Dear Audrey Grace,

This last year has gone so fast.  It seems like just yesterday that we were bouncing and sliding around in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse bouncer for your 4th Birthday and now here we are, with another year under our belt.  Five.  FIVE.  Wow.  You are growing so fast and while I have a blast watching you grow, part of me desperately wants you to slow down so that I can savor one more snuggle, one more hug, one more pout, one more smile.  Sometimes I ask you to turn around and come back to me, to give me another hug or some more love and you oblige me, but now that you’re older you have a distinctive “my mom has lost her mind” look on your face.

I can only imagine what your teenage years will bring.

Yesterday you chose your Mickey Mouse dress from your 4th birthday party to wear to school, since it was your “last day of being four”.  As soon as we got out of the car you started telling everyone who would listen – “it’s my last day of being four!” with the kind of glee that is usually reserved for a trip to the beach or a visit with Mickey Mouse.  Moments like this make me giggle, because you are far from what most people would consider a shy child.  As a matter of fact when, a month into the school year, you teacher told me that you were one of the quietest girls in the class I worried that something was terribly wrong.  You’ve since made up for it, and they are now trying to figure out how to make you pipe down during circle time.  Your Italian heritage has served you well – you are a child who talks frequently and uses her hands for emphasis.  I have no idea where you get that from.

This year has brought so many changes for the two of us.  For starters, we uprooted our lives from the only place either of us had ever known — Louisiana — and moved out to sunny southern California.  You haven’t missed a beat – you dove headfirst into your new school, made new friends, and oftentimes I think you know the way home even better than I do.  You love living close to the beach and to Disneyland – and we find ourselves at both of those places pretty often.  Sometimes it makes me sad that you will probably not remember a time when you were a full-time resident of Louisiana, but I’m thankful that the frequent trips home means that you’ll always be a Louisiana girl at heart.

You love our little family out in California even more than I ever expected.  You have embraced “Misser Morgan” and “Beezie Boy” with a big, open heart as if they have always been a part of your family.  You have called Banks your brother from the near start, and a few months ago I sat you down to explain that he wasn’t your brother just yet, but that he would be in September when Mommy and Mister Morgan get married.  You looked at me with those clear blue eyes and simply said “but I can call him my brother anyway, can’t I?”  Your love for him melts my heart – you are so happy to have him in your life.  Every morning you wake up and ask “is it a Banks day?” and my answer either excites you or disappoints you – but you ask again the next morning just the same.  It is my wish for both of you that you will always be close – it is not blood but love that binds us all.  You will always have each other.

For the first time this year, you had to deal with heartbreak.  Our sweet dog Lilly passed away a month after we moved to California.  It took me two whole weeks to compose myself enough to be able to tell you what happened.  When I told you that Lilly had gone to heaven you seemed sad, but fine.  And then you turned to me and asked how long it would be until she came back from heaven.  Fighting back tears, I told you that she would never come back.  And then you cried.  You cried hard, taking big gulping breaths in between sobs.  I couldn’t help it – I cried too.  And so for almost 2 hours we sat together and I stroked your hair and we cried.  Seeing you so heartbroken just about killed me.  I would do anything to protect you from such pain, but there was no way to do that.  I’m sure it will be the first of several times in your life where I feel totally helpless, and I hate it.

This year you have been full of questions.  Why do we put conditioner on my hair, mommy?  How does it work to make my hair soft?   What sound does Mickey Mouse start with?  Are there rules in heaven?  When I get older mommy, can I still follow you?  Why doesn’t my hair glow like Rapunzel’s?  When I get older, can I be a Princess?  Is chocolate healthy for you?  Who am I going to marry one day?  Some of your questions make me giggle and some of them really make me think, but I love that all of them give me a glimpse into your mind and your heart.  You have always been so curious, so analytical.  Even though you can be a little incredibly hard-headed, I think that your persistence and inquisitive nature will serve you well, and so I do my best to encourage it.

Remember how last year you had gradually started moving toward loving all things girly?  Well this year marked the full-on girlfication of Audrey Grace – Princesses, Hello Kitty, Barbie, and anything else pink are all at the top of your list.  Speaking of last year – I also promised that this would be the year that I would cut your hair for the first time.  Well, I was wrong.  You still have every bit of hair that you were born with.  It’s super long and a bit wild, but I just can’t bear the idea of parting with your curls.  It works out because you aren’t any more interested in having it cut than I am in cutting it – so we can both just pretend that you are a real-life Rapunzel for a bit longer.

Audrey Grace, you are the most thoughtful little girl that I have ever known.  You bring me flowers, draw pictures for me almost every day, and write letters to all of your friends.  You worry about kids that you see who aren’t wearing jackets, remember to call and check on family members when they are sick (even when I forget), and point out things that you know your friends and family would like when we are in the store.  One of your favorite parts of Christmas this year was buying toys for the other kids – you still ask once a week at least when we can buy some more toys for the kids who don’t have any.  You are so full of love for everyone and I couldn’t be more proud of that.

I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that being your mommy is the most difficult job that I’ve ever had.  That’s not to say that it is hard to love you because it’s not – on the contrary, loving you is probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done.  But the day to day responsibility of making you into the best possible human being that you can be is one that I don’t take lightly.  I have so many hopes and dreams for you, and I also realize that you will (and already do) have so many of your own. All that I want is to be able to raise you in a way that equips you with all that you need to realize those dreams on your own.  Of course, I’ll be there every step of the way to cheer you on – I’m your biggest fan.

Audrey Grace, I love you more than I think I will ever be able to put into words.  You bring so much joy into each and every single one of my days.  I cannot believe that it has been five whole years since Dr. Striplin first placed you into my arms.  You didn’t know it, but on that day you taught me how to love unconditionally.  I am so proud to be your mommy.  Out of everything I’ve accomplished in my life, you are what I’m most proud of.

I love you my angel.

Love always,

Mommy

I always say that you can tell how old someone is by asking them what their favorite Disney Movies were as a child.  If they say Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty – you know you’re dealing with someone a bit older.  But if they say Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, or, my personal favorite Beauty and the Beast, then I know I’m dealing with someone who is close in age.

It’s funny how experiences that I treasured as a child have come back around full circle so that I can share them with our two kids.  I can very vividly remember sitting in the theater watching Beauty and the Beast at age 9 – falling in love with the music, the story, and of course – that yellow dress.  Naturally, at 29 I was totally geeked out to share that same experience with my family – to see the twinkle in my kids eyes as they watched the story unfold.

I’m so thankful to the folks at Disney, who were kind enough to invite the four of us to do just that last Saturday at the El Capitan Theater (the same place that I attended the premiere of Cars 2) in Hollywood.  We didn’t tell them where we were going until we were almost there – and then they kept shouting “We’re going to HOLLYWOOD!”.

I’ll take awesome parents for 500, Alex.

We felt like royalty ourselves when we got to the check-in table and discovered that we were special guests and were allowed to skip the line.  One day, when our kids no longer think I’m cool, I’m going to show them this post as proof that I am, indeed, cool.

Did I mention that Beauty and the Beast has been remastered and is being released in 3D?  We rocked our 3D glasses didn’t we?

What the kids didn’t know was that two very special people were making a surprise appearance at this sneak peek – so imagine how my heart melted when Belle and the Beast waltzed out on stage and I see both of my kids sitting on their knees, stretching out their arms waving and yelling at them with the world’s biggest smiles on their faces.   Belle and the Beast thanked us for coming to see their movie, and then there was a confetti explosion and I thought my kids might explode with excitement themselves.  They were literally bouncing in their seats.  Pure magic.

Before the movie itself started, we got a preview of something that we had been waiting a long time for – Tangled Ever After!  My daughter is the world’s biggest Tangled fan so this was a real treat for her.  She literally giggled throughout the entire short – she loves Pascal especially, and she even told her grandparents about how funny it was on the phone later that day.  My son’s favorite line from Tangled is “They just can’t get my nose right!” and without spoiling anything from you I can tell you that there is a little tribute to that line in the short as well!

We loved every second of Beauty and the Beast in 3D – and it was an amazing experience.  The movie still moves me to tears – I was sniffling at the end of the movie.  Just wait until you see the ballroom scene in 3D – you will be blown away!

Beauty and the Beast 3D hits theaters TOMORROW, January 13th – so be sure and check it out with your kids this weekend!  What a great way to introduce them to the movie that captured our hearts 20 years ago!  By the way, you can like Beauty and the Beast on Facebook for up-to-the moment updates!

Thank you so much Disney for this very special day with my family – we are still talking about it!

PS – Do you watch Modern Family?  We watched Beauty and the Beast in 3D all while sitting a few rows away from “Manny” who is played by Rico Rodriguez.  Kinda awesome!  We also got to see Zachary Levi who is the voice of Flynn  in Tangled.  :)

Then the folks at The Brainy Company contacted me about their Glowberry Bears and I just knew that Audrey Grace would love it.  They sent us the light blue Glowberry bear, and I’ve discovered that it works in 3 settings:

• Bear to Bear – There’s a chip located in the bear’s foot and when placed in close proximity of another Glowberry Bear, they communicate with each other.  We only have one bear so I cannot attest to the quality of this feature, but it sounds pretty cool!
• Nighttime – This setting transitions our bear into a night light – pressing the bear’s tummy makes it light softly from within and the glow will last for 3 minutes.
• Bear to Child – The bear talks to us, and even has a name! If you press its hand it will say things like, “Hi, I’m Twinkleton. What’s your name?” Pressing its other hand makes the nightlight light up, and tickling its tummy makes it giggle.

Yesterday I was in Costco and as I was perusing the vitamin section I hear  the strains of a song I know, all too well, coming from the electronics section –

“Everybody looooook left!  

Everybody loooooooook right!  

Everywhere you looooook I’mmmmmmm

…standing in the spoootttttliiiiiight!”

And right there, in the middle of Costco, I surprised myself and everyone around me by practically shouting Zazu’s line –

“NOT YET!”

Which led to this tweet.

Oh yeah.  I’m totally that girl.

The Lion King has always been my ultimate favorite Disney movie.  I knew every line, every song, every word to this movie (and apparently still do).  I even had the soundtrack.  It didn’t hurt, of course, that I was 11 years old with a huge crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas (who is the voice of Simbaa).

Then of course there is the very cool connection of my cousin, Ernie Sabella, being the voice of Pumbaa in the movie.  Not that he knows me, or anything, but related we are.  And at 11 years old?  That made me like, totally cool.

Of course, The Lion King has just been re-released in theaters in 3D, but as of yesterday, October 4th, it’s also available as The Lion King: Diamond Edition on Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray Hi-Def Combo Pack.  You can save $5 on your purchase with the coupon below (click the image to be redirected)!

And of course, the folks at Disney always have such fun items to go along with each release – I love these Fun Food Ideas (featuring Pumbaa, of course!).

And these coloring and activity pages (which are always such a hit in our house!).

So, if you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend with your kids, try out some of these fun food ideas and then pull up a tub of popcorn and pop in The Lion King.  I know we will be. (And I’ll try not to annoy the kiddos by singing every single line, but hey – I’m not making any promises.)

There is a lot of love in our house.

But no one gets more love, I’m afraid, than Tigger.

All Tigger - right down to her toes. For the record, she is even watching Tigger on TV in this picture.

The “original” Tigger appeared as a gift from one of my students when Audrey Grace was 6 months old.  Even though she had a room full of stuffed animals, she immediately took to Tigger.  Now, 4 years later, we have over 20 different stuffed Tiggers, not to mention Eeyores, Pooh Bears, Piglets, and so forth.  But there is still the original Tigger – the one she has loved from the start – the one who, when he takes a bath (in a pillowcase in the washing machine) she stands guard by the machine until the wash is over.  When his nose came unravelled, I found her in the bathroom on her tippy-toes, reaching for a band-aid for him (and I happily obliged).

So, as you can tell, for the past 4 years, Winnie the Pooh and his loveable friends have been a huge part of our lives.  Naturally we are counting down to the October 25th release of WINNIE THE POOH on Blu-ray, DVD & Movie Download.  Did you catch the film in theaters?  It was adorable!

If you’re a huge fan of Pooh (and Tigger too!) much like we are, I have a few fun recipes to share in honor of National Honey Month (which is wrapping up today!).  Check out these super fun recipes that you can make with the kiddos – I’ve printed them out and put them in page protectors – I have a feeling we will be using these for a very long time!

TTFN!
 

Oh yeah baby, you read that right.

Jem and the Holograms: The Truly Outrageous Complete Series is going to be available on DVD beginning October 11, 2011.

When I received the email telling me this very fact, I responded exactly like this…

O

M

G

When I was a little girl, Jem was my ABSOLUTE favorite show.

I can still sing the theme song.

You pretty much just made my month.  And I’m not even kidding.

I would love to share Jem with my little girl, and share my obsession (and hidden rock-star dreams – pre Hannah Montana days, of course) with my readers.

I’d love a review copy of the entire Box Set if possible.

You have no idea how happy this makes me.

Thank you!!

Erika

And guess what, y’all?  They sent it to me.  I’m the proud owner of the 11 DVD Box set.  I’m in Jem Heaven.

This is one of those giddy pieces of nostalgia that I want to hold on to forever.  I had no idea I could even find Jem on DVD, much less have the complete series?  Shut the front door.

Remember I said that I could still sing the theme song?  I just tested myself out with this clip while my very kind and patient fiance’ pretended like he didn’t need to plug his ears.  It’s official, I can totally still rock out to this, and sing almost all of the words.  And oh man, lemme tell you, it’s 80′s-tastic, and I’m lovin’ it!

The series “JEM and The Holograms” ran from 1985-’88 in first-run syndication and still boasts a loyal and vocal fan base. It is frequently credited with influencing fashion in the late 1980s and beyond, and launching the careers of female pop-rock stars and music groups.  The series follows Jerrica Benton, whose discovery of Synergy, a powerful computer companion, allows her to transform from co-owner of Starlight Music into rock star Jem.  Teaming with her sister and best friends who form The Holograms, Jem sets out to make their musical dreams come true, even as she battles against the ruthless Eric Raymond and his musical protégés.

This would have been on my Christmas list in a heartbeat this year.  I’m sure there are lots of other 30-40 somethings who would agree with me.  I can’t wait to share Jem in all of her glory with my daughter – I have a feeling she will love it just as much as I do.

You already know that I’m a huge Disney fan, especially classic Disney.  So when I heard that Dumbo was being released on Blu-Ray and DVD in honor of the 70th anniversary, I knew it was something we had to have in our collection.  After all, I’ve been riding the iconic Dumbo ride at Walt Disney World ever since I can remember…and it was especially nostalgic when I got to ride it with a film crew back in January for the Lifetime Moms / Disney Parks Commercial shoot!

This movie is being released for the first time in high-definition, and has been flying off shelves since it’s September 20, 2011 release date.  We have the DVD/2 disc Blu-Ray combo pack, but it is also available as standard definition 1-disc edition, or just a high-definition 1 disc release – so it fits all budgets and preferences.  They all come with quite a few “extras”, such as:

DVD:

• Deleted Scene – “The Mouse’s Tale
• Deleted Song – “Are You a Man or a Mouse?”
• Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo – A journey back to the origins of the film as everybody’s favorite baby elephant takes wing.
• The Magic Of Dumbo: A Ride of Passage – Witness the excitement and magic of Disneyland’s most popular ride through the eyes of a child.
• Audio Commentary with Pete Docter, Paula Sigman and Andreas Deja
• Sound Design Excerpt from The Reluctant Dragon
• Original Walt Disney Television Introduction

Blu-ray:

Everything on the DVD plus:

• Cine-Explore
• Disney View
• “What Do You See?” Game
• “What Do You Know?” Game
• “Celebrating Dumbo” Featurette
• Animated Short: “The Flying Mouse”
• Animated Short: “Elmer Elephant”

Movie Download (Standard Definition & High Definition Versions):

• Deleted Scene – “The Mouse’s Tale”
• Deleted Song – “Are You a Man or a Mouse?”
• “Celebrating Dumbo” Featurette

Then I received an email telling me that ULTA, hailed as the ultimate beauty destination, is now making available a number of awesome brands in it’s brand spankin’ new Mom and Baby section.  I scanned the email – Philosophy, California Baby, Belli…

Mustela.

Mustela. Mustela. Mustela!!!!!

I did a double take and rubbed my eyes to make sure I had read it correctly.  Mustela.  Right there.  ULTA is now selling Mustela and Mustela Bebe products.

Maybe this means nothing to you.  But let me tell you, if you have a baby – run, don’t walk, over to your wallet, grab your credit card, and order yourself some Mustela products.  I fell in love with them in Europe – especially the baby wipes (which are AMAZING) – and when I got home I wished I had thought to buy a whole bunch more than I did to bring home with me.

I scoured the internet. I wanted nothing but Mustela Bebe wipes to touch my little one’s tushie.  Alas, it was not to be.

But 3 years later ULTA has come through for us.  You can buy them online now. They’re a bit spendy, but it is so worth it.

Trust me.

And for the record, I have absolutely no relationship with this company at all.  I just love these products and wish someone had found them for me when Audrey Grace was still little enough to need them.

So go, order, be thankful.

And thank you ULTA for my France fix.

I needed it.

Considering that I have a slight (ok major) obsession with Disney – you can safely assume that while my addiction is mostly cured – the Disney Store is the one place that I can get a little, well, out of control.

Currently they are having a swimwear sale on everything from bathing suits, to sunglasses, to flip flops.

I have a basket with several swimsuits, personalized towels, 3 pairs of sunglasses (what?! They are $2.50 EACH!) and one Spiderman costume all ready to go – what can I say – I’m a sucker!

Go check it out!

The other day little AG and I had a mini fashion show in her bedroom. It was not planned, nor was it necessarily enjoyable.  She was unknowingly borrowing from her mommy’s bag of tricks – trying on every skirt in her closet until she found one that “twirled” enough.  Telle mère, telle fille…

When Erika from Tutu Pour Mon Deux contacted me and offered Audrey Grace one of their fully-customizable tutu tanks to try out, I believe I responded with a “Yes! My 4 year old daughter would fah-reak out over these!”.

Fah-reak, obviously, is a technical term.

Anyway, as expected, she totally did.  Check out my little ham:

For Audrey Grace I chose a brown tank with dark pink tutu material, a fun pink polka dot ribbon, and a crown on the front.  The design process was insanely easy, and so much fun!  The only hard part was choosing the perfect combination for my sweet girl’s personality!  You can see a snapshot of the customization screen below:

This screen is exactly what it looked like before I hit “add to cart” and you can see the gorgeous end result that arrived about a week later in the mail (complete with wand, may I add!).

You simply choose your shirt style, color, tutu color, ribbon color, and patch on the front.  I was thrilled at the high quality of the shirt and tutu, and the patch on the front is soft and fuzzy, definitely a well-made product.

Here is the best part about these adorable tutu shirts – they come with a story.  This story is one of gratitude, for a doctor and hospital staff that saved a little girl’s life.  Her name is Maeley, and she one of the daughters of the owner of Tutu Pour Mon Deux (which means Tutu For My Two – I assume referring to her two daughters!).  Because of Maeley’s journey, and that of her family, one-third of proceeds from all of these Tutu shirts goes to Children’s Hospital Boston.

Win It! Tutu Pour Mon Deux wants to give one very lucky Chic Shopper Chick reader the opportunity to win a customized tutu shirt of her very own!  To enter, head on over to Tutu Pour Mon Deux and design your perfect tutu shirt - then come back here and leave a comment letting me know what it would look like!  For bonus entries, you can tweet this contest out to your followers, share it on Facebook (see the buttons at the top of this post for help sharing), subscribe to my site via email (box at the top right), subscribe to my YouTube Channel, or write a blog post about this contest (worth 3 extra entries).  For any of these that you choose to do, please come back here leaving a comment to let me know that you did so.

That’s it! Good luck!

This contest will run from April 19, 2011 to April 27th, 2011 and will end at 11:59 pm CST. No purchase necessary to win, and a winner will be chosen at random.  If the winner does not respond to emails within 72 hours of notification, then another winner will be chosen.  US entries only.

My thrill became hunting down things that I liked and thought maybe others would like too – but never going through with the purchase.  That was 3 years ago.  Since then, the urge to shop has subsided, and I’ve focused more on the business side of this whole bloggy/vloggy/ catty mommy /writing world.

Tonight however? I need your help.

I will not buy these dresses (ok, two dresses, plus an adorable coverup with Little AG’s name embroidered on it and one over-the-top adorable nightgown that she would fah-LIP out over) from the Disney Store.  I will not buy these dresses from the Disney Store.  I will not buy these dresses from the Disney Store.

But, I will share them with you.  You know, in case you want to buy them.  Or just so you can tell me that they are SO stinkin’ cute that you wish you could buy them too.

Prepare yourself for cute overload.

Whew.  I feel much better.

I should get back to my roots more often.

The products are not just for moms, however, but fit for everyone in the family.  From children’s clothes to skincare products to baked goods, there is a little something to suit all of your needs.  Originally Gaggle Of Chicks was only a NYC based site, but they have now expanded to include nationwide deals as well.  The deals expire after only 48 hours, so time is of the essence!  You can work on getting some of your deals free, too, if you invite friends to try the service.  For every friend you refer that makes a purchase, you get a $10 credit.  You friends also get a $10 credit to Gaggle Of Chicks as soon as they sign up!

The current New York deal has me drooling – half-off of a skin-care package (which still costs a whopping $249). I’ve noticed that several of the deals are a bit pricey, especially the local New York deals, while the nationwide deals tend to be more affordable.  However, I’m not necessarily saying that this is a bad thing – the discount on high-end items gives me the chance to purchase or afford something that I normally wouldn’t be able to.

The Gaggle Of Chicks website is adorable, and easy to navigate.  As we say in geek-speak, the user experience is a good one.  I was given a gift card to try out the service, but had a short time frame in which to publish my review, and feel I should tell you that while I haven’t purchased anything from Gaggle of Chicks yet, I’m totally planning to – it’s just that nothing on the site in the past week has been able to float my boat.

You can win a $100 credit to try out Gaggle of Chicks yourself!  To enter, just head over to Gaggle of Chicks and sign up to try out the service (it’s free!), then come back here and leave a comment letting me know that you did!  Bonus entries if you invite your friends to try the service too – let me know in a separate comment that you have invited 3 or more friends (the Gaggle of Chicks folks will verify this) and you will receive a bonus entry!

This contest ends on February 24th, 2011 at 11:59pm CST.  US residents only, please.  Good luck!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Gaggle of Chicks and received a Gaggle of Chicks credit for myself to facilitate this review, and a $100 Gaggle of Chicks gift certificate to giveaway.

Two weeks ago I flew to Orlando to film a commercial in Walt Disney World with my daughter and mom. We are huge Disney fans to begin with – annual passholders to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, as well as Disney Vacation Club members, and just overall Disney freaks – and I say that affectionately.

But there is one thing I know about Walt Disney World, and that is that I cannot get through a day there without a stroller. That place is huge, my darling daughter has tiny little legs that tire easily, and a stroller just makes our everyday life easier. The problem is that the stroller I had bought for her when she was an infant was completely worn down and outdated – it no longer rolled as easily, I was missing pieces and parts – I was hard on that stroller!

Luckily, the Italian company Inglesina partnered up with MomCentral and they approached me about a new stroller being released called the Avio – a one-handed folding stroller that looked as sleek and chic as it did practical.  Knowing that we would be heading out to Disney again, I jumped at the chance to to do this Avio Stroller by Inglesina review.

We were able to put the stroller together in about 20 minutes – the directions actually made it seem harder than it was, but it really came in 4 large pieces – it was just a matter of snapping things in the right places.  Also, there are additional pieces in case you want to use the Avio with a detachable infant seat that I obviously didn’t need, so that threw me off the trail a bit.  Still, 20 minutes wasn’t bad at all.

The seat and sunshade for the stroller are both very ample, and my daughter and I both love how far back the seat reclines – she can lay down nearly completely flat which is great for naps and relaxing.  The seat itself is plush and comfy, and the seatbelt is easy to buckle and unbuckle for me, but not for Audrey (meaning she has to stay put until I let her out!).  The buckle on our last stroller was so tight that it even hurt MY hands to squeeze it together enough to get it undone, so this is such a welcome change.

Pushing the stroller is really smooth, though occasionally the front wheels did lock up on their own on me and I was unable to push the stroller left or right – only straight.  It’s a simple enough fix though it is rather annoying when it happens.  However, I’m not entirely convinced that this little hiccup isn’t due to user error on my part – I may be doing something that is causing the wheels to lock like that.

The one handed folding is the only thing that I’m not quite as sold on, though it is not something that bothers me all that much and wouldn’t stop me from buying the stroller.  It is easy to get the stroller to partially collapse with one hand, but in order to lock it into a collapsed position you really need a second hand to pull it tightly into place.  I had mentioned how plush the seat is, and I think that, while we both love how comfy the stroller is, the problem is that the seat is SO plush, that the stroller takes a little more effort to collapse into place.

Overall we both love our Inglesina Avio and we cannot wait to take it with us on a trip out to Disneyland really soon.  It is the best stroller I’ve owned by far, and I know we will get lots of use out of it!

Avio strollers are available for purchase at Diapers.com and if you enter promo code AVIOFAST at checkout you’ll get a free fast table chair with your order!

Disclosure:  I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Inglesina and received and Avio Stroller to facilitate this review.  For more information, see my disclosure policy.

No girly girl should be without a Holiday Barbie!  A long-standing Christmas tradition, we have a Holiday Barbie for every year since my daughter was born.  This year is no exception!

Also, do you think Mattel would consider making me an adult version of that outfit?  LOVE.

Holiday Barbie here was on Rollback for $35, down from the $40 I found her everywhere else.  SOLD!

Audrey Grace and my nephew Colton BOTH scored a VTech VReader for the Holidays.  I love these because they are like Kindles for Kids.  Audrey Grace and Colton are both turning 4 in the next few months, and this is the perfect gift for the point that they are at in the learning/reading process.  The Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Books to go with the readers will keep them interested for hours, plus it’s a fun activity that we can do together!

The VTech VReader is $54 which is a steal for such a great product, in my opinion.  I’m SO excited to see her reaction to this one!

My sweet little girl has been really into chalk and chalkboards lately – especially now that she is writing some letters, etc. so Santa scooped up this Pink Step2 Easel with a chalkboard on one side and a dry-erase board on the other.  I had this shipped to my home and it got here insanely fast.  The delivery man was even kind enough to leave it in the truck until he could tell me that the box revealed it’s contents, so that he wouldn’t ruin the surprise.  That is why I LOVE the holiday spirit.  I also got her some non-toxic chalk and dry-erase markers, so she is ready to go to town as soon as she sees it.  Bonus: Santa will be leaving Audrey Grace a Merry Christmas note on her easel – just like he did for me when I was a child!

The Step2 Pink Easel is $34.

We are certainly fans of the new film “Tangled” and Audrey Grace is receiving a slew of Tangled items this Christmas from Santa Claus.  Maximus was one of the highlights of the film for us, so I couldn’t resist picking up this sweet toy when I saw it in the Tangled section.  By the way, I did a little research on this toy later, and this was by far the best price – it was at least $10 more everywhere else.

Maximus the horse from “Tangled” is $19.88.

Of course, I couldn’t pass up the traditional Rapunzel doll – SOMEONE needs to sit on Maximus!   Plus, Rapunzel herself was only $12.  Can’t wait to meet her when we go back to Walt Disney World in January!

So tell me, what is on the list of Top Toys for your children this year?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Walmart that was offered to me because of my role as one of the Walmart Moms.  However, everything you read above is 100% true and real and all opinions are my own!