Some of my earliest memories involve sitting at the piano next to my mother. She could play beautifully, and I remember wishing I could make music like that. In spite of my musical upbringing (and an avid love of singing), I was tragically inept at playing the piano — a severe handicap as a music major in college. Yes, I took lessons. I took lessons as a child with Katie, a remarkably soft-spoken Russian woman. I took lessons in college with several reproachful graduate students. I even took lessons as an adult with Julie, who was warm and encouraging, but she favored recitals, the thought of which gave me uncharacteristic stage fright.
Lack of talent notwithstanding, I do believe my lifelong ambition to play piano came from early exposure to the instrument. A toy piano doesn’t have the same mystique as the real thing, and most of them have painfully poor tuning. The Melissa & Doug Grand Piano is no Steinway, but the tone quality is head and shoulders above others I’ve tried, and the diatonic scale is recognizable. Plus, the design is both sturdy and beautiful.
This is an excellent playroom investment that will pay dividends for many years. Toddlers will bang, while preschoolers explore the musical scales. Older children will construct make-believe concert halls and stage full-fledged performances (for which they may or may not demand actual admission fees - this has happened to me).
The Melissa & Doug Grand Piano is our 3rd giveaway. Enter to win.
There’s a lot to love about Ugly Dolls, but my favorite thing is their backstory. Two designers in a long distance relationship were trying to keep the flame alive. David Horvath sent Sun-Min Kim letters accented with drawings of a funny little character called “Wage.” As a surprise, Sun-Min transformed Wage into a charismatic, soft fleece toy and sent him to David. A retailer caught a glimpse of the gift (or prototype), and behold, an empire was born.
The thing that makes Uglydolls truly remarkable is their appeal. We give them as baby gifts. We collect them with our kids. We send them off to college with our teenagers. And we keep them on our desks at work. No one is too young or too old to fall in love with an Uglydoll.
Today’s prize package includes a whole collection of Uglydolls. You can spread the love or keep them all for yourself. We won’t tell. Enter to win.
We get a lot of kids coming through our stores every day, and the toys in our playscapes take a beating. Literally. A toy that might last a lifetime at home will be lucky to survive six months. Rody is one of those toys that can withstand the rigors and rarely (if ever) needs replacing.
This iconic inflated horse is made in Italy of heavy-duty vinyl. It is designed for children between the ages of 2 and 4, but can be used by younger toddlers under close supervision, and can easily handle the weight of curious older children.
There’s a lot to love about Rody, besides its durability. It helps toddlers develop their gross motor skills, teaches stability, and provides a very respectable cardiovascular workout. Rody is also a choice prop for vestibular stimulation among occupational therapists. It’s also really, really fun, something my kids and I set out to demonstrate in this video.
Welcome to November, the official kick-off month to the holiday season, AKA the season of giving. We’re celebrating by bringing back another 31 Days of (holiday) Giveaways. To preserve our sanity during our busiest time of the year, it will work slightly differently this time around. New giveaways will begin at noon every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday starting today and continuing for the next 31 days. Each giveaway will last until the next one begins (so all but Friday’s will last 48 hours).
Stay tuned to this blog, Twitter, and Facebook to catch new items as they come up. Results emails will go out the day after the giveaway ends and may or may not include a secret sale. Our lips are sealed.
NHTSA has concluded its independent review of the Orbit Baby Infant Car Seat, brought on by the Consumer Reports “Do Not Buy” rating that was released at the end of August. Their findings confirm that the Orbit Infant Car Seat is perfectly safe.
In order to fully investigate the findings by Consumer Reports, NHTSA tested the Orbit using two different procedures. First, they tested according to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. Then, they also tested using the exact same methods employed by Consumer Reports. The testing was attended by representatives from Consumer Union, and every single seat passed. In addition, NHTSA conducted detailed research into its databases to try to find any real-world examples of a performance failure on the part of an Orbit Infant Seat. Guess what they found? Nothing.
The joke is, Consumer Reports is still standing by their story. The Orbit team is understandably frustrated. “We believe that Consumer Reports’ decision unnecessarily confuses parents. We have always tried to put the concerns and safety of our consumers first, and have tried to do our utmost to research this issue independently as well as cooperate with NHTSA at every turn. We believe Consumer Reports should reconsider their recommendations.”
Consumer Reports, your credibility is shot with me. You asked NHTSA to investigate Orbit based on your test results. NHTSA has clearly spent a considerable amount of time doing just that. Just admit that you wasted a lot of people’s time and caused some considerable damage to the reputation of a very good product.
Just this week, I spoke to a childhood friend who is expecting a baby. We were discussing strollers, and her husband said, “well the Orbit looks nice, but there’s no way I’d buy it after what I read in Consumer Reports.” Even after I’d explained the whole situation, he still wasn’t totally convinced. Think about all the people who don’t even get to hear the other side of the story. It’s appalling.
An apology is in order, but it may never come. Bravo to Orbit Baby for handling this awful situation with grace and intelligence.
To read the letter NHTSA sent to Consumer Union, click here.
We’ve just launched a new radio ad campaign on MIKE FM (93.7) in Boston. It was a little tricky fitting everything there is to love about Magic Beans into just 15 seconds. It could have also been a challenge finding a seven-year-old who could say “cerebral cortex” but it wasn’t. Having a brainy kid has its benefits (thanks, Audrey). This is still a work in progress, so please share your feedback. Seriously. Can you understand what she’s saying? We can. But we’re a little biased.
As anyone who has ever sat in a meeting with me knows, I love whiteboards. I love the way a whiteboard can help organize a conversation, define objectives and lend focus to an outcome. They’re also very entertaining when my kids come to visit - something which may be unremarkable in most other offices, but given that our office is usually littered with interesting toys, I’m always surprised by the whiteboard’s gravitational pull.
When we were first approached about IdeaPaint, I thought it was an amazing idea. I’ve often dreamed of painting my entire office with whiteboard paint, but couldn’t find any reliable way to do it. The guys who founded IdeaPaint had the same problem, but being entrepreneurial business students, they saw an opportunity and jumped on it. The paint they have developed is outstanding.
IdeaPaint comes in a box with everything you need to apply the paint to a primed surface (including a roller). The finish is glossy and it erases beautifully with no “ghosting.” Their CRE-8 home line is a water-based paint that is formaldehyde-free and conforms to all US EPA regulations. Best of all? It comes in COLORS.
The best way to experience IdeaPaint is to see it in action. That’s why I’m insanely excited that IdeaPaint is installing an enormous mural in our Wellesley store. I will post pictures as soon as it’s done. Meanwhile, you can check out their YouTube videos, which also really show the product nicely. IdeaPaint is now available through mbeans.com and in all of our stores. The retail price is $99 for 25 square feet or $175 for 50 square feet.
In honor of the 4th birthday of our blog today, we’re excited to be giving away a 25 sq ft box of the CRE-8 paint. Enter to win in 3 ways (for a maximum of 3 entries per person).
1. Leave a comment on this post telling us how you’d use your IdeaPaint.
2. Tweet about this on twitter and tell us what your kids would do if the walls were all whiteboard. Use the #ideapaint hashtag and mention @mbeans so we can track your entry.
3. Leave a comment on our Facebook page, and don’t forget to tell us how you’d use IdeaPaint in your home. Good karma if you share this link with your friends. We can’t track that, or we’d give you credit.
Hard to believe it’s been four years since I started blogging, but the dates don’t lie (and neither do my archives). We’ve been doing the blog thing so long, we’re practically dinosaurs. I don’t always post as often as I’d like, but Spilling the Beans is one of the best parts of my job. It’s a guilty pleasure of sorts (which also explains why it’s often last in line for my attention). A personal creative outlet that happens to dovetail nicely with my professional pursuits.
When I first started, there were just a few other parent bloggers. Over the years, that number has grown exponentially to the point where there will never be enough hours in the day to read all of the excellent content that gets posted online by moms and dads. I’m just another voice in a very big choir, but as long as we’re making beautiful music, I’m enjoying the ride. Even if I’m not getting enough sleep.
Sunshine Kids has just shipped the first updated Radian car seat models for 2010. The biggest change is the incorporation of Superlatch, a new, more robust LATCH connector that enables parents to use LATCH even after the child is over 48 pounds (the current weight limit on LATCH for all other car seats). The new models are called the Radian 65SL, the Radian 80SL and the Radian XTSL. The old models have been discontinued.
Superlatch is approved for use in cars manufactured after September of 2005, when a regulatory change increased the requirements for strength in the automobile anchor bars. So, you may ask (as I did), if the anchor bars in the cars are stronger, why isn’t every car seat approved for use with LATCH beyond the 48-pound weight limit? Superlatch works because of a unique convergence of circumstances. The increased strength of the anchor bars is one piece of the puzzle, but the strong, steel frame of the Radian car seats plays a key role, as does the Superlatch connector itself.
Watch the video below to learn all about Superlatch and how it works. I’m a geek, so I think this stuff is pretty cool.
In three days, we’re closing the mailing list for our annual catalog. This project is literally a labor of love; we handpick the products with input from everyone in the company, while our in-house, multitalented design team works overtime to collect information and photos and create a layout that rivals any other toy catalog we’ve seen. We’re a little biased. But still - last year’s catalog was awesome, and this one is even better. We’re collecting addresses until October 15, so make sure you are on the list. Click here to fill out the form. And tell all your friends, because the more, the merrier.
As anyone who has ever sat in a meeting with me knows, I love whiteboards. I love the way a whiteboard can help organize a conversation, define objectives and lend focus to an outcome. They’re also very entertaining when my kids come to visit - something which may be unremarkable in most other offices, but given that our office is usually littered with interesting toys, I’m always surprised by the whiteboard’s gravitational pull.
