A Toy I Hate, A Toy I Love...just because!

This is probably a moot point since we bought this toy almost two years ago, but every time I see this toy it bugs me and I want to TELL THE WORLD! Or, the three people who read this blog...just to warn you in case there is still one hanging out on the shelf at your local Target.

So here it goes. I hate this toy. This toy? Yes. This toy.

But it's cute, right? Backyardigans, a pirate ship, a tub toy! What's not to love?

The design, that's what.

First of all, everything deck-up comes apart. Handy for storage I suppose. But it comes apart too easily and doesn't go back together easily. (Not for toddlers, anyway.) That means the mast and sail, which Gabe could never "fix" himself, were a constant source of frustration, and eventually (fortunately) got lost/thrown away.

But here's the worst, most horrible-terrible-no-good part. The first time we put it in the bath tub, The bottom cavity filled with water. Maybe this is required for it to maintain proper buoyancy. I dunno. The problem is, the bottom cavity is the only part that DOESN'T come apart! It's SCREWED TOGETHER! With (now rusty) metal screws!!!

That means, this toy is filled with nasty, moldy, two-year-old water and it can't be cleaned without the use of a tiny screwdriver!!! (And my OCD hasn't taken me that far. Yet.) It's amazing I haven't tossed the dumb thing! (But we have a dirth of tub toys so it's gotten lucky.)

And THAT is all I will say about that.

Moving on.

A toy we love:

THE PLAYSKOOL BALL POPPER!!!

We got this toy a few years ago from my in-laws. The toy pictured below is actually the next generation design so not exactly like the one we have. (But ours is still kicking, sooo...props for quality!)

Basically, the genius of this toy is that it contains a suped-up hair dryer. A little motor blows air through the toy which pops the balls out the top. Then they fall back down and roll down the ramp for another spin. Oh yeah. And it plays music.

Now, you may think the motor noise/song combination would get annoying. But the popping balls are so mesmerizing, you forget the noise and just stare. And when I say "you" I mean "YOU", me, and children of all ages. Everyone loves staring at this toy. Babies through big kids.

Yes, bigger kids are always dropping matchbox cars, blocks and other toys into the Ball Popper to see if they pop out. They don't, but it's easy to pop the ramp off, and dump out the offending toy if it happens to get stuck.

When our Ball Popper bites the dust, I'll buy another one. For the kids, of course!

TWO THUMBS UP!!!

I'm glad I have a place where I can get these things off my chest! Gotta love blogging!

Bella Sara Trading Cards

Remember how I told you I was a member of Team Mom and sometimes I get free stuff to review? (The sole compensation being the free stuff.)  Which is super cool because... 

it's free stuff?  

Well, recently I got an envelope from Team Mom containing...

*drumroll*

2 Bella Sara Royalty Card Packs

translation:  Really girlie trading cards with horses on them.

ie:

They're trading cards that work concurrently with an on-line interactive website.  A "magical new world with majestic realms, noble traditions, and regal families" no less.  

Only one problem.  I have three boys.  Three really boyish boys.  (I bought Max a baby doll when I was pregnant with Sam and he used it to sword fight.  Yes.  He held the doll by its legs and whacked things with it.)

Oh, and one other problem:  I'm not a horse girl.  Never have been.  Never once asked for a pony, never had a toy horse for my Barbie (never had Barbies), and never owned a single piece of unicorn paraphernalia.  

Never.  

Ever.  

In fact, this picture makes me want to throw-up in my mouth a little bit.  Sorry Bella Sara.  Just being honest.

ANYHOO!  Ever since I got the cards, they've sat, un-opened on my desk staring at me reproachfully saying "Review Me!  Review Me!"

Last night, I finally decided to do it.   I couldn't stand looking at the girlie-ness any longer.  So...

I OPENED THE CARDS!!!

I opened them, logged into the website, and called Max over.  

"Hey Max, wanna come play this computer game with me?"

Max comes running over having never before heard those words from my lips.

--Sees pastel colored horses.

Max:  "Uh, no thanks!  It's princess!!!"

Runs away.

I thought that was the end of it.  

But a little while later he came back (having run out of better things to do) and said

"Okay.  Show me the game."

So, we set him up and account and picked him a horse.  The next hour was highly amusing from my standpoint.  After showing Max around the site a bit, I left him alone at the computer to see what he'd do.  He found his way to what is, I believe, called the "beauty salon" where you can dress and accessorize your horse.   (!!!$&%#!!!)

 Max started going to town.

"Hey, Mom!  Look at this!  (adds black tale which looks like a whip.)  And THIS!  (adds pointy black armour.)  And THIS!"  (adds black horse shoes and evil looking shin guards.)  

What the...?  Max is sifting through the multitude of pastel and frou-frou offerings to find the most goth/emo/boyish/black stuff available.

 

Would it be wrong to say it made me a tiny bit happy?  

Well, after a little while Sammy comes over to see what the fuss is about.  And he wants to make his own horse.  (You can print them out when you're finished)

Doug sits down to help and he ends up with a decidedly sillier horse:  green running shoes, gray knee socks, Native American style feathered accessories, and little red devil horns.  

And then Doug wanted to decorate a horse...

and I mocked him inwardly and took a picture for blackmail purposes.

It just goes to show that you cant judge trading cards (or websites) by their pink/sparkly/horse-covered wrappers!!! 

Lesson learned.

And I have pictures to prove it.

Log-in to www.bellasara.com to create your own free account and play on-line  (user name Maxer_Boy is already taken) and/or buy your own trading cards where-ever trading cards are sold!  (Where are trading cards sold?)

Perfect for your horse/fantasy/computer game/pony/unicorn loving girlie-girl 

and/or 

your energetic/violence prone/computer game loving little boy!!!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

***

Post Script:

Max brought over one of the 9-year-old neighbor boys.  HE wanted to make a horse and print it out too!

***

Baby Jamz

***This review was quoted on the website PRWeek!  Which means I've been "published".  Which means I'm famous now.***

Awhile ago my sister-in-law Laura got me this sweet new gig with a company called "Team Mom". Every once in awhile, they're gonna send me a kid-related product or toy for FREE and I'll review it on my blog. It's pretty much a win/win situation for everyone. (Did I mention I get stuff for FREE?!?) Well, I got my first box from Team Mom and it was sorta like Christmas.

The first product I've been asked to review is the...*drumroll please*Baby Jamz Jammin' Microphone and the BabyJamz Nursery Rhyme CD.This is a new hip-hop toy line created by the Familia Knowles. The songs on the c.d. are old stand-bys like "This Old Man" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" but hip-hop-funkified.
I have only three words to describe it: Fresh to Death!

Now, being more of an 80's fan myself, I admit I would have preferred a toy synthesizer which played kid versions of "Just Can't Get Enough" and "Oh l'Amour" but we can't always get what we want. (But we get what we need.)

So what did the boys think? Before we even got the microphone out of the package, both Max and Sam were fighting over it and getting their hip-hop groove on. The mic amplifies your voice but also plays songs and lets you record your voice and play it back. It's the shizzle!

Once the C.D. was pumping the dance party began. Max was poppin'some SERIOUS moves. Arms were flying, heads rocking, and hips, um...gyrating? It was quite a sight.

If you love hip-hop and want to get your kids to get their groove on, you gotta get you some of this action in the hizzle. 

For rizzle. 

Oh no I di'nt. 

Oh yes I did.  

(If you DON'T love hip-hop, you'd be better off jamming bamboo shoots under your finger nails.)

<insert video of Max dancing here>

(I missed Max's most SWEET dance moves and he couldn't be bothered to recreate them...but you get the idea.)

Oh yeah! You can get the goods at Wal-Mart!

Peace Out!