Kids and iPhones

If you have an iphone and you have a kid, chances are, the two have already introduced themselves. Unfortunately, the relationship isn't always as smooth as that of chocolate and peanut butter. Enter the Woogie. It works with an iPod Touch or any current variations of the iPhone and provides a stuffed animal style case with a small built in speaker.

I am not here to debate the evils of allowing your child to play with your phone. Personally, my family spends far too much time running around and being out in the world so yeah...I do have to rely on some out of the box distractions here and there in order to avoid some dirty looks. Coloring books only take me so far. Recently, I switched back to Verizon so I had a decommissioned AT&T iPhone that is now for the kids on special occasions. It no longer has a cell phone signal, so I don't have to worry about that health issue and they have their own iPod playlists, apps and pictures to entertain themselves with. We protect it with the Woogie and love it. The speaker isn't as loud as I would hope and it does require batteries. Griffin includes the first set of batteries with the Woogie and you can always allow your child to plug headphones into the Woogie.

And please, if you decide to go with headphones for your little one, please use something safe like these or these.

Play Kitchens

Nothing is cuter than watching your little one play pretend. And the best pretend play might just be kitchen play! Cooking and eating are basic everyday functions in any home and imitation is the most sincere form of flattery :) We recently introduced real water to our play kitchen sink and it has added hours of play a day.

We LOVE the eco friendly, made in the USA, real, unfinished wood kitchen and icebox from Elves and Angels. We purchased the "Christina's Kitchen" in 2008 and the "Jacob's Icebox" in 2009. They arrived flat packed and were pretty easy to assemble.

I did have to shop around each time for the best price and shipping options. You can google to price compare. Or here are a couple sites to start out your search:
http://www.novanatural.com/
http://www.blueberryforest.com/

I also came across this etsy shop and loved some of their variations. We added this etsy creation to our kitchen line up at Christmas time last year and are thrilled with it.

If you want something that will be a useful piece of furniture after the kids outgrow their play kitchen, this etsy shop has a great idea.

A few friends have gone with various Pottery Barn or Ikea play kitchens and have also been very pleased. My only caveat on these is that I can't speak to their eco-friendliness and I know they are definitely not made in the USA. They are really adorable though.

And while I normally try and avoid some plastic toys, I will give props to Step 2 and Little Tikes who make most of their toys in America and use recycled and safe plastics. They do outsource some manufacturing to Asia but their websites will tell you which toys are made where. I have seen these play kitchens in action and the kids really enjoy them. There are lots of things to open, close, push, pull, twist and turn.

If you are looking for something that doesn't take up valuable floor space, there is this tabletop style in wood from etsy or something like this in plastic from Target.
Of course, if I were purchasing a play kitchen today for Ella & Kaya, I think this one might be my pick. Mama digs it!