Tidbits/FYOI- For Your Own Information

Renewing Contracts/Contract Ended

When renewing contracts with people like At&t or Directv, make sure to get a great deal.

At&t ask them if they will wave the upgrade fee of $18. When dealing with them when you have a problem, I've found it best to email them first. This way you can get out what you want to say and get results done. When your phone breaks and you have insurance, they will offer you a couple differet phones if they don't have yours anymore. Simply tell them that you would like to see what phones are out there and if you could call them back with the phone you want. Just pick the phones that have the same features as your current one. You could do this ahead of time if you want it right away.

With Directv tell them you have been with them for so long and you want them to give you a good deal. Tell them you would like $10 off your bill for the next 12 months, 3-12 months of free showtime, startz, cimemax all three. You would like to have an upgraded box to the DVR. Sometimes they will give you buy one get one free or a certain amount off too.

Becareful when your waiting to talk to someone when on hold with anyone because they have people listening on the other end. They don't talk to you, they just listen to you conversions. this call will be monitored is what they will say.



At great place to go to check out cell phones and what people think of them is http://www.phonescoop.com/


There is a new item out there that most people don't know about. Its micro SD cards with predownloaded music albums on them. They have the full album on them. These fit in MP3 players, cell phones, computers. They also have the device for sale to go with them for $20. Most Walmarts sell these in the music section of their store.



There is a great new show out there during the week at around 3 o'clock. Its called The Doctors. They discuss everything from diets to buying a bed. There are 4 doctors that talk and answer questions. One is an ER doctors, OB Doctor, Plastic Surgeon, Surgeon. Check it out, you'll be glad you did.



Here's a litlle tidbit for everyone that shops at Target. Target marks their electronics down on Mondays and their other items on Tuesday. I always check the back isles for great sales.


A great place for free music ringtones, video, games, theme, and wallpaper backgrounds for your cell phones is http://www.zedge.net/


Another great place on the internet is http://www.goozex.com/. You can pick up or trade your games for all systems, even very old ones. You just pick your game you want to trade or get and you will get a response from someone who wants it or give you. You must have trade points, which are $1 to get trade or game. You will be given points for your game you trade to get another game you want. Or you will have to buy points to get the game. 100 points is $5. You can sign up through this website and get free 100 points and with your first trade, You get points and so I. You can only do with refer a friend to get the extra first trade points. You are responsible for the shipping costs, which you can use the media mail. Its a great website, been using it for a couple years now. If you have any questions just ask.

http://www.goozex.com/referral.asp?idr=572750219267




Here's a tidbit:

If you get a bunch of free samples from different websites, they make a great way for your overnight guests to use stuff they forgot, like shampoos, medicines and such. You can place them in a basket and set it in the guest bathroom or in the guestroom itself.

My sister uses her free samples from the internet, CVS, Walgreens, etc. and puts them in a basket and gives them out as gifts for birthdays and such.

Check out her website http://www.coupongeek.net/ Her websites are also in the upper right hand corner of this blog site. She has lots of great deals.

Another website I love http://www.slickdeals.net/. They have lots of great deals for eveyone on there.

Tidbits/FYOI- For Your Own Information

Activities to do with your Toddler/Child

There are a lot of times parents or grandparents ask themselves what can I do with a toddler?

I've asked myself this question lots of times and have compiled a lists of things to do with your toddler.

Toddlers love to be involved with the things your doing. They like to copy and be just like you.

Toddlers can:

Fold and hang up clothes.

Help with cleaning house. They like to dust, sweep, mop, vacuum, clean windows. Just becareful not to give a child Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They give kids rashes, they are very harmful for them. Make sure not to give them any harmful chemicals either. They do make little kids clean-up kits with brooms, mops, vacuums, etc. My daughter has these and they are just the right size for her.

Help wash dishes. Even rinsing the dishes, just becareful and not give them anything glass or sharp. Could even give them a little pan with water.

Clean-up. This works great if you sing a clean-up song with them or make it a game.
Here are some great clean-up songs to sing with your child:

Let's Clean Up To the tune of "Farmer In the Dell"
Let's clean up today Let's clean up today We've had our fun Our day is done. So, let's clean up today.

It's Time To Cleanup (Tune: Frere Jacques)
Are you helping, are you helping Pick up toys, Pick up toys Let us all be helpers, Let us all be helpers. Girls and boys, girls and boys

Clean-up Song Improvise a tune:
Clean-up, clean-up Everybody get some toys. Clean-up, clean-up All the little girls and boys. Clean-up, clean-up Everybody do your share. Clean-up, clean-up Everybody, everywhere.


Help cook or bake things like cookies or cakes. A good time to get cake mixes is after a major holiday like valentines day or Christmas. They discount the cake items and they don't expire for over a year.

I bought my child an easy bake oven and she loves it. You must supervise them at all times. Their little hands could get stuck in the oven because if nobody helps them. It comes with a push device so that their hands won't ever touch it. A good website to go on for recipes to use with the easy bake oven is http://www.eborecipes.com/

Play games like:
Hi-Ho Cherri-o
Go-Fish
Hide and Seek
Monopoly Jr.
Yahtzee Jr.
Memory (They have all sorts of charaters now like Disney, wow wow wubbzy, etc.)
Cooties
Boggle Jr. (Great game for them to learn how to spell)
Dominoes (They have ones for children like Dora)
Operation
Sliders (This is fun for the whole family)

Puzzles are great for toddlers because they teach them problem solving. I wouldn't go no bigger than 25 pieces. Easy to start off with 10 pieces and work your way up. Wooden ones are great for the really young toddlers.

Toddlers love to color or paint.

You can go on several websites. and print out coloring pages. When they have school supply sales in August, I always pick up extra crayons and paints or other items while they are inexpensive and have them throughout the year. When your dealing with younger toddlers the jumbo crayons work best for them because they don't break as easy. And a good thing to get is Washable paints. They sell paint shirts or jackets in the craft section which are a big help. My sister buys canvas pieces for hers to fingerpaint on and then she hands them out as gifts for peoples birthdays or special occasions.

Free coloring pages for printing:

http://www.coloringpages.net/
http://www.nickjr.com/ (They have ones for Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, etc.)


Outdoor activities:

Nature Walks. You could point out the things in nature like trees, birds, flowers and ask questions. Like what color, what flower they like, things like that. You can let them take pictures and develop them for a craft for to put in photo album. If you take a bag with you on your walk, your little one can pick up things on the walk, like acrons, leaves, sticks, wild flowers (watch for bees). Then when you get back you can talk about each item and make a craft with it. I took clear shelving paper and made it the size of a placemat, (double it because you have to fold it over), and let them stick their treasures on it. You then fold it over and it becomes sealed to use as a placemat. (You can also use string and such for it too.)

Find a local flower garden to visit

Make a flower or vegetable garden in your backyard for them to help with. Stores carry little kids garden stuff like: Rubber boots, tools, kneeling pads, gloves. They have kids seed starter kits for them to watch their seeds grow before planting them in the ground.

Find a playground in your area or others. One of our local playgrounds has a big private ship for the kids to play on. When we go there we make a day of it. We bring along a picnic lunch and play the day away. Finger foods work great like: Budding meats, cut-up watermelon, grapes, string cheese, bread, gummy snacks, strawberries, carrots, celery sticks cookies(make sure nothing that melts like chocolate), bring juice boxes, wipes. Make sure to bring sunscreen for them.

Check for local soccer groups. Usually the age they take a toddler is 4. This will give them exercise and a chance to play as a group.

Check your local YMCA, colleges or facilities like this for activities they might offer. Ours offers soccer, crafts, movie night, parent time for times when you need a date with your spouse alone, ballerina and karate classes. On Easter or Christmas or other holidays they have fun times like Under Water Easter Egg hunts, Night at the Movies.

They love to play with sidewalk chalk, help clean your car with you, outdoor paint.

In the Car Activities:

Sing Songs. They sell CDs that are just for toddlers. Simple songs that we all know like BINGO, Farmer in the Dell..

Coloring

Portable Game system like V-Smile Pocket. (My daughter has this system and she started playing it when she just turned 3. They are very simple games and a lot of fun. They have 2 kinds out now for them. One is like the DS (touch screen) and the other just buttons. They keep the kids entertained for hours. They also have a new system called the V-Smile Motion, which is like the Wii for Toddlers. They have to move the controller or pretend to jump over logs and such. Cartiages run about $25 for them. The advantages is that you can still use the games that the V-smile pocket has which run about $15 to 20 in the games except they don't motion. Use can use the V-smile motion cartiages in the V-smile pocket too.

I see with my little eye game


Indoor Activities

Set up a Supermarket. JCpenny has a great deal on one right now. Called the Supermarket Deluxe.
http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=62371&CatID=64243&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=15f92ee&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CMID=6237162948&Fltr=&Srt=&QL=F&IND=1&CmCatId=623716294864243

Take a big cardboard box and make a house. If you don't have one call your local stores and they may have one to hang on for you.


They also have cardboard box houses that you can color. These are great for parties with kids too. They get to play in the house and color it at the same time.


Make a puppet theater. You can take 2 tension rods and place a curtain on each one and hang it the curtains on the doorframe. Puppets can be made from socks, or sticks, or 2 pom pom with eyes and attached with pipe cleaners like Oobi.


Buy an indoor tent for kids and have a camp night. You could have sleeping bags, flashlights, make smores in the microwave, watch a movie on a portable DVD player. Or if you don't have the money to buy a tent, then put a sheet over a table and have a tent this way.


Play Dress-Up. I buy costumes after Halloween when they are on clearance or at garage sales or goodwill or Salvation Stores. I hung a Shower Rod up on the wall and hung her costumes up with way. I bought pretend make, necklaces, shoes. We even made our own.


Crafts!! Are a big thing for Toddlers to do. If you get all the stuff ahead a time you won't be stuck trying to figure out what to do on a rainy day. You could set up some shoeboxes with a theme and use this theme all day long. Like animal day, doctor day, teacher day, dinosaur day, winter day themes. I usually get my stuff on discount after holidays.

Need on supply:
Safety scissors
Glue sticks/Glue Glitter/GlitterGlue
Crayons/Paint Beads
Construction Paper Stamps
Foam Items Stickers
Felt Items Lids from milk cartons/pop/water
Google Eyes Paper
Pom Poms
Pasta pieces for necklaces
String/Yarn

Target has a lot of things in there $1 items in the front of the store



Teach the kids how to write their names, alphabet, numbers, tell time


Take a Bath with light up stuff that they use in pools. Shut off all the lights and let them play in the dark with a tub full of bubbles and lights. They also have crayons or paint for use in the tub too. They have instruments to play in tubs too.


Toddlers like fish so a great thing to get is a Beta fish that can live in a bowl of water or in a little kids fish take. They don't need filter water or heat. They do have plants to put in with them that they love to eat and help keep water clean. Another thing to get is a Sea Monkey kit and they can watch them grow from a little egg. Plus they can put them in special watches or necklaces to take with them.

Great movies for toddlers to watch is:

Baby Einstein
they teach everything from music to shapes

WordWorld
all the characters in the movie are spelled out. The dog is a dog spelled out to say dog. Teaches the kids to recognize the words that go with the item.

Max and Ruby

Mickey Mouse ClubHouse

Peep

Curious George

Oswald (my nephew loves this one)

Handy Mandy

Dora/Diego

Blues Clues

Lazy Town (teaches kids to exercise, eat right)

Jack's Big Music Show (there is a lot of singing on here and great singers)

Activities to do with your Toddler/Child

Great Books for Toddlers

There are so many books out there and people sometimes wonder what books are good for my toddler?

When looking for books for toddlers, make sure that they aren't too long or too short. I stick with 3-4 sentences a page. Books that get them involved like touch -n- feel books, Singing and motion books, scanimation books.

The Authors listed below have other great books similiar to the ones listed.

The following are a list of great books my child and others have loved:

Gallop : A scanimation picture book by Rufus Butler Seder

If You Give A Pig A Pancake by Laura Numeroff.

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle

Max's Bedtime by Rosemary Wells (Max and Ruby Books)

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

We're going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury Motions and Actions for Song: http://www.songsforteaching.com/tickletunetyphoon/goingonabearhunt.htm

No More Diapers for Ducky! by Bernette Ford and Sam Williams Great for Potty Training!!!

Look and Find Books by publications international, ltd Great for Travel

Opposites with Oswald by Lauryn Silverhardt

Chika Chika Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr, John Archambualt, Lois Ehlert My Daughters Favorite Book and authors

Great Magazine for Toddlers is High Five. Great gift for toddlers to get for birthday and they get mail too.

Great place to order books :http://www.amazon.com/

Your local library has these books too. If they don't have any of these books, they can get them from another library for you.

The Library is a great place to go for books, movies(even new releases), story hour and craft hour. Its best to get a child of any age into reading because its a lot easier to get them to keep reading.

The Libraries around us have story hour and craft hour for the kids and my little one loves it. Most Libraries have a section in the newspaper or online about upcoming events for the area. Check it out and get your little one into loving the library.

Great Books for Toddlers