Kids’ Stuff

Karito Kids Review and Giveaway!

I’m not super familiar with big fancy dollies, because although I have a houseful of girls, they are hard on toys, and we’re too broke to spend a ton of money buying them really cool, expensive toys. Besides, it seems like every other day, we hear about a toy recall due to choking hazards or lead paint. I’ve decided to be proactive and just let my kids play with construction debris and broken glass. Still, sometimes we luck out, and a company will just SEND us something FOR FREE, so that we can try it out and Mommy can write about it.

Recently, our family received this totally cool looking doll in the mail:

She’s ZOE LINDEN, one of the darling dolls available in the Karito Kids line. Each of these dolls hails from a different part of the world, and comes packaged with her own trendy little outfit and hardcover story book all about her life. This particular doll is from New York City (New York City! I just have to shout it out like in the old Pace Picante Sauce ads. I can’t help it.) Her book is all about saving her mom’s house from foreclosure. No, really.

After you buy one of these dolls, you can log onto their website, KaritoKids.com, and set up an account for your child. Then, you can register your doll and enter a special code to earn World Change Coins. These can be converted into donations to help kids around the world. So, there you go. You’re not spending a small fortune on a doll, you’re giving money to charity.

My own kids were very excited to meet our new buddy Zoe, as you can see here:

Once we cracked her open, they were much more enthusiastic. My oldest daughter decided that Zoe sort of looked like her. Well, dressed like her, anyway. She gave thumbs up to the fingerless gloves and Converse AllStar knockoffs, although she did say if it were HER doll, she’d draw little stars on the shoes to make them look more like the real thing:

If only we could change the colors in her outfit from bright and cheerful to dark purple and black, she’d be downright emo. I personally like this doll because she looks so much like my little Nikki. She’s got nearly the same blonde hairstyle, curly with bangs. If we rubbed Spaghetti-Oh’s into the doll’s hair and let it get really tangly, she’d look JUST like Nikki. She does have a super cute face – check out the freckles and eyelashes:

Now this is where the difficulty comes into play. One doll. Four children. Even our little boy loves dolls like this, particularly those that look REAL. We’re trying really hard to be fair with the sharing and turn-taking, but it’s not easy, man. Here are my little Karito Lovers:

I knew the girls would flip out over this doll. She’s BIG. She’s cool looking. She’s a nice size for incorporating into play scenes. I actually found this doll sitting on the bottom step in Time Out yesterday. I’m not sure what she did, but I’m sure she’s regretting it now. I wasn’t prepared for how much my son would love this doll, though. One of the really cool things about having a son with autism is that gender stereotypes go right out the window. He doesn’t really care if it’s a “boy” toy or a “girl” toy, he just thinks it’s fun and he wants to participate too. It pains my husband greatly to see his son running around in a Cinderella dress, but I love it. And it doesn’t bother me one bit to see him loving a dolly. And you know, my husband didn’t mind it nearly as much when he realized our son didn’t want to play with the doll as much as he wanted to MAKE OUT WITH IT.

Besides wanting to kiss it and love it, Pablo really loves to gently and lovingly stroke the doll’s face, pointing out her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, lips, etc. to us. It’s actually quite precious and touching to see.

A few things about Karito Kids dolls. They’re what I would tactfully call AN INVESTMENT. If you have a kid who is really rough on their toys, this may not be a good choice for you. The dolls are well made, but again, I’m not the type of parent who can plunk down a Benjamin for a DOLL and think nothing of it. But hey – I’m not representative of all parents! You might not be up to your armpits in small children like me. Back in the day when Kayley was an only child, her dad and I both worked, and Christmastime at our house was INSANE. I totally would have bought this doll for her back in that life. She is such a mellow kid, though – the clothes would be completely intact years later, I guarantee you. Here in THIS life, though, we’ve already lost the shoes for poor Zoe. Also, within about 5 minutes of removing this doll from the box, a button or something came off of her outfit. I didn’t see it, I just heard about it from my husband, so I thought I’d mention it. I wouldn’t say it’s a choking hazard, because this doll is rated for children age 6 and up. But – for a doll of this quality, I would expect the buttons to stay on the clothes, y’know?

Bottom line: This is a cool doll. My kids adore it. It might be a perfect fit for your kids and your household. I hope what I’ve written here helps you make that decision. Would you like to win your very own Karito Kids doll? I’m giving one away, valued at $99.00. Woohoo! Just leave a comment here for a chance to win. I’ll randomly draw one winner on September 30th. Be sure to check out the contest rules linked in the menu bar at the top of the page. Good luck to ya!

(Psst…like winning stuff? I’m still giving away kids’ music all month long! Enter those giveaways too!)

Cabbage Patch Kids 25th Anniversary

Sep 11th, 2008

by lauralee.

1 comment

So. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid when you were young? I had several. In fact, I hung onto them for years and years, and it’s only recently that they seem to have gone missing – probably during our last move. I’m so bummed! Let me tell you a wee little story about my Cabbage Patch Kids…

My very first ‘Kid was a birthday present I received when I was actually far too old to be carrying around dolls, but they were so ridiculously popular, everyone had them! In this picture, you can see me lovingly cradling my ‘Kid. I’m not sure why I look so pissed off, but it probably had something to do with that haircut.

I wore braces then, and I took my Cabbage Patch Kid with me to the orthodontist one day and asked if they could put braces on my ‘Kid. They said they’d see what they could do. Later on that day, I stopped by the orthodontist office on my way home from school, and I was thrilled to see my Cabbage Patch Kid sitting on the receptionist’s counter, with shiny braces on! They somehow stuck four little metal brackets and a wire right into my CPK’s mouth, even though she really didn’t have teeth. It was darling, and all my friends thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Later that summer, we went on vacation, and here’s where the story takes a scary turn! ::cue dramatic music:: On our way back home, my mom’s car caught on fire out in the Utah desert. We managed to scramble out of it in the nick of time, and I vividly remember standing with my cousin out in the middle of the interstate on the blistering hot pavement, burning our bare feet, and watching my mom’s car completely engulfed in flames. We both lost our Cabbage Patch Kids that day! (And, all our luggage, my mom’s purse, and our yearbooks. Who takes their Cabbage Patch Kids and their yearbooks on vacation? 7th graders, that’s who.)

When we got back home, I immediately guilt-tripped my mother into buying me a new Cabbage Patch Kid. And within days, my grandparents stopped by with a new Cabbage Patch Kid for me as well, so now I owned TWO! I was so cool. And my orthodontist put braces on one of them for me, to replace the one that I lost in the fire. I had both those Cabbage Patch Kids sitting on a shelf until after I was MARRIED, people. I’m not sure what happened to them once I moved out of my ex-husband’s house. I’m sure they ended up at a thrift store, which seriously bums me out.

I just went through my old photo albums, and this is the only picture I found where you can see my Cabbage Patch Kids. It’s sort of a Where’s Waldo? thing, though. They’re just background scenery, barely noticeable. But you’re noticing my feathered bangs, aren’t ya? I knew it. See them up there on the shelf above me? Yep. There they are. The one in the pink has braces.

Well. I’m sure you’ve noticed that nostalgia is the hottest commodity these days. Everyone wants to relive their 80s youth, it would seem, and the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids are jumping on that bandwagon as well. You can now buy a 25th Anniversary replica one-of-a-kind 80s Cabbage Patch Kid, made from the same sculpts/molds and materials as the original 1983 dolls.

They still come with their own adoption certificate, and hiney tattoo of Xavier Roberts’ signature. Here are my own kids, checking out our family’s newest adoptee, and hearing me tell the story of my old Cabbage Patch Kids:

These were truly the first toys that turned parents into monsters, trying to score them as Christmas presents – way before Tickle Me Elmo ever hit the scene! If you want to relive your youth, snag one of these for your own children! You can find out more about them on the Cabbage Patch Kids 25th Anniversary site.

This review was made possible by Team Mom!

EnviroKidz Crispy Rice Bars Giveaway – New Flavors!

Sep 8th, 2008

by lauralee.

8 comments

I’m not a big fan of school lunches, so I pack my older twins’ lunches every single day. It’s a drag putting together a healthy lunch at 6 in the morning, but I do it, because I want to know what they’re eating during the day. And as easy as it would be to just start them a lunch account at school, I just *know* they wouldn’t eat school cafeteria tacos. Or hoagies. Or salisbury steak! And I really don’t see the nutritional value in eating bread sticks dunked in tomato sauce, which appears on the lunch menu at least twice a month.

Besides packing their lunches, I also pack a snack in their backpacks so they have something to much on in the afternoon. Being a kindergartener makes you hungry! I’m always trying to find some healthy treat for them to take once in awhile, to break up the monotony of eating fruit and string cheese. Here’s a GREAT option for little kids – EnviroKidz Crispy Rice Bars. We’ve tried these in the past and they’re delicious, and I just had a chance to sample two brand new flavors – Lemur Peanut Choco Drizzle (chunky peanut butter and peanuts with chocolate drizzle) and Penguin Fruity Burst (‘marshmallowy’ taste with colourful bits of fun fruity bursts). These low fat bars are made from whole brown rice, they’re low in sugar and sodium, and they’re also gluten free. And they’re GOOD! We received samples to try a few weeks ago, and I had to track down some promo images to use in this post because my family scarfed down the samples so quickly I didn’t have a chance to photograph them.

Aren’t they cute?

Want to try them for yourself? Leave a comment here letting me know your favorite healthy snack option for your kids, and I’ll draw one winner on Monday, September 15th. The winning commenter will receive both flavors in the mail!

Kicking off Children’s Music Month!

Sep 5th, 2008

by lauralee.

No comments yet

We seem to live our lives in the minivan these days, and I love being able to pop in a CD that the kids enjoy – it cuts down on the bickering BIG TIME and makes for way less stress for mommy! But do you have any idea how hard it is to find something to listen to that appeals to 5-year-old twins, 3-year-old twins, a 13-year-old girl who thinks everything is “below lame” and their jaded, sleep-deprived mommy? Let’s just say it doesn’t happen very often.

Music is a huge part of our lives, particularly since we have a child with autism who adores music. So often, I hear other parents tell me that they can’t stand listening to kids music CDs, but I’m here to tell you – times have changed! The selection of music for children extends way beyond Disney movie soundtracks and songs from Barney. And this is what led to the idea of doing a whole month of giveaways featuring artists who create great children’s music.

Throughout September, I’ll be posting music reviews of artists that my kids adore, and you’ll have the chance to win CDs and prize packs from all of them! I’ll update this post with links to each giveaway. Yay! You’re going to discover some fantastic music!