Where's My Tail?

My sister-in-law purchased this as a gift for String Bean's birthday:


The Where's My Tail? puzzle is made by Infantino and can be found at a pretty reasonable price. (For some reason, Amazon is listing this at $45 right now. I think it really should be $15 or less. There must be a glitch.)

Just this evening, we put together this puzzle 5 times before I called it quits. I cannot believe how quickly my 2 year old is matching the parts together. It is really amazing!

Gift Shopping with String Bean

A friend from church is adopting a toddler from China. Tonight, String Bean and I went shopping for her "toddler shower." I figured that String Bean would know what to get being that she fits into the same age group.

As we roamed the aisles of the store, she squealed in delight at all sorts of things. First, she discovered there was a purple dress on the rack and that I was wearing a purple sweater and that pretty much blew her little mind. Next, she found a sippy cup that was exactly like hers and attempted to drink out of it without success.

When we finally made it to the toy section, there were books to be discovered, toys to ride, balls to throw and buttons to press. We finally settled on some kids' kitchen ware (spatulas, bowls, colanders and the like). The great thing about taking her to shop for someone else is that I have a great idea of what to add to her Christmas list!

Fathers Day Non-Homemade Gifts

Photo by Timewalker

Filbert informed me over lunch yesterday that no Father's Day gift is good. Today's post hopes to squash that attitude and bring to you, faithful readers, a list of Father's Day gifts that will leave your dad astonished and in fear of you as a woman.

Nothing held back-price-tag included.

Corporate Dad

• 18 karat gold snake cufflinks with diamond accents- $4,615.00. Who wouldn't want these?
• Pineider Limited Edition Ostrich Briefcase- $11,235.00. For an additional $30.00, you can get dad's initials on it! These guys are flying off the shelves. Pun intended.
• Cuban Cohiba Behike cigar- $440.00 each and sold in boxes of 40 make it $17,600.00 for a neat father-to-be gift. No more handing out candy cigars at the hospital when you have these guys lying around.

Blue Collar Dad

• Spectrum 2050 Plasma Cutter- $2,949.00. Why buy anything else when you have a tool that will cut through 1 1/8 inches of steel?
• Fixer-Upper Home- These guys can go for pretty cheap, but be prepared to pick up a very large gift card to Home Depot or Lowes.
• 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe- $8,700,000.00 in 1987, but these guys lose value when you drive them off the lot, right? Oh, the joy of being able to work on it in the garage!
  

Sports Dad

• Chicago Bears Season Tickets- $245.00 per seat per game for the good seats. Mr. Bean has been drooling over season tickets for years. I have yet to pony up the cash to put our name on the waiting list.
• 1909 Honus Wagner Baseball Card- $2,300,000.00. Who says paper is worthless?
• Personal Basketball Court- $60,000.00 for the top of the line stuff. This is great for the dad who thinks his kid is the next Michael Jordan.
  

Outdoors Dad

• Yacht- $300,000,000.00. I'm sure the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum would be happy to sell it to you for slightly cheaper since it is used.
• Jungle Safari in Belize- $2,310.00 plus international airfare.
  
• Fishing in Malaysia- $3,200.00 plus international airfare.
  

After all that, doesn't a homemade gift sound a lot easier to manage?

Father's Day Homemade Gifts

Photo by Luxist.com

Ah, the ancient tradition going back to ancient Egypt of children purchasing ties for their fathers on Father's Day. Let's make this year different. Roll up your sleeves, moms, it is time for you to start helping your little ones make Father's Day gifts. No help from the Department of Education here. Dads have it so easy since the schools help your kid make Mother's Day cards and gifts, don't they?

For your viewing pleasure, here are some ideas for you as you plan your child's Father's Day gift.

Best Dad Desk Accessory: recommended for ages 6 and up with parental supervision. Requires dad to have a desk to display the gift on...or a workbench...or a dresser.

Car Nut Frame: recommended for age 5 and up, but I think a 3 year old could do this craft. Make sure you have a photo to put in the frame or it will sit under your bed like Mr. Bean's photo frame has since Christmas. This craft is really cute for any handy-dad.

Coupons: I recommend this "craft" for your older kids who will definitely understand their own sacrifice of love and understand how coupons work. You can make your own or print some here. Even cuter? Make coupons credit card size and stuff a new wallet full of them! I suggest an expiration date be put on them to encourage immediate use or they may end up like Mr. Bean's last batch of coupons--under the bed. Alternatively you could call them gift certificates or gift cards! That's language everyone understands!

Dad's Throne: No, not the toilet. This cute idea is great if you have multiple children and no plans (and good weather) on Father's Day. Helpful if you have a kid who is creative and another who likes to implement ideas, but not necessary. If the weather is bad, this could easily be transformed into an indoor throne.

Note Pad: This idea is really cute and can be done by most any child, toddler and up. A quick visit to the office supply store, some markers, and a ribbon later and viola! You have a quick and easy present just for dad! This is a Martha Stewart approved project.

Personalized Coasters: This is a great craft if you have a newborn since you can just stamp their hand print or foot print on the coasters. Three steps: go to home improvement store, decorate, seal. Love it.

Of course, a tie is easier.

The Greatest Gift

Mr. Bean took String Bean out today to purchase my Mother's Day gift. I asked for new potholders. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll get them!

While I sit here and wait for them to come home, I started thinking about the greatest gift I've ever received. One that ranked pretty high on the list was the experience of swimming with the dolphins Mr. Bean gave me several Christmases ago. It was amazing!

If I had to pin down the greatest gift I ever got, I would have to chose the time someone died for me to save me. Who does that?! I was well on my way to a collision with death, and he stepped in and took my place. That was the greatest gift ever.

You can read all about it right here!

Christmas Traditions

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When I was a kid, one of our Christmas traditions was to put a train around the base of our tree. We also had a birthday party for Jesus every Christmas Eve. When Christmas morning would arrive, we would have to wait upstairs until everyone was dressed, beds made, hair combed, etc. before we could go down. We all went downstairs as a family and opened stockings before breakfast. For breakfast, we would have a bread/cheese/egg/bacon casserole my mom calls "12 for Breakfast." After breakfast, we would open gifts. Besides the trains which haven't been up for years, this is pretty much what I expect this year as we visit my parents.

Mr. Bean's family grew up doing the Advent candles and singing carols every evening of the Christmas season. When we go visit that side of the family, we enjoy this tradition and sing heartily my favorite carol, The Boars Head Carol, which is especially brilliant when sung in the shower at full volume.

This year is String Bean's second Christmas. We haven't yet started any family traditions of our own. One I am considering is the Jesse Tree.

I'm curious what traditions you remember fondly each year or from childhood. Help me explore what's out there as we start our own family traditions in the coming years.

Need Unique Christmas Ideas?

I have some hard to shop for people on my list this year. I love to get well thought out gifts for people--things I think they will love. Sometimes that person who has everything makes that difficult!

My co-blogger, Amy, is planning on making Christmas gifts this year. Not me. I'm not so crafty. Instead, I thought I'd share with you some of the things I'm considering getting some special someones in my life. Maybe it will inspire you as you start finish up your shopping.

For Her:

I think I've mentioned previously that I am having a love affair with Etsy. I found this adorable customized rubber address stamp, Funky Swirls, made by designer babyjewels. There are quite a few customized stamps available on Etsy. Just do a search and you'll come up with all sorts of ideas and some shop owners who will work with you to get your own designs in stamp form.



If I were finished having children, I would be tempted to purchase Mommy Cards. What a cute idea to leave a calling card for your family when you meet new moms at the park, at school, or at church. This company will also do Pet Cards, Allergy Cards, Grandparent Cards and more. There are also designs appropriate for Dad Cards.

For Him:
Sports equipment. My man is into football. Maybe yours is into ping pong. Either way, getting some replacement sports equipment for that raggedy stuff that's falling apart in the garage would be a welcomed gift. Say you are getting a football and you just aren't exactly sure which football is the right one (there are about a billion out there ranging in price from $10 to $90 or more), you can always go the route of a gift card to the Sporting Goods store. Or one of those handmade coupons you used to make as a kid inscribed with "Good for one __________ of your choice from Dick's Sporting Goods." Bonus: purchasing a new play toy for that macho male in your home may just promote wellness and fitness!

You know that movie (or trilogy *cough, cough*) that the guy in your life just loves and for the life of you, you can't find any logic as to why? Chances are it has recently come out with a collector's edition that he does not own, yet (or in the case of Mr. Bean any collectible from his favorite move will do). Amazon.com is a great place to look for the latest (and often times cheapest) movies and the old favorites that you can't find on the shelf at the store.

For Anyone:
I love iTunes. If someone on your list has an ipod, you can't go wrong with iTunes gift cards. They come in denominations of $15, $25, $50 and $100 through the Apple Store. At least you know they will love what they get!


I wasn't sure how to graphically represent this idea, so I made the image above instead. Have you considered getting an "experience" gift for someone? One of my best Christmas gifts ever was a swim with the dolphins adventure at Sealife Park in Hawaii. I will never forget that day and I have photos to prove I did it! Think about the within-driving-distance locations with extreme adventures. Think about the people you know or the friends-of-friends that you could call that favor in from. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing: flying in a private plane, deep-sea fishing, shadowing the local meteorologist, rock-climbing, scuba diving lessons, wine tasting at a vineyard, golf lessons...you get the idea.

Good luck with your shopping!