Sketching

I am blessed to have children who like to create things. Some of my children take after their father for creating art so we are always buying paper, pads, pens, markers, paints, etc.

My daughter who is entering 10th grade this year needed not for school but her creative side at home some sketch pads.

Thankfully Lasten has some great products like this double pack of pads. My oldest took the large one as I had bought her a small one to take to school for her ideas, and her younger sister took the smaller for her art projects.

I love that both of these are made from quality paper with 48 sheets in each as well as double spiral bound and carry handles on each for portability. The 2 pack of Lasten Pads can be found below.

Disclosure:  MarksvilleandMe received one or more of the products mentioned above as part of a promotion. Regardless, MarksvilleandMe only recommends products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive compensation.  If you would like MarksvilleandMe to review or promote a product or service please contact us at marksvilleandme@gmail.com.

Missing Spoons

Apparently having children means replacing silverware over and over again because they just seem to disappear. Personally I think it is when the kids scrape their dishes off and it falls in the trash and they just leave it there instead of fishing it out. Either way we are always on the prowl for silverware, either free, or for sale. 

These stainless steel spoons we just received are what my mom and dad called Tablespoons. Our family calls them the Ogre spoons because they are the large spoons we use for serving smaller items at the table and the kind my husband uses to eat his cereal. 

I really like the plain look of these spoons because they will go with any decor. We used to have fancy decorated silverware but it just wasn't worth the cost with how often we had to replace them so we learned to use what we had or could find for an affordable price. 

Do you deal with missing items you often have to replace? 

These stainless steel spoons can be found below. 

Disclosure:  MarksvilleandMe received one or more of the products mentioned above as part of a promotion. Regardless, MarksvilleandMe only recommends products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive compensation.  If you would like MarksvilleandMe to review or promote a product or service please contact us at marksvilleandme@gmail.com.

Organizing Tiny Messes

Having a family means organizing lots of things big and small. My husband used to have a really nice way to store his tools but now that we have moved it is a whole new ball game.

Recently while unpacking. Yes 4 months later we are still making a dent into unpacking and found this bucket of mixed screws, nuts, nails, washers, and other doodads.

Having little totes like this one from Lasten on hand really helps make sense of tiny messes. These storage boxes are also great for use in tiny toy collections, hair beads, jewelry making, etc.

As you can see the after is looking a whole lot more neater and there is plenty of room for more items to be sorted. My husband is happy he doesn't have to dig anymore for what he needs and I am happy not to have to worry about the bucket tipping over and having to clean it up. What is great about this particular one is that you can change the sizes of the areas to accommodate different items.

This Storage box from Lasten can be found below.

Disclosure:  MarksvilleandMe received one or more of the products mentioned above as part of a promotion. Regardless, MarksvilleandMe only recommends products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive compensation.  If you would like MarksvilleandMe to review or promote a product or service please contact us at marksvilleandme@gmail.com.

Passing the Torch

As a child I played the tambourine during church music service with my friend the Pastor's daughter and other church members. I continued to do it into adult hood. I enjoyed it very much. Somewhere along the line and moves I lost my tambourine.

When we were looking for new instruments to add to our collection one of the items we got was a 10 inch Tambourine so that the kids now they are growing can learn on a full size version.

Personally I like tambourines with double rows of cymbals but this is still great for beginners or those who like single row cymbals.

As you can see my daughter was really getting into playing it. Very easy and something she will learn in percussion. Currently she plays the flute but would love to be in Jazz band in the coming years so she has named a few instruments she would like to play some we already have and others to add to the mix. Music is such an awesome thing that can cut through boundaries and touch peoples lives in ways other things can not do.







This Tambourine can be found below.

Disclosure:  MarksvilleandMe received one or more of the products mentioned above as part of a promotion. Regardless, MarksvilleandMe only recommends products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive compensation.  If you would like MarksvilleandMe to review or promote a product or service please contact us at marksvilleandme@gmail.com.

Protect That Noggin

As a mom when my children go out to play I like them to be safe as well as prepared for what lies ahead. With skating there will be falls, scrapes, and maybe even breaks. So far the latter has not happened. Being prepared for these things means as a mom you outfit your child with Helmet, and Pads. It was really a no brainier for me. I can't promise she will always wear them. Kids are kids, but I can have them available to her, while encouraging her to use them each time she goes out. 

I was able to find a really nice set from Jifar while looking for skates for my daughter. The set comes in several colors black, blue, and pink. Everything came in a really nice bag for storage which is nice when you are trying to keep things organized when not in use and easy to find when you need it.

We chose the set in pink as it was closest to my daughters favorite color purple. The helmet has a matte finish so you can paint, decorate, or leave plain. You get the helmet, knee, elbow, and wrist pads plus the bag. The pads fit my daughter but just barely where the helmet has plenty of room for growth. The helmet is easy to adjust which is just what I like. Some helmets are so hard to fit to your child's head.

I love that once we adjusted the helmet and showed my daughter how to use the pads she was able to get ready to use her skates without help. As a reminder please make sure you check your child's helmet often for fit as well as wear and tear.

The Jifar Helmet and pad set can be found below.

Disclosure:  MarksvilleandMe received one or more of the products mentioned above as part of a promotion. Regardless, MarksvilleandMe only recommends products or services we use personally and believe will be good for our readers. Some of the links in the article may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive compensation.  If you would like MarksvilleandMe to review or promote a product or service please contact us at marksvilleandme@gmail.com.