Mastermind

As I mentioned there were a ton of sponsors and giveaways at BlogHer, and while I sent a box of stuff home, only a handful really prompted me to give them a shout-out on my review blog.

One of those was one of my favorite games as a child. It's Mastermind, and the original has hardly changed. The colors have changed slightly, the case is blue and I think it used to be black, but this simple, logic game is still the one I loved. The company just had a small table at the conference, and the great thing was they sent me the game rather than having me haul it home. I also got a new version for little kids, which is absolutely adorable. It's animals placed in a certain order, which makes it a bit easier than remembering colors and location.

There seem to be a whole slew of editions now, the aforementioned classic plus advanced and ultimate, which I'd love to play with my husband or dad.  Of course there are Disney and Spongebob versions, but I like the animal the best.

The only drawback to this game is my kids keep making mistakes when they put the little pegs it, makes it hard for me to win.

From the Blogher 10 Sponsor page 

Pressman Toy Corp.

MASTERMIND, the classic game of strategy from Pressman Toy Corporation, has had players making and breaking codes for generations. It’s the codemaker vs. the codebreaker! Solve your opponent's code in fewer turns than it takes your opponent to solve your code. With 2,401 combinations possible, it’s a mind-bending challenge every time the game is played. New versions for kids include Animal MASTERMIND Towers and SpongeBob MASTERMIND Towers. Learn more at http://www.mastermindboardgame.com/.

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Disclosure:  I was sent a complimentary Mastermind Classic game and Animal MASTERMIND® Towers with no other compensation.  I was under no obligation to post a review and all above opinions are my own.

Assets

I'm going to be posting some reviews of products I got from Blogher10 over the next few days.  I figure any item I still use now must be pretty good, and the first is ASSETS by Sara Blakely, founder of Spanks.  This new shapewear from Spanx is cheaper than the original, but it really works.  I got a free pair of these at BlogHer and they were one of the first things I pulled out of my swag to try out.  They felt much lighter than a pair of Spanx that I already owned, so I was not expecting the same kind of "firming" if you know what I mean.  They worked really well though.  You can see below (from the write-up I got from the Blogher10 sponsor page) that they are sold at lower cost stores, but I can attest that at least the bicycle short style does a pretty good job.

ASSETS by Sara Blakely



In 2006 Spanx founder Sara Blakely brought her shapewear know-how to more women with the national launch of ASSETS, a collection of expertly designed shapewear and legwear available at an unbelievable value. Delivering best in class shapewear, legwear, and foundations at approachable prices, ASSETS is sold in the following stylish retailers women love to shop: Target, LOFT, David’s Bridal, and Motherhood Maternity.

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Disclosure: I got a pair of mid-thigh shapers at Blogher but was under no obligation to post a review.  All opinions are my own.

Hexbug City

"Daddy, what's your favorite toy?  Mine are the hex bugs"
                                                                    Keegan, Age 7

"I like those other toys, but these are clearly much more fun for everyone"
                                                                   Nieve, Age 8

"They look like cockroaches, mommy does not want one."
                                                              Most of the moms

Want a toy you might have to chase around the house, looks like a cross between a bug and an electronic circuit and your kids will absolutely love?  Let me introduce, the HEXBUG Nano.  Actually, they come in all shapes (the Nano is the newest) and my first introduction to them was as a giveaway from my company.  We're even selling them on our company website so you know they're going to appeal to the nerd in all of us. 

Watch them in action and tell me you're not impressed - my apologies for the sideways video

Last week I threw a hexbug party for a bunch of families from our school.  I stayed up late the night before putting the maze of interconnected pieces together, the buggy habitat, to prevent a repeat of the ZhuZhu pet habitrail nightmare.  I put a couple sets together on the coffee table, and the next day my sons managed to cover the floor with an elaborate maze in like 5 minutes.  It snaps together easily and is easy to take apart. 

These bugs are amazing, they'll flip over, zoom around and push each other off the bridge in the Hexbug Nano Bridge batte, which is really cool. There were girls and boys at this party, kids from 4-8 and lots of parents.  Everyone thought they were pretty cool, even if a few moms found them creepy.  My son really did claim it was his favorite toy, although he may have been swept up in the moment.

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Disclosure: I was given 30 Hexbug Nanos and an extensive habitat and other kits to throw a party for kids.  I received no other compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Wha Oooga!

Well, I have put on my most comfortable pair of shoes ever.  I had to explain to my son why I could not wear these to work, besides the fact that it's still practically summer.  I figured out they are just not "professional" what with the slew of teens wearing them everywhere during my last camping trip.  I just wish I had them then.  Yes, I have my first pair of  "UGG" boots, but these are Whooga, an Australian company who offered me a pair of boots in the hopes I'd write about them.   We never jumped on the croc or Ugg bandwagon, but I have occasionally coveted a pair so jumped at the chance. Rest assured these are in no way knock-offs, but a quality alternative maker of the ugg boots so popular among the models of San Diego, or so my husband observed (he still can't figure out why leggy blonds would don these "ugly" boots with their short shorts and halter tops). 

One of the other reasons I agreed to try their boots is this company is a bit obsessed with disclosure.  They wanted to make sure I mentioned these boots are made from authentic 100% merino wool, designed in Australia, but manufactured in China.  It was a bit odd getting a beautifully wrapped package of soft fur Australian boots from China, and I at first worried a hotel had returned the leftover notebooks I purposely left on my last business trip there.  Having worked for a global company for a while, and often being in charge of giveaways, I am well aware of how many items are made in China, and pretty much all of these types of boots are, including the popular UGG Austraila boots.

I chose these short purple ones, as they recommend if your concerned about your calf widths (yes, I inherited by dad's calves) to opt for the shorter ones, but they have three versions, and you can roll them down for a cute look.  I have wide feet and was a little worried about the fit, since they don't come in different widths, but I promise they fit absolutely perfect.  They have sizing instructions on their website and it worked.  The website is really chock full of information, including how to choose your color. Black is the "safest" but since I have three pairs of black booths, and was not planning to dress up my business attire I wanted something more fun.  I really love the color.

I would not say these are cheap, but they are less expensive than others out there and feel simply amazing. 

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Disclosure: I was given a pair of boots to review but offered no other compensation.  I was asked to write a review but the boots came with no obligation.

Do You Believe in Fairies?

Why did I get this tweet the other day?  We were fortunate to get free tickets to the threesixty° Peter Pan show, where I also got to see a bunch of blogging friends, including the ultra-marathoner Kari (okay, not quite there yet, but close), who wrote a much more thorough review of t he show here if you're interested.  While her kids were talking about fairies, mine were choosing characters for some imaginary game.  Given my options of Tink or Wendy (since I was a girl and they could not remember Tiger Lily), I chose Captain Hook.  To annoy his brother, who got to be Peter Pan, Keegan chose Captain Jack Sparrow.  I hope my kids "grow up" to be as brave and adventurous as Peter Pan, provided they always come back to their mommy.

My mom told me about this show months ago, well before it came to town, and ironically I was hoping she might take us, or at least the kids, as I suspected it was out of my budget (no, I never want to grow up, either).  So what a great opportunity to get tickets, which "forced" me to take a half day off work and bring the kids to a rare trip to San Francisco. 

The theater was really magical, with the flying stunts and the 360 degree projection screen that really brought life to the story, allowing the characters to fly underwater and then back up through the forest.  I had asked my kids what they know about Peter Pan, which wasn't much, but they still enjoyed the show, at least they said they did the day after. Poor Keegan had a tummy ache for the first half and squirmed and groaned in my lap.  Donovan loves watching movies and plays, but started in on the questions and moving around just about 2 seconds after the "please ask your children to stay in their seats and speak in a whisper" announcement.

It really was kid-friendly, though, with the flying and fighting scenes, which were more like dancing.  I loved the creativity of the sets, with the animals having a puppeteer right on stage, the giant crocodile, the bath tub boat and of course the giant screen.  I did find the story a bit scattered and strange, although it's likely I just don't remember Peter Pan very well.  The theme of him wanting a mommy and the girls wanting a boyfriend was completely lost on my kids and didn't seem too fit well into the play. 

We loved the humor, Captain Hook tough as nails except when he becomes so frightened of the mean old crocodile.  The lost boys were endearing and fun,  and my son is still yelling out (spoiler alert) "Slightly Spoiled" (no pun intended) - the name of one of the Lost Boys. Trouble-maker Tink, with her army boots and ripped abs to go with her pink tutu was just awesome.

It was great getting to meet the Darling family members after the show.  The kids got their autographs and I got some pictures.  They were so friendly and sweet and impressed with my son's Manchester United soccer jersey.

You can get tickets here.  The place is small enough that every seat is a good one, and make sure you stop by the incredible water structure across the street.

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Disclaimer: SHNSF provided my family with four tickets to see the show.  They also allowed us access to some of the cast members and yummy refreshments after the show.  I was under no obligation to write this review, but really appreciated the opportunity and had a great time.

Cute and Snuggly Hamsters, Whee!

Have you heard about Zhu Zhu pets (aagh, my ears - turn the sounds off before clicking)? My boys, their friends, and I got a chance to throw a party with these furry bundles of cuteness. Yes, I store them in a KFC bucket, wanna make something of it? These things are absolutely adorable, making cute sounds and racing around the house. There is no off button, but you can pet them to put them to sleep, start them back up and hold them and pet them and call them George.

We got a whole slew of hamsters.

Mr. Squiggles / Num Nums / Chunk / Pipsqueak (looks like there's a new one called Patches, and yes, they have bios).
Donovan picked Chunk - ha, remember that name, you'll get to hear my son say it over and over again. My kids only took two or three hours to choose which one they wanted, and after all my worries that nobody would want the girls, Keegan went with Num Nums. Could you die of the cuteness?

So here they are putting together the elaborate maze that we also got, although in hindsight I should have put it together before hand. I wanted to see how easy it was for kids to put together, and the answer is, not so much. While the hamsters are really nice quality - furry and soft and zoom around impressively, even backing up when they hit something, the plastic "habitrails" leave a lot of room for improvement. It really brings out the personalities, though. Some kids just gave up and went off to find obstacles to challenge their new little "pets" while those of us with a touch of OCD (raising hand) stuck it out and managed to put the thing together after I sent the boys off for snacks.

Check out the spread I created for these guys - thank you Zhu Zhu pets for the snack ideas. Yes, in answer to your question, boys can make weapon-like objects even at a hamster party, but we love us some fruit kabobs.



For some real hamster action, I present to you the completely non-professional, non-edited zhu zhu pets home movies. Pay not attention to the boy-generated sound effects in the background or the mom completely ignoring one of her sons. Just enjoy.

I think the pets make great gifts, although they are a little pricey. Think of them as furry robots and they are quite a bargain. The accessories all come separately, and the little car is my favorite, although every time I tried to use the ball some kid would grab it and take it apart so it was not fully tested.

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I did get all of this free, including the set for us and the hamsters to give away. I was asked to post but was under no obligation and there was no monetary compensation for this.

Win a Didj

A little while back I and many of my fellow mommy bloggers wrote about an awesome event with Leapfrog. They give each of my kids a game system of their own (didj for the older one, Leapster2 for the preschooler), and the kids have been loving it. As Keegan said to his doctor yesterday "they had to switch to times, since I did all the adding and subtracting problems." The kid loves math and may just die over a new Star Wars math game. I'm not worried about my little guys reading, but from what I can see this can only help. Right now he covets the hero's game on the didj and has pretty much had enough of his Leapster2, but really, ya can't blame a company for starting with a tame game and wanting you to buy some more exciting ones. Although they really should include the $10 SD card needed to download the free computer games.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What I like is how you can see the learning paths of your child. Cool, ain't it?

Do you want on of these too? Well, I've got a brand new didj to give away right here. Plus, Leapfrog is throwing in three games: Hannah Montana, Indiana Jones and Nicktoons.

I'm going to keep this contest open for two weeks so you have until December 6th at midnight to:

1. Leave a comment below and make sure there is a way to reach you by email.
2. Post this on your blog for an extra entry, or if you don't have a blog let three friends know about the contest (include a comment, I'll trust you)
3. Tell me one way you get your child, or would if you had one, to love reading.

I'll choose the winner on Sunday by random number generator or a name in a hat, and you should have this by the holidays.