Kung Zhu Pets Are...Totally Ninja!

A while back Mom Select and Cepia LLC gave my family the opportunity to try out Zhu Zhu Pets before they hit the stores.  They were a hit, to be sure, and so were my boys because we got to check out the Hamsters before they were even in stores! 

This year we were again honored and grateful to be able to check out the newest line of Hamsters.  They're called Kung Zhu pets and can I just say?  They really rock!  I am so glad that Cepia took the time to actually think about what boys like and need in the way of play.  Because while they really enjoyed the original Zhu Zhu pets?  Khung Zhu pets immediately brought out the "boy" in them and they took a whole new interest in the robotic hamsters! 

So why are Khung Zhu pets so much more attractive to the boys?  Take a look:

Cool boy colors

ninja body armor

wicked armored combat vehicles

and an amazingly challenging training course!

Oh yeah...and the battle arena!!   

I mean seriously...if I'm a boy?  What's not to like!?   Big Brother, my military guy,  gets to strategize and make battle plans and work out his aggressions in the battle arena with some really cool looking little hamster dudes.  Kung Zhus come in two groups:  Special Forces and Ninja Warriors.  Big Bro always, ALWAYS takes Special Forces and makes his little brother be the Ninja.   He figures out which armor works best with which hamster warrior and experiments with different training course designs.  Little Man gets to know each hamster's quirks and personalities and he loves to find out which part of the obstacle course works best for each hamster.  He gets to know each Kung Zhu's speech pattern and often tries to get our cat involved in his play, hoping Blackie Chan will pull some sweet Ninja moves himself. 

So we had a neighborhood party and invited some good friends over to help us try out Kung Zhu Pets and see them in action!  I let the kids put the track together this time.  All by themselves.  No help from the adults.  And they did it.  Then after the obstacle course was put together (took 4 boys about an hour), everybody joined in the fun, taking turns racing their Kung Zhus through the course and then having the Battle of all Battles in the Battle Arena. 

As you can see, the entire set is quite large, so you need a space where it can kind of stay once it's put together.  I just left mine in what was supposed to be the formal living room since we have no real  furniture in there right now anyway.  It's actually becoming more of a game room I guess.  The good thing is you can purchase the accessories separately and kind of  grow into the set one piece at a time.  Our Kung Zhu course gets rearranged weekly, depending on which friends are over, so I guess it's good they have lots of space to redesign!  Future Engineers of America!!  

Cepia LLC has done a great job re-engineering the original Zhu Zhu pet to create something that appeals to boys. Kung Zhu definitely made a big impression in my neighborhood...so much so that we had almost a whole summer with no "Star Wars" talk!  I know!  So thanks, Cepia.  You've helped me out on sooooo many levels!  

**Disclosure:   I was not compensated monetarily for this post.  I did receive Kung Zhu Pets and an obstacle course from MomSelect and Cepia LLC in order to host a Kung Zhu party and facilitate this review.** 

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming...

Watching the kids swim. Not something I love to do in 114 degree weather, but I was tired of hearing them argue and fight.  So I sat in the shade while they worked out their aggressions in the water. Playing with my new phone, which was free.  Remind me to tell you the phone story...it is an awesome story. Seriously.  It's good.

Back to the swimming.  Do you remember swimming as a kid?  I do.  It was one of those activities that could change the course of your entire day.  Too hot to play?  Let's go swimming.  Friend was mean to you?  Let's go swimming.  Bad haircut?  Let's go swimming.  Your a pre-teen or maybe a barely teen girl and you just started your monthly?  Let's...not go there.  That was one thing swimming couldn't fix.  That just flat out sucked.  But I don't have girls, which is probably good.  Can't hardly deal with my own girly crap, let alone someone else's. But enough of the hormonal talk.

 

Back to swimming.  Remember the smell of chlorine as you rushed over to the edge of the pool?  The sun glinting off the water, right into your eye, temporary blinding you to the beautiful blue color of the liquid coolness that awaited you?  Right about that time was when you would realize that your feet were being fried on the cool deck, so you had to either jump in or quickly splash some water onto the deck under your feet.  Either way, relief from heat and boredom was just a dive or a jump away.  And the minute you hit the surface and the water engulfed you?  Life just got better. 

Mostly.  Except for that one time when you jumped in and the pressure from the impact of the water pushed your swimsuit top up over your boobs, mostly because you didn't have much of a chest yet.  None of this would have been too big of a deal, except maybe you didn't notice the top thing when you came up out of the water, because you were so focused on how great the water felt.  And while you are standing there wringing your hair out and getting it out of your eyes, you begin to realize that some of the kids, expecially the boys, are pointing and laughing.  Then you feel a slight breeze and HOLY FREAKING COW! your top isn't where it's supposed to be and even though you yank it down as quickly as you can it's too late - the boys have seen you in all your glory (not much glory at the time) and now the course of your day has changed...again.  Remember sinking back into the water and trying to get lost in the crowd?  Remember thinking that the person who had the idea to go swimming suddenly seems like an idiot?  Remember that?  Ummm...me neither.  Much.  It's only an occasional flashback now.  

  

So I'm watching my boys and remembering my summer days at the pool.  Wondering what kinds of things they will remember about swimming when they are my age.  Hopefully their memories will be of friends and splashing and general water frivolity.  Or maybe they'll think of the sacrifices their mom makes for them, wilting in the heat while I sit poolside because I'm unwilling to see myself in a swimsuit, much less wear one in public! Which I would blame on childbirth, but I was fat before I had them.  But I digress. 

Back to swimming.  Maybe, just maybe, they'll sit and chat about that one time they saw that girl come up out of the water with no swimsuit top...at which point I will have to kaibosh the conversation.  They'll think it's because I think the topic is inappropriate.  I won't tell them it's because I have war memories.    

I'm Doing Some House Cleaning...

Trying to clear out old habits and clutter and things that are bringin' me doooowwwnn. You have to say that phrase - "bringin' me dooowwwwwwnn" - in a low voice. Say it again... get into your hippie place and be all like, laid back and annoyed at the same time, ya know? Like..."Yeah man, the establishment is bringin' me doowwwnn." Are you in that place? Do you get the vibe that I'm goin' for? Cool. So yeah...I'm doing a little house cleaning and I'm trying to rid myself of clutter and baggage and all the old ideas and habits and general crud that's bringin' me dooowwwnn.

Which is why I haven't posted for awhile. Trying to dig out from under the old and and toss some stuff, ya know?  I figured while I was at it, I might clean up the ole' blog a little too. So you will notice changes in the next week or so while I experiement with a new look. My goal is to eventually get together enough money to pay someone to actually create a really kick-butt blog for me, but until then, I'm gonna mess around a bit and see what I come up with.

So lemme know what you think. I live for you input. But you already know that about me, right?

The Circus Was Here!

Ringling Bros. Barnum Bailey, along with Feld Entertainment, really does put on a great show...this year's Funundrum totally lived up to it's name!  Lots of action and non-stop thrills!  My boys loved the Bionic Brothers with their feats of strength and balance.  Their other favorite act was the Torres Family, who ride motorcycles in the steel cage (they talked about that for days after the performance).  Here are a few pics, along with some info on where you can get tickets when it comes to YOUR hometown! 

 

Be sure to check Ringling Brothers Barnum Bailey website for information about Funundrum and when it will be in your area!  You can read up on the various acts and learn about the performers before you go.  Then head over to ticketmaster.com and get your tickets before the show sells out!  Use the code MOM to get special pricing - 4 tickets for $44 and just $11 more for additional tickets!

When the weather gets this hot, it's nice to have something fun to look forward to that doesn't require melting in the heat.  The circus really is a great family activity and I want to thank Feld Entertainment for allowing me and my family the opportunity to participate in some wonderful summer outings!! 

**Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post.  I did receive complimentary event tickets in order to facilitate this review.**  

Geri Geri Quite Contrary...

This is how my garden is growing:

Okay, okay.  It's not a garden, it's two freaking plants in some pots.  But this is the furthest we've ever gotten with growing anything around our house, so we're actually kind of proud of ourselves!  I'm a little worried about the Pumpkin plant (the one with the big leaves).   It started out gangbusters.  But in the last few days we lost one whole offshoot and soemthing is eating the heck out of the leaves.  It's looking kind of weak and droopy. Not near as big and lovely as the picture. 

The watermelon plant seems to be doing fine, though!  We'll see if we actually get any melons off it in a few months.  This whole gardening thing?  Can be kind of stressful.  I spend more time worrying about these plants than I do about my kids some days!