Toy of the Week: Furry Fun Chatter Elmo

As I looked around my house for my toy of the week, I was struck by the amount of Fisher Price toys we own. My goodness, I should own stock. As my last toy review was a Fisher Price toy, I wanted mix things up so I began to search for a toy my girls love that isn’t Fisher Price. Then Elmo giggled and I thought how perfect. I began a web search for a picture of this lovable character but was having a hard time locating the specific toy so I had my daughter bring him to me in order to look at the tag for the actual name. To my astonishment I discover he, too, is a Fisher Price toy.

So without further ado, I bring you the Furry Fun Chatter Elmo.

This is, without a doubt, the cutest annoying toy I’ve ever seen. It’s a little plush toy, only about 8 inches tall. His head is on a hinge and each time his head moves he says a part of a sentence or phrase, in that adorable Elmo voice. What makes it hilariously annoying is if you shake him fast enough he repeats the same word before moving on to the next word of the sentence. For example, one phrase is, “Elmo is so giggly.” If you shake him on the Elmo, he repeats Elmo over and over and over, every time his head moves, until you give him a little pause to move on.

Furry Fun Chatter Elmo is suggested for children 18 months and up but my 15 month old LOVES him! She’ll sit and shake him with such force and he just giggles. He’s durable enough to withstand a few tosses down the stairs and usually laughs with every stair he hits. He requires two AA batteries (which were included) and most retailers sell him for about $10.00, making him an affordable addition to any Sesame Street loving family.

There is also a Furry Fun Chatter Cookie Monster.



**My apologies for lack of picture, I'll share just as soon as blogger allows**

Toy of the Week: Hexbugs

I'd like to introduce you to the coolest ant I've ever seen! E-Ray got one of these for Christmas from my parents. When we turned it on and placed it on the carpeted floor, we weren't sure what to expect. As soon as it touched the floor it began racing all around the room, and thanks to it's antennae, whenever it ran into something it would instantly reverse direction. We were all VERY ammused! This is by far one of the coolest little toys I've ever seen. I believe the age on the package said 8 years and up, but I'm not sure why. My 3 year old LOVED it! The only downfall is that the batteries don't last very long.

There are actually a variety of creepy crawlies in the Hexbug family. There is the Original, which resembles a roach, an inchworm, a crab, and the nano. We have a couple of the nanos. They are pretty cool and always a favorite among E-Rays friends when they come over to play. They like to watch them go down the stairs. The batteries on these little guys last much longer than the ants, but they don't work on carpet.

I look forward to adding to our Hexbug collection, and I forsee these being popular birthday gifts for E-Ray's friends. :)

If you want to get your hands on these and don't want to wait for shipping, I know they sell them in store at Radio Shack. I haven't seen them elsewhere, but Toys R Us sells them online, so they may have them in the store as well. I do suggest picking up extra batteries right away. If your kids love them as much as my little guy does, you'll need them!

You can become a fan of Hexbugs on Facebook.

Toy of the Week: Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Home

I would have never thought a toy could make such a difference in the lives of my family. But the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Home really has.

Fisher-Price boasts that the Laugh and Learn Learning Home teaches letters, numbers, counting, shapes, opposites, colors, greetings, and more! The big lesson learned in my home wasn’t listed; it taught my 3 year old and my 1 year old how to play nicely with each other.

When we gave this to our 1yo for her birthday our 3yo was under the impression all the toys in the house were hers and her little sister was just borrowing them. The little one took to this toy right away and the older one quickly learned she could sit on one side and her sister could sit on the other and they could play together. Many an hour was spent pushing every button, turning every knob and flipping every switch. The 3yo quickly learned what was required to play her favorite songs (putting balls in the down spouts plays Itsy Bitsy Spider) and now is trying to teach her little sister all the tricks. They both enjoy it immensely!

It’s said to have 21 “delightful” songs, some of which will get stuck in your head and you’ll be singing them all day. The various activities are bound to keep the interest of just about any toddler.

The suggested age range is 6-36 months which I think is pretty much on, although I’m sure my oldest will be playing with it as long as her little sister is interested.

The only downfall I’ve found is the price. The suggested retail price is $80! You can usually find them used if you look and you can order missing parts from Fisher-Price.

Toy of the Week: Leapster 2

My son loves video games, even at age 3!!! I blame both myself and my husband on this as we both love video games. But not the new high-tech video games, we love the traditional Mario games!! We both own a Gameboy Advance and Super Mario 3 along with other games. In October, we moved and were without entertainment for the kids for a few days so we decided to let Little Man try the Gameboy. Big mistake...he rarely put it down. So for Christmas, I decided to get him a video game machine that was educational. After a lot of research and comparing, I opted to get him the Leapster 2. I even managed to get him the Star Wars Edition, which he loves!! It came with one game, Jedi Math and we purchased a few additional games.

He plays it constantly and enjoys the games. It is a great item for traveling and for when we are out and he has to wait. It keeps him occupied. He has learned different aspects of math, counting and numbers with the Jedi Math. We purchased a game called Digging for Dinosaurs where he has learned about dinosaurs and science facts. In the other games we purchased, he has learned word recognition, letters, colors and shapes. The nice part is that he is always learning even though he is playing a video games. It isn't mindless, he has to think to advance through the games. And I know that he is learning!! I can hook the game up to the internet and see exactly what he excels in and what he struggles in, which helps me focus on his learning throughout the day.

The Leapster 2 is backwards and forwards compatible, so old games can play inside it and the new games can be played in the old system (The Original Leapster). The system plugs into a USB cable, and you can download your kids’ progress as a part of LeapFrog’s Learning Path. Parents just create a profile for their children on a computer, then connect the Leapster 2 handheld to it. This is a way to keep track of what kids are learning, and it’s a way of building confidence and enthusiasm for learning–both from parent and child. When kids connect to the system, they can upload and unlock online rewards–like baby Achievements! Like the first Leapster, Leapster 2 auto-levels to make sure keeps are continually challenged. It is a great system!!

The Leapster 2, which is recommended Ages 4-8, is available for around $69.99 but I have found that Leapfrog.com has some great budle prices!! The only recommendation I can make is to purchase the rechargable battery pack. It has saved us on batteries and has already paid for itself!!

Toy of the Week: Motor Works by Discovery Toys

This weeks terrific "Toy of the Week" is brought to you by Ally.


Back in December I hosted a Discovery Toys party. Discovery Toys is a wonderful company that specializes in educational toys for children. They offer a lot of great products, but there was one that certainly stood out to the kids at the party; Motor Works. It is an adorable little building set with a battery operated drill and a manual screw driver. The set includes a race car, prop plane and motorcycle, all of which can be easily taken apart and reassembled. The screws are large enough for little hands to manage, and the set includes extra screws in case some get misplaced. It all comes inside of an adorable tool box with a handle for portability.

The recommended age is 4+, but I would recommend it for ages 3+ so long as you're willing to help your little one assemble the toys. My 3 1/2 year old has played with this toy set daily ever since he received it, and this toy has become a favorite among his friends at play dates.

Motor Works encourages your child to develop tactile thinking skills. It's a 3-D puzzle that they will love doing over and over again, and I even have fun assembling the toys with him. It also focuses on fine motor skills.

There are also two additional vehicles, a train and a truck, available for the Motor Works toy set. They are sold separately.
















Motor Works can be purchased online at the Discovery Toys website, or you could host a Discovery Toy party. Click here to find a Discovery Toy representative in your area. If you live in the Hampton Roads/Williamsburg area of Virginia, my consultant is AMAZING! The first time I met her was when she hosted my party. She's one of those people that when you meet her you feel like you've known her for years. You can contact her here: melanie.courtney@discoverytoyslink.com

I do have one small negative issue with Discovery Toys. I was initially considering becoming a consultant, until I saw their website. It leaves little to desire. When it comes to a company that makes sales online and through host parties, you should be able to allow customers to purchase products online and have them count towards a party. I also am not a fan of the way the website is laid out. The online shopping portion of the website looks "cheap" to me. They should take some pointers from the way the Tastefully Simple and Pampered Chef websites are set up and hire a new web designer.