My Best Friend is So Far Away..

I wanted to share with all of you about my friend Brandy of Happily Blended. It is really weird to think about how she and I became such great friends. It all started last year when she was doing a Sprout giveaway before I was even a blogger. I had to watch her little video she made to answer the questions and I thought wow, I really like her personality. Brandy is a social butterfly that is loud and fun to talk to. I ended up being one of the winners of the giveaway. After that we started exchanging email occasionally.

When I started my blog she was one of the bloggers I went to for advice. I am sure she remembers my very first blog layout that only lasted for 2 or 3 days. Once I started blogging I would occasionally talk to her on Twitter or Facebook or email. As time has gone by, Brandy and I started texting occasionally; we were both single moms and seemed to have a lot in common. I remember our first phone call. I was extremely nervous at first. She is so warm and friendly I wasn’t as nervous after that.

The occasional texts and phone calls have turned in to, texting each other all day and talking on the phone at night. I really enjoy talking to her. You would think we would run out of things to talk about but we never do. We really talk about everything and rarely discuss blogging, which is cool. She has me saying “wicked” because I hear and read it all the time. It’s funny because I thought it sounded so weird before and now I always say it. We get along so well. We only had one misunderstanding, which was resolved two minutes in to our phone call. The misunderstanding wasn’t even OUR fault. I am planning on visiting her in New Hampshire sometime soon. I can’t wait to see her. I don’t want to say meet her because I already know her!

Check out Brandy’s blog Happily Blended and read about the adventures of her munchkins, and some wicked awesome reviews and giveaways.

Wooden Toys vs. Plastic Toys

When I am picking out toys for Noah for his birthday or Christmas, I tend to buy him wooden toys. I prefer to buy him wooden toys because they seem to last longer than plastic toys. Wooden toys also have a old fashioned toy feel to them and they remind me of toys I used to play with at my grandparents. Noah loves to play with trains, planes, cars etc. He even has a wooden train set. He really likes wooden toys because they are more realistic than plastic ones. He also has wooden blocks that have come in handy before when I am putting things together and I need a wood block.

I had a wooden food set when I was little. I used to “trick” my grandparents in to thinking they were real foods. They would pretend to eat them. Of course they knew they weren’t real but it was fun to play with them. I also had a wooden cradle. That I got for Christmas from my grandparents. I still have the cradle out in the garage. It was probably my favorite Christmas present I received as a child.

My favorite wooden toy that I would play with at my grandparents was my grandpa’s wooden trucks. He was a diesel mechanic. So, he would have wooden trucks given to him as presents or as thank you gifts from one of his clients. We also played with other wooden toys that my grandparents purchased throughout the years. Some of them were old fashioned and I know that my other cousins played with them as well. I am the youngest grandchild so they went through 9 other grandkids and many years of play. I will continue to give Noah wooden toys to play with, and hopefully someday have more children to pass them down to.

What kinds of toys do you prefer to give your children? What do you think about wooden toys? I look forward to reading your comments.

Small Town Girl at Heart

I really want to move to a small town. I think it would be fun to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. I have always lived in good sized towns that would be considered suburban. Honestly I don’t really know my neighbors. I could probably pick them out of a line up but I don’t really know them as well as I would like to. I would love to buy an old house and remodel it. I would have to contract the help of my aunt and uncle who are the best at remodeling, electric, plumbing etc.

I would have so much fun picking out the floors, the paint and even the vanity that goes in each bathroom. I would want a big one where I can keep a bunch of candles on the vanity because I love taking bubble baths by candlelight. Would you want to remodel a home? I know it is a lot of work. I would just supervise the work. I am not really about getting down and dirty when it comes to things like that. I don’t even like putting my son’s toys together. I would be in the kitchen making treats and lemonade.