As I uploaded pictures today from Ethan's camera onto our Shutterfly site I was again reminded about how glad I am that we bought him a "real" camera for his big brother present. You see, when we first got pregnant I knew I wanted to get Ethan a big brother gift and then as the day of Asher's arrival got closer I settled on getting him his own camera. After search for days for a kid's camera I just wasn't satisfied. According to the reviews their screens are too small, the auto-focuses don't work half the time, and the pictures are just poor in quality. The worst part is they cost as much as some nice new cameras.
The solution? We scoured ebay until we found a "real" used camera that was cheap (less than $40). Result? Ethan has a great little camera with a large screen, stabilization mode for kid-friendly picture taking, and it can take videos. All for way less then we would have paid on a "kids" camera. And if he breaks it? Oh well, we didn't pay much for it in the first place.
Showing posts with label Toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toys. Show all posts
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My Review of Thomas and Friends Play and Go Storage Box
Here is a review I posted online at Toys R Us. Ethan likes this case and it is useful to bring a small number of engines to a different room or to a friend's house, I've just been disappointed mainly in the latches.
Originally submitted at Toys R Us
Thomas & Friends Play and Go Storage Box features a built-in track layout for portable play. It's compatible with Thomas Wooden Railway track for use in train layouts. And the Storage Box holds up to 16 Thomas Wooden Railway vehicles.
Cons: Falls Apart, Poor Construction
Best Uses: Young Children
Describe Yourself: Education Oriented, First Time Parent, Stay At Home Parent
This product does not have a good design. The little track on it has an outer loop and then an inner track. The track does not act as a figure-8, but instead once the middle track is taken the train is headed the wrong way on the outer loop.
Also the track looks like you could extend it but the ends of the tracks are four female ends so you cannot build onto the track that is on the outside of the case.
The latches on this product are terrible! They are plastic and will not stay latched for more than just a few seconds. I'm having my husband replace them with metal latches so that this can actually become a traveling toy. Also, the plastic troughs that hold the trains aren't really big enough to fit the wooden engines.
Monday, April 6, 2009
A new discovery: Consignment Sales!
This spring I was introduced into the wonderful world of consignment sales! First the preschool that my son attends had a clothing sale and last week I went to one of Knoxville's bigger if not biggest consignment sales, Duck Duck Goose. I remember when I first got pregnant one of my friends was trying to tell me the benefits of going to consignment sales and I would have none of it! I wanted my new son to have all new things! HAHAHA! How nieve was I?
At both sales I was wonderfully surprised by the quantities and qualities to choose from. At the Duck Duck Goose sale I was in awe at the number of potty chairs, bath tubs, and diaper genies (and that was just in one very small hallway). In my son's shoe size alone there were six Rubbermaid tubs to look through! I didn't even look at the clothes because that wasn't on my list! Consignment sales are great because we all know that kids (at least for the first two years) don't wear clothes for more than six months and we as parents definitely don't get the wear out of the clothes that we could.
So after going to two sales I have a few tips for first time shoppers:
Go with a list! A specific list with quantities, sizes, colors, etc. On my list for the Central Baptist sale was overalls and shoes. I found two pairs of great looking overalls and I might have picked up one dress shirt (that was reasonably priced) and I looked for shoes, but didn't find any that fit my specifications. For Duck Duck Goose I wanted to find a train table, potty chair, and more shoes (some for me and some for my friend Betsy). Although all the train tables that were left were overpriced, I did find a great potty chair, three pairs of shoes and a book for $14! A list is helpful for many reasons. Even though in both cases I bought something that wasn't on my list, the list helped me stay focused. I could have gotten bogged down looking at all the adorable clothes at great prices, but we don't really need any clothes right now so that is not a good use of my money or my time away from my family. I also noticed so many moms that looked like kids in a candy store; they had a hodgepodge collection of things that barely fit in their arms and as our line snaked through the sale they collected more, and more, and more stuff! Remember that a deal is only a deal if you need it AND you can afford it!
Go with a budget! Even better is to go with cash! We all know that going in with only cash sets definite unbreakable limits. At each sale I had an idea for how much I would pay for each item on my list (no more than $10.00 for a potty chair) and that help me budget the total maximum that I would spend. Since I found a potty chair for only $5.00 I was able to buy a book for $2.00 and still be well within my budget.
Go early and be prepared to be there for a while! This is especially true for big sales like DDG. I got to go in on an early admission day and I still waited in line to check out for 45 minutes. I even got to go through the "quick" 10-items or less lane! At the smaller sale I had no problem walking in, picking out what I wanted and checking out. Just be prepared to camp out for awhile at the larger sales.
Go prepared! I saw a few ladies at the big sale bringing in laundry baskets with them. Smart cookies those women! If you are shopping for an entire spring/summer wardrobe I would suggest bringing a basket or other carrying device (your arms can get tired waiting in line).
Go to one! I found great deals at both sales so my #1 piece of advice is to ask around in your moms group and make plans to go to the next one (planning child care would make it even better)!
At both sales I was wonderfully surprised by the quantities and qualities to choose from. At the Duck Duck Goose sale I was in awe at the number of potty chairs, bath tubs, and diaper genies (and that was just in one very small hallway). In my son's shoe size alone there were six Rubbermaid tubs to look through! I didn't even look at the clothes because that wasn't on my list! Consignment sales are great because we all know that kids (at least for the first two years) don't wear clothes for more than six months and we as parents definitely don't get the wear out of the clothes that we could.
So after going to two sales I have a few tips for first time shoppers:
Go with a list! A specific list with quantities, sizes, colors, etc. On my list for the Central Baptist sale was overalls and shoes. I found two pairs of great looking overalls and I might have picked up one dress shirt (that was reasonably priced) and I looked for shoes, but didn't find any that fit my specifications. For Duck Duck Goose I wanted to find a train table, potty chair, and more shoes (some for me and some for my friend Betsy). Although all the train tables that were left were overpriced, I did find a great potty chair, three pairs of shoes and a book for $14! A list is helpful for many reasons. Even though in both cases I bought something that wasn't on my list, the list helped me stay focused. I could have gotten bogged down looking at all the adorable clothes at great prices, but we don't really need any clothes right now so that is not a good use of my money or my time away from my family. I also noticed so many moms that looked like kids in a candy store; they had a hodgepodge collection of things that barely fit in their arms and as our line snaked through the sale they collected more, and more, and more stuff! Remember that a deal is only a deal if you need it AND you can afford it!
Go with a budget! Even better is to go with cash! We all know that going in with only cash sets definite unbreakable limits. At each sale I had an idea for how much I would pay for each item on my list (no more than $10.00 for a potty chair) and that help me budget the total maximum that I would spend. Since I found a potty chair for only $5.00 I was able to buy a book for $2.00 and still be well within my budget.
Go early and be prepared to be there for a while! This is especially true for big sales like DDG. I got to go in on an early admission day and I still waited in line to check out for 45 minutes. I even got to go through the "quick" 10-items or less lane! At the smaller sale I had no problem walking in, picking out what I wanted and checking out. Just be prepared to camp out for awhile at the larger sales.
Go prepared! I saw a few ladies at the big sale bringing in laundry baskets with them. Smart cookies those women! If you are shopping for an entire spring/summer wardrobe I would suggest bringing a basket or other carrying device (your arms can get tired waiting in line).
Go to one! I found great deals at both sales so my #1 piece of advice is to ask around in your moms group and make plans to go to the next one (planning child care would make it even better)!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Melissa and Doug Puzzles
Melissa and Doug make some great products including real wooden puzzles.
Ethan's very first puzzle was this one that he got for his birthday. Although he is interested in it he can't do it by himself. He knows the crab goes in the crab space, but it is hard to get the pieces exactly lined up. Also, there is no real up or down so that really doesn't help him figure out the orientation. For these reasons I was a little disappointed, not in the puzzle but in how easily aggravated Ethan would become because he couldn't do it by himself. For Christmas he got several more Melissa & Doug puzzles including this one:
He loves it! He can do all the pieces himself. The circle doesn't have a wrong way and all the other pieces have at least 2 or 3 different ways they can go in. He loves to do it and I think it is a great starter puzzle for little girls or boys. Both of these puzzles are "jumbo knob" puzzles which are good for little hands. Here is another jumbo knob puzzle that he does a little bit better with because he can tell the feet of the cat and dog go at the bottom. 
They have other types of puzzles as well. "Peg" puzzles such as this one:
I like this puzzle because all of the tails fit with all of the fish. Again Ethan struggles with this one now, but I know that he will get better at it and it will help him learn his colors.
Nanny Sara and Parrain Curt bought him this great "chunky" puzzle for Christmas.
He loves this puzzle! The pieces don't have to fit exactly in the holes because they are not as deep as the pieces. Also, the holes are also a little bit bigger than the pieces. He loves "driving" these pieces all over the house.
Ethan's very first puzzle was this one that he got for his birthday. Although he is interested in it he can't do it by himself. He knows the crab goes in the crab space, but it is hard to get the pieces exactly lined up. Also, there is no real up or down so that really doesn't help him figure out the orientation. For these reasons I was a little disappointed, not in the puzzle but in how easily aggravated Ethan would become because he couldn't do it by himself. For Christmas he got several more Melissa & Doug puzzles including this one:
He loves it! He can do all the pieces himself. The circle doesn't have a wrong way and all the other pieces have at least 2 or 3 different ways they can go in. He loves to do it and I think it is a great starter puzzle for little girls or boys. Both of these puzzles are "jumbo knob" puzzles which are good for little hands. Here is another jumbo knob puzzle that he does a little bit better with because he can tell the feet of the cat and dog go at the bottom. 
They have other types of puzzles as well. "Peg" puzzles such as this one:
I like this puzzle because all of the tails fit with all of the fish. Again Ethan struggles with this one now, but I know that he will get better at it and it will help him learn his colors.
Nanny Sara and Parrain Curt bought him this great "chunky" puzzle for Christmas.
He loves this puzzle! The pieces don't have to fit exactly in the holes because they are not as deep as the pieces. Also, the holes are also a little bit bigger than the pieces. He loves "driving" these pieces all over the house.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Boon Bath Toy Set
This is really the only set of bath toys you'll ever need. It includes 3 balls, 2 scrubies, and 10 foam pieces that are all different shapes and colors. Ethan loves "sticking" the shapes to the wall of the bath tub. He especially loves the balls that came with this set. The set is only 14.99 and it contains 15 separate pieces. The scrubies also make a really nice lather for washing up. He does have other bath toys, but I think this set is the best bang for your buck. It also makes a great baby shower gift as a bath time starter set!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
LeapFrog Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set, 4 Stars
I really believe that Ethan knows what a cow and sheep say because of this toy! It is so cute. Each of the five animals have a front and a back. If you make a match you hear a song that says, "You made a match, look what you found. You made a match hear a ____ sound. (and then that sound)". What I really like is when you don't make a match. Instead of the farm saying no or you are wrong it sings, "You put a pig in front and a cow behind. Put them together, and what do you find? A pig/cow? That's silly!" I'm not afraid of Ethan being told he is wrong, but at this age does it is neat to reward him for just getting two of the pieces in the farm!It will also tell you facts about the animals and make the animal sound every time a new piece is put in the farm.
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