Baby Rabies
  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

  • Subscribe

Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

  • Subscribe

skylanders

School Age Days

The Skylanders Swap Force Play Date

by Jill November 23, 2013
written by Jill

A giant truck, wrapped in Skylander Swap Force graphics, pulled onto our street as the kids waited for me to “set up our picnic.”

IMG_8289

It was the Game Truck Activision sent to celebrate the launch of Skylanders Swap Force. The kids had no idea that’s what they were really outside waiting for.

Kendall counted down the days until Swap Force’s release for 2 months, and earned two giant jars full of rocks to trade in for the starter pack last month.

The original plan was to make him earn this party, too. I mean, the kid can’t be thinking stuff like this just happens. Game Trucks do not just pull up to your house on a random Sunday afternoon. He was working on earning a bucket of rocks for a surprise.

And then he got the flu.

By then, I’d invited a handful of his friends to the party, requesting that the parents not tell their kids either, for fear Kendall would find out. I really wanted it to be a surprise because I knew he would never. ever. shut. up. about it if he knew in advance, and I knew he’d invite everyone he made eye contact with.

So the flu really made me nervous, but luckily he wasn’t contagious anymore by the time the truck rolled up and his friends arrived. Though he was obviously still not feeling 100%.

And while he hadn’t technically earned all the rocks for the surprise, we made sure to put the emphasis on this being a special treat for all of his friends. It wasn’t a party for Kendall, but a play date for all.

IMG_8292

If you’ve never heard of a Game Truck, you’ve probably never thought to yourself, “That is a stupid simple, genius idea, and I bet these people are crazy rich for thinking it up.” 

Basically, it’s a trailer with one long couch on one end and 4 giant TVs on the other, all hooked up to gaming systems. In our case, it was stocked full of Skylanders characters, and of course, the new Swap Force game.

It’s a living room on crack, on wheels. And all the kids stay in there playing games, and all the adults can have adult conversation in the house over coffee. In theory.  I mean, genius.

IMG_8312

Obviously Kendall was over the moon, but I think Leyna’s reaction was possibly cuter. She doesn’t know a single Disney Princess, but she can tell you the name of every Skylander we own. You can hear her on that video shouting “SWAP-ABILITIES!” as the truck pulled up.

She idolizes her brother just a little bit.

IMG_8298

We had the truck for 3 hours and, surprisingly…. or maybe not, the kids didn’t play the game that whole time. Instead, they took frequent breaks to check out the poster, assign characters to each other, and act out battles on our front yard.

IMG_8321

I’ve mentioned before that the imagination element to all of this is why I don’t mind the obsession too much. It’s more than just sitting in front of a TV, playing a game. Kendall’s screen time is mostly limited to a few hours on Friday nights, and rewarded for good behavior. The rest of the time, he uses his characters to fight imaginary battles, draws pictures of them, or write stories about them.

IMG_8316

So watching these boys run in and out of the truck, merging the game world with our front yard in the real world, was the best of all of that.

A HUGE thanks to Activision for arranging all of this. Not only did the kids have a blast, but the adults really did congregate in our house, and enjoy coffee and grown up conversation. It was like the best kind of play date for everyone.

November 23, 2013 5 comments
0 FacebookPinterestWhatsappEmail
“The Best Halloween Ever” (And Costume Tutorials)
BabiesCrafty!School Age DaysToddlers

“The Best Halloween Ever” (And Costume Tutorials)

by Jill November 4, 2013
written by Jill

IMG_7222Well, we pulled it off! This Halloween was basically the best ever. And I’m not just saying that because my first ever large scale paper mache project did not wind up a ball of mushy, glue-covered newspaper.

IMG_7099Or because this guy. Although, really, everything is even better with him to round out the craziness.

Warning! Bumbo not used as directed! Danger!!1

IMG_7247-2It was just one of those picturesque, mostly everything went right, minimally frustrating nights. With candy.

And yes, that is s stroller with a skateboard attached to the side that Leyna’s riding on! Orbit Baby sent us a G2 to try out, and so far, it’s pretty amazing. And the Sidekick is a huge hit.

IMG_7245At least, that’s what I’m choosing to remember, and not the way our house looked for 24 hours after the costume-candy-chaos bomb went off.

So let’s just get right to it. That Skylanders Eye Brawl costume we made for Kendall? NAILED. IT.

EyeBrawlCostume“Mom, this was the best Halloween ever.”

He literally said that exact thing to me as I tucked him in that night. TOTALLY made the searing pain in my shoulder from all the time spent working on that giant eyeball worth it.

I’ve had some people ask for a tutorial on how to make this thing. This is the best I can do for you:

Basically, I made that eyeball head by putting 6 layers of newspaper on a giant ball (that I first covered in Saran Wrap) with regular ol’ Mod Podge (slightly watered down). I let each layer dry for about 12 hours, so it took a long time to finish. The ball rested on a bucket, and left a hole big enough to fit his head in at the bottom.

Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 11.41.45 PMWhen it was completely dry, I traced a circle onto the front of the ball (big enough for him to see/breathe out of) and cut it out with a knife. This caused the ball to pop and I was able to easily pull it and the plastic wrap out the bottom. We spray painted it white.

Then I reinforced the bottom and the edges of the hole in front with a couple layers of black Duck Tape. I bought a roll of screen from the Home Depot ($7), cut out a square and hot glued it to the inside of the head, turing the hole into a “pupil” that he could still see/breathe out of. Finally, I added a blue ring of paint.

Screen Shot 2013-10-30 at 7.16.21 PMThe rest of the costume came together with the help of a lot of cardboard, a can of silver spray paint, and some more black Duck Tape. We also hit up Play It Again sports for used (and relatively inexpensive) football pads that he wore under a very large shirt, and some hockey gloves that we made completely black with (you guessed it!) more black tape.

IMG_7206If you’re asking, “How did you get that to stay in place? And what about that?” The answer you are looking for is Duck Tape. To all of it.

IMG_7198I’m am still patting myself on the back for having the wisdom to not do anything elaborate with Leyna’s costume this year. Ever since Leyna went with us to the 20 week ultrasound we had with Lowell, and the tech let her listen to my belly with a stethoscope, she’s liked to play “Doctor Leyna.” I briefly contemplated trying to get her excited about a Little Red Riding Hood costume, and having Lowell go as the Big Bad Wolf. Then I had a lovely moment of clarity when I realized what a disaster that would be.

I bought her a personalized pair of tiny scrubs and a coordinating stethoscope from MyKidsScrubs.com. IMG_7186Bonus for them doubling as pajams now!

Minutes before we were about to head out, I realized I didn’t have a bucket or bag for her to collect candy in. Then I remembered the old Doctor Kit bag at the bottom of the toy bin. Absolutely perfect.

IMG_7255Since I nixed the Little Red and Big Bad Wolf idea, I was stumped when it came to Lowell.

It wasn’t until about a week before Halloween that I had the idea to pay a friend of mine make a beard beanie for him, and dress him as a tiny lumberjack.

IMG_7130I’m going to give you a minute to finish dying.

….

..

.

But what about me? I always try to do something for Halloween, and my favorite witch hat was destroyed last year. Then I remembered a babywearing costume I saw floating around a couple years ago of a mom dressed as a tree, wearing a baby in an owl beanie. 

I could be a tree! Ergobaby happened to have just sent me an olive colored Stowaway carrier. I found a lovely green sweater at Target. It was meant to be!

BabyLumberjackCostumeI put this costume of mine together in 30 minutes on Halloween. So easy. All I needed (other than the carrier and my sweater) was a branch of silk fall leaves from the craft store, a little tulle, a hair clip, some hot glue, and wire cutters to clip the leaves from the wire stem.

BabyWearingLumberjackCostume

Granted, I only wore him just long enough for him to pass out. Then he napped in his stroller (still rocking the beard beanie, which was a champ at holding his paci in his mouth) while I chased the bigs around with the camera before the sun set.

Happy Halloween, indeed! How did yours go?

 

 

November 4, 2013 12 comments
1 FacebookPinterestWhatsappEmail
School Age DaysThe Story

Our Boy, His Joy, And A Homemade Skylanders Costume

by Jill October 31, 2013
written by Jill

I’m not making my kid’s Halloween costume to win any parenting awards or to compete with anyone. No question, if this costume was available to purchase somewhere, I wouldn’t have felt a flash of guilt as I clicked the “buy now” button.

Just like I didn’t when I bought Leyna’s doctor costume. (Tiny personalized scrubs that she can later wear as pajamas because when a 2 year old girl tells you she wants to be a doctor you roll with that, rejoicing in your victory over princesses for another year.)

I’m making it because Kendall is so committed to his love for Skylanders, and there is not an Eye Brawl costume anywhere for sale.

Screen Shot 2013-10-30 at 7.16.21 PM

Have you not heard of Skylanders? Are your kids not obsessed? KEEP IT THAT WAY.

KIDDING! Kind of.

The thing about Skylanders is they are more than just a video game. They are all these characters (action figures) you buy to play the game. And then there’s the books, and the stickers, and the trading cards. It’s a whole world. An ENTIRE world! And kids love it.

Once Kendall got his first game for his 5th birthday, a few characters weren’t enough. Since the beginning of May, he’s worked to earn quite the collection.

Screen Shot 2013-10-30 at 7.17.48 PMAnd I truly mean he earned them. Remember that rock jar? Well, by the time he filled the thing, he was totally over Zelda. So he used those rocks to buy a Skylanders Giant he’d been eyeing. Then we just kept working to refill that jar with rocks, over and over. Each time he chose a new Skylander in exchange for his jar full of rocks.

When he found out about the new Skylanders Swap Force game, he started counting down the days to it’s release. I mean, like a full 2 months in advance. It’s all he talked about. So for 2 months, he worked to fill a giant jar full of rocks. Twice. That was his payment for Swap Force.

That rock jar, combined with his unwavering love for all things Skylanders, has really been a great teaching and discipline tool around here.

We learned to make the obsession work in our favor, even beyond the rock jar. We bought him some Skylanders folders to get him excited about starting school. We read a chapter out of his Skylanders chapter book every few nights to get him excited about reading. He has Skylanders underwear, and it sure is easy to get him to change them often, in exchange for a new (clean) character.

I have to admit that this devotion has many upsides. He really only plays the game on Friday nights (and a rare weekday after school here and there as a special reward). But the rest of the time he plays with the actual figures. He has learned to group them and categorize them. His imagination runs wild as they battle it out on his bed. It’s much more than just getting lost in a video game.

IMG_5144

He cherishes these prized possessions. So much that he’s often found “decorating” spaces around the house with them.

Why yes that is several pairs of underwear proudly displayed in his window. HGTV will be calling any day now.

IMG_5124

He even convinced me (ME!) to let him wear a wretched licensed character shirt on his very first day of school.

IMG_5177

And Skylanders have become tiny little members of our family. Leyna couldn’t tell Ariel from Sleeping Beauty, but she can name every Sklyander we own. I wonder if Lowell’s first word might be “Kaos.”

Screen Shot 2013-10-30 at 7.17.11 PMWhile I am a Nintendo Brand Ambassador, and do get WiiU games from time to time, Skylanders isn’t one of them. We fell into this love affair with no outside blogging influence. But when Activision contacted me a few weeks ago to see if we’d like to host a Skylanders Swap Force game truck at our house in November to celebrate the launch, I could not reply YES to that email fast enough.

Kendall is going to FREAK OUT, and that’s precisely why he has no idea.  He’s currently working on earning a whole bucket of rocks for a surprise. Hopefully, if we time it right, he’ll have earned just enough by the morning of the party, so when that truck pulls up and his friends arrive, he will feel like that’s the result of an awful lot of hard work. It’s going to blow his mind, and I am SO looking forward to seeing his joy.

Just like the joy he already has over this costume. Scott stayed up extra late tonight to help me with some final touches. I finally got his paper mache eyeball-head finished after a week of work. We may not be able to do this every year. He will probably have to go the store-bought route in the future, maybe so we can spend extra time on a homemade costume for Leyna or Lowell. But this year, we went big because we could.

I hope it’s one of his favorite Halloweens ever. (Stay tuned for pictures!)

*********

This post is not sponsored. Just sharing this info because I know a ton of parents out there have kids who are equally obsessed with this game! First, if you’re looking for something fun to print out and keep the kids entertained for a bit before they head out for trick-or-treat, download this Swap Force Halloween Activity Pack. 

Second, if you’re looking to get a new gaming system for the family for the holidays, there will be a Skylanders Swap Force/ WiiU bundle that also includes a Nintendoland game for sale starting November 15th. It will be $299.

We use our WiiU every day. Since we went cable free, it’s the main way we watch TV by streaming Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus straight from it. It’s a great system for families, and obviously we give Skylanders many thumbs up. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about how addictive it can be.

 

October 31, 2013 7 comments
0 FacebookPinterestWhatsappEmail
PhotographySchool Age DaysThe Story

I Didn’t Cry

by Jill August 27, 2013
written by Jill

Kendall’s first day of kindergarten was yesterday. I didn’t cry.

IMG_5177

Be sure, there were plenty of emotions in me, and it’s possible I expelled all my tears the night before when he came home with a botched haircut (that I did my best to spruce up the next day with the help of daddy’s hair gel).

IMG_5197

But no real tears were shed from me as I watched him walk to school EARLY in the morning. (That’s the sun rising, people. I can’t remember the last time I saw the sun RISING.)

IMG_5194

IMG_5196

And into the halls of his new, big school.

IMG_5204

No tears when I realized late last night I took this picture-

IMG_5188

And this one at the same spot, 4.5 years apart. Walking to learn, learning to walk.

full

I started this blog 6 years ago because of this boy.

No.

Because of the idea of this boy. The one I knew would change us.

The one who continues to challenge us, make us eat our words, and drive us just crazy enough to keep us from signing up for any of the parenting awards we were sure we’d easily win before we actually became parents.

While I fought him and won (for now) on the Skylanders backpack, I caved to the Skylanders t-shirt. Never in a million years did the pre-kid me think she’d let her son show up to the first day of kindergarten wearing a licensed character t-shirt. Good thing we’ve both done some growing, learning, and getting to know each other these last 5 years and almost 4 months. And I’ve learned to pick my battles.

IMG_5201

I bought his regular school supplies, then scoured the internet for any kind of notebook, pen or pencil with Skylanders on it. I freaked out and felt inadequate when I couldn’t find the 2 pocket folders with brads ANYWHERE. I helped him cover a pencil box with Skylanders stickers and relished in my momentary “coolest mom ever” status.

I reflected, I laughed, I gave MANY hugs and kisses, and I made him pose for pictures.

But I didn’t cry.

August 27, 2013 22 comments
0 FacebookPinterestWhatsappEmail

@babyrabies

Instagram did not return a 200.

Buy Jill’s Book

50 Things to Do Before You Deliver: The First Time Moms Pregnancy Guide

Up Your Phone Photography

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

©2019 | BabyRabies.com


Back To Top