Category Archives: Travel

Zoobie Pets, a stuffed animal with three uses

June 19, 2008Bedtime, Toys, TravelAlicia

Who needs a favorite stuffed animal, a favorite blankie, and a favorite pillow when she can have all three in one super cuddly, wonderfully soft, Zoobie Pet?

It didn’t take long for Madelyn and Sebastian (2 & 8 respectively) to warm up to and fight over the Kojo the Croc we received a few months ago. Ultimately, Madelyn won the fight and has spent many hours snuggling with Kojo but Sebastian has to help her get the blanket back inside Kojo when Madelyn is ready to use him as a pillow or stuffed animal to carry around. I know it’s not fair.

Zoobie Pets are available in two collections, Zoo and Safari.
The Zoo collection includes a lion, giraffe, monkey, panda, a hippopotamus and seven more animals. The Safari collection includes a zebra, rhinoceros, an elephant and ten other animals. Just about any child should be able to find a Zoobie Pet of his favorite animal.

Zoobie Pets are a three in one plush animal.
When your Zoobie Pet arrives it is a plush animal that is just the right size for your child to carry. Release the two hook and loop velcro tabs to turn your Zoobie Pet into a super soft pillow, and then unzip your Zoobie Pet to reveal a super soft, removable blanket. The blanket can be removed and machine washed and tumble dried.

Zoobie Pets are a stuffed animal that your child will have and use for a long time. And with three different uses, it can replace all those blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals that your child packs in the car to take to Grandma’s house.

Website: Zoobie Pets

Playskool Wash or Toss Cups

June 13, 2008Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Feeding - baby & kids, Food and Drink, TravelAlicia

Playskoolwashtossmadelyn A few months ago I made the mistake
of giving Madelyn milk in a regular cup, not a sippy cup. You don’t need me to tell you about the mess that followed.. and the drama. The mess is obvious but the drama was a little unexpected. I forget how good of a memory babies and kids have. After that one time Madelyn wanted her milk in a regular cup all of the time and we all know how toddlers act when they want something really bad. Such fun!
I tried and tried regular sippy cups, but she wasn’t having it and quite honestly, I’ve been a little more stressed than usual lately so I gave in and let her drink out of regular cups Playskoolwashtoss
but in the kitchen only.

A few weeks later I received Playskool’s Wash or Toss Cups in the mail and things have changed a bit. Madelyn really likes the Wash or Toss Cups. I think it’s because they look more like real cups than regular sippy cups so she feels like a big girl. One thing that I love about these cups is their size. A little smaller than her old sippy cups, these hold just the right amount of milk. I don’t find cups lying around the house with old milk in them anymore. Yeah!

Playskool Wash or Toss cups are dishwasher safe, and can even be put in the microwave. These cups are great for travel and I personally don’t see a need to ‘toss’ the cups as they wash and hold up well. I have noticed that when Madelyn shakes the cup really hard some milk may drip out out of the spout holes, but I think that is the case with any cup like this if you shake it hard enough. The tops have a little ‘grab tab’ for easy removal and snap on to be very secure. When Sebastian used cups like these about 6 years ago, he would push on the outer side of the spout so the top would come off. The lids on these cups don’t come off that easy, thank goodness!

Available exclusively at CVS stores and CVS.com.

Playskool Cottony Cloths

June 12, 2008Age 0-1 year, Age 1-3, Beauty & Skin Care, Cleaning & Cleaners, TravelAlicia

Playskoolcottonycloths Over the years, I learned that even soft little toddler faces can turn into what looks like a cafeteria food fight broke out with the toddler right in the middle of the action and that it takes a lot of patience and wiping to get such a tiny face clean.

Made with real cotton and available exclusively at C
VS/pharmacy and online at
cvs.com, Playskool Cottony Cloths are a must have for parents; especially when traveling whether by car, plane or train. Cottony Cloths are available in a few different sizes including a
convenient travel size with 16 cloths which is what we used on our recent summer vacation road trip.

I used to pack a wet washcloth in a sandwich bag to use on the kids hands, faces, and clothes after snack time in the car. What was kind of yucky about using a wet washcloth is that I had to use the same washcloth over and over which got pretty gross after one or two wipe downs.

I used Playskool Cottony Cloths while on our recent road trip and was thrilled to be able to use a clean cloth each time I needed to wipe the left over snack off of Madelyn’s face, hands, and clothes. I was also very pleased to learn that one Cottony Cloth goes a long way. Because they are so thick I was able to use one cloth per wipe down session as opposed to the several thin wipes I used to use before I switched to the wet washcloth method.

True Fit Convertable Car Seat – Fits babies from 5 – 65lbs.

June 1, 2008Safety, TravelAlicia

The True Fit Convertible Car Seat is what I consider to be of the best things since rattles. This car seat eliminates the hassle of buying two or three different
car seats by the time your child is five years old, or 65 lbs.

Age & Fit: This car seat is one that you can bring baby home from the hospital in and continue to use until your child is up to 65lbs. or 50 inches tall. That means that your child could probably use this car seat until in her early elementary school years. The True Fit Convertible Car Seat can be used rear facing up to 35lbs which is great as a lot of car seats don’t allow for babies that large to be rear facing. I recently read that it is recommended for babies up to

Installation: I was very pleased with how easy this car seat was to install.
The instructions are easy to follow and precise. The many illustrations are
also clear and easy to follow. It took less than 5 minutes to install and I was impressed with how easy it was to secure the seat without a struggle on my part. Sw
itching this car seat from one car to another is simple and I feel like the seat is secure every time. The removable head rest can be stored for use when your child is front facing.

Strap Threading: Are you sitting down? The True Fit Convertible Car Seat’s straps NEVER need to be re-threaded. That alone makes this car seat a dream! I would dread changing the placement of car seat straps in previous car seats but with the True Fit Convertible Car Seat, I can adjust the straps even while Madelyn is in the seat.

Comfort: While I haven’t sat in the seat myself and Madelyn does not talk, I feel confident in telling you that this seat is the most plush, and secure feeling seat Madelyn has used. The two removable inserts provide extra padding around even the tiniest baby (5 lbs. minimum weight). Madelyn is two years old and about 28 lbs. and uses one insert. She looks so comfy when in the seat. It’s almost like the seat is cradling her which is great for long car rides.

Cleaning: The cover and inserts snap off for easy cleaning and the cup & snack holder snap off and on on either side of the car seat. Madelyn loves that she can get her cup and snacks by herself.. so do I!

You can learn more about the True Fit Convertible Car Seat on the Learning Curve website or buy it at Amazon.com for about $180, a great investment for a car seat that is going to last a long time.

Scootababy – a sling that holds my two year old

May 26, 2008Age 0-1 year, Age 1-3, TravelAlicia

Madelyn is a very attached child and has been since she was an infant. As a matter of fact, as I am sitting here typing this, she has half of her body on me as if to say "don’t even think about moving mom". I’m sure a lot of it has to do with me holding her 24/7 for the first few months of her life, but now that she is older (2), it is really difficult to hold her and carry her for more than a few minutes without feeling pain in my back (previous car accident issues).

Until recently I thought that baby carriers were just for small babies under a year old. That was until I learned about Scootababy Baby Carriers which hold babies up to 40 lbs. Both Madelyn and I find the Scootababy to be comfortable for long periods of time and I am really pleased with how easy it is to put on and take off. The custom built buckles make for easy adjusting with one hand while Madelyn is in the carrier. The front, back and waist straps can be adjusted so the carrier will fit on a wide range of body sizes. I have worn Madelyn in the Scootababy while cleaning and was nervous that she was going to fall out when I bent down to pick something up or empty the dishwasher, but she was secure in the Scootababy and she hasn’t slipped out yet!

The Scootababy is easy on your back, stylish, durable, sturdy, and safe.

The Scootababy can be machine washed and dried but it is best to spot clean and air dry it when possible.

WEBSITE: Scootababy