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![Holiday Gift Guide: Tonka XT Ricochet Tricksters [Giveaway]](http://www.musingsfromme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Tonka-XT-Ricochet-Tricksters-RC.jpg)
At a recent Monster Jams, show I was slack jawed at the way the drivers drove those enormous trucks over massive mounds of dirt, around precariously placed barricades, and on top of dirt structures the size of small homes. The show was noisy and fun. The show had me wondering about the offerings in...
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Music calms the savage beast…uh…I mean baby. If you have every sat in a car with a squalling crying baby for a long trip you will feel my pain. As the navigator-not-the-driver-on-family-trips, I am the designated hitter with any crises to do with the kids. As the kids moved from the babies and toddlers...
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When my son was born, my oldest was finishing up 1st grade while my youngest was finishing up her last year of preschool. As the school year began for both girls the following August, my son and I were left in a strangely quiet house. From 8:10 until 3:30 p.m. it was as quiet...
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![Holiday Gift Guide: Duplo My First Fire Station [Giveaway]](http://www.musingsfromme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Lego-Duplo-My-First-Fire-Station.jpg)
There are certain toys that your children need. I say “need” because from experience kids are more likely to find ways to entertain themselves with certain toys. And yes, I know that kids’ needs can be many and varied, but let’s look at toys. If a child is playing with a toy, mom or dad...
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My summer baby started Kindergarten when the cutoff was December 31. I recall that I didn’t give a huge amount of thought to whether I should send her or not. If I was sending her to Kindergarten now, I would explore the concept of “redshirting.” I thought about redshirting. Back in 2003, the whole...
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![@Kneebouncers: Free Games for Toddlers [Giveaway]](http://www.musingsfromme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Kneebouncers-logo-300x67.png){kind=logo}
A few years ago my friend told me about a game her toddler son played all the time. The game was a “simple tap of the keys and watch what happens” type of game. A simple concept to adults, but the game allowed kids to make choices and decisions about how the game would...
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So, here’s the deal. I have wanted to write a book since I was about 9. I filled composition books, notepads, scraps of paper, and even those thin as onion skin sheets of typing paper. I can still feel the pinch on my fingers as I jabbed too hard at the typewriter keys. Ahem…the...
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![My Girls Love Bling [Review]](http://www.musingsfromme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Mogo-Charms.jpg)
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,...
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Games and blocks. What could be more fun, right? We’re a second generation building block family. I remember building for hours and hours in my room, in the living room, and really anywhere in my childhood home. We moved many times. This toy was a constant due to its small size and the ease...
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Last year I was contacted by the PR for a hip young singer of kid songs. I was at first skeptical since my experience with kid singers and their songs was of the treacly, saccharine variety. My avoidance of singers of kiddie songs led me to expose my children exclusively to the CDs from...
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