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The Honest Toddler & Signed Book Giveaway!

One individual I was very excited to see at MommyCon Minneapolis was Bunmi Laditan aka The Honest Toddler. I had been following her on Facebook, Twitter and had subscribed to her hilarious blog. She was even more funny in person!

The Honest Toddler does NOT hold anything back. She lays it out just as it is. It is amazing how many things she describes and explains hit so close to home. It seriously is a relief knowing that you are not the only parent out there dealing with all the things, with a toddler. As she explains, toddlers are entirely another species!

The Honest Toddler just recently published a book called Toddlers are A**holes. “Toddler a**holery is a normal part of human developmentā€”not unlike puberty, except this stage involves throwing food on the floor and taking swings at people who pay your way in life.”

toddlerareassholes

I just finished reading the book and loved it. I will give you a heads up … yes, you can relate to a LOT, but some of the things may be taken to an extreme. I have no doubt in my mind though, that there are parents out there that deal with these extremes! Honestly, any and every parent who has a toddler or has graduated out of the toddler stage (lucky you) can and will relate to this book!

I was able to get my hands on two signed books and am giving one away! All you need to do is …

  1. Comment below one crazy thing your toddler has done!
  2. Like” Midwest Mom & Wife on Facebook

I am really excited to hear all your crazy toddler stories šŸ™‚ I will announce a winner Saturday, May 23rd! Let the craziness begin …

Barnes & Noble Storytime

I just learned about Storytime at the local Barnes & Noble recently. Every so often Barnes & Noble will offer Storytime, usually a Friday evening , Saturday afternoon or various other days during the week. An employee reads a special book and sometimes, there is a craft to go along!

This past Friday was a very special holiday edition of Storytime and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was read! The kids dressed up in their holiday pajamas and sat around while the classic was read to them.

They even got their own little red nose, like Rudolph!

Afterwards they were able to decorate a special gingerbread man, drank milk and ate a cookie!

In the Barnes & Noble cafe, they were offering $1.00 hot cocoa during the Storytime period. With every item you purchased in the cafe (including hot cocoa) you received a very special Rudolph shortbread cookie!

Monte and Amelia had so much fun!

Barnes & Noble has two different locations in the Des Moines area. They offer Storytimes at various times through out the week. This is a great alternative then Storytime at the libraries. It’s a nice way to change it up! Check out the event calendars for each location below, to see when the next Story Time will be!

Have you ever attended Storytime at a Barnes & Noble location? What book did you hear?

Urbandale Public Library

It SNOWED this week! The first snow has really put me into the holiday spirit now. That’s probably a good thing, since a bunch of holiday events are already starting THIS WEEKEND!!

Since it was snowy and cold, we decided to check out the Urbandale Public Library. I am so happy we did, I have REALLY been missing out. We had a blast!

UrbandaleĀ Public Library

The main reason we went is for the Toddler Story Time! Every Monday, Tuesday and Friday they offer a special Toddler Story Time. Each week is a different theme. This week was Eric Carle where we read, sang and played different activities incorporating all of Eric Carle’s famous books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There is also story time offered Wednesday and Thursday’s, they are not toddler specific. They also offer story time for babies too! Check out the schedule here!

The Story Room is such a cute and fun area. There are windows with cute little loft areas where the kids can climb up into. There are large doors that are closed when story time begins, which I like because Monte sure does like to run sometimes! My favorite part was the cute, wooden chair that the story teller sits in šŸ™‚

We showed up a bit early, which is okay, because there is so much more then story time that is offered! We played on the computers for awhile, which were awesome! The computers are programmed for a certain age range. They have one computer specifically programed for ages 0-36 months! You can wear headphones, listen, and play along. Some of the screens are even touch-screen.

There are also building blocks, magna tiles, puppets, a coloring station and tons of books of course!

The Urbandale Library not only offers the fun story room, toys, books, DVD’s, CD’s, Chapter’s cafe, free wi-fi … they also offer some fun classes.

  • Lego Club
  • Reading Pals
  • Mothers & Others (great opportunity to meet some other mothers!)
  • Brown Bag
  • Minecraft
  • Tuesday Night Movie
  • Teen Yoga
  • Music Together
  • Science Sleuths
  • Teen Book Club

All of these things are FREE and most do not require registration, but make sure to check the calendar for details!

What is your favorite thing to do at the Urbandale Public Library?

 

Thanksgiving Crafts 2014

It’s November! Which means it’s time for fun turkey activities!

Last year we had lots of fun celebrating Thanksgiving …

1. We made Fall Scented Playdough. Which we used to make cute and fun turkeys!

2. I also made a trip to our local library and checked out a bunch of fall and turkey books! Here is a list of some festive books.

3.Ā Turkey Handprint Plate! I made one for us, that we will use for decor this Thanksgiving and also one for Monte’s grandparents. We had a lot of fun getting messy!

A few days ago, I made my way to Pinterest, of course, to find some new and fun turkey activities we could do this November! Here are some ideas, I hope we will get a chance to do …

1. Toilet paper roll turkeys! These look so easy to make and I have all the supplies. I have been saving toilet paper rolls for arts and crafts. This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of them!

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2. Another super easy turkey craft! Scrapbook paper turkey. This is another project I already have all the supplies for!

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3. Of course, you need a cute and fun festive snack!

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4. A cute craft that you can add to every year and can also be Thanksgiving decor, a turkey table runner.

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These are just a few of the projects and activities I came across. Check out my Thanksgiving Pinterest board for even MORE ideas!

What fun turkey projects and/or activities are you doing this year?

Midwest Mom & Wife Child Care

In my previous post, I mentioned how I started my own business. Midwest Mom & Wife is no longer just a blog, but a business also! I have many hopes and goals for this business, and I have Ā started offering child care.

I have started accepting part-time and/or drop-in daycare and I am so excited!

  • Cloth diaper friendly
  • Love to plan activities, but also allow free play
  • Enjoy fun trips and activities in the Des Moines area
  • Knowledgable with breast milk and breastfeeding
  • Love to baby wear (it’s a life saver)
  • Natural minded

Everywhere you turn, in our home, we have something kid-friendly and fun to do!

Upstairs, we have our reading and art “nook”. I have an easel set-up, a small rocking chair, and a basket of books. There is no TV in this area, so it’s a nice place to come and focus on reading, writing, drawing, painting, etc.

The kitchen is where all the messiness happens! This little area is where I keep our paints, play dough, markers, glue, etc. Usually, when we have a particularly messy project, we set-up here.

Downstairs is our “living area”. Off this area, is the play room. The play room is LOADED with lots of toys, train table, an enormous amount of books, puzzles, etc.

Outside! I like to spend as much time outside as possible, because once winter sets in, we don’t get out very often. I have been very blessed with a LARGE backyard. There are two fun areas to our yard …

This is the “natural scape”. There are tree stumps to climb on, a large tire full of sand and sand toys, and a plastic pool that I fill up with water for fun activities.

This area is our swing set and plastic slide area. As you can see, the whole thing is not covered with gravel, yet, so it’s easy to ride around on the tons of trucks and 4-wheeler toys we have.

I have so much to offer for your little ones and am very flexible on days and times.

Also, look for the Child Care tab at the top of the page to keep track of what I am accepting and adding!

Please contact me here for questions, more information, and pricing.