Fire HD Kids Edition - Currently just $134!

I'm not sure about most children - but mine (are now) preferring tech items that are like mom and dad's. If they ask for a camera, they aren't wanting a toy camera that "almost" works like mine. They want the real thing.

Fire HD Kids Edition starts with a full-featured tablet—Fire HD 6 or 7—for best-in-class performance. Fire HD Kids Edition starts in Amazon FreeTime with kid-friendly navigation and personalized child profiles. Parents can switch between Amazon FreeTime and their profile with a password to access the full-featured Fire tablet experience as needed.

Currently, the Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet is just $134!

• A real tablet, not a toy—A quad-core processor for great performance, a vivid HD display, front and rear-facing cameras, and Dolby Audio
• Built for even the toughest kids—Enjoy the peace of mind with an unprecedented 2-year worry-free guarantee—if they break it, return it and we'll replace it for free. No questions asked.
• Don't worry about the bill—The Kids Edition includes a year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited so kids get unlimited access to 5,000 books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games—at no additional cost.
• Starts in Amazon FreeTime—Built from the ground up for kids, the background color and fonts change to a kid-friendly design.
• Kids can navigate visually to content based on characters or topics. Parents can exit Amazon FreeTime mode with a passcode.
• Best-in-class parental controls—Personalize screen time limits, set educational goals, and choose which titles kids can access from your own personal content collection.
• Take and edit photos in Amazon FreeTime—Snap photos within Amazon FreeTime mode using front and rear cameras. Fun editing tools lets kids explore their creative side by adding stickers, drawing on their pictures, and more.
• Kid-Proof Case—Durable, lightweight case to protect against drops and bumps caused by kids at play.

What others are saying

"...the best tablet for young kids, in my opinion." – Babble

"Apple’s iOS doesn’t get anywhere near what Amazon offers in terms of time of day restrictions, time limits or now goal setting, as with FreeTime." – TechCrunch







Note: Pricing can change at any time. Hop over here to grab this deal while it lasts.



{This post contains affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy here.}

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Day at the Beach - Holiday Toy List

In a way, this play set made me desperately wish we were at the beach! The bright colors really pulled me away from the gloomy winter days that we've been having and into the memories of our trips to the ocean.

Day at the Beach is a magnetic building set that features a walk-up cafe window, surf shop double doors, lifeguard stand, surfboard workshop, food prep kitchen, cafe seating, surf scene, beach gear, rescue gear, outfits, tools, and yummy food!

This is a high quality construction set that allows children to not only create their own stories but to re-imagine and re-design the scene each time they play. The kids had a great time constructing different layouts. The Day at the Beach was designed with girls in mind, but Joey enjoyed playing with the set as well.

I like how easy it is to assemble and disassemble. It was easy for the kids to create different scenes and then to pack up and store once playtime was over.

Build a Scene and Imagine Countless Stories!

Emily and Lucas can’t wait for their day at the beach working at the surfside café and shop. Between running the café window, the surf shop register, and the lifeguard stand, there is always action to keep them busy. After the lunch rush, they catch a few waves to try out Emily's latest surfboard designs.

Day at the Beach includes:

• Emily and Lucas dolls
• 10 illustrated building panels
• More than 40 action packed magnetic accessories

Rich Imaginative Play

Build & Imagine play-sets contain illustrated scenes that children can build, decorate, and use as a backdrop for imaginative play with the included dolls. We call them StoryWalls, because it’s like building a storybook setting in 3-D and then jumping in to play!

Open-Ended Building

With Build & Imagine StoryWalls, kids aren’t limited to one design—they can quickly reconstruct the structure into whatever design suits them. They can also change the context of their story with magnetic accessories that stick to the floors, walls, and dolls. Or combine multiple play-sets to build a larger scene.

Develops Foundational Skills

The layered play experience creates long-term engagement to hold your child’s attention and helps to develop foundational language and engineering skills, including spatial reasoning, problem solving, and creativity.

Build & Imagine offers several different StoryWalls. You can find them here. This is a toy that I've used in our classroom for downtime and to entertain young children in my care. It's great for the imagination and entertainment!

Build & Imagine StoryWalls develop early engineering skills including:

• Spatial Reasoning
• Experimentation
• Creativity & Design

Build & Imagine StoryWalls are easy to setup, cleanup, and store. The panels allow for limitless combinations, and you can expand your structure and story with additional sets.

I was provide a Build & Imagine Day at the Beach StoryWall for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

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Pirate Pursuit - Holiday Toy List

This past summer, we took a short ride on a "pirate ship" during our beach vacation. Ever since then, Joey has been fascinated with anything and everything pirate. So, he was excited when Pirate Pursuit arrived.

Pirate Pursuit is a pirate track game with a wind-up pirate galleon to sail around the treasure island. Be the first player to fill your loot bag with coins from the treasure chest before the pirates catch up with you in their galleon! For 2 to 4 players. Contents: game board, wind-up pirate galleon, 4 loot bag boards, 24 play coins, 4 pirate counters with stands, dice, dice shaker, guide.

Each players chooses a character and a loot bag. The goal is to fill your loot bag with coins first. Players take turns rolling the die and moving across the board trying to collect coins and not lose any!



We often do a family-game-night with the extended family. I think I'll take this along next time for the children to play! Want to try Pirate Pursuit? You can find it on
Amazon!

Random Like: You know how a lot of board games fold up and fit inside their box? I thought it was neat that the Pirate Pursuit board went together and disassembled like a puzzle! Four pieces fit together to make the board and are then easily taken apart for storage. It always drives me nuts when a board game finally breaks in half from overuse or misuse. I thought that was a neat way of designing the game board.






* I received Pirate Pursuit for review. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

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Mexican Train Game - Holiday Toy List

I was so excited to finally have the chance to play the Mexican Train game. My dad has talked about it for several years after having a co-worker introduce him to it. He loves this game and hadn't been able to find the 'right one'. He had wanted all of us to play this for a family-game-night, but I guess it just isn't the same if you don't have the original. Now, we have the original Mexican Train game and all is right with the world.

It's been quite a while since I've played any sort of game that involved dominoes and Joey heard the word 'train', so he was in! The game is fun and a little addicting. It can also last for quite a while just depending on how things go. So, do prepare yourself for that!

The object of the game is to keep your train moving all the way to victory! Lay out a chain of dominoes (called trains) from the center domino piece, or add pieces to the group’s common chain (The Mexican Train). The first player to finish playing wins! There are many ways to block the trains along the way – so beware of obstacles!

Want to try the Mexican Train game for yourself? You can find the Mexican Train game by Tactic on Amazon. Mexican Train Game

* I received the Mexican Train game for review. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

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Radio Flyer 2-in-1 Journey Wagon - Holiday Toy List!

The Radio Flyer 2-in-1 Journey Wagon is one of my top picks for this year's Holiday Toy List. It's versatile, easy to store and transport - and the kids love the different seating options.

Having a 2-in-1 Journey wagon comes in handy whether you have one, two or three children in tow.  The versatility allows the bigger kids to pile in when the seats are folded down or we can bring the seats up and safely buckle the two-year-old. It give him a place to comfortably sit and feel like a big boy with his own seat and cup holder. I like that this model also has cup holders on the front of the wagon for my water bottle, smoothie or coffee.

When I was a youngster, I had a Radio Flyer Wagon as well. I loved my wagon! It served as a vehicle (I would make my brother and sister push it from behind while I steered it with the handle), I used it as a "pioneer wagon" where I made bricks (which were actually just globs of mud), and it was a tent once I stacked outdoor furniture and plastic swimming pools over it. My fondest memories were of my mother pulling my siblings and I in it as we walked (she walked and tugged and pulled) to Grandma's house.

My children have enjoyed playing with Radio Flyer 2-in-1 Journey Wagon, riding it in, pulling their younger cousins around the yard and using it for trips to the library. Imagine it loaded with books! I think Savannah feels very much like Matilda walking down the sidewalk with a wagon full of books behind her.

It's also great for toting items (and kiddos) around during trips to the playground, park, amusement parks, festivals, fairs, etc...

The The Radio Flyer 2-in-1 Journey Wagon features:

• 2 wagons in 1-seats fold up or down for a comfortable ride or maximum hauling capacity
• Seatbelts for added safety,8.5" quiet ride tires
• 4 cup holders for easy access to drinks and snacks
• Extra-long handle folds over for easy storage
• Extra under seat storage

You can snatch up your Radion Flyer 2-in-1 Journey Wagon on Amazon!

* I received the Radio Flyer 2-in-1 Journey Wagon for review. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

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Everything is awesome! #LegoKidsfest

I can not believe how much fun we had at LEGO® KidsFest in Indianapolis! Yes, Joey loves LEGOs and could design and build for days on end. But, I wondered how LEGO® KidsFest was any different than playing with LEGO® bricks at home or at a friend's house? I guess I wasn't as hip to this amazing LEGO® world as my seven year-old son.

When we walked into the convention center and were immediately met a life-size Emmet (from Lego Movie) made entirely of LEGO® bricks - then I understood. It was almost unreal to see something so large made of LEGO® bricks. Savannah and Joey were in complete amazement as we walked from one creation to the next. I think I was most impressed with the giant Green Hulk and from Lightning McQueen from Cars. Oh, and Lord Business from Lego Movie was also surreal. He was about three times taller than I am!

After we ooh'ed and aaah'ed at the masterpieces that greet you at the door - Joey spent twenty minutes playing in the over-whemingly large pile of LEGO® bricks. It was difficult to pull him away from all that fun. After we convinced him there were many more activities he would enjoy we finally had the chance to wander between the different sections.

LEGO® KidsFest Activities

Some activities are subject to change.

• LEGO Model Gallery: dozens of life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
• LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play
• Race Ramps: build a custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family
• LEGO Chima: choose a tribe and test battling skills with the whole family
• LEGO Star Wars: build and display a Star Wars model
• Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.
• LEGO DUPLO: younger visitors can explore imagination through building
• LEGO Retail: purchase LEGO merchandise and official KidsFest tour goods
• Brick Pile: a gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play and enjoyment
• Monochromatic Builds: bricks of a single color to foster group creativity
• LEGO Friends: build for the five empowered friends from Heartlake City
• LEGO Mindstorms: build and program robots and snakes
• LEGO Ninjago: spin the way to being a Spinjitzu member
• LEGO City: using the imagination to create buildings and vehicles to the urban diorama

Every activity we chose ended with the kids receiving a small packet of LEGO® bricks. They were ecstatic to walk away with new additions to their collection. Joey has spent most of today playing with his LEGO® Legends of CHIMA Spider Crawler.



If your kiddo loves LEGO® and you have the chance to attend a LEGO® KidsFest - I recommend going and grabbing your tickets early. Tickets are limited and do not last long! You'll have a fun time and learn a lot about LEGO® that you never knew existed!

Did you know?

• More than 400 billion LEGO® bricks have been produced since 1949.
• The LEGO® minifigure represents the world's largest population of people! More than four billion minifigures have been produced in the last 30 years. This is almost 12 times the population of the United States!
• LEGO® minifigures are out of this world, literally. The two Mars Rovers have an image of the LEGO® minifigure etched into their front grill.
• Approximately seven LEGO® sets are sold each second.
• There are about 62 LEGO® bricks for every one of the world's six billion inhabitants.
• Laid end to end, the number of LEGO® bricks sold in a year would reach more than five times around the world.
• There are 915 million ways to combine six eight-stud LEGO® bricks.
• Children around the world spend five billion hours a year playing with LEGO® bricks.
• With a production of about 306 million tires produced a year, the LEGO® group is the largest producer of tires in the world.
• LEGO® is the contraction of two Danish words, "leg godt" which means "play well".
• There are about 62 LEGO® bricks for every one of the world's six billion inhabitants.
• 19 billion LEGO® elements are produced every year. 2.16 million LEGO® elements are molded every hour, or 36,000 per minute.

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LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis ticket giveaway!

I am so excited to finally get to take Joey to LEGO® KidsFest next month in Indianapolis. Joey loves anything and everything LEGO® - so he is counting down the days.

The LEGO® KidsFest is a giant traveling LEGO® expo coming to the Indianapolis Convention Center from Nov. 7 - 9, 2014. This hands-on, educational, all-ages LEGO® extravaganza features millions of LEGO® bricks, not to mention lots of construction zones, dozens of life-sized LEGO® models and displays, LEGO® Friends, LEGO® Chima, LEGO® Star Wars, live LEGO® Master Builders, and so much more covering three acres of space.

Tickets are $20 for kids and $22 for adults. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.legokidsfest.com/tickets

LEGO® KidsFest in Indianapolis will run November 7 - 9, 2014. This means that he has a few weeks to wait. So, he's biding his time playing with his LEGO® bricks and designing new worlds. Master builder? He thinks so!

So while I wait - we'll giveaway (2) tickets to the opening night session (4:00pm - 8:30pm) on Friday, November 7th!  

Here are a few things you might find at LEGO® KidsFest!

Some activities are subject to change.

• LEGO Model Gallery: dozens of life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks
• LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play
• Race Ramps: build a custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family
• LEGO Chima: choose a tribe and test battling skills with the whole family
• LEGO Star Wars: build and display a Star Wars model
• Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.
• LEGO DUPLO: younger visitors can explore imagination through building
• LEGO Retail: purchase LEGO merchandise and official KidsFest tour goods
• Brick Pile: a gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play and enjoyment
• Monochromatic Builds: bricks of a single color to foster group creativity
• LEGO Friends: build for the five empowered friends from Heartlake City
• LEGO Mindstorms: build and program robots and snakes
• LEGO Ninjago: spin the way to being a Spinjitzu member
• LEGO City: using the imagination to create buildings and vehicles to the urban diorama

Giveaway Details:

One of MY followers will win (2) tickets to for the opening night session on Friday, November 7, 2014 (4-8:30pm). I encourage you to LIKE and Follow LEGOKidsFest on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram for all the latest ticketing updates as this event has been selling out in prior cities. Must be 18 to enter, 1 entry per day allowed, random drawing by USFG!

Click Here to Enter for a chance to win (2) tickets for the opening night of LEGO® KidsFest

Winner Announced!

Congratulations to Darla - winner of two tickets for the opening night of LEGO® Kidsfest!

Winner will be randomly chosen by USFG on Friday October 17 announced on my Blog and notified via email.

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SpyX Roll-In Spy Bug and Long Range Walkie Talkies

Joey believes that he is crafty, clever and sneaky. At the age of 7, he hasn't mastered being crafty enough to fool mom and dad but he enjoys it. As sneaky as he is, or believes himself to be, I wasn't sure if he would fully enjoy a set of SpyX toys. They were something that I would have loved as a kid but I didn't know if kids these days were really into walkie talkies and spying on their parents. Oh was I wrong. So wrong.

We recently received a pair of SpyX Long Range Walkie Talkies and a SpyX Roll-In Spy Bug. The first day, Savannah and Joey played with the walkie talkies nonstop. They hid from each other and used them in the basement. They took them outside and pretended to be on a secret mission of some sort. At night, they took them to bed and chatted for a bit before mom and dad decided it was time to sleep.

I guess that with the use of cell phones, I hadn't imaged that kids would find walkie talkies so neat. The SpyX Long Range Walkie Talkies have become a prized toy. I like that it's something they can play with together, bond and create memories. I also like that it helps to expand their imaginative play.

It was also nice to bring them along when I run on a local track. It kept the kids busy as they ran around and tested the signal strength and began a new "mission". Unfortunately, the walkie talkies did not work from one end of our small town to the other end. They were disappointed in that - but hey, from one end of the neighborhood to the other was pretty good.

They also had a lot of fun with the SpyX Roll-In Spy Bug.  Oh how sneaky they thought they were when they'd slowly place it in the room where adults were and sliver out the door.  Their giggles and laughter were priceless.  The SpyX Roll-In Spy Bug was pretty interesting.  They could place or roll the bug in it's desired location and then, using the receiver, listen to conversation up to 50 feet away.

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Robot Turtles - Teaching Kids Coding Concepts

We've spent the past few days playing with and enjoying Robot Turtles™ by ThinkFun®.  Robot Turtles is the first board game to teach coding skills to kids as young as four!  Teaches coding skills to children?  Yes!

I was intrigued when Robot Turtles was first introduced to me because it is very important to me that I keep my kids up-to-date with technology and instill in them an entrepreneurial spirit. Not only do I want them to be able to use technology - but I want them to have an in-depth understanding of it. So, I was fascinated by the thought of using a board game to teach coding/programming concepts.

“Learning how to code is an essential 21st century skill and not just for designing apps and video games,” said Bill Ritchie, ThinkFun President and Co-Founder. “You learn how to break big problems into small steps, work backwards and visualize multiple solutions. You learn to persevere, to experiment and be patient. Robot Turtles teaches these life essentials to the youngest kids who stand to benefit the most.”

In programming - the programmer tells the computer what to do using code. The computer then follows the commands set forth by the programmer. In Robot Turtles, the child plays the role of programmer while a parent or older sibling acts as the computer and follows commands given by the programmer.

How to Play

• Your child chooses one of four colorful turtles and a corresponding jewel.
• Your child then places them in different spots on the game board.
• Your child then uses the playing cards to navigate you through the board in an effort to help the turtle reach the jewel. The cards direct you either left, right or forward.
• You then follow your child's command and move closer to the jewel.

Your child will sharpen their problem-solving skills when they encounter obstacles along the way that they must maneuver around to help their turtle reach the jewel.

Robot Turtles was awarded a “Best Toy for Kids” by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association.  Robot Turtles began as a Kickstarter sensation. The goal to raise $25,000 and produce 1,000 games turned into $631,000 and 25,000 games as passionate parents from 65 countries kicked in support to make Robot Turtles a reality, and the game sold out. Robot Turtles is now available at Target stores nationwide and on Amazon and Target.com.

Find Robot Turles using our affiliate Amazon or Target.

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Lundby Smaland Dollhouse

We are loving our new Lundby Smaland Dollhouse! This modern living dollhouse comes with the most gorgeous wall and floor patterns as well as being pre-wired for electric! This amazing feature allowed us to light the house with hanging lamps, floor lamps and a bathroom vanity.

The Smaland comes with 6 rooms, a stair case, windows that open and a balcony with french doors! Separate room kits are available to match your style and allow the kids to feel as if they are decorating a real modern home.

Savannah, who is 9 years old, loved decorating and organizing each room. The rooms contain so much detail, from the floor to the ceiling. One room had soft, plush carpet - while checkered patterns and designs made to look like wood-flooring were in the other rooms.

Not only are the rooms detailed - but so are the decorative items you can purchase to adorn your Smaland Dollhouse. The kitchen appliances are modern and the furniture is trendy. Everything looks like something you would walk into a store to purchase for your own home.

Savannah has spent hours playing with the Smaland Dollhouse - and Joey has enjoyed it as well.  I think the amount of accessories that are available really amazed the kids.  They loved the small toothbrushes, cups, flowers, picture frames, flat screen television - just to name a few!

I believe you can even buy additional rooms to place underneath the six original rooms - as well as a garden to attach on the outside. Lundby has really thought of everything! Make sure and browse all their room kits to find what fits your child's style and imagination! They will love the details of the Smaland Dollhouse!

I was provided with a Lundby Smaland Dollhouse for review purposes. As always, opinions are my own.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

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