The Zoo Review

Spin Your FyrFlyz!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:53:00 +0000

I received some light-up toys called FyrFlyz from the company and MomSelect to try out. Thanksgiving night was perfect weather here in Minnesota (for a change) so that all the kids were able to be outside most of the day. When darkness fell, we pulled out the FyrFlyz, got them out of the packages, turned them on and turned the kids loose.

Within a few short minutes it was clear my son was a natural.

His cousin managed some cool circles though, which was better than I could do!

My oldest daughter seemed to have inherited my abilities, though the x's were kind of cool too!
The other kids tried to make designs with varying success, but they all had fun trying the FyrFlyz out. At less than $10 each, these are an affordable toy that will allow kids to be creative and keep them constructively busy after dark. I can see these being really fun in the summer time when we're at the lake and the kids are up late outside anyway! I think we'll be bringing them on vacation this summer.

Another plus? They don't take up much room. That in itself is sometimes the best thing about a new toy!

Zhu Zhu Babies Party and Review

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 25 May 2011 01:59:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to be one of the moms selected by Momselect to host a Zhu Zhu Babies in-home party and received a nursery play set, 2 sets of 2 outfits, 8 deluxe baby play sets (that included a Zhu baby, a stroller, blanket, hat and toys).

We invited 5 friends to come and play along with my three kids. Only 2 of the kids showed up to the party, but the kids still played, ate all of my snacks and made a mess of the living room!
The girls liked dressing the babies in the little hats and outfits the best. I was a little disappointed that we didn't have enough of the outfits for each of the kids to dress their baby at the same time. There was some fighting over the outfits we did have.

One of the girls was confused why the strollers didn't fit in the Zhu Zhu tunnels. (I'd set up a few of our other Zhu play sets so there was a little more to play with than just the nursery.) So, it would have been nice if the strollers worked with other sets. Though her confusion was probably my fault since I didn't test it before the party.

The nursery was cute and my 8-year-old set it up just before the party, by herself. She knew exactly how to operate the mechanisms that rocked the baby beds and the swing.
My oldest (the 8-year-old) wanted to take the nursery and her brother and sister's babies into her room that night so she could babysit.

Dragon Universe by Mega Bloks

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:27:00 +0000

We planned our Dragon Universe party about 2 weeks in advance and as luck would have it, Mother Nature would decide that the unseasonably warm weather in Minnesota should grind to a halt the day we planned the party. As a result we had a much smaller turnout for the party than we expected, but it also turned out the kids got twice the men and dragons they would have if the party had been full. The 5 kids present loved the development of getting twice the bounty!

I was a slacker and didn't look at the hostess gift until the night before. 200+ pieces and I realized that the hostess gift wouldn't be built for the party. I displayed it in the box, along with the door prize gift. (The next day after the party the winner of the door prize and my kids had both built the dragon air ships. It took a while but it was really fun for my kids and I!)

We colored space universes on cardboard and opened our dragons or Alliance members. The kids helped one another build the toys if they couldn't do it on their own...or they asked my husband or I to help.

They gathered around the computer to see the games on CD, grazed on veggies and dip and spent a whole lot of time imagining and playing with the men, the speeders and the flying dinosaurs. I'm not sure who they decided was bad or good, but I know they all had a good time.

My own two big kids spent at least the next three days playing Dragon Universe. For kids who have 462,468 toys, this is a long time of engagement.

Webkinz Jr. Catering to the Younger Fans

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 02:42:00 +0000

I was given the opportunity to host a Webkinz Jr. party for my kids and 7 of their friends. To help with my party Webkinz and MomSelect sent me a party package complete with Webkinz Jr. friends, coloring books, music CDs, trial codes and supplies for a couple of crafts the kids could do at the party.

Tonight was the night for the party. My kids have been excited for this for weeks since we received the box of goodies! Webkinz Jr. is aimed at 3-6 year-olds, but I can't host a party like this without including all of my kids so my 8-year-old and my 2-year-old each received a party bag as well as my 6-year-old. We invited 7 friends and had 5 friends able to attend. We ended up with (including my kids) 2 8-year-olds, 2 6-year-olds, 1 5-year-old, 1 3-year-old and 1 2-year-old.

We started out making puppets and bracelets courtesy of the supplies sent in the party pack. The crafts took up about an hour of our 1 1/2 hour-long party.

After we finished the crafts, the kids had some snacks (they also ate during the creative process) then I brought out their new Webkinz friends. One of the boys couldn't believe that I was giving him a present like that and it wasn't even his birthday!

All the Webkinz Jr. friends we received are very cute, very soft, and the kids all thought they were great too. We had kitties, puppies, giraffes, elephants and mice. The online world offers several learning experiences for the kids that are fun too!

The kids were excited to head home and check out their new friends online as well. One of the things I've always liked about Webkinz is that there is a physical toy that the kids get attached to along with the virtual world.

I deem the party a success. Eight happy and excited kids!

I have a few free 15-day trial codes available if you'd like one for your 3-6 year old to try it out. Send me an e-mail if you're interested cool_zebras at hotmail dot com.

Fisher Price TRIO Building Set Review and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Disclosure: I received this product for free in exchange for this review.

When the Fisher Price TRIO Building Set arrived, I unpacked it and set it on our kitchen counter to wait for my big kids to get home from school. K-Man (my 5-year-old) noticed it immediately.

Did you get this for me Mom? Thank you!

Unfortunately we didn't have time to open it for a few days--torture for the poor boy. Can we open it NOW Mommy? (In hindsight, I shouldn't have shown it to him until he was able to play with it--my bad.)

The day he was finally able to open it and play with it he was almost shaking with excitement. K-Man loves to tinker and build and create; he gets that from his Boppa. He took the toy up to his bedroom to play out of the baby's reach and safe from her destruction.

I admit when the package arrived and I saw that the age recommendation was 3-5 years I was a little worried the toy would be too simple for K since he's on the oldest end of the range, but he was playing happily and quietly in his room for a good 20 minutes before I ventured upstairs to see how he was doing.

The video is dark and my son's room is a mess, but I think it's clear that he likes the new toy.

What I like about it is that it came with a storage tub with a lid that he could use to build his creations on. The pieces seem sturdy enough that even K will probably not be able to break them.

Would you like to win a set for your little builder? Leave a comment on this post and tell me who you would want to win this set for. You can earn another entry (leave another comment with the link) if you tweet about this giveaway! I'll choose a winner on Monday September 28th.

Can't wait to try the TRIO Building Set? Get a $5 off coupon here, but hurry! This coupon expires Oct 1.

Lance Sandwich Crackers

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:33:00 +0000

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Lance Snacks

I discovered this year that Miss M (my 7-year-old) is supposed to bring a healthy snack with her to school each day. This is new this year, because previously she ate lunch one hour earlier in the day. I have to admit that I panicked a little at the thought. These snacks that I’m sending…the teacher will see and be able to judge whether I adhered to the healthy rule or not. I admit to seeing the healthy line a little blurry. I could see in my mind’s eye the Cheetos Snack Crackers I’d bought, sitting in the pantry waiting for the lunch that they will eventually become a part of. Are those healthy snacks? I mean it’s crackers and some (granted, Cheetos) cheese spread, but probably not the healthiest choice nonetheless.

When the sandwich crackers I’d forgotten I’d said I would review arrived I was hopeful. Here may be another solution to my healthy snack dilemma. You see, I was sent sandwich crackers from Lance, Inc. (and BlogHer). But these are no ordinary sandwich crackers. The crackers are whole grain! As someone who shops for and tries to buy only whole grain bread, buns and pasta this was exciting news. (I know, I need to get out more.) They come in three varieties, all of which my family was able to try: Real Peanut Butter on Whole Grain, Real Cheddar Cheese on Whole Grain and Real Sharp Cheddar on Whole Grain.

The sandwich crackers arrived on a Friday, so I wasn’t able to send them to school with Miss M for her snack that day, but I did bring them in the car with me when I went to pick her and the K-Man (my 5-year-old) up from school. I figured they’d make a great after school snack too.

Miss M didn’t take long to voice her opinion of the Real Sharp Cheddar variety. “Mmmmm! These are yummy Mommy!” I didn’t even have to ask what she thought of them, and she declared them yummy upon the very first bite. I’d given K-Man the Real Peanut Butter variety and while I did have to ask him what he thought of them his answer was equally positive.

That Saturday when the kids asked for their snack I handed them each the Real Cheddar Cheese variety and heard “Yay!” in response. “I love these!” Miss M exclaimed. Lest you think I am padding this review, I can assure you I am not. This all happened exactly as I describe. So I thought I should test out at least one of these crackers myself to see what the fuss was about. You know what? They are pretty tasty.

You can bet they'll be going to school with the kids for their snack times!

What sorts of snacks to you send to school with your kids?

Check out the rest of the BlogHer Reviews.

Learn more at Lance's official site.

Sun Laundry Detergent Review and Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:44:00 +0000

It worked out conveniently for me that prior to vacation I was sent not one, but two laundry products to try. If you've been on a vacation at least one week long, especially if you have kids, you'll know that you return home to laundry, laundry, laundry. We're closing in on being home 1 week and I've probably done 8 loads of laundry. My husband (yes, he does laundry and I even try to discourage the habit. I know! I'm crazy!) probably has done 3 loads.

So this time I tried out Sun detergent. In the interest of full disclosure, I've tried it before. I bought a bottle at the Dollar Tree last year before vacation in case we needed to do some laundry. To be honest, I didn't take much note of the product at the time, which in my eyes means it worked A-OK.

I was sent the scent (ha ha! Man I am so juvenile) I requested, "clean and fresh" and it does, indeed, smell clean and fresh. I guess. I tend to buy the detergents that are dye and perfume free, but this scent didn't offend me at all. I do admit I was a little surprised at the scent when I opened the bottle and later opened the washing machine. I'm not used to smelling anything!

As far as the cleaning went? Well, I didn't notice any real difference than our usual detergent so that seems like a plus to me. I'm one of those people that will look at you and faintly register that you look different, then the next person will come along and exclaim "Oh your new haircut/ plastic surgery/shirt is so awesome!" and then I'll look at you again and say "Yeah! Totally what she said!" It doesn't mean you don't look awesome, because you do. And by the way, is that a new shirt? Because you look so hot in it. And your hair is kicking it today.

Tangent. Sorry about that. This seems to be the new wave of reviews from here. I have limited brain power and limited time.

That's not to say that you don't look fabulous, because you do.

Because you look so great I'd like to give you something.

I have 3 coupon packs.

They will be comprised of most, if not all, of these coupons.

1 free bottle of Sun Burst liquid laundry detergent
$3 off Windex Outdoor All-in-One Glass Cleaning tool starter kit
$1 off Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair or $1 off any Pledge furniture care product
$2 off Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby sunscreen product

To get a pack, leave me a comment. Okay so not just a comment. Tell me about your favorite book. If you can, tell me what to do with my hair because it is not at all pretty.

To gain another entry, tweet about this giveaway. Come back here and leave another comment with the link to your tweet for it to qualify.

Purex Complete 3-in-One

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:40:00 +0000

::Phwwooo::

Wow. It's dusty in here.

I have a few things that I'm testing out right now but having trouble finding the time to write the reviews!

But, I did just get back from vacation which always produces mountains of laundry. And as luck would have it, I was sent a package of the new Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets to try.

Before I tossed one of the sheets in the washing machine, I did ask my husband if he thought they'd be okay to use. We have a septic system, so we can't use powder detergent in our machine and I wanted to make sure he thought these laundry sheets would be safe for our septic tank. He said he thought they were fine, so I tossed it in.

To be honest, I don't use fabric softener most of the time, so this was sort of new to me. The sheets have laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets all in one sheet. You throw the sheet in the washer and transfer it along with the clothes to the dryer.

I did like the convenience of the product though. Sometimes I get the big bottles of laundry detergent and they can be heavy and messy. With these sheets there was no mess, basically toss it in and forget about adding product for that load of laundry from start to finish.

**********
I do want to share this little bit from the info that I received before I tried the product. Purex has teamed up with Kivo.com to support women-owned businesses. If you buy any Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets, you can support a female entrepreneur of your choice (find a listing at http://www.purexchangeslives.com/) by entering the bar code from the package. For every bar code entered Purex will donate $1 to that entrepreneur.

NOTE: Make sure if you do buy this and you want to support these women that you save the bar code from the package and don't pull off the plastic over wrap and throw it away! (Hence throwing away the bar code.) That's what I did. Bummer.

Thomas and Friends Live! On Stage

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:03:00 +0000

Last weekend my husband and I packed the kids into the car and headed to the Target Center in Minneapolis to see a very special friend.

My kids have loved Thomas and Friends for years. K has several of the die-cast trains and several movies. He's watched Thomas on PBS.

When I received an email from MomSelect that said I could get 4 tickets to see Thomas and Friends Live! On Stage: A Circus Comes to Town I jumped at the chance. We've only been to one other show like this (The Wiggles) and it was when K was only 2 weeks old and M was just 2 years old. Now they are both at ages that they will probably remember the show for years to come. Ms. D, because she is younger than 1 year old, didn't need a ticket so we all got to see the show!

From almost the moment we stepped into the arena, my son K seemed overwhelmed. He was uncharacteristically quiet and subdued. I think the sheer size of the building and the excitement really got to him. Once the show started, he smiled and his mouth dropped open in awe. He still was fairly subdued for him though, and I think it is because of how loud the show was. I didn't think it was really too loud but my son tends to be very sensitive to loud noises so I know it was too loud for him to watch comfortably. Make no mistake, he still enjoyed the show and will be talking about it for a while.

My oldest child, Miss M, was much more excited about the show and enjoyed it a lot more than I even expected her to. She actually had tears in her eyes when the show started she was so happy (I wonder where she gets that from?). (Yeah, so I was a little teary at how excited the kids were too.)

I think the child that enjoyed the show the most in some ways was Ms. D. She danced in our laps at every song and clapped her hands. She was entirely enthralled with it all.

The show was fast-paced and broken into two parts with a 15-minute intermission between two 45-minute segments. I was surprised to look at the clock and find that 45 minutes had passed when the intermission was announced.

I thought our seats were particularly good--in the lower elevated seats only a few rows up--but given the size of the stars of the show I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who said they had a bad seat.

Of course they were selling all sorts of Thomas memorabilia, all high-priced, but standard for that type of show. We managed to escape buying any of it. We did, however, have to spend only slightly less than $4000 for some pop, popcorn and cotton candy. (Yes, I'm exaggerating but the prices on food were typically high too.)

The arena was not nearly as full as I thought it would be, but I suppose with the economy as it is, shows for children are not high on the spending priority list. We also attended a late afternoon show...perhaps the other shows had more people attending.

I would definitely recommend the show if you have even a passing Thomas fan. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with my family.

*********

I'd also like to thank MomSelect and Unilever for sending me a great "Mom's Night Out" package of goodies that will help next Thursday while I am having a night out for the book club I'm joining!

MilkBank

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:32:00 +0000

When my first baby was born, I really wanted to nurse but circumstances led to me pumping exclusively for her for six months. During that time I pumped more than she drank, so I froze several months worth of breast milk as well. At the time, the best method to store the milk was in a zippered breast milk storage bag. I noticed that my daughter didn’t seem to like the milk as much after it had been frozen and sort of wondered why.

The Parent Blogger’s Network sent me a new milk storage and feeding solution. Now that I’ve seen the MilkBank system and read about what it does I understand why she didn’t like the frozen milk as much. Too bad MilkBank wasn’t around then!

The MilkBank is a system of bottles and storage containers that vacuum seal the milk inside the phthalates-, PVC-, and BPA-free plastic bottles. In fact, even the packaging is free of these harmful plastics. The system comes with a hand pump that removes the air from the bottles. It’s the air trapped inside the storage containers that causes milk stored in traditional ways to degrade. With the air removed from the containers the milk stays good and retains more of the nutrients for longer than 6 months in the freezer.

Another great feature of the system is that you store and feed with the same containers. No more fumbling with the plastic bags and hoping you don’t spill any of that milk that you worked so hard to pump! And these bottles are guaranteed to not leak, which is another big plus in my book. How often have you been feeding your baby only to realize the milk is running out the cracks in the bottle instead of going into your baby’s mouth?

When I pumped some milk for Baby D before I went out to dinner last Friday, I had the opportunity to try the system. At first, I admit I was a little intimidated by all the components. I also wasn’t sure I was vacuum-sealing the bottle correctly. But I was really making it harder than it was. (I can’t be the only mom who makes things harder than they need to be, right?) I poured the milk into one of the containers, grabbed a storage cap and placed it on top of the container, put the pump on top and pumped 2-3 times to pump out the air. Then I thought that I hadn’t done it correctly so I checked and tried to pull the top off and discovered it was on tightly and the vacuum seal had indeed worked!

This system is definitely worth checking out for any new or expectant mama. It would make a great shower gift. Are you expecting or a new mama? Know any? You could win a starter kit just like the one I reviewed. Just leave me a comment here and tell me what feature of this system seems the best to you. (Bonus points if you go to the web site and tell me about a point I didn’t discuss here.)

Get an extra entry if you tweet about the giveaway. Come back and leave me the link to your tweet for it to qualify.

The winner will be chosen Friday February 27th.

Dreambox Learning: Where Kids Have Fun Learning Real Math

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:03:00 +0000

DreamBox learning is a brand new online educational teaching tool that focuses on teaching kids math skills from Kindergarten-age through 5th grade. The lessons are individually tailored to each child and offers additional games “just for fun” as rewards for the children’s work.

The registration for the site was quick and easy. I was able to set up a parent account and accounts for each of my two older kids in one step. I logged in with my email address and the password I’d just set up and called my 6-year-old over to try it.

Then I walked away to start cooking supper. M was playing the games with no help from me, which told me that the site was easy for her to understand and the games were explained well. When I returned to check on her a few minutes later she looked up at me, smiled, and said, “This is fun!”

She played for about 15 to 20 minutes before I told her it was time to log off. She moaned and whined about it, so it must have been fun. I’d watched her do a few of the learning games and could hear the site telling her how she was doing. The activities she was doing were asking her to indicate which group of things had more than the other.

K, my 4-year-old son, also tried out the games, and although he was not as interested in it as his older sister, he did play for about 10 minutes the one time he played. He won’t start Kindergarten until this summer though so he’s just not quite old enough for it yet.

M, on the other hand, asked to play again and again almost every day. Unfortunately we were pretty busy for the first few days and she didn’t get to use it as much as she wanted to.

Dreambox sent me emails after the kids used the site to tell me what they played and what concepts they were learning, which I thought was a nice feature. They also sent me emails when my kids hadn’t been on the site in a few days, reminding me that they would get the most out of the site if they played for 15 minutes or more at least twice a week. I had mixed feelings about these reminder emails, finding them a helpful to remember to ask the kids if they want to play the games (which M almost always said yes) but also finding them a little nagging because my kids didn’t have a lot of time to be on the computer every week.

The kids each had their own account and were able to choose a picture password from a group of 9 photos. The kids appreciated that feature since they see me having to enter passwords for websites and they like to be grown up too.

Both kids enjoyed the learning games, although M, my 6-year-old got more out of the site than my 4-year-old did (though he is not in the target age anyway, as I noted earlier). They seemed to enjoy the games, yet were definitely still learning.

The subscription price, however, at $8.33 or more per month is a little expensive for our family given how little time my kids actually had to play the games with all the other activities (and homework!) that we have to do each day. They do offer a free trial that I can guarantee is worth the time checking out. You will be able to see if your children have the time to devote to it.

Overall, if your child needs additional help in math, or if you just want to reinforce how well your child is doing with math concepts DreamBox Learning delivers a fun learning experience. My first-grader especially enjoyed playing and learning and liked that she recognized the concepts from her schoolwork. She was very proud of herself each time she earned a token to play the fun reward games.

Find out what others are saying about Dreambox at PBN.

The Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:58:00 +0000

I will update this post with winners of all the giveaways here at the Zoo Review!

TRIO - Chelsea

MilkBank - Damselfly

Strawberry Shortcake DVD - Ashlie-Mommycosm

Show Me How - FADKOG

Build-A-Bear-Workshop - quitecontrary1977

Precious Girls Club- all commenters won something

My Baby A to Z - cardwear

Strawberry Shortcake

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:36:00 +0000

One of my best friends in elementary school had an extensive Strawberry Shortcake doll collection. When I went to her house to play, she would inevitably truck out the dolls and want to play with them together. I was more of a Barbie girl, and Hot Wheels cars girl but I still had fun playing with those fruity scented dolls.

The first time I saw a Strawberry Shortcake DVD once I had kids of my own I bought it purely for nostalgia’s sake. My son will occasionally ask to watch that when my 6-year-old daughter is at school.

So when I had the chance to review a new Strawberry Shortcake DVD, Strawberry Shortcake: Happily Ever After, I didn't hesitate to say yes.

I told the kids they'd be able to watch the DVD as soon as M finished her homework, but then we decided to keep the momentum of good will and productivity going so the kids hammered out their Valentines too. Then we sat down to enjoy what I hoped to be a berry berry good show. (You knew there would be at least one of those, right?)

Both kids were singing along with the catchy (and slightly irritating) theme song as the movie started. Honestly I have the theme song running through my head for days after I hear it.

The kids both immediately quieted down once the story began. The movie has songs throughout to help tell the story. The first song was about being pretty on the inside that not only had a great message, but also had my daughter swaying along to the beat.

My 4 1/2 –year-old son watched too and neither kid did much moving for the entire 45-minute show. It takes quite a good show to make my son sit still that long so he must have enjoyed it.

The movie was divided into two stories, one an adaptation of Sleeping Beauty and the other an adaptation of Rapunzel. I appreciated that the movie had two main messages that were both very positive: the first about not jumping to conclusions and giving your friends a chance to explain, the second about being true to yourself even when others try to change you.

Following the show, I immediately heard from my daughter “I liked that show Mommy. It was cool.” My son chimed in “Yeah, we liked that show. Can we watch it again?”

Have a Strawberry Shortcake fan at your house? Leave me a comment here telling me about any memories you might have of Strawberry and the gang and you could win your very own copy of this movie courtesy of PBN. I'll have one of my kids draw the winner on Sunday.

While you're at it, check out what the other bloggers had to say about this movie, and enter for two more chances to win.

Or if you don't want to wait, click on over to Amazon if you want to buy Strawberry Shortcake: Happily Ever After today.

Show Me How

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:37:00 +0000

I confess I was sent this book a while back by Harper Collins and I put it aside with the intent to look at it later. Well, later became later and later until, well, it's now.

When I finally picked up the book to check it out I was a little surprised to find that there are very few words to read in the book. Perfect! I have little time to read these days.

Show Me How: 500 Things You Should Know Instructions for Life From the Everyday to the Exotic by Lauren Smith, Derek Fagerstrom teaches the reader how to do things step-by-step through simple drawings. It really reminded me of the instructions you get for putting furniture together--well, the kind of furniture that comes flat in boxes that you can buy at Target or IKEA.

The back of the book reads: Life explained. One step at a time. Simple, step-by-step instructions on how to do 492 things practically everyone needs to know... and 8 that no sensible person would ever do. This made me want to search in the book for the things that no sensible person would ever do!

Some of my favorite things to learn from the book included weave a French braid and write with invisible ink, however the book also covers such things as what the different types of facial hair are actually called and how to fend off a shark.

Every reader will come away from this book learning at least one thing she didn't know before!

The good people at Harper Collins are going to give one copy of Show Me How to one of my readers! Just leave me a comment and make sure I have a way to contact you (leave your email address in your comment if you don't have a blog with your email posted).

I will have one of my kids draw the winner on Saturday.

Build-A-Bear-Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:53:00 +0000

We have never been inside a Build-A-Bear-Workshop. I’m sure they’re great fun. The one at our local mall was short-lived, and my kids were too young to realize what it was anyway at the time. Now, the closest store that I know of is at the Mall of America. We’ve seen it, we’ve walked by it, but when we get up to the Mall, my kids are more intent on getting to the rides than doing anything else.

But if you were to listen to my oldest daughter you’d swear she’s made many-a-bear, or at least is certain that she’d love it. And I don’t doubt that she would. It seems that most of her school friends are quite familiar with Build-A-Bear-Workshop and are quite willing to let M in on the particulars.

So when I was offered the chance to check out one of the finished products, I thought I’d better do it.

Hal arrived in the standard, recognizable Build-A-Bear-Workshop blue and white box. I was immediately impressed with how soft he was. Then I tried to light his antlers and I may have swooned a little.

Okay, maybe not swooned but I did immediately think Oh no I have three children how am I going to decide who gets this moose?

Hal is cute, and soft and I know any of my kids would love him and oh no I’m feeling the need to visit the store next time we go to Minneapolis to the Mall of America. It suddenly sounds really fun.

I’ve heard of people putting their children’s binkies into a bear at one of these stores to send the binkie on its way yet keep binkie nearby. I thought about doing that when we were trying to get K to give up ginkie, but I clearly was too lazy.

I also received a book about Hal and his sister Holly called Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure. I’ll be honest again. My first thought when I flipped through the book? It is looooong. Nine chapters long of a children’s book. Lots of reading. Not a book to read all in one night to be sure. My kids and I read the first few chapters together and it’s a cute story. We’ll finish reading over the next few days.

If you order both Hal and Holly you receive this book for free. Hal and Holly are $12 each or $24 for both. Yes, I know that looks like you don’t get a deal if you order both, but you do. You get the book ($15.99 list price) free if you order them together.

(According to their website, if you order by Monday 12/22 @ 3 p.m. EST and use 2 Day Express Shipping you can still get it by Christmas!)

Here’s the really good part of this whole review. I also have a $10 gift card for Build-A-Bear-Workshop to give away. You can use the card in a store, or, if you’re lazy like me, online. Just leave me a comment telling me your favorite animal from the site.

Please make sure you leave an email or that your email is very noticeable on your blog (if you do such a thing). I’ll pick a winner Monday night by random.org or by one of my kids, whichever I think is less work at the time. (Or, if the kids are sleeping when I get around to it then random wins!)

By the way, Baby D gets the moose.

Precious Girls Club

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:06:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I was invited to review a new club for girls aged 4 to 10 years. It’s based on those adorable ceramic figurines, Precious Moments and it’s called the Precious Girls Club.

There are chapter books that follow Katie Bennett, who is new in town and needs a little help believing in herself and her ability to make friends. Her mom and aunt suggest that she start a club and invite classmates to join. So, the Precious Girls Club is born.

The books do have a religious theme to them, which is both good and bad. We do go to church but we’re not overzealous by any means. I still feel a little uncomfortable mentioning God in day-to-day life. I’m not sure why.

In the first book, A Little Bit of Faith, Katie relies on her guardian angel to help her through difficult times at her new school. She learns that being true to herself and being friendly is the best way to make friends.

M enjoyed reading the book and seemed to like the concept of the guardian angel. That was something we had not introduced before, but I can see benefits to giving her this perceived support. I remember, as a kid, thinking of deceased relatives as guardian angels, so perhaps that’s what M will do as well.

The book had a good message, which is always a good thing.

Besides the book, there is a website that girls can log into to play games and do other activities. It reminds me a little of Webkinz in that you have a character that has a room that you can decorate and that you earn credits by playing games. It’s also a safe way for girls to chat through pre-determined sentences. They click on a button and select things to say to one another like “I just finished my homework,” or “I’m going to go play games.”

I set up M’s account without telling her what I was doing. When she saw the site with the pretty flowers appearing as just the first page was loading she was beside herself with excitement. Every time she saw another girl walking around the online “world” she practically shook with happiness. “Oh my gosh Mom! There’s another girl!”

She was able to play all the games without my help, and that is a major plus in my book. There was a code in the book that we read that offered a free one-month Rainbow membership that was supposed to have added features. However, when M tried to do some of the extra features, they were not yet available. She was disappointed that her Rainbow membership ran out before she could decorate her room or buy more clothes for her person.

The Rainbow membership costs $3.95 a month, which doesn’t sound expensive, but considering you get a year of online membership at Webkinz for $15, the $47.40 yearly dues is too much for this family. We don’t get online to play games even on the Webkinz very often, so if we paid the dues it would most likely be for one or two days a month of play.

Girls can also sign up for a free membership and still play games and chat with other girls on the site, however, the points they earn playing games will do them no good other than the satisfaction of seeing the number go up. The free membership doesn’t let the girls spend their points.

The club is also developing a line of products to go with the books that includes things like stuffed animals, snow globes and jewelry. They sent me some samples to check out, and I’ll be passing some of them on to my readers.

I have 3 copies of the book, A Little Bit of Faith, to give away, as well as some jewelry, a snow globe and a stuffed animal. I haven’t decided how I’m dividing up the prizes yet.

Each item also comes with a code for a free one-month Rainbow membership online.

I also have some codes for free one-month trial memberships that you can email me for if you’re interested and don’t win one of the prizes. (I just have to find what I did with them!)

If you’d like to win one or more of these great products, just leave me a comment and include your email address if you don’t have a blog or if you don’t have an email listed on your blog.

For an extra entry, Twitter about the contest and come back and leave me the link to your tweet.

Entries close December 17th at 8 pm central time. I will draw the winners via random.org or my kids will pick from a hat. Depends on how lazy I am that day.

Eebees Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:22:00 +0000

I was given a DVD, a board book and a bath book of Eebies Adventures to review through PBN.

Of the three products, I like the bath book the best even though my baby is too little to play with it much. I know that when she starts taking baths in the big bathtub by herself that she will have a blast pushing the "buttons" and squirting water. It's so cleverly designed with text that tells the child to "squeeze the sponge" which makes water squirt from the book where the sponge is located on the page.

The board book, called All About Me and You, has a fold-out mirror and text that encourages learning about baby's eyes, nose, mouth, etc by looking in the mirror and reading the words that name each part. Babies always love looking at other babies, especially when those "other babies" are themselves. The shiny mirror that is included is bright and shiny which is always interesting for a baby too. My Baby D was quickly engrossed in looking at the book. We laid on the floor and I read the book to her. We looked in the little mirror together and I could see that D was smiling at herself, and at me.

The DVD, Eebees Adventures: Figuring Things Out, shows the puppet Eebie playing in different ways. In one clip, Eebie is climbing on some foam blocks. I thought this DVD might be helpful for a first-time parent, or parents who find it difficult to find ways to play with their babies. All the suggestions seemed obvious to me, but I have 3 children. My 6-month-old liked the music in the video, but didn't really watch any of it. When she gets a little older she might be more interested in the babies and the Eebie puppet.

The bath and board books were clear winners here at the Zebra house, and in time, the DVD may become more interesting. Check out Eebie for yourself here.

Hot Wheels Trick Tracks Sets

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:12:00 +0000

I was pretty excited when the Parent Bloggers Network offered me a chance to review Hot Wheels Trick Tracks Triple Stunt Starter Set and Power Loop Stunt Zone. K chose a Hot Wheels racing set as his reward for potty training a few months ago, and at the time he had a hard time narrowing down which Hot Wheels set to get. All the sets looked pretty cool to him.

When the first set, the Triple Stunt Starter Set, arrived, the kids took one look at the box and started to jump up and down with excitement. If only their mom was better at deciphering the assembly instructions! The set up took 30 minutes, during which time the kids were asking every 2 minutes if I was done yet. The instructions were only diagrams that were not as clear to me as they could have been. I would have liked a few more words to help me as well.

However, once assembly was complete and the kids were turned loose with the toy my frustrations were lessened by the joyful sounds of my kids playing together. I heard things like “Awesome!” and “Watch this!” followed by “cool!”

The first time playing with it they played for 1 hour, and fought over who got to do what stunt first approximately 4732 times.

I didn’t really see the lure of some of the “stunts” like the crane drop. But since the toy isn’t aimed at 30-somethings I guess that’s okay. The kids still thought all 3 of the stunts were quite spectacular and had fun digging out a bunch of their cars to try in the different stunts.

When we (and by we I mean Craig) set up the Hot Wheels Power Loop, it took slightly less time than the first set took. Craig took about 20 minutes to put the toy together, abandoning the instructions in favor of looking at the picture on the box.

Once the toy was together, K especially enjoyed the Power Loop. This toy came with more tracks that K also liked to just attach end to end and slide cars as far as he could.

With the Power Loop, you put a car on the “launcher” and press the launch button. The car then does several loop-de-loops, lifts up a sort of escape hatch and the car rolls out across the floor. The first time I saw the car do that I thought to myself “cool.” Then I realized that I’m a grown-up. Ha.

Both of these sets were “starter sets” so there are several more sets that all connect together. The fun is expandable, yet still fun with just the starter sets.

Each set comes with only one car, which isn’t a problem around here since we have a giant bin full of cars, but that fact might frustrate people who are just starting their Hot Wheels collection.

These sets, once put together, offered my kids hours of entertainment so I’d definitely recommend them to other parents of car enthusiasts.

Amazing Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Amazing Baby, written by Desmond Morris author of the best-selling book The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal, covers baby’s development from conception through toddlerhood. The book has 9 chapters that are further broken down into one or two page sections that make the book easy to read in tiny time segments. Any parent knows that tiny time segments are often the only time we have for reading.

The book is written in a respectful, almost reverent, tone that celebrates the bond between mother and baby. I found myself actually tearing up at times while reading about the (and so the book is aptly named) amazing process that all my children have gone through and that I am witnessing now with my third child.

This book is not only aesthetically pleasing, with striking images of beautiful human babies and carefully formatted text, but it is also filled with interesting facts about human development.

For instance, in the section on bonding I recognized what Baby D is currently going through with separation anxiety emerging:

For the first few months after birth, human babies are not particularly choosy. They are happy to be cuddled by any caring adult who happens to pick them up. In this respect they are slow starters, because with many animals the newborn becomes tightly bonded with its mother from day one. Usually by about six months (although this may vary from four to eight months) the process begins in earnest for the human infant and he starts to become highly selective in whom he trusts.

Baby D is definitely highly selective about whom she trusts, and her little lip comes out in protest if someone picks her up when she’d rather be with Mom!

My two older kids were intrigued by the paper overlays of the baby’s skull, skeletal system, musculature and eye. M requested to look at the skeleton and recalled how she had learned about the body in Kindergarten last year.

The book itself is substantial both in size (9 x 10) and heft (208 pages) and qualifies easily as a beautiful coffee table book. But the book would also make a wonderful gift for any mother, whether she’s just had her first child (or is expecting her first) or had her children years ago.

In this video, the author tells a little more about his latest book:

Amazing Baby can be purchased online at Amazon. Visit the Parent Bloggers Network to read what other bloggers thought about Amazing Baby and other products.

My Baby A to Z

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:43:00 +0000

We may have a bit of a DVD problem at our house. I think we have about 100 DVDs at our disposal. And these are just the kids’ shows. But we don’t have cable so that’s how I justify the movie habit to myself. Just let me live in my little fantasy world there.

So, when I was offered the chance to review a DVD, I jumped at the chance for some fresh scenes. I received the first title, My Baby A to Z – Come Explore Shapes With Me, in what is expected to be a series of DVD offerings. This first DVD focuses on basic shapes and is aimed at children 2 to 5 years old.

Mom’s impressions

The stars of the show are two puppets named Moo and Beans that are learning their shapes. The puppets were cute and engaging and attracted the kids’ attention immediately.

I really liked how each shape was repeated several times and drawn with different media. First, each shape was drawn with a marker; second it was painted, and last drawn in the sand. Then the characters tried to search for and point out shapes like that in the objects around them, which again reinforced the shape.

Kid’s reactions

D (5 months) talked and cooed but not necessarily at the show. She seemed to enjoy the music but was not really engaged with the show. She’s obviously too young for movies anyway.

K (4 years) talked to himself, murmuring the answers that the puppets posed during the program. There were several get up and move break during the 23-minute program, which I liked. However, K didn’t actually get up and move until about the third break. I don’t think he understood that he should actually get up and move like the puppets said to do. The second time we watched the show, K was up and moving with every break.

Verdict

This DVD was a good introduction to shapes for young kids. It encouraged participation and included a lot of the repetition that is key to learning.

Buy it - Win it!

I have one copy of the DVD to give away. If you’d like to win a copy, please leave a comment on this post and tell me for whom you’d like to win the DVD. (Remember to include your email address if you don’t have a blog with one listed.) This giveaway is open to those with U.S. or Canadian addresses. I’ll draw for the winner on Saturday November 15th.

If you don’t win or if you’d like to just order a copy for yourself you can get a 20 percent discount from the $19.99 list price by entering this code during checkout at http://www.mybabyatoz.com/: K4K5878T

PBN also has 5 more copies up for grabs so if you don’t win here so head over there and enter too!

Tackle it Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:38:00 +0000

When I received my bottle of CLR to try I thought I would use it to clean the bathtub and bathroom sink. The kids have some of those bathtub markers and just water never gets all the red marker off the tub surround. But the night before I was planning to clean, Craig cleaned it using the standard cleaner he always uses. (Sorry ladies, he's taken. Handsome, and he cleans a lot more often than I do.) Sorry you won't get to see the purdy baby blue tub and sink.

So instead I thought I'd tackle the kitchen sink. It's one of those things that sort of gets cleaned every day when we (Craig) wash the dishes, but it still gets soap scummy and rather icky-looking. (Those are technical terms.)

So here's the before:

Mid-way through the cleaning: See I even did the dishes. First time for everything, right Craig?

I have my blue rubber gloves ready to put on before I use the CLR.

Here you can see how stained the drain is:And after:
The CLR didn't get all the stains out, but it's much improved over what it did look like.

And here is the shiny finished product:

So my impressions?

The CLR worked well. It did what it claimed to do. However, it's a little harsh for my taste. When you have to wear rubber gloves and use in a well-ventilated place I have a hard time. So everyday cleaning, I'll use something easier on the nostrils and the hands. When I have a deeper clean in mind, I'll grab the CLR.

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:54:00 +0000

This costume is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Wouldn't D look beautiful in it? (when she's a bit bigger)

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

VSmile Cyber Pocket

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:57:00 +0000

When the UPS man rang our doorbell and left the package it was like Christmas come early to our house. Even though there was only one Vsmile Cyber Pocket in the package, the kids immediately insisted they would take turns using it and wouldn’t fight. I hoped the game and the kids would live up to their promises.

Packaging and Contents

I was happy to see that the package was easy to open. I know I’m not the only parent that gets annoyed by having to undo 400 zip-ties and unscrewing toys from cardboard. There was one strip of tape over the edge that I could peel off easily. Once that was open it was a matter of cutting open the plastic tray. I would have loved it even more if I didn’t need a scissor to open it, but I’ll take what I can get.

The Cyber Pocket comes with a wrist strap (which can be attached to the left or right side of the unit), a TV hook-up cord, one Smartridge, the new V.link (more on this later) and manuals for the game system and the Smartridge. Four AA batteries are also included so you can get started right away, however they recommend switching them out for alkaline batteries for longer life and optimal performance.

Set up

Set up was minimal to get the kids started. Just insert the batteries (no screwdriver required – yay!), attach the wrist strap, plug in the game and you’re set.

However, if you want your kids to start using the V.link right away, you have to set up your accounts online first. I didn’t set it up immediately as the kids wanted to just play the game. I actually used the TV hook-up option and put the game on the big TV so both kids could see it easily while I set up the V.link.

V.Link

So what is this V.link business? The V.link is essentially a USB drive that you plug into the game console. It saves your child’s games and records their points and progress. Their points get transferred to their accounts online, which can be used to unlock MORE games. I like to think of it as motivation for them to get better at the games… which, by the way, are educational.

The set up for the V.link took about 5 minutes. It probably would have taken less time, but the user name I wanted to use for my daughter was rejected because it contained “inappropriate language.” I wanted to use the word butterfly.

Kids’ impressions

The system says it’s for 5 years and up, and the game that came with it was a little beyond K, but he still had fun playing around with it. He was able to do some of the game and we took it with us to M’s swimming lesson. K sat still for the first time ever at her lesson. The Cyber Pocket is likely to become a regular at swimming lessons now.

M would have played all day if I’d let her. She was practicing putting sentences in correct syntax order and having fun doing it.

Mom’s impressions

The unit itself seems sturdy so that perhaps even Destructo Boy might be able to play it for a while without ruining it. Both my older kids liked it so much they were fighting over it, which I guess means it’s a good toy. The price tag however, at a hefty $70, makes it unlikely that I will be able to spring for 2 units so both kids could have their own.

We already owned the original Vsmile console, and all the Smartridges that we have for that also work in the Cyber Pocket, which is a big positive with me. K can play some of the easier games until he learns more reading skills.

Verdict

Great toy! It held my kids’ attention, they had fun and they were learning instead of beating up cartoon characters. If you’re looking for something to ask Santa for, this might be just what you want.

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Check out other bloggers’ impressions of the Cyber Pocket and other products at PBN.

Once Upon a Potty

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:55:00 +0000

I have to come clean up front and say that when I agreed to review Once Upon A Potty K was still pooping in his pants. He has since decided that the potty is the best place to do such things. However, we still sat down to look at the materials together so I could see what he thought of it all.

But before I showed it to him, I looked at it myself. Chances are, if you’re a parent of a potty training aged child or older child, you’ve seen or heard of these books before. I’d heard of them, but never looked at them before. Perhaps these books would have assisted in getting my kids to use the potty sooner than they did!

This year, Firefly Books has released a new board book edition that is accompanied by an audio CD. The CD includes the original story by Alona Frankel and three songs.

I love that the book is a heavy board book, especially since my children tend to be potty training for many, many, many (did I mention many?) months. The book will likely stand up to the wear and tear of such extended use. The cover is also slightly padded and has a waxy coating on it that looks like it would wipe clean easier than a strictly cardboard board book would. That’s a handy feature to have considering it’s likely to find its way into the bathroom for those attempts at using the potty.

I like that there are two versions of the story, one for a boy and one for a girl. Even my 6-year-old daughter who has been out of diapers for years wanted to check out the girl version since her brother got to read the boy version.

When we sat down together to read the book, my son was still excited to read it even though he’s been using the potty consistently for a few weeks now. M joined us as well and listened to the story. They both sat still and listened intently. I thought perhaps the wee-wee and poo-poo words would get them giggling, but they just listened without the silliness. After we finished the book I asked K what he thought of it. “It was really, really good mama!” he exclaimed.

Then we put the CD in and listened to the songs. The kids enjoyed the first song, then the story started over. We listened to part of the story, then the kids moved to the window to look outside and my daughter said, “we just read that!” So I skipped over the rest of the story. Note to self: the kids no longer want to read the same story 400 times in a row. They seemed to enjoy the songs and did some dancing while we listened to the music.

I’d say the book would be another tool in the arsenal that parents need to help their children along the road toward using the potty consistently. It explains how the child uses diapers at first, but then learns to use the potty. It also illustrates that there will be accidents which K found quite interesting. He even commented, “just like I did!”

When you’re potty training, you’ll take any help possible, right?