Babies Gotta Have It

So you know how much I love Huggy Buggy toddler push toys…and how sad I was to discover that the Huggy Buggy company was going out of business?

Well thanks to Twitter and the lovely Laura McMullan, I am delighted to inform you that the Huggy Buggy Company has been reborn as Rubbabu! These colorful, super-fun toddler push toys and baby push toys for girls and boys now come in even more cheerful colors, shapes and sizes!  They are still non-toxic, biodegradable, hand-made toys that conform to the highest safety standards and won’t scratch your hardwood floors.  And though the Rubbabu site is still under construction and doesn’t have a shop yet, I have found them elsewhere!  Check out the adorable new Rubbabu Giraffe Toy, and the super cool Rubbabu Airplane Toy you can order today!  And how about these fun Rubbabu Foam Balls? Yay for plush foam rolly toys!

Keep checking the Rubbabu site for even more Rubbabu products.

Congratulations Brooke!  I hope you love your Learning Tower!  Thank you so much to everyone who entered!  We have lots of great giveaways on the horizon so come on back!

So, Doc Hubby got a sinus infection. Yippee.  I have just returned home from a weekend in Los Angeles. I’m feeling refreshed, full of sunshine, replete with vitamin C (For the record, the big difference between fresh local oranges and ones that have been shipped across the country is texture! No gunk or stringy nastiness in that super fresh citrus.), and Doc Hubby announces he has a sinus infection.

Not even going to beat the whole germaphobe dead horse. It’s nearly March. I just want to escape this cold and flu season without a major infection. And I want you to as well! I’m going to get to the humidifier in a minute, but it’s not too late to get a flu shot, just ask the Mommy Docs.  I just got mine last week. And while you’re at it, check out their cold and flu prevention tips at Cold & Flu Central.

Doc Hubby is a really good doctor.  He’s wicked smart, thoughtful, insightful…and he’s also very cautious. I have long felt like running a humidifier in our apartment during these crazy dry winter months would be a good idea.  I have just about every medical condition that begins with the word “dry” that you can name–from eyes to skin, I’ve got it covered.  And I’ve definitely read that nasty cold bugs have a harder time embedding themselves in mucous membranes that are moist.  Our old school humidifier that has one of those meshy filters worked just fine as far as I was concerned.  But Doc Hubby worried that it just spewed germs, mold and mildew into the air.  And when I looked at that filter after a few uses, and saw all the gunk that built up on it, I had to wonder myself.

The awesome folks at Vicks sent us one of their new Vicks Germ Free UV Warm Mist Humidifiers.  The deal with this product is that it has no filters.  An ultraviolet light kills the bad stuff in the water before it comes out into your room. And even better, the steam is warm.  When I told Doc Hubby this, he sniffed and said okay we’d try it.  It has two water tanks so it’s easy to fill (no more lugging that one huge tank into the bathtub), an adjustable humidity control, and it looks kinda cool actually.

We tried it.  We really liked it.  I’m hoping it will help my skin and  my eyes.  Doc Hubby read that our new piano needs to be kept in a humidified environment.  And I’m keeping my fingers crossed that baby and I will make it to May sinus-infection free.

Baby’s Bottom Line: This humidifier makes a lot of sense.  If it’s still winter where you live,  take a look at the Vicks Germ Free UV Warm Mist Humidifier next time you’re in the market.

Okay, raise your hand if your guilty pleasure is Il Divo.  Come on…you’re at home eating Krispy Kremes and drinking last night’s coffee…no one will see you.  Admit it.  You kinda dig those young opera dudes Simon Cowell turned into a global sensation.

Now Yanni and Disney have teamed up to do the same thing, but with a coed cast of equally hot young singers called Yanni Voices.  There’s Nathan, the “Sweet-Faced Opera Boy”; Ender (yup, Ender) the “Bad Boy”; Chloe, the “Naughty Girl”; and Leslie, “the Blonde Angel.” I got a sneak preview of Yanni Voices in the amazing room at the Time Warner Center where they shoot Ellen when she’s in town.  With an unbelievable backdrop of Columbus Circle, Central Park and the mid-town skyscrapers, Katja Presnal from Skimbaco Lifestyle, Nancy Martira PR Maven, Amy from LI Parentsource, Beth from AARP, the lovely ladies from One2One Network (thank you Barbara and Amber), my sweet husband, myself, and lots of folks from Disney and Yanni got a big taste of Yanni Voices.

So how was it?

Yanni’s undergone a Michael Bolton.  He’s shorn and older but clearly very passionate about his work and these kids.  He smiled a lot.

The music was classical/contemporary crossover meets Disney, and as Disney-spectacular as the NYC skyline. Simon might have said the performance values bordered on cruise ship.  But Randy would definitely have hooted, “those kids can blow,” and Paula would have dug the passion. These singers have big personalities and big voices. The duets in particular were kinda great.

Yanni Voices album releases on March 24th and the World Tour launches in North America, April 2009.  PBS is airing a special about the whole project in March.

I’m telling you, if  you like Il Divo (and I know you’re out there) you’re gonna like this music.  And thanks to everyone at Yanni Voices I’ve got a CD Preview (12  complete tracks) and PBS DVD preview for one reader.

To Enter The Yanni Voices Giveaway:

• Just leave a comment on this post.  You don’t have to say who the CD is for…we all know it’s for your Mom in Des Moines.  Or your teenage daughter who’s got the hots for Ender. Just leave a comment.  Entering is that easy!

***Want an extra chance to win? Blog or twitter about this giveaway, leave me an additional comment letting me know you did (please include the url), and I’ll put your name in the hat twice! Not a blogger? Subscribe to my blog using the button to the right, leave me an additional comment, and you’re entered twice. Or, email a friend about the giveaway, cc me in the message at babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com (I promise I will not spam you or your friends - cross my heart) and you’ll have two entries. Make sure you include your email address with your entry.***

Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway begins on Friday February 20th and ends on Sunday March 1st  at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Tuesday March 2nd, my baby girl will draw the winning name and I’ll email you and announce it immediately. It’s not a terribly scientific drawing, but I assure you it could not be more random. Thanks for entering!

AND THE WINNER IS….

• Congratulations Maria! Check out Maria’s terrific site Parents Gear!
  

So the word on the street is that the 2009 Toy Fair was comparatively lame.  Never having gone before and being more than casually interested in toys, I thought it was faboo on a stick. Watch my video for a little taste of the TIA 2009 Toy Fair deliciousness.

I did see some really neato toys.  Here’s a list of the hot toys and folks featured in my video. Thanks to everyone who participated, videotaped me trying to wedge myself in a rocket ship for kids, and said “uh sure, you can make a video of our toys.”

• The lovely Ashley from the hot kids rock group The Jimmies hung with me in the Rubik’s TouchCube Room of glowy things.
• Eric Carle Finger Puppets
• ZinkoTek Building System
• Snapper Rock UV Kids Swimwear
• Yookidoo Bath Toys
• Incrediwalls
• Airflow Collectibles Toddler Riding Toys
• WheeGO! Treasure Hunting Game
• K’s Kids Learning Shoes on Little Feet
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Color Me Toy
• The Seaside Chef Beverage Set

It’s time to do some serious playing, kids!  See you out there!

You know what I hate? Five p.m. And five after five.  And five fifteen.  And five thirty… Pretty much everything between five and dinner I kinda hate with the white hot passion of a thousand suns.  Why, you ask?  Or maybe you don’t ask. Maybe you just nod in sad agreement, knowing full well that the hour before dinner…when nap time is but a distant memory and bedtime still just out of reach…that hour in which the kids are grumpy and so are you but dinner must be made and tables must be set and it’s so tempting to call on your favorite babysitter (you know him right? he’s small and red and furry and goes by the name of Elmo), is horrid.

What if, and stay with me here, this didn’t have to be. What if making dinner was actually fun. Something that you and your kids could do together.  I hear you laughing raucously as you pour the hamburger helper in the pot and toss a cheddar bunny to your toddler like a sea world trainer tossing a dolphin a sardine.  But hear me out on this.

You prepare food on the counter, right?  Unless, like me, you live in New York and have four square inches of counter space and prepare food atop your toaster oven. But many of you, I daresay, have (and pardon my drooling) kitchen islands.  And acres of counter space. If only that little person wasn’t so darned short, she could pour in the hamburger helper and go at it with a wooden spoon.

Voila. Kitchen Island, meet The Learning Tower.  Learning Tower, get to know your two new best friends, the Kitchen Island and the Granite Counter Tops.  The Learning Tower is a totally sturdy, totally awesome, tree-house looking booster that your child can easily mount and join you and her older siblings at counter height!  Its unique design offers a degree of safety you just can’t get with a regular step stool.  Get too excited decorating Christmas cookies, and your wee one could tumble off a stool.  But he’ll be safe and snug in The Learning Tower, singing Jingle Bells and tossing sprinkles until the cows come home.

I love the way this device encourages small children to be curious. What’s on the counter?  What is Mommy doing?  Why can’t I see?  Why can’t I help?  Now, she can.  I also love that it adjusts with your child as he grows, that it comes in nine non-toxic colors so I can match my granite countertops (if only…), meets safety standards, is made of wood (yay for real live wood!), and, get this, can be transformed into a playhouse or puppet theater!  And since it holds 500 pounds and looks like a treehouse, I can climb in too.

This innovative product has won a zillion awards, been featured on Rachel Ray (with a little help maybe you can make that thirty minute meal in twenty!), and here’s the best part…thanks to the amazing folks at little Partners Inc. one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader is getting one for free!  How cool is that?

To Enter The Learning Tower Giveaway:

• Just swing by the little Partners Inc website, check out The Learning Tower, and leave a comment telling me which color you’d choose if you won.  Entering is that easy!

***Want an extra chance to win? Blog or twitter about this giveaway, leave me an additional comment letting me know you did (please include the url), and I’ll put your name in the hat twice! Not a blogger? Subscribe to my blog using the button to the right, leave me an additional comment, and you’re entered twice. Or, email a friend about the giveaway, cc me in the message at babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com (I promise I will not spam you or your friends - cross my heart) and you’ll have two entries. Make sure you include your email address with your entry.***

Giveaway open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway begins on Tuesday February 17th and ends on Tuesday February 24th  at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Wednesday February 25th, my baby girl will draw the winning name and I’ll email you and announce it immediately. It’s not a terribly scientific drawing, but I assure you it could not be more random. Thanks for entering!

Ok I have it on good authority that a grown woman totally broke one of these things when she tried to ride it at a Toy Fair of yore.  And I absolutely believe it.  Don’t you want to ride it?  Come ON!  It’s awesome.

I live in an apartment, and I can vouch for the fact that a tricycle with a long grown-up guiding handle attached (like this totally awesome one my baby girl got for Christmas, thank you Granny and Pops) takes up a decent amount of real estate.  This real estate happens to be in my living room at the moment.  Not ideal.  Still working on that.  But the flippin floppin awesome Fropper by International Playthings collapses and stores neatly in a coat closet.  Or under the bed.  This totally Froppin Rocks.

The Fropper is designed for children 18 months and up with a weight limit of 45 pounds (Yup that means you stay off it Daddy!).  It features a unique spring system that makes it an awesome ride, and a parent handle is available.

Oh yeah, you don’t have to look at it while you eat dinner.  Now that’s something baby’s just gotta have.

• Congratulations Brandy W. Check out Brandy’s blog, No Time Mom!  Thank you so much to everyone who entered!  And check out the amazing Margery Ellen Baby Clothes from The Bean’s Closet giveaway we are running now!

Ok I’m gonna come right out and say it.  I loved getting Baby Gifts.  Loved loved loved it. When baby gifts start coming, it’s like a little miracle. You come home from the hospital, you can’t quite walk, you’re still wearing maternity pants, you’re sitting on the couch with cabbage leaves plastered to your aching boobs, and then a magical thing happens. Present after present arrives at your door.  It’s fantastic.

And then, gradually, the gifts trickle down to one or two a week.   And then, like all good things, they come to an end.

But what if they didn’t have to?  Cuz let’s face it, you will eventually get to the place where you can breastfeed while hailing a taxi during rush hour, and you will one day fit into your pre-pregnancy pants again (yes, yoga pants count).  But round about seven months post-partum, when you’re soaked in spit up, the baby just won’t sleep, and you haven’t left your apartment in four days, a baby gift would really hit the spot.  So knowing this, what if you could send your daughter or granddaughter or sister or best friend a baby gift that would just keep giving and giving and giving…for an entire year.

The adorable online baby boutique The Bean’s Closet can help you make the new baby celebration last the whole first year of baby’s life with its amazing “Bean’s Best Basics Gift of the Month” and “Little Luxuries Gift of the Month” clubs.  Once a month, for an entire year, Mama will receive a giftwrapped baby present, specifically selected for the month in which it’s given.  A custom gift tag accompanies each gift describing the item and why it is perfect for Baby and Mama that month. Check out these packages. But wear a bib.  I guarantee you they will make you drool.

Throwing a shower for someone at work?  The Bean’s Gift of the Month Club is so much more personal than a gift card!  It’s the perfect choice for a group gift to a special new mom.  Or just looking for something really luxurious, really unique and just plain lovely for an extremely dear friend?  To me, this gift collection sounds like a little piece of heaven.  And dads?  Get this for your wife and new baby and bask in brownie points for months to come.

I love The Bean’s Closet.  I love it because I call my baby “little bean” too.  I love it because they have a delightful selection of quality baby products. And I really really love it because they have offered an extremely amazing giveaway to one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader: your choice of any of the adorable and totally luxurious Margery Ellen Baby Outfits they offer in their store.  That’s right, I said your choice of any Margery Ellen Baby Outfit The Bean’s Closet sells. I am not joking. Read on to enter!

To Enter The Bean’s Closet Margery Ellen Baby Clothes Giveaway:

• Take a swing by The Bean’s Closet.  Check out the Bean’s Basics Gift of the Month Club and The Little Luxuries Gift of the Month Club.  Then check out their selection of Margery Ellen Outfits.  Come back and leave me a comment with one favorite gift item from either one of the Gift of the Month Clubs (meaning one present that they send), and what Margery Ellen outfit you’d choose if you won.  Entering is that easy!

***Want an extra chance to win? Blog or twitter about this giveaway, leave me an additional comment letting me know you did (please include the url), and I’ll put your name in the hat twice! Not a blogger? Subscribe to my blog using the button to the left, leave me an additional comment, and you’re entered twice. Or, email a friend about the giveaway, cc me in the message at babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com (I promise I will not spam you or your friends - cross my heart) and you’ll have two entries. Make sure you include your email address with your entry.***

Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway begins on Thursday February 12rd and ends on Wednesday February 18th  at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Thursday February 19th, my baby girl will draw the winning name and I’ll email you immediately. It’s not a terribly scientific drawing, but I assure you it could not be more random. Thanks for entering!

We have a winner!  My baby drew #37 Holly from Mommies With Cents as the winner!  Congratulations Holly and thank you to everyone who entered!

Lately I’ve been feeling a little bit antsy about chemicals.  This week they figured out that the reason Upper West Siders periodically smell the odor of maple syrup wafting through the streets, is that some factory in New Jersey called Frutarom is processing fenugreek seeds to make food additives and the resulting odor is strong enough to make it to Manhattan.  This has been going on for years.  And all along I thought it was my heater. This flips me the heck out. If a food additive plant in New Jersey is shooting enough chemicals across the Hudson to make me crave French toast, what are all of the chemicals inside products made in New Jersey doing to me.  And more to the point, what are they doing to my baby!

I was so happy when the wonderful folks at Ely Organics offered me the chance to try out the Baby Bottom Mist from their Miessence Baby Range line of organic baby products. These products are certified organic to the highest international food standards! You could drink the baby bottom mist if you were so inclined.  But I have no idea why you’d do that, when you could spray it on your baby’s bottom instead. I’ve been using this fragrant mist regularly for a week.  My baby is teething now (those upper canines…ouch!) and you know what that does to baby’s little bottom.  After each diaper change I’ve been using a few spritzes of the Baby Bottom Mist followed by some corn starch powder, and I’ve been incredibly impressed with how it’s helped.  Her bottom has been clear and largely irritation-free all week, even given that nasty teething.  Miessence also offers a Baby Body Powder and a Baby Barrier Balm that can be used in conjunction with this spray.  All three together would make an incredibly lovely baby gift or baby shower gift.

So what’s so special about this Mist?  As they say on the Ely Organics site, these products are made with “ONLY certified organic herbs, No Phthalates, No Petroleum by-products, No Parabens, No Artificial Preservatives, No Fragrance or Dyes, No Synthetic surfactants, NEVER any animal testing.”

Ya Hoo!  Take that New Jersey!

p.s. I have to say, I have also tried the Miessence Rejuvenating Skin Conditioner and Rejuvenating Moisturizer on myself…I have crazy sensitive skin and I absolutely love it.  I’m hooked.  I just ordered both yesterday.