On Our Shelf: Christmas

I saw this really cute idea that I think is going to become a tradition for years to come! I went to the library and took out an entire bag of Christmas books (free!) and I'm going to wrap them all and hide one per day for the boys to find for us to read together. It's kind of like Elf on a Shelf in that they'll have to search for it, but the entertainment can last all day instead of just for the minutes it takes to find. Did I mention it's free?! Genius!

Our Christmas Book List this year:

An Angel Came to Nazareth by Anthony Knott

Shall I Knit you a Hat? by Kate Klise

I Spy Christmas

B is for Bethlehem by Isabel Wilner

A Pirate's Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates

Crispin the Pig Who Had it All by Ted Dewan

Christmas Soup by Alice Faye Duncan

A Merry Little Christmas by Mary Engelbreit

Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera

Reindeer Christmas by Mark Kimball Moulton

Timothy and the Christmas Gift by Jeffrey Dinardo

A Song in Bethlehem by Marni McGee

Can't Wait Till Christmas by Mike Huckabee

The Twelve Bots of Christmas by Nathan Hale

Pooh's Jingle Bells by Kathleen Zoehfeld

Ten Little Christmas Presents by Jean Marzollo

The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger

How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky

The Gingerbread Boy by Richard Egielski

Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright

Snow Family by Daniel Kirk

Drummer Boy by Loren Long

Our Christmas Movies this year:

Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas

Bear Snores On

Small One

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Muppet Christmas Carol

Before and After!

I have a whole countdown calendar planned that I can't wait to share with y'all! 25 Days of fun family crafts, activities, recipes and outings... and it all starts tomorrow!

A Freebie Pinterest Project

I really like subway art, but I was never quite sure how to incorporate it in my decor. Then I found this one on Pinterest and fell in love. I used an old frame and happened to have a mat from a different frame that I wasn't using too. I covered the frame in Christmas scrapbook paper, printed the subway art and voila! I might change out the paper and subway art for other seasons too if I can find another one I love as much as this. What do you think!?

Announcing the Winner!

Using random.org, the winner of my Celebratory Giveaway is #4...

CRYSTAL!!

Leave me a comment with your email so I can contact you and send you your prize!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Time is Running Out!

There's still time to enter my giveaway! I'll draw and announce the winner tomorrow night after 6pm Central time. The items would be perfect if you currently have a baby in the house or for a baby shower or Christmas gift.

Click here for the entry rules and pictures of the giveaway items. Good luck!!

A Celebratory Giveaway!

About a week ago I received a comment on my blog from Jolanthe, asking me to email her when I had a chance, that she had a quick question for me. She had read my blog through the Tot School linkup on 1+1+1=1 and wanted to know if she could feature my blog on Totally Tots!! For those of you who have never visited Totally Tots, it's an amazing resource (followed by almost 1000 people!) for ideas for being at home with toddlers. Here's her post all about Diapers to Diplomas.

Since her post a couple days ago, I've had 20 more people follow my blog and I just crossed the 100 post milestone... sounds like two good reasons for a giveaway!!

I have been doing a little sewing lately and came up with these super soft burp cloths in a variety of snuggly soft flannels backed in minky dot material. (You would recognize minky dot to see it - Carter's makes bumper pads out of it). They are the perfect size to become a lovie or to be used as burp cloths. If you don't have spit-up-age kids, they would be great to give to a new mom for a baby shower gift too! Each burp cloth measures approximately 12 x 16. I also made a blankie with eight minky dot tags, backed in minky and faced in flannel.

Here's what you can do to enter my giveaway:

1. Mandatory: Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment saying your a follower

2. Mandatory: Leave a separate comment telling me which TWO items you like best to receive if you win. [I have more than one of each pattern if you'd prefer two of the same]

3. Optional: Link back to this blog and giveaway on your blog and leave a comment telling me that you've done so - and the link to your blog so I can check it out!

So everyone who wants a chance to win gets at least two entries! Be sure to leave your email address in your comments so I can reach you after the winner is drawn. The giveaway will end on Saturday, November 20 at 6pm Central time.

Here are your choices!

Cars

I Love Mommy/Daddy

Retro Polka Dots

Blue/Brown Patchwork

Car Blankie

150 Free Pampers Points

Jackpot!

If your baby is in Pampers and you're collecting Gifts to Grow points, I just found a link for 30 free points and several more for 10 points each!

Here's all you have to do:

Go to http://www.pampers.com/
Click on Gifts to Grow Points (upper right corner of screen)
[You'll have to register if you've never entered points before]
If you have entered points before, Click on 'Enter multiple codes'

For 30 free points:
GTGTEAMUSA2010

For 10 free points each:
WELCOMEBONUS089
WELCOME2GTG0809
OHAMANDAAWGTG08
THRIFTYMOMMYGTG
STARTEARNINGNOW
GROWWITHVILLAGE
JUSTBECAUSE2009
JOINTHEFUNGTG09
GRATUIT89102009
WELCOME2VILLAGE
XKCMYXFVD96VXVK
WELCOME2GTG2010

I've already cashed in once for a set of three board books and I'm already back up to 1465 points (can you tell we go through a lot of diapers in a house with twins?!) The points are found on Pampers brand wipes too, so if you're buying them anyway, you might as well enjoy the perks!

The Prize and a Hint

I should have done this a LONG time ago, but with moving, driving, Christmas and unpacking, time slipped away from me. You all remember my first blog giveaway, right? If you missed it, click here to see some of the amazing handiwork of my sister-in-law, Toni. She offered to knit a matching hat and mitten set to the winner, who could choose the pattern and colors of their choice. Doesn't Sam look adorable in his Aviator hat and mittens?!

If you like what you see (and you would be crazy not to!), check out Toni's etsy site: http://www.thedreamingowl.etsy.com/. You can also become her fan on Facebook to get updates on her newest creations (click on Info on my Facebook page and you'll see it listed under Pages, though you might have to click 'See All'). She knits, crochets, makes earrings, necklaces and bracelets and sews. She's also getting into upholstery and makes adorable knit toys for kids. She can custom design anything you want too... check out her amazing talents!

I'm going to dangle this carrot too... I'm working on another blog contest! I'm just waiting to hear back from a friend of mine who is in the process of moving right now, so once she's settled I'll post more details. Stay tuned - it's gonna be a good one!!

ANNOUNCING THE WINNER!!

We have a winner!! I let the boys choose names out of the bowl and the winner was the last name left. Some people got more than one chance because the boys put some names back in, but in the end, only one person can be the winner... watch now to find out if its YOU!! (If you became a follower, linked the contest to your blog or left a comment for the alphabet post you got extra entries for each of those things too.)

The winner is one of my long time, dear friends. I have often wished that I lived closer to home to raise my boys with my friends' kids and the winner is a prime example of that. Thank you to everyone who commented and passed the blog along to their friends! I already have another idea up my sleeve for another giveaway - check back often so you don't miss out!

MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!

I'm so excited to tell you about my very first giveaway!

I know all you mommies out there have the cutest kiddos in the world, so why not accessorize them with the cutest winterware this season? My sister-in-law Toni is the most talented knitter/crocheter I've ever met and she is willing to personalize a hat/mitten set for the winner of my first giveaway! (Even if you don't have your own kids, this hat/mitten set would make an awesome Christmas present for a little person in your life!)

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me which of the four patterns you like best, the colors you would like her to use and the age of your child. She will create a coordinating pair of mittens based on your color choices! (If this will be for a baby or toddler, please specify if you want your mittens connected by a yarn chain that will run through the arms of the coat so you don't lose the mittens. You know what I mean, right?)

For BONUS ENTRIES, become a follower of this blog. If you're already a follower, you'll automatically get an extra entry, but you still have to leave a comment so that I know you want to enter this giveaway.

You can get another bonus entry by linking to this giveaway on your blog. You'll have to leave a note in your comment with the address of your blog so I can visit you too.

As an added incentive to get the word out about this blog, if I get 30 followers through this giveaway, everyone who enters will get DOUBLE the number of entries that they earned! That means that if you leave a comment and become a follower, you'll get FOUR entries instead of two. If you leave a comment, become a follower and link to your blog, you'll get SIX entries instead of three. But you have to get the word out about the blog... so get to work! : )

Here are the adorable patterns to choose from... and remember, Toni can customize the colors and size based on your child.

You have until SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 to enter this contest. The winner will be chosen on October 19. Good Luck!!

Pattern #1 - The Acorn

Pattern #2 - The Simple Life

Pattern #3 - The Hunter

Pattern #4 - The Bunny

(As a side note, these are not Toni's original patterns, she found them on various knitting websites)

Treasure Chest Wipes Container

As my boys were quietly and steathfully pulling all the wipes out of the wipes box, I came up with an idea for toddlers through pre-school aged kids. When the box is empty, fill it with a random assortment of objects you have around the house and have your kids put their hands through the slot to feel the items. If your kids are both able to do it, have them write down what they feel (or draw the items if they can't spell yet). You might want to tell them how many items you put in the box. After they have made their guesses, reveal the items and see who got the most correct.

Try to get creative with textures. Some examples of items you have around the house:

• The cap to a 2-liter bottle or gallon of milk
• A magnetic refrigerator letter
• A clothes pin
• A toy car
• Doll shoes
• Legos
• Feathers
• A beaded necklace
• Cotton balls
• Q-tips
• A binkie
• Chapstick

For Round 2, name an item in the box that you want them to find. Time them to see how long it takes to feel for and produce each specific object.

For Round 3, for older kids, give them a letter of the alphabet and have them feel around until they find an object that starts with that letter. This can be a timed game too.

And keep in mind: prizes always make games more fun!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

My parents are big into landscaping, so as a child, we took a lot of trips to home improvement stores looking for the perfect plants, scrubs, trees and flowers. And as a child, it was boring! My sister and I would occupy ourselves by collecting paint color samples and wallpaper samples and leave the store with guilty grins like we had stolen something. The beauty though, was that they were (and still are!) free!

Home Depot offers a Disney line of paint colors. They come on 2x2" cards and the color is in the shape of Mickey's ears. Here are a couple thoughts:

• Pick up two of several different colors (2 reds, 2 blues, etc) and play Memory with them - you remember the matching game from when we were kids
• Pick up two of several different colors and write RED on one, ROJO on the other (ORANGE/NARANJA; YELLOW/AMARILLO; GREEN/VERDE; BLUE/AZUL; PURPLE/VIOLETA; PINK/ROSADO; BROWN/MARRON; BLACK/NEGRO; WHITE/BLANCO) to teach English and Spanish pronunciations and spellings. You could either glue them together (front English/back Spanish) or keep them separate to mix up like flashcards.
• Pick up two of several colors that match the motif of your child's bedroom (pinks, blues, etc). Cut out the shape of the Mickey ears, glue together and hang on string to create a mobile to hang in their room.

Did any other ideas come to mind? Please share!