Crap Central

Wildman: raging ear infection

Cutie Pie: sick as a dog

J: sick and working ’round the clock

Camera: still broken

Halloween Party this evening: Not going

Weather: rainy

Me: praying to make it through this week

Chrismas Gift Ideas for Kids

Because my camera is so LAME and decided to die on me, I’m resorting to whatever photos I can pilfer from the Internet to complete this post.  *sigh*  I thought I’d share a few gift ideas that I’m planning for  Christmas 2008.  My boys are almost 4 and almost 2 and I can’t believe it.  Where’d my babies go?  I’m trying my best to be economical this year: one big Santa gift, a couple of smaller presents for under the tree and some little things for their stockings.  Last year was insane.  We had so many toys that I put some back for later in the year.  My boys also have December and January birthdays so this time of year brings all sorts of gifts.

First up, the Thomas trundle train table from All Aboard Toys!  How cool is this?  Cutie Pie is forever in Wildman’s room playing on his train table.  J and I figured he needed one of his own.  And the fact that it slides under the bed makes this one all the more awesome.  I got a really good deal on it last week.  It was on sale for $159.  I see it’s been marked up to $199.97 and is sold out.  Looks like a lot of parents were taking advantage of that sale.

I found this cute little playset from Toys R Us to go with it.  What’s the deal with the wooden Thomas stuff being so darn expensive?  And this is a relatively inexpensive one at $40.  Crazy.

I know I totally ragged on this last year…  But I’ve totally kind of changed my tune.  It seems the Bilibo seat is a hit with Cutie Pie.  They had them at Lab School a couple of weeks ago.  OMG!  I couldn’t get him off of them.  He kept saying “hat, hat” in reference to the Bilibos.  I’m getting one for each of my boys.  Wildman might be orange and Cutie Pie might be blue.  Although the green is nice too…  I’m pretty sure they’re going to be new favorites around here.

And because Wildman loooooves the weather… I’ve decided to get him this kit from Scientific Explorer.  He’s totally into the Doppler weather map on the computer.  He’s curious to see if green, yellow or red rain is heading our way.  He’s curious about hurricanes and tornadoes too.  I’m all for encouraging a love of science.

Ainsley and Oswald at Etsy.com is a great place for I Spy with my Little Eye bags for kids.  I purchased one of the bean bag games for my little cousin’s birthday.  It was a such a hit that I decided to pick one up for my boys for Christmas.  How cool are these?!  They are double stitched so the plastic filler doesn’t escape.  The list of treasures burried inside is laminated and attached to a little strap on the bag.  It’s a terrific toy for the car and for $18 it’s a great handmade gift idea!

Wildman is totally into trains too so I picked up this Geo Trax play set for him.  He’s also into bridges.  This playset has both so I’m expecting a very happy Wildman.

I want to make some gifts for my friends kids this year.  Homemade gifts are so much more meaningful, aren’t they?  I’m currently working on a bunch of felt boards and accessories.  Wildman already has one that I put together this summer.  He loves it.  It’s just like the one that they use at the library’s story time.  I wish I could show you a photo…

I’m also going to make batches of play dough in a rainbow of colors.  Then I’m going to wrap it like candy in clear plastic and ribbons.  I’m planning to attach a cookie cutter and the dough recipe.  This might be what Wildman takes for his preschool friends…  Again, I’d love to take a demo photo for you but, alas, no camera.

Stay tuned for a post about gift ideas for the adults in my life.  🙂

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Grrrr…

My camera is broken.  Saturday night it decided to have a major stroke and then on Sunday it died completely.  I have so many photos I want to share!  Boo at the Zoo, the awesome exploding album that Mel taught me how to make on Saturday night via webcam, the felt boards that I’m making for my friends’ kids this Christmas, not to mention the countless other random things I have photographed.  Crap!

I have this camera in blue (well, it’s almost that camera…  mine is 2-years-old).  My father-in-law also had a similar one.  His died the same way on their 3-week road trip around the U.S.  The camera shut itself off and the lens remained out.  I tried charging the battery on Saturday night when this first happened.  When I put the battery back in on Sunday morning the camera worked fine for a little while.  Then, poof!  It died again.  It hasn’t come back to life.  The lens is still out.  I’m so annoyed.

I need a new camera.  I hate camera shopping.  What’s a good point and shoot?  I’m over Sony I think.