Toddler Toys That Get Played With

If you are like me, then your kids play room (or bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen) are all filled with random stray toys that just show up. The kids play with them for a few minutes (if that) then toss them and find something else to destroy play with .

I really did not realize how many toys these children of mine have until we moved into our new house. Boxes of them! Everywhere! Now the playroom is more of a hording room of toys strewn about than a room they actually play in!

Over the last years there are a few toys that stand out with my kids. Always enjoyed when played with and actually play with them over and over again.

Play Dough
I love to hate this stuff. My kids play and play with it and want to almost every day but me on the other hand, I cannot stand the feeling of it on my hands. I do not know anyone else who thinks that their hands feel gross while playing with it. 
The kids enjoy playing with mini dinos in it. Stamping the little feet into the dough and making foot prints. Cookie cutters are also a fun way we like to play. Rolling the dough is Logan's favourite part a while cutting shapes is Amelia's. I like to make play dough for the kids sometime just to mix it up a little. A super easy way is just to mix lotion with flour. It makes a pizza dough type dough that is stretchy.

Hot Wheels and Toy Trucks
I think you can never have enough Hot Wheels cars! They are so fun for the kids to play with in so many ways. A few things that we have done with them are car washes in the sink, ramps and slides made from cardboard and books, tunnels with toilet paper and paper towel rolls, parking garage with a box and markers, races to see which car goes father. So many ways, its incredible. You just have to use your imagination and the ways are endless.

Mega Blocks
Oh how Logan loves to build his towers! And oh how Amelia likes to knock them down. Logan could play for a long time with these. My husband has joked that since he loves them so much, maybe he will become an architect! That would be great! Making tunnels with these blocks and driving cars in them is also quite fun for the kids.

Dinosaurs
This my just be because of me and my love of dinos but my kids love to play with them. Its is also an educational game for the kids. Even if you do not know your dinos you can teach them about how some ate meat as carnivores and some here herbivores who only ate plants and trees. Logan loves the stegosaurus and his big 'pates' (plates) that were used as armor. Amelia is a raptor fan who likes to make it bite the other dinosaurs... a little scared there but proud she knows hes a meat eater!!

Pretend Play Kitchen Items.
Making soups and serving tea is also a fun activity for the kids. Pretend food, plastic plates, cutlery, and tea set can let them learn skills for later in life. As well as let them learn the love of cooking at an early age. Amelia received a Minnie Mouse tea set from Aunt Jules for her birthday this year, which she absolutely adores! She sets it all up and serves tea to us all as well as her stuffed bunny! 

Wooden Train Set 
This is one toy that is a Logan only toy. Amelia doesn't care much for playing trains. Logan loves building tracks all around his room and chugging his trains along them. The bridge is his most favourite part! This can be an expensive toy to buy new. Thankfully, I struck gold at a garage sale this summer where I picked up an entire full piece for only $4!

The Kitchen Sink
This is something that my kids LOVE to do. Fill up the kitchen sink with water and soap and play with anything they can put in there. Cups, spoons, plastic toys, bowls, bath toys, pretty much anything. Pouring water is apparently the most wonderful thing to do. I on the other hand enjoy how much they love it but I do not like having to clean up the spilled ocean of water on the counter and floor as well as the fight from telling them its no longer time to play in the sink.

Honorable Mentions

Stuffed Animals.
Many parents that I know do not like when their kids receive stuffed animals as gifts because they pile up in no time flat! I know that we have so many too but my kids have a certain few that they sleep with every night and a few more that are played with quite often.


Baby Dolls.
I let BOTH my kids play with baby dolls. I think it is fine for a boy as much as a girl to play with them. It promotes nurturing and love. There is no reason a boy should not be allowed to play daddy!


Ninja Turtles.
Another item here that has probably been installed in them by mommy and daddys love for ninja turtles! The kids love playing with them alone as well as with mommy and daddy. Especially in the turtle van from the 1980s

Does your child have a favourite toy that I have listed here? Why do they like to play with it?

What other toys are replay value with your children? Let us know in the comments!

By Mommy Melissa

Pinterest Challenge: Make Your Own Paint

So this picture has been floating around Pinterest and Facebook, so I figure, I have a toddler why not give it a try! We had all the ingredients already at home, and it is a cheap way for the fun to last.

I made it exactly the way the recipe says above and it was way to thick, I had to almost double the water. It looked like paint, so we gave it a try on some paper. For the most part the paint did what it was suppose, make pretty colors on the paper, but afterwards once the paint dried it was easy to peel off and started crumbling. I had to throw his paintings away. It's fun for toddlers who just want to paint in the moment and don't really care about the result.

Do you have another paint recipe we can try? 

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA

Have you heard of Shutterfly?

Last year about this time a friend of mine was telling me about this great website where she goes to get all here pictures printed, and of course the picture fanatic that I am I immediately had to check it out! Now I am in love, I have ordered so many things from this website, from prints, to cards, mugs, magnets, there are just so many things you can create with you precious moments! The best part is, once you sign up  you get 50 free prints! So I invite you all to check out Shutterfly, it definitely makes great affordable presents for the special people in your life.

                        Christmas Card                                                                                         Magnets

So I invite you all to check it out and put your memories on display :) Visit www.shutterfly.com

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA

Renew Intensive Care Therapy - Product Review

Back in action! February is going to be a new start for 3 Mommies! Bringing more posts and fun activities!

Lets starts off with a review of what is now one of my favourite products!

I am prone to chapped hands which is usually caused by not properly drying hands off after contact with water.  Since I am a bit of an excessive hand washer, it happens to me often. The most in the end of fall, all winter and the beginning of spring. I have searched a long time for a lotion that would make it go away and not sting like a bitch when I applied it. From ones that promise soft silky hands to fragrance free, even one prescribed by a doctor. Nothing ever seemed to work well. 

Then I was given a free sample of a life changing miracle worker!

Renew Intensive Skin Therapy moisturizing lotion from Melaleuca.

It. Is. Great. No other lotion I have ever used worked like this. My chapped hands which were cracked and bleeding at that point were soft the next morning. I am not exaggerating. Its that good. Even on Logan's face where he gets eczema was soft when I applied it.

The lotion is a thinner consistency letting you use less. Plus it absorbs very quickly into your skin letting you get back to life without leaving a layer of lotion on anything you touch!

Some lotions which claim to be fragrance free, at times have what I find to be a hospital smell to them. This lotion has almost no smell to it at all.

There is one downside to this product. The price. I can honestly say I have never (ever) paid this much for a 8 fl oz bottle of freaking lotion! Insert that saying 'you get what you pay for' here! It is worth it. And I will do it again when this bottle is finished.

So to finish this post off, this lotion is a 4.5 stars for me. That 0.5 going to the price. Its wonderful and I would (and do) suggest it to everyone.

Have you tried this lotion? What did you think of it?

By Mommy Melissa

Logan the Little Artist

My two year old son is an artist. His favourite medium to work with? Well that would have to be Sharpie markers and white walls! He even dabbled a bit with a gold marker on my counter top!
First of all I would like to say that I have no freaking idea where he found them! I keep them on my book shelf way out of reach. But one morning he hopped out of his crib and started his masterpiece!
After trying to wash it with a dish cloth and dish soap, nothing came off. I asked the great and powerful Google what to do. There were people with all different ideas from nail polish remove, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, alcohol, acetone, and magic eraser.

Nail polish remover, nothing.
Disinfectant wipes, nothing.
Hand sanitizer, nothing.
At this point I was getting worried.
Alcohol, nothing.
Acetone, what the heck is that? Skipped that one!
Magic eraser. I had to go to the store to buy it because I did not have one! But am I glad I did! That thing worked wonders! Took it off no problem! The walls took a bit more effort but in the end it all came off.

Look its all gone!!

The power of the eraser!!

I am just so thankful to have gotten it off the walls! The moral of the story? I need to buy more magic eraser and keep my budding artist away from markers!!

Have your kids done anything like this? Tell us your story, we would love to hear it!

By Mommy Melissa

The Cleaning Power of Baking Soda

Everyone knows that baking soda is great at keeping refrigerators smelling fresh. But when it comes to cleaning, baking soda is a miracle worker!

James decided one day, he was going to try and make clove oil (lord knows why). He had no clue what he was doing but he saw it on YouTube so it couldn't be that hard... a black pot and a house smelling of burnt cloves later he tells me he might have done it wrong and will have to throw away my pot. I was mad! The pots I use are the best! They were my mom and dads, which they bought many, many years ago. I would not believe it was trash. I WOULD fix it! With a little effort and baking soda.

Check out his handy work!

You can see the burnt coming off

Almost good as new! 

First you will need to collect a sponge and baking soda. Pour a generous amount into the pot and scrub your heart out! It will take some elbow grease but its worth the effort. Give it a good wash down and good as new! Since the clove smell was very prominent, I boiled some water and vinegar in the pot for a few minutes then scrubbed it down again and the smell was gone.

James gets to live another day, thanks to the cleaning power of Baking Soda!

Works great to remove tea stains from mugs too!

by Mommy Melissa

Tiny Outfits

If your new to the mom world and just had a little boy, you will soon realize it can be tough finding cute clothes for your little one, I find that most stores cater to the girls more so than boys. It's sometimes hard to find something adorable at a reasonable price. Then I came across Old Navy's Baby/Child selection, there clothes are unique and at a way reasonable price! I know with it cooling down out there you might need to restock on some fall/winter attire, check out Old Navy! Here are just some of my favs currently:

If you like what you see and would like to see more, visit Old Navy!

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA

Buncha Farmers All Natural Stain Remover - Product Review

Awhile back while I was visiting with my mom, I purchased Buncha Farmers all natural 100% biodegradable stain remover stick. It claims to remove grass, grease, blood, red wine, ink, berry juice, ketchup and so much more. For $2.95 plus tax and that claim, I bought two!

So about the stick itself. It smells very nice. Its a nice fresh and clean smell with a little hint of beeswax. You need to wet it first then rub it directly onto the stain. It gets fairly slimy so it needs to be held tight! I found that after the first use, the paper its wrapped in is no longer needed. It gets all ripped up if you left it on like I did! or you will need to let the bar fully dry before putting it back on (but who has time for that?). Then toss it right into the washing machine and was as per usual. 

I decided to first use it on a couple little stains here and there and it worked wonders. Took them off no problem! Even red Popsicles came out in one wash. 

Red popsicle drippings on Logan's jammies

Fresh out of the dryer with no stain!

So then came the real test. Will it take out set in stains?

No, the answer is no. It does however, lighten them. I used it on one of Amelia's sleepers that was not washed right away. It had a (big) stain made from feeding her carrots. I used the stick, washed it, checked it, used the stick again. Washed it, checked it, used the stick again. Washed it, checked it, gave up and dried it. The stain is not as prominent now but its still there.

The carrot stain! 

After wash one

After wash two

After three, I gave up.

As you can see, the stain did fade quite a bit but its not gone. Still better than it started, thats for sure!

I have not tried it on red wine, but my neighbor has and it did not work either. It was used right after the spill happened but it did not work. Her shirt was ruined and to make it worse, it was brand new! 

I give Buncha Farmers Stain Remover Stick a B+ for new stains and a C+ on set in ones. It works great if the stain is new and not red wine. I think it would be a great review to do over again with all seven of the stains causers listed on the paper. Maybe I will just have to try it out. Well, maybe not the blood... I don't want to have to cut myself for a review!! 

Have you used this item before? Let us know how it worked for you.

By Mommy Melissa

Baby Boo Bear Boutique - Wristlett Chewelry Review

Isn't it beautiful!? 

I as well have received a very exciting item in the mail a few days ago! My Wristlett Chewlery from Baby Boo Bear Boutique! I had been waiting for it after I found out that both Jenn and Olivia received theirs. When was mine going to come!? Well it came a few days ago and I have to say, wow! The very first thing I thought was how the colours were so bright and cheerful I love yellow and purple, and the flower design is very fun and lively. I then looked at how it was made and what it was made from. I know from Baby Boo Bear's page that the material is Rhapsody Lemon, Organic Cotton (super cute!) and that after each knot there is a bead made from unfinished natural wooden bead, covered with the organic cotton. The end ribbon is securely attached and very resilient. I pulled and pulled with not a budge! I tried it on and it fits very nice and it easy to wear.

As soon as Amelia had the wristlett in her hand, she threw it back at me and laughed her little bum off! She is in the trowing stage right now so I gave it back to her. Then it when right in her mouth. She is cutting a top tooth right now on the right side and that is where she had it. She chewed on it for a while which is surprising for me because she was never one who liked to chew on teethers! I think she liked the feeling of the hard bead with the soft fabric on top. She really also enjoys chewing on the ribbon. After she was done playing with it and off to go terrorize the cat, I picked it up and it was soaked in drool! She must have really liked it for her to have chewed that much on it! The chewlery was very easy to clean. I just hand washed it in the sink with dish soap, rinsed it very well, and hung it up to dry. 

Another use for it that I found was on Amelia's high chair there is a small hole where a toy clips onto it. I tied the ribbon to the hole and tied one of her small toys to it. This way she was still able to play with it and not keep throwing it off every two seconds!

Amelia lovin her chewlery!

Overall I am very pleased with the Chewlery Wristlett. Its very practical, well made and very safe for baby! Most of all, Amelia really enjoys it! A lot! I am thinking of buying a teether from the boutique soon!

Don't foget to keep updated here as the Baby Boo Bear and 3Mommies giveaway is still in the works so stay tuned!

Check out her Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/babyboobearboutique 

And follow her on Twitter here @adventuresbabyb

Baby Boo Bear Boutique - Clippy Chew Review

A few days ago I received a clippy chew from Baby Boo Bear Boutique to review. I've been super excited to see it in my mailbox and even more excited for my little product tester, baby Jax, to try it out.

The first thing I did upon taking it out of the package (since Jax was sleeping) was visually inspect. The chewie I received consists of a natural birch wood ring for teething/chewing on, and a length of beads made of the same wood, with 100% organic cotton in a black and grey pattern knotted around them. At the opposite end of the fabric to the ring there is an alligator clip, and the clip and ring are attached with silver ribbon. The stitching and ribbon seem very durable, I did some serious tugging to test the strength and I feel certain that my little guy will never be able to rip it apart. I like the style of clip used, as the teeth are rubber, not metal, and the top part of the clip comes out further than the teeth, so it poses much less of a pinching hazard. Definitely a bonus when your kid grabs at everything within range.

Now for the real test, does Jax like it?

It predictably took a split second upon handing him the chewie for him to shove it in his mouth. The beads must feel amazing on gums, because he was chomping away contentedly. The wooden ring is just the right size for tiny little hands to hold on to, and once he noticed it and tried it out, he loved it too. It was pretty funny to watch, he wasn't too sure about it at first, and gave it a few little licks with a confused look on his face. He's never used a wooden teether before, I mainly give him frozen fruit in a mesh feeder or my finger, so I think the texture was strange to him. He got over that quickly though, and now whenever I have it clipped onto his shirt, he goes right for that ring. I have to say, it's a welcome break for my poor fingers! He doesn't seem to like squishy things to gnaw on, so the wood is perfect. I have so many different teethers, from vibrating teethers, to plain nubby rubber ones, to the world famous Sophie, and out of them all, this one has seen the most chew time from Jax. I think that alone says more than I ever could about how wonderful this product is, and how it's not necessary to spend big bucks on some questionable plastic thing.

Here are a few pictures of Jax and his chewie:

Head on over to her Facebook store and browse the selection of baby products. After such a great experience with the clippy chew I received, I'm planning on ordering a wristlet in the near future. Not only are the functional, they're super cute too!

A giveaway from Baby Boo Bear Boutique and 3 Mommies is in the works, stay tuned for more details!

Product Review: Baby Boo Bear Teether

Recently 3mommies was contacted by a great little boutique that designs Jewelry that your baby can chew! (and other unique homemade gifts) How great is that? I can't tell you how many times Noah has grabbed my necklace and started chewing on it. This is a great accessory for on the go, because guess what? It won't fall if it's attached to you (or the baby)! She also has a number of other products, such as teethers and burp clothes. These unique gifts are one of a kind and made from all organic materials, so that means not made with nasty chemicals you can't pronounce!

When I first gave Noah his teether he immediately licked it (of course) and then proceeded to chew. I think he likes the way it's made out of wood and not that chemical filled plastic all our teething rings are made of. I'm always so afraid of him punching a hole through them and him getting to the poison- I always kept a close watch with those, but I don't have to worry with this teether! This item is made from all natural birch wood, so I know he won't be ingesting anything toxic.

Check our her Facebook page HERE and take a gander for yourself.

We will be doing a giveaway soon of her lovely products so stay tuned!

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA

Tide Pods, a Review

I purchased some Tide Pods awhile back and was pretty disappointed. I found that when I washed my clothes with them, they would sometimes get stuck in a garment and just stick to it in one spot like glue. It happened a few times, not just once. It never ruined the clothes, just made them very sticky and had to rewash them several times for the mess to come off. I never really noticed it until I would be folding the clothes and find one. After it had been dried it stuck even worse to the clothes.

Here is a picture of (my ever so beautiful nigh gown!) that the pod became glued to after a wash and dry

 I contacted Tide from their webpage and the customer service was great! They wrote me back right away giving me tips to have this not happen again. I could have been over stuffing the loads causing the pod to get wrapped tightly in a piece of clothing. I was also given a coupon in the mail to use towards a new purchase of the Tide Pods which was a bonus for sure!

The times (that were more than the bad ones) that it worked properly, the clothes smelled great and were very clean! They are so convenient to just toss into a load with no measuring liquid or powder, the neat little jug takes up less room than the large jugs or liquid detergent. And you have to admit, these little things look so darn cute!  I don't know about you but I just always want to squeeze them!!!

Have you tried them out yet? Have you had the same problem with them or a different one? Let us know, we would like to hear from you.

Healthy Snacks on the go!