Loving this educational toy

For Chickie's birthday, her friend Coqui gave her this toy:

It's the Leap Frog Scribble and Write, and it is so cool. It has little lights that light up, in order, showing kids how to write letters and numbers, even how to draw shapes. Then the child takes the little stylus/pen thingy and traces the letter, number, or shape. Their tracing shows up on the screen--a lot like those little magnetic drawing gadgets kids play with. When they push a button saying they're done, the lights go away, and the child only sees what they've written. With a swipe of the blue bar at the bottom, the drawing is gone and the child can move on to learning another character or shape.

Within a week or two of getting this gift, Chickie was learning to write her brother's name and her own. She has an independent spirit and likes to learn things on her own. (I'm pretty darn sure I know where she got that from!) So she'd been hesitant for me to teach her how to write letters. But I think this toy may have piqued her desire to learn. Now she can use it to practice, and when she's using real paper to write on, sometimes she even lets me help her do the letters.

Now, it's not a magic toy that keeps her attention for weeks on end; right now it's not her favorite. But I think it's one she...and then Zoodle...will keep coming back to. Chickie has been able to recognize letters, numbers and shapes for a long time, but this toy is helping bridge the gap between recognition and creation. Awesome!

(By the way, if you're thinking of using Amazon to purchase this, be sure to check out the different sellers, here. As of right now, Amazon itself doesn't sell the toy, and there's a lot of variation in prices and shipping cost among the different sellers.)

Disclaimer: This review is 100% non-compensated. I just think it's a rockin' toy.

Bye bye, big appetite. I miss you!

I'm a twin, and my mom has told me, "When I nursed you and Becki, I could eat whatever I wanted! And as soon as I weaned you I gained five pounds."

Well, I was pregnant and/or breastfeeding for 4 1/2 years straight, and I looooved having an increased appetite for so long! I relished having a genuinely good reason to eat all those calories. As Zoodle's nursing slowed and then stopped, though, I did gradually put on a few pounds.

All my life, I've had a tiny appetite. My sister and I used to share half a hamburger when we were little--that's 1/4 hamburger each! And it wasn't because my parents didn't have enough food to go around; it was because we just didn't naturally eat a lot. I realized recently that I'd gotten in the habit of giving myself larger portions, because for over four years I actually needed those calories. I don't need them anymore.

It's an adjustment--and a bummer of an adjustment--but I'm learning to once again put less on my plate, since I'm no longer using my body to grow a kid or two. Now, mind you, I'm not talking about starving myself. I'm a big fan of eating and really not a big fan of being hungry! I'm just having to re-learn what my ideal portion sizes are. And I like eating "treats"--foods that aren't particularly healthy. I just try to somewhat balance that with plenty of genuinely good stuff, like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Some days and weeks are less balanced than others, of course!

And I guess (along with the running and working out), it's working! Today I grabbed two pairs of jeans from my closet that had been rendered recently unwearable due to my not-so-tasty muffin top...and they both fit.

I'm in the post-infant phase of my parenting (a.k.a. the lower metabolism phase); and I'll probably be in this phase the rest of my life. But even if I'm not hungry enough to eat a whole burger, I can still enjoy every bite I take!

Meet Drew

Thank you to everyone for the support while my relatives and the rest of their team are detained in Haiti! If you have a few minutes, I'd like to introduce you to Drew, my first cousin who is part of that team. He is from Topeka, Kansas, and one of the local news stations there did a story on him. I think they did a fantastic job showing what kind of man he is.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to embed this video in my post, but if you'd like to watch it, click here, and you'll see the video on the right side of the screen.

Drew's sister's husband Paul and his son Silas are also part of the team. I am getting most of my information from the various stories listed on Google News; if you'd like to keep up with the story, open this link and refresh it occasionally to see new stories.