Shopping, two toddlers, and a pretzel
November 10, 2008 by Laurie
Filed under Family news
So I decided that I needed to get milk and a few other things this morning from the grocery. Bubs has had a horrid diaper rash from the antibiotic he is on for his latest ear infection. So I get us all ready and out the door and up the street. I have twins, so the grocery store can sometimes be a challenge when you don’t have a cart to hold both of them. Usually they have these little bench carts available and stupid cars that have videos that you have to pay for, well not today… so I put Bubs in the seat part and Monkey in the basket, because I wasn’t buying too much.
I gave each of the boys a few of their favorite mini pretzel rods and off I went. Monkey decided to stand up and I am busy telling him to sit down when you guessed it…..he flopped right out of the cart and hit the floor. It scared the crud out of me, and well, when I got him up, underneath his eye was all bloody. He had fell and the pretzel cut his eye. So I leave the store and head home to see the damage and we decided to take him to urgent care. Thankfully he didn’t need stitches, but imagine me telling them that he got cut by his pretzel! Im just glad hes ok and I guess I will be paying for a cart next time when there are none of the free ones available. I think its crazy that more places don’t have these and the ones that do have them should have them in good repair. Half of them are broken! Im sure all the twin moms can relate!
Plan Toys
November 7, 2008 by Laurie
Filed under Holiday Guide 2008, Product Reviews, shopping
Their Vision
At Plan Toys their vision has been to create toys that inspire children’s imagination as well as promote their physical and intellectual development. They are also proving that it is possible to maintain superior quality standards while following a path of environmental and social responsibility.
About Plan Toys
Plan Toys is the first company to manufacture toys using wood from rubber trees that no longer provide latex. The trees grow to heights of 50 feet or more. The sap from the rubberwood tree is the world’s primary source of natural rubber. After about 25 years, the latex yield decreases and the trees are usually cut down and burned. Instead of wasting this valuable resource, they build their toys from the rubberwood which helps preserve the delicate balance of our eco system. There is no deforestation involved in the harvesting of rubberwood, as felled trees are replanted with new ones. Rubberwood is an eco-friendly, sustainable, high quality wood. The paper used in their packaging is recyclable which further reduces waste and our plants use state of the art solar energy. Our plants use state of the art solar energy and biomass (fuel from biodegradable organic material). This is pretty impressive! Not only because of the way they use these otherwise wasted trees but the fact that they can turn them into wonderful and safe toys.
I love toys that are of good quality and wooden ones at that. These toys almost always seem to stand the test of time and fair better than a lot of the mass market toys out there. I can remember as a child the wooden toys my grandmother had and she still had them when I was 28! I would much rather give the boys something simplistic that encourages the use of their imagination, than a toy that only has one function. I was given the chance to review Plan toys and I am impressed with their quality and most importantly their use of safe eco-friendly materials.
Plan Toys’ Stacking Tree ($20) is so cool! This stacking set is designed based on the concept of nature. Each wooden piece can be stacked to form different kinds of trees. Children can learn the color variation and size. I took it out of the box and the boys were instantly tugging at my pants saying “mommy play, mommy play.” Both of them went right to work taking the pieces off the spindle and re-stacking them how they saw fit. Monkey loves just spinning the pieces on the spindle, and stacking them as well. They loved doing this over and over and after I put it up earlier in the day, they went right back to it after they woke up. So far they have stacked according to color, and mixed it up, there is no right or wrong way for little imaginations.
We also go the opportunity to try Plan Toys redesigned 50 blocks ($20). The set contains
36 natural blocks and 14 colored blocks. These blocks encourage creativity, expands children’s thinking ability, and stimulates their imagination. These are the blocks that I remember as a child, and I spent many hours creating buildings and bridges, and stacking them over and over. Both Bubs and Monkey are huge fans of blocks and “building towers.” It is so much fun to watch them, because they get excited when they can stack blocks to make a tall tower. Bubs can be found in such deep concentration that you can see his little tongue sticking out…it is so fun to watch and see what they come up with.
Plan toys has a huge selection of unique and timeless toys to choose from. I have already started a list of things that I would like to get the boys. They would make great Christmas presents for a special little someone in your life and the prices are reasonable and the toys are well made. I give Plan toys the “Mommy Seal of Approval!”
I’m a bloggin fool, showing some bloggin love
November 7, 2008 by Laurie
Filed under Just for fun!
Thank you to Tanya over at Mommy Goggles for nominating me for this lovely award! I luv ya girlie, you are the best!
Here’s the scoop!
- Slap this baby up on your blog. Don’t be shy.
- Link to the giver
- Nominate up to seven other fab blogs.
- Post links to those super fly blogs your nominating.
- Leave messages for your recipients on their blogs…so they can feel as special as you do!
So her here are the blogs I pass this award on to.
1. Adventures in Mommyland
2. Frog in My Soup
One of those days
November 6, 2008 by Laurie
Filed under Family news
Did you ever just have one of those days where you just wanted to stay in bed and hide? Both of the boys are sick again and I am just beat. I was trying to get out a post here and just fell right to sleep. We are due to get ear tubes for Bubs next week and it appears he may have another ear infection. Neither one of them can breathe at the moment which makes sleeping next to impossible. Hopefully by tomorrow,I will be up and running again. When the bubbas are sick it seems the days get longer and I run out of gas a lot quicker. I feel like superwoman some days!
I voted today
Well, I stumbled out of bed at 5:30 am this morning to go up and get my vote in. It only took me 45 minutes but I am glad I got there early because about 15 minutes after I arrived the line wrapped the building. I stood in line amongst all the quiet people, and wondering who everyone was voting for. If you have ever been through an election it is usually not posh to talk about who you are voting for anyway. I wasn’t in the mood to talk as I was up about 3 hours earlier than I wanted to be, my hair standing on end, in my sweats, and out in the cold. Needless to say I was proud to wear my “I VOTED” sticker all day! I crashed with the boys in the afternoon for close to 3 hours! LOL I hope whoever is president knows what he is doing, I worry more now because this will effect my children. The world is a scary place!
Uno Flash!
November 3, 2008 by Laurie
Filed under Food & Recipes, Holiday Guide 2008, Product Reviews, shopping
I can remember playing the simple Uno card game as a child and I loved playing it with family on a Friday night. We would order in pizza, have special snacks and we would play all night. A few years back my husband and I bought Uno Attack, which was so much fun. You never knew if you would get a whole handful of cards thrown out at you on your turn. Sometimes I get so involved with my game that I would forget to yell out UNO! and well then id have to draw more cards!
Uno has been in the family for years, and I have always enjoyed the new takes on the game. Even still, just
the classic Uno game is still just as fun. So now there is Uno Flash!
About the game:
Forget everything you thought you knew about UNO! Clockwise? Counterclockwise? Nope; it’s totally random! This exciting electronic version selects who’s next, so you have to stay alert. Did you blink? Uh-oh, you missed your turn and time ran out. It’s the fast, crazy game that will keep you guessing, on your toes and raring to go. And just when you think you can relax and take a breath, you still need to remember to yell UNO. Requires 3 AA batteries, included. Retails for ($35).
This game is so much fun for anyone. The suggested age range is for ages 7-11 but Uno games are perfect for family game nights, as well as, for having friends over for mvie and cards. It is good wholesome fun that doesn’t involve the TV or anything high tech, which, as Mom, I love. It would be perfect for holiday giving this year and is definitely on my list! You can find Uno Flash at most retailers like Amazon.com or ToysRUs.
Crock Pot…Roast and veggies
November 2, 2008 by Laurie
Filed under Food & Recipes
One of my favorite all time meals is pot roast. I love to just toss it in the crock pot and let it go for the day and the smell from it just makes your mouth water. So I thought I would share with you my recipe for crock pot roast and veggies.
1 (2-3 pound eye of round roast)
2 TBS of olive oil
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 TBS of Worcestershire sauce
1 package of lipton beffy onion soup
32 oz of beef broth
1 can of sliced mushrooms undrained
3-4 med red potatoes
1 bag of baby carrots
Salt, onion powder, garlic powder to taste
I season the outside of the roast and then put the olive oil in a pan and brown the roast on all sides. I mix together the soups, broth, and worcestershire sauce, put the roast in the crock pot, and and dump the soup mixture on top and toss in the mushrooms. Turn the crock on high for 8-9 hours, and add your potatoes and carrots about 3 hours before the end of your cooking time and wahlah!! This is a great meal and the leftovers are just as good the next day!
Visit from Grampy
November 2, 2008 by Laurie
Filed under Family Fun, Family news
The boys are having such a fun time with their grampy and getting a little spoiled too. They just got a police car and a motorcycle. The only problem is that each one always wants what the other one has. It is so hard to teach a toddler the concept of sharing, and in fact it is almost impossible! Anyway we are enjoying our visit and the boys are enjoying someone new in the house to look at!
Prima Princessa Winner
Here is the official winner of the Prima Princess DVD giveaway here on Double Bugs. It is such a fantastic DVD you are sure to enjoy it with your special little someone.
Congratulations to Brian S. Winner of the Prima Princessa DVD!
Check back often for more fun giveaways here at DoubleBugs!!!




















