Thursday, May 23, 2019

My Favorite Melissa and Doug Toys

In  this post I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite brands for toys- Melissa and Doug. 

With  this brand they use kid friendly wood in their products and also use magnets and velcro making it easy and fun to play with. I like it because it helps kids be able to pretend and have fun. I'll tell you about some of the toys we like.

  First, it's the Melissa and Doug Slice and Bake Set. In this set it comes with: 12 wooden cookies,12 toppings, knife, spatula, cookie sheet, and kitchen mitt. They store in a cardboard tube and have velcro so the toppings can go on the cookies and the cookies can stick to the cookie sheet. It is for kids ages 3+.


  This product is the Melissa and Doug Pizza. This pizza has six wooden pieces of pizza that have velcro so they can easily be topped. It has more than 50 toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms and  peppers). And comes with a pizza cutter, spatula and stores neatly in a wooden box.


 Next, Melissa and Doug Ice Cream Set. (This one is magnetic). This set comes with 4 scoops of ice cream (mint chip, chocolate,vanilla and strawberry), 2 wooden ice cream cones, 2 ice cream scoops and the ice cream stores in a nice ice cream box. The scoops are magnetic so they can really "scoop" the ice cream. the ice cream is magnetic too, and it can stay on the ice cream cone. This one is my favorite Melissa and Doug toy.


 Melissa and Doug also makes nice hot mitts in some of their food sets like the cookie one. They go well with the cooking and baking themes.


 These are some Pots and Pans for pretend kitchen play. They are metal and have nice lids that match. They are very fun and kids will love these. They also help kids pretend to cook, which is good practice for later years.


Melissa and Doug makes very nice sticker pads for Boys and Girls and some of the stickers are reusable which is nice for kids who want to change up their scene every time.Those ones are for older kids because they are not fluffy and there are more stickers. These ones are the ones for younger kids because they are fluffy and easy to grab. You can order the Boy and Girl stickers at the links.

One of my brothers likes the "Make A Meal" Sticker pad. They make all kinds of stickers from Vehicles to a House theme.

One product for preschoolers is a  magnetic doll that they make for boys and another one for girls. They come with some sets of magnetic clothes that you can put on. It is a good thing to keep your young ones occupied.

There is also a Cupcake Set. It comes with 4 wooden cupcakes, 4 cupcake liners, 4 wooden cupcake frostings, 4 candles, baking tray, hot mitt and 3 markers to decorate them. It's nice because you can wipe off the "frosting" when you are done with and damp paper towel.

One of the sets we have is this Tea Set. It comes with six different colored tea bags with a thing to put them in, creamer, a tea pot, hot pad, two cookies and two spoons.

The last one is a Coffee Set. It comes with a coffee order, milk, sugar, two coffee mugs, three different kinds of coffee and a coffee maker.

 If you want to learn more about these products you can go online to amazon or MelissaandDoug.com. I hope this was helpful!


Warmly,

Sweet Sunshine




*This post contains affiliate links.

















                                                                  

Top 10 Favorite Books For Kids

Today I would like to share with you 10 of my family's favorite books for kids. 

Enjoy!


Girls:
Grandma's Attic
 On Yonder Mountain
Costumes and Criminals


 Boys:
The Unofficial Lego Technic Builder's Guide
Lego Technic Cars, Trucks, Robots and More



Boys and Girls: 
Boxcar Children
Christian Heroes Then and Now
Heroes of History 
Cul-de-sac Kids
Roxaboxen 



I hope you found a book that you like. Maybe they could go on a child's wish list. 

Warmly, 

Sweet Sunshine

How To Dye Your Easter Eggs A Better Way

For about two years now we have been dying our Easter eggs a natural way. Today I would like to share with you how you can do the same. We started eating healthy about 5-6 years ago and we realized that dyes are not good for you and we didn't want those on our eggs that we were going to eat. 


Here's how you can dye your eggs the natural way :

First, Hard boil your eggs. Put your eggs in a pan of cold water. Bring them to a boil and  let them simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the hot water, then pour over your eggs for 2 minutes. 

Next, make the dyes. These are the ones we did, but go ahead and be creative and make up your own dyes if you want. After you make the dyes, soak your eggs in them until they are your desired color. Here's how to make your dyes:


Yellow: Mix together 6T of Turmeric, 1 T of vinegar and 4 cups of hot water. Stir until mixed well.

Blue: Put one head of purple cabbage into 4 cups of boiling water. Mix in 1T of white vinegar and simmer for 25 minutes. Take out the cabbage with a slotted spoon. 

Orange: Place the skins from 6 onions into a bowl along with 3 cups of boiling water. Mix in 1 T of white vinegar and simmer for 20 minutes. Separate the peels from the liquid using a strainer. For this color we saved the onion skins for a few days since dying the eggs. 

Pink: Put 4-6 beets in 4 cups of boiling water. Add 1T of white vinegar. Simmer for 25 minutes. Take out the beets with a slotted spoon.

Green: This one is the easiest. All you have to do is once a yellow is done, just pop it in the blue and leave it. Then it's done.

Brown: This one is also pretty easy. Just brew some coffee. Then, put in the egg in to dye.


Then, take the eggs out of the dyes and put on a wire rack. Leave them until they are dry. You're done!
Well, those are all the dyes. Feel free to share the way you  dye your Easter eggs. I hope you have a good Easter! 



Warmly,
                                          
Sweet Sunshine 

Saturday, January 6, 2018

The Seasons (A Set of Poems)

Here are four poems that I wrote, one for each of the seasons. Enjoy reading them!


 Spring
The lovely spring
will faithfully bring
plentiful rain and blooming flowers.
New sprouts will turn into trees that tower.
Yielding leaves so green and bright, 
signs of growth and new life.
Spring may be cold at first, but then it is warm,
spring will bring a springtime storm.
This is a time of happiness and joy 
flowers and growth to enjoy. 


Summer
I love the time of sunny days
when plants are growing in many ways.
When clouds so white are in the sky, 
and green everywhere comes alive.
It is so nice and it is the best 
when flowers are so beautifully dressed.
I'll pick them in a big bouquet
for me to sweetly give away. 
It does not last forever but 
comes and goes like the rising and setting sun. 


 Autumn
Leaves start falling all around,
making piles on the ground. 
Making swirling, brilliant colors 
that will land on one spot or another. 
Changing colors lead to bare trees,
 leaves that fall will be caught in the cool, autumn breeze.
Leaves will crunch beneath our feet
 showing winter we will soon meet.
 Autumn is a changing season,
then the next, full of freezing. 


 Winter 
 This is a season of snow and ice, 
glittering snow is sometimes nice. 
Bare trees,freezing weather
falling snowflakes, light like a feather.
Snowmen and sledding, 
white like a wedding,
snowballs and snow forts,
ice skating on a tennis court.
This season is last of the year
 but always brings Christmas cheer. 

I hope you enjoyed the poems!

Warmly, 

Sweet Sunshine











Saturday, December 9, 2017

Creation Sings


Have you  ever thought to yourself, who could have made something as pretty as that?  Well, who did? God did. God made everything in this world for us so we can give glory to him. I think it is all very beautiful and wonderful. And I like how each season has a beauty of it's own. Like in the spring it's flowers, summer- green grass and blue skies, fall-red and yellow leaves and winter-all the glittering snow and ice. But how do I know that God made everything and not somebody else? Because it says it in his Word,the Bible. At the very beginning of the Bible it says it in Genesis 1:1. It says:"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And then what happened? Through 6 different days he made everything. But on the seventh day God rested. We should give glory to God and thank him for everything he has made. Did you know that creation helps gives glory to God? How? In the Bible it talks about it. One verse says:"The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1) And one verse says that even the rocks cry out to God to praise him. At an evangelistic meeting I went to a guy said he would love to hear the rocks cry out or Mount Everest cry out, but he wouldn't want to feel guilty that he wasn't praising God so that nature would have to cry out to praise God. As we are getting into the season of cold and snow, we get to see more of nature's beauty. So here is a chance for you to praise God for his creation. Thank you for reading this post! I hope you have a good day!

Warmly,

Sweet Sunshine


How to Easily Harvest And Use 3 Different Herbs

Hello! Today I am going to tell you how to easily  harvest 3 different kinds of herbs. They will be Basil, German Chamomile and Lemon Balm. I told in my previous post about  how my mom and I designed our herb/flower garden. It turned out really nice! Okay, let's get started.
                                                                  
 Basil
Take a pair of scissors and cut off all the leaves. Wash them. Then take a baking dish and fill halfway with avocado oil. You can use olive oil instead if you want. After washing, place basil leaves evenly apart on top of oil. Press down gently on them to cover them with oil. Cover with lid. Place in freezer until ready to use. P.S. Try to use yours soon. Ours got moldy eventually.

German Chamomile
You can either use scissors or just pick with your hands, but pick off all the flowers. Place them in a covered container to dry. When ready to use, put the flowers in a tea strainer and use in hot water for tea.

Lemon Balm
Pick off all the leaves and place in a bowl with water to wash. After that, place in a jar of water for tea. If you want, you can also add lemon bee balm, spearmint or apple mint for more flavor. You can choose which blends you want and follow the instructions above for the lemon balm. Also, lemon bee balm is different than lemon balm, but they have pretty much the same taste.

All right, so there you go! If you want more information about herbs, check out my other posts.

Warmly, 

Sweet Sunshine


                                                       

Children's Christmas List

We are getting into that season where we celebrate Christmas and I thought it  would be nice to share some ideas for gifts. I will list the gifts under the different age groups so you can find age appropriate gifts for kids.

Baby: 
Beeswax teething ring
Wooden Ring Stacker
Organic Crib Sheet
Baby Boy Pajamas
Baby Boy Outfit (Summer)
Baby Boy Outfit (Winter)
Baby Girl Pajamas
Baby Girl Outfit (Summer)
Baby Girl Outfit (Winter)
Baby Hat (Boys)
Baby Hat (Girls)
Baby Christmas socks


Preschool:
Melissa & Doug Puzzle
Melissa & Doug Stickers (Girls)
Melissa & Doug Stickers (Boys)
Play Food Set  
Sneaky Squirrel Game 
Play Food Breakfast Set 
Play Cupcake Set
Cookie Set
Mixer Set
Play Cake
Play Pots and Pans
Play Cooking Utensils
Magnetic Dress Up Toy (Boys)
Magnetic Dress Up Toy (Girls)
Christmas Stickers 1
Christmas Stickers 2
Play Nativity Set  


Elementary: 
Melissa & Doug Stickers (Girls)
Melissa & Doug Stickers (Boys)
Birding Cards
Herb Game
Christian Heroes Then And Now books 
Heroes Of History books
Usborne Nature Cards: Flowers 
Nail Polish
Fine Tip Pens
Libre Tea Glass
Bug Bingo Game 
Indoor Snowball Fight

One or a couple of these are good stocking stuffers!
Z Fruit Ropes
Z Bars
Lara Bars
Kind Bars 
Green Tea Mints
    
I hope this was helpful! Have a merry Christmas!

Warmly, 

Sweet Sunshine 



*This post contains affiliate links.