Category Archives: Toys

Toys

Kids Rest Easy with DreamFrenz + Giveaway – Ends 9/29

If you have a child who is anything like my little Ellie, then you know what it is like to have your child sleep in a bed covered in a sea of stuffed animals and dolls. There are nights when Ellie sleeps with so many different things I have a hard time figuring out which is her on our video baby monitor.

Ellie recently discovered her new favorite thing to sleep with and that is Merry, her new Dream Frenz.

What Are Dream Frenz?

With an oversized, soft head and a tiny body that tucks inside, Dream Frenz are a cuddly plush pillow but also a toy, a stuffed character and a comforting companion that never fails to evoke a smile. Dream Frenz believes that every child should be a dreamer; the characters are designed to inspire selfexpression, story-telling and imagination in children.

The Story Behind Dream Frenz

Dream Frenz was founded by Florida-based mom-entrepreneur Halie Fulton, who left the practice of law to focus instead on the “Mommy Track”. While raising her daughters, Halie was inspired by the ‘tadpole drawings’ of her oldest daughter – she subsequently launched her company to bring the drawings to life. Tadpole drawings are drawings by pre-school age children. Researchers believe that the tadpole represents the child’s body self-image and that these drawings, typically with big, colorful heads, tiny bodies and happy faces, are an early attempt at realistic drawing.

A Bedtime Friend

Ellie loves snuggling up with her Merry the Mermaid Dream Frenz in bed every night and now her brothers have been asking for their own Dream Frenz too.

Get Your Own Dream Frenz

Dream Frenz currently come in 10 different characters and .ore are currently in development, including a sports line, a heroes line and an international line and are ONLY available at Walmart. They are designed for kids ages 3 and older and can be found on Walmart.com for $24.00.

Win a Dream Frenz

You can win a Dream Frenz of your choice when you enter using the form below.

Not pictured: Brittany, Ray and St. Nick.

This giveaway will end on 9/29/2016 at 11:59pm CST. Winner’s will be contacted via email and will have 24 hours to respond with their mailing information to claim their prize. The Megalomaniac Mommy is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Any questions, please contact us.

*The Megalomaniac Mommy policies on giveaways can be found here.

Dream Frenz

Toys

Make Playtime Fun with the Everyday Princess ZipBin from Neat-Oh! + Giveaway – Ends 9/20

Anne Younger Leave a comment

When it comes to playing, Ellie is always on the hunt for new things to do. She is my busy little bee and she loves to role play with dolls, her friends and her sibilings.

Now that Ellie is in school (I know, where did the time go?) I’ve been looking for things to keep her busy in the mornings before she goes to school. For morning playtime, I like things that are easy to clean up and also things that she can enjoy by herself.

One of Ellie’s latest obsessions is her new ZipBin® Everyday Princess® Dollhouse Backpack and accessories from Neat-Oh!

The ZipBin Dollhouse Backpack unzips into a two-story, castle themed dollhouse, complete with a slide and swimming pool.

The ZipBin dollhouse is easy for little kids to unzip and setup on their own and makes for fun playtime at home or on-the-go.

In addition the the ZipBin, Ellie loves her Everyday Princess dolls and accessories.

Ellie loves how easy it is to get everything out, set it up, and have lots of fun. As a mom, I love that it is something she doesn’t need help with and that it gives her some independence.

I also think it is great to listen to her sit and play with her dolls and create and tell stories with them. Watching her play has become a lot of fun lately.

This is another line of toys that Ellie will sit and play with and she doesn’t get bored. We have struggled in the past with finding items to keep her busy and I find that when she can create and tell stories, her mind is occupied for hours.

One of our favorite features about the ZipBin

is that once Ellie is done playing, she can zip everything up in her backpack and put it away or take it with her.

Collect All ZipBin® Toy Boxes!

In addition to the Dollhouse Backpack, you can also find the Mini Mansion, Pony Playset, Pony Rainbow Park and Princess Purse as pictured below.

Everyday Princess Dolls & Accessories

You can also find a variety of Princess Dolls and pets along with their accessories to play with.

We have really enjoyed our fun to toys from Neat-Oh! and of course, Ellie is already asking for more of the dolls and now she needs a pony too!

Win It

Enter for your chance to win one item of your choice from this line!

This giveaway will end on 9/20/2016 at 11:59pm CST. Winner’s will be contacted via email and will have 24 hours to respond with their mailing information to claim their prize. The Megalomaniac Mommy is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Any questions, please contact us.

*The Megalomaniac Mommy policies on giveaways can be found here.

Neat-Oh!

Toys

Light Up the Night with Reactorz + Giveaway – Ends 8/25

Anne Younger Leave a comment

Having active kids means we like to keep them busy and encourage them to burn the extra energy they have. During the months when they can be outside, they are literally out there from morning to night and we only really see them when they need to eat or use the bathroom.

Of course, along with keeping them busy comes the struggle of constantly finding something new and exciting for them to do. This month, the kids have been enjoying burning some extra energy with all of their new balls from Reactorz by COOP Sports.

What Are Reactorz?

Reactorz are Coop Sports new line of balls made with Reactive Light Technology, so a kicked soccer ball or a tossed football becomes illuminated on contact.

According to my kids, these are the coolest balls to ever exist and they cannot get enough of them, especially Joey.

From regulation-sized basketball and soccer to football (throws just like a real, regular football!) and disc, these awe-inspiring sporting goods are priced an allowance-friendly $5.99 to $19.99.

How Do They Do That?

The secret is the long-lasting battery life built in each ball, and the micro prism core that refracts light. Then they put their focus on the exterior. Each Reactorz boasts one of three core colors – Atomic (lime) Ice (blue) and Lava (red). Covering the balls is a contrasting shield color. The final result is like nothing else on the market!

See Reactorz in Action

The kids are planning on organzing some night kickball games at the ball diamond across from our house before the new school year kicks off and I am excited to watch!

Shop for Reactorz at Toys R Us

You can find all of these great products at a Toys R Us near you!

Win It

Enter for your chance to win any one ball or disc from the Reactorz line (based on availability).

This giveaway will end on 8/25/2016 at 11:59pm CST. Winner’s will be contacted via email and will have 24 hours to respond with their mailing information to claim their prize. The Megalomaniac Mommy is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Any questions, please contact us.

*The Megalomaniac Mommy policies on giveaways can be found here.

Reactorz

Educational, Preschool, Techy, Toddlers, Toys

Coding is Fun with the Think & Learn Code-a-pillar at Best Buy

Anne Younger Leave a comment

Back when I was pregnant with Joey and the doctors were concerned that there might be something wrong with his brain, I always joked that the only thing that would be wrong with it is that it would be too big because he would be born super smart. Little did I know back in 2013, that I would be correct.

Joey, who is now on the verge of turning 3, is definitely advanced for his age. He can count, knows the alphabet, can recognize all the numbers, most letters, uses words that most of our older children don’t, retains everything he sees, hears or does, and so much more.

Since we discovered that he has a love for learning and for technology, we have done our best to supply him with toys to feed that craving. He has tablets, ereaders, handheld game devices, books, puzzles, blocks and more. One of Joey’s new favorite toys is his caterpillar, as he calls it, which is the Think & Learn Code-a-pillar from Fisher-Price, available at Best Buy.

Coding is Fun

The Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar makes coding fun for preschool kids ages 3 to 6.

Joey loves to take his code-a-pillar apart, redesign it and set it in motion and then follow it around.

Originally, I was worried that Joey wouldn’t be able to connect the pieces or figure out just quite how to work things, but I should have known better.

I love watching Joey play with it and figure out all the different ways to make it work. He is my little problem solver and I swear I can see the gears turning in his head.

Learning Through Play

The Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar is a great way for kids to learn about technology and coding.

What Does the Code-a-pillar Do?

Encourages experimentation while developing important skills
Including skills like sequencing, critical thinking, reasoning, discovery, memory, problem solving and experimentation.
Learning fun in endless directions
Kids can configure the segments to reach targets they set up throughout the room. Toy includes 1 sound segment, 3 straights, 2 right turns and 2 left turns. 2 destination targets and 1 motorized head.
Motorized head and segments features lights
Fun character sounds and blinking eyes to bring toy to life. Each segment lights up as the action happens.

On top of all of that, it makes learning oodles of fun and keeps kids busy!

Get It At Best Buy

You can find the Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar at Best Buy soon for $49.99!

Child Safety/Recalls, Outdoors, Toys

Getting a SmartStart with Schwinn

Anne Younger Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe that our sweet little Ellie is almost 4 and a half years old. This is a fun age and she’s so excited about so many things. She just started her first season of soccer and she loves it, she’s looking forward to summer school and her getting ready for 4K class, and she can’t wait to start 4K in the fall. However, of all the things she is excited about, the one thing she wants more than anything is to learn how to ride a bike just like her big brother.

Ellie is definitely ready to learn how to ride a bike. She is excellent at working the pedals, she knows how to stop and steer, now it is just a matter of putting it all together and adding in the balancing act.

We recently took Ellie to Toys“R”Us to look at bikes and she was beyond thrilled to leave with a girls’ 16 inch Schwinn Jamboree Bike.

Established in 1895, Schwinn is the go-to resource for the recreational bike rider. Toys”R”Us has the largest selection of 16” bikes for kids.

Schwinn makes shopping for a bike for your child easy with this guide to the basics of choosing a bike for young rider.

Ellie, of course, loves everything about her new bike, especially the basket and streamers. As for me, I am a big fan of the banana seat and fenders because it reminds me of the Schwinn I had as a kid.

Built around the proportions of a child, the Schwinn Jamboree Girls’ 16″ Bike offers SmartStart to ensure your little one rides in comfort. The single-speed bicycle features a coaster brake for simplicity as your little rider bikes up and down your driveway. Coordinating fenders, streamers and classic Schwinn styling provide a cute look, and the handlebar basket lets your youngster bring her favorite toys along for the ride. 6″ tires for speeding along in your driveway, Single-speed for ease of use, Coaster brake for sure stopping power, Handlebar basket lets your little one bring toys or a drink while she rides, Classic Schwinn styling, Coordinated fenders and handlebar streamers for a fun design, SmartStart is built around the proportions of a child for easy on and off, Recommended height: 38″ – 48″ tall.

Ellie has been working hard to learn how to ride her new bike and the more she works, the closer she gets to being able to take the training wheels off. I love that with this bike there is less wobble with the training wheels which makes it easier to learn to ride-better balance and of course like all Schwinn bikes, SmartStart bikes have a limited lifetime warranty for as long as you own the bike

Of course when it comes to learn to ride a bike, we always want the kids to be safe during the learning process and whenever they get on their bike so be sure you child has a helmet anytime they are riding.

I am looking forward to working with Ellie some more on her new bike and helping her gain the confidence she needs to take the training wheels off and learn to ride her new bike and I am also looking forward to being able to ride along with her!

Buy It

You can find Schwinn Smart Start bikes at your local Toys”R”Us.

Enter the Sweepstakes

Don’t miss out on your chance to win a $400 Family Fun Ride prize pack.

Schwinn SmartStart Family Ride Sweepstakes