Johnson's Natural: A Snuggle for the Kids

Don't you love that fresh baby smell?
We do.
Well, what I consider that fresh baby smell is Johnson's baby lotion. 
The pink stuff.


Mmmm. Love it!
My husband and I even use it regularly.
Not just for the kids.
[He also uses the shampoo and baby wash too! And swears by it!]


So, when I got the chance to try out Johnson's Natural line, I was super excited!
Johnson's is a staple brand in our home, we absolutely love everything we've ever tried of theirs.

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Fudoo Board: Promote Healthy Eating & Healthy Lifestyle

I'm so excited to have these Füdoo Board Kits in my possession to giveaway!
And not just one. I have two!

Füdoo Boards has been a sponsor for hands on : as we grow since I started having sponsors. Sarah's awesome to work with and is very knowledgeable when it comes to promoting a healthy lifestyle, she's even been the Lifestyle Expert on the Raising Kids is Tough series!

Her Füdoo Board invention is no exception.
Its an interactive board that lets your kids [and you!] keep track of your daily food intake, as well as other healthy lifestyle actions!

I wrote a little bit more about Füdoo Boards back in June.

I'm excited that I have two Füdoo Board Kits to giveaway as part of The Heart Project!

If you don't want to wait to see if you win one of these, bid on one on eBay! There's 3 Füdoo Board Kits up for auction with all proceeds going to the American Heart Association.

Have you contributed to The Heart Project yet?
Donate $5 to the American Heart Association and get The Heart Book!

US $5 Donation to AHA

[You can also donate at your free-will, bid on auctions, or take part in the rest of the giveaways. 
More information is available at The Heart Project Fundraiser.]

Enter to win one of two Fudoo Board Kits! 
Enter to win here or at Broken Treasures:

[entries are all combined from participating blogs]

*see official giveaway rules*


If you do not see the Rafflecopter entry form below, please enable or update your java script.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Imagine Toys : DIY Puzzles

Imagine Toys was so very kind to send this beautiful product our way to test out.
A 9-Piece Block Puzzle to decorate your own puzzles.

The package includes:

• 9 wooden blocks
• 6 colors of acrylic paint
• 2 paint brushes 
• An assortment of colored pencils

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CraftProjectsIdeas.com : Kids Crafts

CraftProjectIdeas.com is a one-stop shop for all things crafty for kids! With project ideas for rainy days, seasonal crafts, even educational projects!

Its exciting to tell you that CraftProjectIdeas.com is a new sponsor for hands on : as we grow.

The craftiness may go off the charts in this house!

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Carville Mat Giveaway : 3000 Fans!

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This Giveaway is CLOSED

Out of a whopping 239 entries, one lucky winner has been drawn 

and the Carville Mat is being sent to her.

Congratulations Jenna R!

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Last week, the hands on : as we grow Facebook page hit 3000 fans!

[Thank you!!!]

As a big thank you, Betty Lukens Felts [a wonderful sponsor of hands on : as we grow] has offered up something to give away to one of my lucky Facebook fans!

Head on over to the hands on : as we grow Facebook page 

to enter to win this Carville Mat from Betty Lukens Felts!

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Imaginary Play : Betty Lukens Felt Boards

Talk about bringing in some imagination to our days!

We received these awesome, very high quality felts from Betty Lukens Felts a couple weeks ago.

The Carville mat will not be left alone!

I once had to actually put it up out of sight so I could get the kids to listen to me!

Henry has used it for everything imaginable.

Cars, trucks, the ambulance, fire trucks, motorcycles, backhoes, semis, tractors, cement trucks....

There's everything to do on this car mat! 

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Another Month Review : Thanks Sponsors!

I can't believe its October already...
Thinking about Halloween and the holidays are just around the corner.

September has brought about the kickoff of a monthly hands on : as we grow newsletter. Here's the first one, in case you missed out.

Be sure to sign up to get sneak peaks of the upcoming month!

I've also decided to give Raising Kids is Tough a revamp. A new format and a new name. Keep an eye out in the upcoming weeks for the change.

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September's top ten referring blogs.

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Unwanted Behaviors : Repeat Questions

Why?
Why?
Why?

... Why?

Experience that in your house?
Repeat.

Ha. Okay. I won't be the one with the repetitive questions.
Its probably your kids.

There's the 'why' stage that we're currently in. 
[Which I think I'm pretty good at answering... for now.]
But, I'm sure the nagging repetitive questions will be coming soon in full force.

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Betty Lukens : Learning Fun with Felt

All it takes is a little imagination...

Betty Lukens, the newest sponsor here on hands on : as we grow, has every kind of felt object/figure imaginable. And all it does take is a little imagination to bring these sets to life.

The opportunities for pretend play are endless with these felt sets.

Betty Lukens is known for their Bible Felt Sets, they'd be perfect for a Sunday School classroom. There's over 600 figures and objects to learn about the stories of the Bible.

For the home, or even a classroom, the Learning Fun with Felt Sets create those pretend play opportunities. 

Here are a few of my favorite sets from the Betty Lukens website:

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Month Review : Thanks Sponsors!

August has been another amazing month here on hands on : as we grow.

The first part of the Raising Kids is Tough : Eating Battles series was a success! Lots of questions came in throughout the month as well, and we tried our best to answer them on Facebook as well as from the experts each Monday.

This month, Raising Kids is Tough is focusing on Unwanted Behaviors! Can't wait to kick off this new part of the series on Monday! What would you like to talk about in October? Submit a question!

Apart from the Raising Kids is Tough series, August has brought about some opportunities for me! One being the twitter party I hosted on preschool readiness. It was a blast to host it and talk to you all about getting ready for preschool, and seeing what to expect! I also had a wonderful giveaway last week for an amazing memory game that was almost too beautiful to play with! And on top of all that fun stuff, Deborah of Teach Preschool hit a major milestone on Facebook and asked a few of her blogging friends to collaborate together to create The ABCs of Teaching Preschool, even though I'm not a teacher, I was proud to contribute to the letter P - P is for Play!

It's Playtime! has been booming with play ideas as well! Breaking records for the number of entries a couple of times this month! There's always over 100 ways to play each week! Thank you Playtimers for a fun week, every week!

Here's to September! I wonder what's in store this month. But for now, we'll recap August and hopefully get everyone caught up!

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August's top ten referring blogs. I appreciate the features that these blogs have given hands on : as we grow, or the opportunity to link up in a great party [like It's Playtime!].

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Modern Art Memory Game : Giveaway

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THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Congratulations to sweetheart!

Due to the previous winner not responding, I drew a new winner and notified her via email.

AMMO Books will be sending her one of these beautiful Modern Art Memory Games!

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I received this beautiful Modern Art Memory Game from Sara of AMMO Books. 

It combines two of my favorites: kids and art.

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Preschool Readiness : Twitter Party 8/25

Henry started preschool last Thursday.

A big day.

Though the day itself didn't seem so big.

After a few weeks of going four mornings a week, it may start to feel different.

I have asked myself many times, "Is Henry ready for Preschool?"

"Is he doing all the things a preschooler should be doing?"

"What does he need to know?"

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Thank You Sponsors : Top Referrers

I want to give a huge thank you to Fudoo Boards for continuing our partnership again and a big welcome to a new sponsor this month, A Mom with a Lesson Plan.

 

Fudoo Boards is a fun, interactive way to learn about and 

maintain healthy eating habits as well as a healthy lifestyle!

A Mom with a Lesson Plan is a playful blog full of lessons for every theme as well as some fun Mommy Facts!

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July brought about a new series on hands on : as we grow called Raising Kids is Tough and I'm just beginning the first part of the series with Eating Battles. 

Your questions are answered by a panel of four experts, including input from parenting, teaching, mom and lifestyle experts! Very informative posts from very informative experts!

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July's top ten referring blogs. I appreciate the features that these blogs have given hands on : as we grow, or the opportunity to link up in a great party [like It's Playtime!].

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Raising Kids is Tough : At the Dinner Table

I announced the Raising Kids is Tough [RKIT] series on the blog and asked for your toughest questions. 

Each Monday for the month of August, I'm going to focus on the battles of eating that every household has at one time or another. Very generously, the hands on experts have given their professional and personal answers to help lessen those battles.

The Hands On Experts:

• Mom Expert: Jill of A Mom with a Lesson Plan
• Parenting Expert: Erin of The Intentional Parent
• Teaching Expert: Deborah of Teach Preschool

And, we have a special guest expert, and a wonderful sponsor, Sarah of Fudoo Boards is here for this eating series to give her food expert input on your eating battles.

Your Eating Battles:

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A Mom with a Lesson Plan : Spotlight

Are you organized and have a lesson plan? I don't.
But, thankfully, Jill from A Mom with a Lesson Plan does!

Head on over and check out the new sponsor on the blog, A Mom with a Lesson Plan!

There's Lesson Plans for every theme imaginable and it keeps growing! Just last week, Jill added a Money theme and before that a Camping theme lesson plan! But my favorite theme that I've seen has to be her Mud theme, with a lesson with Mud Math as well as some Mud Painting!
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Thank You! : Sponsor Spotlight

I want to give a huge thank you to Fudoo Boards for continuing our partnership.

Fudoo Boards is a fun, interactive way to learn about and 

maintain healthy eating habits as well as a healthy lifestyle!

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I've found that the blogging world loves to share their favorite posts of their favorite blogs with their readers. I'd like to share my top ten referring blogs in June that sent their readers over to hands on : as we grow. They're all full of inspiration for your children!

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Crafty Art : Eric Carle Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is probably the most well-known, and popular, of his books. At least it is to me.

I asked Henry if he'd like to make a caterpillar out of tin cans.

He jumped at the chance and wanted me to read the book constantly while he painted.

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Outdoor Play : Tin Can Forest

A forest in the sandbox for the Forest Fiesta!

Henry and I made a real forest with upcycled tin cans, tree branches and a few plants.

Henry loves picking up sticks at Grandma's house. So that's just what he did. 

While he added the biggest branches he could find to Grandma's twig pile,

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Thank You : Sponsor Spotlight

I want to give a huge thank you to Fudoo Boards for sponsoring me.

Fudoo Boards is a fun, interactive way to learn about and 

maintain healthy eating habits as well as a healthy lifestyle!

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I also want to thank my blog friends by giving a shout out to my top ten referring blogs for May. I recommend any and all of these blogs for you to follow. They are full of inspiration for your children!

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Fudoo Boards : Eat! Drink! Move! Think!

Fudoo Boards really does make it simple to lead a healthy lifestyle,

and its especially fun for kids and preschoolers!

[I'd have fun with it myself, as the mom!]

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