As Seen On TV Toy Reviews!

Yes, I am the sucker who buys things my kids are begging me for. I do make them wait for birthdays to get these things (usually). Sometimes, however, I must order these out of sheer curiosity to see if they work! My reviews below may surprise you!!!

Stompeez

Landon begged for these for months. Finally I put it on his birthday list. His friend Owen said he would order them for him. Ridiculous I thought. Then when they arrived I loved them!!! We ordered the Monster ones.

They are hilarious and have lasted through the torture Landon gives them.
Thumbs up for Stompeez!

Glow Crazy Doodle Dome

Again Landon saw this and had to have it. Friends bought it for him and we were so surprised how well it worked!

He spends hours writing on the walls. Is it as elaborate and as exciting as the commercial? NO. But he does like it!

Thumbs up for Doodle Dome!


Dream Lites:

Coco was the culprit this time. Up at 4:30 am she begged for the unicorn Dream Lite she saw on TV. 

I ordered it for her on Amazon and waited to see what arrived! The unicorn was cute and the lights on it;s back change colors and make stars on the ceiling. It works perfectly. Landon of course had to have one too so now we have the penguin as well.

Two thumbs up for Dream Lites!

In conclusion:

1) Stuff you buy on TV apparently can work.
2) Don't feel guilty buying it if the kids are begging at 4:30am.
3) I need to stop watching TV, and so do my kids!!!

Reading Rainbow App For The Ipad! My Review!

Oh my goodness I have one electronic obsessed little man living with me. He even, when asked at preschool:

"What are you most thankful for?"

Said:

"The Ipad". 

At that point we didn't even have one!

I rest my case! 

Every mothers dream is to find something educational your child is obsessed with. Thank you Lord for Reading Rainbow! Yes it's back after all these years!

Not only is it easy to navigate and use, Landon was literally begging to play with it tomorrow. It's very interactive and creative in the way it let's you select a category, a book, and have a virtual backpack to keep it all in!

Here's how it works:

There are floating islands, each based on a different genre. "My Friends and Family," "Animal Kingdom," "Genius Academy" (science and math) and "Action Adventures & Magic Tales."

Click an island, and a you'll get a sliding list of of books on that topic, with "Just for You" recommendations at the top. Below this are short videos on the subject that have the "field trips" the series was known for, featuring kids out in the world and Burton himself. Each island has three or four videos, including a "Classic Reading Rainbow Video" from the original show, so you can compare and contrast haircuts from over the years!

You can can choose to read with or without narration (for readers and non readers!). You can either flip through the pages with a swipe or touch the arrow keys at the bottom. It's not overdone. It's simple and perfect!

Try it for yourself here!

Landon gives it two thumbs way UP!

Favorite Things Week! Reading Rainbow Is Back! With An App!

This goes into the "why didn't I think of that" category! My sister loved watching "Reading Rainbow" and I often watched it with her! Now Levar Burton is helping kids love reading in a whole new way with the incredibly interactive app!

Aimed at kids 3-9, this new free app has 150 books and 16 video field trips. I got to interview Levar about all of this and he was so excited about his new "baby'! He can't wait to introduce Reading Rainbow to a whole new audience.

Here's a little preview!



What do you think? Levar wants to know!! Get the app here and try it out!

Don't Judge Me. I Bought A Bounce House!

I know what you're thinking.



One Fabulous Mom? What are you running a day care?


Who do you think you are Melissa Gorga from Real Housewives Of New Jersey? With a bounce house inside her house "on display, on display, on display...."

Trust me when I tell you this is the best money I have EVER SPENT.

Landon's playdates are now filled with kids laughing, sliding, jumping and having a ball. They are worn out at the end of the day and beg for me to blow it up starting at 6 am.

Now this is not a huge bouncey. It's for young kids and can only hold 3 or 4, but let me tell you:

1) It's a snap to set up and blow up, takes seconds.
2) Entertains the kids for hours
and
3) It's fun!


So don't judge me.

Get one here. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EHJ7GG/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details

Coco's Birthday Week! Bathtime!

Both Coco and I are in love with bath time. I feel like bath time is such a great time to bond with your kids. The house is quiet, the TV is off, it's just you and the kids in the bathroom. We often sing!


Coco's favorite bath time toys?

Tub Time Pirate Adventures!
Coco and Landon love to push the pirates down the slide and let them ride in the boat!


Yookido- Flow and spill spout!
This thing is amazing. The kids love how the water runs through the motor so they can play!

 Rub a dub Draw in the Tub!

Bath crayons so the kids feel like the are being naughty artists!

 Coco thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!! She is having the best time turning 2!!

Toys For Toddlers- Melissa and Dougs Stack and Sort Board!

Landon had this and adored it. He loved sorting the colors and stacking the blocks! I knew it would be the perfect thing to take out for Coco! It's so fun seeing these toys the second time around! Great that it can be enjoyed twice! Talk about recycling!

You can get it here in my Open Sky store!



What else do I like by Melissa and Doug? Go to my store and see!

Santa Was Gooooood to US!

Santa really came through this year. Remember my list?

J Crew Earrings?


Silver baby charm necklace?
Jonathan Adler wallpaper?
Picket fence?

Yep! Santa brought it all! Picket fence will be coming! I will post pics!

I also got:

The necklace to match my earrings from J Crew...



A Victoria's Secret Nightie to show off the new tummy...


and $500 dollars to shop for new flat tummy clothes!!


Landon and Coco had a ball with their toys from Santa..

Coco loves her Playskool Busy Lil Garden butterfly! It rolls and sings!



Her pink pony rocking horse..



and her Playskool Step Start Walk and Ride!



Landon loves his kawasaki musical keyboard!






and his Razor Jr. folding kiddie kick scooter..



We're very happy over here in the Mrs. household. We are ready to ring in 2010 with a bang. And by bang I mean staying home and falling asleep by 10pm!!! LOL.

Fabulous Find- Fisher Price Learn About Town

When you find a toy that occupies your child for more than five seconds you want to shout it from the rooftops!

This Fisher Price Little People Learn About Town
is brilliant. It's set up as store fronts with multiple activities to do on each section. Best of all it folds up! Landon loves to put the apples in the tree and count along with how many go in, or put the pizzas in the pizzeria oven.

He plays with it for 20 and 30 minute intervals. Heaven! If there's a toy that is working for you SHARE!

In The Kitchen! Latest toys my almost toddler loooves!

Landon is almost 19 months and is becoming more active every day. We do gymnastics class, a mommy and me class and go to an indoor play place once a week. While we're at home we have a swing in the yard to play on, we take walks, kick a ball around...all great stuff. His latest obsession however is the Step 2 Lifestyle Custom Kitchen!

I love that it's not too girly looking for him, his Dad is an amazing cook. Nothing wrong with guys being in the kitchen!

He has also discovered he's a safari cowboy and loves hopping around on this: Bounce and Spin Zebra!



He is hysterical swinging his leg over it, climbing on and bouncing up and down. He has so much fun!


He also Loves this Kiddieland Pirate Ship Godmother gave him for Christmas:



Godmother/BFF is in town by the way...we headed to Marshalls hours after she was off the plane! More on that later!!!

Fabulous Find- Nostalgic Toys=

Wanna re-live your childhood? I found a website that has all the toys you had as a kid! I was having flashbacks just looking at them! Back to Basics Toys is amazing!!!

Remember this Snoopy Sniffer? My sister pulled it around and one day in a moment of pure retaliation, swung it over her head and hit me in the eye! Ah, good times.

This Snoopy Snow Cone Machine was something I always wanted that my mother would never let me have! Maybe Santa will bring it for me this year!

Remember Cindy Brady's best friend Mrs. Beasley?



I love this site!!! Great Christmas gift ideas and a walk down memory lane!

Fabulous Find- Landon's favorite toys

Here is Landons list of favorites. This is his Friday Five! Five things and also these are things that occupied him for more than five minutes which we all know is a
big deal!!!

1. Fisher Price Laugh and Learn- Learning Home Doorway
This is so full of things to do it occupies him for twenty minutes!!!! Long enough for an iced tea! With mint!







2. Step Two Push Around Buggy (also comes in PINK!)
This was another way to take a walk and one he felt like he was in charge of! Brilliant!







3. Melissa and Doug Latches Board
This is still a favorite after months and months!





4. Neurosmith Jumbo Music Cube
It has pockets and zippers and puzzles OH MY!






5. Leap Frog Leap Start Learning Table
This is endless fun and has a little keyboard to play for your little rock star. Also can be switched to Spanish language for Bi Lingual Genius Babies like Landon! Ha!







I'm Tagging Preppy Napkin, Happy Home Maker, Magnolia Mama, and Hemstitch and Hydrangea for their Friday Five List of Toys that last more than five minutes...that way we can see what older kids like too!