Since Kik is back in school, I've been looking for fun and creative new ways to keep my other two kiddos entertained. Bid is easy, we've started a special Mommy School. But Co is a bit harder. As part of "recess" we've started incorporating educational toys into our family play.
One of his new favorites is the Count & Discover Treasure Chest from Baby Einstein and Kids II.
The Count and Discover Treasure Chest is a bright and colorful toy that is super baby friendly. To play, you drop the coins in the chest, and then depending on what mode it's set on, the chest lights up and talks to you. There are three different modes of play. The chest either recognizes the color, the shape on the token, or the # of coins that have been dropped in the chest.
Co loves trying to put the tokens in the treasure chest. He can't always do it, but he tries. When it does work, he loves watching the sea creatures light up and make noise. When he misses, it's usually because he knocks it over and spills out the coins. He thinks that's funny too!
Even though Kik is 6, she loves playing with the Count & Discover Treasure Chest with Co. The Treasure Chest speaks in English, French, and Spanish, and she loves practicing her #'s and colors in different languages.
To Buy - Capture your little one's imagination with the Count & Discover Treasure Chest from
Baby Einstein. It introduces Baby to counting, shapes and colors in English, Spanish and French. The lid is easily opened to retrieve the coins, and it features classic melodies and Fun Ocean sounds. - Manufacturer's Suggested Age: 6 Months and Up
- Educational Focus: Shapes and Colors,
- Teaching Aid, Motor Skills, Letters and Numbers
- Hand Wash Only
The Count & Discover Treasure Chest retails for $19.99, and can be purchased online and in stores nationwide. For more info on this and other great products, check out Kids II on twitter. To Win - They are giving away a Count and Discover Treasure Chest to one of you!To Enter complete any of the entries on the rafflecopter form below! a Rafflecopter giveaway This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Kids II, Inc. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine. I received no monetary compensation for this post. By entering this giveaway you agree to my giveaway/disclosure guidelines 
If you don't have a 10 month old boy, a 3 year old girl, or a 6 year old girl, no worries - I still have the perfect gift idea for you.
You need to check out Happy Toy Machine where you can design and create your own stuffed animals.
To begin all you have to do is go to the website, and click create a toy. Then decide if you want to go with one of their traditional mix-a-lots, or one of their brand new smushimals. From their, the customization options are endless.
I guess that's technically not true. If you want to be accurate, the options aren't really "endless". With over 120 facial features, 40+ body parts, 50+ body decorations, and numerous colors to choose from, there are only about a quadrillion possible combinations - not endless.
My girls can spend hours creating new characters. They love to design and color coordinate new friends. Here are some of their favorite creations.
They are kind of weird looking, but completely fun and unique. For extra personality, you can even add a birthplace and pick some of the character's favorite things.
As fun as it is to just sit down and make new characters, the girls and I were really curious to see what a finished stuffed animal looked like. So I had them sit down together and gave them the task of designing the perfect toy for Co. After a lot of deliberation, they finally came up with this creepy Robot Monster.
It's been crazy hot in Utah the last few days. I believe it was around 86 here today - which is about 20 degrees above average. The warmer weather makes is incredibly tempting to break out all of the summer/water toys, but it never lasts. On Friday the high is supposed to be back down in the mid 50's.
A great toy for this on again off again warm weather is Crayola Color Wonder Bubbles and the Bubble Launcher.
Crayola Color Wonder Bubbles combine all of the fun of traditional bubbles, but with color! Our 3 pack contained the colors "purple pizzazz," "fuschia" and "unmellow yellow".
I had heard that the bubbles were messy so I dressed my girls in play clothes and got ready for some fun. The bubbles screw right on to the launcher, and then you actually hand crank the launcher to blow the bubbles. This is great as it avoids blowing dizziness and doesn't need battery replacement.
The bubbles were fun but did leave behind a slight pink residue.
My husband and I have been married for 8 years and we've always kind of been loaners. We occasionally hang out with my best friend from high school and her husband, but it's usually just us. Then a few months ago something new happened - my husband made a friend. Our families get together every few weeks to eat dinner and play games. It's been really fun and has given us the opportunity to break out all of the games that have been sitting dormant in our closet for years.
Right now we are loving Truth Be Told, Likewise, and Last Word from Buffalo Games.
In
Truth Be Told the host draws a question such as "Truth Be told, I've always dreamed about ..." Then the host writes a truthful answer on the card such as, "I've always dreamed about being a princess at Disneyland." Then all of the other players make up fake answers to the question. The players then have to guess which answer is the correct one.
We played this game once with my family and a couple of times with our new friends. It was fun in both settings. When we played the game with my parents and siblings everyone knew each other so well, that it was hard! A lot of the "fake" answers were true and it took a long time for anyone to win. When we played with our friends we didn't know them very well. The game went fast but it was hilarious! It was a fun way to get to know them.
In
Likewise there are Description Cards and Subject Cards. One of each card is turned over and players have to come up with a word that describes the pairing. So if the Description said Exotic, and the Subject said Cartoon Character, then players would have to write down an Exotic Cartoon Character - such as Marvin the Martian or the Tasmanian Devil. If players match they get a point.
This game was fun, but kind of challenging. Some of the pairings just make no sense and it's hard to come up with an answer. Even though some rounds can be difficult, those are usually the rounds that are the most fun.
Last Word is my favorite of the 3 games. Players are given a subject and a letter and everyone blurts out answers until the timer runs out. For example if the subject was "Countries" and the Letter was "P", players could say Peru, Pakistan, Paraguay, Portugal, Poland, etc. until the timer ran out. The last person to say a word before the timer goes off wins the round.
What makes this game really fun is that the timer goes off randomly, so you really have to hurry to get your words in. Another feature I love is that the
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It's time for the Blogorama Bonanza Remix 2012 Blog Hop hosted by
Jyla's Three Of Us Giveaway,
J-Man and MillerBug &
Generations of Savings! A bunch of blogs are participating to bring you some great prizes (all valued at $25+).
Because one of my girls very favorite things is squinkies, I'm giving one of you the chance to win your own Boys Squinkies Prize Pack valued at $25. The Prize Pack will contain an Xtreme Ride and a Hot Wheels Bubble Pack.
Squinkies are fun squishable mini toys. My girls loved to Squish them between their fingers, and play house and other girly games. They come in bubbles that pop open to reveal the toy inside. The
boys squinkies are still little and squishable, but they are anything but cute. Instead of babies and horses, the boys line features monsters, athletes, ninjas, and cars.
To Buy - The Squinkies toys make a great gift for boys. Check out the Squinkies Boys Line of products on Amazon and get Squinkified today!
To Win - Win the Hot Wheels Bubble Pack and the Xtreme Ride Squinkies Set. To Enter complete Any of the Entries on the Rafflecopter form Below.
*Note* Javascript must be enabled to view the form. If you are on the main page of my website, you may have to click read more to see the form.
a Rafflecopter giveaway<a href="http://rafl.es/enable-js">You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.
Win more prizes from some of the participating blogs!
Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post. By entering this giveaway you agree to my
giveaway/disclosure guidelines
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I'd love to try the have a ball giggables! Looks so fun!
I like the Bright Starts Having A Ball Giggables!
[email protected]
My grandson would like to try the by Einstein™
Count & Compose Piano
[email protected]
ball giggables looks perfect for baby Sam debbie jackson,
djackson1958 at hotmail dot com
I like the Baby Einstien Count and Compose Piano. cwitherstine at zoominternet dot net
I like the Baby Einstein™
Baby Neptune™ Ocean Orchestra
I'd love the cruise 'n' sort bus for my daughter!
I like the Baby Einstein
Touch & Explore Discovery Book!
jbang0331(at)yahoo(dot)com
Baby Einstein™
Shapes & Numbers Discovery Cards
I'd love to try the Baby Einstein™
Baby Neptune™ Ocean Orchestra! So cute!
Bright Starts™
Cruise 'n Sort Bus™
I like the Bright Starts™ Having a Ball™ Swirl & Roll Truck™
kopperkirlz at yahoo dot com
I would love to get my granddaughter the Baby Einstein™ The Classics Collection.
I also like their Baby Einstein
Count & Compose Piano.
colljerr at comcast dot net
I'd like to try the Bright Starts™
Peek-a-Zoom™ for my son
I also like the Baby Neptune Soothing Seascape
I love the bright starts convertible cart cover!
[email protected]
bright stars cruisin short bus
tuckersaver at hotmail dot com
Bright starts drop and giggle looks like something we would love!!
I really like the count and compose piano!
I like the Baby Einstein Discovery Dragon
[email protected]
Bright Starts Drop and Giggle
Taggies look adorable too!
I love the Baby Einstein™ Baby Neptune™ Soother
darciedecided at gmail.com
Musical learning table and the doodle bug station.
Thanks for the chance to win.
Minta
[email protected]
We would love this activity table. http://www.kidsii.com/brightstarts/p-376-having-a-ball-get-rollin-activity-table.aspx
Oh Carter would also love the Baby Einstein Stack & Explore Safari Blocks! Fun!
Bright Starts™
Having a Ball™ Pop & Roll Roadster™
mandinav(at)aol(dot)com
Chase would love the Baby Einstein
Baby Neptune Ocean Orchestra!
Baby Einstein™
Baby Neptune™ Ocean Orchestra
for my new daughter coming soon!
yeloechikee at hotmail dot com
I like the convertable cart cover
sunniewoodyplus2 atmsn.com
Would love to try the Bright Starts™
Having a Ball™ Press & Zoom Pals™
sarah.zaengle at gmail dot com
The baby einstein. Arthur Caudill
Have a Ball Press and Zoom pals
Bright Starts™
Pretty in Pink™ Bundle of Fun Gift Set™
I'd like to try the Bright Starts Having a Ball Let's Get Rolling Activity Table.
Nancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
Pretty in Pink purse (Amber H)
I'd also like the Bright Starts Dooble Bug Around We Go
baby Einstein discovery dragon
Baby Einstein™
Stack & Discover Blocks™
My son would love this!
http://www.kidsii.com/p-301-roller-pillar-activity-balls.aspx
[email protected]
I like the Bright Starts™
Doodle Bugs Around We Go!™ Activity Station!