Our daughter has been a night owl since birth.  In the past 4-1/2 years, she has only fallen asleep at her bedtime on a handful of occasions.  Usually she is awake at least an hour or two after her brothers have drifted off.  Since our daughter is also a huge fan of My Little Pony, both the show and the toys, the My Little Pony Twilight Sparkle's Twinkling Balloon seemed like it would be the perfect night light for her.

This hot air balloon has a little retractable handle at the top like a lantern, so it can light your child's way to the bathroom at night or while camping out indoors.  In night light mode, the balloon plays a very brief tune and then lights up purple when the star-shaped button is pressed.  Press the button a second time and the light turns red.  A third time turns the light off.  In play mode, the balloon plays a longer tune and displays a light changing sequence in purple, red, pink, and blue.  With the handle up, the balloon stands approximately 12-1/4" tall.

I have to say that our boys were a little envious because, of the many transportation toys they own, there is not a hot air balloon amongst them.  The Twilight Sparkle's Twinkling Balloon opens the door to a whole new world of pretend play.  In addition to the Twilight Sparkle pony and the Spike the Dragon figures, this toy comes with a telescope that can be mounted on the basket for Twilight Sparkle to use or to the top of the balloon for Spike to use.  The basket also has a door that flips down so the pony can enter and exit more easily.


Even with all the music and lights, our daughter says her favorite part about this toy is Spike the Dragon because he is just so cute.


To learn more about the Twilight Sparkle's Twinkling Balloon, visit Hasbro.com.  This toy retails for $19.99 and runs on 3 "AAA" batteries, which are included in the package.

Thank you to Hasbro's My Little Pony for sending us a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

The other day, we were all driving home from Jake's taekwondo class and were on our way to get some take-out since it was getting quite late.  When we stopped at a red light, Jake (who is 7-1/2) says:

If you don't already know, our children call their Dad "Baba."  So we all look over to the other car and there was an Asian gentleman about a whole head shorter than my husband sitting in his car.  He really looked nothing like him, but Jake's argument was that he did have glasses and was wearing a blue shirt.  Well, if you use that logic, I guess we can't argue with him.





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I am a child of the 80’s, so I remember having an Alphie the robot toy of my own. When I was given the chance to get an Alphie for my 4 year old, Quinn, to try, I was more excited than he was. Alphie was THE toy to have when I was a kid, and I just knew Quinn would love having one as well.

I was right. From the first moment he laid eyes on Alphie, he was excited. He has played with his amazing, fun learning toy daily since he opened it. Alphie by Playskool is funny, interactive, and teaches children a variety of lessons from alphabet to music to matching. Quinn has already learned a ton from Alphie and I am very pleased with the way Alphie “teaches”. I have to admit, I have been caught playing with Alphie myself because he’s so cute, comedic, and engaging.

Alphie is recommended for children ages 3 and up.  He comes with 30 double-sided cards that cover much of what a preschooler needs to know as a very basic foundation for kindergarten.    Alphie Booster packs are available to purchase separately.  This toy runs on 3 "AA" batteries, which are included, so your child can start learning right away.


You can find Alphie at most major retailers including the Hasbro Toy Shop, Toys "R" Us, Walmart, Target, and Amazon.com. He retails for $39.99.  Also, if you own an iPhone or an iPod Touch, you can snag the Alphie Learning Adventures iTunes App for free on the iTunes website.

Thank you to Hasbro Playskool for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

This photo was taken at the twins' preschool brunch a couple of weeks ago.  Since we have twins, they were each able to invite a guest, so both my husband and I were able to attend.  The teachers and the students did an excellent job of decorating and preparing food for the occasion.

As you may already know, we are a family of five stuck in a two-bedroom townhouse until the housing market turns around.  When the twins were born, we made up our minds that it would be best to have the three children sleep in the extra large master bedroom and my husband and I would take the small bedroom.  We already knew then that we would need to buy bunk beds when the twins were ready to move out of their toddler beds.  So when the time came, we went out and bought bunk beds.  We did not give it much thought.  We found ones that were the right wood tone, was sturdy, easy for our older son to climb up and down, and sold at a fair price.

Now looking back, perhaps we should have thought things through more carefully?  We would have saved much more space if we had purchased a twin over full bunk bed.  We also should have looked at futon bunks.  If the twins slept together in the full size bed or futon, we would have all the extra space now used by our daughter's twin size bed.  The twins are only 4-1/2 years old and could probably sleep horizontally on a full size mattress rather than vertically, giving them plenty of space to stretch out.  The futon style bunk bed would have added extra seating for watching television or reading during the daytime, which would have saved us even more space.

By the way, I started thinking about needing more space because the children have been at each other's throats the past week or so.  I think the heat is starting to get to them and they just need to not be together all the time.  It would be nice if one or two could go hang out in the bedroom comfortably while the other could have some quiet alone time in the living room or vice versa.

Leave it to Disney to successfully rewrite one of the most famous love stories in history . . . Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.  Featuring songs from singer, songwriter, and executive producer Elton John, Gnomeo & Juliet truly has something for an audience of all ages.  There's comedy, action, romance, and even some subtle references to other Shakespearean plays.

If you are not familiar with the concept of garden gnomes, they are little statues that come to life to tend to your garden when nobody is looking.  Well two feuding adjacent human households, a red house and a blue house, also happened to have feuding garden gnomes, as well.  Can you guess the rest of the story?

Here is Disney's version of the famous balcony scene . . .

Although this film is rated G, there is a theme of hatred and violence . . . plainly put: war.  You will need to be prepared for the possibility of questions arising about why the Reds and the Blues feel such animosity towards each other for no apparent reason.


I was surprised that the bonus features on the DVD did not include a segment or activity geared towards children.  My three, ages 4, 4, and 7, did enjoy watching the "Crocodile Rock" music video featuring a garden gnome version of Elton John.

This film's voices include an impressive cast, including James McAvoy (Gnomeo), Emily Blunt (Juliet), Ashley Jensen (Nanette the Frog), Michael Caine (Lord Redbrick), Jim Cummings (Featherstone the Flamingo), Maggie Smith (Lady Bluebury), Ozzy Osbourne (Fawn), Patrick Stewart (William Shakespeare), Hulk Hogan (Terrafirminator voice over), and many more.  To learn more about Gnomeo & Juliet, visit GnomeoAndJuliet.com.

The Gnomeo & Juliet 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo, 3-disc combo with Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and digital download are now available at most major retailers of Disney movies.


Thank you to Click-Communications for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

The weather changed drastically here in Massachusetts.  We jumped from temperatures in the mid to high 50s to temperatures in the 80s literally overnight.  I feel like we completely missed Springtime.  So it was time to stock the freezer with ice cubes and start planning meals that don't require baking or a lot of time in front of the stove.  What's the weather like where you are for Memorial Day weekend?

Since my husband has to be up the earliest out of everyone at least 5 or 6 days a week, he has inherited the job of waking everyone up in the morning.  He usually sets the alarm for himself, which I don't even hear anymore when it goes off, and wakes up whoever needs to be up that day after he is done showering and brushing teeth.

A couple of weeks ago, the morning went like any other.  All five of us needed to be up and out of the house early that day.  So we were all finishing up breakfast and doing whatever we needed to do to finish getting ready when my husband calls me from downstairs.  It turned he had just realized that he had gotten up a whole hour earlier than he had needed to.  He must have set the alarm for the wrong time.  As a result, everyone in the house missed out on a whole hour of sleep.  Being the one who needed to sleep the most, he was very upset with himself.  So we all had an extra hour of computer time and TV watching that morning.

Can you guess why he did not realize right away that it was not the right time to get up that morning?

My husband and I are both wary when it comes to projectile toys.  Our 7 year old son so very much wanted a Nerf gun after playing with them at his friends' houses.  We decided he was responsible and mature enough to own a Nerf N-Strike BARRICADE RV-10 Blaster, which is recommended for ages 6 and up, as long as he agreed to follow the rules we set for using it.

This blaster is battery-operated and runs on 3 "AA" batteries.  I did not know what to expect when I saw that it was motorized.  It turns out that the barrel only revolves once with each pull of the trigger, which is much better than a stream of continuous shooting from this parent's point of view.  The gun comes with 10 "Whistler" darts.  You can purchase additional darts, but you will need to make sure you buy the exact ones that are compatible with this model.  There are also other attachments and accessories that can be purchased separately.


There are some safety features that I like very much about this gun.  First of all the darts are foam with cushioned rubber tips.  The second thing I like is that there is a "Jam Clearing Door" that slides open and shut at the top of the gun.  When this door is not clicked shut, the motor will not turn on even if the switch is in the "On" position.  The trigger cannot be depressed and the gun will not fire without the motor being on.


The rules we have set for our 7 year old to use this Nerf gun are as follows . . .

• He is not allowed to use it when his 4 year old brother and sister are around.  We tried it and they are just not disciplined enough to remember to not move too close to the targets.
• He is not allowed to shoot at anything except pre-approved targets.  There is no aiming at people, pets, the television, walls, or anything.
• Turn the gun off when he is not actively shooting it.  This will help prevent him from absent-mindedly pointing the gun at something else while talking and accidentally shooting off a dart.

So far, I think this is a fun toy for our 7 year old son.  He is able to manually load the darts into the revolving barrel, which he thinks is pretty darn cool.  I have found that the only time the gun seems to jam is when he does not push the darts all the way into the barrel.  Our 4 year old twins are definitely not mature enough for this toy.  Even with close adult supervision, they would constantly be distracted and be pointing the powered-on gun in all different directions.

To learn more about the Nerf N-Strike BARRICADE Dart Blaster, visit Hasbro.com.  This toy retails for approximately $16.99 by itself, but you may be able to find it specially packaged with extra darts or accessories for a different price.  You can look for it most places where Nerf products are sold, including HasbroToyShop.com, Toys "R" Us, Amazon.com, Target, and more.


Thank you to Nerf for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Like most kids, mine love to create things with Play-Doh. When we were offered the Play-Doh Smashed Potatoes game, I knew my family would love to be able to play it and give our opinion. This is not the first Play-Doh item we’ve reviewed, and this one lived up to our expectations as all Play-Doh products have.

The object of Smashed Potatoes is simple: get your Play-Doh character from the beginning to end, through the "Smash Factory", without being squished. It’s a simple but fun game for all ages. My sons, 9 and 4, loved playing it and even my husband and I found ourselves enjoying the game.


You can buy many Play-Doh products, including Smashed Potatoes, on HasbroToyShop.com, Amazon.com, and other major retailers of Hasbro products. The Smashed Potatoes board game retails for approximately $19.99.


Thank you to Play-Doh for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.