Top Tub Toys for Toddlers

April 14, 2017 ~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

When it comes to toddlers, you really don’t have to spend a ton of money to make bath time fun. However, many of the toys marketed for the bath quickly become moldy, difficult to clean and just plain gross to have around. Here are some simple solutions for fun in the tub without the moldy mess.

#1 The Basic Cup

Every single toddler, baby, big kid needs a cup for the tub. This one is quite large and came free with the purchase of a drink! Use it for rinsing, playing, or dumping water all over the floor. No matter how you look at it, a cup is a must have! Our little guy loves filling the cup up and dumping it through other toys.

2. A Cup With Holes

This simple cup with two holes gives my toddler hours of entertainment. He loves to dip it into the water and watch the water come out. Or use it to fill up the bigger cup. This one comes in a set of multi-colored cups, which offers a great opportunity to practice learning colors.

#3 Begin Again Bath Toys

These things are amazing! They are made of natural rubber and come in many fun shapes. Each one “blows bubbles” when you put it underwater. They easily drain due to larger holes on the underside of each one. We have had these for almost a year and not one has ever had mold on it. If they get dirty you can throw them right in the dishwasher. They also can double as a teether. My little guy LOVES to chew on the blue diver.

Here are some close up photos to better show the features of the Begin Again Bath Toys. They retail for only $4 each. If you are interested in purchasing they are carried at Kelly’s Closet by clicking here.

#4 Marcus & Marcus Bath Toys

Another fabulous, fun yet easy to clean toy. This toy is made of BPA free and phthalate free silicone. It squirts just like a regular bath squirt toy. What really sets this toy apart is that it has a piece that unscrews allowing the inside to air dry and prevent any mold from forming. I can’t tell you how much money we tossed into bath squirt toys that we had to end up throwing away because of mold. This one is totally worth the money. It can be purchased from Kelly’s Closet by clicking here.

**This post contains affiliate links.

The Only Reason I Really Want to Pack Lunches Again

July 13, 2016 ~ The Clarks ~ 2 Comments

Since I returned to work from having the baby, well over a year ago, my husband graciously and generously would pack my lunch for me as I took the duty of getting the baby to sleep. Baby stopped needing me to fall asleep, so naturally, husband stopped having he burning desire to pack my lunch. Baby also grew into toddler who eats real food and needed a lunch of his own. Packing lunches wasn’t something I ever looked forward to, until I discovered the awesome thing called a yumbox.

Let me give you a little overview of the yumbox first. There are two parts to a yumbox. The actual box and the tray. The box is durable, has a large latch that closes it and locks the single silicone lid into place. The other part is the compartmentalized tray which features cute educational pictures of the food groups and also serves as a reminder to whoever packs the lunch as to what should be included.

They come with two options for trays, 6 compartment and 4 compartment. The two different trays are not interchangeable between the different boxes due to the sealing silicone lids.

Here is what they look like on the outside:

Here is what they look like on the inside:

They offer a variety of fun colors, the outer space one is my favorite!

The 4 compartment yumbox has one 2 cup compartment , two 1/2 cup compartment and a one ounce compartment perfect for dips or a little treat.

The six compartment yum box has five 1/2 cup sections for the key food groups and one smaller well for dips or treats.

The yumbox is seriously amazing. And no they did not ask me to write a review.

The trays pop out of the box for easier cleaning.

So why do I love these yumboxes so much?

1. I can pack things like yogurt or ranch dressing easily without having to worry about things tipping, spilling or contaminating other food.

2. It takes up less space than a billion containers.

3. Easy to clean. You can even throw it in the top rack of the dishwasher.

4. Totally portable. I can literally toss it into the diaper bag. We took them traveling on the road with us.

5. I have a guide of what to pack and how much of it to pack.

6. They fit into normal sized lunch boxes.

7. My child can see everything that is being offered at a meal. It’s fun to watch him look and decide on his own what to eat first. He also loves moving things between containers.

8. I am not having to buy a ton of sandwich bags. Nor are those sandwich bags winding up in landfills.

9. They really are pretty cute.

10. The design keeps everything in, it’s virtually leak proof, but due to the large latch are easy enough for a young child to open independently.

Here’s a look at what my 16 month old and I packed for today.

If you pack a lunch. If you have kids. If you have a picky eater. You really should look into these.

Where can you buy this cool product? Well, they are on Amazon. But if you love amazing customer service, supporting a wonderful family and their business, and earning rewards for discounts, you can also buy them at Lil’ Tulips. Be sure to create an account with them before shopping using this link https://goo.gl/cKkhsA to instantly earn 50 reward points. Again here is the link. https://goo.gl/cKkhsA

Practical Father’s Day Gift

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016 ~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

When it comes to gift giving for these sort of holidays, and you have multiple people to think about, I like to keep it simple and find a gift that will suit everyone, that is practical, meaning they will actually use it and reasonably priced. For Father’s Day I have to think about my husband, father, father-in-law and step-father-in-law who all have very vast interests. One thing they all enjoy (or at least we think they enjoy, or maybe their wives just make them do it) is grilling. They also all love your little guy, so he needed to be included in the gift too.

Here’s what you will need to make your own grilling platter:

Rubbing Alcohol
Paint Brushes
Multi-surface/ceramic paint
plain white platter
paper towels

I purchased everything at Walmart. The platters were located by the other plates and dishes and cost $9 and some change. I purchased multi-surface paints, just be sure that you can use them on ceramics. These particular ones were 97 cents each.

Here’s what you will need to do:

Per directions on the paints, clean surface with rubbing alcohol before painting.
Begin painting. I started with the words, because if I messed up, or wasn’t happy with the placement, I could wipe it off with rubbing alcohol and start over without messing up any of the art work.
3. Add hand and footprints. (Easiest if you have someone else to help you)

4. Paint the details. I tried to think of things that could be grilled and were easy enough for me to paint.

5. Set the paint so that you can use the platters. There should be directions on your paint bottles. For these paints they needed to air dry for 1 hour, and then be placed in a cool oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The other option was to air dry for 21 days, ain’t nobody got time for that!

They came out great! I know that all the grandpas and my husband will love them!