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Hot Holiday Pick: Cabbage Patch Kids Are Back! I Love It!

October 17, 2011 By Whitney 1 Comment

If you’re a Mom and you don’t remember the Cabbage Patch Kids from when we were kids, you’re either insanely young or lived under a rock while your parents blocked you from all bits of 80s culture.  I still remember the mad rush it was that holiday season to try and buy one.  (Remember when you couldn’t order on the Internet and our Moms had to stand in long lines to get something off the shelf of a store before the store sold out?  Those were the days!)

Now Cabbage Patch Kids are back and they are the a hot pick for little girls for the holiday season!

And you can get them on the Internet!  (My kind of shopping)  You can get Cabbage Patch Kids on Amazon for a range of prices depending on the doll you choose. ($14.77 and up)

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5 Year Old Boy Birthday Wish List: Legos, Sqwishland & More

October 11, 2011 By Whitney 1 Comment

Yesterday, Cole and I headed over to our local Learning Express toy store.  They were having a huge Columbus day store-wide sale, and it’s also getting close to Cole’s 5th birthday.  Each year we go to Learning Express and make a “birthday bucket” which is basically like a kid’s wish list of toys they want to get.

We do it for family & friends who might ask what Cole wants but have no idea what to get him.  Plus, I get a discount on the items in the bucket after his birthday is over so it’s a win-win since Christmas follows shortly after his birthday.  And I like that it gives me a little bit of insight into some toys I wouldn’t have normally thought to pick out for him.

So.  Looking for ideas for a 5 year old boy?   Here are some ideas straight from the source:

Sqwishland SqwishLanders (not to be confused with Squinkies.  Oh, I know.)  These are at least cheaper than their counterparts.  These little rubber animals come in small balls.  The SqwishLander itself has a small hole on its stomach so you can decorate with the SqwishLander – Cole added a “bracelet” to his bucket where you can change and swap out SqwishLanders and wear them.  A tube of 6 Sqwishland animals is $4.99.  (Great stocking stuffer!)

He continues to love Lego Ninjago products.  The Lego sets themselves are for 7+ so I had to steer him clear of putting any of those in his bucket (will save those for his big brother!) but the little figures are great for when the kids pretend to have battles.  It’s about $8-10 for a Lego Ninjago figure – you can get a variety of them on Amazon.

And I was glad when he added this Honeybee Tree from International Playthings ($14.47 on Amazon) because it seemed very age appropriate. (Having an older brother he only wants to play with older toys so much of the time!)  A friend of ours has this and it’s a cute game.  Kids pull out the leaves and try not to release the bees into the bottom of the tree.

He was very excited about this Lightsaber Room Light ($29.99).  It attaches to the wall and with a remote, it changes colors.

Lastly, no stranger to Legos since his brother is obsessed, Cole selected some items from the Lego City line.  I had to steer him towards the age appropriate ones.  The key with the Legos is to see what the Lego piece count is.  Lego City is a great line for kids starting out with the smaller legos as they have several sets that are 5+.  We picked a few sets for him that were between the 200-300 piece range.

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Shoulder Buddies: The Tiny Toy my Kids Love

September 22, 2011 By Whitney 1 Comment

It’s never too early to find a great stocking stuffer and I’m picking this one for a top stocking stuffer choice for the 2011 Holiday season!

I first hear about Shoulder Buddies at BlogHer, where I got a sample Shoulder Buddies to bring home to my kids along with some other toys.  This little toy didn’t seem like much to me.  It reminded me of those Trolls people used to collect when I was a kid.  But I didn’t realize what it did until Cole (4) showed me.

Shoulder Buddies come with a half-dollar coin-sized magnetized disc that the Shoulder Buddy sits on.  The kid puts the disc under their shirt on their shoulder and then the Shoulder Pal sticks and stays on the child’s shoulder as he walks around.  Cole gets a huge kick out of walking around with his Pal and it makes anyone smile who sees it!

You can pick up a Shoulder Buddy at your local Hallmark or other store.  Use the Shoulder Buddy Store Locator to find them at a store near you.  I recently saw them at the Philadelphia Airport!  You can also buy them at the Shoulder Buddy Online Store for $5.99 each.

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Bright Starts Launches New Products and Honors 2011 Pink Power Mom, Mary Ann Wasil Nilan

August 22, 2011 By nancy Leave a Comment

We got a sneak peek at Bright Starts’ new baby products a couple of weeks ago and learned about an inspiring mom and the lives she’s touched. The event was hosted by Actress (and mom of twins) Marcia Cross and honored Bright Starts’ 2011 Pink Power Super Mom, Mary Ann Wasil Nilan. Wasil Nilan is a breast cancer survivor and mom of three, who founded The Get in Touch Foundation – which educates young girls on how to do breast self-examinations. Wasil Nilan was with presented with $20,000 check from Bright Starts to support this amazing initiative. Pictured is President & CEO of Bright Starts’ parent company, Kids II, Ryan Gunnigle, Marcia Cross and Mary Ann Wasil Nilan. [Read more...]

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Interview with Harry Connick Jr. & American Girl Launches Two New Dolls

August 17, 2011 By Whitney 1 Comment

Being a Mom of two boys, I may not have any American Girl products in my house, but I’m also the aunt to several nieces so I’ve definitely been schooled in the ways of American Girl!  I’ve also been to the store with girls and know what a wonderful experience it is.

I was extremely excited to have a chance to interview Harry Connick Jr. and his daughter over the launch of two new American Girl dolls, Cecile and Marie Grace.  This is the first time ever that American Girl has launched two dolls & friends together.  The story is a wonderful one – two girls growing up in very different families (one is black and one is white – both in New Orleans in the 1800s) and the story is about friendship looking beyond color and race.

To celebrate Cecile and Marie-Grace’s debut and the rich musical tradition of New Orleans, American Girl has partnered with 13-year-old Kate Connick and her father, world-renowned musician and actor Harry Connick, Jr., to create an original song A Lot Like Me with all proceeds benefiting the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in New Orleans.

When I interviewed Harry and his daughter, I asked what the one takeaway from this initiative I’d like my readers to have and he said that the message is that it shouldn’t matter what you look like – what counts is what’s inside.

What a wonderful message and lesson to teach a young girl.  You can pre-order the dolls and watch a video all about Cecile and Marie Grace on AmericanGirl.com.

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Shark Products for the Shark-Obsessed Boy

July 12, 2011 By Whitney 4 Comments

It will be no surprise if my 7-year-old turns out to be a marine biologist someday.  I know that phases pass but my own dear husband has always been obsessed with marine life and Nate is following in his footsteps these days.

He can’t get enough of watching NatGeoWild and Animal Planet and especially loves anything having to do with the ocean and sharks.  We’ve gathered quite the collection of shark products over the past year and for those of you out there with boys who live and breath for learning about sharks, I thought I’d put together a little  shark-related product list.  If you know of another great program, book or product, don’t be shy – leave me a comment!

For Preschoolers: I’m a Shark book by Bob Shea. We first heard this one this summer at a storytime at the beach.  A completely adorable story about a great white shark who is scared of spiders.  Wonderful illustrations and fun for preschool storytime.  $11.55 with free shipping on Amazon.

For Early Readers: National Geographic’s Sharks!  Level Two Reading.  Educational and factual about different kinds of sharks.  $3.99 with free shipping on Amazon.

For preschool & elementary school aged kids: Animal Planet Shark Attack Playset.  Santa brought this one for my 4-year-old, seeing as he loves anything his big brother loves.  I thought this playset was a great price for what it comes with and it’s seen many hours of play in our house.  $11.99 at Toys R Us or $11.55 with free shipping on Amazon.

For the older child: Discovery Channel’s DVD “Shark Week: the Great Bites Collection”.  We let Nate (7) watch Shark Week.  It can be graphic so use digression when showing this to your child.  But each year the Discovery Channel hosts Shark Week where they have various shows that are shark-themed.

We look forward to it each year and watch reruns all throughout the year.  It’s educational but graphic for sure.  Get the DVD collection on the Discovery Store website for $19.99.

For all kids: trendy & awesome shark clothes at 77kids.  On a recent trip to my local 77kids, I was impressed with the style and fun designs they offered for boys clothes.

I ended up going home with several shark-themed tees, much to the happiness of both of my boys.  Check out your local 77kids or view their collection of shark clothes online.

Filed Under: Books, Books for the Family, Kids, Play Time, Toys

Hot Weather Calls for a Trip to Target

June 1, 2011 By Whitney 3 Comments

We’re in the midst of an early summer heat wave here in Philadelphia.  My back deck thermometer read 101 yesterday in the sun which wasn’t really true but still tells you that it’s pretty damn hot outside.

I’m holing away inside of my air-conditioned house as much as I can but of course my daily craze gets me outside pretty often.  The kids have been loving the heat.  They’ve been running around with water balloons and whatever other items we have that involve water outside.

As I had to make a trip to Target yesterday, I stocked up on backyard water blasters, swim toys and other items the boys were thrilled with.  I buy my boys water blasters like this Swimways Splash Blaster ($10.49 with free shipping) because somehow a “blaster” seems better to me than a “water gun.”  Plus, they’re just more efficient in a water fight.

I also wanted to point out that this Swimways Baby Spring Float is on sale for $15.29.  We used this float for both boys as babies and toddlers and loved it because you can let the kids tool around in the pool in it and that mesh part allows you to leave toys sitting there for them to play with.  A great buy.

Of course I had to check out their swimwear as they have some great bathing suits if you go at the right time (ie before it gets hot).  It was completely picked over in my size of course but I ended up finding this one piece black cover up for $14.99 from Xhilaration!  I was thrilled and ended up wearing it out last night and is looks like an actual black dress.  It’s not this one pictured but it’s similar.  Just a great, versatile piece of clothing.  This Mossimo Strapless Smocked Black Dress is really cute too for only $18.00.

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What Are Your Favorite Backyard Play Toys For Your Kids? Here Are Mine.

May 28, 2011 By Whitney 2 Comments

Can we all give a little collective woohoo that we’ve finally had a couple of weeks of consistent warm weather? And that it’s time for the summer, kids playing outside and no more days of having to grab a jacket before leaving the house?

So I’m loving that it’s nice out now. And I actually did a search here on Mommies with Style for “outdoor toys” to see what I had reviewed in the past and it got me inspired to both mention a few old favorites and some new ones too.

A cheap, plastic pool. I’m gonna give some sage Mom advice from a Mom who is going on her 8th summer of having kids. Don’t spend the money on a fancy plastic pool with slides and bells & whistles that inflate in all directions.  Chances are something will pop by the end of the summer and if it doesn’t, it’ll be moldy and gross and you won’t want to store the thing all winter.  Each year I now get my kids a cheap, plastic pool that we only keep for one season.

You can get them for as little as $10 at your local Toys R Us or Walmart.  This Intex Pool for $19.09 at Amazon is the kind I’ll get for my boys this year as it’s big enough for them to have some fun in but cheap enough that I won’t feel badly when I toss it at the end of the summer.

A sandbox. When you can’t be at the beach, bring the beach to your back yard!  If you want to go all out, this KidKraft Backyard Sandbox looks amazing.

It’s normally $299.99 but it’s on sale on BabyAge.com right now for $164.99 with free shipping!

Don’t want to spend that much?  This Step2 Cabbie Sandbox is $59.99 at Toys R US.  Whatever you do, make sure you get one with a top!  The sand can get icky overnight if it’s not covered (plus I always envision some wild creature in the middle of the night thinking it’s a litter box and we don’t that!)

A fun sprinkler. Some things don’t change with time and turning on the hose and hooking up the sprinkler for the kids on a hot day never gets old.

There are a ton of cute sprinklers for kids on the market that will do all sorts of fun things when they turn out.

This Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Grub Scouts Sprinkler is $13.88 with free shipping on Amazon.

A stomp rocket.  A good friend gave Nate his first stomp rocket toy (the Marky Sparky Blast Pad) almost three years ago and we’ve been through several sets since.  I’ve gotten it a number of times and usually always pay $30, even on Amazon, so seeing it for sale for $20.99 with free shipping on Amazon, I know it’s a good deal.

Everyone loves this toy.  Who wouldn’t love blasting a rocket in the air?  Even the adults get going with this when they’ve had a beer or two when we have people over… get the Marky Spaky Blast Pad on Amazon for $20.99 with free shipping.

What’s your must-have for the kids in your back yard?

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Lego Ice Cubes – $7 at Lego.com

May 17, 2011 By Whitney 1 Comment

On a whim, I stopped into the Lego store recently and I bought this Minifigure Ice Cube Tray for $7. You can’t get them online (submit your email address for when they do become available if you don’t have a Lego store near you)

Here’s the tray from our house, you can see two of the figures in ice.  My boys are loving it!  $7 in-store at Lego.com.  They also make a Lego Brick Ice Cube Tray too.

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia. My Kids Got a Kick out of the SpongeBob Chia Pet.

May 5, 2011 By Whitney 4 Comments

Of course my kids totally didn’t get my singing the 80′s Chia Pet commercial as we got the seeds ready for our family’s new SpongeBob Chia Pet.

This past weekend, we prepped our new Chia Pet – the SpongeBob Chia Pet.  I love that this old classic is still around.

My boys got a kick out of putting the seeds onto the Chia Pet this weekend.  Now we get to wait for the seeds to sprout!  They were totally into it.

Get the SpongeBob Chia Pet on Amazon for $15.27 with free shipping.

Filed Under: Misc, Outdoors & Gardening, Play Time, Toys

SpongeBob 3-D PuzzleBall: For the Kids or For Daddy?

April 23, 2011 By Whitney Leave a Comment

My kids will be getting this SpongeBob 3D PuzzleBall in a collective pile from the Easter Bunny this weekend.  Looks cool, right?  The thing I find totally funny is that my husband was totally intrigued when he saw it.  60 pieces should be more than doable with my boys and husband.

Get the Spongebob 3D Sphere Puzzle at Toys R Us for $14.99.

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Growums: Vegetable Garden Fun For Your Kids

April 13, 2011 By Whitney Leave a Comment

Each of my boys will be getting a Growums pack in their Easter basket this year.  I think this may be my favorite item in the basket.  My boys love to work with Daddy on the annual vegetable garden we have on the side of our house.  Each year we have a variety of veggies and the boys love helping to cultivate and grow our food.

This year, my kids will each get a Growums Gardening Kit.  These kits for kids include several different kinds of seeds in each kit.  They come in themes – so for example, the Pizza Garden has seeds for Roma Tomatoes, Basil, Oregano and Bell Pepper.

You can follow along with the progress of your seets on the Growums.com site too.  The kids can login and watch videos and read information about their plants at various stages.  Growums cost $9.99 per kit.

Disclosure: I received samples of Growums to facilitate this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Tegu Blocks: The Toy I Want to Keep for Myself

April 10, 2011 By Whitney 2 Comments

While I’ve seen Tegu Blocks around the web for a few years now, I had never seen a set in person.  I thought they were your ordinary set of cool, eco-friendly blocks.

These blocks are cool and they are eco-friendly but they are also magnetic and completely addicting.  I received a sample of the Pocket Pouch Tegu Blocks in the mail and I have not been able to put these little blocks of wood down since.  I had planned on keeping these for my kids but seriously may covet them for myself.  It’s like the squishy ball you have on your desk in the office – just something I can’t help but hold.

Of course I will eventually share with my kids.  Really.  And I know they will love them.

Some other cool things about Tegu Blocks – they are made out of Honduran Wood and they are completely eco-friendly.  They’re a bit pricey to be sure, but this is a timeless toy that will last a lot longer than a passing plastic toy.

You can buy various sets of Tegu Blocks on Amazon.

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Jelly Belly Bubble Wands. (Smells Great & Won’t Rot their Teeth!)

April 9, 2011 By Whitney 1 Comment

Here’s some fun for the Easter Basket:  Jelly Belly Bubble Wands.  The bubbles are scented and the wand is big, making large bubble fun for the kids.

You can get a 3-pack of these at LittleKidsInc.com for $8.99.

They have some other Jelly Belly bubble products that look fun for Easter too (feel like the girls would love the Jelly Bean necklace with bubbles inside!)

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Fun with Blastos Bubble Twister

April 7, 2011 By Whitney Leave a Comment

Cole had fun today playing with his little friend in the nice weather and this Blastos Bubble Twister from LittleKidsInc.com.

It’s $13.99 and comes with a big bottle of bubble solution. Three AA batteries are needed.

Hooray for warm weather and getting the kids outside and playing with bubbles.  I love this time of year.

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Easter Basket Filler: Hexbug Easter Eggs

March 14, 2011 By Whitney 1 Comment

Available via a limited release for Easter only are these adorable HEXBUG Nano Easter Eggs.  They come in an egg and hvae the addition of bunny ears on the HEXBUG Nano.

Fatbrain Toys currently has the Eggs with Bunny HEXBUG on sale for $6.95.  A great price considering it’s usually around $10 for one.

Rumor has it, these HEXBUG bunnies will also be available at RadioShack.com both in-store and online come April 1st for $4.95 so if you’re willing to wait, be sure to check back at Radio Shack come April.

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