid us in teaching our children to be the people we want them to become.

(I really don't think you can start too early in trying to teach your child manners, cooperation, listening, and a whole host of life skills you want them to have when they are older. It's amazing what these little ones observe and learn!)

I love Shawni's family motto (the picture above and you can read more about it here), but we needed one that works for our young family, so we came up with this:

- We quickly listen and obey happily

-We are kind to everyone

-We have fun together

-We follow the prophet

-We tell the truth

-We are a team!

Since our kids can't read yet we came up with little symbols for each line of our motto that will help them remember what it says. For example, for We are kind to everyone I drew a heart with hands to show that we are loving, and that our hands do loving things.

After having our family motto in place and hanging above our kitchen table for a week now I feel that having the motto is a way we can point out the good characteristics we are all striving to develop. When my kids do what I ask them right away, I praise them for quickly listening and happily obeying. And when their actions are less than desirable, we have something concrete to show them, recite and talk about.

I imagine that as our family grows and changes, we'll adapt our motto to meet our family's needs and understanding. We'll call this one the preschool version family motto. :)

What's Missing?

2011-06-03T10:31:00.010-04:00

Here's a simple and fun memory game!

Gather some random toys or objects from around the house and lay them out on the floor (or on a cookie sheet). Allow your child to study them for a minute or so, depending on their age and attention span.

Have your child run out of the room (or close their eyes- we opted for running out of the room to work off some wiggles). While they aren't looking remove one of the displayed item. Can your child tell what's missing?

Artistic Alphabet Photos Review & Freebie

2011-06-02T12:46:00.003-04:00

Have you seen these black and white letter prints that are becoming so popular? I've been noticing them more and more as Isaac is beginning to recognize letters around us on signs and posters, etc.

I recently got to review a set of alphabet photos from www.BuyAlphabetPhotos.com and they are great! I decided to make a sign of each child's name. I am seriously lacking in photo editing skills, but somehow managed to put the letter files into one project. Here's how they turned out:

www.BuyAlphabetPhotos.com is pretty amazing. Here's a bit more about the site and the photographer:

Photographer Jodi Gerber of ArtisticLetters has created an entire catalog of black & white letter images throughout the past 3 years – all by taking photos of objects in nature that resembled letters of the alphabet.

She recently decided to offer her ENTIRE catalog of 250+ letter images to the public on CD or Download so that anyone could create their own designs! It’s a truly original way to make artwork for your home - or even for scrapbooking, greeting cards, and digital designs consisting of wedding invitations, graduation announcements, baby’s birth, etc.). Endless possibilities for whatever the mind can imagine!

Jodi is offering my readers Exclusive Discounted Pricing of up to $6 Off! Please visit her website www.BuyAlphabetPhotos.com and browse the images, testimonials, and ideas.

Then check out the Exclusive Pricing and Freebie. This link is only accessible here for my readers – you won’t be able to find it on her website. ;-)

FREEBIE ALERT: Jodi also offered my readers a Freebie alphabet set (with purchase) as a Bonus! And here’s the great part – you get to choose a Damask set from 6 different galleries! More info is available on the special link above.

The exclusive pricing and freebie offer expires Saturday, June 4th at 10 p.m. Eastern so be sure you take advantage of this great deal while it lasts.

You can also "like" Jodi’s facebook page to find more info and receive future promotions.

So if you're interested in some fun projects with these artistic letters, check out Jodi's website!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.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.

Children of God

2011-06-01T11:14:00.000-04:00

Are you ever struck at the innocence of your children? Sometimes I just have to sit back and think about how lucky I am to be their mom! I saw this video the other day and it brought tears to my eyes. It's so true!

Here's the video's link: http://youtu.be/JOrcqqpHCt8

Family Game Night

2011-05-31T14:13:00.001-04:00

We had our first "Family Game Night" on Friday and it was a success! We got everyone fed, cleaned up and the kids in their PJ's before we began on the stack of games I had selected. Most of these we've collected from thrift stores, garage sales, and birthdays. (Is anyone else excited that garage sale season is upon us?!) Here are some of our favorite games suitable for preschoolers:

Marble Maze: My children can't set this up by themselves, but honestly, I enjoy setting up the marble run! They are mesmerized by putting marble after marble down the shoot, and can do this for a long time!

Hi Ho Cherry-O: A great introduction to counting and turn taking.

Great States Junior: I love that this game is doable for a 3 year old (the box does say for kids ages 4-7) and that as we are looking for shapes and pictures on the states, we are learning about them too. For instance, did you know that the ice cream cone was invented in Missouri? I didn't until we played!

Goodnight Moon Game: This game has a few different variations of ways to play. We've only done the matching in color and back and white. I think my children enjoy that the game is based on pictures from a favorite book.

Mudpuppy Constructibles building set: Although this isn't a game per-say, it is for ages 4 and up and therefore too hard for my kids to do alone. We have the Painter's Palette edition, which has different colored pieces that are labeled with their color. We learned the color of chartreuse while we built our tower!

What games does your family love?

Free Shipping at Felty Fun!

2011-05-30T14:01:00.000-04:00

Now through June 11th you can get free shipping at my etsy shop, Felty Fun by using coupon code: SHIP4FREE at check out!

Box Ramps

2011-05-27T13:05:00.001-04:00

This is definitely not an original idea, and I'm sure many of you have done it in your own homes, but we've been having so much fun with box ramps that I thought I'd post about it anyway.

We just took a flattened box, leaned it up against the couch and let the kids roll cars and balls down it.

One morning Daddy got creative and set up a ramp in the kitchen that ended with a tin pan full of water for "washing" the cars. The kids loved it!

Cutting Practice

2011-05-25T09:13:00.000-04:00

All preschoolers need to learn how to cut paper, which can be a slow and frustrating process for some kids as they never seem to be able to cut just right. Our solution for Isaac? Give him an old magazine, a pair of child safety scissors and let him have at it.

When he was done cutting he brought me the pile of shred and proudly showed me his "project." He felt accomplished, and it gave him a chance to practice holding and using scissors in a nonthreatening way.

Safe in The Arms of Love: Book and CD Review

2011-05-24T12:36:00.000-04:00

Safe in the Arms of Love: Deepening the Essential Bond with Your Baby is a wonderful book and CD combination designed to help parents and babies connect. I found lots of information in the book to be helpful, and in line with my beliefs of the importance of parent-child bonding.

Some advice for bonding included this list:
-Touch your baby, skin to skin
-Massage your baby
-Experience eye contact with your baby
-Sing and Speak in a tender way to your baby
-Play with your baby

The music CD is wonderful! Relaxing and peaceful, we turned it on as we cleaned up toys before dinner and my three year old wanted to keep it on as we ate!

I think this book and CD set would make a great gift for any expectant parent. I enjoyed the essays about becoming a mother and father, suggestions on specific ways to bond with your baby, and relaxing music to listen to!

Safe in the Arms of Love: Deepening the Essential Bond With Your Baby is available on Amazon. (With free Amazon Prime shipping too!)

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.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. &

Shovel Clean Up

2011-05-23T11:45:00.002-04:00

These letters-inside-baby-food-jar-lids are a part of a game I made Isaac for Christmas. Last week he found a whole new way to play with them.

Using a shovel Isaac scoops up a letter, says it's name and what sound it makes, and then dumps it into his bucket. He's practicing letter recognition, phonics, and fine motor skills, and to him it's just plain fun!

I think the best learning takes place when kids are having fun. :)

Helping Little Ones Turn on the Light

2011-05-20T15:13:00.001-04:00

I just heard about this neat little invention: The Glow-in-the-Dark Light Switch Extender for Kids! My favorite part is that is glows in the dark! No more falling off stools when trying to turn on the bathroom light at night!

If you'd like more information, or would like to purchase a Light Switch Extender, check out this site with the details!

Here's a video that shows a little more how this nifty contraption works:

How Many Apples on the Tree? Felt Game

2011-05-20T10:21:00.000-04:00

I saw a paper version of this on a blog (I can't remember which one!) recently and immediately thought, I can make that out of felt! It's also similar to the children's board game, Hi Ho Cherry-O.

The premise of the game is taking turns rolling a dice and placing that many apples on the tree. This is great counting practice! You can also do addition and subtraction. We used one die at first, then added a second to practice larger numbers. I've added a How Many Apples on the Tree? felt game to my etsy shop, check it out here.

Happy Counting!

Building with Cans

2011-05-19T13:22:00.000-04:00

These towers were built by Amy, 18 months, who was very proud of her accomplishment!)

My kids have found a new love in the kitchen: taking all the cans off the shelves and building towers and towns with them.

Cans with a little rim for stacking (like tuna cans) are especially a favorite.

What do your kids like to play with kitchen items?

Felt Board Stories! (And Prize Drawing!)

2011-05-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

I was recently introduced to a wonderful website source for felt board stories and activities: Felt Board Stories! They carry high quality felt backgrounds and figurines for classic stories, nursery rhymes, scripture stories (even specific ones for the LDS church) and so much more!

This week I'm hosting a Felt Stories Online Party! Now through midnight on May 25th you can place orders and fill out a Prize Drawing Form to win some free felt! I'm really excited about this! So go check out the website here, and for more info on the Party and the Prize Drawing Form, go to my party page! This week is a great time to order felt stories for summer travel and family fun!

I recieved no compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Giveaway Winners!

2011-05-18T07:03:00.000-04:00

Congrats to the winner of bibs from Deann's Gifts, #8:

Social Worky Family Girl

follow you on twitter

And also to the winner of the $25 gift certificate to Kiki's Fashions, #3:

Jan

I'm following Baby Brainstorms on Facebook, as Jan Messali.

Thanks for entering!

Some New Favorite Preschool Printables Blogs

2011-05-17T13:20:00.000-04:00

Does it ever amaze you how many wonderful blogs there are? I need to keep my blog reading in check or it can begin to take over my life! Here are a few of my new favorites for free preschool and tot printables: (And you'll notice one theme common between them all are lots of free printables!)

Growing Seeds in a Bag

2011-05-16T13:23:00.018-04:00

Here's an easy terrarium idea that doesn't require dirt (therefore it's a little less messy that planting a garden!) It's a fun way for young children to be able to observe how plants grow.

Here's what you'll need:

-Paper towel
-Ziploc bag
-a few dried beans (or other seeds if you'd like)
-water

1. First fold the paper towel so it will fit into the Ziploc bag:

2. Get the folded paper towel damp. You can do this with a spray bottle, or in the sink. I got my hands wet and patted them onto the towel until there were no dry spots left. Put the wet paper towel into the Ziploc bag.

3. Skater a few dried beans (or other seeds) on the paper towel. The moisture will somewhat hold them in place. Seal the Ziploc bag.

4. Tape your bag planter/terrarium to the window. The warmth from the sun will case the water to condense on the inside of the bag and will create a cozy environment for your seed to sprout. Check back regularly to see how the seeds are doing. Within a week you're seeds will begin to sprout!

Good Night, Little Sea Otter Winner!

2011-05-13T13:27:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Domestic Diva who said:

A garden for a groundhog looks cute.

There are two other giveaways you might be interested in here on Baby Brainstorm. Blogger was having some issues last night and today, so please enter now!

Kiki's Fashions Maternity Clothes $25 gift certificate, ends 5/17
Deann's Gift Etsy Shop: choice of 3 bibs, ends 5/17

Kiki Fashions Maternity Clothes Review and Giveaway!

2011-05-13T13:26:00.001-04:00

Sponsored by Tomoson.com
***NOW CLOSED***

Kiki Fashion's is dedicated to making a mom the best they can look while they are expecting. They carry fun, cute maternity clothes. It was hard to decide which shirt or dress to choose for this review, but I selected the Coral Short Sleeve Maternity Shirt. It was a little more pink than I was expecting, but I love it! I love the band around the bottom because it means no tent-link shirt! The fabric is soft and stretchy. The neckline was a little lower than I'm comfortable with, especially wrangling kids all day, so I wore an undershirt underneath, no problem. This is a great shirt!

I know this is silly, but I put a balloon under my shirt to see what it will look like at 7 months or so... You can't see my face, but I am laughing in this picture!

Isaac thought that looked fun and wanted to put balloons under his shirt for the rest of the day...silly boy!

If you or a friend are expecting a baby, make sure you check out Kiki Fashions for some great, cheap maternity clothes!

Giveaway:

Kiki Fashions is giving away a $25 gift certificate for their store! Here's how to enter:

Mandatory Entry:

Like Kiki Fashions on Facebook, then come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did. Please leave your email address so that I can contact the winner!

Extra Entries:

-Like Baby Brainstorm on Facebook (1 entry) (And yes, I know Baby Brainstorm is misspelled on facebook. Opps!)

-Make a purchase from Kiki Fashions (2 extra entries- please leave two comments)

-Blog or post on Facebook about this giveaway (1 extra entry)

This giveaway will end at midnight on May17th. Good luck!

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.

Water Play

2011-05-13T11:21:00.001-04:00

This may be one of my favorite indoor activities for 18-24 month olds! (Although older and younger kids love it too. Just make sure to keep an eye on them!)

Amy was a little fussy one evening, so I put about an inch of water in a large Tupperware container on a towel on the kitchen floor, gave her some kitchen utensils (measuring spoons, straw, ladle) and let her play.

She loved it an was grumpy no more! She got a little wet, but water is okay with me!

Rough on Clothes

2011-05-12T13:52:00.000-04:00

I recently posted this on our family blog and thought you might be able to relate as well!

I'm not talking about my children being rough on clothes, but rather me as their mother. It seems that being a mom of small children is hard on clothes.

For example, apart from spending large amounts of time on my knees to be at their level, I am often crawling around on those knees chasing little ones. A few weeks ago a hole popped through on one of my favorite pairs of jeans. It was a sad day. That may sound silly, but finding a good pair of jeans that fits well and doesn't cost an arm and a leg is challenging! Luckily the hole was low enough that I was able to hem them into shorts for the summer.

Being a mom you also deal with lots of stains. Milk, mud, yogurt, snot, blood, tears, blueberries. These are the things my kids wiped on my today. I hope I can get them all out of my pants.

Another hard thing a about clothing a mom is the different types of clothes you need. John says I have more clothes than him, which is true, but moms need more. Our clothes are spread out into different categories: the "normal" clothes (and these can be broken into daily life and fancier clothes for church), pregnancy clothes (these range from when pants begin to bulge through the third trimester), and the nursing clothes (some of which cross into the maternity group and others into the "normal" wardrobe). And the clothes you had before kids just never fit quite the same again.

And then there are different clothes for different seasons of the year. So some of my maternity clothes from when I was pregnant with Isaac (born in February) didn't work when I was big and pregnant with Amy during the summer months! Being in the child bearing years I feel that I am constantly changing wardrobes, or that nothing fits exactly right. This spring is the first one in my married life that I'm not pregnant or nursing. I've got to dig through those clothes and find something to wear!

So being a mom is rough on clothes, but oh so worth it!

Home made bird feeder

2011-05-11T12:16:00.004-04:00

We live in an apartment and don't have a yard, but we still love to see wildlife out our window. (Having a golf course right next door helps with seeing birds and other animals, but we still wanted to invite more!)

To invite more birds we decided to make a bird feeder out of a large yogurt container. I just cut two large holes on the sides of the yogurt container.

Then we filled it up with birdseed and put the lid on. Here are the kids inspecting the new bird feeder:

Now the birds can come eat right on our balcony!

Giveaway: Deann's Gifts Etsy Shop

2011-05-10T06:37:00.017-04:00

Here's another fun giveaway from a great etsy shop: Deann's Gifts.

My name is Debbie and I am 50 years old. I am a mother of 16 year old twins (boy and girl). What fun, they both got their driving temps this past February! They are great kids and are growing up too fast. I have been sewing since I was about nine years old. I am a self taught crocheter and also enjoy crafts and needlepoint/cross stitch/embroidery.

I am currently working three jobs if you count Deann's Gifts as a job! I work at a daycare during the day, shelve books at a local library a few evenings and on Saturdays. In between I work on items for Deann's Gifts. My dream was/is to make Deann's Gifts my sole job and just enjoy working and life.

My hobbies are making gifts for my friends and family, gardening, reading, watching movies and of course sewing and crocheting.

Giveaway!

Debbie from Deann's Gifts is giving three bibs to one lucky winner. Winner will get to choose the bibs. Aren't these the cutest, and easy to clean too!

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Deann's Gifts and then leave a comment below with your favorite item. Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you're the winner!

Extra Entries:

-Follow Baby Brainstorm in Google Friend Connect (see left sidebar), on Facebook, or on Twitter. (1 entry for each way you follow)
-Blog or post on Facebook about this giveaway. (1 entry each)
-Make a purchase from Deann's Gifts (3 entries!- leave 3 separate comments)

This giveaway will be open until May 17th at 10pm EST. The winner will be picked by random.org and emailed. They will have 48 hours to respond to my email. Good luck!

More Bath Time Fun!

2011-05-09T13:23:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if you've had the problem of bath toys becoming moldy, especially the ones that can squeeze out water, but this seems to be the fate of our bath toys.

Instead of investing in more toys that will just need to be thrown away in a few weeks (maybe it has to do with the humidity where we live) we try to find other toys/activities to make bath time fun:

-I've mentioned we love to blow bubbles during bath time.

-We also love containers and funnels for dumping and pouring water. Washed out Parmesan cheese containers are great because of their large opening and fun holes for pouring.

-Making ice cubes with toys frozen inside. (Just make sure you keep a feel out for the bath water temperature so that your little one isn't sitting in an Arctic pond.)

What do you do to make bath time fun?

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T09:39:00.001-04:00

You can also see this video here. Happy Mother's Day!

Calendar Time

2011-05-06T11:54:00.002-04:00

I {finally} finished the calendar I've been thinking about for my kids! We've begun having family calendar time (where we talk about what day it is, the weather, what season it is, what we're doing that day, etc.) and it's been a blast. The calendar is on a little wall by our kitchen, so we can't miss is, and Isaac certainly won't let me forget to do it each day!
(This picture was taken a few days ago)

I laminated (oh, I love me new laminator!) the little number pieces and used Velcro circles on the back and on the calendar so that we can reuse the pieces each month. The days of the week caterpillar is something my husband's aunt gave to me, although making one similar wouldn't be too hard.

Now we just need an days-of-the-week song. Any ideas?

Learning about Feelings

2011-05-05T11:18:00.000-04:00

Kid's feelings and emotions can change just about every second it seems! My son has a pretty quick temper, as well as a deep soft spot in his heart. He can love to rough house and also snuggle up together. I love to talk about feelings and read books about feelings with my kids as a way to help them vocalize what is going on in their little minds and hearts.
We recently bought this puzzle through Amazon with Swagbucks:

It is a little bear puzzle that has 6 different outfits and 6 faces depicting different emotions. Talking with Isaac about how the bear is feeling and what might have happened to make him feel that way has been a learning experience for us both. He is learning about feelings and how to express them, I am getting a glimpse into his own thoughts and feelings!

I love this little puzzle, and for only 6.98, with free shipping through my Amazon Mom account, it was a great deal. They also have a girl bear version: MOODY BEAR PUZZLE EMMA. Or, you could make a paper version by drawing faces on index cards with different emotions depicted and the body of the bear or person on a different card, thus making a "puzzle" with interchangeable faces for the body.

One of our favorite books about feelings is How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann. Don't you just love the creative fruit and veggie pictures? The pictures make my kids giggle, and they're nothing like laughter and happiness to open the heart and mind to learning.

And to take the food and feelings ideas one step further, I love this idea from Make and Takes to create your own food friends based on the book. So fun!

How are you helping your little one learn about feelings?

Karate Chop Balloons

2011-05-04T11:33:00.002-04:00

Another fun activity we've done with our many balloons is playing "karate chop balloons". This is a great one for active little ones! We each take turns trying to hit (or karate chop) balloons with our hands. Oh, and saying "hi-ya" is pretty fun too!

I love Isaac's expression in this picture!

The balloons are perfect for this because they don't hurt anyone or anything that they bump into!

And on another note, I've mentioned before that my sister-in-law has a blog, Wanna Jugar With Migo?, about raising children bilingually. She is hosting a giveaway this week for a Las Estaciones DVD. If you're wanting to raise your children speaking Spanish, this would be a great addition to your home. You can check out the giveaway here.

Good Night, Little Sea Otter: Review and GIVEAWAY!

2011-05-03T06:28:00.007-04:00

***NOW CLOSED***

At our house reading books before bed is an entrenched part of the bedtime routine. Try to skimp on the book reading and the result is not harmonious. That's one of the reasons I love good children's books that promote sleep! :)

I recently won a copy of Good Night, Little Sea Otter by Janet Halfmann, and thought it was a delightful children's book. The story is of a young sea otter who tries to delay going to bed by saying good night to all of the sea creatures before finally curling up with his mother. We loved the simple bed time story as well as the beautiful pictures. And the little otter's delay tactics were familiar to my children! I'm sure you will enjoy this book as well.

Buy it:

Good Night, Little Sea Otter is available from Amazon.com.

Giveaway:

Janet has willingly volunteered to giveaway a copy of Good Night, Little Sea Otter to one of you!

Mandatory Entry:

-Visit Janet Halfmann's website, then come back and comment on one thing you learned or that caught your eye! Please leave some way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra Entries:

-Visit Star Bright Books and comment on another book you'd love to read. (1 entry)
-Follow Baby Brainstorm in Google Friend Connect, on Facebook, or on Twitter. (1 entry for each way you follow)
-Blog or post on Facebook about this giveaway. (1 entry each)

Giveaway Details:

This contest is open to reader in the USA only. Contest will end at midnight (EST) on May 12th. Winner will be contacted the next day by email, as well as announced here, and will have 48 hours to respond to my email. Good luck everyone!

Parts of the Face with a Balloon

2011-05-02T11:17:00.002-04:00

Last week was full of celebrations at our house: my husband finished his three month internship, he graduated with his master's degree, and we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary! We blew up some balloons and have been playing with them around the house.

We used permanent maker to draw a face on one balloon for Amy (18 months). She enjoyed identifying and pointing to the different parts of the face.

Age Appropriate Chores for 2-3 year olds

2011-04-29T12:38:00.001-04:00

I loved this list from Chocolate on My Cranium of age appropriate chores for 2-3 year olds. I feel it's important to teach children to participate in the upkeep of a home and family. And honestly, kids really do like to help out and feel that they are an important part of a family! So here's the list:

Begin to dress self

Help make bed - at least pull up covers

Pick Up Toys

Hang clothing on hooks

Carry laundry to and from laundry area

Help fold towels

Empty light trash cans

Dust

Carry plate to sink after meals

Put silverware in dishwasher

Help feed animals

Help wipe up spills

Dry unbreakable dishes

Sweep

Bring in newspaper

Mop a small area

Pour from a small pitcher

Pull weeds

Fetch diapers

Help pick up living room

For more age appropriate chores for different age groups, see the whole post here.

Families Can Be Together Forever

2011-04-28T11:13:00.005-04:00

I love this! You can also check out this site on Strengthening Families!

Thank you Swagbucks!

2011-04-26T13:30:00.003-04:00

Friday this came to my front door:

A Scotch Thermal Laminator 15.5 Inches x 6.75 Inches x 3.75 Inches, 2 Roller System (TL901). (That's an awfully long name for such a wonderful and compact little machine!)

I had to do a little happy dance! I've been wanting a laminator for quite a while, and have heard such good things about this one. So I've been saving up Swagbucks, and was able to order this one for free! (It's currently only 29.24 through Amazon, with free shipping through your free Amazon Mom account!)

It was a breeze to use and I love how everything turned out. So far I've laminated a few of the free preschool printables I mentioned last week and some calendar numbers for a calendar I'm going to start doing with my kids.

Yippee for Swagbuck and laminators!

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks, I highly recommend it! It's free and you get free gift cards! You get points randomly through searching the Internet (instead of using google, use the Swagbuck search engine.) You can also get Swagbucks by buying Groupon or Living Social Deals through the Swagbuck site. And then you can exchange your Swagbucks for Amazon.com gift cards (or other gift cards if you'd like). It's wonderful!!! You can earn at least a $5 Amazon gift card a month...or more!

"You are Special" Plate

2011-04-25T11:19:00.000-04:00

For our wedding my husband and I got a gift of a red place setting very similar to this:

Along with the dishes was a note about their purpose which in part read:
"These dishes are for celebrations big and small, to help each family member feel their love from all."

We love love to use these dishes at a meal to let someone in the family know that they are loved and special! Sometimes it is for a special accomplishment, such as being potty trained, or a special day, such as a birthday, or something smaller (but big in my eyes!) such as a child being a good listener that day.

I hope that as our children grow they will always know that we love them. And I hope they will remember the red plate and how it is a reminder of our love for them and their unique wonderfulness!

Lovely Baby & Mommy CD Review

2011-04-23T14:03:00.000-04:00

This week we received a CD from Lovely Baby to review: Lovely Baby & Mommy. This is the first Lovely Baby CD we've listened to, and actually the first one to have lyrics. We really enjoyed this CD!

The music is great for kids! The songs are calming, rather than something to get the kids hyped up with. Most of the singing is by an adult, but there are periodic sounds from a baby and words from a young child. Amy loved these! Every time she heard a baby sound she would say "baby!" enthusiastically.

If you are interested in this CD, or any of the other award winning Lovely Baby CDs, visit their website. They offer free shipping to the US and Canada. You can also listen to some of their songs before buying here.

This would make a great mother's day gift, one for kids and mama both!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. 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.

Teaching Children To Pray

2011-04-22T15:23:00.000-04:00

If I had to choose one thing in my life that brings me the most peace, direction and comfort, I'd choose prayer. It's what defines my relationship with God, helps me know what to do and fuels my faith. I believe in prayer and I believe that prayers are answered!

With that said, it's no surprise that I want my children to learn to love prayer as well. (When I say "I" I should really say "we" as this is equally important to my husband!)

When my son was an infant he became a part of our family prayers, even when he was sleeping in his bouncer and we knelt near by. As he grew older he learned how to fold his arms and bow his head (although we're still working on the keeping eyes closed part!)

Then as his speaking abilities improved, we had him repeat words after us to say his own prayers.

The more he grew, the more we encouraged and taught him how to pray. We made posters to act as prompt, helping him generate his own words for prayers. We taught him to thank God and to pray for other people. Isaac was praying on his own and we were feeling pretty good about his progress...

And then things got tricky. Right around last September, out of the blue, Isaac began to refuse to say prayers. He no longer wanted to say them himself or repeat after us. He didn't even want to fold his arms or act reverently during prayers.

I wish I could say I was calm and understanding, but in truth I was exasperated and bewildered. Why didn't my son want to communicate with God? Well honestly, he probably wasn't quite grasping the fact that prayer is communicating with God.
But even though his faith and understanding may be small, I still desire for him to pray so that he can begin to develop a personal relationship with Heavenly Father. Over the past several months Issac has begun praying on his own. Sometimes his prayers go on and on as he lists one by one his toys, books, and family members that he is thankful for!

We still haven't come to the end of this story. I suppose we never will! Aren't all of our relationships with God constantly growing and changing?

Now Amy is the one learning to fold her arms and bow her head for prayers. As her language skills improve she'll be able to repeat after us and then pray on her own. Watching my own children learn how to pray has deepened my desire to pray with all my heart and claim the promise from the scriptures: "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Deuteronomy 4:29

Easter Egg Handwriting Practice

2011-04-21T13:30:00.000-04:00

At 3 Isaac is still on the young end for having the fine motor skills to form letters with a pencil or pen, but that doesn't mean he can't practice some basic handwriting skills. We turned this activity into an Easter craft as well.

I made an egg with a dotted line and then added dotted designs to the egg.

Isaac chose different colors of markers to use as he followed each dotted line.

In theory this turned out better than in real life. Isaac wasn't really interested in following the dotted lines and just wanted to color. After doing what I asked him he covered the paper in his markings. Oh well, no harm done.

Happy Easter!

Free Preschool Printables

2011-04-20T13:47:00.000-04:00

I love when I can find free preschool printables that are easy to use! We've printed off several pages from different preschool packs made by Homeschool Creations and have really enjoyed them. You can find all of her free printable packs here.

Here is Isaac playing a Robot Graphing Game from the Robot Preschool Pack and Amy playing with Animal Sorting Cards:

Tissue Box Challenge: Rocket Ship

2011-04-18T15:45:00.000-04:00

The Activity Mom and JDaniel4's Mom are hosting a tissue box challenge this week in celebration of earth day. To participate you just make something with your little one out of a tissue box and post about it. We made our creation, a rocket ship, this morning. Here's the finished product:

I was thinking of what we could make and asked Isaac for his input. His first idea: a butterfly. His second idea: a rocket ship. We went with number 2.

Our materials consisted of a tissue box, paper, tape, plastic cup, two plastic bowls, hot glue, string, markers, scissors, fabric scraps, paint sample cards, and Playmobil and Lego figurines as the astronauts.

Here's the box we started out with:

I first covered it with paper while Isaac cut the edge of this plastic bowl that we used as part of the flames:

I hot glued fabric pieces that Isaac helped me tear to the bottom to complete the rocket part of the ship; the wings are cut from paint sample cards for Home Depot:

We taped a plastic cup to the top of the box to create the cone shape of a rocket ship. Once complete Isaac loaded his astronauts into the ship:

While the creation was fun, the play afterwards was better! Here's a short clip of Isaac talking about his rocket ship (and the rocket shipers):

What are you going to make with a tissue box?

Sound Walk- My First Vlog!

2011-04-18T09:22:00.000-04:00

Here's a go at my first vlog! Please pardon the lack of professional video recording skills! :)

Isaac loved this so much! We went through the whole house, and then for a walk to the neighborhood park with sticks in hand. Amy mostly just tagged along.

A sound walk is a great way to help your children practice listening skills. You can also talk to your kids about the different sounds different materials make. For example, how tapping on a metal object sounds different than tapping on plastic, wood, or upholstered things.

Baby Love Notes Winner!

2011-04-18T09:18:00.000-04:00

The winner of the Baby Love Notes Giveaway is #92 who said:

Melanie Follow Baby Brainstorm on Facebook as melanie johnson

April 16, 2011 1:15 PM

You can still get free shipping at Baby Love Notes through April by using the code "brainstorm" at check out.

That means you can get some neat items, like these cute clips for only $2.50:

Or these fun blocks for only $15!

Go stop by Baby Love Notes to see other amazing products at great prices!

Baby Rag Quilts

2011-04-15T13:02:00.002-04:00

I was recently given some (as in LOTS!) of flannel, much of it already cut into squares for making rag quilts. I've seen these soft, fuzzy blankets, but had never actually made one before. Turns out they aren't too tricky, have lots of room for imperfection (1 inch seem allowances will do that!), and are slightly addicting (I'm working on my 4th one right now...good thing they are kids sized!).

When I was looking for instructions I read several tutorials online. My favorite instructions were from I Can Teach My Child. These blankets make great baby shower presents, or presents for anyone on your gift list!

Easter Egg Collage

2011-04-14T13:26:00.006-04:00

This Easter Egg Collage was great cutting and gluing practice for Isaac, and he was very please to stick it on the fridge what he was done.

We got a few paint samples from the local hardware store and I cut them into stripes. Then I gave Isaac the scissors and let him cut the stripes into little pieces. We kept them divided by color.

Next I drew a large egg and divided it into segments. Isaac decided what color he would put in each section and went to town gluing and pasting. The result was his rainbow Easter egg!

Treasured Family Traditions

2011-04-13T13:35:00.001-04:00

Family traditions can help children develop a sense of belonging and identity. And they can be the basis of fun and lasting memories! Because my husband and I have been married only four years, and our children are small, I feel that we are still in the process of finding the traditions we want to carry on in our family.

This is our traditional Easter Tree that draws on my family's Italian history.

I've recently been reading The Happy Family: Restoring the 11 Essential Elements That Make Families Work and really enjoyed their ideas about developing and implementing family traditions. After reading, I made a list of each month of the year and the corresponding "celebrations" we have as a family. Here's what we came up with:

January: New Years
February: My, birthday, Isaac's birthday, Valentine's Day
March: My husband's birthday, St. Patrick's Day
April: Easter, Our Anniversary
May: Mother's Day, Memorial Day-beginning of summer picnic
June: Father's Day, Pioneer Day
July: 4th of July
August: Camping Trip
September: Labor Day- end of summer picnic
October: Amy's Birthday
November: Thanksgiving
December: Christmas

This isn't a list of the exact ways we celebrate, but more of a list of holidays or celebrations we can develop traditions for. It was a good starting point as we discussed as a family and as a couple what traditions we want to incorporate into our family life.

In addition to the month-by-month traditions, I love the less calendar scheduled traditions, the books before bed time, the weekly family nights on Monday nights, the family culture nights.

What traditions does your family enjoy?

ThredUp (and a special offer for Baby Brainstorm Readers!)

2011-04-12T10:35:00.001-04:00

Have you heard of ThredUp? It's an online way to swap kids clothes. Basically, you browse choose from boxes of same size, good quality clothes and pick the one you want. Then you pay just $5, plus $10.95 USPS shipping and the box is delivered to your doorstep within a few days. Then you list boxes of your kid's outgrown clothes. When someone picks your box you ship it for free, in boxes ThredUp sends to you. They even schedule the pick up. How neat is that!

Last week ThredUp was offering a promotion of a free shipping credit for signing up. I'm always willing to try something for free, and so I signed up and ordered a box of 2T girls clothes for my daughter. The box came this week and I was very pleased! It was stuffed to overflowing with 14 good quality (and cute!) items. I'm especially excited about a pretty little Carters red jacket for Amy. 14 items that would have cost me about over $100 new for $5 plus shipping through ThredUp! Wow!

If you're interested in ThredUp as a way to give and get quality used children's clothes, check out their website. It's free to join, and ThredUp is offering a $5 credit if you sign up through my referral link here. So basically you can get a box of clothes for only the cost of shipping! Yippee!

Happy swapping!

Teaching Children to Serve Others

2011-04-11T13:52:00.003-04:00

With so many people in need in our world, it seems there is always a way to reach out and help. I loved this idea from my sister Erin who has three young children.

Upon learning of the earthquake and challenges those in Japan are facing, Erin wanted to do something to help, something that her children could get involved in. She decided on making hygiene kits, and with her family invited several others children (and parents) in the neighborhood to contribute and help assemble the kits.

In one afternoon they were able to put together 25 hygiene kits!

They sent their kits to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Humanitarian Center knowing that they would get to the people who need them quickly. Anyone can send in items, you don't have to be a member of the Church.

from the LDS Humanitarian Center Website:

Current Needs at the LDS Humanitarian Center:

As the Church responds to humanitarian needs worldwide, the need for specific types of donations varies. Currently, the items listed below would be most beneficial:

Updated: April 2011

Twin and full quilts

Wood blocks

File folders

Hand puppets

Quiet books

Burrito babies

Layette gowns

Receiving blankets

Patterns for current need items are now available online.

Please refer to the Humanitarian Service Project Guidelines to make sure your donation will meet the center's standards of quality.

In addition to donations of items, donations to the Humanitarian Aid Fund are always welcome.

What a neat way to help children be involved in serving others! What ways are you teaching your children to serve? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Felt Mail

2011-04-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

Remember the pretend mail box we made out of a cardboard box last year? At the time I made some cards and we used real envelopes for our pretend letters. But yesterday I got the itching to make some letters and envelopes out of felt. They were so fun to make and will last much longer than the paper ones!

I looked at lots of examples of felt mail online, and sort of followed the tutorial from Lu Bird Baby.

These were fun to make and my children will attest that they are fun to play with!

If you're not in the mood for sewing, I listed some in my shop. Thanks for reading!

Book Review: Secure Daughters, Confident Sons

2011-04-06T06:02:00.006-04:00

It is a joy to watch my children grow and develop their unique personalities! When I read a brief synopsis of Secure Daughters, Confident Sons: How Parents Guide Their Children into Authentic Masculinity and Femininity I was intrigued. I know gender issues can be a pretty heated topic, and so I appreciated that the author, Glenn T. Stanton is a firm Christian with whom I share similar core believes.

I loved that the author talked about our divine natures, and that each of us, male or female, was created by God on purpose to be the gender that we are! Boys and Girls are not the same, and that is a good thing!

One of the main points I took away from this book is that we as parents should look at our children as future men and women. And then we should imagine what type of men and women we want them to be and strive to teach them those qualities. If we want them to be responsible, we need to give them responsibilities when they are growing up. I appreciated the authors breakdown of specific gender needs and tendencies for both boys and girls. I can already tell that my son and daughter have different propensities, some of which are tied to their genders.

I wished the book would have given more example or parenting ideas for young children; I felt that most of the practical advice was for teenagers. I suppose that is because young children are less aware of their gender compared to a teenager!

Overall, I would at least recommend skimming through this book if you don't have time to read it all.

I received this book for free from WaterBrooke Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The opinions expressed are completely my own.

Playing with Pot Holders

2011-04-05T13:55:00.002-04:00

My children have discovered where we keep the pot holders. So we've been playing with them quite a bit lately! Here are two of our favorite activities with pot holders, and yes, Isaac is wearing his pjs. :)

Pot Holder Stepping Stones

Child lays out the pot holders and we take turns walking across them. For an added challenge, spread them out across the floor.

Even Amy (17 months) enjoys this game!

"Grab it" with a Pot Holder

- for this game you need a mitten style pot holder.

1. Have the child choose some objects and lay them out on the floor:

2. Put on the mitten pot holder and try to pick up the objects:

Got one!

Some objects are hard and others easy. Isaac enjoys seeing what he can pick up with his big mitten-ed hand!

BabyBond Nursing Cover Winner!

2011-04-04T23:01:00.000-04:00

The winner of the BabyBond Nursing Cover is #3, The Knapps, who said:

The Knapps
I follow via GFC

March 28, 2011 7:13 PM

Thanks everyone for entering, and BabyBond for sponsoring the giveaway!

Don't forget, you can enter the Baby Love Notes giveaway until the 17th!

Bubbles in the Bathtub

2011-04-04T09:52:00.000-04:00

(photo from here)

Last night we blew bubbles in the bathtub. Who knew this would be so fun! The bubble stuck to my kid's wet skin and their giggles demonstrated their sheer delight in popping the bubbles on themselves, the surface of the water, and the walls of the bathtub! We'll definitely be blowing bubbles in the bathtub again!

This was a particularly good activity for Amy (17 months) because the bubbles lasted longer than they do outside (where they blow away or quickly pop on the ground) so she had more time to reach the bubbles and was more successful in popping the bubbles with her fingers.

Giveaway: Baby Love Notes Etsy Shop

2011-04-02T05:21:00.027-04:00

Carly, from Baby Love Notes, is a stay at home mom of a busy one and a half year old boy. She has been married for almost 7 years. She enjoys crafting as a way to keep busy (if her son doesn't do enough of that!) and as a creative outlet. Aside from crafting, Carly loves to spend time with her boys, run, play tennis, bike riding and read.

Baby Love Notes is an etsy shop where you can find many fin baby items, from onesies to toys, hair clips, to wall decor.

And what I think is the most wonderful thing about Baby Love Notes: Carly donates a handmade lovee blanket to the local children's hospital for every sale she makes. She feels so blessed by her son's life that she wants parents and children at the children's hospital to know that they are prayed for and cared for.

Buy it!

Carly is offering a special for all of my readers. You can get free shipping on any Baby Love Notes purchase this month, just use code"brainstorm" at check out!

Win it!

Carly is also giving one lucky Baby Brainstorm reader the chance to win their choice of a customized onesie or a hand made memory game from her etsy shop!

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Baby Love Notes. Then come back and comment on what your favorite item is by leaving a link to your favorite item from the Baby Love Notes Shop.

Extra Entries:

-Follow Baby Brainstorm on Google Friend Connect, Twitter or Facebook (1 entry for each way you follow)
-"Like" Baby Love Notes on Facebook (1 entry)
-Make a purchase from Baby Love Notes (3 extra entries!) And don't forget to use code "brainstorm" to get free shipping!

This giveaway will end on Sunday, April 17th at midnight EST. Please leave your email so I can contact you if you win! Good luck!

Baby's New Bed

2011-03-31T13:43:00.002-04:00

We made this simple baby bed out of an old shoe box. Baby's blanket is a piece of flannel I serged around the edges so it wouldn't fray and the pillow is something we had around the house. A simple toy for imaginative play.

Amy's favorite things to do with the bed, besides putting baby to sleep in it? Pushing it around the floor and climbing in her self. She barely fits!

Silverware Sorting

2011-03-30T13:50:00.001-04:00

Putting the silverware away when the dishwasher is clean is one of Isaac's chores. And while he's helping out and learning about work, he's also learning about sorting.

He loves feeling grown up by helping, and I love the help!

Montessori Sorting

2011-03-29T13:52:00.000-04:00

I've seen this Montessori type of fine motor skill activity and finally created one for Isaac to work with. We used a bath decal, turned upside down as the base. For the activity, Isaac picks up a bead with the tongs and places it in one of the suction cups on the dinosaur.

Baby Bond Nursing Cover: Review and Giveaway!

2011-03-28T16:37:00.002-04:00

***Giveaway Now Closed!***

I recently received a Baby Bond Nursing Cover to review. While I am not currently nursing or pregnant, I do hope to have more children, and I am always interested in products designed to help moms and their little ones!

Baby Bond makes three styles of nursing covers. I chose the Couture style because it is designed to let you nurse from the top of your shirt or the bottom.

One thing that I think is neat about the Baby Bond nursing covers is that they still allow you to see your baby and interact while nursing. I've used a nursing cover similar to a blanket for both of my babies and I'm excited to use the BabyBond cover in the future with the next little one. (No, this is not an announcement!)

The cover is easy to use. There's even a quick video showing you how to use it!

Giveaway!

BabyBond is going to give one of my readers their very own nursing cover! This would be great for any mom or mom-to-be!

Mandatory Entry:
Visit BabyBond, then leave a comment telling me what style and color you'd choose!

Extra Entries:
-Follow Baby Brainstorm on Google Friend Connect, Twitter or Facebook (1 entry for each way you follow)
-Follow BabyBond of Twitter or "Like" on Facebook (1 entry for each)

This giveaway will end on Monday, April 4th at 8pm EST. Please leave your email so I can contact you if you win! Good luck!

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.
Sponsored by Tomoson.com