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REVIEW: Crayola Wild Notes

August 31st, 2010 gailcheri Posted in events, review No Comments »

{ disclosure : Guest writer, Gail G., attended Time to Play Preview Luncheon and received a gift bag }

Always a big fan of creative fun, what caught my eye was a notebook from Crayola called “Wild Notes”. On the surface it looked like an ordinary notebook. It is a 2 subject notebook that is college ruled (also available as a 1 subject notebook and wide rule as well). The book is 9.5” x 6” and has 75 sheets of paper. The paper is easily perforated for removal if you, say, wanted to hang a masterpiece.

It is packaged with a special pen designed to work only with Wild Notes.  When writing on the paper with the special pen, the ink changes colors as you write. I did find that the ink is a little light and slow to appear, but I think that is from the reaction from the ink and paper.  For a child, it’s probably magical.  After about 10 seconds, it will become a full rainbow of color. The pen is very comfortable in your hands when writing and the wire binding of the notebook is large enough to hold the pen for safe keeping.

The front cover serves only as the packaging and does come off revealing a new artsy page underneath which is meant to use as the actual cover. I liked that, since the pen’s packaging was glued to the cover and ripped a bit upon removal.  An added bonus to ensure the fun doesn’t end if you lose said magical pen, they also give you a number to call for a pen replacement. Another added plus, since the book would just be a regular notebook without this special pen, you can use regular pens and pencils with the pages and it would work normally, but where would the fun in that be!

I gave it to my toddler to try and he really liked the different colors appearing, but I would recommend this notebook for an older child.  This would make a great stocking stuffer at $7.99 retail (can be found as low as $2.99) and even a “keep busy” table item at a dinner out.

Another Crayola crayon product that is a Mom Confessional’s favorite include: Crayola Crayon Towns

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Thomas makes a whole lotta new friends…

August 28th, 2010 admin Posted in events, moments, parenting, review 2 Comments »

{ disclosure : attended sneak preview of Thomas & Friends – Misty Island Rescue, all opinions expressed here are always my own }

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My brood and I attended a very special sneak preview of Thomas & Friends Misty Island Rescue movie and had a chance to check out the newest Thomas & Friends toys from Fisher Price at the gorgeous Brooklyn Bridge Park.  The kids and I anxiously waited dock side to see their favorite steam tank engine arrive, not by rail, but by sea, tugged by The Pegasus, a historic tugboat that participated in both World Wars. I never saw a bunch of kids so excited! Even my 6 year old nephew who declared he was too big for Thomas got so excited.  It was almost like it all came flooding back to him…. his once upon a time obsession with the steam engine.  They couldn’t believe he came all the way to New York!  With him, he brought all the newest Thomas & Friends toys from Fisher Price for them to check out.

As Thomas docked, we ran aboard the Lehigh Valley #79, a restored 94 year old wooden covered barge to check out Misty Island Rescue – The Movie.  This story takes place as the engines are hard at work to build a new Search and Rescue Center and Thomas gets lost at sea finding himself on the mysterious Misty Island.  We only got to check out 20 minutes of this action-packed movie adventure but all the kids were wondering… Will Sir Topham Hatt’s search party ever find Thomas?

Despite the cliffhanger, the kids were eager to get up and check out all of the play stations on the barge.  We got to check out Zip, Zoom & Logging Adventure™, Thomas & FriendsTM Shake Shake Bridge, both a part of the TrackMaster line and the Rescue from Misty Island Take-n-play playset which brings the movie to life in interactive play.  All these and much more are sure to  be on Thomas’ biggest fans holiday wish list!  Even my 6 year old nephew who declared he was TOO big for Thomas was begging to play with the trains after watching the preview — didn’t he say he was TOO big?

Misty Island Rescue – The Movie will be released on DVD on September 7th.

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Her First Love… Juno Baby

August 18th, 2010 admin Posted in epiphanies, events, moments, parenting, review 5 Comments »

{ disclosure : attended Juno Baby’s VIP BlogHer Brunch at FAO Schwarz }

When I was invited to attend the Juno Baby BlogHer brunch I was eager to bring the toddler mostly because it was at FAO Schwartz and if she had no interest in Juno Baby at least it was some much needed Mommy and Me time after I had been holed up in school for the past 9 weeks.  I was not prepared for what ensued.  First of all, I’ve tweeted and mentioned on countless occasions my daughter’s intense fear of characters come to life.  We’ve missed some opportunities that most toddlers would die for like a Meet and Greet with the Yo Gabba Gabba crew and Thomas the Train.  Of course as we walked into the party room, we were greeted by a GIANT Juno Baby.  My mind was darting like a moving target, taking a quick survey of the scene, I was trying to mentally calculate the room size and strategically trying to figure out how to maneuver the toddler away from the GIANT Juno Baby without her causing too much of a scene with her expected intense fearful meltdown.  She completely caught me off guard when she pointed at Juno and asked, “Who is that?!” There wasn’t one ounce of fear in her, instead it was replaced with curiosity.  With one eyebrow raised and on guard, I calmly said, “That’s Juno Baby.  This is her party…”  Still ever so cautious, I made sure not to engage Juno and stood as a barrier between Juno and the toddler.  Oddly enough that made her even more curious!  As I filled our plate with delicious breakfast treats, she peered from behind me to look at Juno, darting away, peeking and darting, peeking and darting.  She was mesmerized.

As if there was a step by step playbook, she went from darting to standing in front of her, to touching her ever so slightly… always returning to my side with each advancement until finally she was flat out HUGGING Juno none stop!  It was so flabbergasting I had to take photos and videos and message my husband.  It was sheer insanity to me!  My toddler didn’t have a meltdown!  This is a little girl who started shrieking at the sight of Elmo and dug her nails into my husband’s neck, made my skin bleed as she clung to me for dear life when Clifford the Big Red Dog came to say Hi! with her legs wrapped around my waist, weeping and trembling in fear. SHOCKED!

I still feel a slight pang of regret when thinking about all those wasted piano lessons in my youth and while I can appreciate classical music, you won’t find it on my radio’s presets.  Now and then I come across a piano and I tap the usual chopsticks and if I happen to find a sheet of music, I’ll even play a broken form of it as I recall the notes in my head for nostalgia.  If all things that goes around must come around, I guess this is where my parent’s investment in years of piano lessons pays off as I happily introduced my daughter to Juno Baby.  The irony is that I thought the toddler would have no interest in Juno Baby and was thinking rather of the infant’s interests, already nodding off the toddler as a lost cause as her current musical palette includes Jay Sean’s Down on repeat … Train’s Hey Soul Sister… and Eminem’s latest releases – gasp!  Now I wouldn’t exactly call it sophisticated music taste but I also couldn’t believe I was mourning the days she danced and sung to Barney… What happened to those days?

These are one of those reflecting moments which reminds me why I love my daughter so much and why I feel so lucky to be her mom.  While she had no interest in the speech — sorry Belinda and Barrett! — her eyes were glued to the teaser for Juno Junior and she reminded me what a unique and amazing kid she is. She fits no stereotype, she’s one of a kind — Just like Juno Baby!  As Barrett and Belinda talked about Juno Baby and how it came to life, I couldn’t help agreeing with them about the quality of music available to kids these days, mostly synthesized, and how kids have these amazing capacity to absorb and appreciate a wider variety of music similar to language acquisition.  The music is all original composition by founder Dr. Belinda Takahashi and is performed by live orchestral musicians.  While my daughter’s new obsession with Juno Baby helped, I left a believer and couldn’t wait to get home and play it for the infant.

Still on guard, thinking this was a complete FLUKE.  I figured her fascination with Juno Baby would be short lived and still my mind was focused on developing the infant’s musical palette.  Instead the toddler and I have watch Juno Baby every night and sometimes several times a night.  Much to my surprise, I actually had a Juno Baby DVD at home already and luckily it was a different DVD, so we have 2 Juno Baby DVDs in our repertory.  Not to leave the infant out, she sits and talks the infant through each episode and sleeps every night with her Juno plush.  The infant squeals with delight every time his big sister is around, anything she loves, he loves too.  We now are anxiously awaiting the debut of Juno Junior, adding to our growing collection!

Become a fan of Juno Baby on Facebook and check out the toddler in practically every shot with Juno here.  For every Juno Baby product purchased they donate one music education DVD to a child in need — how awesome in that! To all my mommy friends, expect lots of Juno Baby gifts as they have just been added to my list of Gifts of Choice.

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BlogHer blog me…

August 16th, 2010 admin Posted in confessions, events, green, moments 3 Comments »

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I have to admit I’m not big on conferences.  In fact, BlogHer was my very first conference.  I don’t exactly know when it happened but somehow my little blog, has become a brand unto its own and by no way attributed to any strategic planning of sorts.  Everything that has happened to Mom Confessionals has been incredibly organic.  I do admire the ambitious bloggers out there and marvel at how they build relationships with brands and cultivate their own name in the blog-o-sphere.  Very much like my own life, I start to get into it but really I prefer the more laid back approach.  I am never one to get upset about not getting invited to an event and I refuse to be a swag slut.   I mean my life is already full of clutter thanks to a house filled with kids, so really… I don’t need more.  My blog is my life, but my life is not my blog.  I don’t get upset about not getting invited to events for the mere fact that I have other things to do… like enjoying my children.  In fact most days I’m battling to find my voice in the blog amongst the many reviews I have written.  I’m still struggling with how much of my persona to reveal and how much to contribute.  That said, if its of interest, I’ll be there to hear what you say, support my friends and cultivate relationships with brands I really care about and resonate with my family and our life.

So while I bought a full pass to BlogHer, I didn’t stress it.  I attended many amazing events and I couldn’t even begin to cover them all but here are some highlights:

  • Loved the Swag Swap Suite… I visited it only once but regretfully wished I could have gone back to ask where the countless Walmart notebooks went after BlogHer because I knew of a school in Guatemala that could have and would have gratefully used them.  Felt bad for all the Jimmy Dean clocks that got left behind and felt for the marketing exec who thought it would be a cute gift, cause it was, but I hate branded merchandise.  Couldn’t believe I snagged another Filtrete water bottle because really they were really nice, clean and simple.
  • Met some incredible people who I’ve been following on Twitter or reading their blogs.  While some of them were so gracious to think I’m on the same level as they are, I felt incredibly humbled to be in their presence. Even attending some events where they called the attendees “cream of the crop” or “key influencers”, they had me looking around thinking they made a mistake in inviting me.  I mean for goodness sakes I was standing in a room with @BostonMamas, @MommyNiri @AudreyMcClelland @MomTrends @MomBloggersClub @ResourcefulMom @XiaolinMama @DuongSheahan… and there I was… in awe and completely perplexed
  • Here is the only time I’m a slut for swag… I was giddy to get Dora and Swiper the Fox shirts for the toddler and nephew… if they had something in the infant’s size, you bet I would have gotten him one too.  The toddler loved the shirt so much she wears it all the time and when its in the hamper, asks how long it will take to wash and dry… and if she’s audacious enough, she’ll even ask why we’re not washing it RIGHT now.  I was happy to grab some tubs of Playdoh for the toddler and was thrilled to see the duffel bag in our bag cause nothing is a sure fire hit at a play-date than a box full of Playdoh fun.
  • Oh the greenie in me definitely came out at this event.  I was sorting and swapping every chance I got.  I didn’t take anything that couldn’t be used or given to someone I know who’d appreciate it.  I loved learning about brands and their environmental efforts.  Some of my favorite included Filtrete’s Water Station which would solve my family’s addiction to bottled water in very sleek container.  I even loved the plant-able wild flower seeds their message was printed on to add to the toddlers growing garden.  While I wish my fancy kitchen faucet could fit Pur’s new one-click faucet filtration system, I loved their involvement with P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program which has provided 2 billion liters of clean drinking water to children all over the world and hopes to provide 4 billion liters by 2012.
  • Loved putting faces to brands I’ve been electronically in contact with and learning about their newest products.  Juno Baby is our new brand obsession in our house.  Quality music played by real orchestra musicians and my Jay Sean-loving child is tapping her feet right along.  Fisher Price introduced us to the must have iXL Learning System and I am happy to put at bay for another few years, handheld video games.  Kodak Gallery’s soon to be release PYNK system is sheer brilliance!  What wonderful gifts they will make for sure.  The amateur photographer in me can’t wait to have PYNK frames all over my house.
  • Loved meeting Nate Berkus at his launch party for the Nate Berkus Show which debuts on September 13th, because I love design, but of course was too shy to say anything other than ask for a picture.  Since he wasn’t a mom, I didn’t have my mom confessionals opening to work with — what’s your mom confession Nate? — sigh! Doesn’t matter, as one of the mommy bloggers on his panel of real moms, once I get over being star-struck, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to interact with him.
  • All the amazing parties I went to which, just to name a few, included the Getting Gorgeous event held by my favorite @VeraSweeney and @AudreyMcClelland, Summer Sizzle by @MomTrends, the HP Aiming Low EzPz Party which brought me face to face with the ever so enchanting @AngelaatHP and the Taste of Loews by the amazing @NYCityMama

My experience with BlogHer wouldn’t be complete without a shout-out to my constant companions and hand-holders @Nancy_Horn of MommieswithStyle and @About_Toys. I can’t wait to attend BlogHer ’11 in San Diego!

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Do Good New York!

July 6th, 2010 admin Posted in epiphanies, events, moments, parenting 5 Comments »

{ disclosure: I am working in partnership with 77  Kids and TheMotherhood.com to Do Good on July 14th, 2010 and have received a stipend }

One of the little things I try to make a conscience effort to do is one good deed a day.  If  I’m feeling ambitious,  maybe even more than one.  Not so much for a pay it forward movement, but for my mental health, an attempt on my part to be a better person.  Has anyone else done the same?  Don’t you just feel good knowing you’ve done something good.  It really doesn’t have to be anything big.  It might be something as simple as giving up your seat on the subway for a pregnant woman or elderly — yes, you should be doing that anyway, but pat yourself on the back when you do, because so often I see people avert their eyes.  Or even giving your lunch to a homeless man because you won’t starve without it, you might be a little hungry, but you’ll get another meal.  I even count when you have a nasty encounter with a stranger and you don’t react.  Doing good can be something grandiose as raising money for a good cause and something as small as spending an afternoon with an elderly neighbor in conversation.  I especially love doing things that no one else knows about as if it was my little secret with God.  I don’t need a thanks or any appreciation to feel good about doing good.

My toddler’s about that age where she can understand good from bad, and teaching her the beauty of doing good would be amazing.  You can never teach something like that at too young an age.  I am thrilled to be partnering with 77 Kids by American Eagle and TheMotherhood.com and doing just that.  Myself, along with Seventy-six fantastic mom bloggers in 11 cities across the country are participating in 77kids Do Good Day on July 14th by doing good in our local communities in pay-it-forward kinds of ways. What that translates to is 77 moms, 7 in each of the 11 cities, along with their families, doing and inspiring good!  I can’t think of a better way to teach our kids about charity of all kinds.

I am so inspired by what all the other moms in all the other cities are doing.  We’ve got Chicago working with the Ronald McDonald House, mom’s in Boston bringing smiles to the children at the Children’s Hospital Boston… really amazing things are going to be happening simultaneously across the nation and I’m so proud to be a part of this amazing movement.  As Team NYC plans are underway, I am loving all the ideas, both big and small.

Want to join the conversation, come visit us here: http://www.themotherhood.com/circle/show/id/62021.  Can you be inspired to join us too?  What will you be doing on Do Good Day? Need ideas?  Check out www.actsofkindness.org

Meet the fabulous Moms of Team New York:
Kimberly Coleman http://www.mominthecity.com
Emily McKhann http://www.themotherhood.com
Jen Rabulan-Bertram http://nextkidthing.com/
Ellen Schmidt http://www.babymeetscity.com
Sherri Shubert http://momtrends.blogspot.com
Jessica Shyba http://www.mommasgonecity.com

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