Kids’ Stuff

We love K’Nex!

I’m a full month late in posting this review, darn it. I don’t know what it is about the 4th quarter of the year always slipping by in the blink of an eye, but I suspect it has something to do with all those little kid cold germs and all the preparation for the holidays. Anyway. I’ve been remiss in sharing this, and I apologize for that.

My son and husband were lucky enough to sample a 400-piece K’Nex building set, courtesy of K’Nex and Team Mom We aren’t new to K’Nex. When Pablo was paired up with his full-time aide, Barb, she introduced him to the magic of K’Nex. Kids with autism often like to sit and work on something obsessively and with meticulous concentration, and K’Nex is perfect for this. They’re designed to work with the typical building sets you probably already have (the ones that rhyme with Eggo) but they are a thousand times better than those other building sets – you can make the most amazing things, and the design that allows the the itty bitty pieces to fit together is just…genius.

Here’s my boy checking out the big tub of K’Nex.

Um…just so you know, 400 pieces of K’Nex is not a lot. Many of the pieces are miniscule – smaller than a raisin – so don’t expect to buy this tub and have it appear anywhere near FULL when you open it. Have you ever opened a bag of potato chips and realized the bag was only about a third full? Well, the K’Nex tub is about one tenth full when you buy it. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll realize that you need a whole bunch more of these, and you’ll run right out to your nearest retailer to stock up. I think the K’Nex people are counting on that – fill up that tub, consumer! Or, use the extra room as a garage for your spiffy K’Nex truck.

Really, nothing makes my engineer husband happier than sitting down with the boy and building stuff. They sat like this for HOURS. Hours, I tell you. They made a few things shown in the big instruction booklet, but had even more fun making their own creations.

Huge thanks to K’Nex and Team Mom for letting us try these out. You can find this same product at Target, Walmart, and Toys ‘R Us for around $20.99.

Fun new books!

Apr 10th, 2009

by lauralee.

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My kids and I ADORE books. We’re regulars at the fantastic, huge library right down the road from our new house, and storytime is something we all look forward to each week. It’s not unusual for us to be digging library books out from under beds and closets and toy boxes on library day, so I’m always happy to score a few books for us to keep forever! Our newest forever finds are from author and illustrator Leslie Patricelli.

Baby Happy Baby Sad is a book that even my littlest not-yet-reading readers can read. It goes through the basic emotions of baby – happy and sad – and really, what more is there in life when you’re a toddler? In Higher! Higher!, a little girl swings until her feet seem to touch the sky – one of the greatest and most satisfying experiences for any kid.

Check out these great titles by Leslie Patricelli – she’s authored lots of kids’ books and they’re all full of her great illustrations!

General Mills Cereals

Feb 23rd, 2009

by lauralee.

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Regular readers here know that I’m very mean to my children and don’t let them eat cereal that’s full of sugar. Heck, I even mention that in my “about me” blurb to the right, there! I’ve noticed over the past few months that certain cereal manufacturers have begun to put the nutrition facts right on the front of the box, which I LOVE. I was annoyed, a little, that this little practice hadn’t been put into place by ALL cereal manufacturers. I’m pleased to report, however, that General Mills cereals now report their nutrition facts right at the top of the box, front and center. Yay, General Mills!

It was only because of this, that I realized Lucky Charms is not really as bad as I thought it was, sugar-wise. It has 11 grams of sugar per serving. Still higher than the 10 grams or less that I usually shoot for, but certainly not as bad as, say, RAISIN BRAN. I know I’m probably being lame about the whole sugar thing. It’s not like they aren’t eating yogurt, which has a crapton of sugar in it. What’s my problem, anyway? I guess I just like bossing my children around with my arbitrary, “haha! Mommy says this has too much sugar!” rules.

I probably should focus my attention a bit more on the amount of calcium and Vitamin D my kids are getting. I was told recently that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently doubled the vitamin D recommendation for children. Probably not as big a deal in Colorado, what with our 300+ annual days of sunshine, but there ya go. I just learned that General Mills Big G kid cereals are calcium and vitamin D fortified – this list includes Kix, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and others. They also have at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving.

You can learn more at growupstrong.com.

Kid-to-Kid in Aurora – THUMBS UP

Jan 15th, 2009

by lauralee.

1 comment

Kid-to-Kid is not new to me. I’ve been shopping there sporadically since they opened about 12 or so years ago right next to Kayley’s old daycare. And I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Kid-to-Kid over the years. I’ve been there many times looking for reasonably priced toys for my kids, and I’ve been annoyed with them probably a good dozen times for various reasons. My annoyance revolved around the fact that the store was usually too overcrowded, too disorganized, and with items priced way too high. My rationale is, I’m cheap. If I’m making the decision to buy items used instead of new, there’s no way in hell I’m paying just a few dollars shy of full price for it. Hello? The stuff is USED. I have no way of knowing the history of it. That baby swing could have been lovingly taken care of by a nice family, or it could have been kicked down an entire flight of stairs and fallen out the back of someone’s pickup on the way here. With that in mind, I’m thinking, it should be priced at $19.99, not $69.99. Because of my outrage at their overpriced stuff, I’ve purchased nearly all of my “gently used” toys, clothing, and equipment from the twin club garage sales, or actual neighborhood garage sales, where items are actually priced as if they are, y’know…USED.

However, I’m changing my tune just a bit. I had reason to hit up Kid-to-Kid recently for the first time in over a year. They’ve changed ownership, completely remodeled the store, and it looks FANTASTIC. It’s clean, well organized, and every item I saw was in tip-top shape. No toys strewn throughout the aisles. No stained clothing. Just aisles and aisles of neatly organized items, beautiful new signage, new laminate wood-looking floors throughout the store, and friendly, helpful associates actually WORKING in the store, ready to help me find anything I needed. I glanced through their book selection and probably 85% of the books are good quality children’s literature, too. I bought three classics for $1.99 each. VERY reasonably priced, in my opinion. In fact, they have a little book club you can join where children can get a free book each month.

I’ll be hitting up Kid-to-Kid again, for sure. This has been by far my best experience over the past 12+ years. The whole atmosphere of the store has changed for the better. You know how often those resale shops have a real thrift-store feel to them? They have that funky smell, y’know? Kid-to-Kid used to be that way, but not since their remodel. They’ve shed their aura of poverty, and it’s almost like walking into a Gymboree store. Definitely the more upscale of the resale shops I’ve visited.

Check them out if you’re in the Denver/Aurora area. They’re located at Mississippi and Chambers, in the strip mall where Michael’s is. Thumbs up from here!

For more information on the Aurora location, visit their website here: Aurora Kid-to-Kid