Extreme Bubbles

We are so excited about this American made find: Extreme Bubbles.  The company motto is "Get outside and play" and their bubbles will provide hours of outdoor fun. 

Our kids are all bubble fanatics and get extraordinarily frustrated if they blow on the wand and not one bubble is formed or they pop right away.  Extreme Bubbles' Captain Bubbles is the best bubble mixture around...they last forever! Check out this video.

Captain Bubbles come in packs of 6.

Extreme Bubbles also has a ton of huge bubble wands to make x-large bubbles. Check out their Extreme Bubbles Family Pack: World Record Bubble Kit.

This kit comes with their Pro Wand (largest wand), a Starter Wand and 4 bottles of Beeboo Big Bubble Mixture.  The Beeboo Big Bubble Mixture is a concentrate- one small bottle creates a gallon of bubble solution.  They used this secret formula to set the first World Record for "Largest Free Floating Soap Bubble."  Awesome!!!  And they share their top 11 secrets for creating record breaking big bubbles with us all on their blog.  All of their bubble mixtures are made in Minnesota as well as their wands. (except for the red and blue wand that comes in the Dip Stix Giant Bubbles Package)

These products are the perfect gift for both the children in your life as well as adults who enjoy having fun!  Click here to shop their products online.

The Original Bench Swing

This picture is worth a thousand words.  What child (and many adults) wouldn't love swinging in an old tree on a perfect swing? Can't you just smell the fresh air and feel the breeze blowing through your hair?

Living in Phoenix, this is our best time of year to be outside and this swing looks perfect for our tree out back!  It is made by the company The Original Tree Swing.  Not only do they make this fabulous, perfectly crafted tree swing,  but they create a bunch of wooden toys made primarily from reclaimed wood.  So, Made in America and  eco-friendly...two of our favorite things.  We think this would make a fun and unique holiday gift for those little ones in your life!

This swing is made of ash or elm and 20 feet (each side) of 100% natural fiber rope.  To purchase this swing online, click here.  To find a local retailer that sells this swing, click here.

Supergoop!

My husband and I just got back from the most beautiful vacation in the Turks and Caicos. We had the most wonderful and relaxing time.  Expecting #3 this winter means this will be the last trip like this in a looooong time (better save up that relaxing feeling)!  We were there for a wedding and it really was just a breathtaking island of beauty.  Here is the view from our room.

First thing I wanted to share with you all is that the hotel had Tervis Tumblers in all of the rooms.  Those are made in Florida- how cool is that?  And I wanted to share with you a new product (made in the USA) that I fell in love with while I was on vacation.  Supergoop!  The bride left in our welcome bags a a few packets of Supergoop! Sunscreen Wipes.

They are awesome!  I have never seen sunscreen in a wipe form until now.  They were perfect at the beach when you needed a little extra coverage!  And so easy to apply.  I think this will be a new necessity for my children next summer.  What I also love about this company is that their sunscreen is free of parabens, petrochemicals, fragrances, and phthalates.  They have a variety of products that are all made in the USA (with the exception of one- Save Face Serum). Here are a few of Supergoop!'s awesome products.

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To shop Supergoop! online, click here. To find a retailer near you, click here.

Keep your skin safe!!

Wonderous Wikki Stix

We love Wikki Stix!  Not only do our kids flex their creative muscles creating masterpieces with these simple yet magical waxed yarns, but we have also had fun creating figures and pictures with them.  Who'd have thought that a bunch of stix could provide such entertainment? 

 

They are definitely on to something...here are some examples from their website of what is possible with these stix:

Ours tend to look more like this:

Regardless of your abilities, they are a great toy for all ages...and happily they are Made in the USA!

We also love Wikki Stix because according to the company "they do not contain latex, gluten, nor peanut or other nut oils or byproducts which makes them an ideal creative activity toy for children with allergies."  You can read more about Wikki Stix here.

 

   Shop their Website here or click here to find a retailer near you that carries Wikki Stix.

tavern puzzles

Who doesn't love a good puzzle?  A few Christmases ago our mom gave us all Tavern Puzzles and family members of all ages had the best time figuring them all out.  To give you an idea of what a Tavern Puzzle is see below:

Object: To get the ring off

Object: To get the ring off

Object: To remove the shuttle

As you can see, some of them are trickier then others!  Believe me they can keep your attention for hours.  Tavern Puzzles have been around for ages...to read about the fascinating story of how they began click here.  They are all made in the USA by Tucker Jones House, Inc.   They make excellent gifts for any adult or super talented child!  To shop the Tavern Puzzles, click here.

Solve Away!

Cozy Coupe

When your child turns 16, buying them a car is a huge commitment that comes with a lot of stress for many parents.  When your child is 2, buying them a toy car is an easy, stress-free decision.  We like those types of decisions!

What child doesn't love a toy car that they can open the door, get on in, steer and beep a horn?  Little Tikes has made the beloved "cozy coupe" for years and it has always been a childhood favorite!

Little Tikes cozy coupes are sold at many large, national retail locations such as: Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, and K Mart.  Or to find your favorite cozy coupe online, click here.

While not all Little Tikes toys are made in the USA, many are.  They are making a commitment to manufacturing many of their toys in the USA.  To shop all Little Tikes toys made in the USA, click here.

Ready For School?

Even though it is 114 degrees in Phoenix today (insert exasperated sigh here), summer has ended.   After a fabulous summer of pool time, lake time, play time and all around fun time, it is now time for us to get back into "school mode."  Over the summer we tried to keep the kids up to date on school skills and to do so we used School Zone workbooks.  They have workbooks that focus on skills from pre-k to grade 6.

Here is the one my pre-k child is working on.

The kids loved doing them and as a mom and a former teacher, I was really impressed with the way the workbook (pre-k) is orgnized compared to a lot of the others on the market.  It covers numerous skills from generic fine motor skills (mazes, tracing, connecting the dots) to understanding language (similar, different, bigger, smaller, etc.)  to letter, number and color recognition.  From what I have seen, I would assume the other grade levels are organized well too!

I bought my workbooks at Target, but they retail at many locations (Walmart, Walgreens, etc.)
Or you can shop online: click here.

Note: Just as an FYI, there are a few School Zone products that are not made in the USA including all of the write & reuse workbooks, all of the think and blink flash cards and the animal alphabet pop-up flash cards.

Happy Back to School Everyone!

Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere

What kid doesn't love bubbles in the summer?  If your families are like ours, you always have a stash of bubbles on hand.  Bubbles pass the time, make children laugh and turn smiles upside down.  I went out in search of bubbles made in the USA and found some.  

Imperial Miracle Bubbles- you can find them at Walgreens or click here to buy them online.

Note:  While Imperial Miracle Bubbles are made in the USA not all toys made by Imperial Toys are manufactured in the USA.


Enjoy your bubbles made for you in the Red, White and Blue!