Engaging Toddler Toys Alex Toys First Pops First Snaps

Toys can be hit and miss with kids for the holidays. Many years DH and I have hunted for THE BEST toys for the kids only to have ONE be the singular toy they play with leaving us feeling defeated with having spent hours hunting for fabulous gifts. This year we opted to find great gifts that are functional and fun for the kids and not one to be thrown into a toy box.

The twins were a bit harder to shop for this year as they are not quite little kids, they are not babies any more, they are at the precocious toddler age where everything is fun and a learning experience. They also adore Grant’s Lego’s a bit too much that I am afraid of the choke factor. Too many times have I seen Lego Heads and Lego Darth Vader in someone’s mouth, NOT FUN.

I found the First Pops and the First Snaps with Alex Toys that I so graciously received to review for the gift guide. These are fabulous! They snap and of course pop together. Not to mention the fun bright colors which keep the twins’ attention. I also love these toys not because of their click together action and bright colors but for the learning. I know you are sick of me beating the learning term into you, but learning and education are high on my priority list.

The learning for the twins is so important because they were born premature. While they were full grown preemies born at 36weeks, they are still nonetheless premature kids who have the adjusted age and so some skills are slower to them than other children. Such as the fine motor skills.

The First Pops and First Snaps are perfect for this because they have to really concentrate on hooking the pieces together. The twins need to have a sharp eye and a steady hand to click them together to make their wonderful creation. The pieces are also perfect size for their little hands where the toys are not too big where they are fumbling and not too small where they could put them in their mouths and possibly choke. The material is also wonderful because it is a soft, rubbery plastic feel, very pliable but not too pliable and can withstand the beating any toddler can dish out.

Each package of First Snaps and First Pops also comes in a handy carry tote that I know my kids loved. They enjoy helping to put toys and things away in the house. So pickup time was a lot of fun, I think they emptied the bucket at least a half a dozen times while playing and picking up.

First Snaps and First Pops come in packages of 14-pieces and retail for $17.99. So they are not too overwhelming with the number of pieces and they fit right into the affordability range for those families on a budget this year for the holidays. But these are not the only toys that Alex Toys has to offer, they offer a wide variety of toys for infants and toddlers, painting, reading, craft and bath toys, and style such as beaded toys, watches, and jewelry.

*Five Fish always blog ethically and with transparency.

alextoys.com, Karie Herring, First Snaps, thefivefish.comalextoys.com, Karie Herring, First Pops, thefivefish.com
Don’t forget to DOWNLOAD your Copy of the catalog
 HERE and all the fabulous participants, savings, and giveaways!

Gifts for Kids: BluePixo Twig

bluepixo.comThe saying of “boys will be boys” could not be more true in my home. The bane of my female mommy existence is Legos, Jedi’s, sword fighting, cars, more building, mud, you name it my boys play with it, destroy it, bring the stuff in, truly, boys will be boys in my home.

While I enjoy that Seth and Grant both play with Lego’s they are non-conducive to my cleaning habits and rituals and really they are scary choking hazards. I began to seek out other imaginative building play toys. Toys the boys could build with, expand their creative juices and grow brain power.  I landed smack dab onto Blue Pixo Entertainment site. I searched their online interactive games and was completely impressed with the learning programs and of course the hands on toys of the Twig. Blue Pixo also carries the Dado which are interlocking learning blocks and K’Nex which are also advanced learning and building sets.

What the boys love about the Twig toys is that they can build and combine all different sizes and color options. This is intricate I believe for learning, kids love bright colors, hence why cartoons are bright colors for the likability.

All the different depths of the blocks allow for fun combination’s or building, learning, shapes, and puzzle like creations.

In addition to all the learning and creative play generated by the Twig…I do not have to worry about choking hazards or little pieces vying to be absorbed by my Kenmore vacuum. These pieces are rough and durable and hours of play for my boys.

This toy retails for $35.99 and for every purchase made 25% of the profit will be donated to World Vision to feed, cloth and provide shelter to kids around the world.

So be sure to shop online for the one and only Twig with Blue Pixo.

Don’t forget to DOWNLOAD your Copy of the catalog HERE and all the fabulous participants, savings, and giveaways!

Gifts for Everyone: Child to Cherish

The holiday season is not always about gifts but the meaning of the season, the thought really does count, and of course the keepsakes to look back at wonderful memories and times.

*Five Fish always blog ethically and with transparency.



Child to Cherish will accomplish all of these by presenting an affordable gift that gives new meaning to the season, are semi-handmade, and of course are meaningful keepsakes that will last a lifetime!

Last year for Christmas the kids and I made a stepping stone for DH. He was beside himself. The kids had fun with it and now their tiny hands are imprinted for a lifetime in concrete. So we love that Child to Cherish offers the non-toxic plaster molds for hand-prints that also double as ornaments. We chose to review the Handprint Ornament Holly Box Red for both my little gnomes, provided on behalf of Child to Cherish PR department.

child to cherishWe enjoyed these because we will never see their hands this small ever again and the plaster is like a snapshot in time that can never be retrieved. DH and I can look back and relive many special memories, we can even gift these to family for them to enjoy of our precious little sweets.

The wonderful gift boxes will store your precious keepsakes for a lifetime and are great for gifting. Prices are $8.99 each which makes these a great and affordable gift. A stocking stuffer, sentiment for grandma or grandpa or even for mom or dad!

Here is some great info about Child to Cherish and the extent of their product offerings:

Designer Patrice Lowe’s Child to Cherish collection provides the finest offering of unique, yet functional children’s keepsakes and gifts.  Each item in the collection is developed to capture those precious moments in time to preserve the innocence of a child.  Visit www.childtocherish.com to see the complete collection including the company’s holiday gift collection.

The next generation of the company’s popular keepsake suitcase offerings, the new “Little Baker” collection is offered in a Grandma (with grandma mouse and bear designs and Child to Cherish signature wording “Ready or Not Grandma…Here I Come!) or Little Baker series.  The 11.25 x 8 x 3.5-inch tin suitcases feature whimsical animal designs with bears, mice and bunnies.  Inside the suitcase is everything any little baker needs-apron, wooden rolling pin and spoon, cookie cutters and 5 scrumptious cookie recipes (Sugar, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Gingerbread and Snickerdoodle cookies).  This new collection is certain to delight children age 2 to 8 and makes a wonderful keepsake box or even lunch box for the kindergarten year.

Available in either Little Baker Series with three designs (boy, girl, Christmas) or Grandma Little Baker Series with three designs (boy, girl, Christmas)

Recommended Retail: $40
Available at retail: November 2009 [Source: Abbot Communications & Child to Cherish 2009]

Hey I won’t leave you without sharing in on the wonders of the season! If you shop at Child to Cherish be sure to use your clout provided by The Five Fish. Use the code ffish10 to receive a 10% discount (savings) off your purchase with Child to Cherish. PLUS! Sign up with Bill Me Later for even more perks with purchase!

DOWNLOAD your Copy of the catalog HERE and all the fabulous participants, savings, and giveaways!

Organic Clothing for Kids: Kushies

Kushies.com, Kushiesonline.com, Kushies, Karie Herring, thefivefish.comSometimes infant and toddler items just seem to be a never ending sea of brands. However, some do stand out from the rest. While on my quest to find excellent kids gifts I came upon Kushies. I found them when doing a search for organic clothing. As you know The Five Fish strive to leave a smaller carbon footprint to preserve this wonderful world we live for generations to come.

What else I found about Kushies is not only their organic offering but their rich history as an innovative and ecological cloth diaper manufacturer. Through the years Kushies has evolved into a high quality manufacturer of childrens toys, clothing, and accesories. They even have their very own site to display the knockoffs, how everyone wants a piece of Kushies.

Although my kids are in diapers (and slowly trying to get them out of them) I decided I would ask to review the clothing line. The organics were not available in my kids’ size because hey, my kids are beasts, but I did find a really great outfit for my Seth to try out. I was thoroughly impressed with the simple and eco-friendly packaging plus I was even more impressed with the feel of the outfit from Kushies.

Kushiesonline.com, thefivefish.com, Kushies, Karie Herring

Seth and I reviewed the Kushies Long Johns from the Everyday Layette Line and let me tell you. FABULOUS. I am not a big clothes fan, they are not made right for babies, infants, children. The sizes are either too big, too small, too tight, and I mean I am breeding an offensive line here, my boys are big, tall, strapping boys. Not some scrawny kid. The long johns fit Seth perfect. He loves them. When he got them he rubbed them on his face because the fabric is so child friendly. Kushies has even taken comfort to the next level with your little one with the tag-free design. My kids all have problems with tags so the tag-free design is a huge plus when buying clothes for them.

Quality is also a huge factor. Will the fabric shrink? Will the fabric fade? Pill? Does the elastic bunch or turn?

In all of these instances NO, in my experience, and my boy loves his clothes from Kushies, especially with the cooler evenings and days he could just lounge in this outfit all day.

But Kushies offers so much more than just clothes. They offer their flagship of the diapering, bedding, bibs, blankets, travel, accesories, toys (seen below L to R Cha Cha Barbells, Ha Ha Ringo, and Fuzzi Nubbinz ), travel and bags, and now their organic line!

What to know where to shop? Just visit Kushies Online to shop for all your infant, baby, and toddler needs. To boot The Five Fish can offer you some major savings on Kushies by entering ffish10 at checkout for a 10% discount on your order! How great is that. Now get some of that shopping done.Visit Kushies Online.

Don’t forget to DOWNLOAD your Copy of the catalog HERE and all the fabulous participants, savings, and giveaways!

  *Five Fish always blog ethically and with transparency.

Gifts for Kids: Sweetie Pies Kids Boutique

Karie Herring, thefivefish.com, Sweetie Pies Kids Boutique

Christmas has been so much fun for me last year and this year because of the twins. I was so blessed with one of each that now I have a mini-me to dress up, do her hair, we can do girlie things in a house full of boys. While on my quest to find the sweetest girl gifts and ideas I stumbled upon Sweetie Pies Kids Boutique and seriously if they are not the sweetest boutique ever!

Karie Herring, thefivefish.com, Sweetie Pies Kids Boutique Look at that cute outfit! I could not believe that is handmade. Yes, you heard me correctly. HANDMADE with love from one of the most talented women I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with via email. I actually ordered this dress for review sight unseen. You see a picture was not posted and if I did not just have the most awesome luck! Can you believe this dress? Honestly totally cute and great for all seasons. Do you see the cute bow (that I was so lucky that my Little Bitty did not yank out of her hair)? Yes the bow matches that adorable dress.

So the dress is a fabulous light corduroy feeling fabric. Most people cringe at corduroy, but I embrace it and just love the soft velvety feel and the rough texture. Kids are fabulous candidates for corduroy because it is so tough and rugged for their playing. The pattern is awesome with the bright colors and Sara was losing her mind when she saw the dress. She is such a girlie girl at heart, if it is pink…..she now has possession, so beware.

Sweetie Pies Kids is more than just girls clothes. Boys clothes are also available, as well as an assortment of adorable bows, tutu’s, monogrammed cups, frames, crayon rolls (which are great for travel!), and lots of totally cute baby gear like bibs, blankets, passy clips, they have it all. Of course, the best part is the handmade. I love to support mom and handmade so Sweetie Pies Kids is a no brainer.

Karie Herring, thefivefish.com, Sweetie Pies Kids BoutiqueWant to know where to find Sweetie Pies Kids Boutique clothes, well you can shop online with their fabulous site and if you happen to be a resident of North Carolina and in the area of Kernersville and Youngsville you can see all of their great products at Barabara’s Cottage in Youngsville and Emma Jane’s in Kernersville, but of course you can check out the Sweetie Pies Kids Boutique site for your one stop shop if you are not in the area.

If you have a boy or girl in your life this year that you want to buy them something completely unique and away from the ordinary that you find at your standard box stores or maybe you want to customer order…they take those too, well this is the place to read on, because the owner Kristen Holmes of Sweetie Pies Kids is offering The Five Fish readers a $20 gift certificate to her site to shop for some fabulous gift items this year. And if you are not a winner for this giveaway, that is still okay because if you mention that you saw Sweetie Pies Kids on my blog you get 10% off your purchase! How fabulous is that!

So you want to know the fabulous deets on how to win? Alright:

MANDATORY: Check out Sweetie Pies Kids and tell me who you would shop for and what you would want to buy for them.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

  • Go Join the Sweetie Pies Kids Boutique Facebook Page to get all your updates for the shop.
  • Stumble, Digg, or Delicious Sweetie Pies Kids and tell me you did (an entry for each)
  • Buy something with your 10% discount from Sweetie Pies Kids (for 5 extra entries, let me know your info so I can confirm)
  • Follow my blog and or tell me you do
  • Follow me on Twitter or tell me you do
  • Tweet this giveaway with daily RT’s “Sweet as pie with Sweetie Pies Kids & @KariewithaK (put the link to the giveaway here)”
  • Blog about this giveaway with 25-100 words linking back to The Five Fish & Sweetie Pies Kids (Worth 4 extra entries)
  • Enter one of the other giveaways for an extra entry (each giveaway is an extra entry here, 4 giveaways, 4 extra entries! WOO)
DOWNLOAD your Copy of the catalog HERE for FABULOUS products to be showcased here on the blog throughout the month including giveaways and HUGE money savings just in time for the holidays!
CONTEST ENDS NOVEMBER 18TH @ 11:59 AZ TIME
BEST OF LUCK!
 *Five Fish always blog ethically and with transparency.

Shoes for Toddlers Pedoodles

Parents, grandparents, and the like always look at shoes as an item to buy for back to school or because a need exists. While my poor Seth (and his gigantic growing feet) needed shoes, they also make a great gift for the holidays. My kids are definitely MY kids when the topic of shoes is breached. Shoes means we are going somewhere….like Costco. Exciting for a toddler, really.

I have bought my kids shoes in the past from your standard places, Target, Wal-Mart, Payless Shoes, and each of these places has shoes with HARD rubber (or worse) soles. So your children really look like midgets trying to maneuver snow shoes on dry land. You know the walk right? Lifting and walking as if they have weights wrapped upon their feet. I found the wonderful company of Pedoodles and just had to see what they are all about. I also found them based on their Eco-Friendly compliant shoes. You know we at The Five Fish try to reduce our carbon footprint.

I perused the site, just adoring all the cute baby shoes, toddler shoes, leather, sandals, moccasin type shoes. I finally found the perfect pair, the Bumper Cars. I contacted them and they were so gracious to allow Seth-en-stein to test out a sample of their shoes and would you believe it that my 20 month old BOY, LOVES his shoes. I mean he really likes shoes period, but if you set all his shoes in front of him he truly picks his Pedoodles.

THE REASON WHY
The shoes move with his feet. He is not constricted or restrained by the chunky, unable to flex and move, hard construction of a standard shoe. I mean you might as well have put children in wooden shoes the way they walk in the hard, immobile soles and construction. He also has toe box room for his wide feet. Baby feet are not narrow and pretty, they are Hobbit feet, they have to be able to support their frames and give them balance, and the shoes have to allow for the support and the movement of the child. The shoes are super soft! Truly super soft! The leather is movable and pliable like leather clothing and not “shoes.”

I mentioned the Eco-Friendly shoes right?! Well these shoes are Constructed from “Eco-Friendly” premium leather remnants which are safety tested for children (Free of Lead, Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Mercury, Selenium and harmful Amines.) [Pedoodles.com, 2009] Oh and those soles on the shoes? Fabulous as well, they look like little tire treads and you want to know why? The Soles are made with recycled materials to help reduce global waste. They’re also safety tested (Passes British Safety Standard BS 5665-3 and European Standard EN71-3). [Pedoodles.com, 2009]

But hey….do not just take my word for it. Enter to win a pair! That is right! Your crawler, walker, runner will be up and moving in a new pair or Pedoodles! Your first entry…..go head over to Pedoodles and come tell me how many pairs of Eco-Friendly shoes they offer! Be sure to leave your email addy or make your Blogger account available to see your email.

EXTRA ENTRIES

  • Follow my Blog (tell me you do or did)
  • Subscribe to my feed (at the top)
  • Follow me on Twitter (tell me you do or did)
  • Follow Pedoodles on Twitter
  • Tweet this giveaway “If babies were born w/shoes @Pedoodles would be it! Enter to win @KariewithaK (enter link here)”
  • Enter one of my other giveaways (worth as many entries as the giveaways you enter! i.e. if I have 3 giveaways, 3 entries! You see…)
  • Blog about this giveaway in 50-100 words with a track back to me and to Pedoodles.com (worth 3 entries)
  • Fan The Fish on Facebook
  • Technorati fave my blog (I have a new listing since I changed the URL)
  • Stumble Pedoodles.com
DOWNLOAD your Copy of the catalog HERE  to see what other great products will be featured with awesome money savings for the holidays and of course giveaways!
CONTEST ENDS NOVEMBER 13TH @ MIDNIGHT
BEST OF LUCK! 
 *Five Fish always blog ethically and with transparency.

Cooking with Imagination Step2 Lifestyle Kitchen

Step2.com, thefivefish.com, Karie Herring

The Herring Hunting, Five Fish Holiday gift guide is now officially in FULL SWING and I wanted to get this puppy started off right. My kids and I had the awesome opportunity provided to us by Step2 to receive and review the Lifestyle Deluxe Kitchen. I have to tell you that the kids LOVE IT! The first day the kitchen was assembled they rallied around it, with all the great features, accessories, the fostering of some really great pretend play!

Grant told me immediately that we had to go to Costco to stock up on supplies, that his fridge was looking a little barren. We needed bread, Cheerios, some more fruit and vegetables, maybe some milk. DH and I were laughing hysterically and taking note to plan a trip to Costco for he and the twins. The gnomes love all the sounds, the buttons and controls, plus the utensils have been loads of fun for them.

Here is what the Step2 Lifestyle Deluxe Kitchen has to offer as far as amenities and features:

thefivefish.com, Karie Herring, Step2 kitchen, giveaway

  • Appliances make realistic electronic sounds
  •  Granite-look counter top
  • 38-piece accessory set included (accessories may vary)
  • Loads of storage space
  • Framed window with overhead light
  • Sink with modern faucet and pull-out sprayer
  • Adult assembly required
  • Made in USA of US and imported parts (phone, play food, light, faucet, electronic keypads and burner made in China)
  • Requires 8 – AA and 5 – AAA batteries (not included)

[Source: Step2 IPK]

Karie Herring, thefivefish.com, Step2 Kitchen giveaway

The Mrs. Fish take: the appliances are cute for a small scale, so yes, realistic for the gnome size scale. The counter top I took to be more Corian than granite looking, the accessories are very cool, and adding more is even MORE fun for the kids.  Truly TONS of storage which is nice for the kids to experiment and play. The light is cool, the kids love to turn that on as the room gets darker. Adult assembly FOR SURE is required, the whole system to put together is snap and lock with a few screws here and there, however, I would suggest a strapping individual to help with the initial put together and a drill for the screws. Also be sure you have all the screws, we were short a few but scrounged some together in the garage. The put together is time consuming so be sure to set aside at least an hour or more if working alone.

All-in-all a GREAT toy! The only issue we had was with the screws, no biggie, the stickers and accessories were loads of fun to put away before the kids played with it and to see what all was included. I feel comfortable with my kids playing with this toy from Step2 because 1. it is made in the USA and 2. no choking parts for my little guys and 3. my oldest is six and he loves to play with it too! He was whipping up hamburgers and fresh baked buns the other day! Loads of fun!

Are you ready to have loads of fun with the Step2 Lifestyle Deluxe Kitchen? Good because you have your very own chance to win one! Valued at $219.99 and just in time for Christmas, definitely a “Santa” worthy gift for hours of unadulterated pretend play. Here are the rules:

Mandatory Entry:
Visit Step2 and tell me what other products from their kitchen line you would love to have in addition to the one listed in this review and how that would help foster your child’s imagination and learning.

EXTRA Entries:

  • Follow my blog (at the side)
  • Follow my blog on Networked Blogs (again…at the side)
  • Fan the Fish on Facebook (again….at the side)
  • Technorati fave the Fish (….since we have the new URL)
  • Oh want to increase your odds….Kristin and Lizzy have giveaways going on too! Enter with them and get an extra entry!
  • Follow Me On Twitter
  • Tweet this Giveaway by saying this: “@KariewithaK and @theStep2Company fostering imagination #giveaway http://tiny.cc/biyxB” (only one tweet per day please)
  • Blog this giveaway with a minimum of 50-100 words, using my button (to the right) and linking back to this post. (Worth 4 Entries!)

Now play fair, if you FAIL to enter your EMAIL or I cannot find one attached to your blogger account…no entry. Also, you must tell me in each comment with proof (tweeted, etc) of your entry. I really hate to disqualify entrants, so again, please follow the simple rules. My dear friend Tammi @ My Organized Chaos brought up that this giveaway is US only, I say this because she is Canadian. *Sigh, I’m so sorry….

DOWNLOAD your Copy of the catalog HERE to see what other great products will be featured with awesome money savings for the holidays and of course giveaways!
CONTEST ENDS NOVEMBER 30TH @ MIDNIGHT ARIZONA TIME (Pacific Standard)

Thank you Step2 for providing a great toy for giveaway!

 *Five Fish always blog ethically and with transparency.
  • Appliances make realistic electronic sounds
  • Granite-look countertop
  • 38-piece accessory set included (accessories may vary)
  • Loads of storage space
  • Framed window with overhead light
  • Sink with modern faucet and pull-out sprayer
  • Adult assembly required
  • Made in USA of US and imported parts (phone, play food, light, faucet, electronic keypads and burner made in China)
  • Requires 8 – AA and 5 – AAA batteries (not included)
  • Appliances make realistic electronic sounds
  • Granite-look countertop
  • 38-piece accessory set included (accessories may vary)
  • Loads of storage space
  • Framed window with overhead light
  • Sink with modern faucet and pull-out sprayer
  • Adult assembly required
  • Made in USA of US and imported parts (phone, play food, light, faucet, electronic keypads and burner made in China)
  • Requires 8 – AA and 5 – AAA batteries (not included)
  • Appliances make realistic electronic sounds
  • Granite-look countertop
  • 38-piece accessory set included (accessories may vary)
  • Loads of storage space
  • Framed window with overhead light
  • Sink with modern faucet and pull-out sprayer
  • Adult assembly required
  • Made in USA of US and imported parts (phone, play food, light, faucet, electronic keypads and burner made in China)
  • Requires 8 – AA and 5 – AAA batteries (not included)

Holiday Gift Guide

You have now entered the twilight zone…..seriously for the next few weeks….be prepared to lose your silly little shopping minds in preparation for the holiday and Christmas season as we….well I, who happens to have a mouse in her pocket, deliver to you the BEST in holiday gift ideas. From the everyday to the not so everyday to the unique to the extraordinary!

Moms, Dads, Kids, everyone in between and gift ideas for the whole family! Enjoy all the great reviews, discounts, and oh did I mention the BOAT LOAD of great giveaways for you to enter! If you want a sneak peek into who will be showcased, click HERE, download your VERY OWN catalog of all the great participants of the gift guide, where to find them and where to buy them!

Big thanks to all of those who participated in The Five Fish Holiday Gift Guide, seriously, you folks ROCK and I love you for your UBER coolness and thanks to you, my faithful readers who will have some really cool ideas to take with you for gift ideas. Enjoy everyone! Thanks again!

Karie, aka Mrs. Fish