If you've been following Toys In The Dryer on social media, you know that the girls and I have been raising a monarch butterfly this summer. It has been a ton of fun and a definite learning experience! I ended my last post, Raising Monarchs Part 1 at day 5, the day after our caterpillar hatched from its egg. Only 15 days later, we had a full-grown caterpillar that was ready to make a chrysalis! Though today is day 28, and our little monarch currently resides in it's chrysalis, I will end this post at day 20 because the next phase deserves a post of it's own. For those of you watching, waiting, and asking, yes, I WILL do a slide show of all the slides combined to show our caterpillar's growth but I thought I'd wait until the very end to show the entire transformation. In the mean time, I'll hit the highlights... Monarch caterpillars molt 4 times before molting one last time into their chrysalis. The stages between these molts are called instars and monarchs have 5 … [Read more...]
Back To School Shopping With Gordmans #Giveaway #ad
When Gordmans contacted me to partner with them to promote back to school shopping. I was all over it. The provided me with a gift card and the girls and I went to town! To be honest, I had seen Gordmans in our local mall but until now, had never actually shopped there. I don't know why. After this first trip, we will definitely be going back! Both Nutty and Tottie are picky when it comes to clothes shopping, especially Nutty. Shopping with her can be torture. I don't know if it's just this year's styles or Gordmans themselves, but Nutty had NO problems finding clothes she liked at Gordmans. She narrowed her selection to two shirts, a pair of pants, and a pair of boots. Tottie, who was less than cooperative for photos and shopping, immediately found a My Little Pony outfit and decided she was done. She would have liked a pair of boots too but the ones she liked were not in her size. Oh well. We'll be back to Gordmans for more Back To School shopping another … [Read more...]
VTech Kidizoom® Smartwatch #Review and Giveaway
It's no secret that we love VTech products so when they contacted us again to review their new Kidizoom® smartwatch, we immediately said yes! What is the Kidizoom® smartwatch you ask? Only the "coolest watch ever" according to my girls. "Mom, it's like spy stuff!" Ok, I'll be completely honest, my 8-year-old thought it was pretty "lame" when she first took a look at it. After all, she is on the higher end of the age range for this product. However, after watching her 5-year-old sister playing with it and loving it, she thought she would give it a try. Shortly after began the constant fights over who got to wear it, and use it when. I ended up having to take the watch away for an entire 24 hours just to stop the fighting! The novelty of having it wore off after three days and now they happily share it. Both girls think the watch is big for their wrist but that doesn't stop them from wanting to play with it. The pre-loaded games are a bit too easy for my 8-year-old but … [Read more...]
Mini Golf And More at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
It's been YEARS since I have been to the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Nutty learned about the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry in school but has never seen it in real life until now. A few weeks ago I was contacted by the Walker Art Center to help promote their mini golf courses in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden as well as their FREE family events during the rest of the summer. My family was given complimentary tickets to try the golf courses for ourselves. Hubby is working like crazy lately so the girls and I had a day out together. It was a TON of fun! Included in the mini golf tickets you buy is admission to the Walker Art Center. While we waited for our tee-time we explored the Garden and the Art Center. We all thought some people's idea of art was quite interesting! After an hour-long wait (even during the middle of the week!) it was time to play golf. But wait...that photo doesn't look like golf! That's because this isn't you average … [Read more...]
Tea Bag Rocket
My girls complained of being "bored" again yesterday so I hopped on the internet and searched for science activities for them to do. I came across this tea bag rocket on Kids Activities Blog and thought my girls would love it. Turns out they did! Our first rocket didn't work. I'm not sure why. It simply burnt down without lifting up. The girls were disappointed but as you can tell from the video, our second one went just fine! We went through 6 more tea bags before I told them I was done. I don't like to steal other blogger's ideas so you'll have to go to Kids Activities Blog for the actual directions and to see why this awesome rocket works. One final note, Kim did her rockets inside her house because she said any type of breeze outside will knock the rocket over. I was too scared of flying fire in my house so we did ours in the garage. Turns out, if you have a high ceiling, you can totally do this inside as the rocket burns itself out super fast. … [Read more...]
12 Deliciously Unique Smores Recipes
Summer is in full swing and with a heat index of 105 in Minnesota today, it finally feels like it! Of course, what screams summer more than the heat? Smores! I've rounded up 11 of the most deliciously unique Smores recipes on the internet for your enjoyment. Ok, maybe I rounded them up for my own enjoyment because my family loves Smores! Smores Cream Pie--Pie plus Smores, you can't go wrong with this one. It's simple to make too. Smores Stuffed French Toast--Want Smores for breakfast? No problem with this fun french toast. Smores Croissants --A recipe from our archives. Perfect for those times (like the middle of winter) when you can't make real Smores. Smores Snack Mix--Add some Smores to your party without having to have a campfire and all the mess. Indoor Smores--Raining outside? You can still have Smores indoors with this recipe. Giant Smores Cake--Nothing makes an impression more than a giant … [Read more...]
