I have no idea how to shop for girl toys

Let me preface this by saying I've always been a tomboy to a certain extent. I had some things I really played with when I was a kid.

1. The neighbors dogs. They had 3-5 at a time so much of my time was spent running around the acre of land (we lived on the property of the Steinway Mansion in Astoria) and climbing trees and playing fetch and such with the dogs. I once claimed I was going to be a veterinarian.

2. Cars. My dad would find cars and give them to me (yes I said find – I don’t think I ever had a new car.) Surprisingly, they were mostly Matchbox. They had cracked windows, missing doors, and were a bit worse for wear but I didn’t care what they looked like. I had a mess load of them and I stored them in a big square blue ballet bag (the irony of this doesn’t escape me.)

3. A doll house. Now this sounds girlish and it is. It was probably the most girlish of all my toys. But I had no dolls with it. I had furniture that I’d rearrange and refurbish and design.

4. My stereo. I spent hours recording myself singing, talking or playing my organ. Often these recordings came at the expense of my mom’s premixed tapes. When I wasn’t recording I listened to the radio. My play room was called “the plant room” by me and my sister because its where all the plants were. It had a wall or those square tiled mirrors an a table that I guess was a coffee table – a huge heavy rectangle of white marble that to me was a stage. I’d dress up, dance and sing.

I had one stuffed animal. A cat. His name was Catyo (pronounced Cat-ee-yo.) I also had one of those authentic Raggedy Ann rag dolls. Those were my only real dolls. Our house had lots of dolls though. My sister was the girlie girl. I was horrible. I used to rip my sister's dolls heads off and bury them in the backyard. So to say I have issues with buying Nilsa girlie stuff isn’t lying. I just don’t know what to buy her.

After spending the day with Kathy on Sunday, whose daughter has a plethora of girlie toys to choose from, I visited Toys R Us tonight to buy the 2 things that Nilsa spent a long time playing with a doll and a baby stroller. Buying them was not easy. I have to get over my hang up on Pink. Walking through aisles of sparkly pepto bismol pink leaves me feeling claustrophobic. Finding a doll that is soft and cute, not obnoxious, makes its requisite noise when presses and while we’re mentioning that, doesn’t require adult like force to make it happen, etc. is not an easy task. Doing it with both Nilsa and Ari in the cart probably didn’t help much either. Given the option she would have picked up every toy there (she does not discriminate.) She is at the age where she probably would have played with the dust in the corner. But I digress. It took me 20 minutes to pick a doll. This is the one we came home with

Chou Chou has to go Bye Bye and she has so much to say! With your help she'll talk, giggle and make kissing sounds! Make her blow kisses and she says, "Love You". She talks in her baby set, and make her wave her hand and hear her talk. Press her tummy and she giggles. Her carrier can be folded up to look like a purse and seat. Includes with her is the baby with outfit and hat, also you get her 4-in1 carrier, which turns into a baby seat, backpack, purse and then back into a carrier.

Picking the stroller was easier. Which had the least obnoxious pink/print? Which rolled the best? Which wouldn’t collapse in on itself?

I seriously considered the Graco Expedition Doll Jogger with Toy Bar

and then Ari’s whining about wanting to get a motorcycle slapped me back into reality and I picked up the Graco Umbrella Doll Stroller in Hot Pink & Black

I’m happy to announce that she LOVES her new toys. She slept with her doll last night and started pushing her in her stroller first thing this morning. But this is proof that I’m terrible at doing the girl toy things. Suggestions are always appreciated.

Friday morning when not at work = Perfection

I know I haven't posted lately. Its' the start of wedding season and the weather is getting nicer. That means I really want to be in front of this computer less and less. So why on my day off am I sitting at the computer?

Well I'm in the best place to be on the computer. The comfort of my own bed. In a quiet house where both Rob and Nilsa are fast asleep. Ari and I finished having breakfast. As I filed a nail that broke he asked me to file his nails too. Who am I to say no to that. So we both had a mini manicure (LOL) as everyone slept and then he decided he wanted to watch the Circus.

Was it last month that Lenette took him to the circus? Ringling Bros. He obviously loved it and she got him the BEST gift ever there. A circus DVD. He asks to watch it every now and again. And that is what he did this morning. So as I sit here typing away, he sits next to me watching the DVD. Well not necessarily sitting all the time. He imitates the performers on the screen as they do their things. Right now he's watching the Fernandez brothers jump around with their acrobatics so he does it with them. Totally engrossed!

He narrates it as it happens to. His vocabulary has totally blown up lately. He's VERY much understandable now. What he says impresses me daily. But that has to be the case with every parent no? His latest fascination is the video series AniMusic. They showed segments of this between shows on TV and he became totally engrossed . So Rob bought the DVD's. This is his current favorite track...He bounces and walks around the house playing a drum saying he's the bouncing 'robot'. He's the one to the far right obviously.

He jams out to the congas and the mini timbal set he has and sets them up together to be able to imitate the video. He tries to follow the beat at times and at others he just goes insane. Rob really wanted to encourage this love for drumming. So much so that he went on craigslist and look what we now have?

They are loud and awesome and we love them as much as he does. I'm not even joking. There's nothing better then watching him jam out to Animusic on his drums.

This is basically when we first bought them out to show him.

And in some pictures he looks like SUCH a big boy. I mean, look at him.

And yet I'm one of those odd moms that is excited to see both Ari and Nilsa grow. I honestly don't miss the baby phase at all. I can't wait till Nilsa gets a bit older. I think the toddler phase, with all its drama and tantrums is by far the best phase so far!

And speaking of Nilsa. My little pudge pot is thinning out. She's still squishable but her hair has grown. You wouldn't know it by looking at the pictures but wet, it's all the way down her back. But dry its fabulously curly and beautiful.

And with that, Nilsa is awake. Things are good. Love to you all.

Vtech Kidizoom Camera Reviewed

For his 3rd birthday Ari got the Vtech Kidizoom Pre-school Camera. We're on one week of use now and have yet to download the pictures but here's what I can tell you about it as I've had several people ask my opinion upon hearing that Ari got it.

Lets start with the fact that he personally LOVES it. He knows its his camera and he does play with it

Yet I find he is more fascinated with the games it comes with then he is with taking pictures. He will spend a good deal of time playing the memory game on it. It's a very easy to use interface and he toggles between camera and the video games simply and without help from us. It has some fun features. Picture quality is poor and even with the flash its fairly dark which is my real complaint about it. But it's a bit over $50 so you can't expect magnificent quality. Nilsa has dropped it twice and that's the reason we got it in the first place as Ari generally can use one of our cameras but we can't guarantee a year old's fingers will not drop it and being that he mistakenly broke my old point and shoot, this will do.


random shot of Nilsa here because she's too cute to leave off a post



**none of the pictures on this post were taken with the vtech camera.

Product Review-Kaboost & Pics of playful kids

For a while now Ari has been sitting and playing at the kitchen table. I find that he has been sitting on his knees or standing on the chair because, sitting normally he does not come high enough for the table.

We have a booster chair thing by fisher price which we have been using. Thing is we have very little space so we can’t have it perpetually on a seat without losing seating, and to put it on and off and store it is a pain. Not to mention that even with it, he’s still comes too low to be comfortable at the table

So I finally invested in a kaboost. And I highly recommend it. It secures itself to the bottom of a chair and LIFTS the entire chair. There are 2 different levels you can use. I put it together and NEVER has Ari been more comfortable at the table. He actually sat and played with his cars for a good ½ hour last night because he was comfortable enough to do it. Add that the kaboost holds up to 300lbs, that it grips the floor so its not possible for the kid to slide himself back.

You’ll see where we were storing his booster seat (under the actual table.) But now it will be going to grandma’s house where it can stay stationed in one of the 6 dining room tables there.

Playful Kids

Everything else is well on the home front. Nilsa’s ability to sit up is getting much better. I mean she can actually do it but she will then fling herself off kilter. So with that, I find Ari playing more with his sister. And it’s so cute. And nobody is more funny to Nilsa then her brother. So I give you pictures…

Nilsa’s getting bigger. Ari never really fit in the bouncer she’s in. He could never touch the floor.

And Ari is officially obsessed with taking pictures. And he’s good at it. He centers pictures, shoots, etc. I mean he’s good for a 2 year old!

And I have video should you want to see some. Click on the picture to see the videos…

Ari in the car seat in Florida singing James Brown’s I got the feeling

Ari dancing with Elmo, with Thomas the train and with Nilsa to the ringtone on my cell phone (Hector Lavoe’s-el dia de mi suerte)