Discovery Toys

A lot of blogs that I read have sponsors who give deals to readers of the blog. Well, I have no sponsor but I am involved in something that can benefit any readers out there.

I recently became an Educational Consultant for Discovery Toys. Discovery Toys is a great line of fun and educational toys. The toys are of very high quality and priced very competitively, if not less than what you find in the retail stores.

Since Christmas is around the corner and most people are beginning to make their gift-giving list, I am willing to give either 10 percent off your purchase or free shipping for an order of more than $50.

JillyBean has loved all of the toys she has played with from Discovery Toys. Here are her favorites:
Motor Works: This allows children to take three vehicles apart and put them back together. It comes with a battery-operated drill and a manual screwdriver. Jilly played with this at her friend's house and neither child could get enough of it. It is geared toward older children to operate on their own, but younger children still have fun with grown-up guidance.

Zingo: This is a twist on traditional Bingo. Each player gets a card with 12 pictures on it and must match all the tiles to get Zingo. The game is advertised for children ages 4 and older, but at two-and-a-half years old, JillyBean is already a pro. We play this quite a bit as a family and she has now requested taking it with us to the local coffee shop to play. I am considering getting a second game to keep in the car so that we will have it on hand when we go out to eat and need a little distraction to keep everyone happy while waiting for food to arrive.

Busy Bugs: This game uses different colored bugs to teach matching, sequencing, and early math. The first time I gave this to Jilly, she played with it for nearly an hour. In addition to playing it as a game, the bugs are fun to play with alone. If you're squeamish of bugs, Discovery Toys is offering this game with farm animals that is similar but focuses on letters instead of numbers.
Once Upon A Time: This cute little book allows the reader the opportunity to change up the story each time they read it allowing them to build their imagination. The book also comes in a version suitable for boys called Ahoy, Pirate Pete.

In addition to purchasing individual toys, Discovery Toys has created bundled toys for the holidays for $99. These bundles are great if you want to save money on several toys or if you have several children on your list. They're also great if you know that you are going to attend a few baby showers in the near future or if your child is in preschool and will be attending a lot of birthday parties. The Family Games bundle is great for older kids or to add to your family game night collection. I cannot offer a price break on these packages since they are already discounted, but will be happy to give you free shipping.

Please leave a message here to take advantage of my promotion.

Scary Good Cause

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I will have more about our plans later, but for now I want to spread some news.

Local photographer Dominique Attaway is going to be at Trailside Coffee (in Old Trail) taking photos of kids in their Halloween costumes from noon until 2 p.m. on Halloween. Each person will get a 4x6 picture of their child in exchange for a donation to HEAL Africa. Dominique says that whatever donation you feel comfortable with giving will be accepted; 100 percent of what she receives goes directly to the organization.

Dominique is an incredible photographer (she did some beautiful portraits of Jillian a year ago) and a very busy mom of three active boys, so the opportunity to tap into this amazing talent and help a worthy cause is the best Halloween treat you will get this year.

Consignment Time

It is hard to believe that fall is around the corner and that means that it's consignment season. The amazing Here Wee Grow Again sale begins Saturday, Sept. 26. In addition to providing a great place to shop for children's clothes, toys, and gear, this year's sale features Divine Consign, a consignment sale for women.

While I am very excited to be part of the sale again this season (this will make my third), I am a bit bummed by the timing. The deadline to get all of my items logged in the system is when we will be in Chicago and the sale begins while we are on our beach vacation. On one hand it's good because it has forced me to get started early. On the other hand it's bad because I won't be able to volunteer or participate in the pre-sale for volunteers and consignors. Hmmm...I bet BeanieDaddy would say that's a plus.

I started pulling out JillyBean's stuff this afternoon and am pleasantly surprised by how few things I felt the need to keep. I am getting much better at letting go, though there are still some items I feel the need to keep. I am also very happy that some of her clothes from last year will more than likely still fit this fall. That's why I love buying stuff from Mini Boden. They're sized in a way that she can get a couple of years out of most of the clothes so I don't feel so guilty spending what I spend there (though their sales are really great). Jilly's coveted pink jeans should still fit this year, which is a good thing because I haven't been able to find anything similar.

Wiggle Room

Another family friendly show is finally coming to the John Paul Jones Arena.

I am not a huge fan of The Wiggles, but apparently they put on a good show and the kids like them. The Australian group will be in Charlottesville on Wednesday, Aug. 26, as part of their Go Bananas tour. The Disney Channel recently changed up its morning line up and The Wiggles are now in a more premier morning slot. I can only think that change was made to help promote this new album and tour.

I first learned of The Wiggles when we lived in Houston. They came to Beanie Dad's building there and sold out two shows rather quickly. I don't know their appeal now, because the kids who saw those shows are probably the same whose parents pay thousands of dollars for Hannah Montana tickets today. It will be interesting to see how well this show sells. Maybe parents who have shelled out a few bucks for the U2, Metallica and/or Keith Urban concerts will be guilted into seeing this as well.