Tags
Coronavirus, educational toys, Homeschool, outdoor classroom, outside play, Quarantine, Science class, STEM toys, Stomp Rocket, Target
Most of us are stuck in #CoronavirusQuarantine right now…the kids are bouncing off the walls and itching to play outside. As of tomorrow, our Spring Break is over and “homeschooling” begins. We’re taking science class outside with the help of Stomp Rocket. Designed by Aeronautical Engineers, the Stomp Rocket Stunt Plane set comes with three planes that will turn makeshift ‘mommy school’ into an interactive experience.
Stomp Rocket’s line of STEM toys is 100% kid-powered and easy for kids to set up with no batteries required! Each time they run, jump & stomp they’ll learn more about the power of air, gravity, trajectory, and force while getting their energy out. You can pick them up at Target stores nationwide.
For over 25 years, Stomp Rocket has been entertaining kids and their families by stimulating active, outdoor play. The Original Stomp Rocket line includes rockets that soar up to 400 feet in the air as well as toys that are appropriate for kids as young as age 3.
Stomp Rocket has sold over 5 million toys and won numerous awards from industry experts, including most recently the 2019 Mom’s Choice Gold Award, 2019 & 2018 Creative Child Magazine Toy Toy of the Year Award, 2018 ASTRA Best Award for Outdoor Products, and was a 2017 Good Housekeeping Lab Pick.They’ve also garnered national and viral media coverage on Good Housekeeping, The Today Show, Access Hollywood, Red Tricycle, She Knows and more.
Today my daughter & I were invited to attend the Grand Opening celebration for the Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids new location in Northwest Hills – Austin. They had raffle drawings for free haircuts for a year & a free glamour birthday party package, balloons, face-painting, food & drinks and more. Here’s a shot of my little one getting her “rainbow princess” face paint and in the background you can see the pretty fairytale frocks the girls get to play dress-up in at birthday parties.
If all that rainbow-bling weren’t enough to send my tot into heartsparkle over-drive, they also paint their nails. Of course she chose purple glitter polish. Oh, AND it was done while she sat in a Frozen-themed Jeep. –She couldn’t stop smiling! 🙂 
We also squeezed in my daughter’s second-ever haircut in the middle of all the fun. There are no corners cut when providing these kids’ their haircuts — they do a nice wash in the shampoo bowl, wet cut, blow-dry, a dry-cut for touch-ups, and then the stylist even put a tiny little braid in her hair afterward.
See, the Sharkey’s name carries a lot of weight because they are so good with kids, and especially special-needs kids, too. They do lots of little things that the kids love, like playing on-demand their choice of favorite Netflix show at each cutting station! And for the older boys, there’s Xbox too.
In the past, many families in my neighborhood would travel all the way to Cedar Park to visit our area’s only other Sharkey’s for their kids’ haircuts. In fact, my daughter’s very first haircut (which was right around her 3rd birthday) was at that location. We were thrilled to hear there was a brand new one opening up much closer to us at the intersection of 360 & 2222. Sharkey’s salons already hold a special place in my heart, but this new spot exceeded my expectations. The facility is clean & bright, the staff was talented & positive, the owner was kind & thoughtful and the new location is perfect for us!
This cold-shoulder gingham dress received so many compliments at church yesterday! Handcrafted in sewing rooms that have been producing fine women’s garments in the U.S. for over 20 years, the same classic tailoring techniques used on the best blouses — including deep hems, covered buttons, and bias ruffles — are applied to the children’s styles as well. Little Goodall’s collection is classic and made to last. Even better, both pieces pictured are currently at a reduced price as part of their 
Dress up your little ones in extra-special handmade outfits that look fresh, and feel soft & cool against sun-kissed skin. Thoughtfully designed for the activity and motion of a busy child, each Little Goodall piece is handmade with the highest quality and attention to detail so the outfits will last for years to come. Plus, their seasonal collections are only available in limited quantities, so you’ll receive a unique garment you won’t likely see another child wearing at the park or back-to-school. 
The collection includes outfits for boys and girls, including bonnets, dresses, rompers and more. All Little Goodall pieces can be mixed and matched. Effortlessly dress your little one in Bubble Rompers with a clever inner liner that keeps the perfect pouf shape no matter how active your little monkey. Shoulder ties are accentuated with signature bell tassels, and delightful prints match the bonnets. The imported Liberty London Cotton Lawn is the finest, smoothest, lightest, natural fabric for summer, in the loveliest tiny prints which delight and not overwhelm.
About Little Goodall: Little Goodall is created by artist and designer Molly Goodall. While a stay-at-home mother, Goodall was frustrated when her two-year old son refused to wear the hoods on his coats. Searching for a creative solution, she designed and made the original Ferocious Felt Lion coat to inspire him to put his hood up in the cold. Friends commented, orders were placed, and Little Goodall was born! Molly is also the author of the creative sewing book 
They’ve just opened a plethora of presents under the tree and were drug to more holiday events than they can count. As much as we try to make them feel special and not forgotten after the Christmas chaos, winter birthdays aren’t the best. Everyone’s coming down from that yule-tide high and ready to just #NetflixandChill. After those packed schedules that come with the holiday season, people are beginning to settle back into their regular routine and at this point, are frankly partied-out.
But what to do when the dreary days of January & February have most of us ready to hit the fast forward button to Easter? My little one has an early January birthday and last year I kept it low-key for her first birthday celebration. Admittedly, that approach was due to me feeling like I was still getting my shit together has a new mom and couldn’t fathom adding party planning into the mix. So we went for something small and intimate, no guest list to manage, no decorations to fuss over. I have a little twinge of mom-guilt over it, but we ended up skipping the traditional 1st bday party in lieu of a morning of simply doing an activity she loved. We chose to spend a couple hours at 
This year, I am kinda taking the opposite approach… Thankfully it is now in my capacity to take it up a few notches for her second birthday. We’re throwing our little one a Texas “2”-Step themed party. To kick things off, we are hosting local children’s music artist 
Lunch will be catered by Austin’s famous 
Austin’s official children’s museum is a wealth of opportunity for fun & learning for families with kids of all ages & stages. They put on a slew of summer camps, reserve a “Baby Bloomers” morning just for the littlest crawlers, host a number of special events throughout the year, etc. As my “Community Placement” with 
Here’s the dollar-by-dollar breakdown: the average family in the U.S. spends $740 a year on toys if they have one child, and $1,200 a year on toys if they have two children. (PRWeb.com) With Toybrary memberships at $40 per month & a year’s membership adding up to $420, the savings most families see is over $300 per year! If you go once a week, and check out 3 toys each time, the kids get to use 12 toys per month. But don’t forget, families can visit and exchange toys as often as they like.
We recently had the special opportunity to shoot our family holiday photos at 
Although it’s private property and you do need an appt./permission to shoot there, I spoke with the owner at length before our session & he is opening it up as much as he can for photos. The venue (his home) is his labor of love and called it like a cultural center…holding weddings there is donation-based, for example.
It’s sad, really: due to some city zoning issues & complaints from neighbors, it’ll probably get all torn down and turned into condos soon. You can read more about the plight of the our community’s “secret theater” 
Today, I’m sharing photos from inside the greenhouse, but more moments from the rest of our shoot will be shared here on the blog & 
Blog Joie de Vivre 