Loppfångare från Djeco

With two flights, three kids, four carry-ons and one parent, I figured our sportlov trip would be a great place to test out some travel toys. I took the Djeco Origami Loppfångare with us, and let the threesome have a go. Annika (age 9) agreed to be a "guest bloggar", for the product, and here are her comments:

"Jag tycker att lopporna är roliga och man kan göra hur många som helst. Jag och min brorsa skrattade mycket med dem. Vi var på planet och vi hade inget att göra så tog min mamma ut dem och så började vi vika lite och så blev det roligt. Och så satt vi massor med konstiga klistermärken. Det finns klistermärken som kommer med papprorna. Det finns bilder på dem - det finns bilder på olika saker som splits."

You can find them online here: Djeco Origami Loppfångare

Lekmattor och förvaringskorgar

We have several products that have been floating around the warehouse, never making it online. We joke that these are our "osmosis" product - the ones you would never know about unless you could read our minds. We actually were really excited about these products when we ordered them, when they arrived - and we are still excited to have them in our range. But somewhere along the line, they got set aside - other deliveries, other deadlines, sick children - you know how it goes...

But since you probably aren't mind-readers... and since we can't really sell products that our customers don't know about... well, we have finally put these great products online.

These puzzlemats/playmats come in fun colors, and can be put together in different ways. Do you want simple checks? Then match the circles to the frames for a solid square. Want something busier? Just mix and match the circles. Quiet, safe, comfortable - and fun! What more could you want from a play mat? Great for your child's room or a play area - and I really love the colors, especially the pink and brown one.

And these canvas storage bags/boxes are a wonderful size - and so practical!

See all of our Skip Hop products here.

Nya babyleksaker från Manhattan Toys

We just received these adorable toys from Manhattan Toys new line - BabyVille. Babies love to look at faces - and these wonderful toys give babies plenty of other babies to look at - with a variety of happy, funny and silly expressions. These toys also have wonderful tactile details - crinlkes, ribbons, flaps and textures - that babies love.


Check out these six great new toys -

• BabyVille skallra
• BabyVille boll
• BabyVille reseleksak (for stroller or car seat)
• BabyVille aktivitetsleksak
• BabyVille aktivitetskub
• BabyVille fotoalbum (my personal favorite)

And you can see all of our toys from Manhattan (except Groovy Girls) here: Manhattan Toys

Quadrilla kulbana - i lagret igen!

Yep - the Quadrilla kulbana is now back in stock, after a rather long absence. We sold out just before Christmas, and the re-order took a while since the manufacturer was also sold out. But as I was logging everything in, a bit of the financial crisis jumped out... Not only did the manufacturer raise prices, but the Swedish crown has also fallen significantly in relation to the Euro... making Quadrilla quite a bit more expensive - 30-50%. The only benefit - since our order was large, the shipping costs per product went down. We're trying to keep prices reasonable... but sometimes the outside world intrudes...

Even though it costs more, Quadrilla is still a great product, and my favorite of the marble runs from the Toy Fair in Germany. Two years ago, I really researched them, trying to find the best one, and I still haven't found better. It is stable when built, it is cleverly color-coded, and the building possibilities are extensive. We have a ready-built Twist in the warehouse that is glued together. We have taken it to several public fairs (like Underbara Barn) and parents have had to - literally - pry their children away from it.

It isn't for small children, and works best for 5 and above. (We joke that it is a really good dad toy!) My personal favorite is the Twist & Rail, which has both the helix from the Twist set and the Fill-and-Spill from the Rail set.

You can see all the Quadrilla marble runs here: Quadrilla Kulbanor

Äntligen - Veckans Vara

Finally I changed our Veckans Vara - after about three weeks of Whoozit and Tizoo, it was time for something new. This week we have stamp sets from Djeco - wonderful kits with 9-10 stamps each - enjoy!

So now I'm wondering if Veckans Vara is a lot like our fridge...

Let me explain. I'm a bit of a nerd, and I have the shelves in our fridge labeled - cheese, eggs, extra milk, meats, leftovers, etc. I initially did it to make sure the leftovers didn't get lost and end up becoming frightening science experiments. But what I have found is that having a place for everything and organizing according to place actually creates a lot of extra space. It is truly a mystery to me, but somehow, if we put things away properly, we have room for more than we ever imagined. Curious.

So back to my week... To say that my "to-do" list is long is an understatement, and I can confirm Murphy's other law - that "Work expands to fill the time allotted to it." I'm wondering if maybe my work week can become like my fridge, and if I allocate time to specific activities rather than just filling my time as activities arise, the perhaps I will have more time. Wishful thinking, I know, but wishing is not really a bad thing...

My new plan is to change Veckans Vara on Tuesday mornings, between 9 and 9.30. I just hope my week is like my fridge...

Slagträ - It Works!

So on Friday, we had playdate afternoon, and each of the threesome had a friend over to play - total of six kids. So as I hovered around, trying to make sure that nobody got their feelings hurt (the guests, in any case) I was standing in our "anything goes" room with four boys and a few balls.
"Look, mom!" says Benjamin, tossing a (foam) baseball and swinging with his (foam) bat.

Now my son has never really played baseball, but he has a strong swing and excellent follow-through. Since I was standing right behind him, I got the full impact of his follow-through, right in the face!

I am relieved to report that the bat works. Though it didn't feel wonderful and I wouldn't recommend getting hit in the face with a baseball bat, it really didn't hurt all that much, and my face is still the same size, shape and color it was before.

Don't worry - we have ordered more bats and they should be here this week - in plenty of time for warmer weather.

See the product online at http://www.abcleksaker.se/Shop/Page/Art/pgArtItem.php?iId=2856

Blokus - Back Again!

We've been waiting for months... and finally we received our delivery of Blokus and Blokus Duo. Blokus, Blokus Duo and Blokus Trigon are all wonderful games - simple to learn, hard to master and challenging to win!
When we were on sportlov with the kids, David (43) and I (also 43) and Annika (9) had a chance to play Blokus Trigon. David doesn't usually play games, but when he does, he plays to win. The first game was won by Annika - much to his disappointment - and the second was a three-way tie. (The only problems with the Blokus games is that they almost have to be played by the right number of people - 4 for Blokus and Trigon, 2 for Duo - in order to force a win-lose situation. Otherwise it is often possible for everyone to play all of their pieces.)

So back to age recommendations - 9 is fine. I think the boys (7 and 5) would have had a hard time with Trigon, but would have been great with the regular Blokus - squares are easier to manage than the triangles!

Folding a Towel Elephant

I came across this fun article in Parents magazine - how to fold a towel animal. WikiHow.com has instructions here.

All you need are a bath and hand towel - and a bit of luck!

In... and Out Again

We finally got our shipment of Dig-A-Dino products - these have been very popular - so popular, in fact, that the supplier was sold out before Christmas. On Monday, we got our long awaited delivery. So - in with the dinosaurs... until we noticed that almost all of the boxes had been opened by the supplier (to put an information sticker on the products), and in opening the shipping cartons, the supplier sliced through almost every one of the dino kits. We went through the shipment and managed to salvage 12 undamaged products... out of 72! So one box in and five back to the supplier. Bummers.

It is always a problem with a web store. If people came into the store, saw the product, assessed the damage (because it is really only cosmetic - the product inside the box is fine), and then decided to buy the product anyway... well, that works. But we cannot knowingly send out a damaged product to a customer. So back they go, and we will wait a bit longer for the rest of our dinos.

Veckans Vara...

is delayed again. With sportlov, deliveries, organising the US shipment, kids, family, house, etc... it seems as though our Veckans Vara doesn't get changed that often. It is on my to-do list today, along with a few hundred other things...

So let's hear from you - what would you like to see on a Veckans Vara? We are definitely open for suggestions!