Little Tikes Activity Garden Plant 'n Play

  Little Tikes Activity Garden Plant n' Play

I'm giving this adorable little garden five stars because my baby girl loves it so much. It was a gift from her 11 year old sister for Christmas 2014, and they have really enjoyed playing with it together!

Little Tikes Activity Garden Plant 'n Play

The hose makes water sounds and music as you tend to your plants. The worms make cute boinging noises when you push them down, The bumble bee buzzes when pushed. The little gopher makes a noise and giggles when he is pressed down. The plants have shaped bottoms that fit into their respective places like puzzle pieces. When each is placed or removed, your child will learn about shapes and colors. The back of the garden is made of a material to which you can stick the velcro-backed flowers and fruits in any location your child desires.

The only downside to this product is that the toys extending from the sides are not designed to attach well enough, and they do not stay in their respective places as they should. My child loves the spider and the mirror, but those pieces spend more time in the toy drawer than they do in their proper locations attached to the garden.

Overall, this toy is not large, but it's the perfect height for a baby sitting by herself to enjoy. Our daughter received it at 4 months of age, and still plays with it every day (now that she is 17 months old.)  I assume she will continue to play with this toy for a long time.

I'm sure your little green thumb will enjoy this precious garden as well!

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A Slam Dunk for Mattel!

Earlier this week, I posted a piece about Diversity in the American Girl Doll line of toys.  Which, you may or may not know, is a company owned by Mattel.

I've long thought that American Girl should be recognized for it's wholehearted attempts to represent a wide range of cultures, nationalities, and religions within a single line of dolls.

Well, guess which other Mattel line just joined the 21st Century with a MASSIVE announcement today?


BARBIE!


Over the years, Barbie has added black dolls, and they have brunettes; but for the most part, Barbie is, well, Barbie. Tall and skinny with long silky hair. I've never been too bothered by this, because Barbie is an institution, and some things just are what they are; and for me that's okay.

But, these new dolls are stunning!

They cover a wide range of sizes! Hair colors and textures! Skin tones!

This is truly amazing!

The Barbie Website is hailing this as The Evolution of Barbie!

So what exactly is different?

They've added 3 additional body sizes, which makes 4 possibilities now, including the Classic Barbie body style. They've added Curvy, Tall, and Petite.

As for hair colors and textures, they've got short and curly, medium and wavy, and different lengths of straight. How about long and blue? Check out the doll with the shaved style! Wow! Talk about some 21st Century Representation!

Now, in addition to the Fashionista line, you can also get the Spy Squad! Or, maybe Gamer Barbie is your speed? Bibby definitely wants that one! If you're looking for that perfect gift for your future Oval Officer, check out the President and Vice-President dolls!

Barbie says this is just the beginning! If Mattel is willing to put as much thought and effort into the design of Barbie as they have the variety of their Monster High Dolls, this is going to be SO MUCH FUN!

Check out The Barbie Website for more information on all these awesome dolls coming soon!

This is just the beginning, for sure!

#YouCanBeAnything

Images Copyright Mattel 2016

Flexible Flyer Snow Screamer

We're having tons of winter fun here with our new Flexible Flyer Snow Screamer!

I've read a few less-than-desirable reviews, so I will update later if we have any problems with it; but so far we've had 4 kids using it for 5 days now, and it's been an absolute blast so far!

My kids don't normally enjoy spending too much time in the snow. They might go out for a few minutes, build a snowman, and then come back in looking for some hot cocoa. But since we've bought this, they wake up every morning begging to go outside and sled. And then I have to drag them back in before they freeze off random body parts.

Essentially, this is a glorified boogie board at 47 inches long, by 22 inches wide, with two sets of handles and a slick bottom. I've always considered our yard pretty sloped, but nothing else we had was really giving  the kids any distance. With the Snow Screamer, they can literally make it from the top of the yard, all the way to the bottom. It's not super super fast, but it gives them a great deal of distance, figuring our degree of slope.

At 12 and 8, Bibby and Ogie ride together with no problems. Ribby can sandwich in the middle for a ride with her siblings. That works just fine, too. I'm not sure what the maximum recommended weight is, but together my 3 kiddos are clocking in at about 215 pounds.

I do agree with some of the reviews I read that the stock photo makes it look like there is a molded seat on the board. That isn't the case. It's just part of the screen printed design and NOT three dimensional in any way.

We don't live in an area that usually sees a great deal of deep snow, so I'm no expert on snow toys; but the Snow Screamer is a GREAT choice for our kids in the midst of this crazy weather!

If your kids are catching a case of cabin fever, head on over to Amazon and check out the Snow Screamer today!


Snow Screamer on Amazon


  

Lisa and Lubbas Just Chilling in Ribby's Bakery

Today's Daily Dose of Cuteness

Lisa and Lubbas Just Chilling in Ribby's Bakery

Build-a-Bear at Hamilton Place Mall - Chattanooga, TN

Today we set out to spend our accumulated Build-a-Bear gift cards, and I'd say we were successful.

The first trick in using gift cards is to remember to actually bring the gift cards with you. Check! (I'm not admitting to how many failed attempts we've clocked for this particular endeavor.)

Actually, that's really the only trick. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to spend money on teddy bears.

Everyone else in our crew has 3 Build-a-Bears, and Ribby only had one, so we decided it would only be fair to even it out.

Over the Christmas shopping season, we were NOT impressed with the selection in any of the several locations we visited. But, apparently Valentine's Day is an AWESOME time to Build-a-Bear! These animals were SO precious! And there were a few others we'd still like to add to the collection some day...

So, without further ado, meet Lubbas the Bear and Lisa Leopard!

Lubbas' super-soft pink and red hearted fur is scented in a sweetness reminiscent of old-school Strawberry Shortcake Dolls. It definitely conjures up many a childhood memory for me! While smelling the bear directly, the scent doesn't strike me as being too overbearing.  (he he!)  Within a matter of hours after bringing Lubbas inside Ribby's room, however, the entire 12 x 12 area smells like a Strawberry Shortcake doll factory. So far, I'm okay with this. After all, Ribby's room is a bakery. So, the scent works great for us. But, if you or your little ones have any smell sensitivities or issues with fragrance, you might want to give the fur a good, solid smell test before purchasing.  

Lisa Leopard, in all her rainbow spotted adorableness, is named for Lisa Frank, the iconic 90's graphic artist and designer of all things 90's kids HAD to have. We are HUGE Lisa Frank fans, and are anxiously awaiting the second coming of the Lisa Frank empire. I have collected tons of Lisa Frank items that I'm in the process of framing into wall art for Ribby's Room. In the mean time, of course, we HAD to have this Lisa Frank-esque stuffed Leopard, and are saving pennies again for her black and rainbow cousin Zebra, also currently available at Build-a-Bear. We would have bought both today, if Lubbas the Bear hadn'ta been so darned irresistible herself.

 

All in all, we had a good time. But a lot of that has to do with the fact that we adore anything that makes Ribby happy, and Ribby was pretty happy to get her new bears.

The ladies manning the store location were perfectly functional cashiers, but there was no magic whatsoever in their construction of either animal. I miss the days when Build-a-Bear employees made the whole building-a-bear experience feel like the kids was actually building a darned bear. They used to speak in sweet, happy voices. They'd talk the kid through pressing the foot pedal on the stuffing machine like they were filling the bear's crevices with a magic like no other. They'd let the kids rub their hands together and warm each heart before it was kissed and placed inside to radiate love for an entire childhood.

Now, it's just, "Do you want $100 worth of extra stuff crammed inside? Nope, well, press this pedal and shove some fluff in the animal's tuchus."

Yep...  We definitely miss the Build-a-Bear magic touch. But, watching your baby girl give it all she's got to carry her new buddies through the mall is still worth it!