LaLaGirl Reviews http://reviews.lalagirl.org the real deal. from a real life mom of 5. Mon, 18 May 2009 05:10:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en LaLaGirl.org I’m kind of tired of keeping separate sites for my regular blog, LaLaGirl - Twinfinite Chaos, and this site, LaLaGirl Reviews. I’m about 98% certain I’m going to start posting reviews and contests and stuff on my regular blog. Sooooo. Just a heads up, I guess. (Because I’m sure you care! Yay!)

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/05/17/lalagirlorg/ Fun new books! 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!

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/04/10/fun-new-books/ Corneille: The Birth of Cornelius I checked out this CD recently, when I decided I couldn’t listen to one more minute of children’s music in the car. It was on a day when I was out running errands, the girls fell asleep in the car, and we arrived way early to pick up the kids from school, so I had close to half an hour of blissful “alone” time, just me, a magazine, and this CD. It was perfect chillax music. (Can I say “chillax?” I’m not sure if it’s a word I can get away with. It feels weird in my mouth. Maybe I’m too old. I’m not sure. But there you go.)

Corneille’s music has been described as being a mix between John Legend, Tracy Chapman and Marvin Gaye. I can sort of see that, I guess. He’s not big in the US yet, but he will be! Check it out if you’re into soul and R&B. I’ll bet you’ll like it.

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/04/01/corneille-the-birth-of-cornelius/ No more Noggin? I just heard that Nickelodeon is absorbing Noggin and renaming the channel Nick Jr. I sure hope they don’t do away with Moose A. Moose - he’s our favorite! And he represents all things Noggin! According to the press release I read, the change shouldn’t be too big of a deal - mostly in name. We shall see, I guess.

As Nickelodeon enters its landmark 30th anniversary year, the number-one kids’ network will unify the TV channels (Noggin, The N, Nicktoons Network) and web sites (Nick.com, Neopets.com, AddictingGames.com, among others) from its top-ranked portfolio under the single, globally recognized brand “Nickelodeon”—beginning 4Q 2009. This philosophy of ‘one brand’ signals Nickelodeon’s continued move toward serving the whole family through TV, online, consumer products, recreation and theatricals, as well as heightening its ability to seamlessly navigate audiences across its targeted entertainment platforms for everything from Dora, SpongeBob, AddictingGames and iCarly, to George Lopez, Degrassi and ParentsConnect.com.

Bringing together the entire multiplatform portfolio under the single Nickelodeon umbrella will reinforce Nick’s leadership in the marketplace as a global brand serving the whole family, with kids always at the center. A ‘one brand’ philosophy also allows audiences to easily find the content they want across multiple screens, and it anticipates the platform agnostic media environment and single currency that the audience and industry are moving toward.

Noggin will be renamed Nick Jr., retaining its quality schedule of commercial-free, preschool-focused programming. The N assumes the name TEENick and will further develop and deliver on its mission of serving teens and tweens through programming reflecting the breadth and depth of ‘teen-dom’. Nicktoons Network retains its name while continuing to organically grow its boy 6-11 audience through hit, action-oriented animated programming like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Marvel’s Wolverine and the X-Men and the forthcoming Iron Man series. Also, Nick.com will expand to become a hub for Nickelodeon’s entire digital network of properties and brands, and will continue to serve as the leading content destination for kids.

Guess we’ve got a few more months to love on Moose A. Moose and Zee!

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/03/13/no-more-noggin/ General Mills Cereals 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.

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/02/23/general-mills-cereals/ Qlubb.com - organize your group! Trying to get organized in 2009? Check out Qlubb.com, a site designed for managing groups and events. You can go and set up your own little page for your family, book club, classroom, mommy group, scout troop, whatever. It has a built in calendar where members can enter event information and RSVP to events as well. You can also upload pictures and files, and add useful links for the members in your group to check out.

If you’re spending too much time trying to organize and manage your group and less time actually enjoying your group, this may be just what you need to tidy things up. You can even use the site within your own family to keep track of appointments, soccer games, babysitting gigs, and that sort of thing. Check it out at Qlubb.com.

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/01/21/qlubbcom-organize-your-group/ Kid-to-Kid in Aurora - THUMBS UP 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

Kid-to-Kid
15035 E. Mississippi
Aurora, Colorado 80012
Phone 303.752.2757
Email aurora@kidtokid.com

Hours:
10AM - 7PM Mon-Fri
10AM - 6PM Sat
11AM - 4PM Sun

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/01/15/kid-to-kid-in-aurora-thumbs-up/ Free Sample of Fruit Roll-ups Fruit Roll-ups

Mmmm! My kids love these, and you can get a free sample of custom designed Fruit Roll-ups by signing up for the Boxtops for Education newsletter. Just click the button above!

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2008/11/21/free-sample-of-fruit-roll-ups/ Yoplait Kids - a thousand thumbs up. Let me tell ya something, we go through a ridiculous, insane amount of yogurt in this house. And with two little ones heading off to kindergarten every day with lunchboxes in hand, it’s important to me to find the best value I can. I’ve tried to buy huge containers of yogurt and dole it out into little containers for the kids, but without fail, the containers never make it home from school. And as much as my kids enjoy the typical grown-up style yogurt, they make a huge mess out of it. When I discovered custard style yogurt, I was in love, and so were my little ones! It’s tasty and fun to eat, and it sticks to the spoon instead of falling in your lap. Bonus: the Yoplait Kids brand of yogurt is available in Dora, Diego, and Blues Clues styles, so the kids love it even more. Want to check it out for yourself? Well, what are you waiting for? It’s only available EVERYWHERE. What are ya, new? Hey, you can even print out a coupon right here and save $1.50. Yay!

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]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2008/11/20/yoplait-kids-a-thousand-thumbs-up/ Tina Turner Review: Tina! You know, it’s rare to find an artist who stands the test of time like Tina Turner. My mom listened to her music when I was a wee little munchkin in the 70s, and my sister and I listened to her in the 80s and 90s. And guess what? She’s still around! In fact, Tina Turner announced earlier this year that she would actually be touring this fall and winter! You can find out all the details about her live shows at Tina Turner Live. To kick off the tour, Capitol/EMI released Tina! a few weeks ago - it’s a new 18-track CD and digital collection of Turner’s top hits, rare live recordings and two exclusive new tracks.

I received an early copy to review and I immediately turned it over to my sister, who is a HUGE Tina fan. When she noticed that several of the tracks were live recordings, she looked like she smelled an onion. Not everyone’s a fan of live recordings on greatest hit albums, y’know? But - a few hours later, she called me up and said this was her new very favorite CD, and that she LOVED all the live tracks, particularly “Let’s Stay Together.”

More about the album:

In addition to featuring all of the career-spanning hits Turner will perform at her concerts, including “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Private Dancer,” “Better Be Good To Me,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” “Proud Mary” (1993 version), “Nutbush City Limits,” and “River Deep Mountain High,” among others, Tina! features two new, exclusive tracks, titled “It Would Be A Crime” and “I’m Ready.”

Four concert recordings are also featured, including “I Can’t Stand The Rain,” recorded live at Amsterdam Arena (1996), “Addicted To Love,” recorded live at London ’s Camden Palace (1986), and two that have never before been released on CD, “The Best,” recorded live at London ’s Wembley Arena (2000) and “Let’s Stay Together,” recorded live at Amsterdam Arena (1996).

If you’re a Tina Turner fan, you will want this CD for sure - my sister says so. How about an early Christmas present? You can find it right here. Big thanks from myself and especially from my sister Kim to the Family Review Network for letting us check it out!

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