The Crew News. . . . . . .

Well, as if we were not busy enough at this time of the year! Yes, we impulsively decided to update the look and functionality of Out of theToy Box. Our website host is providing great new options and tools and we just could not resist.

Wow, we are really impressed with the way things are going. There are a lot of cool new features, like a mini-cart that shows everything that you have selected, without actually going into your cart. This should make shopping much easier. I love to shop online and really appreciate an easy-to-use site. As a matter-of-fact, most all shopping for the recent wedding was accomplished online. It was fabulous…but I think that is a topic for another time.

I love the new enlarged photo that seems to magically appear when you hover your mouse over the image. This feature is inside the actual product description page, not the category pages. Here is an example: 60 Standard Unit Blocks. To see a completed category page, visit Castle & Pirate Ship Toys.We are on the cutting edge of technology and it is exciting.

I will let Joshua, our resident computer-geek, tell you about some of the other fab-o, change-o, technical wizardry. He will use the right terminology.

We have also made a switch to Scan Alert who will provide a daily scan and assurance that our site is hacker-proof and safe for our customers. You will soon see the Hacker Safe logo on our website and will probably recognize it from many other and very prestigious online stores. We are pleased to have been given a very positive rating with no changes required in order to meet their very strict and high standards. Now you can be even more confident that we are a safe and secure website!

Thank you for your patience as we complete all the changes. Some pages may have an unfinished quality for a few days. But we will be working enthusiastically to get all changes implemented asap.

Be sure to make note of our new Out of the Toy Box logo. Thanks to Joshua and Cybergate for such nice work!

So, why are we doing all of this extra work? Because we want you to enjoy shopping with us at Out of the Toy Box. We want your experience on our website to be enjoyable, simple and easy-on-the-eyes. Have you ever tried to shop on an ugly website? It can be quite a challenge. But another really good reason is that I just love to re-decorate. We have been remodeling our old home, off and on, for 27 years. Maybe it is time to find a new project.
Okay, I have rambled long enough and barely scratched the surface. I will save the rest for another day.

Well, I have been told that it is time to introduce myself. I am Pam, the mom or (COO) of this ‘crew’. If you call us here at Out of the Toy Box, you will more than likely hear my voice on the other end of the line. Everyday is an adventure around here, between daily chores, homeschooling, a recent wedding, the boys’ lawn care business, our website and all the normal activities and unplanned chaos that happens with older children in the house. I just thought things were hectic when all I had were babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers! I do usually get a full night’s sleep these days, unless of course, we are waiting up for one of these big guys to return home from an outing!

One of my ‘jobs’ is to choose new toys and games for our website. It is fun but can also be a daunting task. The products we look for must be wholesome, worthwhile, a good value and qualify for many years of family service. We recently received a shipment of new games that we have been waiting for since January. It was so exciting to finally see them.We are very impressed with this new line of Past-Tyme Classics from Melissa and Doug Toys. Some of the games included in the line: Chinese Checkers, Pick-Up Sticks, Backgammon and more. The line is beautifully made, and designed to be displayed and stored on your wall. As an avid organizer and mother of a fairly large family (always needing better ways to store things), I love the idea.

We were thrilled to find a game that truly fascinates everyone in our family, from our seven year-old to our new son-in-law to the (maybe-I-shouldn’t-tell-you-how-old) Dad. I suppose there is a reason that this game of Mancala has been around for centuries, after all. It is fun!

Did you know that Mancala is believed to be one of the most ancient of all board games? The word Mancala means “to transfer” in Arabic. This game challenges players to move pieces from bin to bin. Many rule variations exist, and Mancala is played in some form in almost every African country. Intrigued? You can find more detailed historical information about Mancala here.

In the past week Out of the Toy Box has had one extremely popular piece of merchandise: a very nice handpainted Mancala set from Melissa and Doug. We have had a case on order for a few months and it finally came in last week. Since then we’ve already gotten rid of half of them.

The funny thing? They weren’t sales. It was family members claiming first dibs on them.

It started small enough, with Miriam, Abigail and Lydia getting a set to play with. Then Caleb and I decided to get one as a gift for our Aunt Laurie. Then Naomi — Yes, the -1 that I mentioned last time. — demanded repayment for some groceries and snacks she had picked up for the family. But she didn’t want payment in cash. She wanted payment in Mancala.

So here we are at the beginning of the Christmas season and half our Mancala stock is already gone. If you want one you’d better order it now.

Well, here we are. This is the inaugural post of the Out of the Box Crew blog.

Who are we? We are a family of 8 – 1 (one of my sisters just got married in August). All of the children are (or were) homeschooled. And, of course, we have a family business.

Here is a family photo. It is a little dated, but maybe I can get a newer one up here soon.

From top left to bottom right: Caleb, Joshua (me), Abigail, Pam (Mom), Lydia, Mike (Dad), Naomi (the newlywed), and Miriam.

In the future, this blog will probably feature writing from most of the members of the family about the latest happenings in our little world.

I hope you enjoy it!