Grown-up Good Stuff
Address Stamps from Expressionery.com - I've wanted a cool address stamp for like 10 years, that's how lame I am. Just get one, I know. But we're never in a place long enough to justify it, or I suddenly feel too cheap or whatever. So then I just print return address labels from the computer and can never find them when I need them. Well mark my words, when we move I'm totally getting one...but which one? I think I like "Gabby" best but "Maegen" and "Larrabee" are cute, too...
My New Glasses - Love the vision insurance that gets me an exam and new specs once a year. This year I was bummed at the optician's selection and almost settled for a lesser choice, then found these beauts in the bottom back of a rack somewhere - totally me, totally disco.
Weight Watchers GIANT Chocolate Cookies & Cream Bar - I usually like my ice cream rich, creamy and non-diet, but I'm certainly open to healthier options as long as they taste awesome. I'm a sucker for this kind of cookie crumb coated treat, so I gave them a try. These are going to be regulars in my freezer from now on.
GoMod.com - I love to dream of my Jetsons-like future home, but in the meantime I'm just looking. This website is the self-proclaimed "best shops, free classified ads, links directory and resources for collecting modern design and retro collectibles. Esquire magazine calls GOMOD 'The Net's premiere portal for midcentury modern collectibles.'" It does have fun stuff to look at and links to many other mod, mod, mod sites, like this one.
BabyCheapskate - The name pretty much says it all - a blog all about coupons, deals and savings on baby, kid and household stuff. Like one big gathering place for penny pinching moms, swapping great finds and deals. Definitely bookmark this one.
The Amazing OpenX - One of those darn "D'oh!" inventions - wish I'd thought of it and was sitting at home making my millions right now. As it is, many people in my life will be getting this bandaid-saver as a gift this year.
Kid Good Stuff
Water WOW! Doodle books - These have been the major lifesaver since the Magna Doodle fell out of favor about 8 months ago. We have about 5 of these - I've found them at Target, Michael's, Kohl's, Century 21 and Toys R Us randomly. You "color" on the pages with a water-filled pen and the white coating disappears to reveal the picture beneath. Best part of course is the white comes back when it dries so you can use it over and over until your 1-year-old scratches the coating off, but even then you can still use them if you're too much of a deadbeat mom to get new ones, like me. They're quiet, they're inexpensive, they're reusable, they're CLEAN, they're portable and only two parts to lose. The pens they come with, though, are kind of crap, so I get Aqua Doodle pens at Target - they're much better.Moolka.com European Toys - I especially admire the ecotot coatrack but like I'm ever paying $140 for it. (It's no trashcan.)
Mice Squeak, We Speak by Tommy dePaola - Possibly the PERFECT board book, coming from a speech-language pathologist's as well as a Mom's point of view. DePaola's awesome, colorful, creative art set to a simple animal sounds poem by Arnold Shapiro:
Cats purr. Lions roar. Owls hoot. Bears snore.
Crickets creak. Mice squeak. Sheep baa. But I SPEAK!
Monkeys chatter. Cows moo. Ducks quack. Doves coo.
Pigs squeal. Horses neigh. Chickens cluck. But I SAY!
Flies hum. Dogs growl. Bats screech. Coyotes howl.
Frogs croak. Parrots squawk. Bees buzz. But I TALK!
It's got everything - repetition, rhythm, rhyme, colors, language, onomatopoeia, synonyms and some excellent sound verbs. My kids love it and so do I.Crickets creak. Mice squeak. Sheep baa. But I SPEAK!
Monkeys chatter. Cows moo. Ducks quack. Doves coo.
Pigs squeal. Horses neigh. Chickens cluck. But I SAY!
Flies hum. Dogs growl. Bats screech. Coyotes howl.
Frogs croak. Parrots squawk. Bees buzz. But I TALK!
GALLOP! A Scanimation Picture Book by Rufus Seder - My mom gave this to Hazel for her birthday; it's very awesome. I like to play with it as much as she does. It's kind of hard to explain so I borrow from a Washington Post review: "[This book makes] an obvious case for itself with ooh-ah graphics, using trademarked Scanimation, a low-tech marvel of sliding paper and stripes. Turn the page, and you set black-and-white pictures of various animals into motion - that is, if certain short people ever let you turn the page. Your kids will elbow you out of the way. They will also elbow each other out of the way."
But honestly? All kids really need are
RIBBONS...
...and a COLANDER!
7 comments:
I absolutely love this installment of goodstuff. BTW the "delicious rolls" were soo good. My family gobbled them up! I am going to invest in an address stamp when we move into our new home. Those are great!
I love your new glasses! I am in the market for new glasses this year as well. Your absolutely cool funky glasses have now set the bar really high for my next pair. I am getting some of those water wow books for our nest trip.
My girlfriend and I saw the Gallop book a few weeks ago. We spent way too much time with it for two grown people with no kids. But it was so cool!
Super cool new glasses! i got the Gallop book at Toys R Us.
love the address stamp. i've been eyeballing embossing stamps again - i didn't even think of the fun of an ink one. hmmmmmm . . .
here's a link you might find fun. there are some totally sweet mod bookshelves on here - like i'm ever going to pay $425 for one that would only hold a few books, but maybe i can talk my carpenter into copying one . . .
argh. the link isn't working right now. another time.
Next time you need glasses, check out: http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php
In December I bought SIX PAIR of glasses from them (with anti-reflective coating) for $75 shipped. That included the frames AND lenses.
Their cash prices are less than my insurance copay would be at a normal place.
Thanks for what you said, I would love to read your talk. I have been trying to put up pictures, but my scanner is acting weird, once I do I will let you know, they are of our beach trip.
Post a Comment