I love The Whistle on the Train!  This is a must have book for everyone!  Remember the “wheels on the bus” song?  Well, this book is just like that!  You’ll read (sing) the “the whistle on the train goes whoo whoo whoo” and “the wheel on the train go clackety clack” and “the gates at the crossing go ding ding ding”.  Not only does it teach your child about trains, it is a pop up book!  They get to see in a 3D format what the train looks like and how they operate (to a degree).  My one year old giggle and says “ohhhhhhhh” every time you turn the page in the his book.  It is one of the most unique books out there.  My four year old likes it, because well, we sing the story.  She knows the “wheels on the bus” song, so changing the words a bit hasn’t phased her at all.  This book is hours of fun, so I hope you’ll be putting it under your tree this Christmas.

Charlie the Can-do Choo-choo! is one of those books that you have to buy for all the little boys that you know.  Will got it for his birthday, and it is one of the coolest books I have seen for a long time.  Charlie the Can-do Choo-choo! is about having optimism and knowing that you can do whatever you set your mind too.  The part that impressed me was that this book is not like a normal book.  The book opens up like a train on the tracks. On one side, you have the story;  on the other side, you have pictures and lights.  When you press the train’s nose, the train lights up throughout the book.  Both  my 4 year old and my 1 year love to play with this book.  I have never seen two kids have so much fun with a book before!

The Booster is one of my favorite online stores to buy supplies for when I was doing lia sophia. They have so many things that you can use if you are a direct sales salesperson. Their prices are great too! They have everything from stickers to buttons to postcards. I think the only thing that they don’t have is custom printed calendars. The also have booster packs that can help you bring in more sales, higher attendance to your shows, training items, etc. They really can help! They even have a thing called “Idea of the Week” where you can learn a new thing to try each week. If you are a needing a little nudge up for your business, this is a great way to get it!

This is another classic children’s book to have in your library. My Little Word Book is great for both babies and toddlers. Each page is about a subject such as your body parts, toys and games, food and drink, etc. On the page, they have colorful pictures of the different items that fall under the pages title. For example, on the page titled Things That Go, there is a car, train, bus, and a truck  just to name a few items on there. All the items are brightly colored. The pages are the thick cardboard type, so they are almost indestructible. Madison (my 4 year old) loves to go through the book and read it to me!

This is a local store for me. I don’t think they are a national wide chain. However, if you live in the Chicagoland area, you need to stop at Darvin Furniture for your furniture needs. I am pretty sure that their sales people work on commission. However, you don’t feel them breathing down your neck while you are looking. I have never found a time when I couldn’t find a salesperson to help. The salespeople are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. They carry almost all of the name brands of furniture and mattresses. They also have great financing deals going all the time. The only thing is that you need to put down a third of the purchase price. You can use cash, charge, or even money from your checking account. At this time, we have bought our kitchen table, our living room set, and today, we just bought new mattresses from them. We wouldn’t keep going back if this wasn’t a great store to shop from.