5 Favorite Gift Ideas for Kids

My son's birthday is coming up and I was stressing out bad about what to get him! He has plenty of average toddler boy toys like cars, trains, blocks, and his favorite...DINOSAURS! So what do I get him?? He's finally old enough to understand he's having a birthday, he even got invited to his first friends birthday!

So here's 5 favorite gift ideas, in no particular order, for young kids!

1. Books

There is never an occasion when a book isn't a great gift idea. They're fun, imaginative, and can be used again and again! Plus, they're easy to wrap! Some of our favorites include:

Dear Zoo

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Little Blue Truck
(or the Halloween version Little Blue Truck's Halloween)

Where the Wild Things Are

Is Your Mama a Llama?

2. Puzzles

I love puzzles and I think they're the perfect activity for the colder winter months when its wet and dreary outside. They make you think and problem solve and some of the children puzzles are cute!
You can pretty much find puzzles anywhere, I love to check out Target's clearance toys and games for them! Amazon also has a great selection. I just bought this T-Rex 3D one for my son's birthday and I can't wait to give it to him!

3. T-shirts

This seemed like such a "duh" once I actually thought  about it. Kids grow so fast they almost ALWAYS need or could use clothes. I got one nice, dressy shirt for special occasions, and one fun, play shirt (dinosaur of course). I'm always a fan of Carters and Old Navy for great deals and cute stuff (I just got next years swim shirt for $1.97)!

4. Play-doh

I was hesitant to let this stuff into my house. I thought it was just messy and would cause me stress. However, I've been pleasantly surprised since allowing it into my house. It's not that messy, easy clean up, and entertains for hours!

Bonus: The mini cups make excellent Halloween handouts if your trick-or-treaters need a candy alternative!

5. Outdoor toys

This is my favorite category of toys! Anything to get us outside playing! The sandbox has always been a major hit at our house, even in the fall my son runs outside in his undies first thing in the morning.

I often have to remind him it's not 90 degrees anymore, clothes are required! This year we got a scooter and I am dying to let him have it already!! In addition, helmets are always a good idea in conjunction with bikes, pogo sticks, skateboards, and scooters!

                

Happy shopping!

Stroller Shade

trying out the stroller shade extender

In the spring of 2014 I had a 6 month-old baby and was starting to get into running. I had a decent stroller, but the canopy to shade my fair skinned baby just wasn't cutting it. I was getting ready to run my first 5k, a "push 5k" in July (push as in strollers, moms/parents were supposed to push their babies while they ran). There was no way I could run the race without my baby getting completely burnt!

stroller shade extender in action

So I found THIS awesome stroller shade extender and it was perfect! It gave me an extra foot of shade and was my alabaster babies saving grace during my hot, sunny, loooong first 5k. :)
It also fits on carseats (disclaimer, I've never tried) and comes in fun colors like blue, green, red, pink, etc. and best of all it folds up nicely so you can easily take it with you or put it away when you don't need it! Bonus, it blocks UV rays as well!

I'd give it 4.5 stars, its made out of a lightweight nylon stretch material so it fits just about any stroller which is super convenient, and it has a buckle and two hooks so you can secure it. My only negative comment about the stroller shade extender is that in strong winds its a bit flimsy and just folds back on itself, and that I can't very easily leave it on my stroller when I need to fold my stroller up to put in the car and go somewhere. Other than that, LOVE it!

I Have No Cat in this Fight

A recent news story reported on the disappearance of cats from a neighborhood on the east side. Somewhere between 25 and 30 cats have gone missing in the last few months. Cat owner's are distraught and concerned. A sound bite quoted a cat owner saying that she was a responsible pet owner and that her cat was like her child. This news report was very biased and one sided. It was reported as if there is something wrong in that neighborhood that needed to be stopped. I live in the west end, but here's my opinion about the story that the short sighted news station missed.

Having a pet requires responsibility from a pet owner. A responsible cat owner would not allow their cat to trespass on another person's property, just like responsible dog, rabbit,  or sheep owner's. If you want to have a pet you must be responsible for that animal. Too many irresponsible cat owners let their cats run wild in their neighborhood under the guise of "they're just cats".

Your cat may be like a child to you but it is not like a child to your neighbor. It is a trespasser and a nuisance. The stench of cat pee in a flower bed or doorway is not pretty or desirable. Worse is the sight of cat poop in a sandbox where real children and grandchildren play. If I don't own a cat and I have cats trespassing on my property to pee in my yard and poop in my sandbox, it is up to me as a responsible citizen to trap that cat and have the humane society come and pick it up. The humane society picks them up for free all day long and are quite prompt in response to a phone call.

A cat owner that lets their cat roam free is not a responsible pet owner and is part of the problem in the community. A home owner that traps trespassing cats and has the humane society pick them up is a responsible citizen and is part of the solution. The news report, like most reports nowadays, focused on one half of the issue, as if it were a travesty. This is a non story and is happening all over the valley. I have an acquaintance in South Boise that has trapped 14 cats in her small backyard, just trying to keep her kids from playing in a sandbox full of cat poop, and trying to keep her 2 chickens and a rabbit alive. The rabbit is now dead but her pets do not leave her yard.

Side Note: The one positive thing I got out of this news report: The cat owner interviewed for this story stated that her cat was like her child. This made me feel like a much better parent. As a parent raising children, I cannot remember one time where I opened my door and let one of my children wander over to the neighbor's yard to pee in their garage or poop in their sandbox. Maybe I wasn't that bad at parenting after all.