Razor Pocket Pros Finger Scooter Toy

Here is a cool little Razor Pocket Pros Finger Scooter Toy we were psyched to try out with the kids! It’s made by Pocket Pros and is modeled after the Razor scooters.  It is intended for the 6+ crowds as it features lots of small parts and even a tool!

My test crew was two 7-year-old boys and they immediately recognized the Razor scooter. They loved how the scooter “folds” like the life sized Razor scooter and easily fit into their pocket. It came with changeable wheels and a little tool to change the wheels. This is an awesome feature. It also came with changeable handlebar covers too. So, each kid could “customize” their scooter to their liking.

There are quite a few really cool features to this little toy. First, the ability to customize the wheels and handlebar covers. Next, the tool made the kids feel like they were actually “working” on their scooter. Finally, the little parts all move created lots of fun! This is a cool little collectible toy that packs hours of entertainment yet still fits in a child’s pocket. A pretty cool little toy!

We received a sample of this produce to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.


This review was by our contributor, Gia.

Pokemon Pop N Battle : Tepig

Here is another cool toy from the Pokemon characters. The Pop N Battle comes with a launcher and attack target. It’s a great game for the 4+ crowds. My little guys loved launching the pokeman at the intended target. Once they actually hit the attack target and the little “trap” shut, they were all sold!

Play it alone or battle with friends, either way it’s a great little game!  The Pop N Battle itself is brightly colored and features a PokeMon character that is launched into “battle”. We received the Tepig character that is a very cool looking pig. This toy features some smaller pieces but we were pleased with the overall durability. This is a cool game for any child but especially for a PokeMon fan.

We received a sample of this produce to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.


This review was by our contributor, Gia.

Captain Cuffs - Fisher-Price Hereo World Rescue Heroes

Recently we had the opportunity to review Fisher-Price Hero World Rescue Hereos Captain Cuffs. While Captain Cuffs is awesome, he is a bit too advanced for our little guy. He is intended for ages 3-8, so he headed to the classroom with me for some free time! I am a special education teacher and my students aged 5-7 loved him!

There are so many things as a parent/teacher that I love about him.  First, he is incredibly durable. Next, he comes with many parts/pieces that are made to actually last. Finally, he is equipped with moving parts that are easily manipulated by little hands (your little one will LOVE the actionator feature).

Overall Fisher-Price Hero World Rescue Hereos Captain Cuffs was a complete success with my crowd and I can foresee him lasting the test of time in any household.

Thanks Fisher-Price for the awesome Captain Cuffs!  

Thank you, Gia, our newest blog contributor!!!!

Sushi-Themed Cloth Lunch Set by Brookiellen Designs!

At this point,  I try to stay away from plastic and wasteful packaging as much as possible. Not only is it better for the environment, it's better for the health of my family- way less toxins getting into our food. Having a toddler, lunch accessories are a must. I teach M-W and Ava goes to a babysitter. On my days off, we are often out and about, meeting with friends, or running errands. I don't know if you have ever met my child but she can EAT! She loves to eat and often requests snacks throughout the day.

My girl Brooke at Brookiellen Designs hooked us up, big time! She sent over some of her brand-new products- an insulated lunch sack, a sandwich bag, and a snack bag! The lunch sack snaps closed and has a handle for easy toting, and the snack bags have a waterproof nylon lining.  They perfectly accommodates a few snacks or a full lunch for Ava.

Since receiving the snack bags a few weeks ago, we have used them so often, and we get tons of compliments on them. People love the sushi design (we are so in love with it!), and people love the earth-friendly way to port toddler snacks!
 

I love the velcro closures and the easy-to-clean insides- just wipe with a damp towel. If something icky gets on it, simply hand wash it or put it in the washer!  We actually used ours up in the Poconos on the beach and on the dock for food and believe it or not---our iphones fit perfectly in them!!!

I cannot wait to buy some more, to stock up for our fall back-to-school time. The hardest part will certainly be deciding which pattern to choose!!!

If you're interested, head over to her shop, she JUST returned from vacation, so these will be flying off the shelves!

We received samples from Brookiellen Designs to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

Aqua Doodle!!!

Aqua Doodle by Spin Master

Daddy checks out Aqua Bear!

Having a toddler in the home, we are in the artsy-crafty stage. Painting, coloring, markers, pipe cleaners, you name it. The messier the better. I am totally cool with mess and never mind letting Ava go crazy with finger paints (at the table of course), but there are times when mess just is not an option, like at Granny’s house, on vacation, or in the car.

We have discovered two toys that satisfy the greatest of artists, and please the tidiest of moms~ Aqua Doodle Bear and Aqua Doodle Mat!  These toys each come with their own marker (which can be used interchangeably) and both can be drawn on, even the bear!  

By the end of the week we were writing abc's and drawing all the

little pictures around the mat for Ava!

I have not even gotten into the best part yet--- the markers will work once they are filled with water, and! They only work on Aqua Doodle Products!!!!  Write with them on your skin, just water. Write on a chair, just water. Write on the dog, just water. Pretty dang sweet, huh?

These toys occupied my two-year-old, my husband and I, my mother-in-law (who is an artist!) and my step-father-in-law. We played with them in the car, in the cabin and on the dock.

After a few minutes, your drawing will begin to evaporate so there is no need to clean, no need to put them in the washing machine, easy-peasy. Ava was completely mesmerized by the fact that her handprints, foot tracings, and drawings would disappear after a bit. “Where are my toes?” was a common expression around the house!

Thank you to Spin Master who provided samples of these products to help facilitate this review, unknowingly to them---just in time for vacation!!! All opinions are our own.

Growums!

Remember our Growums giveaway in May? On Mother's Day, Ava and I planted our Growums seeds and have been patiently waiting for them to grow into herbs we can use while cooking.

I am happy to report, ours are still thriving! They are just about ready to be put into little pots! Ava and I are so excited to check on our plants, and to water them daily. We have been keeping them outside during the day, and inside at night, but a few times we left them out during insane storms by accident. Guess what? Our little babies are still growing!



I tend to have a very-non-green thumb, and I am so impressed! We have been following tips and our progress on-line and really appreciate the reminder emails we receive telling us what we should be doing!

Growums!

As I told you in a previous post, I will be posting some reviews of really fun products.  I am not really ready to post about Growums yet, but I just had to let you know what I'll be doing in the next few weeks!

Today, these showed up at my door:

When I left the Toy Expo, I was also given this:

Growums are themed garden kits, that have an interactive platform on Growums.com to teach children all about growing their own food, "from seed to harvest".  Cartoon characters represent each type of herb/veggie/fruit and really make gardening exciting for children!  I thought it would be neat to do an on-going post about these little gardens to help you get the full effect. Stay tuned!



Thank you to Growums for providing us with samples of the aforementioned gardens and for sponsoring the giveaway, I'm so psyched to test them out!

PetCakes!

PetCakes!!!

 

It's a pet! It's a cupcake!  It's both, and it's a-dor-able!  PetCakes just debuted their Series two line and that's what I got to check out. Ava girl just can't get over the fun factor with these little guys- if she's playing in the kitchen, perfect, we have cupcakes. All other times though, she's bathing them, feeding them ba-bas, and taking them for walks in the kitchen. Insanely cute, right?

These little guys are perfect for travel or for taking to daycare- they're precious and snuggly, yet they are not too big. At $14.99/PetCake, you cannot go wrong!

Thank you to PetCakes for providing us with samples of PetCakes and for sponsoring the giveaway.

Go See: HOP

HOP is the story of E.B., the teenage son of the Easter Bunny, who does not want to follow in his father’s footsteps but rather be a rock and roll  drummer. So he travels to Hollywood  to pursue his dream. 

While there, he meets Fred (James Marsden), an unemployed slacker who just got kicked out of his house. The story follows E.B. and Fred on their adventures as they attempt to be successful.

I took my 10-year-old son to see HOP.  The characters and animation in the movie were really good. Despite it being a kids movie there were some jokes that I would have considered “over the head” of most children under 12 but my son still liked it. I enjoyed  Russell Brand, the voice of E.B..
Brand brings both comedy and sweetness to the character. E.B. was so adorable you just wanted to grab him off the screen and hug him! James Marsden, as Fred, gave an OK performance.  I could have done without the appearance of David Hasselhoff. He added nothing to the movie whatsoever. 

The music was very cute and had everyone bopping in their seats.

It was nice to see a different type of holiday movie (Easter).  Overall I would give the movie 4 starts out of five.

The film is helmed by Tim Hill, director of the blockbuster Alvin & the Chipmunks and produced by Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me).  HOP opened in theaters everywhere April 1.

http://www.iwantcandy.com/

Thank you to HOP for providing our blog contributor Gina with a set of tickets to help facilitate this review!

The Mrs. McVeigh's Magnificent Manners Show DVD

Have you heard of Mrs. McVeigh's Life Camp yet? As a crazily-busy mom, there are several things that need to happen every day in order for our house to keep running- one of them is time management, another, organization.

The mission of Elise McVeigh's Life Camp is to "help moms and their families find a balance in their lives".  They offer seminars, workshops, and have their own DVDs.  We had the opportunity to review The Mrs. McVeigh's Magnificent Manners Show DVD.  While my daughter is still a bit young for this (they're aimed at children 3-10), I really enjoyed watching it and seeing the mini lessons presented in such a fun manner!

From their website: 

Love the webisodes with the wacky Professor "Mannered" and Mrs. McVeigh? Now you can see them on a full length (approximately 30 minute) DVD! Your child will learn meeting and greeting, resturaunt manners, table manners, how to set a table, how to write a thankyou note and more. Mrs. McVeigh uses the same techinques she has used in her manners classes that has worked for thousand of children. This DVD is so entertaining that your child won't even notice that he is learning how to have magnificent manners. 

 It is my firm belief that all children (and adults), should observe table manners, and know how to write a thank you note---and that is something I see lacking often!!!!


Like the sound of this DVD? Win one by leaving a comment below!! Winner will be notified by email after midnight on 12/4.




Thank you to Elise McVeigh's Life Camp for providing us with a review copy and giveaway copy. All opinions are our own.

Disney's The Search for Santa Paws

It's here, it's really here! The 2010 Christmas Season is upon us!!!!! What better way to get in the spirit than to snuggle up with family and watch Christmas movies old and new? My daughter is finally old enough that we can sit and watch some of my favorites from when I was a child, AND we can discover new favorites to be enjoyed year after year! Today, I want to tell you about a new movie, a fresh release, hot off the press!

Disney's The Search for Santa Paws!!!!

I know what you're thinking- Disney + Christmas and you cannot get much better than that, and I whole-heartedly agree! This is a truly endearing film that is available on DVD and Blu-Ray (we love the Blu-Ray option!) and runs about 88 minutes.

As stated in the movie:

“Someone once told me that the spirit of Christmas is embodied in the hearts of children, untouched as of yet by the doubts, fears and disappointments of the adult world.”

--Santa Claus in “The Search for Santa Paws”

 How true, how true. This movie does address some very real issues (Santa gets into an accident in the beginning, and the orphans in the story are going through some very hard times), but if you watch it with your children, you will be able to answer any questions or concerns that arise from them.  

The movie reminds me of one of my favorite childhood films, Annie (maybe it's the orphan angle?).  

Anyway, in the begining, Santa gets into an accident and suffers from amnesia.  From there a whole story unfolds that ultimately tells us the story of Paws and how he became such a huge part of the North Pole!  The movie is the prequal to the  2009 movie Santa Buddies.  

How I loved re-living the wonderment of the Christmas Season through my daughter's eyes, and let's face it, any movie that stars Santa and a gorgeous fluffy dog----I'm there!

Guess what? I have a special coupon for you---$10 off the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack!

Thank you to Disney for allowing us to preview this film to help facilitate this review!  All opinions are our own.

Heavy Duty Dump Truck by Playmobil

I don't know any little boys that don't love construction vehicles- dump trucks, diggers, bulldozers, you name it, they love it. They love filling dump trucks with toys and dump, dump, dumping them all over the place!

The Heavy Duty Dump Truck by Playmobil is very realistic. It's detailed and will thrill any young boy.  The set comes with a truck, a construction worker, four boulders, a ladder and a toolbox, complete with five tools!

This is a part of the Construction line by Playmobil and can be played with alone, or with one of the many other awesome toys Playmobil has to offer.

Thank you to Playmobil for providing us with a sample to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

My Take Along Princess Fantasy Set by Playmobil

Though I can hang with the best of them, I am a girly-girl to the core. I love pink, I love fluffy skirts (not on me haha), I love pretty jewelry, cute shoes and beautiful bags! I am pretty sure we are just born that way because my mom was NOT super girly and she always giggled and said, "Where did you come from?"

I always wondered if I would end up having a daughter who was a total tomboy and so far she is not. She is a carbon copy of me! She loves dress up, loves purses, loves her baby dolls, and loves pretty dresses (girl after my own heart!!!).

Imagine our excitement when the My Take Along Princess Fantasy Set arrived at our house!
The carrying case looks like a beautiful treasure chest and holds 147 pieces of fantasy goodness!!

Your daughter will have tons of fun with the king, queen, prince and princess figurines, and with all of the tiny pieces that help put the finishing touches in any princess's life!



For more information or to find more products by Playmobil, visit their site here.

Playmobil graciously provided us with a sample to help facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% our own.

My Take Along Farm Set by Playmobil

By now, you guys know I love Playmobil, and if you have EVER visited Baby in the Kitchen, you KNOW I love visiting my local farms with my family to purchase produce. Playmobil's My Take Along Farm Set perfectly supports what I teach my sweet daughter --farms are awesome!

The set contains 61 pieces and is geared for children ages 4+. Everything folds neatly in a beautiful red barn. Both boys and girls will have a wonderful time playing with the four figurines, all the animals and tools, and in and around the barn!

I have said it before and I will say it again, sometimes it really is nice to get back to much simpler days- when toys were not electronic and this is no exception---I LOVE IT!

For more information or to find more products by Playmobil, visit their site here.

Playmobil graciously provided us with a sample to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

Pinkalicious-Junior Scrabble

Who doesn't love Scrabble? I sure do and I loved returning to my childhood while playing this awesome game.  This is Pinkalicious-Junior Scrabble, so it can be played the "regular way" (crossword-style word game), or there is a more supported version for younger players who are just getting comfortable with reading and spelling- LOVE THAT!

So you have a timeless classic game that supports learners young and old, and then....it gets splashed with PINK! And it has images from the Pinkalicious stories!!!!!  No my friends, it does not get cuter than this!  I cannot wait to play this with my daughter. Kudos to Pinkalicious and Fundex for teaming up to create a very cool (and educational) product.

Thank you to Pinkalicious for providing us with this game to help facilitate the review. 

All opinions are our own.

Playmobil Transport Set #4041 Conveyor Belt with Mini Excavator

When I was a little girl I LOVED Playmobil. All the nostalgia comes flooding back the second I see their signature font or their signature little figurines. The people are about 3 inches tall, bend at the waist, and  are dressed in a uniform or costume that matches the type of playset they come with. Playmobil toys are the quintessential detailed, creative, imaginative play toy.

I had the pleasure of reviewing the Conveyor Belt with Mini Excavator and all I can say is WOW!  The excavator looks just like the one my Uncle Chuck would bring to our farm each year to help mom and dad in the field! On special occasions, we got to take a ride through the field with Uncle Chuck on the excavator and we always felt SO COOL!

The conveyor belt is extremely detailed and allows for hours of fun hauling boulders up and down (they are included).  The set also comes with two figurines, several tools, and nine boulders.

This is part of the Transport set, all of which can be found on Playmobil's website.

A huge thank you to Playmobil  for providing this set to us to help facilitate the review! All opinions are 100% our own.

Mega Bloks Ultimate Action Dragon Destroyer

Earlier, I gave you some background on Dragons Universe....a world where it's man vs. beast, or specifically, human soldiers battling against alient-like dragons! YIKES!  Kids love this kind of stuff, and they will LOVE the detailed toys that are in the Dragons Universe collection.

I had the opportunity to check out the Mega Bloks Ultimate Action Dragon Destroyer which includes two dragons, a ship, a removable dragon blaster with electronic battle sounds and light fx!!!  There are built-in flight controllers, which makes this "pretend" play seem pretty dang real!!!!

I cannot get over how cool and intricate these toys are. In my last post I mentioned that my 24-four-year old brother would love these, and as I was writing up my review (and playing away!!!), my husband could not help but become interested, too! He commented that he wished he had these to play with as a kid!

Megabrands provided us with a sample of this product to help facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% our own.

Mega Bloks Thomas Adventure on Misty Island

Are you looking for an amazingly fun gift this holiday season that won't break the bank but really presents as a "big" present? I can help you with that. If you know any little people who are about 2-4 years old, more than likely you know someone who is a fan of trains. More specifically, you know someone who is a fan of THOMAS!!!

Mega Bloks has partnered with Thomas to bring to you Mega Bloks Thomas Adventure on Misty Island, a 101 piece set for 3+ year olds.  This set contains buildable Thomas and James trains, tunnels, barricades, canyons, tracks, and of course enough pieces to build a tall mountain that both Thomas and James can ride up, down and around!!!

Forget about stretching the train track as far as the eyes can see, this set challenges children to go higher and higher, with neat accessories to make their experience very life life (or just like the show!).  My daughter and niece LOVE trains and are so smitten with this set! They love building the track and making Thomas and James go-go-go!!!

This is a really innovative set and the added dimension of height takes it to a new level of coolness!

You do not want to miss out on this one, pick one up today!

Megabrands graciously provided us with a sample of this product to help facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% our own.

MegaBrands Color Blanks

Do you have any guesses as to what the above photos may be? 
I will give you a hint: Anything you want them to be!

What?  

This insanely cute line of toys by Rose Art is called Color Blanks!

Rose Art sells 10 different models including monsters, pets, and shapes.  Each figurine is completely blank and comes with tools to encourage creativity from children aged 6+.  Each box contains 1 figurine, 1oz. of clay, 3 mini permanent markers, and 1 sticker sheet.  The possibilities are endless and kids will have so much fun planning and creating.

These make great gifts and are great activities to complete at a party or sleepover!  

Ridiculously sweet, huh?!

Megabrands graciously provided us with sample Color Blanks to help facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% our own.

Pinkalicious Goldilicious Unicorn Plush

I am REALLY excited to tell you about our next item on the 2010 Holiday Gift Guide.  For all the precious little girls in your life----I present to you, Goldilicious!!!! A 12" tall, soft, plush, beautiful unicorn with long flowing mane and tail, a removable tutu, and a sparkling pink sewn-on necklace!

You will remember Goldilicious from the Pinkalicious series of books and I guarantee your little girl will feel so special owning her very own unicorn (I know mine does).  Along with her Pinkalicious plush, this sweet unicorn rarely catches a break from my daughter.  She calls her Pink's Horsie and allows her dolls to take turns taking a ride (I have even caught Ava riding Goldilicious around)!!!!

The unicorn itself is really well-made and is soft enough to sleep with!  Whether it's Pinkalicious and Goldilicious, or Ava and Goldilicious, there are fun times to be had--nothing can stand in their way!

Read more about Pinkalicious on her official website here!

A huge thank you to Jakks and Pinkalicious for providing us with a Goldilicious Unicorn Plush Toy to help facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% our own.