The Guavalicious Life

Well after a harrowing journey from Tulsa, we have arrived in my childhood home. Sort of. My parents moved after I left home and their house now feels familiar and strange at the same time. I don’t know where the forks are but I am sitting in the same chair I did my grade school homework in. And I am surrounded by myself.

Downstairs my sister and I have been supplanted by our kids, but upstairs a veritable shrine to my childhood surrounds me. It’s rather troubling really. Not so much my past, all though many of my fashion choices are questionable. No what bothers me is that I am totally lacking in the shrine department. Right now all I would have to give my kids is a thumb drive with digital pics on it, minus the year we lost when our unbacked up laptop crashed.

I know I should be doing something with these pics. But every time I sit down to make a book, I feel so uninspired. Half of our pictures are candids that lend themselves to something more dynamic and less posed. And with the video function being everywhere, we have tons of videos that we need to a way to share too. Like the pictures, we mean to edit and put them into something, but never end up getting around to it.

So the new site Live On is perfect for me. with its features you can create time lines of pictures and videos, grouping things together in time capsules. So I can create a capsule of the girls third birthday and put all of the pictures and videos together in one spot. I can add in memories of the day by writing i the caption box or I can add my own audio of me talking about the day. Finally I can add a soundtrack from the site’s song catalog.

Going even further, I can create a time capsule of all of their birthdays and then add a video of me talking about their birthday memories directly from my webcam. Then I can schedule to have it sent to them on their 21st birthday. So much better than a memory stick right? And if I want to embarrass them, I can share everything via Facebook, Twitter, etc. And no more lost pics, Live On promises to save pictures indefinitely.

But wait, it gets better. Remember the dark days before digital? I have piles of photos sitting around that I need to scan in but shockingly have never gotten around to. With the Live On Rewind service you can send in all those old photos (and videos too) and they will convert them for you, sending them back to you on DVD. Plus they drop them into your Live On time line. Wouldn’t that be a cool gift? I have visions of having all my parents’ pictures scanned and then sitting down with them having them record web cam memories of the stories behind the pictures. If you think that sounds cool you can get 20% off LiveOn Rewind with the coupon code: cgc03.

I can’t wait to start preserving memories like this one:

Thank you to LiveOn
for this sponsored opportunity to blog about storing and sharing my most important memories with those closest to me. Although story ideas were provided, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Please LiveOn to learn more about sharing and preserving your most important memories. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

1. LeapFrog LeapPad : We can’t get enough of this learning tablet for kids. We were sent one to review and I loved it so much that I went out and bought one for my other twin. They will be so happy to each have one of their own. I don’t know if I will be able to wait for Christmas day though because I would love to have it on hand for holiday travel. Since it has videos, books, games, and art apps the girls never get bored of it. And it has a camera and a video recorder. Check out more on what I thought of it in this video. The LeapPad retails for $99 and you can get a package with the Mr. Pencil app at Toys R’ Us.

2. Just Dance Kids 2: I love the Just Dance games; they get the whole family up off the couch and moving. But the moves on the adult game can be pretty tricky (for me even) and sometimes the song lyrics aren’t the most appropriate. So I love that UbiSoft makes a game just for kids that the whole family can enjoy.

3. Storybook Buddies: When we pulled the Bigsby Story book buddy book out of the book us, our friends, and probably the universe let out an audible “Awwwww.” But this guy doesn’t get by on his looks alone. The story book buddies encourage reading since they respond to phrases from the book. And did I mention how adorable they are? Check them out at the Hallmark site.

4. Jewel’s The Merry Goes ‘Round: The girls can’t get enough of this Jewel CD and the bonus is that I enjoy it too. And I am not even a Jewel fan. More than once I have found myself leaving it playing long after the girls have been dropped off. The songs are catchy without being cloying.

5. A Time to Keep: The Tasha Tudor Book of Holidays: there are so many great books I remember from my childhood that I can’t wait to share with my kids. One standout is Time to Keep, a book of holidays by Tasha Tudor. All of her books contain incredibly detailed illustrations that captivate kids, but this particular retelling of the holidays of her childhood has always stood out for me. It’s amazing peek into the past and kids will start out looking at the illustrations and then dive into the stories as they get older. Every child should have this book as part of their collection.

Disclosure: I received both the Storybook Buddy and the LeapPad for review. They and the other items have been well tested by my twin girls.

Trying to find a gift for the toddler in your life? The toddler toy aisle can leave you completely overwhelmed so instead of risking panic attacks induced by flashing lights and cherry music, check out my gift suggestions. All six of these items are sure to please.

1. B. Toys Meowsic Keyboard: My kids got this keyboard from B. Toys (back when it was a Parents item) when they were 18 months from a friend of mine. It is still their favorite toy at four. There are tons of levels of play on it. You can just listen to songs and play the piano or you can make your own music and record yourself singing.

2. Goodnight Moon Hallmark Recordable Book: It’s hard to be away from the ones you love, especially when they are wee. Hallmark recordable story books let you be a daily part of their life. I am planning to record a classic for my niece.

3.Handmade Puzzles: The hand painted wood puzzles from Marvin and Margaret Wood of Kid Puzzles are not your average toy store find. The makers personally design and make every puzzle on their site. Everything is nontoxic and safe for your kiddos. Want to go the extra mile? Have one made with a lucky kiddo’s name.

4. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Tea Set: A tea set that teaches kids manners in a cute Britsh accent? Who wouldn’t want this Fisher-Price toy? The girls got this from the grands for their first Christmas and it still gets played with everyday. It sings, makes pouring tea sounds, teaches shapes with the cakes, and won’t break when you drop it.

5. Personalized Stationary: This southern upbringing of mine refuses to die. My girls had their own stationary before they were born. The quirky side of me loves the fun take of Paper Culture on this tradition. They have all sorts of kid and teen friendly designs. Even ones you can a kid’s picture on and make them into a astronaut or viking.

6. Stokke Table Top: Made for lovers of their iconic kid chairs, I think these table toppers make a good gift for any kiddo. They suction on to any table so you can take them along to your parents’ house and stop the evil eye flat as your little darling smashes peas into the table. Intechangable pieces keep it exciting for toddlers through preschoolers.

Disclosure: Some of these items I received for review; some of them came from our toy box. All of them get my personal seal of approval. Opinions are my own and not influenced in any way!

We’re deep in the midst of Christmas shopping here. I find it soothing to have it done before Thanksgiving. Plus it keeps me away from the temptation of Black Friday deals where I end up buying things the girls don’t need. Some of the toys I am a big fan of are from the Melissa and Doug line. They do a fabulous job of inspiring creativity.

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North “Poll!” You’ll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

Can we talk for a minute about my disappointment in the new My Little Pony? When I first saw that My Little Pony was on The Hub I was thrilled. A fanatical My Little Pony lover as a kid, I had already indoctrinated the girls into the MLP cult with my vintage (sadly I am old enough that toys from my youth are vintage) ponies and garage sale books. Instead of rushing off to “work” (read Twitter), I snuggled into the couch to watch with them.

To my horror, these were not the sweet ponies of my youth. They were still solving problems and learning lessons, but they were doing it was sass and a cool flick of their tail. These were literally not your mother’s ponies. But too late, the girls were entranced.

So when I heard there was an iPad app coming out based on the series, I knew we had to buy it. Because the only thing the girls love more than their ponies is smearing their fingerprints all over Daddy’s iPad.

The app features:
-”an interactive storybook, designed to help develop vocabulary, reading and motor skills” – makes me feel less guilty about screen time!
-a flexible format – Read together with them or you can let the app do the work with the “Read Me” option
-Touch-driven animations – the girls love hidden surprises, I think they have a future in gaming. Surely there will be gaming scholarships in 2026 right?
-“Meet the Ponies” feature provides background info on each of the story’s characters – extremely useful when they hold up their ponies and ask “what’s this one’s name?” since I have refused to watch the show again (I love my kids but…)
-”Randomization of activity content and difficulty level” – cool because the girls keep playing with it since it changes up

Here’s a sneak peek at the app:

In short, three thumbs up! The girls and me were fans. My husband is the lone hold out but that’s more about “his precious” (the iPad) than the app. It retails for $3.99 in iTunes.

Disclosure: I have previously received free apps from Ruckus Media but I bought the My Little Pony app myself. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Remember when I posted my summer bucket list and resolved to have more fun outdoors with the girls? In a rare moment of pitch kismet, the same week I received a review oppourtunity for Melissa and Doug sand toys. Being a huge Melissa and Doug fan, I jumped on the chance to try out some of their toys with the girls.

We received the box right after we returned from our summer vacation. Just in time for a long hot July at home. The girls were eager to dig in and oooed an ahhed over the toys.  They couldn’t wait to take them to the park the next day. Then when we got there, they refused to play with them.  I chalked it up to the excitement of seeing the park for the first time in a few weeks and packed up the items for the next day. The Seaside Baking Kit is awesome for that by the way.  With some careful packing, you can fit everything into the bucket and put the lid on so nothing gets lost.

But the next day they weren’t having it either. I didn’t get it, sand play and pretend baking are two of their favorite things. The combo should have been made of winning.  But the M&D toys were left orphaned until scavengers (other kids) picked them up and started gleefully making sand cupcakes and happily digging away. As much as I loved being the cool mom at the park I was kind of annoyed at my girls for not loving on the sea themed sand toys. So I packed them away and forgot about them until I was foraging for “new” (read: something put away for awhile) toys for the girls in the “boring” pre-school weeks.

And wow, did they love them. I guess my mistake was thinking they would want to use sand toys in a sandbox.  Duh mom, they are so much more awesome in the dirt for outdoor cooking and in the bathtub.

The Girls Top Five Uses For Sand Toys

1) Sifting flour while baking with me. Why cranks a sifter when you can use a starfish?

2)  Dirt cupcakes for worm birthday parties

3) Whisking rocks for rock salads

4) Wearing the buckets as hats to fish tea parties

5)  Pirate sword fights, because what pirate wouldn’t want to use an octopus whisk to fight with?

Want your kids to embark on similar adventures? Melissa and Doug is letting me giveaway a toy package of four of their sea themed toys including: Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set , Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set, Clicker Crab Pail and Scoop , and Seaside Sidekicks Sand Molding Set.

To enter: just leave me a comment telling me why you want to win. For an extra entry,  join the Melissa and Doug Treasured Toy Club, then come back and leave a comment telling me you did so.

Summer is long. Can I just say that? The girls and I got tired of each other oh about July 1st. They’ve been asking to go back to school since then. Unfortunately for them, and me, school is still three weeks away. Out of desperation, the idea of new toy Thursday was born. I figured if I brought out something once a week we would all have a welcome distraction.

Fortunately I had just the thing for our first week: a stash of Lalaloopsy toys!

A rep had offered to send me a few of the toys for the girls to try out and I couldn’t resist the cuteness. I liked that they weren’t the typical doll but were still appropriate for preschoolers. Plus though I am not crafty and the girls are probably confused about what sewing actually is, I really like the story that they are made from rags and magically come to life when the final stitch is sewn. With luck the girls will pick up on that, fall in love with sewing, and start making their own clothes.

The items we reviewed: the mini Lalaloopsy treehouse, the mini Lalaloopsy school bus, and full size Lalaloopsy doll, Sasha Mirage. We had a friend visiting from out of town that week so the girls gave her Sasha Mirage as a special gift. Then we opened the treehouse and school bus so we could all play with them together.

We all all instantly drawn to the playhouse. I accidentally cut the zip line while getting it out of the plastic ties so be careful of that! But in the end, that turned out to be a good thing since the girls were each able to take a tree and play with it. I was also a big fan of the detachable playhouse as it makes a good mini toy for quiet time or for taking on a trip. The girls loved being able to pull the basket up and down.

The school bus was also a big hit since the girls actually ride a school bus to preschool. My favorite feature was that you are actually insert the dolls into the seat so that they stayed. I hate the tears and tantrums that result once the girls have their dolls set up in their cars, only to have them fall out when they move the vehicle.

An added bonus of both playsets is that they come with different mini dolls. Don’t you hate when playsets always come with the same character? Plus, no batteries! These toys really encourage imaginative play by giving scenarios as jumping off points. There are many ways they toys can be played with, not just one or two.

Our visiting friend took her Sasha Mirage doll to nap with her so I am taking that as a stamp of approval. Her mom loved that the shoes and crown didn’t come off (or at least we couldn’t get them off!)

The toys are readily available at major retailers. You can follow Lalaloopsy on Facebook and Twitter. And be sure to check out the website where there is a whole virtual world to explore.