The latest and greatest in gadgets, gear and goodies
With school shopping on so many to do lists, it’s inevitable that summer is winding down. But for our family, our summer vacation is right around the corner. Lucky us, we’ve been able to take advantage of summer clearance sales to not only stock up for next year, but also for a few new duds for our trip to Hawaii. And of course, I’m always searching for NKT goodies, too!
With toy recalls and reports of unsafe toy manufacturing and imports creating a cause for concern, in an effort to observe more sustainable choices, naturally, some families opt for greener toys made from renewable resources. And of course, a smart and economical alternative to mass produced toys are unique, handmade goodies. Beyond whittling your own collection of handmade toys yourself, thank goodness for the treasure trove that is Etsy! I always say this, but you can’t buy the kind of craftsmanship that you find in Etsy in a mainstream store —no matter what the product might be!
Today’s Etsy find is from a toy shop that I’ve featured before—I love these toys that much. Happy Squash Toys sent us a trio of Natural Cars for review, and based on the kid’s inability to put them down for one second, it’s official: they’re a hit.
Like most boys his age, our almost 2-year old is fascinated by anything with wheels or rolls. Cars, trains, animals with wheels, bikes, tractor trailers—you name it, he loves it. The Natural Cars from Happy Squash Toys are no exception. He loves wheeling them around the floor, furniture and whatever surface that will let him mobilize these cars. The trick is always finding a way to make all 3 roll at once since his little hands aren’t quite big enough to push them all at once yet. I love the way our little guy makes his own little car sounds when playing with the Natural Cars. I’ll take those sweet imaginative noises over the loud battery-operated honks, beeps and flashing lights any day.
School shopping…what? already? It’s hard to believe that it’s not even August yet and store shelves and racks have been filled with a plethora of school supplies and the latest threads for weeks. Yeah, weeks.
I’m in the process of preparing a Back to School shopping guide that I’ll post in a few weeks, but until then, check out this recently launched collection from Appaman. Paying an homage to art and using their clothing as canvases, Appaman introduced the first collection of what they’ve dubbed, “wearable art capsule.”
The first collection features AVONE, a renowned NYC graffitti artist. Each piece in the collection has imagery photographed by AVONE and is tagged with his signature. AVONE and Appaman produced a four piece capsule collection for boys consisting of three long sleeve tees ($32) and a hoodie ($52). With their edgy, unique and cool tagged-inspired designs in the AVONE collection, I can’t wait to see what other artistic brilliance Appaman has up their sleeves. Or should I say on their sleeves.
Appaman clothing can be found online and in various retail locations.
Here’s a head’s up for you stroller aficionados: the European brand, Cybex, is making its grand entrance onto the U.S. and Canadian markets. The high-end strollers look both stylish and functional with its distinctive, bold colors and clean lines. These umbrella-style strollers are described as being lightweight and travel-friendly, with easy maneuvering and quick-fold function. Cybex strollers come in the Ruby, Onyx, Topaz and Callisto designs and based on their different functionalities, range from $140-350.
Always one to admire stylish but durable strollers, I’m particularly excited about this 
new line. Though I have yet to check out these strollers in person, I love the sleek design and the way the stroller seat is higher off the ground than other umbrella strollers. My favorite of the group, the Callisto, seems versatile and multi-faceted with its various features; it touts a pram function, comfort suspension and a one-pull harness system. I’d be interested to see how these strollers really withstand city streets and everyday use, which is obviously paramount for families like us. I love the way the vibrant colors contrast with the light-colored frame. The design is a definite head-turner and reflects its German influence; compared to the umbrella strollers already on the market, Cybex could be the Volkswagen of strollers…or maybe even BMW.
Cybex strollers will be available on August 1st at select retailers. The Cybex baby carrier will be available later this year as well. If I ever have a chance to test drive these strollers, I’ll be sure to report back!
While at BlogHer, I had the chance to peruse the Expo floor a few times. The Expo floor was basically a trade show for women bloggers that featured products to be used in the kitchen to spiffy vacuums to gold kiwis (based on Tweets, seemed like the belle of the ball!) and of course, the latest and greatest kids’ products.
Lucky me, I got to check out a few products that I’ve blogged about here on NKT.
I took a look at the Complete Air Car Seat that features Safety 1st’s new Air Protect technology. As I envisioned, it’s a sleek-looking car seat that has the hard-to-miss side head cushions. The pictures of this car seat certainly don’t do it any justice, especially the cool brown and orange colored Complete Air car seat which first caught my attention. I liked that it’s not a huge seat, like the one we currently own. This car seat has definitely piqued my interest!
I also spotted the Disney Netpal, the kid-friendly laptop that I blogged about last month. Again, it was much cooler in person. It’s as petite as I imagined, but not overly kiddie-centric at all. The rep. at the booth walked me through a lot of its functions and reiterated its kid-friendliness. After speaking to her, I was sold; I actually want one for myself, now 
At $350, I thought it was a decent deal for what you get. At this day and age, electronics, especially ones that are educational and functional for school-aged kids, are a great, if not imperative, investment.
So sorry everyone for the extended absence here on NKT. Last week was probably the busiest and craziest week for me since leaving my job last October. I’ve been out of town basically since last Wednesday, and I’m just finally catching up and getting back into the swing of things.
Wednesday and Thursday morning we were busy focusing on family events, and then Thursday evening-Saturday, I was busy with the events at BlogHer ’09 in Chicago. I came away with so many fun memories and learned a ton of great ideas and perspectives.
It’s no surprise, really, that online entertainment and education, especially the virtual world segment, has grown at an exponential pace over the last few years. In fact, according to research, over the course of 2008, an estimated 8 million teen and pre-teen kids in the U.S. visited virtual worlds on a regular basis.
One virtual world that I’ve become a fan of, after learning about it from the Go Green Expo this spring is, Jimi Rock Under the Sea Adventures. It brings a whole new perspective to education and exploration, with its emphasis on marine biology and environmentalism. Featuring a kid-friendly interface with vivid graphics, this virtual world has so many interesting and educational facets where school-aged kids can play games, take interactive quizzes, chat with friends create art and even learn about interesting new places and sea creatures.
Britax recently unveiled the Chaperone stroller, which is expected to be in stores in August. The stroller, together with the Chaperone infant carrier is part of the Chaperone Travel Collection.
The infant carrier features Britax’s True Side Impact Protection and can accommodate children between 4 and 30 pounds up to 32 inches. The Chaperone stroller can be used with the infant carrier or on its own for children up to 55 pounds. The stroller, which was designed with improving ease of function and more mobility for parents on the go, features a one-hand fold. For all of us juggling groceries, kids, errands, while navigating planes, trains and automobiles, that one-hand fold feature is worth its weight in gold.
I first spotted this eye-catching high chair at the Big City Mom’s Biggest Baby Shower event a few months ago. The HiLo High Chair by Age Designs is an innovative high chair that multi-purposes into a chair for bigger kids.
The dual heights of the chair—its high and low seating features—are interchangeable with a quick flip. The HiLo can be pulled up to the dinner table or kitchen counter, but when the time comes, its lower height is suitable as an alternative to a booster seat or desk chair for older kids. I like the molded seats in the simplistic, yet modern design and smaller footprint. But ultimately, the allure of this chair is certainly its sustainability and multi-faceted function. The HiLo High Chair, which comes in red, beige, green and orange, can be found online at Modern Nursery.
Some kids love the cardboard boxes their toys come in, more than the actual toys, but the My Green Dollhouse by Green Lullaby is a new—and quite literal—take on cardboard-turned-toys.
An alternative to the mammoth plastic version, this eco-friendly dollhouse that boasts pink and neutral hues, is constructed out of cardboard made from recycled materials. Both recyclable and biodegradable, the My Green Dollhouse is easy to assemble and disassemble, complete with a carrying case. Because all of Green Lullaby’s products are made with super sturdy cardboard, similar to the kind of cardboard that’s used for packing fresh produce, they resist moderate amounts of water. In addition to all paints, lacquers and adhesives being non-toxic, the dollhouse is treated with a non-toxic, non-hazardous fire retardant, making it a truly green toy.
For families like us, who don’t have much space to spare, a collapseable and sustainable dollhouse like this is the best of both worlds! The My Green Dollhouse is exclusively available at giggle.