Yo Gabba Gabba at SummerStage…AWESOME!

What’s up with that fuzzy orange hat, those cool beats and those funky friends, like the green striped monster?  Whatever it is, DJ Lance and his friends from Gabba Gabba Land have captivated legions of fans—parents and kids alike—with the crowds in NYC at last weekend’s SummerStage show to prove it.  In this first installation of the NKT Saturday Special feature, find out who got to fistbump DJ Lance, what was my favorite song of the set and what makes us love a show with songs like, “Party in my Tummy” enough to wait in crazy lines!

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Let them eat cake!

The famous one-liner, “Let them eat cake,” that’s often attributed to Marie Antoinette in response to the French people’s suffering is said to be an inaccurate translation of “Qu’ils mangent de la Brioche.” The famous phrase that was said to bring on the French Revolution might be a little lost in translation, and it might not have been said by Marie Antoinette, afterall.  But there’s no denying the impact of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, which occurred on July 14, 1789.

In honor of Bastille Day, the national French holiday (and my birthday), how fitting is today’s Etsy Find?

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The Felt Cake Decorating Set by Punkidoo is an adorable playset that gives a new meaning to “playing with your food!”  The cake set, which measures at 8 x 4 inches, includes a piping bag, purple icing, two roses, 3 candles in icing, “Happy Birthday” sign, 3 whipped cream, 3 strawberries of varying sizes, 3 chocolate curls. The set, which is sewn completely by hand, is made of eco-fi, a polyester fiber that’s made from 100% certified recycled plastic PET bottles.

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How perfect is this for a preschooler’s birthday present?  There’s nothing cooler than playsets that encourage creativity and imagination—and a handmade, eco-friendly set at that!  The Felt Cake Decorating Set can be found at Punkidoo’s Shop on Etsy.  Be sure to check out the other amazing hand-sewn sets, too!

So, let them eat cake!


Getting Funky for Music Monday

funky kidsHappy Monday, everyone.  We had quite an exciting music-filled weekend, and I can’t wait to share all about it.  But in honor of yet another fun adventure with NKT in mind, I’m happy to announce another weekly editorial focus. Every Monday will be fittingly dubbed, Music Monday, and will feature music-influenced posts.

To start off the first Music Monday, how about some funky, jazzy kids tunes? I recently had the chance to check out Funky Kidz, which is a musical compilation performed by several artists from New Orleans and features covers of children’s songs.  Including classic kiddie songs like “Hokey Pokey” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the award-winning CD includes musicians include such as Ivan Neville of the Neville Brothers; The Radiators; George Porter Jr. of The Meters;  Bonerama, and more.
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New video site Kideos.com launches

kideosAre you ever in need of something new, something fresh, something FREE to entertain the kids for a few minutes at a time? Thank goodness for videos, or shall I say, Kideos? Kideos, a web property of Earlier Media, is a recently-launched site for kids to safely watch videos online. Kideos features kid’s videos, from Yo Gabba Gabba to Dora, with a kid-friendly interface.

What’s interesting about Kideos is that unlike similar sites, they tout a Video Advisory Council, which is a group of parents and educators who screen content before it appears on the site. The site also gives parents their own personalization tools to limit videos shown to their children by selecting the appropriate age-based category.

Kideos has a colorful interface that will have kids navigating through videos on their own, just after a few tries.  New content, which includes tv shows, movies, educational shows, music videos and more, is added to the site daily after it is reviewed by the Council.

What I like about this site is that the videos are categorized into age groups—up to age 10. It has a simplistic interface with no frills, no ads and it’s free!

Sprout Launches New App Sprout Player

Sprout has launched its latest iPhone App, the Sprout Player, designed by The Studio at New Wave Entertainment.  The Sprout Player is a video player application that streams podcasts of 3-4 minute Sprout shows currently available in Apple’s iTunes.  The Sprout Player is available for download in the iTunes store for free.

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Designed for parents with preschoolers on the go, the video player offers audio instructions voiced by Kelly Vrooman, one of the hosts of Sprout’s “Sunny Side Up Show.”  With the Player, parents can view Sprout’s programming schedule and click on clips for upcoming events. Read More

B is for Bob

61boxalpirl_sl500_aa240_His music is said to transcend genres, but with the recent release of B is for Bob, a collection of his most popular songs re-imagined for kids, Bob Marley’s influence is set to transcend even more generations.  The album, which was executive produced by his eldest son, Ziggy Marley, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Kid Audio and Reggae Albums Charts.

In eight of the tracks, including “Three Little Birds,” “Redemption Song,” “Bend Down Low,” “Jamming,” “Small Axe,” “Satisfy My Soul,” “Stir It Up” and “High Tide or Low Tide,” certain instruments were removed while others were added, creating a feeling of hearing these songs for the very first time, yet several other songs were left untouched.

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Fun in the sun with TruKid Sunny Days

I’ve joked before how, as kids, my brothers and I used to race to see who could get the most tan. In retrospect, it wasn’t the safest “game,” even with our darker complexions. It was the 80s, afterall—y’know, the decade of excess… But now, as a mama (with a very fair-skinned mestizo babe) naturally, like many other mamas, my perspective on sun safety has since changed.

According to Kidshealth.org, most kids rack up between 50% and 80% of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18.

That’s a lot of fun in the sun, which is also why my mom friends and I often compare notes on the best natural sunscreens for our kids. Kiss My Face, California Baby and Jason products are often mentioned, but since being introduced to TruKid products, I can’t say enough great things.

A small family-run business, TruKid was born as a result of a mother who sought to fill a void. After searching for safe, but effective skin products for her five active kids (now six), Jennifer Adams Bunkers created TruKids. TruKid uses natural ingredients and essential oils, and it’s no surprise that he Environmental Working Group has given TruKid’s entire line, tru-007-2(including the products I’m about to review) the safety rating of 0-3.

Just as I started this blog, TruKid was one of the first companies to reach out to me after a mention on my Toxic Tub post. Yeah, they’re that awesome. I’ve spoken highly of the Happy Face and Body Lotion in the past, (seriously, can’t get enough of that fun apple scent and I love the smell of my clean boy) but with another long and SUNNY holiday weekend upon us, I wanted to share a review about TruKid’s Sunny Days, which comes in a fabulous sunscreen lotion and super-convenient face and body stick.

The Sunny Days sunscreen lotion comes out thick and creamy, yet not greasy or oily. Because of its creamier consistency, with just 2 dollops, the boy is good to go. I’ve used much watery sunscreens in the past, and I feel like all I do is squirt, squirt and apply.

The facestick is definitely a favorite for us. We have it tucked away in our diaper bag, stroller pocket and even our beach/playground bag. About twice the size of a tube of chapstick, the facestick, is easy to apply with just a few swipes. It, too, isn’t too thick, but light enough to apply and smooth on with one or two swipes. Because the kid thinks the facestick is actual chapstick, I tend to wipe some on my fingers to avoid unnecessary sunscreen-licking.

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Nuchi train sets: simple and classic

Of the menagerie of talking, beeping and blinking toys, perhaps the most popular playthings in our home are the ones that don’t make a sound at all.  No motion sensors, no batteries, no noise: the kid loves these toys as much as us.  Silence–and simplicity–is a beautiful thing.  Haba, Melissa and Doug and Plan Toys are some popular picks, but Nuchi is a newer line that I have my eye on, particularly the simple and classic train sets, like this Oval Train Set w/Crossing Barrier.

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LeapFrog Text and Learn giveaway winner

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Thank you everyone for entering the LeapFrog Text and Learn giveaway!  This giveaway yielded our biggest response yet, so thank you for participating.  Congrats to Natasha for winning the Text and Learn!

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Just a few housekeeping notes, for the extra entries, please don’t forget to comment for each additional entry.  For this giveaway, I manually added the extra entries for the stories.  I don’t mind, but I can’t promise I”ll do that in the future.  As for shipping, I will always consolidate my trips to the post office, so those of you who are waiting for your giveaways, they’re coming!  I don’t have a set timeline or anything, but I aspire to get these out within a few weeks.  I appreciate your patience.  Those waiting for giveaways that are to be shipped directly from the companies, those shipments tend to take longer, as a general rule of thumb.  Patience is a virtue.  I’m just extending some giveaway goodness, and as they say, good things come to those who read NKT :)  (and to those who wait, too.)