Koosh Galaxy Star Scout Foam Ball Blaster Review #TBTBholiday

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend a wonderful pre-holiday event for bloggers through The Big Toy Book Biggest Day of Play.  It was a super fun day with great toys! One of the toys I was introduced to was from the new Hasbro Koosh Galaxy series launcher line called the Star Scout.  Hasbro has tons of great outdoor toys for children, including the new Koosh Galaxy series launchers. The great part is that they are specifically designed with younger kids in mind.  Each ball launcher in the KOOSH Galaxy series is sized for those smaller hands and encourages imagination and active play.  We all want our kids to be more active and this is a sneaky fun way to get them to run around with each other and get some good exercise at the same time. 

I have to say my own little big one eyed it right away and couldn't wait to get outside and start blasting. She was running around like a kook having a great time.  The one thing that I will do this week though is to buy extra foam balls in addition to buying a second blaster. The Star Scout only comes with two balls which really isn't enough. Maybe I will just buy them online as well on Koosh.


The Koosh Galaxy launchers are also perfect for younger children who have older siblings who enjoy Nerf products. Now everyone can get it on the fun with no worries.  The balls are super soft foam and do not hurt even if they hit you very close.
There are four launchers in the Koosh Galaxy series including Space Agent,  Star Scout, Alien Archer, and Solar Recon Ball Launchers. Each launcher comes with two to four soft foam Koosh balls There are four blasters in the Koosh Galaxy series including Space Agent, Alien Archer, Star Scout and Solar Recon Ball Launchers.
See the entire line of Koosh Galaxy Blasters, accessories and refills on the official website!  While the new series was designed for kids 4 and up, older sibs will have fun playing with the Koosh Galaxy series launchers too.

 I received a complimentary Koosh Galaxy Star Scout from Hasbro Nerf for review purposes. My opinions and comments on this blog are, as always, my own.

The Big Toy Book Biggest Day of Holiday Play #TBTBholiday

I was so excited to be a part of The Big Toy Book Biggest Day of Holiday Play #TBTBholiday in New York City.  There were so many wonderful brands and toys it was an incredibly exciting day.  I felt like a little kid again!  All the kids had a great time and it was fun to see them engaging with all the fantastic toys.

Some of the toys that really caught my eye were the Mystixx® Vampires.  The line has four really cool looking fashion dolls that are have tons of friends at school but they transform into these powerful vampire dolls at night.   Mystixx® Vampires are gorgeous 11" fashion dolls that can flip at the touch of your little one's hand. The faces actually flip around so they are essentially a two-in-one doll!  

Each doll in the collection has two totally different faces and one is has funky vampire teeth.  Each doll has two outfits and two sets of shoes, two different wigs, and a variety of accessories.  They retail for a very reasonable $19.99.  You can buy Mystixx  exclusively at Toys ‘R’ Us® and on their website toysrus.com.  They are meant for and are children ages six and up.  My 3rd grader was totally entranced by the Talin Mystixx Vampire doll she received.  You can get more information here. 

The Boogie Board LCD eWriter was one of the most interesting toys that I saw on Saturday. I had never heard of it before and was pretty much fascinated by the technology. It is essentially a "green", electronic paperless way to keep notes, draw or doodle while saving tons of wasted paper. It was fun and easy to use.  I liked that the stylus moved very smoothly across the Boogie Board.  

The Boogie Board will let you can say goodbye to looking for another memo pad to take down a phone number or scribble a reminder to buy milk...again.  The Boogie Board could definitely be a toy with all those bright, colors but they also have a business appropriate white model.  Sleek black is another option too.  You can really write, draw, play games, solve problems, or even have your little one practice those times tables.  Whatever you can do with a piece of paper and a writing instrument you can do with the Boogie Board and do it in a more eco-friendly way! 

I was impressed with how light and thin the Boogie Board was.  It is constructed very durably so you can feel confident letting it keep the kids busy during downtimes.  They are available everywhere from Amazon to Walmart and ToysRUs. 

Lite Brix Lazer Copter

I have always been kind of fascinated with anything that shines or glitters so I was attracted to the beautiful colored lights coming from the LiteBrix booth.  I received the Lazer Copter which rebuilds into two different models.  How fantastic is that?  You can take it apart and refashion it into a Patrol Sled so it is a 2 in 1 toy...a bonus I love.  LiteBrix is a fun 3-D light up building set.  It was easy to put the helicopter together and my 3rd grader had a lot of fun with it. We all loved the color changing LED lights.  Perfect for the Christmas season too!  The wonderful part is that the bright LED lights are compatible with other building bricks.  

Light Brix is intended for children 3 years old and up because there are small parts.  You also will need 3 AA batteries and a phillips head screwdriver to gets those lights going. Easy enough but good to know while you are in the store that is why I shared! Once you put your LiteBrix set together they cycle through 3 different blinking colors. It was so cool to watch too! 

The other Light Brix models include a super Jet Fighter, a Lumi Star Racer, a space trooper and a Lumi-cycle. You can collect them all.  You can find them everywhere from Amazon and ToysRUS to Barnes and Noble.

You can check out these toys and more at The Big Toy Book.  It is a great way to get some novel ideas for those children's Christmas gifts!

Ella's Kitchen Organic Baby Food Review

I recently was lucky enough to recently attend an event hosted by The Big Toy Book in NYC and was introduced to a ton of great toys and games.  I was interested in another company that was there as well but with food instead of toys. Healthy and yummy baby food.  Wow. You can't beat that combination. This was my first introduction to Ella’s Kitchen Organic Baby food.   The history of the company started with a real "Ella" and her Dad. He wanted to create healthy, yummy, fun food for Ella.  They developed an incredible line of yummy products that are good for your little ones AND taste good. I loved them they were that good.

The products have unique and actually sophisticated combos of flavors and textures that you can almost forget they are meant for babies. They are all yummy and nutritious too which is super important to me.

All Ella’s Kitchen products are 100% Organic. This also means that they have higher levels of Vitamin C and essential minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Iron and Chromium. The products contain no additives.  You are getting pure, healthy food.  There arent any thickeners or preservatives or even added sugar. Their flavors are fun and kind of kooky in a good way:  broccoli, pears and peas, apples and bananas and carrots apples and parsnips to mention a few.  I tried them all and I tell you they are really good. My little niece and daughter slurped them right down.

I noticed on their website that they also have meals like the Hugely Hearty Four Bean Feast, fruit smoothies, adorable little baby cookies and whole grain fruit bars.  Ellas products are convenient too since none of them require refrigeration (whoo-hoo!) and can pop right into a purse, diaper bag, or even a lunch box.  They flash pasteurizing their fruits and veggies, creating contaminant–free, healthy, tasty and safe products for kids that have a super long shelf life. I love it!

You can buy Ella's Kitchen products on Diapers.com, Target, BabiesRUs, Amazon.com, Ella’s Online Store. I totally recommend their products to all parents, whether your kid is in diapers, training pants or big kid underwear. It is great way to introduce solid food to your babies, and are definitely the kind of products that will grow with your developing child. Check ‘em out!  You’ll be glad you did.

Yummy Dough Christmas Giveaway and B1G1 Free Code

I was excited to get introduced to Yummy Dough this past weekend at The Biggest Day of Holiday Play in New York City.  Yummy Dough is just as colorful and fun to play with as the brands you grew up with but with a huge added advantage....it is dough that meant to be eaten! Additional information is included on their website about the ingredients and as you can see there is no funny business going on which makes me feel good as a Mom.  The thing is, it really tastes yummy.  My little one taste tested the samples I brought home and she was fascinated.   She started playing with the dough and shaping it immediately.  She found it very easy to create and shape the dough but I had to keep begging her not to eat it all nibble at it. 

I was impressed that Yummy Dough has also won a bunch of international toy awards as well.  I am not surprised though--it truly marries a classic kid's activity with a snack and a mom's peace of mind!

• 2007 “Anuga Taste Award” in Germany
• 2010 “Grand prix de la Presse” in France
• 2010 “Toy of the Year” in Australia
• 2010 ”Toy Star Award” in China
• 2011 "Hobby Award" in Japan

It is easy to get the kids set up to snack and play too...all you do is add the prescribed amount of water and stir it up and then knead it. The colors are bright and cheery and make it fun to mold and shape. The dough I received was already prepared so I didn't get to do the fun mixing and kneading part though. It looks so exciting.  Check this out:  when you open the bucket you mix the dough with the water it is the beginning of the excitement.  The powder looks white but when you add the water and start mixing the color just starts appearing like magic!  How fantastic is that?  You know your kids are going to go bonkers from the first second they see that.  You gently knead the dough and it becomes smooth and the colors develop.  You can shape and mold the dough or even bake it if you like so you have the best of both worlds!  Kids can safely eat it raw or cooked.  This is great to get the kids involved with "baking" which you are trying to get all YOUR holiday baking done too. 

If you would like some fun ideas for Yummy Dough Christmas crafts and designs or Birthday crafts and designs you can check them out here too.  There are tons!  

The best part now....drumroll...just for the holidays I am going to let you in on the secret code for getting two containers of Yummy Dough for the price of one. Yup. Buy one get one free!  B1G1 code is BOGODOUGH and it is good until 1/7/2013.  You can go to the website here to redeem your code.

Let me know what you think!  Meanwhile don't forget to enter the contest and win your own bucket of Yummy Dough in my Rafflecopter giveaway below.
 a Rafflecopter giveaway