Fabulous or Not?

Sesame Street K'NEX and a K'NEX CONTEST!!

If your kids are into sesame street and also like to build and create, a great new toy is the Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection Building Sets.   You can build exactly according to directions or you can use your imagination and build anything you want.  Tons of parts, hours of fun!   K'NEX building sets help physical, social and emotional development by encouraging imaginative play and hand-eye coordination.  You can talk to your child about the creation which enhances language skills and development and sorting through the pieces is great problem-solving.

The building sets are available at Target, Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us from $9.99 to $19.99. Designed for ages 2-5, from personal experience, I would say an older two-year old is probably more equipped than my almost-two year old who preferred to just disassemble everything as I put it together.

 

We sat down as a family to play with our new toy....

We looked for all the pieces and decided to follow the instructions.

Marc was Head of Construction....

Noah was Head of DEstruction....

But, we all had fun and it was nice family time.  It all came together for a brief moment ...

We really had a lot of fun working on this as a family.  The pieces are easy to grip for small hands and it features recognizable characters and symbols, like the STOP sign. 

Contest!

You have the chance to win $1,000 worth of K'NEX Building sets and be featured on the K'NEX.com website.   All you need to do is make a video showcasing your child's K'NEX building skills using specific products.  

The ten best videos will be featured on KNEX.com and one winner will receive $1,000 worth of K'NEX toys.

Contest ends December 7, 2009 ... so hurry!

No purchase is necessary to enter.  To enter, post a video on your blog or website and submit the link along with a completed entry form, including name, age, email address and phone number to knexvideocontest@knex.com.  If you don't have a blog or website, submit a DVD or VHS along with the entry form to: Make a K'NEXion Video Contest, K'NEX Brand, L.P., PO Box 700, Hatfield, PA 19440.

Videos must be at least 30 seconds long ad no longer than 3 minutes and must include on of the following products:  K'NEX 400 pc Tub  or K'NEX Sesame Street Building Sets

Book Review: Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind

Once again, Phillip Done goes directly to the head of the class with his latest year-long memoir about teaching third graders.  A veteran teacher with over twenty years of experience in the classroom understands children on a level unparalleled by most.  A heart-warming, hilarious and touching book, it should be required reading for all new teachers and parents. 

Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind  takes the reader back to the elementary classroom, complete with bulletin boards covered in colored paper and scalloped borders to the mysteries of what kids keep and lose in their desks to the wonders of recess and spelling errors -- be careful when you spell o-r-g-a-n-i-s-m, he reminds little Melanie, the N and the I are very important. 

I relived my own elementary days, my favorite teachers, the special dress-up days, picture day when they handed out those little combs!, the celebrations of half-birthdays and lost teeth.  I laughed out loud about spelling errors!  (Don't read that chapter in bed while your husband is sleeping!) Done writes so glowingly and magically of his experiences with children that it makes me jealous that I won't experience all those crazy, annoying, special, and priceless moments with my own children -- but, those moments are meant for teachers, they are not meant for parents.  Perhaps I need to go back and get a Masters in Education and become a teacher? Done is clearly a master teacher and this books shows he is also a master of the written word.

I think one of the many things that makes Done so successful as a teacher and a writer is that he is fully invested and committed to his work. In a world where you often hear more negative than positive this is a refreshing read, it makes you believe in teachers, our American school system, the wonder and joy of third grade and it makes you believe that with teachers like Phillip Done, every kid does have a chance at a lifetime of success. 

I wish every kid at least one Mr. Done in their school years.  Done, it rhymes with Phone.

This book is available from Amazon.com

Click here to read more about Phillip Done and his first book, 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny.

Burts Bees: Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil

Recently pregnant for the second time and due in February I am just emerging from the disgustingness of the first trimester and blossoming into a ragingly hungry, rapidly expanding, horror-monally challenged gestational goddess!  

And a Gestational Goddess deserves Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil! 

More to the point, I am expanding.  In the belly area.  And it is fast and furious this time, and happening much sooner than my first pregnancy, which I hear is normal.  I look now, at 13 weeks like I did the first time at about 17 weeks.  I can already feel my belly skin getting tight so it's time to start lotioning up! 

I used a variety of products last pregnancy and escaped stretch marks completely.  (Please don't hate me.)  I'm not so sure I'll be as lucky this time around, but I'm doing my best to get ahead of the problem. 

I am LOVING, and I cannot emphasize with how much love it is that I am loving this Burt's Bees Mama Bee Oil.  Also a plus, it is Phthalate- and paraben-free.

It smells fabulous, lightly fragranced with sweet almond oil, a personal favorite of mine, and enhanced with hints of citrus, it is light and not at all sticky.  I apply it to my belly at least once a day, usually when I slip into PJs, and so far, no stains on my clothes.  I could use this on my entire body, legs, arms, hands and all.  I can't speak for the prevention of stretch marks because I've got a lot more stretching to do, but for now, I love this natural product.

I bought it at Target for about $7.99. It is also available on Drugstore.com and from the Burt's Bees website.