Oh ZipBins, how I love thee!  LOL
So, you all know of my undying love for ZipBins, yes?   The uber-cool carry cases/storage for toys that also double for a play mat?  (Sigh- love!)  Now Manhatten Toy has teamed up with ZipBins to create a really cute toy for boys, called Boysterous Action Figures.
My Little Man loved, loved, loved them.  He was so excited when they came out of the box, and called “video game boys” (because they look like character’s in his friend’s Leapster sports game.)  
I love that they come in a convenient carry case, and we can bring them wherever.  Since they are not based on actual sports stars, they are not going to have negative associations that they come with, either, and they are just “normal” people.  I like that a lot.  Just normal kids, playing normal, fun sports.  LOVE it.  It can be tough to find toys that are not just advertisements for celebrities or movies, and while Little Man loves to play with toys that are friends from his favorite movies and TV shows- sometimes it is really refreshing to play with toys that have no association with anything, and can let their imagination start fresh.  


We brought our Boystrous toys out with us last weekend to a bruch for my grandma’s birthday party.  They kept my Little Man entertained the whole 4+ hours we were there- after missing his nap, too!


It awesome that the ZipBin not only carries the toys, but also is both a skate park on one side, and a soccar field on the other.  Yay for versatility!  Not to mention getting more for your dollar.  
These toys are magnetic, so the board sticks to their feet, as does the soccer ball.  Hands are also magnetic!  

We also play with them at home, of course!  🙂 

The Boysterous™ action figure line is the newest, edgy, addition to Manhattan Toy. Boys all over have anticipated the arrival of this exciting new collection. Rambunctious, but not rowdy, these boys are a new twist on action figures. The Boysterous boys are here and ready to play! “It’s the perfect gift for boys ages 3-8. Action figures based on real kids – not over-hyped, over-paid sports stars, or characters filled with violence and other material inappropriate for small boys.”
There are five sports themed action figures in all: hockey, skateboarding, snowboarding, soccer and football. These exciting sports themed action figures are fun to pose as they go zipping and zooming all-around their adaptable Zip-Bin® playing field and park action sports.
Each action packed figure comes with their own sports equipment: hockey puck and stick, skateboard, snowboard, soccer ball and football. Magnetized feet and hand allow each action figure to grab their gear. Boys can collect all five for lots of exhilaration and sports fun!
PRODUCT DETAILS:
NAME: Slap Shot Sam, Touchdown Dylan, Shredding Sean, Goalie Gavin, Half Pipe Pete
PRICE: $17
Age: 3+
Size: 3’’L x 2’’W x 8.5’’H
Launch Date: Jan 2011

PRODUCT DETAILS:
NAME: Extreme Sports Zone™ ZipBin
Show-off Boysterous sports moves with the dual sided Extreme Sports Zone play environment. This ZipBin unfolds into a 3-in-1 sports field that combines features for football, soccer and hockey games – then flip and zip to the other side to convert into a half pipe ramp! Also folds and zips up into a carrying case with an easy grab handle.

Want to enter to win your own Manhatten Toys Boystrous toys?
Here is how to enter

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Have you guys ever played with Moon Dough?  It is this strange, marshmallow-y stuff that you can mold into shapes, build with, and in general make a pretty interesting creation.  This is a new “recipe” for Moon Dough as well- it is less grainy and has less of a smell (almost no smell) then older Moon Dough. 
Moon Dough is an amazing molding compound unlike anything you have ever seen before. Launched last
fall, Moon Dough became an instant hit. It is soft and marshmallow-like, cleans up easily, and never dries
out so you can use it again and again. Moon Dough is the latest and greatest molding compound that kids
love to make their own fun creations!

My Little Man and Daddy just tried out the new Moon Dough Magic Zoo, and they had a good time figuring it out!  The idea is that you put the Moon Dough into one of the 3 provided animal molds (penguin, gorilla, or bear) and then you place it into the slot.  Then you crank the handle, lowering it onto the “legs”, and POP!  It opens up, and The animal walks right out.  It is really pretty neat how the whole thing works.  It is a little difficult to use for small kids, so let an older sibling or parent help out.  Also, for those of you unfamiliar with Moon Dough, but wanting to try it out- use it on a smooth, flat surface, because Moon Dough is hard to get out of tile grout, and nearly impossible to get out of carpets.  Pretty much like all art supplies and molding toys.  LOL.  (DO NOT get Moon Dough wet to clean up!  You can pick it up with a ball of Moon Dough, or vacuum it up dry.)  It didn’t work every time, but it was fun when it did.  The Moon Dough animal popping out, all by itself, and walking away was awesome.  It was really exciting for him!  There are only 2 leg sets and 3 animal molds, which annoyed Little Man to no end, LOL.  We remedied that by taking a different wind up toy we had and gently placing the Moon Dough Bear on top of it.  (So it had dog legs!  Best I could do!  Haha.) 

Here is a little more information about the Moon Dough Magic Zoo-

Life in the Zoo is always on the move with
Moon Dough’s easy life-like moldings. Just
place your Moon Dough into the magic
molding Zoo and watch as 1 of 3 animals
magically comes to life and walk out! When
you can pet animals this soft and fluffy,
there’s no way you’ll ever want to leave!

Package Includes:
• 1 Magic Molding Zoo
• 2 Winder Walkers
• 3 Animal Molds
• 1 Fence Mold
• 3 Colors of Moon Dough

Want to win a Moon Dough Magic Zoo to try out?
Here is how to enter!
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Yay for stuffed animals! 
My Little Man is a HUGE stuffed animal lover, much like his momma always was.  He looks so much like his daddy, but in some ways, he is so very much my son, LOL.  The two of us can be in a stuffed animal or gift store for well over an hour, annoying people that we are with (Daddy) because we like to look at EVERY stuffed toy.  Over the summer, for the first time, I heard of a company called Douglas Cuddle Toys.  I know, right?  Where was I, under a rock?  I saw Douglas Cuddle Toys for the first time on a blog!  And I had to, HAD TO show my Little Man.  On this occasion, I (of course!) had to let my son get one, they were just so cute and irresistible.  He chose to get this adorable little puppy, Muggins.  Look at that face!

The detail in Douglas Cuddle Toys is amazing, especially when you consider the price!  (The puppy was only $20.99.  It is really nice quality, soft, well made, and for real, do I even need to say how cute it is???)  We looked at that website for almost an hour and a half before he chose the puppy.  I wanted to go to the nearest store that carried them, but it was 3 hours away. How much fun would that have been?  Sigh.  Virtual shopping it is!  🙂 
Since then, we also bought him this Douglas dragon, and a small chick for a gift for his little friend at school.  (I have since seen them in person, on a roadside stop on the way to Chicago, completely on accident!)

I also had the extreme pleasure of seeing their booth at NY Toy Fair.  I was so excited, I really do love their stuffed toys.  And guess who was on top of the display?  Muggins!  LOL.  I showed Little Man the photos when I got home, and he wondered how I got his puppy there and back without his knowing.  Haha, to be 3!

Now, I get to introduce this fantastic company to you!  With their wonderful details, adorable faces, huggable and cuddley-soft bodies- Douglas Cuddle Toys are both aptly named and one of my favorite brands of stuffed toy.  I hope they will be one of yours, as well!
Little Man was sent this DREAMY OCTOPUS to review- he was very excited to receive it, because he loves sea creatures, and they are hard to find in stuffed animals!  It is sparkly, purple, and fluffy, which annoys daddy, LOL, but to his 3 year old self makes it seem like it is floating in the shiny water.  He picked it out!  Can you tell he loves it?

One of you lucky ducks will also be able to try out your very own Douglas Cuddle Toy!
Want to start or add to your collection?  (I’m telling you, these are like chips- you can’t have just one Douglas!)
Here is how to enter!!!


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Please let me know which Toy (by name) that you like best- not mentioned above.  

Zoobles!  These are tons of fun smooshed into a tiny package.  My kids and the kids at the Pre-K went ga-ga over them during the holiday season.  And now they are making Mommy and Babies Zoobles.  We received Bumper and Jumper Zooble to try out, from the land of Azoozia.  Mommy carries baby in her belly pouch, and she can also put him in the cradle (complete with mobile).  Baby Bumper can also stand on his own.  He sure is tiny!  It may be a good idea to compare them to kangaroos when giving them to your kids- my son thought that was how babies come out of mommy’s belly.  LOL.  Bumper and Jumper have joined our other Zoobles in Little Man’s “Tiny Treasures” box he keeps on his dresser, so we don’t loose them.  He just loves how they POP open to play!  They curl up to go to sleep in their little “happitats”, and when they are all rested and you are ready to play, just place them on their special houses and they will pop open for fun.  Those babies sure can fly!

Far away in the mysterious land of Zooble reside hundreds of adorable, little creatures, each with the ability to magically transform from tiny balls hiding in the unknown into cute, mischievous and quirky little creatures called Zoobles. These adorable characters are waiting to surprise you by “popping” open when you least expect it.

Zoobles are collectable, colorful characters that “pop” open when placed on their magnetized “Happitat”. There are hundreds of Zooble characters to collect and playsets for added fun!

The new Mama and Babies are right in the middle of our other Zooble friends!

Check out this great video of the new Mama and Babies- it’s so cute, my Little Man wants the “Blue Peacock” one (he calls it, LOL).

Want to win a new Mama and Babies to try add to your collection?  Here is how to enter!
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Honk-Honk!

Lets Ride the Rails!  Chug on over to see what’s new- this awesome new Chuggington Interactive Wash & Fuel Starter Set!!!  We are Chuggington fans in this house- cute show, sweet characters, cooperative lessons to be learned- to me, it’s a good choice for those times you decide to let them watch TV.  And the toys that accompany the show are not to be missed- if you have a little chugger in your house, they will just love this new Chuggington Interactive Wash & Fuel Starter Set, made by Learning Curve.  Honk your horns and get ready to ride the rails, this toy is both adorable AND interactive, and the engines talk with each main part of the toy.  The chugger who came with the set, Brewster, will also talk to and recognize other interactive Chuggington trains.  How much fun is that?  Little Man loves that when Brewster goes through Fuel Depot it can zap the poor little train.  (OK, we may need to nip that on the bud, LOL…..)  It also lets the other “regular” Chuggington trains play along- the tracks will be good for all the Chuggington trains you already have (which, if you are like me, is a LOT!)  I am sure you have noticed our Wilson carry case full of trains and our other Chuggington paraphernalia in some of my photos- it all works together.  The new interactive train won’t fit in the Wilson carrier, but other then that, everything works well together.  Maybe they will make a Brewster or Koko carrier for the interactive trains, LOL. 
 
The Chuggington Interactive Railway brings your favourite engines to life via SmartTalk technology! The Wash & Fuel Set features 32 total pieces, including an Interactive Brewster engine plus two interactive train stops: the chug wash and fuel depot. As with all Chuggington Interactive engines, Brewster actually recognises and reacts with other Chuggington Interactive engines and train stops! This set features over 175 sounds and phrases when used with other Chuggington Interactive products…the more pieces you add, the more interactive your world becomes! Requires 8 x AA batteries (included).

Want to win a set for your little conductor?  
Here is how to enter!  

Mandatory entry
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Leave me your email so I can contact you if you win.