Category: Toys

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Babies Baby Blankets Baby Gear Baby Registry Baby Toys Little Branding Monster Malarkey Kids Review Shopping Toys

Chew on this..

Sometimes, you find a company that blows you away. You know what I mean.. those companies that just seem to hit the nail on the head with their products – and their products do exactly what you expect them to? Malarkey Kids is one of those companies.

Note: The following products were provided to us free of charge. Regardless, this is my own honest opinion.

I was first drawn to Malarkey Kids when I saw their Munch Mitt. My babies all decided that their hands were the perfect “first teether” – and they tended to start this hand gnawing before they were developmentally ready to hold onto a traditional teether toy to chew on.
With my youngest, this constant sucking on her hands exacerbated her eczema. I needed something to protect her hands, and traditional cotton mitts just ended up soaked making things worse. When I heard about the Munch Mitt, I knew I needed it, and for about 3 months, we never went anywhere without it. (You can read more about my love of the Munch Mitt here)
As she began to get older and more coordinated, new products came out. Perfect with her new development, we were sent their Buddy Bib. I SO wish I had this with our other kids. Bandana bibs are not only trendy, but so cute on. Add a removable, chewable teether that doubles as a wrist rattle? MAJOR WIN.
This became our new staple. And the detachable “buddy” was the perfect solution for car rides. It entertained her, it gave her something other than her hands to chew on, and it even attached easily to our baby carriers to help discourage her from chewing on the straps. Bonus that it is adorable.
Once again, Malarkey Kids has expanded their line and we LOVE it. We recently received two of their newest products, the Munch-it Blanket and the Chew Cube. I expected to tell you they were a hit with our little girl, but honestly? Our 3 youngest kids ALL fight over them.
When I first unpacked them, our little girl would NOT put down the Munch-It blanket. She toted it around the house, outside in the snow, in the car. Pretty sure it’s her new BFF. I’m assuming the incredibly soft fabric and snack-inspired print helps. Pretzels are her favorite past time, after all.
You best watch out when her brother sees it and tries to take it for himself. It never ends well. Luckily, I can usually give whichever of them doesn’t have the blanket our new Chew Cube and it will instantly distract them enough to prevent a fight.
The Chew Cube is a great developmental toy, more than just a teether. While the outside is definitely perfect for chewing, the cube itself is so multi-purpose. A toy to roll around or throw -like dice for babies, a rattle to shake, and a sensory stimulating block lies in the center.
With mirrors and bold black and white patterns, it keeps my kids entertained for several minutes trying to free this small block from the confines of the teether cube. (Rest assured, try as they might, that cube has yet to be liberated. It is constructed well!)
Over the years, and between our numerous children, we have come across many teethers.. so trust me when I say these Malarkey Kids products are most definitely worth having. All of them.
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Babies Baby Gear Baby Registry Baby Shower Baby Toys Gifts Little Branding Monster Malarkey Kids Parenting Review Shopping Toys

Adventures in Slobber Town. Why we love Munch Mitt.

[Note: This product was provided to me for this post. All opinions expressed are my own]

Let’s be real — Teething isn’t fun. The copious amounts of slobber and seemingly equal amount of tears is enough to have any drool covered, sleep deprived parent on a coffee induced search for just about every product out there that may bring some relief… ANY relief… to their otherwise happy little baby.

I’ve been there. With 6 kids.. I think I’ve tried almost everything that said “teething” on it.. most did nothing. Some worked alright.. but never have I found one I have appreciated as much as my newly found love — the Munch Mitt by Malarkey Kids.

Is it an affective teether? Yes. Does baby like it? Definitely.. Is it cute? Of course it is. But none of these things are what make me love it as much as I do. So, what is it exactly that has me crazy about Munch Mitt? It helps her eczema.

Now, I’m sure you’re sitting there, with one eye brown raised and your hand with a thoughtful grasp on your chin going “uhhh, how exactly does it *help* her eczema?”

No, this isn’t some miracle moisturizer that heals her eczema.. it obviously does nothing to treat eczema.. but what it does do is provide a barrier. This Munch Mitt gives her something else to chew on.

Saliva irritates the skin, as does going from slobbery wet to dry over and over again through the day. We treat most of her eczema prone skin with moisturizers and creams, but she’s a baby. Her hands are not somewhere I am comfortable putting topical ointments – especially with as often as she’s putting them in her mouth. So, her tiny little wrists and hands end up chapped, red, and covered in patches of eczema. That is, until I put this mitt on her hand. She immediately went straight to chewing on it, just as she would her bare hand — but when I removed it after about 15-20 minutes – her hand was dry. It wasn’t covered in saliva. She was happy, and her hand was protected. Win. Total win.

What else makes it a great tool for eczema prone babies? It’s a razer sharp finger nail barrier. She has eczema on her face.. her cheeks are possibly one of the worst areas she has it. Any time I put her in the car seat, she starts chewing on her hands, slobber sits on her cheeks, then they itch. She gets irritated with it’s itchiness and starts clawing at her face. Now we’ve got eczema and claw marks. Not awesome. This mitt, while it’s crinkling offered a distracting toy for her, and it’s silicon soothed her urge to chew on everything — this adorable little mitt also contained her slice and dice happy finger nails. Hooray!

If you’ve been on the fence about getting a Munch Mitt, hesitate no more! Go get it! I only wish I had found it sooner.

 

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Stonyfield Toys

FroYo Fun with Stonyfield and Yay Labs

It is very rare for me to come across a product that is both entertaining and highly useful for my children. When I was presented by Stonyfield to review the Yay Labs Soft Shell Ice Cream Ball to combine fun with a healthy frozen snack, I was immediately intrigued. Could it really be as fun and simple as it sounded? Is this something my older boys would enjoy? Could they even manage to do it all themselves? After an evening of fun with our Stonyfield YoKids yogurt and our Yay Labs Soft Shell Ice Cream Ball… the answer to all of those questions is an astounding YES!

**I am a Stonyfield Ambassador. This Post is sponsored by Stonyfield, and the products herein were provided to us by Stonyfield and Yay Labs for the purpose of review. All Opinions expressed are my own.**

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We started by gathering our ingredients. We wanted to keep it healthy, and keep it simple. The Yay Labs Ice Cream Ball, itself, doesn’t require much to use it.. and the frozen yogurt can be as simple as just using, well, yogurt. We opted to add organic frozen sliced strawberries to our frozen yogurt for a little extra flavor and texture. Plus: Why not? One more thing for the kids to help with, and one more fruit to add to their diet for the day.

 

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Creating the Frozen Yogurt is easy.. Prep the yogurt in a bowl that will be easy to transfer into the ball when you’re ready. We were feeding 3 of our children, so I used 3 of the YoKids cups. (Strawberry Vanilla is a favorite around these parts.. so a natural choice for us!)
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In the bowl of yogurt, we added in the thawed, sliced organic strawberries.
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After you’ve added the desired amount of fruit to the yogurt, mix it together well.
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Add the yogurt and fruit mixture to the metal compartment in the Ice Cream Ball.
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After the lid is well secured to the capsule containing the yogurt mixture, tip it over and add ice to the bottom compartment.
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Fill it with ice as full as you can get it (But leave a little bit of room for the rock salt)
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Measure out your rock salt, approximately 1/2 a cup. Add the rock salt on top of the ice in the compartment and secure the lid well.
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Play with the ball. Your kids can roll it. Shake it. Toss it back and forth (Please not.. this is not the best method. It does specify not to drop it, and with all the ice and other ingredients.. this ball DOES get heavy!!) After about 20 minutes of playing, scraping themixture off the walls once or twice in the process, you have an amazing vat of frozen yogurt.
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Creamy and delicious. Organic strawberry frozen yogurt that my kids made by themselves, at home.. all while playing together.


What a fun and enjoyable activity!! The yogurt was delicious and my kids were begging to do it again not even 5 minutes after they finished their dish of frozen yogurt. This is a fun summer staple, for sure. Thank you, Stonyfield and Yay Labs!!

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Kids LeapFrog LeapPad Leapster Explorer Learning Games Review Toys

Don’t jump.. Leap!

My husband is, and always has been, a technology guru. He has worked in the IT field since he could legally work. He wrote his first program at the age of 3 and has always kept up on all the latest and greatest. I always knew that when we had kids, technology would be a mainstay in their lives.

Our home, unlike many of our friends, is not one without a television, or with restricted television. Pair that with my husband’s “latest and greatest” attitude about tech, and my home is full of button-mashing gaming systems and play-til-your-eyes-bleed tablets. The only thing we both agreed upon was that we will not be buying any hand held gaming consoles for our children. No Nintendo DS. No PSP or PSVita. Why, you ask? Because I want my children to grow to enjoy educational stimulation.

With this in mind, we combined my desire for education and my husband’s desire for tech and invested in LeapFrog toys. Over the years, we have had many of them. Most recently, though, we bought our kids the LeapFrog LeapPad’s and I only wish they had been around earlier.

The LeapPad is portable and durable. I throw them into the diaper bag to keep the older boys entertained during doctors appointments, long drives, anything that they may need to sit and be quiet for any length of time. Let’s face it, I am raising 3 boys. If I can find something to keep them sitting and quiet for longer than 3 minutes and it’s going to teach them something at the same time?? Sold.

I am pleased by the abundance of games that they make for the LeapPad. All educational, by the way. Yet, also all very appealing to my children. From their favorite Disney characters to an animated pencil, they have drawn my children into the games and allowed them to enjoy learning. Sometimes they realize they are learning, other times, they have no clue. You even have the convenience of buying App cards for the LeapFrog App store and just downloading games straight onto the LeapPad.

We bought our first LeapPad a month before my oldest started Kindergarten. He was on the verge of knowing how to read, but wasn’t quite there yet. By the time Kindergarten began, he was reading full speed ahead. Now in first grade, he is well above the reading level he should be, and above a lot of the students in his class.

Before we bought the second LeapPad.
Our youngest played with the Leapster Explorer.

We bought our second LeapPad about 6 months later, right before we left on a short road trip to attend a funeral. We knew we would need to keep our 3-year-old entertained in the car and he had always loved playing with his brother’s LeapPad, so we knew it would be an investment worth making. He is not-yet-four and is already able to write his name and learning the basics of reading. I am not a mom who tries to push advancements on my kids.. so everything he is learning is more than likely learned from the games he plays on his LeapPad. (As much as I’d love to take credit..)

LeapFrog has since released a new LeapPad, the LeapPad2. I can guarantee you that both of my boys will be getting one for Christmas this year. My oldest will be 7 and my middle son will be almost 4 and I know that it will be one of the best things we can buy for them. Learning without feeling like you’re learning. Reading and enjoying it. (How many boys actually enjoy reading anymore? Not many. A sad but true statistic.) It’s well worth its $99 price tag.

If you’ve never thought about the LeapFrog brand of toys, I highly suggest it. If you have a child of preschool through elementary school age, I definitely recommend looking into the LeapPad. Don’t fall back on the “but I have an iPad that my child uses already” argument. So do we. It still doesn’t compare to the value we have seen come from the LeapPad.

Note: These products were not provided to me. We bought them, we love them, our children love them, so I am showing them to you in the hope that you will love them too.