Category Archives: Age 3-5

Chasing Fireflies Twitter Party – Wednesday 9/21 9-10pm EST #WishCraft

Age 0-1 year, Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Contests, Twitter Parties, , ,

Chasing FirefliesThe Chasing Fireflies Twitter Party Details:

TOPIC –  Halloween Costume and Party Ideas

TIME – Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 9-10 PM Eastern (8-9 PM Central, 7-8 PM Mountain, 6-7 PM Pacific)

HASHTAG – #wishcraft

CUSTOM TWEETGRID – http://bit.ly/nPw9mv

PANELISTS – @MomSpark, @ChasenFireflies, @MomSparkMedia, @MakobiScribe, @StacieinAtlanta, @TheShoppingMama, @MyFourMonkeys, and @HaleyTweetsToo (follow everyone before the party!)

PRIZES – Six winners will win Chasing Fireflies Gift Cards, ranging from $50 to $100!

RSVP – http://bit.ly/p7w7bs

What is Chasing Fireflies?

Chasing Fireflies - Queen of Hearts Costume
Chasing Fireflies - Queen of Hearts Costume

I had this grand plan of sitting down with my five year old at a quiet time and place to present her with the Chasing Fireflies catalog from which I would allow her to pick her Halloween Costume for this year.  Well, that didn’t happen.  While I was on the phone with a client, she found the catalog, picked it up and ran outside to the front porch to flip through the pages.  She was in heaven.  She wanted this costume, that costume, that tiara with that costume, those sparkly shoes with the other costume and she really wanted them all right then!
She said “mama, go check the mailbox, maybe they are in there”.
“No, baby.. we have to order a costume and then it will take some time to arrive” I said.

It took her about 30 minutes to narrow her selection down to one costume and since the moment I ordered the costume, she’s asked “is it here yet” about three hundred times.

The costume should arrive tomorrow and I will post photographs of my daughter wearing the costume then!

Chasing Fireflies - Queen of Hearts costume
My daughter wearing her new Chasing Fireflies' Queen of Hearts costume

UPDATE: My daughter’s Queen of Hearts costume arrived today from Chasing Fireflies.   When she saw the bag with the costume inside it, she ran to the couch, laid down, and started kicked her feet and banging her hands into the couch while shaking her head back and forth screaming “I’m so excited, I’m so excited”!  I haven’t seen her that excited in.. forever.  Seriously, she’s NEVER done that before.   So we took the costume out of the garment bag and her little face turned bright red as she held her breath in anticipation.  (She’s really into dress up clothes!)  She put the costume on and hasn’t taken it off since.. it’s been about 2 hours now.  When she saw the neighbors walking their dog a little while ago, she asked me if she could go outside and show the little girl her new costume.  She’s so proud!

Visit Chasing-Fireflies.com and check out their selection of beautiful costumes.  The costumers are a bit on the costly side BUT if your daughter is anything like mine and puts on a dress up outfit right when she gets home from school most days, then you will see your return on investment very quickly, I assure you! 🙂

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I received product in order to facilitate this product review. Thoughts are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Adorable organic play clothes for kids at Dadoo Kids

Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Baby & Kids Clothing, New posts, , , ,

I’m always on the lookout for cute, comfortable clothes for my kids.  Madelyn, my 4 year old is all about wearing yoga pants and comfy tees.  But a problem arose..  she wants to wear yoga pants and comfy tees to school everyday and we all know that there are only so many pairs of yoga pants and comfy tees available at clothing stores.. and they all look the same – not a great thing when she should look like she’s wearing a different outfit every day.
I see all these little girls at Madelyn’s school, dressed to the 9’s but the kids don’t always look like they’re comfortable. I want Madelyn to look cute AND be comfortable which is why I don’t have a problem with her wearing yoga pants and tees to school most days.  Given that, I was very excited when I learned about Dadoo Kids, an online store offering cute, comfortable organic clothes for babies and kids.  Now Madelyn’s school outfits can be comfortable and cute at the same time!

Dadoo Kids organic tee
Dadoo Kids organic butterfly tee

With two young ones of her own, designer Christine Miller Kelly was inspired to develop a line of playful, modern, and super comfortable children’s clothing that simultaneously celebrates the joy of being a kid (no rush to look like an adult!) and the realities of day-to-day play.

Dadoo Kids lounge pants
Dadoo Kids lounge pants

Dadoo Kids clothing is made with organic cotton and bamboo blends, making the pieces gentle to the touch.. great for sensitive baby skin.

Dadoo Kids designs are fun, unique, and their pieces are true to size.   This means leaner, better fitting clothes for infants and toddlers.

Their lounge pants are knit and have elastic waistbands (no buttons or zippers) making them the ultimate in comfort for your little one.

Because there are no buttons or zippers to fuss with, Dadoo Kids clothing encourages independence with tees, pants, and twirly dresses that are easy for self-dressing, undressing, and going potty.

Check out Dadoo Kids adorable selection of organic cotton and bamboo blend kids clothing.

Dadoo Kids on TwitterFollow Dadoo Kids on Twitter

Moon Dough..both of my kids love this stuff!

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Toys, ,

Moon Dough is an out-of-this-world new molding dough that never dries out and is easy to clean up!  See my hint (*) below.

Hypo-allergenic and wheat-free, soft and marshmallow-like, Moon Dough does not stick to or stain material. Because Moon Dough never dries out, kids can use it again and again.  Just be sure to set up a mat for your kids to play on so you can wipe it all up and save it for next time.

Moon Dough is the latest and greatest new molding compound for kids ages 2-4 to sculpt into fun creations they will love to play with. The line also offers a variety of enjoyable play sets.

Molding the farm animals is a breeze for my 4 year old and my 11 year old finds it really funny to make his own shapes and ‘alien animals’ with Moon Dough.

What I love about Moon Dough:

  • Moon Dough is easy for kids to mold into shapes
  • Lots of colors & molds are available
  • It’s easy to clean up!  Just use a ball of Moon Dough to dab up other pieces.  You can even vacum Moon Dough up.

* Compress Moon Dough into a ball before giving it to your kids to play make it less flaky and more fun!

Buy the Moon Dough Magic Barnyard and other Moon Dough products here at Amazon.com.

More about Moon Dough:

Disclosure – The Moon Dough Barn set featured was provided to our family free of cost from Moon Dough as part of a campaign organized by Team Mom.  Opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by monetary or product compensation.
You can read my Disclosure Policy here.

How to host your own Fancy Nancy tea party

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Books, , , ,

My 4 year old daughter loves Fancy Nancy books.  Her favorite Fancy Nancy book is Fancy Nancy and the Late, Late, LATE Night.  She likes it when Nancy says “that’s a  fancy word for..”.   She’s learned a lot of fancy words from Fancy Nancy books, that’s for sure.

Summer is slowly slipping away from us but while your kids are still out of school and looking for fun things to do, below are some fantastic (and easy!) tips on how to throw together a kid-friendly tea party…Fancy Nancy style!

HOST YOUR OWN FABULOUS FANCY NANCY SOIREE

Summer is here and what better time to celebrate and invite friends over for an elaborate tea party Fancy Nancy style!   Fancy Nancy has the most fabulous (that’s a fancy word for great) ideas on how to throw the most magnificent and fanciest tea party in the neighborhood.

Here are a few tips supplied by THQ to help you put on a great tea party!

1)      Select a spectacular theme.  Be as ornamental as you can be!

2)    Pick a charming location, and pique guests’ senses by taking them to different locales without leaving your own backyard. For example, Nancy loves speaking in French.  Host a French-style tea party, complete with French foods and desserts. Fancy up the menu and invites with French words.

3)    Prepare edible arrangements and delectable treats.  Surprise guests with petite hors d’oeuvres or squared cucumber sandwiches.

4)    Set the table with your most colorful and fanciest tea sets.

5)    Pin The Tiara on Fancy Nancy!  Purchase a poster of Nancy.  Blindfold your guests and have them tape a paper tiara on the poster. Whoever is the closest to Nancy’s head, wins a splendid prize!

6)    Have your guests create a fancy party hat and beautiful jewelry complete with all the glitter, jewels and ribbons one can find.  Ask guests to bring their favorite fancy dress-up item, such as a boa or a tutu.

7)    Don’t let anyone leave without a spectacular goodie bag filled with costume jewelry, delicious candy and a variety of tea samples!

THQ also invites you and your friends to an interactive tea party with Fancy Nancy Tea Party Time for Nintendo DSi™ and DS™! The popular children’s property Fancy Nancy™, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, makes its video game debut on Nintendo DSi™ and DS™ systems this fall.   I don’t know how excited my son will be about the game but you can bet I’ll enjoy it!  In Fancy Nancy Tea Party Time!, girls of every age can play as Nancy and become the fanciest girl around.

* If you host a Fancy Nancy Tea Party, send us photographs.. we might feature them on The Mommy Insider!

Find and buy dozens of Fancy Nancy books at Amazon.com here.

Visit the Fancy Nancy website to view all of the Fancy Nancy books, play Fancy Nancy games, send eCards and more.

Madelyn really should tell me when she’s going to entertain herself for this long

Age 3-5, Personal, , , ,
Madelyn's fort in the kitchen

I am so impressed with Madelyn, my 4 year old, right now.
She’s inside a kick @** fort she made in the kitchen, about 5 feet from the table where I’m working today.  Not only did she bring 7 or 8 baby dolls into the fort with her, she brought her favorite pillow pet, a blanket to lay on, a blanket to put on her, and a flashlight.  Right now she’s humming to her baby dolls and whispering to them.  Maybe she’ll fall asleep in there? Wishful thinking.. we have too much to do today anyway.  Madelyn’s been inside the fort for almost 10 minutes now which as you know if you’re a mom of a preschooler, is a long time!

If only Madelyn would tell me ahead of time when she’s going to occupy herself for any period of time, I could maybe get a few more things done around here!  You wouldn’t believe how fast I’m typing right now trying to knock a few important things out while I know I can! 🙂

Madelyn insider her fort with her baby dolls

How long does your preschooler entertain her/himself ?  What does he/she entertain herself by doing most?   Reading, televisions, toys, building forts?