Let's Talk About Toys, Baby.

Ever since I talked about my resolutions for this year, I've had writer's block. Blogger's block? I don't feel qualified to call myself either, really. Mental block? Sure, we'll go with that. Suddenly, nothing seems interesting enough to write about. But, I don't want to fail at my resolutions in January (that's on February's agenda) so I need to write about something. Which brings us to this post. 

I was walking around Barnes & Noble the other day, because, for some reason, bookstores are calming and I needed some calming. I guess because they are like libraries and libraries are generally quiet. And all the parents out there know how much quiet time we get. Like, none. Sooo, I was walking around and I realized that they carry 2 of my favorite brands of toys, Melissa & Doug and B. Toys. And that's when I decided I would just tell you about some of my favorite kid's toys. Goodness knows we have enough of them in this house. Let me preface these toy suggestions with the fact that I know these are mass-marketed, widely-available toys and that there are plenty of awesome handmade, very cute toys on websites like Etsy. I hope to highlight some of those toys in the future, but honestly, we generally buy mass-marketed toys, let's be real. However, if you have a favorite from Etsy (or someplace similar) please feel free to share. 

Melissa & Doug Responsibility Chart

First up? Melissa & Doug! They have TONS of products. Really, they have a lot. Everything from food play to arts & crafts to puppets, it's a little of everything over there. My absolute favorites are their wooden products. They are so well-designed and wood toys just feel so pioneer days-ish. We are proud owners of at least 5 of their wooden puzzles. We have this one and this one that are perfect for K. The little pegs are great for those chubby little fingers to hold onto. We also have this one and this one that are a little more challenging for D. Plus, we own several of the big cardboard floor puzzles that we love. As a mom, I love them because it's a fun way to hang out with my rowdy 4-year-old that doesn't involve playing football or wrestling. Speaking of that rowdy 4-year-old, another Melissa & Doug product that we love is this responsibility chart. We got this chart, a little prematurely, when D was 2 years old. He loved playing with the magnets but didn't really understand the concept of it. It has been lying in wait for about a year now and I finally feel like we are ready to give it another go. Chores are in shown in words and pictures on the magnets and it will be easy for him to track his progress with the smiley face magnets. At 4 years old he's ready for, and craves, more responsibility. And a cute chart never hurts. 

So definitely check out all the great stuff over at Melissa & Doug. You can shop toys by age, by skill level or by price. I don't think it's possible to not love at least one thing on their site.

B. Toys Symphony in B.

Another of my favorites is B. Toys. B. Toys are the kinds of toys you actually don't mind being all over your house because they are pretty cool-looking. They are colorful but in a fantastic, earthy, modern way. I really just love looking at their toys. Is that weird? And their website is really cute, too. Ok, there. I'm done saying how cool and cute everything looks. On to the toys! K is a big fan of these cars. They are easy to hold onto and man do they go. These blocks are a god-send during the throw-everything stage. They have saved my face multiple times. I love this little doctor kit that D will be getting soon from his grandma. It comes in a nice little carry case that's easy to store when (if) I clean. I also have my eye on this awesome globe that lights up in the dark and plays authentic cultural music when you push each continent. So cool. And the Symphony in B., which won the Toy of the Year Award from Family Fun Magazine, looks like hours of musical fun. My kids love music and...ok, I'm not going to lie, I want this toy for myself. You conduct your own symphony, people. Uh, yes please. And bonus, every time you buy a B. toy they donate $.10 to Free The Children. What's not to love?

Wow, that was way longer than I expected it to be and it took me a really long time to write. I have a new respect for people that review things. All the thinking and the links, it's exhausting. Now go buy some toys!

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The Institution of Resolutions

It's 2013! Crazy. When I was in school this would have been the year that cars flew and teleportation was possible. We are seriously behind, people. Of course, we do carry around our phones and they are also computers (sort of), so I guess we would still be pretty cool according to our 10-year-old selves.

So...it's resolution time! And, staying true to myself, I have procrastinated until the 4th to even put these down on paper. And I'm pretty sure it's not a good thing that I expect to not follow through with most of these. Maybe I'm a realist....but most likely, just lazy. I've had some stuff floating around in my head lately. Things that I know need to change, but that are forgotten by the end of the day. Like, I totally need to drink more water, like seriously, for my health, but when I lay (lie? idk) down in bed at night I realize I've completely forgotten to even TRY to drink more water. Stuff like that. So maybe getting it all out into the universe, as they say, will help. 

#1: DRINK MORE WATER!! Seriously. 

#2: Set a schedule. The last 2 years of our lives have been a little   chaotic/different. Our normal dynamic of dad at work all day/mom home with kid(s) all day has been a little disrupted and thus our routine has been disrupted. Our days feel unorganized (to me at least). I want to get back to some predictability to our day, which includes regular dinner times and nighttime routines.

#3: Get K to sleep through the night. (OMG, please!) He is 19 months old and last night I was up every 2 hours with him. Your sympathy is appreciated. If you count the end of pregnancy (which, I do) I am going on 2 years with only a handful of nights that I didn't have to wake up (and do stuff) several times a night. It affects our schedule (see #2) and I'm pretty sure it's why my brain feels like mush for most of the day. We are slowly working on getting there but he does have some extenuating circumstances that make the process a little more difficult. However, I'm crossing my fingers that 2013 will be our year. Otherwise, 2014 will be the year of the zombie. And that zombie is me.

#4: Read More. To the boys and to myself. I used to read to D every night. Every. Single. Night. That doesn't happen anymore, (see #2 AGAIN, argh). And I'm ashamed to admit that I've probably read to K less than 15 times in his 19 months. So. Awful. This has a little to do with the fact that having a baby and an older toddler, who do not have the same bedtime schedule, makes it more difficult to not just try to get K into bed quickly so that I can get back to making dinner or doing whatever it is I was doing. Their schedules are finally starting to get more in sync and I feel like a joint bedtime story is finally in our sights. I would also love to read to myself more than I do. I've always, always loved reading and I miss it. That should be reason enough to do it more, right?

#5: Keep the house cleaner. Ok, I totally laughed as I was typing that, but I'll leave it on here just for the comedic impact.

(Wow, this list is getting long.)

#6: Do more stuff for me. That sounds incredibly selfish, sure, but we've all heard that it's hard to take care of others if you don't take care of yourself. So in that vein, I want to look better and feel better. I'm going to get dressed, even though I might not have anywhere to go (she says as she still sits in her pjs at noon). Maybe I'll actually learn how to put on some makeup (gasp!). The dark circles under my eyes are in need of some immediate and major help. I care about fashion and I'm gonna act like it. I'm going to blog regularly. Notice I did not say frequently. Regularly. Once a week, once a month? I'm not sure. Hopefully, not once a year though. 

#7: STOP GIVING UP! This is a major one for me. One I'm sure I'll be working on my whole life. I get super excited about things/possibilities/projects, I do a little (or a lot of) research and quickly lose my motivation. It's fear, mostly. Fear that I'm not as good as people who are already doing it, fear that it won't work, fear of being criticized. I wasn't raised to be a quitter, so I'm not sure where it came from but it's a part of me and dadgummit, I'm gonna overcome it! (Bam! I just got serious on you there for a minute.)

Side Note: For some reason, this year, I have no desire to make eating better a part of my resolutions. I don't know why. It's strange, that's usually a given for New Year's resolutions. Totally not into it this time.


So there there are. My resolutions. A time-honored tradition of self-examination. I plan to make it to at least February. Good luck to us all!