Quality Games for Kids (7-10 yrs)

It's been a while since I've posted on classic toys.  Um, let's see, the only one I've done was in 2008.

Here's my bucket list - at least for the 7-10 year old range.

At our house we play a lot of games.  (It helps that we don't own a TV).  In no particular order, some of our favorites are:

Uno - You probably have this game, or have played it - so it goes without saying that it's a great game for all ages.  There was a season (when he was not old enough to comprehend other games) that we played this one several times a day.

Blokus - Strategize while developing your spatial thinking.  This game is fun for two people but even more challenging with 3 or 4.

Qwirkle - There's also a cube version, as well as a travel version.  I like this game for many reasons.  It makes me think when playing with my 8 year old but also my toddler can play along by sorting the tiles into piles of colors or shapes.

Rummikub was actually given to us as a wedding gift.  John Isaac mastered it about age 5 or 6 and we enjoy playing together.  Of course it's another toddler friendly game for sorting colors and numbers.

Double Shutter - Can you add to 10?  You can play this game.  Just don't tell the kids that they're practicing math.  John Isaac got this as a Christmas gift last year and we've enjoyed playing it all year long.  One person can play by themselves or up the ante and involve the whole family.  Toddlers enjoy flicking the tiles up and down.

Monopoly Deal - This is a card game that can be played in a FRACTION of the time of the board game, and in my humble opinion makes it a better game.  We play this at least once a week.  Mostly because of the easy access, it hides in a drawer near the dining room table.

Sequence States and Capitals - My sister and her husband introduced us to the regular version of this game.  We liked it so much that when we saw there was a states and capitals version, we were hooked!  During your fun family night, you'll be brushing up on states and their capitals - win, win!

Gum Making Kit (or Gummies) - Though not a game, this product endears me to it because it is not more clutter for the closet.  Use it, enjoy the experience and you're done.  Perfect gift (Christmas or birthday) for the child who has every Lego under the sun.

Other Links:
*Mom and Kiddo also has a post on Games for Kids: Gift Guide which includes game ideas for smaller children.
*Passionate Homemaking has a post on Fun Educational Gift Ideas for Little Ones.
*My sister sent this link to game recommendations from Memories on Clover Lane saying she liked this blogger because she was a mom of 4 boys and 2 girls.

What games and gifts do you love?  Please share.

Listening Pleasure

I've written before about our bedtime routine, that it includes Bible listening.

My lil man is addicted to audio.

If I've listened to Adventures in Odyssey once, I've heard the Revolutionary War story about a million times.

So, when Hubby emails me today about a screamin' deal going on at Lamplighter, I knew we'd have so spend some cash on the boy.

If you have an audial learner, you'll want to check out Lamplighter's sale.  For those unfamiliar with Lamplighter, it's a publisher (and ministry) that re-prints classic classics.  Oldie and goodies of literature.


from their website:

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
OF SOME LAMPLIGHTER BOOKS…

The Lamplighter – 
In 1854, this book saw sales of 40,000 copies within a few weeks of publishing.  Within a year, sales had eclipsed 70,000.  The book received international acclaim and outsold the Scarlet Letter giving Nathaniel Hawthorne cause to utter his famous complaint to his publisher that “America is now wholly given over to a d***d mob of scribbling women.”  This book was a literary icon in its day.  Temple University uses this book as a literature textbook.  It was the third best selling book in the country at the close of the Civil War.  It is because of the literary and moral quality of this book and because of the powerful influence it has had in character-building that Lamplighter Ministries chose it as their flagship work.


A Peep Behind the Scenes –
Though not written in the same time period as the Scarlet Letter, A Peep Behind the Scenes sold more than two and a half million copies by the late 1800’s, outselling the Scarlet Letter and most best selling books of the 19th century.

************

I'm super excited about hearing new stories and I know Mr. Intensity will be, too.

BTW, Lamplighter's Theatre is produced by the same people who put together Adventures in Odyssey (they were laid off from Focus - read here for details).

The Art of Marriage

I'm so proud of my husband.

For the last 18+ months he's been working {hard} on The Art of Marriage.  It's a video based marriage conference.  A really hip video marriage conference.  Weaved together over six sessions (5 are 50 minutes, the last session is 30 minutes), you'll see personal stories, man on the street interviews, humorous vignettes, expert testimonies and more.

Even if I wasn't married to one of the geniuses behind it, I would tell you it was really good.


Below you'll find some sneak-peak snippets of the conference to whet your appetite.


I'm encouraged about this conference because:
 - little bitty churches in the middle of nowhere will be able to host a marriage conference.
 - anyone can experience it without breaking the bank.
 - parents of young children can find childcare for a few hours (as opposed to an entire weekend).

To bring the conference to a venue near you - go to The Art of Marriage website to learn more.  If you register to host an event before Christmas day there's a sweet deal going - FREE $400 value pack of resources.

Trailer (conference overview)


Free Fall (one of my favorite clips)

Free Fall from ProlifikFilms on Vimeo.

Counselor Vignette


Anger Vignette

Buy One Get One Free

Right now when you buy one full-price couple registration ($258) for a Weekend to Remember, you can get another registration for free. It’s a great way to experience a life-changing weekend, while helping your friends and saving money.

To take advantage of this offer, register online by August 17, 2009 and enter the promotion code: HOPE. Once your registration is complete, you will receive a certificate in the mail for your friend’s free registration.

Natural Deodorant

Last summer I made deodorant using this recipe. It worked for me, I didn't stink. However, there are a few things I don't like about that recipe.

First, is the application. It's not as fast as a stick or roll on...and it is a bit cumbersome to apply. The shea butter and coconut oil are hard at room temperature, the deodorant has to be rolled around in your hand before it's soft enough to apply.

Secondly my clothes were stained. When washed, it mostly came out fine. Just looked gross.

This spring, I began wearing over the counter deodorant without antiperspirant. Most sticks or roll ons contain antiperspirant (which is what contains aluminum - the link to Alzeheimers.) It was in the men's section, as all women's deodorant also has antiperspirant.

One day my husband came home asking about a deodorant rock. A guy in the gym recommended it to him, said it worked wonderful.

I remembered a sample I had received from a health food store in Phoenix so I pulled it out.

We've been using it ever since. They can be purchased at Whole Foods, too.

To apply, wet the stone with water then rub it on. I still sweat, but I don't stink. And it's natural!! Anyone else been using the deodorant rock?

Another natural application:: Insect Repellent with essential oils.

Fun (& Free) Things To Do

TOMORROW across the nation, Home Depot sponsors FREE kids' project.  It's the highlight of Daddy and son's first Saturday of the month from 9am to noon.  Tip: go earlier, sometimes they've run out of supplies at our store.

Phoenicians, mark your calendar:

The first Friday of every month is free at the Children's Museum of Phoenix, that's TONIGHT from 6-10pm.

Saturday, March 7 from 11am to 2pm is a special day for children under 6 at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.  This is not (yet) on their website, but in my hands I have a flyer that says there will be game booths, petting zoo, moonalks, face painters among other things.

Sunday, March 29 Gracia Burnham will be speaking in Arizona.  I would highly recommend your family trying to hear her story.  She and her husband, Martin, were kidnapped by terrorists in the Philippines and lived a year in captivity.  They faced near starvation and constant exhaustion as hostages.  Gracia suffered gunshot wounds and Martin was killed when the Philippine military attempted to rescue them from their brutal captors.  I met her in 2004 when her book, In the Presence of My Enemies was released.  She also has a website.

In the morning, at 10:30 she'll speak at Desert Hill Evangelical Free Church in Sun City. 

In the evening at 6:00, you can hear her at Trinity Baptist Church in Mesa.

If you're unable to attend one of the above, get your hands on her book (used copies are only $0.30 on Amazon.)

Creation Museum

This past weekend, our family drove to the Cincinnati, Ohio area to go to the Gap outlet visit friends.

The water tower in Florence cracks me up. I'm laughing out loud now as I'm posting. Where other than Kentucky is a city proud of saying y'all?! It's been painted this way for at least 20 years.

Three miles from the Gap outlet is The Creation Museum is also in northern KY. Thankfully January is buy one get one free month and Mr. Intensity was free. We paid ~ $25 for our family and we were there about 3 hours. If it were warmer, we would have walked around the botanical gardens and visited the petting zoo.

Notice Hubby is wearing a UK hat and no coat. He's a UofL grad.

My honest impressions of the museum:

- We went on Saturday and it was very crowded.
- The museum is geared for readers, or children older than Mr. Intensity.

- It was the first museum I've been to that esteemed the Bible. Lots of Bible - everywhere. I believe in the Bible and it was almost too pushy for me. The above sign was quite witty saying, "This space is still evolving."

- We will go again when Mr. Intensity is older.

If you live near the Creation Museum I recommend a visit, especially during January.

While you're there - you can also visit the Gap outlet. It's a real outlet...as in, the last stop before the trash so you have to check for holes, missing buttons, etc. I got some AMAZING deals. Like Gap pants for $7. Hubby got Banana Republic dress pants for $10. Best of all was a Gap winter coat for Mr. Intensity for $10.

Lexington's Children's Museum

We stopped at the Thoroughbred Park on the way to Lexington's Children's Museum.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this museum because Lexington isn't a huge city. The entrance fee was only $6/each and for another $25 Mom got a Grandparent Membership.

It was almost empty the day we went (Thursday afternoon) but we were told that Monday (MLK Day) was a zoo b.c the entrance fee was only $1.

The boys loved everything. I won't bore you with too many pictures. Above is a picture of "water play" and below is from the "bubble room."
Since Lexington is at the heart of horse country, there were plenty of horse exhibits including this one comparing heart sizes. Left to right: rat, human and horse heart.

The far and away favorite exhibit was the Kentucky River. The boys played here for a long time. They loved fiddling with the locks and pushing boats over the dam.

If you live in central KY with kids - or are looking for a pit stop along I-64 or I-75, I heartily recommend this museum.

One Crafty Place

Let me tell y'all about a new blog that you're going to add to your Reader: One Crafty Place. It's all the sweetness of a handmade childhood in one place.

If you've enjoyed The Crafty Crow, then you're gonna love One Crafty Place.

And to make the blog even better, Mr. Intensity and his momma were featured. *grin*

Bounty from Food Co-op

This morning our family made our inaugural visit to pick up our Bountiful Basket of  produce.  If you live in the Phoenix area, I highly recommend it; if you have any questions email me: luvmyhub at gmail dot com.

For $18.50 the bounty included:

5 tomatoes on the vine

9 oranges

5 pears

3 yellow squash

2 English cucumbers

4 artichokes

2 avocados

7 bananas

bunch of purple grapes

7 apples

head of lettuce (not pictured)

Once at the pick-up point, the warehouse manager had his own "specials."  For $6, I bought 12 half-pints of blackberries and 6 bags of pre-packaged lettuce for $0.33/each!  He had other specials, but I wanted to practice a bit of self-control so that I wouldn't have buyer's remorse later.  :)

What Are You Wishing For?

My techno-savvy friend, Rachael told me about a this website she's been using.  She has three small children and lives 2,000 miles from all the grandparents.  The generous grandparents often want to buy something for the kiddos, but because they hardly see the kids they don't really know what to purchase.

Wishpot.com is designed to keep up with all the "things" you're wishing for...yourself, your children, and even your hubby (if you want to make a list for him.)

How it works:

• sign up for an account at wishpot.com
• it automatically adds a widget to your web browser
• when you find something you can't live without, click the widget (while on the web page of the coveted item) and the item is added to your list!
• tell your friends/family that you have a wishpot.com account.  You can also set it as private.
• it will even import your Amazon.com wish list.  Careful, I had things on my wishpot list that had already been purchased from Amazon (I just deleted them.)

I've already added a few things to my list *hint hint.*  If you wanna see my list, just enter my email address:  luvmyhub [at] gmail [dot] com.  The biggest list is the one for Mr. Intensity.

Borax

Monday is the day I bless my house and family by cleaning. My newest favorite cleaning friend is borax.  It's inexpensive, natural and effective!

We have hard water, which means nasty mineral deposits around the faucets.  Last week, a friend of mine told her husband, "we need new toilets because I can't get the ring stain off the bowl and I've been scrubbing like a maniac."

Enter borax.  She's never heard of borax.  [Truthfully, I'd never used it until I bought it for making silly putty.]  I gave her some, told her to sprinkle 1/4 cup in the bowl, swish and wait 15 minutes.  Swish again and look for results.  She was amazed.

My borax is kept in a portable plastic container.  The box in which it comes can be a bit messy, when toting room to room.  The back of the box and this site list a host of multi-purpose uses.  

- laundry booster

- 1 T to dishwasher soap to fight water spots

- safe for fiberglass, enamel and even china

- deodorize garbage (or diaper!) pails

- neutralize odors from carpets or mattresses

- kills fleas & roaches

- drain opener.  At the beginning of the month, I try to remember to pour boiling water down my kitchen drain to clean it.

Eat Mor Chikin

Visit any participating Chick-fil-A restaurant wearing your favorite football team’s attire or logo on Labor Day, Sept. 1, 2008, from 10:30 a.m. until close and get one free order of the new Chick-n-Strips (3-count). Limit one order per person while supplies last. Here's the store locator.

Simple Pleasures

My sister emailed recently to tell me some of the things she loves, or more specifically, has been "splurging" on lately. It was fun to read her list: Kashi Cereal- Honey Almond Flax, Cliff Bar - Banana Bread, FUZE drink - Banana Colada.

My response: dark chocolate...everyday about 2pm when Mr. Intensity is having room time, so I don't have to share! Actually, he's been coming to me in the afternoon saying, "I haven't had my chocolate today, Momma..." as if eating chocolate every day is an inalienable right.

Besides chocolate, I've found another pleasure: this vegetable cellulose sponge from Trader Joe's. They come in a pack of 10 or so. Part of the novelty is that they're squished almost flat; when you put them in water, they grow HUGE. Mr. Intensity LOVES to watch them grow. They feel awesome in your hand. Anyone else tried them?

This sponge makes me want to wash every one of my dishes by hand. Just kidding. It's not that great. FYI - Usually I plop the sponge in the dishwasher at the end of the day to kill all the yummy germs.

Another recent scrumptious find is Triscuit's Fire Roasted Tomato crackers. Hubby likes them, too. He ate a whole box - by himself - in a matter of hours. They are so yummy. They're salty like chips but have fiber, so they're not empty calories.

Oh! I wanna share the love. Leave a comment and tell me one of your simple pleasures. On Saturday I'll pick a winner and mail a flat sponge to you (even if you don't live in the US). Make sure to leave contact information if you don't have a blog.

Warehouse Clearance

FamilyLife is having their annual Summer Warehouse Clearance. Get up to 80% off selected titles and resources.

There are so many books and resource they have discounted, I can't hightlight them all but some of the titles that I would recommend:

Don't Make Me Count to Three - one of my all time favorite parenting books. If you get the book, go ahead and get the Wise Words for Moms chart. You won't regret it.

What Heaven is Like - hardback for kids $7.80

The Squire & The Scroll (ages 3-11) the hardback picture book focuses on how to face dangers of temptation. Mr. Intensity loves this book...dragons, swords, bravery. I can't wait to do the devotional (for ages 6-11) with him.

The same author wrote a book book gals. The sweet purity story of The Princess and the Kiss there's also a companion devotional. One mom recently told me she did the devotional with her daughter and a group of girlfriends. This is a must buy book for little girls.

The Treasure Tree is a hardback book about 4 personalities and how they solve problems differently (lion, otter, beaver, golden retriever). I bought this book a loooong time ago and pulled it out just before we left to bring it with us. It's a new favorite. Mr. Intensity LOVES this book. We keep asking him which character he most identifies with (the lion) but he says a different one (except the lion!) each time.

Trusty is a hardback book about a faithful train with a cute rhyme and delightful illustrations. You won't find this at Amazon because the publisher is all about resurrecting really old books and reprinting them. Trusty isn't an old book (it's written by the president of Lamplighter Publisher) but it's a goodie - esp. if your son loves trains.

Hymns for a Kid's Heart is a book that I've mentioned before, that our church is using. We've greatly enjoyed it for family devotions at our house. There's a CD included in the book.

If you or your child struggles with anger, this is a good book. I'd never felt such intense anger before Mr. Intensity. I really enjoyed the book and discussed it with a group of mom friends.

Matthew was Adopted tells a story of the different ways and reasons kids are adopted. It's only $5 and would be a neat gift for a family who's planning to adopt.

Simply Romantic Nights - "24 Romantic Adventures" If you're stuck in a rut, it will help you with date night ideas for you & your man...very creative & steamy. :) You plan 12 and he plans 12.

Secret Keeper Girl - dates for moms and girls (8-12) - the focus is on modesty.

Boz the Bear DVDs - he's like a Christian Barney. I like Boz - he's one of the few DVDs that Mr. Intensity watches.

Resurrection Eggs for Easter. It's $8.69, which is 42% off retail. Benjamin's Box is a great hardback book to accompany the eggs.

and just for kicks - my hubby is the cover model for this book.

True Woman '08

Just made my hotel reservations for the True Woman conference. Take a look at the list of speakers I'll glean wisdom from in Chicago, October 9-11. It's gonna be very fun - three of my friends from PHX will join me there. Hopefully I'll be relocated to Little Rock by then but if not, Southwest flies to Chicago.

If you register before August 1, there's a $30 discount. Has anyone else already registered? I'd love to catch up with you in the Windy City!

Frosty for a Cause

Dads rock. And so does a Frosty over Father’s weekend (June 14-15). Why? Well, participating Wendy’s ® stores will be donating 50¢ of every Frosty product sold to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. The funds are vital to helping find permanent, loving families for children in foster care. So how about surprising your dad with a frosty and enjoy a good treat for a good cause?

Kids Eat Free

Wanna eat out for less? Go to this site and see which restaurants near you will let your kids eat free.

Playful Patterns

Buying toys are always a gamble at our house. Most day's he'd rather play with a rope, hammer, bungee cord or some other destructive material.

A few months ago I found Playful Patterns at a consignment shop and snatched it up. Although there are a million pieces, I took comfort knowing it didn't have batteries and make an annoying sound.

Inside the box are ~20 patterns with differing levels of complexity along with different colors of shapes made of foam.

Here he's working on a Robot (for R-week) and concentrating quite nicely.

Summer's Comin'

In Phoenix, the natives say there are two seasons: summer and summer's comin'.

Since we see so much flip-flop weather, I wanted to tell you about a must-have product when living in the desert: Micro-plane's Foot File. Last year I bought 3 of them. One went to my mother, the other to my mother-in-love, and the third went to my husband.

He has the worst feet of anyone I've ever seen. It makes me cringe to see his cracked heels and the roughness on the bottom. Please don't make me touch them *yuck.* However, if he's diligent to use the file (even for just a few minutes a day) he gets miraculous results in about a week. My mom has said the same thing. This foot file works better than any miracle cream. Pinky swear.

Last night I decided to use it a bit on my feet and noticed the blade felt a bit duller. Hubby said, "No wonder - you should see the dead stuff I shave off every night." OK - maybe I'm telling you too much about our private lives...

All that to say, if I were in the market for foot files, I'd buy the newest release from Micro-Plane. It has a replaceable cartridge and longer handle.