Chuggington Over and Under Starter Play Set by Learning Curve

 
These days our house is filled with cars, trucks and trains.  How Mason loves toys that he can roll along and create new adventures with. 

Chuggington Wooden Railway Over& Under Starter Set with Clock Tower is the latest toy Mason helped me to review.   He was so excited just when I pulled the box out and saw that it was Chuggington Trains.  He immediately went into a chorus of  "choo choo", "choo choo". 

If you are not familiar with Chuggington, it is based on the animated TV series for pre-schoolers.  Stories reinforce early preschool skills like color, verbal skills, and taking and understanding directions.  Along the way, you will meet characters who are "train"ees named Wilson, Brewster, and Koko. "Chuggers", or the more experienced engines, will help to teach important social skills, like paying attention, being a good friend, and believing in yourself.  Your child will also learn "positive life lessons", as well as, "social readiness skills" like honesty, friendship, patience, and being a good listener.  Kids will easily relate to the trainees, the challenges, and mistakes they face along the way.

The Over& Under Starter Set  is a 22 piece set that features a 2 in 1 Clock Tower which can be used to stack as a tower or unstack to create two separate tunnels.  This stackable tower creates more ways for your little one to be creative and use their imagination.  The track is designed to set up in a figure 8 design, but it can be configured in other ways also.  Setting up the track was very easy and appropriate for the 3 and up crowd.   It wasn’t hard to figure out how to put together.  With minimal help from me, Mason had no problem setting up the track himself.

I love the high quality, real wood construction of this set.  There are so many toys, while fun and even educational, that will simply not stand the test of time, or the test of a 2 or 3 year old.  I still have my Lincoln Logs from when I was a child and I know they held up because they were made of real wood. 

The overall design of this wooden track system is compact and does not take up a whole lot of space.  Another nice feature of this play set is that the Chuggington wooden track is compatible with other wooden train systems, such as Thomas.  The trains are very colorful and have a chunky design.  This paired with the strong magnetic coupling system make this a perfect set for any toddler! 

Also included in the Over& Under Starter Set are Chuggington characters Wilson, Koko and Vee. It is recommended for ages 3 and up and retails for about $49.99.  This train set was named as an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio “Gold Seal” winner.  To find out more about Chuggington or to find other Chuggington Wooden Railway Sets, check out the Official Chuggington Online Store.


Learning Curve provided the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Do You Need Home Security?

Do you wonder how safe your home is?  Now that it is warm outside, do you sometimes worry that someone could break into you house easily because you left the window open?   Or that CO2 is leaking  in your home and you don't even know it?  What about fires or flooding?  There is so much that could happen to your house, or worse, your loved ones. 

That is why Home Security Conway could be the answer you have been looking for.  Home Security Conway is an authorized ADT dealer.  Just think, $99 for a complete home security system installed and with plans starting at just $35.99 per month, you could have your home monitored 24 hours a day for the presence of CO gas, for any unexplained increase in the temperature of your home, or smoke caused by fires, or an increased amount of moisture in your home, leading to flooding!

It is ADT’s trained professionals that will help you along the way to find out what is best for your family and home.  When you are sitting at home enjoying your Direct TV, you can call Home Security Conway to get a risk free assessment of your home today.  If you don't see your city, just call them at 1-800-330-8310!

Zoobles: Mama and Babies Review

Zoobles: Mama and Babies have got the be one of the cutest toys I have seen released recently.  I instantly fell in love when I saw these.  Like Bagukan for boys, Zoobles are for girls.  What makes these so much fun about these Zoobles is that the Mama Zooble is bigger than most other Zoobles and the Baby Zoobling can fit right inside her belly.  Zoobles Mama and her Baby Zoobling come with their Happitat, where they love to play and rest.  When the Baby Zoobling is not inside her Mama's belly, Baby likes to swing in the Happitat bassinet.

To help me with this review, I called in my 5 year old niece, Anna, to show me the ins and outs of what makes Zoobles so great.  Anna loved that the Mama Zooble was so big.  She also liked that Baby stayed safely in Mama's belly when she was done playing with them.  Like other 5 year olds, she has small toys that she is always  losing.  She was easily able to keep track of Mama and Baby Zooble.

Anna also commented, in her 5 year old lingo, that she loved the design of the Zoobles.  They are brightly colored and have lots of personality.  Play with the Zooble was a breeze too.  Mama Zooble easily closed up with Baby Zoobling inside.  Once Anna was ready to make Mama wake up, all she had to do was place it on the Happitat to make the Mama "spring to life".  To make the Baby come out, all Anna had to do was push a lever at the back of the Mama Zooble and the Baby rolled out.  Baby easily spring to life when she pushed the button on the top of the Baby Zoobles head.

Anna cannot wait to get more Zoobles to add to her collection!  Girls all over will love collecting all the Zoobles, creating their own little world of fun!

The play set includes 2 Zoobles and the Happitat.  They are reasonably prices at about $9.99


You can also find out more about the world of Zoobles at Zoobles.com.













Spin Master provided me with the items above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

NEW Bakugan Battle Arena, Bakugan's and Accessories by Spin Master Review

Bakugan has really become quite popular. I know this for a fact since my 9 year old nephew, Luke, and his friends play it all the time. Every time I see Luke he shows me his latest Bakugan acquisition and how it transforms. So, when the review opportunity came up, I had to call him in as an expert to teach me all about Bakugan.

For those of you that are not too familiar with it, I found a great explanation on Squidoo.com:
"Bakugan Battle Brawler strategic game was created by the joint efforts of Sega Toys and Spin Master. It is based on the Japanese animation TV series that is similar to that of Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh.  The story begins when the main characters, Dan Kuso and his five online friends begin playing Bakugan when cards suddenly start falling out of the sky. They learn that these battling monsters exist in another dimension called Vestoria. They have to do battle with other Bakugan in order to save Vestroia and Earth from total destruction."  I couldn't explain it any better!

I was fortunate enough to get to battle in the all new, official Mechtanium Surge Ball Arena.

This Bakugan Battle Arena is based on the fourth season of the Bakugan series. This game was really a lot of fun to play. Luke and I battled several times and I won once and he won three times. All you have to do to play is roll your Bakugan onto special metal Gate cards. The Bakugan will pop open when it successfully lands on a Gate card! This was tricky, but this new Battle Arena makes it even more fun since you can use the bumpers for shots. Once you successfully roll the Bakugan, it will auto transform. Luke explained that each Bakugan has powers and there is a number that corresponds, letting the players know who wins the battle. If you win the battle, you get to collect Gate Cards and you gain abilities and powers that will help you win the game.

This official battle arena has with card placement and shot spot indicators. You can play against up to 3 other players. This set is a lot of fun to play. Luke was thrilled to try this new arena.  He has the original arena and he made sure to tell me that this one was SO much better.  He loved that it was not only bigger, but he LOVES that it has the bumpers that you can use for trick shots. Another nice thing about this new Battle Arena is that you can remove the center board for a portable battle arena.

This games also comes with a DNA code for your Bakugan, letting you unlock a whole new online world. You have to firmly rub the Bakugan to reveal the hidden code, enter the code online, and "unleash the monster!"

Here a a few of the new Bakugan and accessories, which are also new.

Bakugan (Mechtogan) Miserak - Swipe and Battle
"Dominate in battle with Mechtogan, Bakugan's autotransforming action figures fused with die cast metal. Transforms with swipe of Mechtogan Activator to reveal hidden G-Powers. This package includes 1 Mechtogan and 1 Mechtogan activator."

Bakugan BakuSolo (Taylean)

"Feel the weight and roll with authority.  Grow you collection with all new Bakugan now with die cast metal.  Included in this package is 1 Bakugan, 1 Metal Gate Card, 1 Ability Card."

BakuTrinity

"This pack is a great way to add to your Bakugan collection.  You get 3 all new die cast metal Bakugan and 6 total cards.  This set includes 3 Bakugan, 3 Metal Gate Cards, and 3 Ability Cards."

Mobile Assault Vehicle

"Ride into battle with die cast Bakugan Mobile Assault vehicles.  Transport Bakugan into Battle and give your Bakugan a G-power boost.  Included in this package is 1 Bakugan Mobile Assault and 1 Reference Card."





Spin Master provided me with the items above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Hedbanz Game by SpinMaster Review

The Hedbanz Game is one of the most fun games I have played in a long time!  The premise is simple: strap a headband on you head, insert picture card onto the headband (without looking at it) so that everyone else can see it, and ask insightful questions that will help you deduce what the picture is of the card on your head.  Get rid of all  3 of your chips to win the game!  Sounds easy, right?  Guess again.  To make it even more difficult, you have to set a sand timer.  One fun aspect of the game is that you get to ask as many questions as you can during your time.  Questions include "Do I have legs?" or "Do I make noise?" until the timer runs out.  This game is like twenty questions, with simple objects on the cards to guess, but somehow, I wasn't getting any of the answers!

If you happen to guess the picture on your head before the timer runs out, you get to put one of your chips back into the bank and take another card and start asking questions again.  When the timer runs out, and if you can not guess what you are, the next player has a turn.   If a player gives up at any time and does not want to guess any more, they have to take a chip from the bank and a new card is dealt them next time.

My husband played this game with me and we had a blast!  We though that this game couldn't really be that hard.  We found out that this game is not only fun, but challenging too.  I love that Hedbanz helps to develop children's thinking skills and creativity as they learn to play this game.  Along with "deductive reasoning skills with the game's simple question-and-answer premise", your child will have a blast using descriptive adjectives to narrow down their guesses.  I admit, I was not the best at this game and even my husband gave up on a few cards.  We decided to bend the rules and give some hints until we got a better idea of what questions to ask.

I often hear from other Mom's that it is difficult to find games that the whole family can play, especially with younger children.  Hedbanz is a game that is appropriate for the whole family.  The cards show common pictures including, an animal, food, or a common object. The categories are few and simple, but this allows everyone, even young children, to get in on the family fun.  It is recommended for ages 7 and up, but with help, younger children could play along too.  This is a silly game that is definitely fun for the whole family! 

As Mason gets older, I love the idea of having a family game night where we can just be and everyone can have fun together.  The Hedbanz Game is definitely on the list of games we will play.  Since Mason is still too young to play, I have been using the cards as flash cards to teach him new words.  He loves them!

The Hedbanz Game retails for about  $16.99 and is for 2-6 players.  It includes :

• rule sheet,
• 74 cards,
• 24 chips,
• 6 headbands,
• and sand-clock timer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spin Master provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Ring Pop Review (and Giveaway)

Ring Pops were always one of my first choices as a treat while I was growing up.  Well, that and candy necklaces.  I loved to pretend I was dressed up wearing my candy apparel.  Then you got to eat it in the end and I couldn't think of a better treat!

When I was asked to do a review on Ring Pops, I couldn't pass it up.  It brought back so many childhood memories of eating the pops and sharing with my friends.  I rarely give Mason lollipops because I am afraid that he will take a bit of the stick or lollipop and choke on it.  Then there is the mess factor that goes along with a 2 year old eating anything sticky.  The Ring Pop packaging also reminds us that this is a candy kids can wear on their finger so they never have to worry about dropping it.  One more plus for the Ring Pop.

When I received the bag of Ring Pops to try, I was delighted to see that this was a sugar-free version of what I grew up on.  The flavors like strawberry, watermelon, and blue raspberry will appeal to any child.  The Pop seemed large enough at the start that I didn't have to worry about choking and there was no stick to contend with.  So far, so good!

And, I do admit that I am one of those Mom's who save lollipops for special occasions, long visits at the doctors office, or when all else has failed and I need to maintain some sort of decorum.  A lollipop will always work.  Now, I don't have to feel guilty about bribing Mason with a lollipop, because it is fat free and only 30 calories a pop.  According to the package, it also has 0 sugar carbs and 0 impact carbs, (for those watching their carbs).  This is also an approved candy for those with diabetes.  It is good to know that there is fun, diabetic friendly candy, that kids can enjoy eating!

Mason was excited when I gave him the Ring Pop to try.  I slid it on his finger and he wasn't sure what to make of it at first.  He quickly discovered the sugar-free goodness!  It seemed to be a really good size for his hands.  He did wind up taking it off and holding the ring part to eat it, but the plastic ring did help to prevent some of the mess I usually wind up with.

When I gave Mason the Ring Pop, I wondered if he could tell the difference between a regular lollipop sweetened with sugar or the sugar free Ring Pop, which is sweetened with Splenda.  I believe his exact words were, "Ummm, Yum!"...the entire time he ate the Ring Pop.  I dare to say he didn't notice.

I definitely foresee buying more of these sugar free Ring Pops for the future.  They will be nice to have on hand for a special treat without all the guilt, and not just for Mason.

Do you want to win some Sugar Free Ring Pops of your own?  Click HERE or head over to Mama Cheaps and enter to win.  There will be 3 winners chosen!  Good Luck!!


Ring Pops provided us with samples of the products reviewed above in order to facilitate the review.  Ring Pops is providing the prizes for this giveaway.  All opinions are 100% our own.

Frito-Lay Summer Snack Pack Giveaway (Closed)

Today is the first day of Summer but if you ask me, it already feels like it as been in full swing!  I have already had a few barbecues and have spent many warm days in the pool with Mason.  Summer is probably one of my most favorite times of the year.  I love getting together with friends and nothing beats the feeling of hanging out and enjoying the warm nights.

Everyone knows that along with friends gathering comes food, and lots of it.  I know I always have a few staples on hand just in case a friend pops over.  One of which is Frito-Lay Hint of Lime tortilla chips.   These are my favorite chips because you can eat them with salsa or alone and still have an interesting flavor to enjoy.  And besides, who really wants to be in a hot kitchen cooking on a hot day?  It is so much easier to pop some chips and dip in a bowl and enjoy the time you have with your friends and family.

What I really love about having chips and dips at gatherings is that can be a sneaky way to add fresh fruits and veggies to your diet.  You can easily use your favorite chips as a vehicle to dish up extra nutrition by pairing them with dips made with fruits and vegetables, like Frito-Lay's Mango Salsa Chutney.  Or, you could try the Garden Lime Dip, which also just happens to pair perfectly with my favorite Hint of Lime chips.

And, in case you didn't know, some of Frito-Lay’s most popular snacks, such as Tostitos Scoops tortilla chips and Lay’s Classic potato chips are made with only three simple ingredients: potatoes or corn, healthier oils and salt - that’s it!  I figure, if you snack, why not choose a healthier snack?

Do you love Frito-Lay too?  Fill out the form below to win your own Frito-Lay Summer Snack Pack!  You will receive a Frito-Lay summer snack pack with three favorite summer snacks – Tostitos Scoops tortilla chips, Tostitos Restaurant Style with a Hint of Lime tortilla chips and Lay’s Classic potato chips – along with one of Frito-Lay's new Dip Creations Dip Mixes, and a festive, insulated Frito-Lay tote bag made from recycled material.

The Giveaway will run from 6/21/11 at 12:00pm to 6/26/11 at 12:00pm.  You may enter the Giveaway once a day, including bonus entries.  All erroneous entries will be deleted.  Your mailing address will ONLY be used to ship the Summer Snack Pack.

Congratulations to Angela W, winner of the Frito-Lay Summer Snack Pack!



Frito-Lay provided me with a Summer Snack Pack and recipes in order to facilitate this review.  My family has been happily enjoying the Hint of Lime Tortillas and will be using the Potato Chips and Dip for this weekend's gathering!  All opinions are 100% mine.