Ridemakerz Xtreme

We recently had the opportunity to host a Ridemakerz Xtreme Customz party thanks to Mommyparties.  It was an  impromptu get together, but it was a lot of fun and all the kids - boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 8 - had a ton of fun playing with the cars.



The kids had a tough choice deciding which car to start out with.  There were police cars, army trucks, superhero vehicles and sports cars, they were all super cool - even for those kids who don't normally play with cars.

Ridemakerz come disassembled and the pieces from the different cars are all interchangeable.  The kids were easily able to assemble the cars and disassemble.  There was a lot of swapping of pieces, I don't think any of the kids left with all the original pieces they received, but that is what is so fun about these cars.  The creativity flowed as the kids mixed and matched pieces and set up different scenes to race through.

Even though the cars are designed to come apart, they stay together really well during play.  Some of the younger kids had a hard time locking the wheels into place and would occassionaly get a "flat", but after a little practice they had it figured out.

These are a great toy for car loving boys and girls.  The price point is great which means many of our friends will be receiving one or two as birthday gifts.

 Disclaimer: I received these complimentary products from a campaign through Ridemakerz and MommyParties.  All opinions are my own.

Monsters

We had a small party for my daughter's fourth birthday.  It was really just a glorified playdate, but since she has never had a birthday party - she has seen her brother and sister have birthday parties, but as the third she has gotten jipped.  So even though it was really a playdate we called it a party and she was thrilled.

Her one request was to have goodie bags for her friends.  Since it was only five girls this request was pretty easy to fulfill.  I found some cute monster cups at Michael's and with that a theme was born.  There are some really cute monster themed party ideas on line and it would have been fun to go all out, but I resisted the temptation and kept it simple.

With help from her brother and sister Edy drew some crazy monster shapes.  I cut the monster shape onto fabric and ironed on pieces for the face.  A little stitching around the eyes and mouth, a quick sew around the entire body a little filling and they were done.  Super easy and super cute.  The kids had so much fun making the monsters, that we have a rather large monster family still living with us.  They make great stuffies and are a wonderful way to bring your kids drawing to life.

Barbie Mega Blocks

We were lucky enough to receive a wonderful package of Barbie Mega Blocks from MommyParties.  It was a wonderful assortment of sets and the girls couldn't wait to try them out.  I have to admit I was surprised when we got the package because I tend to think of Mega Blocks only in terms of big chunky blocks for babies and toddlers.  I wasn't familiar with the variety of sets geared to older kids.

We planned a party for early in the month, but the flu kept striking so instead of one big party we had 3 small gatherings, which in the end was probably more fun than a one time party because the fun never ended.

At our first get together the girls assembled the Barbie Build n' Style Luxury Mansion.  Three girls, and a big brother, worked on it together and while there were a few disputes over the assembly process they got it together pretty quickly.  Just as quickly as they got it together they were disassembling and rearranging the rooms.  The girls really enjoyed all the decorative pieces that came with the set.  The chandeliers and mini kitchen appliances were huge hits, as was the working elevator.  At the end of the get together each girl got to choose a set to take home.  It was hard to choose between the Ice cream stand and the Fashion stand, but both were good choices and the girls were very happy.

A couple of days later we had a few more friends over and this time they assembled the Pool Party.  Again the girls were able to easily follow the instructions.  After getting the sets built they had just as much fun playing with the assembled sets as they did building and reassembling.























During the assembly of both sets there was some frustration that the pieces didn't lock together tightly and kept popping apart while building.  The girls, who were all about 6, didn't have too many problems following the directions and got the sets assembled pretty quickly.  Overall they are fun sets to play with.  My girls aren't huge Barbie fans, but they do love little tiny things and these sets have lots of little tiny pieces - like blenders, hair dryers and clothes - to entertain them for hours.  The small sets would make great birthday presents and we look forward to being able to share the fun with more friends.

Giveaway!!!  I have two small sets to giveaway if you would like to check out Barbie Mega Blocks for yourself  just leave a comment and I will pick a winner on March 10th.

Disclosure: product was provided for review by MomSelects.  All opinions are my own.

Pinypon Party

This week has been a girl's week. This weekend I hosted a party and caught up with friends, who while I see many of them daily at school, we never enough time to really catch up. Then on Monday the girls each got to invite 3 friends over for a Pinypon party.


This was a new toy to us and the girls were immediately smitten.  These little dolls are absolutely wonderful and the girls had a great time mixing and matching outfits, hairstyles and accessories.

To start the party off the girls went on a little treasure hunt where each of them found their own Pinypon figure to not only play with during the party, but to take home after.  There was a lot of swapping and I don't think any of the girls left with the doll they originally found.  Some had new hair, while other had some new accessories.

After the treasure hunt and accessory swapping I brought out the Pinypon Caravan.  This wonderful house on wheels is the perfect addition and fueled the girls imaginiation even further.




Toward the end of the party I told the girls I had 3 more goodies - another caravan and two Nenuco baby dolls - these could either be raffled off to three of the girls or they could be donated to our local angel tree.  It was definitely a tough choice, but I am proud to say the majority of the girls voted to donate the toys.  While the girls where a little bummed they weren't going to be able to keep the caravan I have the feeling Santa will recognize their thoughtfulness and place a Pinypon toy or two under the tree.

 Thanks to Mommyparties for providing such great goodies!  Check all the Pinypon and Nenuco products - lots of goodies to be found!

Facebook.com/PinyponUSA
Facebook.com/NenucoUSA
Twitter.com/PinyponUSA
Twitter.com/NenucoUSA
www.Pinypon.com 
www.NenucoFamosa.com

Disclaimer: I received these complimentary products from a campaign through Mom Select and MommyParties

Soap Carving

Ivory soap always reminds me of my grandmother.  She passed away when I was about 9, but there was always a smell that I always associated with her house.  I never knew what the smell was, but every once in a while I catch a whiff of this scent and think of her.  When I started dating my now husband he always smelled like my grandma, a bit weird at first, but once I realized it was just because of their shared love of Ivory soap it wasn't so weird.

I have now become a big fan of Ivory soap as well.  It is not only a great everyday face and body cleanser, but it can also be used for other purposes around the house. Your can throw flakes in the washing machine, rub it on stains - especially collar stains, use it on sticky drawers or our favorite - soap carving.

It is a great any time of the year, any age project.  We have done soap carving during the summer when we need a distraction during the long summer days and we have done it for a fun Christmas gift.  Because it is a soft soap it is super easy for the kids to carve.  We use wooden manicure sticks, they are the perfect size for little hands and just sharp enough to cut through the soap.

 I usually just let the kids carve away, sometimes they whittle down an entire bar into just a pile of shavings, but most of the time they come up with very unique and interesting shapes. 


I received a sample bar from Influenster and Ivory in a recent MomVox Box campaign, but you can get Ivory at a great price at your local store.   

Teacher Gift

I have known since September when the last day of school will be, yet I am always surprised when the last day gets here.  It always sneaks up on me which means I am usually scrambling to pull together an end of year gift for the kids' teachers.  For the past two years I have gone super simple and have had the kids make these wonderfully simple yet special gifts.  Kids of all ages can easily make these and they are perfect gifts for anyone.

The kids love searching for the perfect object to wrap and they can quickly wrap the wire while watching TV or waiting for dinner (in case you are making these the night before the last day of school).  I like to have the kids draw a picture and write a note, but you could also use a picture of your child and her teacher, or just a pretty picture.  Add a gift card and the gift is complete.

To make you need:

• Rock or piece of bark 
• medium gage wire
• pliers or wire cutters

Directions:

• Cut an arms length of wire (you can cut any length as long as it will wrap around your object a couple of times)
• At one end of the wire begin rolling into a small coil, 3-5 turns works best.
• Starting at the opposite end begin wrapping the wire around your object.  Twist tail around the wire a couple of times to secure.   Continue wrapping until you are a 1/2" from the coiled end.  Point coiled end up, add picture and gift card.

I like to leave the rock plain, but you could also paint the rock or add decorative beads to the wire.

Palmolive

I recently received a free sample of Fresh Sponge by Palmolive.  It has a great scent, does a terrific job on the dishes and leaves my sponge smelling nice.  If you get a chance definitely check it out!

I received this sample from Influenster, another great site if you love trying new products and getting wonderful goodies in the mail.