Places to Go (Vacation) - Schroon Lake, NY

As I mentioned on Wednesday, a few weeks ago we headed up to Schroon Lake, NY for my best friend's wedding. I thought I'd post some pictures of the house we stayed at. Simply lovely. Now all my husband talks about is "maybe someday we'll have a cottage on the lake." "Maybe someday" being the key part of that sentence.

Oh, regarding T's umbrella. He found it in the car and wouldn't let it out of his sight. Lately, he always has to have something to drag behind him - usually a blankie or a pull toy. But on vacation, he decided an umbrella was good enough.

And for those interested in visiting the Schroon Lake area, if you want to splurge a little, I can think of few things as wonderful as a weekend at this hotel.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be back on Monday.
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If you're looking for some fun stuff around the web -

*This is the funniest blog I've seen (plus it's a mom blog and it's local) - you have to read it.

*I've become quite the calendar snob over the past few years, so many great artists put out these wonderful homemade calendars that it seems sad to buy one of the Barnes and Noble ones. Decor8 has a "calendar round up" of the best of the best - click here.

*I know I can't afford to go to the same places on vacation that this family goes, but sometimes it's nice to dream (and the pictures are amazing) - check it out here.

Things to Read - Baby & Toddler Books

After three babies, I feel this is an area our family has developed some expertise in. Though each child had his/her own preferences, we've had a few sure fire hits over the last few years. (By the way, you can click on the image thumbnails to enter each book's amazon site).

Babies:


Babies love to touch and feel the pages. Usborne makes a whole series of "that's not" books (that's not my monster, that's not my princess, that's not my dragon, etc.) and all three of my children loved them (though they are repetitive so I wouldn't suggest buying the whole series). We like the monster because he's cute (and gender neutral), but all of them are fun.


All three kids loved this book - the flaps combined with the pictures of other babies make for a great "read." Plus, the flaps are secured pretty strongly, so the pages can tolerate some abuse (unlike pop up books, which babies can destroy in mere seconds).


As an adult, these "my first word books" are painfully boring. But babies really do like pointing to the pictures and listening to you say the words. Plus, every page of this book has something different to feel.


My mom bought this book for T and he can't stop looking at the pictures. I hate when people go on and on about the differences between boys and girls, but there really is something about little boys and construction equipment. They love it.

Stage 2: - These books have actual "plots" (minimal plots), so I think of them as stage 2 books. T still doesn't show any interest in story-type books, but by the time the girls were 1.5 years old, they loved it when we read to them.


This book makes a great transition from baby books to toddler books. Lots of stuff to pull and look at and feel, plus a minimal plot.



This is truly a classic. Before either of the girls could talk, we were reading this all the time because they loved practicing all the animal sounds. Plus, the rhymes are catchy (you can't go wrong with Dr. Seuss) so we never really minded reading it over and over and over again.


Sandra Boynton is the reigning queen of toddler books. But not the Hippopotamus is my favorite book of her's (I love the message of trying to include everyone), but all of them are quite good (esp. Belly Button Book (Boynton on Board), Moo Baa La La LaOne, Two, Three! (Boynton on Board). As an adult, they're fun to read, we missed them when the girls grew out of them. I've actually thought about writing Sandra Boynton a thank you note for making toddler literature so entertaining.


This is a great introduction to the alphabet and the sound of each letter. Each bunny sleeps in a different place (Able on a Table, Blair on a Chair, Carol in a barrel). Plus the pictures of the bunnies are really cute.

For more suggestions - Sew Liberated has a long list of her toddler's favorite books (we also enjoy Mama, Do You Love Me?)

What about everyone else? Any good toddler/baby book recommendations? (I've purposefully left Goodnight Moon Board Book & Bunny off the list, as most of you probably received at least three copies as shower gifts).

Places to Go (Vacation)- Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, PA)

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends celebrated her wedding in Schroon Lake, NY (close to Vermont) and she invited our whole family to attend. Of course, we were all thrilled, both that Jenny found love and that the wedding necessitated a trip to New England in the heart of fall (it's been a lifelong dream of mine to see New England's autumn foliage).

Jenny's wedding was beyond beautiful (the scenery didn't hurt) as was the house my family stayed at - friends of Jenny's parents loaned us their "cottage" on a lake - at night we cuddled under the trees, listened to the sound of the water, and gazed at every star in the sky.

On the drive back, we stopped at Longwood Gardens for the afternoon (right outside of Philadelphia). The immensity of Longwood managed to impress us all (we probably only saw about 1/4 of the property). The varied landscape includes: waterfalls, tree houses, a pumpkin patch (it's amazing how long my kids spent in the pumpkin patch, simply moving pumpkins from one spot to another), an outdoor kids' garden with fountains and a bumblebee chair (we missed the indoor children's garden, which is rumored to be wonderful), miniature trains, a castle, tons of fountains, and flowers (of course). We could have spent days there and not seen it all. The admission is somewhat pricey, but well-worth it. Check it out if you're ever in the area.


So T's becoming a blankie toddler, which is sort of like deja vu as F carried a pink version of the exact same blankie everywhere with her when she was his age.

Things to Make Tuesday - Construction Paper Ice Cream Cones

I'm not ordinarily a fan of "cutesy"-type art projects. First of all, I feel like the girls make enough of these at preschool. And, second, the girls become bored with them much faster than with free-form type projects (i.e. playdough, goo, painting pumpkins, etc.). But a few weeks ago, I was reading High Five magazine to the girls and it described how to make construction paper ice cream cones. We already had all the raw materials. And F REALLY wanted to make some, so I couldn't say no.

Luckily, construction paper ice cream cones ended up being a really easy project. For the ice cream, I used a cup to trace circles onto construction paper and then I let F cut them out. For the cones, I drew triangles onto brown construction paper (freeform, that's why they look so crooked). Then, F decided to make sprinkles on the ice cream scoops, using the Do-A-Dot Rainbow Art Set (Set of 6) of markers that a friend gave her for her birthday. The best part about the do-a-dot was that T could also use them, thus he felt "included." And, while the kids "created", I made dinner. Yes, I managed to make a whole dinner with no screaming, no crying, and no whining. So thank you very much High Five magazine. Thank you very much.

Things to Do - Trick or Treat

Happy Monday!! I hope everyone had a great Halloween. As for us, the princess wardrobe finally got some use. Sadly, T refused to wear his lion costume. Though it all worked out for the best -my husband had friends in from out of town and T seemed happier to watch football with the guys (and answer the doorbell) than to trick or treat with the big kids. Now what to do with all this candy . . .