Source: Kid's Birthday Parties

One of the pluses of having children at different preschools is the variety. For a myriad of reasons, my three children attended four different preschools. Each preschool adhered to the preschool calendar of projects tied in to holiday traditions and celebrations. Even though all three preschools celebrated seasonal events, each had different lesson plans for the children to do. I was always surprised when I peaked in my preschooler’s bag around holiday time. In the words of Forrest Gump, I never knew what I was gonna get.

My oldest attended a private preschool for 2s before transferring to another private preschool for 3s and 4s. She was taught about celebrations near and far. Her preschool was not church-based so the staf were careful to include all celebrations. She already knew about Hanukkah, but learned about Kwanzaa and other festivals.

My favorite craft from my oldest’s preschool years was the Halloween skeleton craft. I don’t have a pic of it…no digital cameras back then. I’ll scan it when I get a moment. But, picture if you will a sheet of black construction paper and Q-tips. The Q-tips were loosely arranged on the paper to approximate a skeleton. I could tell that my daughter had drizzled the glue on the paper all by her self. On one side there was hardly any glue, the other side was caked with glue. The head and legs of the skeleton were obvious, but the body and arms were just a jumble of cut up Q-tips arranged willy-nilly on the paper.

I absolutely loved that the teachers let the kids do the skeleton craft themselves. In stark contrast is the same craft from my Preteen-now-Teen’s preschool. Same idea of a skeleton made with Q-tips stuck to a piece of black construction paper. While my Teen’s skeleton was haphazard arrangement on paper, my Preteen-now-Teen’s skeleton was arranged with precise lines and angles. The teacher must have held each of the children’s hands as they were placing the Q-tips on the black construction paper. Not a Q-tip was out of place. Every Q-tip was arranged to look like a skeleton.

I love both crafts. My daughters both poured their little selves in to all crafts that came home from preschool. Both girls and their younger brother LOVED showing me the day’s preschool craft project. My son was a little less eager to do the project as there were cars and blocks to play with, but once he got in to it he enjoyed creating crafts. My son’s school was a preschool based in a large Methodist church nearby. Many of his crafts from school were inspired from the Bible verse of the day.

This past Halloween I displayed a number of the kids crafts in the kitchen. I taped the projects on to the kitchen window frame. We had many dinner table conversations about who did what craft.

What was the preschool craft project you loved the most?

Links in this post are to my amazon affiliate account.

I’m not sure how it happened, but it did. The person who likes, but doesn’t jewels and jewelry has two daughters who adore anything shiny. How did I give birth to two daughters who are all about bling?

From the earliest days of their toddlerhood, each of the girls was enamored of necklaces, rings, tiaras, bracelets, feather boas, and anything else shiny and sparkly. At 12 and 15, my daughters love going through racks of jewelry at various mall stores. You know the stores I mean. I, on the other hand, stand in these stores clockwatching. The minutes tick by slowly in those stores I can tell you!

Recently, my daughters looked through the contents of a package sent to me for review. The package held a selection of charms and charm bracelets from MOGO.  My tween carefully fingered the bracelets. She reported that the fabric bands were shiny to the touch. Each bracelet had a number of silver circular disks on the outside of the band. She showed me the charm bands. Very quickly she opened the circular containers of charms. Within seconds she had decorated a charm bracelet with charms. Just a quick click and the magnetized charms attached to the bracelets.

So, how does it all work?

• The MOGO Charm Bracelets are available in about 14 vibrant colors. Priced at about $14.
• The MOGO Charm Bracelets can be used as a bracelet or joined together to form a headband or belt. Priced at about $12 for sets; $5 per Birthstone/Bling; and $4 each alphabet letter
• We liked the versatility of the charms and bracelets.
• The MOGO Charms are available in more than 50 themed sets of three MOGO Charms.
• Examples of MOGO Charms sets include:  birthstones, peace symbols, team spirit, and alphabet letters.

How do you buy MOGO Charms and Bracelets?

• The MOGO products are  available in more than 2,600 independent retail outlets, as well as in Nordstrom stores. For instance in Maryland, the following stores carry MOGO, Precious Gifts on Main Street in Ellicott City;  Retro Metro in Frederick and possibly Retro Metro’s Mount Airy location; and Synchronicity Boutique in Baltimore.
• Find a store near you. by entering your zip code.
• Or, buy online from the fine outlets listed here.
• You can buy directly from MOGO by going to MOGOCharm.com.

Fun for kids and tweens and even teens…try the Mood Matcher. Or create your own Charm Bracelets.

Oh, and there is one more item…MOGO Click Flops. The Click Flops come with 2 MOGO charms. You can add up to 7 charms to each flip flop to create your own personalized look.

I was sent a selection of MOGO Charm Bracelets and Charms to facilitate my review. The views expressed in this post are mine alone. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

When my girls were little I could barely get a brush through their hair without shrieks and yells. Now that the girls are older, both are completely consumed with their hair. The style. The hair products. The cut. And did I mention the hair products?

I don’t recall the moment when both girls took control of their hair away from me and my brush of death…their words not mine. There are days when I raise an eyebrow at the hairstyles the tween and teen come up with. Side ponytail? Part so low on one side it looks like a combover? Too long bangs? I have fought the good fight and lost with their hair. For the most part, both come to the breakfast table with combed and styled hair. My son on the other hand…well, let’s just say we keep his hair short for a reason.

The other day my tween helped me review a very interesting craft kit. For the tween and teen girl in your life who is hair obsessed, the Scientific Explorer Heavenly Hair. Oh and by the way, having older kids when you do reviews is great. I give my kids the pick of which toys/crafts/movies to review. I listen to the kids’ feedback and write my review based on their review.

My tween daughter chose to do the kit on a night after homework and before bed. From the box, I wasn’t sure what the kit would contain. Hair beading device? Barrettes?

I was surprised when I saw my daughter pouring liquid from bottle to bottle. She carefully measured and mixed. Her creation were bottles of custom-made shampoo and conditioner. The kit came with a hair brush and toweling hair wrap.

She was occupied for close to an hour. The time factor for this kit is a key selling point. When my children were little a craft kit would last for several craft sessions. The children would start the kit, get bored, and finally complete the kit days or weeks later. I have kept craft kits that all three of the children have had a hand in completing.

When each child turned 10, I noticed that crafts lasted minutes rather than days. This Scientific Explorer Heavenly Hair is a keeper. It took about an hour to create the hair product. She’ll have more enjoyment when she uses the shampoo and conditioner. Tweens are VERY in to pampering themselves as we all know!

The Scientific Explorer Heavenly Hair Kit is manufactured by GiddyUp/Elmer’s Products. Price: $20

I was given this product for review. The views expressed in this review are my own. The links in this review are to my amazon.

Can I Call Myself a MommyBlogger if My Last 10 Posts Are Product Reviews???

If a random reader happened upon my blog. That reader might wonder if I have kids or a husband. I get in to ruts where all I do is product review followed by a giveaway followed by the product review. For instance, my children have been back at school since August 30…and I have yet to write a back-to-school post!

So, here’s a little bit about the Musings from Me family. To prove that I do have kids. By the way, my kids and husband help me with reviewing/playing with/listening to the products I reviews. Without them I would be further behind than I am!

The Teen

• Just started high school.
• Made the school volleyball team as a freshman. Will try out for her travel volleyball team late 2010.
• Very much a daddy’s girl.
• Loves reading. Reread entire Harry Potter series as she last read HP books from 1st grade onwards. Yep, she was a very early reader.
• Hanging out with friends. Texting.
• The teen would definitely prefer to spend time with friends than with her family. I’m sad, but it is a natural progression…a kind of letting go/preparing to leave the nest.
• Does advanced courses in school — insists on keeping a challenging schedule.
• Takes after mom as far as housekeeping skills…her room is a mess.
• Would rather dress well or sleep later than eat breakfast…yes, mornings are fun, fun, fun in our house!

The Tween

• In middle school. Can’t wait to join the teen at the high school.
• Loves reading — especially anything that is a series, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Twilight, Pretty Little Liars, etc. Loved Junie B. Jones books as a little kid. Never got in to Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Any series that your tween loves reading? Leave a comment!
• Loves hanging with friends at our house or theirs.
• Will do chores willingly, but often needs a reminder to clean her room. I suspect that unloading/loading the dishwasher is easier than tackling her room.
• Takes after mom…can recite lines and lines of dialogue from movies. Our favorite family film is the Simpson’s. Lots of lines to recite!
• Volleyball player for her recreational and volleyball team. She is a a terrific server.
• She is my go-to person for school happenings. She knows everything about school. It’s a shame that I don’t have a clone of her at the high school and elementary school.
• Loves science. Works hard at all her subjects.
• Is rocking Spanish this year! Very few kids opt to take a language in middle school.

The Kid

• He’s all boy. The kid has kept me on my toys since he was able to crawl. He could move the kitchen table before he could walk. Climbing! Messes! Gray hairs for mom!
• He wanted to ride the school bus from about 1 years old. He started preschool without a tear. Loved finally going to school. He was in heaven when he got to ride the school bus!
• He’s a talker…we’re working on this.
• He’s a spy-in-training…which means he can be sneaky and stealthy. It was a sad day for me when he realized that his sisters got to stay up later than he did on weekends.
• As a direct result of staying up later on weekends, he has watched a number of films that are probably not age-appropriate for a young kid…Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Robin Hood.
• He watches too-scary movies, but also loves anything Disney. I draw the line at the ABC Family shows.
• He loves being read to. He and his dad are reading the 1st Harry Potter together. He reads a couple of pages. His dad reads a couple of pages.
• He’s a builder…Lego…blocks…K’Nex. If you can build it, he will play with it. He has amassed a collection of Star Wars Lego guys. Have you noticed how tiny the weapons on the Lego guys are? Why aren’t there more Lego gals? Are there any Lego gals?

The Husband

• I call him Coach dad on this blog.
• He reads my blog! Go Coach Dad!
• He puts up with/understands/tolerates my “blogging as a hobby leading to blogging as a job” career.
• He is my go-to guy when I travel. He will go in to work late so that the kids get on the bus.
• I love that he has instilled a love for learning in our children. School is of paramount importance to him — he’s a teacher.
• He is a huge supporter of whatever sport or activity the children do. He’s there at the band concerts, open houses at school, swim meets, and volleyball/lacrosse/football games.
• Housekeeping is not at the top of his priority list, but I appreciate that he does a load of laundry every now and again.
• The lawn is another matter. He takes pride in mowing our very large yard. It’s the type of yard that screams “PLANT MORE TREES,” “BUILD SOME STRUCTURE” so there is less to mow!

Do you blog about being a mom or blog about products? Both? How do you balance the two?

Don’t let anyone tell you that height doesn’t matter. I’m 5’3″. Height matters.

I have spent my life hitching up my pants. Wearing capris in the winter months as I don’t sew. Looking at the hems on pants and thinking “I should sew these pants” and then drifting off to the 1 million things that I would rather do than hem pants. Buying boots with a highish heel to wear with pants that really need to be hemmed. Getting frustrated in the summer months that I cannot wear said pants and said boots in the heat of the summer. In short, being short is a problem.

My teen has never been tall. She was in the 50 percentile from toddler hood through elementary school. At 14 she is almost as tall as I am. She has not had her growth spurt yet. There is hope for her yet. She’s a skinny thing so perhaps she won’t have the problems her nonskinny mother has had all her life trying to find pants that fit.

On Saturday my teen reached a milestone. What was the milestone? For the first time in over 4 summers of having the swim team photo taken she was not placed next to her tween sister.  For the swim team photo, the kids are placed in height order from tiniest to biggest. As a comparison, my son was one of the youngest kindergarteners on the team last year, but was placed with the 2nd graders based on his height.

My girls were separated by about 10 or so other kids. I was proud of my teen. It is hard to be the same height as your younger-by-two-and-a-half-years sister. I know!

Today is a day. It will be a day and a half long before I go to bed. With three children in full-day school, you would think I would have plenty o’ time to get what I need done. Yes, you read that right…my children are still in school. Thank you Howard county, MD!

My children are still in school, but today all three might as well not be. Today is Convergence Day. One of those days when all three children have a scheduled activity for school requiring my help.

The 1st grader has his end-of-the-year picnic. I’m running a few games. My husband is joining him and bringing lunch. I would stay for lunch, but I have to go to a state park over an hour away. Why?

I have to go to a state park as the 8th grader has HER end-of-the-year picnic at Greenbrier State Park. She’s riding the school bus to the park, but wants to stay later to swim. I initially said that she had to ride the bus back to school, to get the bus home, but she desperately wants to stay at the park, So…I have arranged my day so that she can stay. Nice mom, right?

But, what about my 6th grader? She has her end-of-the-year picnic as well. What to do about this? I knew I couldn’t chaperone due to the 1st grade picnic. The school did not need chaperones.  I’m thankful for small mercies. I will try to do a fly by before driving to the state park with the 8th grader.

Convergence Day is given with three children in two different schools. Why don’t the schools coordinate their calendars?

I recently attended the Toy Fair in NYC. I keep remembering bits and pieces about the Toy Fair. The day was overwhelming…in a good way.

I knew the Toy Fair would be big, but never guessed just how big it would be. It was located on 3 floors of the Javits Center. I walked through about 80% of the exhibits. My choice of walking shoes was a good one. My decision to carry my laptop and a bag of books/work papers for the train rides was a bad one as I was dragging — literally — as the day came to a close. Plus, Amtrak has no wifi. Doh!

I saw as many vendors as I could. I left with 3 bags full of brochures and samples. Some products I passed by without a backward glance. Some products I stopped because I wanted to know more.

I spent quite some time chatting to a mom who created a line of dolls for girls who love sports. I chatted to Jodi Norgaard, the founder of Go! Go! Sports Girls dolls, about girls, sports, blogging, and social media. She very kindly gave me Suzi the Swimming Go! Go! Sports Girl. Once I arrived home from #ToyFair, my tween daughter took possession of the doll — she is a swimmer. The Go! Go! Sports Girls swimmer doll has a cute pair of flip Flops and adorable goggles. Best of all, Suzi the Swimmer is wearing a one-piece swim suit!

Go! Go! Sports Girls are a line of dolls for girls who love sports. The dolls are girl-shaped — no Bratz or Barbie silhouettes on these dolls. The dolls remind me of a girl doll I had that looked like me. I never see dolls for tween girls that look anything like tween girls, do you?

Go! Go! Sports Girls are available for golf, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, and many other sports. My girls love volleyball and swimming, so I knew Go! Go! Sports Girls would have two new fans! The dolls are available from the following online retailers: amazon, Sears, Target, Kohl’s, and Sports Unlimited. The dolls are appropriate for ages 3-12. I can tell you that teen girls also love these dolls, too!

Giveaway for Musings from Me readers! I am giving away one Go! Go! Sports Girl of your choice. Once I choose a winner, I will ask the winner to pick a doll. One comment = One entry. Enter now!

• For one entry, go to the Go! Go! Sports Girls website and tell me something interesting you learned.
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• Share the link with your Facebook friends. Leave a comment.
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I was given a Go! Go! Sports Girls doll as part of my review. The views expressed in the article are my own. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The giveaway ends June 9, 2010, at 11:59 p.m.

Dogs. Bears. Cats. Pandas. Horses. Bunnies. Dragons. You name an animal. Build a Bear probably has it! I know because we have a collection of BABW furry friends strewn around our house.

BABW furry friends make the perfect toy for all ages. My little guy clutched his Elmo by the ear when he was not quite 2. My tween favors any of the glam and glitzy BABWs. My teen has various creatures in her bed — shhhh don’t tell her I said this!

BABWs make a great gift for special occasions. My daughters were 7 and 4 when our son was born. I knew both girls would immediately fall in love with their baby brother. I never worried about jealousy. I wanted to buy each of my daughters a gift before the baby arrived. I wanted to make the arrival of a new baby in our family a special one.

I liked the idea of all four of us going to BABW on our last outing as a “family-of-four-soon-to-be-five.” I knew that I did not need to buy toys as the baby boy was unlikely to want their Barbie/Disney Princess/girlie toys. I just wanted to give the girls something to commemorate the arrival of their brother to our family.

We have a milestone coming up in our family. Our teen “graduates” from 8th grade. Technically, she will have a transition ceremony. Graduation. Transition. Even graduation from preschool! Whatever you call it. Family milestones are a reason to celebrate.

My friends at BABW told me about a line of furry friends specially designed for spring and summer happenings:

• Graduation — BABW has a selection of cuddly stuffed animals dressed  in items including: a black or white graduation gown, mortar board with tassel, dress clothes, a Class of 2010 sash, and a “Pomp & Circumstance” Sound. The graduation sash or robe can be embroidered with your child’s name for an additional charge of $10.
  
• Father’s Day
• Armed Forces Day — Choose from camo sailor bear, Marine Hero Champ, Air Force curly teddy, Army office teddy, to name a few.
• Wedding and Bridal Shower

I have a special giveaway for Musings from Me readers! I have one $25 BABW Gift Card to giveaway. One comment = one entry. Enter now!

• What was your favorite stuffed animal/toy as a child? Leave a comment.
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I was given a bear as part of my review. The views expressed in the article are my own. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. The giveaway ends May 31, 2010, at 11:59 p.m.

Readers of this blog know that I am a mom of 3. Twitter followers will know that I am online constantly. As an online mom of an online tween and teen, and a sometimes online kid, online safety is a constant topic of conversation at our dinner table.

My teen is extremely web-savvy. She was a tiny 18-month-old when she played on the computer for the first time. I worked from home back when being a “WAHM” was unusual. I spent many afternoons with her sitting on my lap playing JumpStart Toddlers. I can tell you that after I had worked solidly on the computer for 3-hour nap, the last task I wanted to do was “play on the computer” with my child, but it kept her quiet!

In early 2009, I clicked on a ad calling for Mom Advocates for Yoursphere. I was intrigued. At the time I had one child who was almost of a teen. She was clamoring for a Facebook account. She was only 12. Facebook terms of service ask that users not sign up for Facebook accounts if under 13.

By the time my daughter asked me for a Facebook account, I had already been friended by a couple of her friends. I ignored the friend requests except for one. I friended someone who I thought was the mom…it was my daughter’s friend. After reading one too many profanity laden updates, I unfriended her. My mind was made up. No Facebook account for my almost teen. She was upset with me. She understood my reasons, but that didn’t stop her from complaining that all her friends had accounts.

Yoursphere.com was perfect for her. She was able to create an account for herself on Yoursphere with minimal help from me. It is her account. I let her manage her own account. She met some kids on Yoursphere who she enjoyed hanging with online. She wrote some stories for Yoursphere. She played games.

She was happy and so was I.

I am thrilled to report that I am a Yoursphere Test Drive Mom! I am looking forward to sharing Yoursphere with my readers through the experiences of both my children: my teen and now my tween.

Yoursphere is now FREE!!! Yes, that’s right, your child/tween can now sign up for free. I don’t know about you by I love free!! When you sign up, use code: YSMC-0051. I’m trying to win an AMEX gift card, so the more moms/dads and their kids who sign up the better!

I wrote this review while participating in the Yoursphere Test Drive program by Mom Central on behalf of Yoursphere. I received a free lifetime Gold membership on Yoursphere.com, Yoursphere t-shirts, and a $50 American Express gift card to facilitate my review.

Letters are becoming a dying form of communication. In our house, my kids get cards and letters from their grandmothers. When my kids go to college, I am sure I will e-mail or text or Facebook them to keep in contact.

I remember how excited I was when I got to read the blue airmail letters from my grandmother in England. My family lived in the U.S. — New Jersey to be precise. We returned to England most summers. Staying in contact with my grandmother plus our other relatives was important. Phone calls were prohibitively expensive. Once my English family recorded a message on a cassette tape. We returned the tape to them with a message from our family. I still have that tape.

I want to write a letter to each of my children, so that they know they are loved beyond measure despite the fast, frenetic pace of our family life. In a nod to my blogging and online writing roots, I will write letter on this blog.

I am writing this letter to my children as part of the Baltimore Sun’s Mother’s Day Letters project. Note: For reasons of safety and security, I don’t refer to my children by name on my blog, but rather refer to them as “the teen,” “the preteen,” and the “the kid.”

___

Dear Teen:

You have never been shy about letting me know what you feel.

As a baby you only took a bottle on the 3rd try. You refused to be fed with a spoon to the point where I had to make your oatmeal super thick so that it would stick to your fingers. You insisted on dressing yourself even though putting on pantyhose is impossible for a 2-year-old. You walked out of your preschool classroom because you wanted to go to kindergarten NOW. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Last year when you became a teen, I was secretly worried. You have always been so determined to do what you wanted to do. What would you be like as a teen I wondered?

You emerged in to your teen years as a young lady full of dreams and ambitions for the future. Gone was the petulant and pouty tween. In her place, I found a young woman who was able to have a discussion about an issue even if the outcome was not what you wanted.

You have always done well in school with prodding from us. This past year you have taken the helm with school projects. On a number of occasions you have reminded me of homework assignments!

I am excited about what the future holds for you!

Love, Mommy

___

Dear Preteen:

When you were an infant, I recall that you would scream and fuss at bedtime. I geared up for a battle of wills at bedtime. I fed you and changed you and rocked you — all to no avail. One night it occurred to me to put you in your crib. I stood beside your crib amazed that you fell fast asleep. What?? You let me know in a nonverbal way that you needed an early bedtime. The early bedtime is just one of the gifts you have given this family.

Your sense of humor is a true joy to me. As a child I was a joker…ask Grandma and Grandad! You and I have fun reciting lines from The Simpson’s Movie and Shrek while your Dad, sister, and brother stand by bemused. I know, I know…I laugh at the lines far longer than you do.

As the younger sister to one and the older to another, you have much responsibility. Your older sister can be stand-offish with you or she can be your best buddy — what can I say she’s has an independent streak. Your little brother looks up to you, which I know is both charming and annoying. You handle both of your siblings with grace.

I am thrilled that you have found two sports that you love dearly. While I may not know what a librero does or what your time is in the breaststroke…I love cheering for you on the sidelines or poolside.

I will hang on for the ride to see where life takes you.

Love, Mommy

___

Dear Kid:

You are a bundle of joy wrapped up in a little boy package. You cuddle up for a bear hug or headbutt me — I never know which one I will get! You love your dad and would rather hang out with him. But, from the moment we brought you home from the hospital you have always been my little buddy.

As the only little boy in the family, you are relentless at trying to convert your sisters to the world of Cars and Thomas and Geotrax and Iron Man. You haven’t changed their minds yet, but you never stop trying.

I love that you adore school. From the moment I picked up a book to read to you, your eyes sparkled. Books hold your attention. You love being read to…when persuaded you will read to one of us. I love it when your preteen sister comes in to the room to listen to the Junie B. Jones books Daddy is reading to you. We are a book family!

I am excited to see where life will take you.

Love, Mommy