Of Birthdays and a Giveaway...

Wow.  I'm tired and feeling a bit brain-dead.  As much as I've wanted to wrap up my series on being mission-minded, I haven't had the time or energy to pull it together. 

Why, you ask?  Well, yesterday wrapped up what I affectionately refer to as 'crazy birthday week'.  In our little family of 5, there are 3 birthdays within a week of each other.  We now have a 4 year old, 6 year old and me - an undisclosed year older.

For Keegan's birthday last week we had the opportunity to all go to a baseball game with Oma and about 100 law students who are wrapping up their summer internships for the Blackstone Fellowship.  The boys loved it, although Keegan was a bit embarrassed when all of the law students (and several surrounding sections) sang Happy Birthday to him!  Embarrassed in the best kind of way of course, since he shyly recounted the story several times the next day.

The flurry of summer baseball inspired the boys to pull out their play silks for some 'take me out to the ballgame' kind of fun. 

I mentioned earlier how much I love play silks.  Play silks are creativity inspiring toys that promote open-ended and imaginative play in a way that 'scripted' toys often times cannot. 

Several years ago, I bought a whole bunch of them and gave my boys a few each year at Christmas and then would wrap up a pair of them for many of the birthday parties we attended.  They were always a huge hit, even if the parents were a bit skeptical on the entertaining value of a piece of silk.   (You can see them in action at our house here, here and here

I would always include a note laying out their many uses to give some initial inspiration.  Some of the ideas included: playing peek-a-boo, a doll blanket, sling, wings, cape, a river, pretend picnic blanket, a turban, pirate's headscarf, skirt, toga, belt, fort, etc...  Maybe I'll have to add baseball diamond to the list!

These 35"x35" silk squares are a perfect toy from birth up till about 10 years old.  They are perfect for peek-a-boo since they are so light and are perfect for all kinds of costumes and forts that can even entertain an older child.  At our family reunion a highschooler even donned a cape and chased Xander around! :)  They range in price from $7-14 depending on where you buy them.  A Toy Garden  is my favorite place to buy them for both quality and price. 

I love these play silks so much, that I've decided to give my last two new silks away to one lucky winner! With gifts on the mind, this seems only natural! There is a lavender purple one and a salmon orange-pink one.    

To enter, simply leave a comment and tell me how you think your child would enjoy playing with them.  If you follow or subscribe to my blog you may leave an extra comment for an additional chance to win.  If you don't have a blog, make sure and leave an email address so I have a way of contacting whoever wins!

This contest will have to be limited to those with a U.S. or Canadian shipping address. 

A winner will be randomly selected next Friday morning, August 20th at 8am, Pacific time.

I'll be back soon with the last two parts in my series on being Mission-Minded.

disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this review or give-away.  I just like them THAT much and want to share the love...