Hosting a #DisneySide Playdate

March 27, 2014March 27, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

After such a brutal winter cooped up indoors, not only for the crazy weather, but also because of the kid’s ongoing medical issues, we were more than happy to host our friends over for a #DisneySide playdate.

Thanks to the generous party pack provided by Disney, we were decked out with supplies to entertain and enjoy. It doesn’t take much for me to get excited about parties, but when it involves Mickey-shaped food, I’m all in. From Mickey chicken to Mickey-shaped fruit, we were totally in magic mode.

Since we had an after school soiree, the boys played Disney Infinity while the girls did Disney-inspired crafts.

Because we’re all about Frozen, we did a fun Olaf project. After we cut up the Olaf printable, we connected him at the joints with brads and then sang all about summerrrr!

Thanks to Hanes, we broke out the fabric markers and decorated our own t-shirts. Everyone’s shirts were beautiful, but Jack’s Spidey-themed tee was one of the faves. Even our littlest guy designed his very own tee!

From primary colored decor to the awesome HP photo paper to print our favorite photos, our playdate was Disney-fied through and through. And after so many not-so-easy days this winter, a little magic is just what the doctor ordered.

For more ideas on how to post your own DisneySide party, check out Spoonful.com, DisneySide and DisneySide Celebrations. Thank you to Disney and MomSelect for including us in the #DisneySide Party initiative. Samples were provided, but all opinions on NKT are my own.

#PurpleDay is Every Day

March 27, 2014April 8, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Every day is #PurpleDay around here. As much as I loved seeing beautiful purple blouses and cool posters all in the name of epilepsy awareness, I didn’t see too much of the awareness being backed up. With that in mind, I spent yesterday researching and putting together some information that I felt was missing on my Newsfeed.

In true Jen fashion, I researched and created my own epilepsy awareness info graphic that highlights some stats, different kinds of seizures and most importantly, seizure first aid.

As many of you already know, my younger guy was diagnosed with epilepsy at just four months old. Since then, epilepsy has turned our world upside down. With much thanks to excellent resources, support and the best medical care, this isn’t anything we can’t handle.

This is the face of epilepsy.

J has frontal lobe epilepsy that is controlled by a cocktail of anti-seizure meds. Epilepsy is an evil, but silent condition that, for us, can be maintained with medication and frequent medical care. Like many people who have epilepsy, my guy’s seizures are kept at bay when medicine levels are managed and triggers are monitored.

Unfortunately, breakthrough seizures can happen at any time. So, it’s my hope to share seizure first aid with any and everyone, not just for my guy, but for the kid down the street, the student in school or even the stranger on the train platform.

My most important recommendation, should you come in contact with anyone who has a seizure: remain calm. I can’t stress this enough. As terrifying as a tonic-clonic seizure may look, time is of the essence. Make sure the person is safe, their airway is clear and bystanders are gawking from a distance. 1-3 minutes for a seizure is typical, and trust me, it feels like a lifetime.

Never ever put anything into a person’s mouth during a seizure. Move any harmful objects, cushion their head if they’re on the ground and don’t restrain them.

I wanted to spread more awareness, so I created this. I know I can’t be with my kid 24-7, so it’s my hope that with awareness, he’d receive proper attention. With that, please share and spread this info!

P.s. not sure why #9 got cut off, but it appears just fine in the original version. Just click here.

Kardashian Kids Debuts at Babies ‘R Us

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Kim and Kanye may be making waves after their recent Vogue cover reveal; however, we’re totally focused on Kardashian Kids, a new baby girl (k)collection featuring sparkly, animal print and ruffly motifs.

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Now available at select Babies ‘R Us, Kardashian Kids, a collaboration with Jupi Corp, is the latest brand extension for the reality family and first foray into their own children’s clothing line. Kourtney used her own daughter, Penelope, as the inspiration for this first collection. With cream and gold as the dominant color scheme, butterflies, stars, and of course, animal print round out the Kardashian take on “affordable high fashion” for babies.

“Since becoming a mom, I’ve been so inspired to create Kardashian Kids with perfect prints, heavenly fabrics for a baby’s skin and to bring fashion to the baby world that is affordable,” said Kourtney, mother of Mason and Penelope.

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Kardashian Kids line includes baby essentials such as onesies, caps, blankets, as well as two-piece sets, jackets and dresses in sizes ranging from newborn to 24months. Prices for the new baby line range from $15-30. Here’s a look at a few of the new pieces:

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Kourtney, who was said to lead the way for Kardashian Kids, is hosting a blogger event with Babies ‘R Us. I had to decline because of my schedule, but am definitely interested to see how this line does. I know quite a few people who like the Kardashian line for women at Sears, so I’d like to see if this gets the same response. My first impression, though, it seems pricey for being dubbed “affordable.” Looks like some people who submitted reviews over at BRU feel the same.

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The pieces are absolutely adorable, and much more subdued than what I was picturing. Though not practical for everyday outings, these outfits look ideal for Easter gatherings and such. Also, I would have liked to see boys clothes included in the collection. Obviously, I’m a boy mom and personally love boys clothes; but I love the way Kourtney dresses her son, Mason, so I’m bummed that boys clothes didn’t make it into Kardashian Kids from the start.

What about you, mommas? Would you invest in the new Kardashian Kids?

Frozen: Easter Eggs and Printables

March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

With the Frozen DVD and Blu-Ray hitting the shelves this week, we’re in a Frozen state of mind to say the least! In case you didn’t pre-order from Amazon, it looks like the major big box stores—Target, Toys R Us, Walmart—have Frozen on sale for $19.99 this week.

FROZEN Box Art

And, of course, if you’re the totally digital family who doesn’t even bother with hard copies of anything, you’ve been watching Frozen day and night for several weeks, right?

So, in honor of Frozen, I thought it would be fun to re-visit some fun stuff found in the movie. Disney and Pixar is well known for their generous helpings of Easter Eggs throughout their movies. In case you haven’t already seen these, I thought I’d share the Frozen Easter Eggs as revealed in the Disney Blog!

Did you catch Eugene and Rapunzel at Queen Elsa’s coronation? They’re over here in the bottom left. I read some even cooler fan theories over here about Flynn Ryder and Rapunzel’s attendance. This would make total sense to me!

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And what about the chocolates that Anna is eating? Supposedly, these chocolates were also featured in Sugar Rush from Wreck It Ralph.

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One of the paintings from “The First Time in Forever” was also spotted on Tangled.

Lisa Swing Painting Part 21 Lisa Swing Painting Part 11

And, of course, the Mouse makes a very subtle cameo at Oaken’s Trading Post. Do you see him hiding on the first shelf?

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Frozen Printables

Beyond the movie itself, we’ve been having a blast playing Frozen-centric games and doing cool activities. During the push for the initial release of the movie, Disney Studios provided these fun activities and printables. We had a blast making dancing Olaf at our recent Disney Side Party! Check out the other activities below!

Be sure to save the below images to your computer to print out yourself!

Build an Olaf

Find Olaf Maze

Elsa and Anna coloring pages

Spot the difference

To download even more printables and fun games check out the link below:

Photo credits: Disney Studios

St. Patrick’s Day Treats from Family Fun Magazine

March 17, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Not sure if any of you caught any leprechauns, but we sure didn’t. We did, however, enjoy creating some fun food goodies. St. Patrick’s Day and food go hand in hand in our house.

I got a kick out of Family Fun’s Leprechaun-inspired treats. How cute are these tiny hats and donuts?! We’ll be doing some fun after school creations after school today!

Leprechaun Hats

Hats

Ingredients

English cucumber
Sliced cheese
Hummus

Directions

Celebrate Saint Pat’s with a crunchy cucumber treat. Cut 1-inch sections of an English cucumber. Halve them lengthwise and lay the pieces flat on a plate, as shown. Trim a cucumber brim for each hat and set it in place. Finish with a sliced cheese band and buckle, attached with dots of hummus or dip.

Leprechaun Doughnuts

Donuts

Ingredients

Chocolate sprinkle:

O-shaped cereal
Dark or white chocolate
Colored sprinkles

Cinnamon sugar:
O-shaped cereal
Sugar
Cinnamon sugar

Directions

Lure wee visitors this Saint Patrick’s Day with O-shaped cereal disguised as tiny doughnuts. Prepare each variety following the steps at right and let dry on waxed paper. Add to the fun by placing them in a miniature box (get our template at familyfunmag.com/printables).

Chocolate sprinkle:

Dip the tops of O-shaped cereal into melted dark or white chocolate (the tines of a fork work well for this) and cover with sprinkles.

Cinnamon sugar:

Over medium-high heat, dissolve ½ cup sugar in ½ cup water. Let it cool. Dip the O’s, a few at a time, in the syrup, then toss them in a small bowl of cinnamon sugar.

Oogaa Feeding Products Put the Fun in Function

March 13, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Plastics in baby bottles and feeding products has been a topic of discussion for some time now. The research has been done, and BPA and phthalates are chemicals we should try to avoid. Even though there’s been some conflicting info floating around, it’s safe to say, these are chemicals we don’t want in our baby products.

On that note, we’ve seen an increase in baby products made of different materials such as silicone, stainless steel and glass. One of my absolute favorites has been silicone, because of its versatility, durability and convenience. The rubbery texture of silicone often doubles as a teether AND it’s virtual kid-proof.

Healthy Child Healthy World recently shared an article on silicones in our baby products, but the consensus on its safety seems to be: more research needs to be done, but it’s safe to use for our babes.

We recently received a line of Oogaa feeding products to review. These products, made of silicone, are, hands down, some of my favorite feeding products to date. To start, they’re bright and fun, something that’s welcomed after such a cold and gray winter.

The spoons have cool airplanes, boats and other designs in the middle that make them not only fun tools, but also more weighted. Like many who already do this, mom and dad use the fun airplane or train spoons together with those sound effects to make baby eat that baby food.

We’ve been using the placemat on top of the high chair tray for easier clean up when eating yogurt or other messy foods that the toddler insists on feeding himself. The portioned plates, though, are perhaps my favorite. I can cut up fruit and cheese and put in each compartment so that the tot can pick and choose bite-sized pieces himself, but to also control portion sizes. With the two boys eating such different amounts of food, I often forget that the toddler has a much smaller appetite and pickier palate, and food often gets wasted because of this.

Best of all, after eating, clean up of these Oogaa products is super simple. Because of the products are made of silicone, it’s easy to just throw them into the dishwasher.

There’s a variety of awesome Oogaa feeding products ranging from the spoons to plates to placemats. The plate and spoon set would make an ideal baby shower gift—talk about functional!

Here’s a little vlog we did when reviewing these fun feeding tools from Ooga:

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Full disclosure: I received these products to facilitate this review. As always, opinions on NKT are my own.

Stokke Steps is a Chic, New Modular Seating System

March 5, 2014March 5, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

On a snowy evening last month, I attended Momtrend’s beautiful launch for Stokke’s latest arrival: the Stokke Steps.

Essentially, Stokke Steps is a bouncer and high chair that can be used together or separately. Touted as an all-in-one seating concept, from birth, the Stokke Steps is a modular seating system that begins with a stand-alone bouncer, which can then be added to the transformable children’s chair. The bouncer and chair, when added together complement one another to accommodate newborn and infant seating at the table. The children’s chair can be used on its own to provide seating for toddlers, preschoolers and beyond, up to 80 lbs. The chair has safety features such as a 5-point harness and colored indicators to ensure the bouncer is properly installed onto the seat.

For convenience and logistics, the Stokke Steps chair has depth and height adjustable control, washable and water repellent textiles, adjustable footrest and optional tray for the chair. Like the chair, the bouncer showcases that scandinavian design and engineering that’s synonymous with Stokke products.

I’ve mentioned this many, many times, but I am a major Stokke fan. Pre-blogging, as a city family we invested in our Stokke Sleepi not only because of its beautiful design and sustainable function (growing from a bassinet to a toddler bed), but also because we had a very small space.

The Sleepi was the optimal choice for our family six years ago and we’ve been loyal customers since. Stokke has some of the most reliable and functional products on the market; and as someone who would rather opt for quality rather than quantity, I’d much rather pay more for something that will grow and last with my family. We’ve gone on to buy the Stokke Care changing table and have reviewed several other Stokke products along the way.

I love the design of the Stokke Steps. The bouncer reminds me so much of the Bounce n’ Sleep that we used a lot when littles was a babe. The chair offers families an alternative to the Tripp Trapp, which is already a seating staple in so many homes. The streamlined design, along with the modular feature, makes the Stokke Steps an ideal high chair and seating option for a young family who appreciates the value of function and beautiful aesthetics.

Here’s a video that showcases this fabulous new seating system. Be sure to check out the Stokke Steps demo which has all kinds of great info.

The Stokke Steps bouncer and chair will be available at specialty stores and online. The bouncer retails for $199 and the chair is $279.

Full disclosure: I received a lovely gift bag at the event; however, all opinions on NKT are my own.

Marvel Super Hero Mashers Combine Construction and Action Figures Toys

March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

For young boys and girls, super heroes personify strength and bravery. So, when toys depict these super heroes and super powers, action figures become an extension of their imagination.

Over the past few years, we’ve become major MAJOR super hero fans. What with Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers and other Marvel movies on the big screen and eventually making their way to our small screen, it’s super hero all day, every day around here.

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Appropriately enough, Hasbro’s line of Marvel toys are some of our most played-with toys in our house. Marvel Super Hero Mashers, which debuted a few weeks ago, are perhaps among my favorite action figures to date. What sets these super hero action figures apart from the rest? They’re completely customizable!

As action figures promote imagination and creative play, why not customize the super hero and his powers while you’re at it? Well played, Hasbro.

Excited to get a first look at Marvel Mashers, my guys haven’t put them down since they arrived. Marvel Super Hero Mashers combines construction/building with action figures, which is the most popular play pattern for my six year old and his copycat two year old little brother. For review, we received a Marvel Mashers Action Figure Assortment of Hawkeye and an Action Figure Assortment Upgrade of Hulk.

To be able to mash Spidey’s arms with Captain America’s Legs, Iron Man’s torso and Hulk’s other arm most definitely extends his imagination and creative inner story lines and then some.

Not sure about you, but when we were kids, I remember taking apart GI Joes and then trying to reconstruct our own guys. It was endless fun! So, to me, Marvel Mashers is a brilliant concept and past play pattern come true. My six year old is within the target age demographic, and without a surprise, it’s a mega hit for him. Biggie says: “Marvel Mashers is cool because you can make your own guy and mix with another guy, too.”

For a six year old, it was fairly simple to mix and match, but at times, it was difficult for my son to interlock some of the limbs and parts on his own. Nevertheless, once we had the figures put together, it was open-ended superhero play for everyone.We’ve been having fun mixing and mashing our characters, but in my opinion, we had even more fun when we added even more characters’ “parts” to the mix.

I’m such a fan of Marvel Mashers that when I attended last month’s Hasbro cocktail party at Toy Fair, I was beside myself when I saw the Marvel Mashers corner.

I stood there, alongside several of my fellow bloggers, building our own superhero and naming them ourselves. I loved digging into the buckets full of Mashers and making my very own superhero with the absolute best powers. I lovingly named him Captain Wolverman.

Marvel Mashers has made its mark as custom action figures, underscoring this superhero and construction play pattern which is huge for this age bracket. It’s an absolute favorite in my house, and not surprisingly, I will most likely find broken (non Masher) action figures at the hands of my boys who will want to Mash every character they meet from now on.

Full disclosure: I received samples of Hasbro Marvel Mashers to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Oscar Buzz: The Wizard of Oz Tribute + First Look at Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return

March 2, 2014March 2, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

At the Oscars tonight, The Wizard of Oz will be honored by Judy Garland’s three children: Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft. It’s been 75 years since the classic made its debut, and it’s time for a new generation to be introduced to Dorothy’s picturesque adventure down the yellow brick road.

Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz trailer

Perfect timing for new movie buzz, as the trailer for Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is set to debut during the Oscars. The all-star cast to this classic story with the twist includes Lea Michele, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Kelsey Grammar, Patrick Stewart, Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, Oliver Platt, Hugh Dancy and Megan Hilty.

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In addition to planned Oz themed TV shows, films and Oscar tribute, Roger Stanton Baum’s (L. Frank Baum’s great-grandson) books are the inspiration for this new 3D-animated musical Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, which is set to release on May 9, 2014.

The trailer can be viewed here.

And with a new movie, that must mean new toys!

While at Toy Fair, I actually first heard about Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return while touring the Bandai booth. The pr rep breezed through this part of the tour; however, it was truly one of the most interesting toys they were showcasing. From the toys, especially the dolls, you can really get a feel for Dorothy’s Return. Dorothy’s crew looks more modern, more vibrant and will, no doubt, be more commercial. As much as I love Wizard of Oz, the thought of this new animated feature is starting to growing on me.

Nuclear Cowboyz is an Electric Night of Action and High Flying Stunts

March 2, 2014March 2, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

We just got home from a family night out at the IZOD Center where we saw the incredible Nuclear Cowboyz. The Nuclear Cowboyz was an exhilarating freestyle motocross show that followed an action-packed storyline. It was your typical good vs. evil, with high flying stunts, laser light shows, pyrotechnics, warrior fighters and fast motocross bikes. When multiple riders flew across the ramps, there was a collective “WHOA!” or “NO WAY!” The energy level at the IZOD Center throughout the almost-2 hour show was practically palpable!

My husband and six year old got a kick out of the kung fu warriors and evil tyrant’s storyline. The voice-over and emcee/narrator added a kung fu movie parallel and a few chuckles at the same time. Overall, though, it was the Nuclear Cowboyz themselves, who made the show so electric.

Well over 200 flips and high flying stunts on over 10 different ramps, the riders thrilled the audience from start to finish. My six year old absolutely loved that the Nuclear Cowboyz was like an X Games show mashed up with a Kung Fu show. Combined with the mix of heavy metal, dub step and alternative hip hop, the show was truly unique, and something that families with older kids would enjoy.

As with anything there’s always a downside or two. Since we have a toddler who enjoys fast paced shows and vehicles of any kind, we assumed that he’d be a great fan. Because the show started at 7:30 and was generally dark for most of the show, he melted down about half way into the show.

Because the show is loud, includes a storyline and has bright pyrotechnics, I would not recommend this show for kids who can’t sit still for several hours at a time. I definitely wouldn’t recommend the show for those who are sensitive to these factors either, as it could easily make sensitive kids feel overwhelmed. There was a major presence of little boys four and up; with many young boys hanging out with just their dads, possibly for a boys’ night out.

All in all, this high energy show is a great night out for action-loving motocross enthusiasts. For motocross and Kung Fu enthusiasts, I’d highly recommend checking out the Fallout Zone, which is the VIP pre-show that gives the audience a front and center experience.

Full disclosure: we received comp tickets to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own.