Melissa and Doug Unit Blocks...50% Off!!!!

Melissa and Doug Unit Blocks are 50% off today at Amazon!  These are some of the BEST toys ever, and every child should have a set!!!  We've had our blocks for about 6 years, and both girls still LOVE them.  I'm tempted to buy another set since this is such a great deal :)

Links to Amazon are affiliate links.  Thank you for supporting Chasing Cheerios. 

Cash Register for Kids

Our girls and all of their friends LOVE this cash register!  My dad gave the girls this cash register for Christmas 2 years ago, and it is one of the most played with toys that they have.  Kids of all ages (from 1 to about 10 years old) seem to just gravitate towards this cash register  when they come over to play.


We use the cash register in our school room for math.  It has several built in games that are great for learning to identify coins and to practice addition and subtraction.


Both of our girls had movie night sleepover parties for their birthdays this year, and we used this cash register in the concession stands.  Setting up the concession stands and "selling" the treats was their favorite part of both parties.   Being able to use the cash register was a pretty big deal, and most of the kids wanted a chance to run the concession stand.  Fun times!

Links to Amazon are affiliate links.  Thank you for supporting Chasing Cheerios. 

Goobi Magnetic Construction Set

Since it's almost Christmas, I thought I would highlight a few of our favorite toys over the next few weeks...

The girls received a Goobi Magnetic Construction Set for Christmas from their grandparents last year, and they LOVE them!  They build and create with them several times per week.



They love to make stars...





and houses.






It's fun to make spinners and then spin them as fast as possible.






My girls and I highly recommend the Goobi Magnetic Construction Set.  It's a little pricey, but definitely worth the money as I'm sure they'll be playing with them for years.  The pieces are so durable that, as long as we don't lose the pieces, the set will be around for my grandkids :)

Links to Amazon are affiliate links.  Thank you for supporting Chasing Cheerios. 

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the winners of the PURE goodies!  You've been commented via reply in the comments section of this blog.  I hope you enjoy your goodies!

PURE Review and Giveaway!!!!

I recently purchased several Pure products, and we all really love them.  I've stopped accepting items for review, but I asked if I could review these products since I love them so much.  In addition to using the Pure products, the girls and I got to help pour and stir to make a few things!  It was so much fun, and the girls were proud to help.


After helping mix and pour to make lavender/lime lotion bars, we made our purchases.  O(7) brought her own money and was proud to buy a vanilla scented lotion bar and several bars of soap.  We also bought lavender and sweet orange liquid soap.  We bought several bars of soap, and we had Amy (co-owner of PURE) save 5 of the lavender/lime lotion bars for us to buy and give as gifts to our family and friends for Christmas.


Here is a description of the liquid soap from the PURE website...

"Enjoy all the benefits of natural, moisturizing, handmade soap in a liquid form.  Great for guests, or restrooms in public locales – Or just for those who prefer the liquid option!  This soap is gentle, highly cleansing, and great for your skin.  Made with Olive and Coconut oils, and Potassium Hydroxide.  Vegetable glycerin is added to enhance the moisturizing properties of this soap.  This soap is extra emollient, moisturizing and great for dry or problem skin. A naturally derived preservative which is ECOCERT approved for organic use is added to extend the shelf life of your soap and ensure the best quality product available. Try it once and you’ll never go back to “store bought” liquid soap!"



"PURE handmade artisan soaps and skincare products are made in small batches using only nature’s purest ingredients including sustainable, plant based oils and butters, locally sourced beeswax, all natural micas, clays and botanical additives and essential oils. Our products are tested on each other- not animals."



"We buy as many supplies locally as possible and are always on the lookout for great local ingredients. We love to recycle and encourage customers to reuse their containers by offering them a discount when they bring their package back to be refilled. PURE products are free of synthetic colors, fragrances and chemicals so they won’t compromise our water system, lakes or rivers. All natural ingredients mean a luxurious product that leaves skin soft, moisturized and healthy."

Since we don't use artificially scented soaps and lotions in our house, it is nice to be able to use scented products without all the nasty chemicals.  Our girls love scented lotion and soap, so they are thrilled that they are finally able to use these things :)

I plan to purchase most of my Christmas gifts for our family and friends from the Pure website, and I'm so excited about that!  I love that I'll be supporting hard working, kind individuals who are making a great natural product that is healthy for my family.  


We have been using the lotion bar on the 2 stubborn spots of excema on E(4)'s cheeks, and it seems to be helping.  The best part is that she LOVES it!  She used to wipe the excema lotion off her face, but she loves it when I put the lotion bar on her cheeks. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm planning to buy the healing balm to use for both of our girls.  


Here is more about the lotion bars from the PURE website...

"A solid long-lasting lotion push up bar, 100% intense moisture protection for your skin, no water or drying additives. Contains unrefined beeswax, grapeseed oil, shea butter, mango butter, avocado butter, non-GMO corn starch, Vitamin E and essential oils. Rub into your palm and spread on or apply just where you need it. (No liquids to worry about in the airport!)"

O(7) and E(4) LOVE lip balm, but I don't like for them to use products with chemicals and additives in them.  I'm planning to buy each of them several tubes of PURE lip balm that I'll wrap and hide in our Christmas tree for them to find on Christmas morning.  Here is a description of the lip balm from Pure...

"A smooth, luxurious lip balm that seals in moisture and protects from the elements. Made with all natural butters, grapeseed oil, locally sourced unrefined beeswax, stevia based sweetener and essential oil. Contains no additives that dry your lips."

Now, here's the fun part...go to the Pure website and take a look around.  Come back to Chasing Cheerios and leave a comment telling me what your favorite Pure item is, and that will enter you into the giveaway.  Then go to the Pure Facebook page and like it.  Come back to Chasing Cheerios and tell me that you liked the Pure Facebook, and you will be entered for a second chance in the giveaway.  Two numbers will be drawn randomly on the night of Friday, November 22.  The first winner will receive their choice of a bar of soap and a soap deck.  The second winner will receive their choice of lip balm and a lotion bar.  

This review reflects my honest opinion.  I was not paid or given items in exchange for this review.

Upcoming Review AND Giveaway!!!

We LOVE the PURE products, and I think you will, too!!!  Check back later in the week for a review and giveaway.

We Love Word Fun!

We love this book!  Word Fun is a fun book that is a great compliment to O(6)'s grammar book, First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind.  

We have fun reading a section or 2 of this book during breakfast or lunch each day.  After reading each section, we have fun playing the games.   This book covers nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, interjections, and propositions.

This is a great book for first and second graders, and E(3) also loves it and has learned so much from it.

Becky- I think Sadie will love this book as much as O and E do!

Links to Amazon are affiliate links.  Thank you for supporting Chasing Cheerios. 

Color Your Costume

E(3) chose this color your costume set as her souvenir from the New Orleans Art Museum, and we have had so much fun coloring it together!

The girls and I spent at least 3 or 4 days working on this costume.  Luckily, we all love to color :)

The markers didn't last long, but luckily we had extra fabric markers in our craft bin.  Once those started running out, I bought a new box of fabric markers...it takes a lot of ink to color this costume!
The girls haven't worn this costume much since they finished coloring it, but I'm sure they will eventually.  It was well worth the money because it provided us with many hours of family fun whether they wear it or not :)

I searched around and found a website that sells these costumes...here it is.  I love the geisha costume, so I'm fairly certain that one of my little loves will be getting it for her birthday :)

Valentine's Paper Dolls

I'm so excited about the Valentine's paper dolls from Lily and Thistle that we are giving our girls for this special day!  I realized that the paper dolls would be the perfect activity for a Valentine's party with their friends, so they'll be getting them a little early....pics to be added after the party.  (I wanted to post this now so that you would have time to by your own set for your sweeties!).

Click here to go to the paper dolls.  I'm especially excited about the included subscription for the Outfit of the Month club (Around the World)!

Spark Super Story Starters

Here is the promised review of Spark! Super Story Starters...

Both of our girls have really enjoyed coming up with stories based on the questions and pictures from these cards.  I was surprised when E(3) was so eager to participate (since she would only copy O's stories with our other Spark! cards).








A few days ago during our school time, I chose a card and asked O(6) to draw a picture story based on the question on the card.  I was surprised to see that she decided to copy the question.  This child detested writing of any kind just a few months ago, but now she is self-assigning herself copywork with more and more frequency.



She then took the card and her paper to the light box, so that she could trace the fairy onto her paper. She loved tracing the fairy, and she was VERY proud of the end result.




After she finished tracing the fairy, she drew a purple giraffe.

She told a story to go along with her picture...I wish I'd recorded or written down her story.  It was short, but sweet.  O really loved this activity, and I'm looking forward to using these cards to set up various "works" for the girls in our new school room.