JO was a Senior Network Engineer for a cable company in Atlanta when she became a mommy.  She and her husband liked to eat out, go to movies, golf, and travel.  After her first daughter was born, she hired a live-in nanny and went back to work.  Even though the nanny was very nice and caring with the baby, there were still a lot of things the nanny did that JO didn't agree with.  JO also felt like she had missed out a lot on the precious baby years, so she decided to stay at home when her second daughter was born.

JO & her husband now live in Seattle, WA with their 4 ½ and 2-year-old daughters.  In the mornings, the kids are fed and dressed by 9 am, and then the older one goes to Montessori school while JO and the younger one go to a playdate or the park.  If the little one naps, JO can get some chores done, relax a bit, and maybe even catch a 20-minute cat nap before picking up the older one.  Her husband has recently started traveling to CA weekly for a contract job, so night time is a bit hectic for her, trying to get the girls fed, bathed, and to bed by 9pm.

Super Sushi:  an adorable sushi play set for little ones by Small World Toys.  This 14-piece sushi set includes:  chopsticks, chopsticks rest, soy sauce bottle, soy sauce plate, tea cup, rice bowl, sushi tray, hand roll, shrimp tempura, tuna roll, shrimp sashimi, salmon sushi, and a wasabi leaf.  Yum!  What could be more fun?

My girls love Dora the Explorer and have watched her show for many years.  How exciting to see that Dora travels to China!  In Dora the Explorer - World Adventure, Dora discovers that Swiper has swiped all of the friendship bracelets from around the world.  They need to return them in time to celebrate Friendship Day with everyone across the globe. 

Dora & Swiper team up to return the bracelets to France, Tanzania, Russia, and China.  They visit the Eiffel Tower, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Winter Palace, and the Great Wall.  In each country, Dora meets a local friend, sings hello in the native language, and magically changes into suitable attire. 

In China, they sing "Ni Hao," meet their friend Mei, and superjump over the Great Wall.  Yinying the weasel disguises himself in a dragon costume and tries to swipe the friendship bracelets, but they save them just in time to celebrate Friendship Day.  Excelente! 

Oops!  Sorry, I didn't mean to give away the ending.   *Just kidding!* 

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Hope you all have a Happy Fourth of July! 

You can make a patriotic star decoration at EnchantedLearning.com or star-spangled wavers at FamilyFun.com.

Do you love origami?  Do you wish you could remember how to make a paper boat, or a box, or a crane? 

We found this incredible site called Origami Club.  The site features free diagrams and animated pictures to show you how to make all kinds of things with paper-folding.  Even your little ones can make an easy animal face or a flower.  They also feature more challenging sea creatures, bugs, birds, & other animals, fruits and vegetables, airplanes, cars, alphabet letters, numbers, furniture, clothing, and more! 

Need paper?  Try an origami paper pack from Tuttle.  Their ready-to-fold paper comes in a variety of colors, patterns, and sizes.

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