Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. The day before Saint Nicholas is coming to visit our place, Lyons Cub, grandma, and Lyoness are busy baking Christmas cookies. We’re…
by: Emily Sewell When people outside of the United States think of American homeschooling, I can only imagine what comes to mind. Religious zealots, living off the grid, and/or families of at least fifteen children most likely. I think there is a solid stereotype in there somewhere. Well, I am here to dispel some of…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. The Mix and Match-a-Saurus from VTech was a big hit with Lyons Cub last Christmas. It comes with a big, orange egg…
Today, Lyons Cub built his gingerbread witch’s house–and not just any kind of house from an ALDI package, but one that mommy’s friend baked herself! Fresh, deliciously smelling gingerbread… We had to make the “glue” first, so my son got to hold the mixer and I had to open the eggs and put the “slime”…
Guess what my over-50 husband wanted for his birthday in 2016? GUINEA PIGS!!! Maybe that was an unfulfilled childhood dream… whatever, I was willing to fulfill it for him. And it shouldn’t just be ANY kind of guinea pigs; I wanted to adopt them from a shelter. So I looked online, and I found a…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Which mommy doesn’t think her kiddo is the best dressed in the world?!? Well, I was surely proud of the way I…
In the past, I have shown you how the kaleidoscope app works, how to make hyperbolic tilings of images, and how to create “belfies” (breastfeeding selfies) with the tree of life. Today, I’m going to show you how to use artificial intelligence to create pictures and paintings of different styles (such as cubism, impressionism, child’s…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Whether you have had a preemie or not, you’ll probably want to create some kind of memory of your hospital stay (or…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Do you have a suitable nativity scene for your baby’s first Christmas yet? One where you don’t have to worry that he/she…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Soon, it will be Christmas! Do you have a baby who cannot walk yet? Are you afraid he/she might get to the…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. There are so many cute porcupine children’s books out there, and guess what they’re teaching about? You’re right: befriending a special person…
As a fresh mommy, you are still healing from vaginal birth or your C-section. All you want is peace and quiet, and to be with your new baby. Also, you might not feel and look your best. (Unless you’re one of those Instagram and Pinterest mommies who have perfect hair, skin color, make-up, dress, and…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Do you also have a kid who loves marble runs of any kind??? Lyons Cub has a marble run made of wood,…
Bad things in life happen… Just when we were in pre-Christmas mood and had planned so many things (like going to the indoor swimming pool, visiting the animal park again, going Christmas shopping), the warning light in our car went on and said, “low tire pressure,” and the ride was a little more bumpy than…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Are you reading Llama Llama Red Pajama to your child, too? Of course, Lyons Cub had that book when he was younger,…
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Lyons Cub believes in Saint Nicholas. (Just a hint: Here in Germany, Saint Nicholas comes on December 6th to bring presents for…
Big day for Lyons Cub!!! We visited the zoo in the city of Wuppertal on October 31st. Alas, due to the danger of Covid-19 transferring from people to the big cats, we couldn’t visit the lions and tigers. However, the brown bears, the elephants, the pelicans, the penguins, the seals, the deer-pig (yes, that’s a…
Today was a special day for Lyons Cub. It was raining, so we didn’t drive to the animal park to walk around outside. Instead, we drove to three pet stores to visit the animals. He couldn’t pet them, but he got to look at bunnies and budgies in their cages, and—best of all—a clerk allowed…
Right next to bristle shapes, I would recommend magnetic building blocks as an educational toy for toddlers and preschoolers. They train the hand and brain, because kiddo has to assemble structures with the understanding of magnetic forces, which is not an easy task. (Although, once your kids find out that the fridge and the range…
Ahhh, finally!!! The otters were out. Maybe because it was a sunny day for a change (although it was quite cold for October, brrr… Lyons Cub wore a scarf and woolen hat for the first time outside). We made a trip to the Wildpark in Leverkusen again, in the hopes of seeing some animals that…
Lyons Cub loves parks, like the one with the climbing animals and exercisers, but most of all, he likes to pet animals. (Well, he grew up with two dogs, Honey and Sally, and two cats, Felix and Frankie, and several crested and gargoyle geckos.) So today, he was in for a treat. He had been…
Lyons Cub wanted to cut hair today–no, not his or mine, thankfully, but that of a little plastic doll that grandma lion found in an old box of her bigger grandkids’ stored play things. She brought a bag of playdough and utensils for play time yesterday, and my son excitedly stuffed the little dolly with…
Okay, so here’s something for the big builders among you: Feel inclined to spend many hours crafting a super-duper cool wooden marble race track table for your child? The one Lyons Cub and I found was in a Mall, but you can put one together at home with spare building blocks from eBay and an…
The time was right a couple of days ago to invest in BNTX shares again for Lyons Cub, when their price hovered at a low $246. I tried right from the beginning to give him a good start into a financially secure future, so I invested in different stocks I strongly believe in, such as…
Do your kids love those ride-on machines, too? Lyons Cub likes the ice-cream truck, Bob the Builder, the Minions’ space shuttle, the horse merry-go-round, and the fire-engine at the mall, but the bright red helicopter at the beer garden in the park with the climbing animals and the exercisers is something special. It costs one…
Also feel like you’re already consuming too many pre-Christmas treats and chocolates? We certainly are!! So it’s off to the park and onto the exercisers for us. Strictly speaking, this parcours was created for seniors (at least, that’s what a senior told me when my son started climbing, rotating, stepping on, and hanging from them),…
Looking for a great educational tool for your toddler builder? Next to Duplo, MegaBloks, and Lego, I discovered bristle shapes. Lyons Cub received a package from a dear friend for his second birthday. I remember them vaguely from my childhood in the 1970s and 80s as “Nopper Steckbausteine.” Curious, I looked them up and found…
It will be Christmas soon! Have you started creating your kid’s Christmas wish list yet? If not, it’s about time–you don’t want to be stuck in the Christmas rush, especially if you (like we) live quite far away from most family and friends and get many things by mail. The post offices will be overwhelmed…
Does your toddler also have the problem that the pants slide down his butt all the time? It’s important to me that my kid is well dressed. My son has short legs and is slim around the waist. This means that jeans and most types of trousers without an elastic waistband don’t fit him, since…
Already at 10 months of age, Lyons Cub saw a fire engine, but he didn’t enjoy this one, because it was at a pediatrician’s office in Michigan; he had gotten an ear infection while we were visiting relatives of Daddy’s. His love for fire engines remained unbroken, though. Of course, he had the little fire…
