But we don’t go very often because it can get expensive and on a normal trip to the mall (where our local Build-A-Bear is), I’m not looking to treat my kids every single time.  Yet they ask.  Every. time. we. go.

I know I can’t be the only Mom who has this same experience!

So how much do I love that Build-A-Bear now offers Trading Cards.  At $2 a pack, kids can collect and trade various bear cards and share and trade them with friends.  Each pack comes with 3 cards.

It’s nice to have an affordable small option to offer my kids that goes along with the Build-A-Bear experience.  You can get them in-store or online at the Build-A-Bear website.

And looking for something a little bit more, check out the also newly introduced Build-A-Bear Fun Pack with Furry Friend. For around $5.99 (various prices), you can get this pack with a small furry Build-A-Bear Friend plus trading cards!  Sold in-store at places like Target and Walmart and online at EnterPLAY.com.

It’s a stylus and a paint brush and the reviews are incredible for it.   Nomad’s Compose RED dual-tip says “Happy Valentine’s Day” on it and can be purchased on NomadBrush.com for $39.

They also have iPad paintbrushes for kids!  Check out Nomad Play for $18.

Love it.  Get it with free shipping on Amazon for $227.

I could have used this coupon last week!  Cole and I were just in-store and he HAD TO HAVE these Darth Maul Stride Rite light up shoes.  I could not say no to his excited face and I can’t tell you guys how much pleasure he gets out of walking around in these shoes on a daily basis now.

But seriously, go check out Stride Rite on Facebook and get the coupon code – this one’s a good one!

Enter The Bubblebum booster seat!

This neat, colorful, and fun booster seat is totally portable and perfect for those times when a bigger traditional booster isn’t available or an option. These times may include going on vacation, riding in a taxi, rental car, or bus, or just keeping one in your back seat or trunk for emergencies or for a spare. We love keeping ours in my husband’s car, which has a much smaller backseat. He keeps one traditional car seat installed at all times, and then can bring out the Bubble Bum when he needs it if two of my children ride in his car. Some people use three Bubblebum’s in a row in a very small backseat because of its narrow profile.

The Bubblebum is small and light, so you can easily pack it on an airplane or in a school bag. It is easily inflated and is held securely in place with the car seat belt restraints. My kids enjoy sitting on it as it is cushioned and soft. And the best part is that The Bubblebum meets ALL US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and also has been tested and approved to European Standards as well! Please note The Bubblebum is suitable for children ages 4-11 years who weigh 40-80lbs and should be used only with a 3 point car seat belt. Learn more here about safety and see The Bubblebum in action! (This is a great video that has some helpful info about why using a booster is important.)

At an affordable $39.99, it’s so worthwhile to keep one (or two!) in your car for emergencies, vacations, and more.

Kids get a unstuffed animal and using the Wuggle Pet Kit they can stuff their pets at home with stuffing, magic dust and adorable key words to give your animal “traits” that they’d like them to have.

Check out my boys here with the Starter Kit ($19.99+ S&H).

Here’s are the key ingredients that come in the box including two pets, stuffing and the Fun Factory:

Here Cole added the Magic Dust and stuffing to go into his Wuggle Pet:

Connecting the Wuggle Pet to the Fun Factory:

Cole was so excited to twist and add the stuffing and Magic Dust:

Cole selected “cool” and “brave” as personality traits for his new Wuggle Pet:

Overall, it was a fun and engaging experience for my kids.  They have named their Wuggle Pets and have been carrying them around!  Love the idea of a Wuggle Pet kit for Easter.

The movie is based on a true story from the late 80s – a family of three whales trapped by ice in Alaska and the media blitz and huge rescue that ensues to save the family from death.  Sounds interesting but not like it would be floor-stopping, right?  It was incredible.  Drew Barrymore and Jon Krasinski star.

You can check out more about Big Miracle on the official website but seriously, if you have kids of an appropriate age, it’s a must see.  It comes out February 3rd.

(Regarding age – personally I’d say at least 5+ should be the age for this movie and that’s even if you have a 5 year old who finds nature interesting. It’s rated PG and there is some mild swearing.)

Kids learn about state capitols, state geography and so much more.  (Which state houses which National Park and so forth.)

Nate (8) played this pretty much all day yesterday as he was in bed with a bad cold.  You play to “earn” states and he’s earned 45 of his 50 states and I can’t tell you guys how much he’s learned in just one day.  He can identify almost all of the states by shape alone, knows many of the capitals now and knows which states border one another.

Oh and you have to “stack” your states which can get pretty precarious!  If your stack topples over you are starting over, so it’s not only educational but fun. (Because that’s the best type, right?  The ones where my kids learn and they don’t even realize they are doing it…)

You can get a Lite (Free) version too but we only tried the paid version – get Stack the States for $.99 for the iPhone and $1.99 for the iPad on the iTunes store.

I noticed the reviews ae kind of mixed on these because of the rubber tip but I have the rubber tipped pen and it works great for me.

Get the 3-pack of Universal Touch Screen Stylus Pen (Red, Silver & Black) for $1.99 with free shipping on Amazon.

They are encouraged to pull themselves up and stay standing at the table while they play. I already have the Baby Einstein Discovering Music Activity Table by Disney for my infant and can’t wait to watch her interactions with it as she grows. The Baby Einstein Activity Table even has pull off legs so that babies can play on the floor. The table helps babies learn colors, shapes, and counting to five in three languages and plays five classical melodies. The light up colors and sounds attract babies’ attention and are just fun.

You can buy the Baby Einstein Discovering Music Activity Table at Target for $39.99.