Mommies With Style

Spring is in the air and my kids are finally able to get outside again.  I’m doing my little happy dance a lot more these days, that’s for sure.

The other day they pulled out one of their favorite all time outdoor toys.  We’re going on our third season using this toy and it’s such a hit, I had to share.  It’s the Marky Sparky Blast Pad Advanced Missle Launch System.  A friend gave it to us for a birthday a couple of years ago and we’re already on our second set.  Every kid (including the Dads) just loves this toy.  We call it the “stomp rocket” as you stomp on the attachment and it uses air to blast the rocket off.  And never fear, the rockets are made of foam so there’s no injury risk.  We’ve had the rockets come down on people’s heads before and the only reaction is more laughing.

It retails for $29.99 but you can always find deals so keep your eyes peeled.  It’s currently discounted to $21.14 on Amazon with free shipping.

Mattel/Fisher-Price introduced many cool new products for 2010 at the recent ToyFair. As I walked around Mattel’s press section, I actually got overwhelmed. Broken down into sections and by sub-brands, they had so many products to show (and super-enthusiastic demonstrators)

Here are a few of my favorites.

The iXL (shown in picture above) is a story book, game player, note book, art studio, music player and photo album. It looked amazing and I would love a closer look! It will retail for $79.99 and was named the hottest toy for this holiday season by Mattel’s President.  It features and attached stylus pen, an SD card slot for expanded memory, and a USB cord to connect to the computer. Users will be able to add their own photos and songs (MP3s and WMAs)! It can store multiple software titles, songs, and pictures. While you won’t need cartridges, you will be able to purchase licensed software CDs ($24.99 each/sold separately). Ni-Hao Kai Lan, Disney Princesses, Handy Manny, Batman^TM, Toy Story^TM and SCOOBY-DOO!^TM software cds will be available June 2010; Shrek^® and SpongeBob SquarePants^TM software CDs will be available Sept. 2010. It will come in 3 colors – pink, blue and silver. Requires 4 “AA” batteries.

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Middle is afraid. One night its the dark. Another night its a noise. I’m starting to think he’s not really afraid, but that he just likes using the word. Regardless, it was definitely time to bring out the Scare Me Not monster, an adorable friendlly monster that’s easy to hug and cuddle.

What makes Scare Me Not monsters unique is their long, attachable tail. So if there’s a monster under the bed, your Scare Me Not Monster can peek under and tell the monster to stay away. Have a goon hanging in the closet? Just hang a Scare Me Not. They come with an adorable story that you can read on the website explaining how Scare Me Nots “get” monsters because they’re monsters, too.

Middle loves that his monster’s eyes are wide open all night, looking out to protect him, so its easier for him to close his eyes at night. And the introduction of Scare Me Not monsters was perfect for him. We had just returned from a trip to Disney where we had to visit the Laugh Floor (from Monsters Inc.) several times because we loved it so much. Now that the Monsters Inc. monsters are funny, we introduced Middle to Scare Me Not monsters as friends of Mike and the gang. Of course, he bought it. Middle’s Scare Me Not monster goes everywhere with him. From his bed to our bed to the family couch.  I haven’t heard a dark complaint since. And anytime he gets worried at night, we just remind him to pull his monster a little closer.

 Thanks to Innovative Toys for providing sample Scare Me Not monsters for this review.

I recently attended Toy Fair 2010 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. There were so many great products shown, from big and small companies.

Kidkraft seriously blew me away. We were already big fans of their Hannukah Set (my cousin bought it for my son 2 years ago). Kidkraft makes some terrific wood items. From wooden pirate ship playsets (see above), to firehouse sets, play kitchens and religious sets (they have many Jewish and a couple of Christian sets) — their toys are all terrific quality. The company was also promoting  personalization on benches, toy kitchens, and fabric-covered chairs. You can add your child’s name and choose a graphic.

Click here for Whrrl Slideshow of products from KidKraft.

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Looking to buy a first Lego set?  Here’s a great deal for today only:  the Lego My First Duplo Set is on sale at Target today for $10.19.  Such a great deal!  If you’re there in person, pick one up.

But even better, buy it online as they’re offering a rare free shipping as well on this sale.   That’s a deal in and of itself because everyone knows you can’t get in and out of Target with one thing.  But online, just maybe…

Free shipping and $10.19 at Target.com.

My time at the Toy Fair in NYC was kicked off by Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story 3 Event, showcasing the more than 250 new Toy Story 3 Toys. The newest Toy Story movie will be released on June 18.

In the film, Andy is now 18 and going off to college. His parents donate his toys to the Sunnyside Day Care Center — which looks terrific…. at first. Things quickly deteriorate and the toys need to be rescued. Will Andy get there in time? Click here to watch the trailer.

To unveil the Toy Story 3 toys, the Green Army Men repelled from the ceiling in “take-over” mode to look at some of the new toys releasing this Summer and into the 2010 Holiday season.  John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, Lee Unkrich, director, Toy Story 3, Darla K. Anderson, producer, Toy Story 3 and John Ratzenberger, voice of Hamm, were on hand to introduce the new toys.
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For him: My husband tells me a good pen not only looks the part, but feels the part. And he’ll look like a stud in the boardroom wtih a Faber-Castell Mondoro Pen. With a barrel made of polished precious resin and the cap and ends created of polished and chrome-plated metal, this masculine pen is a gift to write home about (and he will. With a pen.)

For the techie: The ridiculous amount of wires gathering around our charging station was overwhelming my kitchen, so it was a huge relief to get to test the Powermat, a mat that allows many electronics to charge wirelessly. The pad comes with attachements for cell phones (check yours on the list before buying), ipods, Nintendo DS’ and more. But if you want to lay your electronic device flat on the pad, you’ll need to buy additional attachments that will allow them to charge without a wire. Its a bit of an investment, but so worth it if the wires are making you batty. And for the traveling techie, Powermat released a travel item that folds up and takes up much less space. (By-the-way, you’ll still need to plug the mats in to an outlet.)

For your tween: If she has a DS, then run, run, run to the store and grab her one of the Style Lab games by Ubisoft. It is just so fun to apply and reapply make up with Makeover and to create jewelry in their Jewelry Design game. If she’d prefer a game a little less Diva, try out Ubisoft’s Imagine series which includes games like Zookeeper and Soccer Captain.

For your 5ish-year-old: While my 6-year-old still hasn’t lost a tooth, he’ll be prepared to lose one because he’s getting a pillow from The Wiggly Tooth Factory. Its an adorable mini-pillow-sized tooth with a pocket, available in fun fabrics with a so cute face. Someday (and likely, his dentist predicts, close to his 7th birthday) he’ll hide his tooth in the pocket to be replaced by a magical toothfairy (who already has a stack of golden dollars, hidden away.) Anyway, I know its a little close to Valentine’s Day, but this one is so cute that I had to mention it. So order now. Because even if you don’t gift on Valentine’s Day, you just never know when you’re going to need a Tooth Fairy Pillow, and you don’t want to be without!

For your Mother-in-Law: We gave my MIL a Reisenthel Shopper e2 bag for Christmas this year (and kept another for us.) She just melted over this bag. Its perfect for the weekend traveler, the shopper and, well, the bag lady. This bag expands, bottoms up, allowing for you to fill your bag more than you planned. Which you know your Mother-in-Law is likely to do.

For your Preschooler: My 4-year-old grabbed the Yubo lunchbox as soon as he saw it. He loves pretend-play and the box looks like a little piece of fancy luggage. So when he opened it and realized he could fit a sandwich and two snacks inside, he was in heaven. (It comes with containers). Plus, it comes with a freezer pack made to fit inside perfectly. All the pieces fit perfectly inside and the lid slides right on. The bonus feature: you can change the look with interchangable faceplates.

For baby: California Baby’s I Love You! Collection offers massage oil, spritzer and bubble bath made with all-natural, organic aromatherapeutic products specially blended to encourage relaxation and relieve tension. Baby will love the attention. And afterhours you and hubby may want to borrow it.

 We wish you all special time with your loved ones this Valentine’s Day!

Thanks to California Baby, Yubo, Reisenthel, Wiggly Tooth Factory, Ubisoft, Faber-Castell, Powermat and their agents for providing samples for Mommies with Style.

When I was a little girl, my mother had a business making customized rag dolls. I was the lucky one, getting all the test dolls and samples. My mother is a talented artist and put so much into her creations. These dolls were amazing, well loved,  and I still have several of them. This explains why I am such a rag doll snob.

Over the years I haven’t ever really seen a commercial rag doll that I would want for my kids. My mom’s creations are a really tough act to follow. But earlier this fall I glimpsed Adorable Kinders rag dolls and was immediately thrust into a nostalgic state.  Read to the end of this review for a great coupon and instructions how to win one of these amazing dolls!

The Adorable Kinders collection of 26 dolls is based on the alphabet. There are dolls from A-Z, boys and girls, with a variety of hair and skin tones. I requested that the company send a red headed boy – “Xander” for my review. It reminded me of my 20m son who would be the target recipient and tester. Little did I know my 5 yo son would be so jealous! Not so surprising when you learn that the collection is based on an active group of kindergarteners (5yos) and their world.

Right out of the box the doll struck a chord. The weight and quality of the doll, the attention to detail in construction and material (even the clothes and socks and shoes are lovely) really stand out. My son was smitten. He and his new doppleganger buddy jumped off the couch together a few times and then his pal was lovingly put to sleep with a tissue paper blanket and firm kiss goodnight. My daughters each oohed and ahhhed over the doll and commented that it was “no fair” that they didn’t have dolls like these when they were little. I had to agree.

Some other great features about these dolls: They are washable! They have no hard pieces which makes them very comfortable and safe to sleep with. Each doll comes with a unique ID code that lets you log on online and play educational games that are appropriate for preschoolers and K-6th graders. Clothing for the dolls can be ordered separately.

Next month, I’m headed down to Florida with the family to Disney for the Social Media Moms conference, and a little extended family vacation.  As I always do when we’re on the road, I’m planning ahead with bags and entertainment for the kids on the plane.

The first thing I’ve packed is our Crayola Glow Station – I got one for the boys for Christmas and it’s been a hit in our house.  The kids use the “wand” to draw different shapes and trace their hands and other random items on the glow tablet.  It’s currently 43% off on Amazon, marked down to only $12.00 – definitely a steal for such a great on-the-go kids product.

Next, I received some samples of Wikki Stix, which I’m hoarding in a hidden drawer until we get on the plane.  Love all the creative ideas they have on the Wikki Stix website – crap these wax sticks around sticks, rocks and more.  It’s all about creative play with Wikki Stix – I know my boys are going to love playing with these on our trip.

Lastly I’m eyeing up Crayola’s Color Explosion Glow Board – we have the Glow Dome and I’m sure they would love this too. (It’s currently 45% off – hard to resist a good sale!)

Looking for a way to stay sane till the frost melts? Gotta keep those active kids entertained indoors?  I can’t praise the Rody horse from Maukilo enough. Maukilo has a site chock full of toy goodness, but the Rody holds a special place in my heart. It’s the perfect solution for active indoor play on all those chilly, snowy, rainy days when your kids have energy to burn. Read to the end of this review for a chance to enter to win a $50 shopping spree from Maukilo.com

Rody horses have been in my house for over a decade. Our original red Rody horse is still going strong after hopping many a mile around our neighborhood and around our living room. But I hopped (pardon the pun) on the chance to review a new yellow Rody Horse. Our one problem with the original horse is its popularity. We’ve had fights break out over the thing. At one point I purchased a cheap Rody imitation to try and deal with this. It promptly popped.  Nothing but the real thing for us from now on! It’s no coincidence that the motto on the Maukilo site is “Buy Once. Play Forever”. That about sums up what I love most about the quality european toys sold at this site.

Over the years I’ve recommended Rody countless times to friends and family. Some of the questions I’ve heard are :

Q:  How old does a kid have to be to enjoy Rody?

A: The packaging states 3 yrs, however my children enjoyed this toy with supervision from a younger age. My youngest child was able to sit and bounce on Rody from a yr old, though he needed help getting on and off. By 18 months he was bouncing around the house without anyone holding on.

Q: Don’t your kids get sick of Rody?

A: No. Not at all, even after ten yrs my 13 yr old tries to get on one.

Here’s a little video I made of my sons bouncing around on Rody. Note that the red one has been in our house for many years. It never gets old!

Ready to enter for a $50 shopping spree? Visit the Maukilo Site and select your favorite toy item. Enter below by posting a comment with a link to the item, who you like it for, and why you like it. Please note, you cannot enter simply by commenting “I want this” etc or duplicating a previous entry. You have to actually tell us the what, why and who to qualify!

One winner will be picked at random.