I am currently planning an Easter playdate for a variety of ages. I thought I’d share some of the activities we’ll be doing. I thought I’d start out easy with a coloring page or two while we wait for everyone to arrive. Jan Brett has the most adorable coloring pages. If you’ve never been to her site before, be sure to check it out.

Once everyone has arrived, we’ll do some type of craft. Family Fun (as usual) has some great craft ideas. I am leaning toward these eggs that use tissue paper as the dye. The younger kids can easily make a marbled effect, while the older kids can do some type of actual picture.

Next, we’ll go out in the yard for an Easter Egg hunt. We’ll be looking for sticker and toy filled eggs that we’ll be getting from Oriental Trading. We have a few food allergies, so the toy and sticker filled eggs will work for everyone.

After we finish egg hunting, we’ll head back inside for a snack and a fun game of Bunny Bingo. For the snack, I am leaning towards these cute bunny cupcakes…but I am a bit worried about those pesky food allergies. Perhaps I can have another mommy bring a back up snack…

For the bingo game, I’ll be using this board from the Kaboose site. I will use jelly beans as the markers and the kids can eat them when we’re all done playing.

Today we head to Spoon Sisters, an entire site devoted to finding that perfect gift. Items range from classic to kitsch and from funny to practical.

If you really want to freak out a parent friend, show up at their front door with this My Pet Fish soap. At first glance, your friend will think you’re giving them the oh-so-disposable pet goldfish. Then they’ll realize it’s glycerin soap. Cute, clever, and just $6.50.

Another fun bath-inspired gift is Washy Squashy Magical Modeling Soap. Kids can mold it and once it has air dried, they can wash with it. $15.00 for a pack of 6 colors.

Here’s a really cute Bento Sushi Box playset for toddlers. You could do a super cute theme gift with the baby board book First Book of Sushi that I wrote about earlier in the week. It comes with a soft sculpture shrimp tempura, vegetables, wasabi, soy sauce, California roll, pieces of sushi, and chop sticks. The entire set zips closed so it’s easy to travel with. $35.00.

Happy shopping everyone!

Ok, so there have been quite a few things I purchased as a new parent and later realized that they were a complete waste of money (a wipes warmer?? what was I thinking???).  However, I have NEVER regretted the purchase of several gorgeous chenille bibs from Kristina at The Rhayne-Bow Collection.

My youngest daughter had HORRIBLE acid reflux (or GERD).  We had her on Mylicon and thickened formula, but she STILL spit up constantly.  So I decided if she was going to have to wear bibs all the time, at least they could be beautiful ones.  I researched on the net and found Kristina’s beautiful bibs.  I bought 4 of them, one with an initial as shown below, one with a pumpkin for Halloween/Thanksiving, one plain white with toile on the back, and one with pink and purple flowers.  When Charlotte would spit up, I would just take off one bib and replace it with another.  The bibs washed beautifully and held up like iron.  And the gorgeous chenille had the added bonus of catching the spit up really well…some bibs let the spit up just roll right off.  I could go on and on…Kristina does wonderful work.  If you have something in mind and don’t see it on her site, just email her.  She can make just about anything you think up. She has designs for boys as well.

She also has some items listed on ebay. 

These moms are makin’ it big time!  They’ve recently been picked up by Endeavor Talent.  They have a weekly podcast that hits on a wide range of topics that pertain to moms everywhere.  Give them a listen:

http://mommycast.com/ 

Just saw this online…haven’t had to send in homemade cupcakes yet, but I know that day is coming. When I was public school teacher, the rule for birthdays was cupcakes only…that way teachers don’t have to deal with cutting a cake, handing out plates, etc. Anyway, having taught for 9 years, I have seen my share of cupcake mishaps. Boxes of cupcakes that were all mangled and gross; frosting everywhere. Well, those days are over thanks to the cupcake courier:

http://www.cupcakecourier.com/

At 32.99, it’s a bit pricey…but you can justify that price knowing you’ll be sending cupcakes to school once a year for each child for at least 6 years.