THE BEST BUILDING BLOCKS: The First Edition of Anna's Holiday Gift Guide for Super-Fun Non-Commercial Toys

I love shopping for my kids. And, as they are now the ripe-old ages of 2, 6 & 8 I've found some really great toys along the way, which I'll share with you all in a series of posts I'm calling Anna's Holiday Gift Guide for Super-Fun Non-Commercial Toys - because what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't have a Holiday Gift Guide?

Today, I'm sharing my favorite building blocks, though to be honest really only Kay builds stuff at our house. The other two kids just tell her what to build for them- sometimes going as far as to draw detailed blueprints - which as you can imagine, both delights and infuriates me.

Kay's building blocks of choice are:

• Magna Tiles - These ingenious magnetic tiles from Valtech can be put together to make patterns and designs, houses, boxes or whatever else your kids imagine. Great for ages 2-10. $46 for 32 pieces; also comes in 100 pieces for $115. Ages 3 to 10.

• Tegu Blocks - These blocks are also magnetic, and like the magna-tiles can be used by kids to build whatever they want in endless possibilities. These blocks have a great smooth feel, and come in great neutral and pastel shades. The Tegu Original Set in natural is $125 for 52 blocks, in an assortment of four shapes. Ages 3+.

• Uncle Goose Blocks - Made from sustainable Michigan basswood, these classic ABC blocks are handcrafted and available in a variety of languages, from Dutch to Arabic as well as in Braille and Sign Language, all sets are $37. Merry Christmas Blocks pictured at top are $22. Ages 2+.

• EduShape EduColor Building Blocks - These foam blocks are easy to grasp, and sturdy enough for even the littlest builders to stack with success. Set of 30 blocks is $19.99. Ages 1+.

Here's a tower made from EduShape blocks:

And what kind of non-commercial gift guide would this be if I didn't point out that anything can be used as a building block - of late, Kay's building material of choice is her beloved Duck Tape.

All the products in my holiday gift guide do not have licensed characters, batteries or a focus on being good for "a boy" or "a girl." All the products also have in common that I sorta want them for myself.

I'll be back on Monday sharing my picks for great wooden toys.

Disclosure: All purchased myself, with the exception of some of the Duck Tape which was provided to me for purposes of furthering my addiction review.

Debresk, Playmobil and Magna-Tiles - A few of this mom's favorite toys

Aside from the questionable play value, I hate Big Plastic Toys emblazoned with licensed characters because to be perfectly honest, I think they're ugly.  I don't want to see them in my living room, or my kids' play room, or worst of all, taking of residence in my impressionable little darlings' psyches. 

What I do love are:

... old-fashioned wooden toys, hand-crafted and beautifully made, like Debresk's Tow Truck (Made in Sweden).

Photo from Blueberry Toys.

... modern toys that make even me (the grown-up!) wonder at the possibilities of what they can make, like Valtech's Magna-Tiles (Made in Thailand) that can be put-together in gorgeous patterns when used flat on a surface, or better yet placed on a light table. Magna-Tiles can also be used as traditional building blocks, allowing kids to build whatever their imagination desires.

Photo from MagnaTiles.com

... whimsical toys that are just good ol' fun, and you know are well-made, durable, and sturdy enough not to break after two uses. I adore Playmobil's Super Set Dream Garden (Made in Europe). What's not to love - it has a unicorn. And a peacock. And a waterfall.

Photo from PlaymobilUSA.com

And if unicorns and waterfalls aren't quite your thing, who doesn't want to explore the terrifically over-the-top, fantastical Playmobil Treasure Temple with Guards (Made in Europe).

Photo from PlaymobilUSA.com

How 'bout you? Which kids toys are your grown-up favorites?

Mother's Day Reflections

On Friday, both my school-aged kids brought home Mother's Day gifts.

From Kay, I got a lovely orange flower in a very pretty pot with her own paper purple flower planted in the soil as well. Adorable.

And from Magpie, something in a brightly-colored bag that was hidden with much fanfare and admonishments not to go peeking about in her room between then and Sunday. It turned out it was a beautifully painted flower pot with Artic Fire seeds inside that I could plant. Adorable.

It's all very sweet. And of course, being a sentimental type, I am truly touched. But it is all so unnecessary. I am shocked at my own good luck as I reflect on all I have this Mother's Day. I am like the donkey family at the end of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, when they are all so happy just to be together as a family again.

Honestly, what more could I want this Mother's Day when I have already:
- three kids, two girls and a baby boy. All healthy. All good company. All funny.
- a nice house in a nice town with nice neighbors.
- a husband I can tolerate, and more importantly, a husband who can tolerate me.
- no job! And still, a roof over my head and ample money for low-heeled shoes and high-end chocolates. How many people can say that?

So my dear kids, while this may not be true every year, this year as the Duncan family says "...really, for now, what more could they wish for? They had all that they wanted."

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

I am recycling this post from last year. And scheduling it to auto-post on Mother's Day. 'Cause I'm in Boston at Bloggy Boot Camp with a lot of fantastic bloggers. And I'm grateful for that, too.

Shelves in the Attic

My attic

As I've discussed here before, I'm a big collector. Mostly, I concentrate on items with an Americana and/or feminist twist - Amish quilts, milk caps, suffragette postcards, and of course jewelry and shoes.

I also have an extensive ribbon hoarding issue collection, and a nice supply of vintage fabric and beads. 

And what is the number one, most important thing for a collector to have? Space. Lots and lots of space. And for the first time, I have this too.

We recently bought a house (coincidentally?) from an avid collector. A collector of such insanity extent, that no one else could see past his copious stuff and appreciate the house. For me, his collections of dolls, boats and maps were all part of the home's charm.

Not to mention, he had my perfect attic.

My perfect built-in shelving, two-zone climate controlled, air-purified museum storage quality attic.

Are you a collector who dreams about endless shelves in the attic? Or do you think collector is just a fancy way of saying hoarder?

Three signs I am officially a suburbanite now

1. I rake leaves. Yep, all by myself. It's pretty fun. The kids jumped in the leaf piles over and over again. They loved it. The kids next door came and jumped in the piles, too. We got to talk to our neighbors who all couldn't believe I was doing the yard myself (full disclosure: me neither). But the truly suburbanite part is that I called my City friends and invited their kids to come out to the 'burbs just to jump in the leaf piles. It has come to that. No longer able to suggest cultural hot spots or trendy new restaurants, I am making a trip to my home attractive because of it's.... leaf piles.

2. I go to Costco. That's right. For years I said: who needs all that stuff? When the realtor was showing us homes and kept pointing out "and here's the Costco closet," or suggesting "the Costco fridge will fit great here!" I thought she was nuts. My husband would leave after house hunting and joke to each other about how laughable it was that we, NYC foodies would ever go to Costco.

Last Saturday we joined Costco. And let me tell you, I'll not only glad we picked a home with a Costco closet I am trying to figure out where we can put the Costco fridge. Because six pounds of sweet potato fries aren't going to fit just anywhere.

3. I drive a SUV. And the SUV does car pool. For years I resisted getting a gigantic car. And before the suburban move, I hadn't driven at all in over a decade. But then we moved to the suburbs. And had a third kid. The older two kids starting doing the modern childhood's cacophony of activities and I realized I couldn't do all the driving anymore. And now we car pool. Which I guess is environmentally friendly, so maybe the SUV isn't that bad. Though I know it kinda is.

My favorite part of the day

Kay and "Kluckers" tucked
in for the night.

Most nights, I am completely annoying to my kids at bedtime and ask them all sing-song in my best approximation of 1950s mother-ness, "And what was your favorite part of the day today, dear?"

Every once in a while the kids give me a genuine response, but more often then not they answer with something deep and illuminating like "eating poopy for dinner," or "hugging the baby too hard 'till you yelled at me to stop that immediately."


Still, mothering is nothing if not staying the course even when it seems utterly pointless, so as I sat relaxing on the sofa tonight I said, "Daddy's going to put you to bed tonight, but before he does, I just wanted to know... what was your favorite part of the day today, dear?"

And Kay says to me just as sweet as can be, "Oh Mommy, my favorite part of the day was the part when you put me to bed."

Nicely done, Kay. I hope it was.