The Baby Gizmo Giant Weekly Giveaway this week is the full-featured Simmons Kids Tour Buggy. Reversible seat? Check. Toddler seat that transforms to bassinet? Check. Adjustable handle, memory foam seat, adjustable footrest? Check. Check. Check. One lucky winner will win this fabulous stroller this week!

To watch our full video review of the Simmons Kids Tour Buggy go here:  Baby Gizmo Simmons Kids Tour Buggy Review

Lightweight stroller features 360 degree shock-absorbing 7″ swivel lock front wheels and oversized 10″ rear wheels for a smooth ride. The reversible seat with comfort bumper pad provides more strolling options. There’s a full multi-position recline with adjustable footrest for comfort and a five-point harness with soft shoulder pads for safety. Adjustable handle offers three positions, and the large under-frame storage bag is perfect for storing on-the-go necessities. Also features auto folding lock and one-touch back brake.

Yep, it’s Rafflecopter time again!  A blog comment is the only mandatory entry! Baby Gizmo friends don’t just stick with “mandatory” though, right? We are overachievers! So, there are additional (optional) entries you can get. But let us warn you – make sure you actually do the entries! If you click on “leave a blog comment” on the Rafflecopter widget – make sure you actually leave a blog comment. We check! If you don’t do the actual entry – it doesn’t count! You won’t win. We’ll both be sad.

*You can only do each entry method ONCE (besides the Twitter and Message Board post options which is once per day!) Please do not cheat and enter more than that! Doing each entry method will require a few different blog comments so don’t worry about commenting more than once. Just follow the Rafflecopter directions. Giveaway STARTS now and ends at 11:59pm EST on February 12, 2012. (US residents only!)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

My sister-in-law, who is an avid cruiser, chose the newest Holland America ship, Nieuw Amsterdam, for our voyage. While I had my reservations about this cruise line, the “3^rd and 4^th Passenger Sail Free” promotion last year was too good to pass up.

To be honest, I was concerned that Holland America is known to cater to an older crowd. While I figured the grandparents would have a ball, this cruise line isn’t known for its kid-friendly amenities that others are known for.  I was willing to go with the flow and check it out.  At the very least, I could report back to all our Baby Gizmo parents about our experience with three young kids on a 7-day Holland America cruise.

Embarkation

We arrived at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale at 11:30am on Sunday morning to a massive line. Thinking that we would beat the crowd since the rooms weren’t scheduled to be available until after 1pm, I was surprised by the crowds. After a random miscommunication (nothing to do with this review or Baby Gizmo!), we were able to skip the line and board the ship right away at the front of the line. While this was crazy good luck for us, a few of the waiting passengers were not so happy. Opps. Sorry, guys! 

We proceeded into the cruise terminal at 11:40a and we were through the check-in process with keys in hand and walking on-board by 12:20p.  Due to the whole line skipping thing, I’m not sure how long it would have taken to check in otherwise. Sorry. Every Holland America employee that we encountered to this point was absolutely amazing. Friendly. Polite. Patient (we have 3 kids!). Perfect with the kids.

Room

We booked a Verandah Room on the 5^th floor. This is your standard balcony room and our party had four rooms in a row so that we could open up the balcony dividers and walk from room to room. I was a wee bit nervous about the balcony with small children but was happy to see a solid plexiglass half-wall on the balcony that the kids could see out but couldn’t climb.

The room was a standard, small cruise room but I have to say that Holland America was amazing at making a small space work. They created more storage space in our room than we even needed which is no small task since I had “stuff” for 5 people. Under the bed was storage space which had two big drawers for our stuff and space for our 2 suitcases, folded Inglesina Zippy stroller, folded Radian XTSL car seat and additional blankets. There was also a huge closet full of shelves and hangers with plenty of space for all our clothes. 

We had a comfy queen-size bed, a love seat, a small (movable) table, a desk area with ottoman chair, and a mini-fridge. The mini-fridge was stocked with liquors and drinks that were an additional cost so I had the cabin steward quickly clean it out so that my kids wouldn’t get into it. We were then able to use the mini-fridge for our own drinks and snacks. This was great for keeping milk on hand for the 2 year old.

This type of room sleeps 4 comfortably. The loveseat pulled out to a bed and there was a hideaway bunk above the queen bed that the cabin steward unlocked and pulled down each evening for us. Needless to say the bunk was a huge hit with my kids!

The bathroom was standard with a sink and toilet but surprisingly had a full bathtub shower which came in handy with the kids. Overall, the room was a bit tight for all of us to walk around at the same time (very common on all standard cruise rooms!)  but definitely had room for all our stuff plus more! 

ClubHAL

Our first plan of action was to find about the kid’s program called ClubHAL for our two older children (4 and 6).  I have to say that there was a consensus among our group that ClubHAL definitely sounds like “Club Hell” if you say it quickly. Maybe they should reconsider the name since the kids’ uncle giggled every time we said the kids were going to ClubHAL?

ClubHAL is for kids 3+, so our 2 year old had to hang with us for the week as he was too young to join in the fun. During busier weeks, ClubHAL divides the kids into age groups 3-7, 7-12 and teens. Since there were so few kids during our week, all kids 3-12 were put together into what would normally be just the 7-12 year old room. I think there were only 4 teenagers on board so I’m not sure what they did.

We quickly heard that there were only 35 kids onboard this week which is basically no kids when there are almost 3,000 passengers aboard. This made me nervous as I thought the kids might not like ClubHAL with so few kids. Wrong. The kids LOVED it! Seriously, they begged each day to go back!

With so few kids visiting ClubHAL, there were basically two counselors. They were friendly but definitely ran a tight ship which was prefect for my two “spunky” kids that needed that. The ClubHAL room was very fun and kid-friendly. It had a real taxicab in the center of the room that the kids could climb in and out of, a large area full of bean bags to chill, art tables, various TVs mounted on the wall for Wii or Xbox playing, a large screen for movies and lots of space to roam.

There were planned activities each day from pizza and movie night to a pirate-themed evening. The kids even attended a show with their ClubHAL friends one evening. The ClubHAL hours of operation varied from day to day depending on if it was a port day or sea day. For example, on sea days it was open from 9-11a, 1-4 and 7-10p. Besides the snack in the evening, the Club was closed during mealtimes. I would have loved to see ClubHAL open earlier in the evenings. The kids didn’t really want to sit in the dining room every night with us but the grandparents wanted to go to dinner earlier than 7pm. If the Club had opened at 5pm, it would have been perfect.

Food/Dining

The food on the ship was excellent. For lunch and breakfast each day, we visited the casual buffet restaurant (Lido Restaurant) and the Terrace Grill that served hamburgers and hotdogs poolside. The kids’ favorite part was the ice cream and dessert bar, of course. While we tried the Lido for dinner, we definitely preferred the main dining room in the evening. The Manhattan Dining Room had a complete kid’s menu with yummy kid’s favorites like chicken tenders, mac and cheese and quesadillas.  Let’s just say that the Lido wasn’t so kid-friendly with their food choices in the evenings. Not a chicken tender in sight.

For the adults, the Manhattan Dining Room offered a menu with many choices from steak to seafood to pasta. If a guest didn’t like the daily specials, there was always a standard selection that was offered daily such as top sirloin, caesar salad and chicken breast. The food was always delicious, hot and cooked perfectly. For the kids, there was a special kid’s menu that included kid favorites such as mac and cheese, quesadillas and chicken tenders. The service was outstanding with the waitstaff paying special attention to the kids with paper animals each night.

Alternative Restaurants

On board there are three specialty restaurants that are an additional charge per person to eat at: Pinnacle, Tamarind and Canaletto. We decided to try the Pinnacle and the Tamarind.

The Tamarind is an Asian-fusion restaurant. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was phenomenal. If you are a fan of Asian-fusion food, including great sushi, this is a definitely can’t-miss restaurant on board at only $15pp!

While the Tamarind was great, the Pinnacle was by far our favorite dinner of the week. The Pinnacle is a steakhouse and carries a $25/per person charge with it. Let me just say, it’s definitely worth it to drop the kids at ClubHAL and eat there. If you plan to make reservations (you have to have reservations!) that coincide with ClubHAL hours, I definitely recommend making those reservations in advance. The only reservation we could get was 8:30pm no matter which night we chose, so one member of our party had to leave dinner before dessert was served to get the kids from ClubHAL when it closed at 10pm. Okay, back to the Pinnacle food. It was exceptional. Seriously, so good!  While we could have  had top sirloin every night in the dining room, it didn’t even hold a candle to the filet mignon and shrimp (“Land and Sea” entrée) at the Pinnacle. The service was also excellent in the Pinnacle. Our waiter, Bonie, was fantastic and even attentive to our 2 year old who joined us. (Remember he couldn’t go to ClubHAL.)

Pool

There are two pools on the Nieuw Amsterdam: the Lido Pool and the Adult Pool. The adult pool is just that – for adults. They are serious about that! The Lido pool is where you will find the few kids on board. The Lido pool was surrounded by comfortable deck chairs and no matter when we visited the area, we could always find chairs. This isn’t the kind of cruise that you need to hit the pool with your towels at 8am just to get a chair. Chairs are always available. There were three hot tubs surrounding the pool.

The kids had a good time each day laughing, splashing and playing in the pool and we never seemed to worry about upsetting any other guests in the area.  Most of the time the only ones in this pool were the kids and the parents. Any other guests who wanted to lounge on the side of the pool were smart to hang by the adult pool.

It’s important to note that like all major cruises, toddlers/babies in diapers (even swim diapers!) are not allowed in any of the pools. This is a safety regulation in order to avoid the pools from being contaminated on the ship.

Ports/Excursions

Our Western Caribbean cruise had four port days and two days at sea. Our itinerary included Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico.

Half Moon Cay

The first port on day two was Half Moon Cay which is Holland America’s private island. It was a great day to hang at the beach. We chose to do a horseback riding excursion in the morning and beach lounging in the afternoon. The “Horseback Riding by Land & Sea” was an excursion through the cruise line and five adults from our party participated. We had a great time with this 1 hour and 20 minute excursion. We spent about 25 minutes riding along the beach and an additional 20 minutes galloping in the water. Yes, we rode the horses in the sea! It was thrilling and a little scary all at the same time.

In the afternoon at Half Moon Cay, we hit the beach. My kids were pleased to see a large water playground with two waterslides right on the beach. On busier weeks, we were told that there are water trampolines out in the water but sadly not the week we visited. There was a floating mat that the kids (and the guys!) had a great time “walking on water”.  ClubHAL held a “playdate” on the beach in the morning but since our horseback riding conflicted with that AND the parents had to attend with the kids, we opted out of that ClubHAL activity.

Grand Cayman

On our fourth day, we docked at Grand Cayman. We chose a “Dolphin Memories and Turtle Farm” excursion through the cruise line at this port. We chose this particular excursion not only because swimming with dolphins sounded super fun but also because it was one of the few excursions that the kids could participate in. My husband, I and our 4 and 6 year old did the Dolphins trip. After a 25 min bus ride, we arrived at the Turtle Farm and Dolphin place. The turtle farm was great fun for the kids as they walked around looking at huge turtles all the way down to 12 week old baby turtles that they got to pick up and hold.

After visiting the turtles, we headed across the street to the Dolphins. We suited up with life jackets and went with a group of about 20 people into the pool with a dolphin. We petted, kissed, shook hands and played with the dolphin for about 30 minutes. Each person in the group (including the kids) got to take a turn with the dolphin. We weren’t allowed to take a camera into the pool with us and opted not to pay the $25 per photo charge for our dolphin encounter pictures so these general pictures will have to be good enough. Even without photos, it was one of the coolest excursions we have ever done and we are really glad we took the kids to join us. It’s not everyday that they get to have an encounter with a dolphin.

Honduras

Roatan, Honduras was our 3^rd port on our fifth day. We chose to skip all excursions and visit the beach instead. We loaded up all ten people in our party and played in the sand and water at a gorgeous beach. If you visit the Rotan Beach, I highly recommend walking the path to the beach instead of taking the ski lift chair that costs you $12/each. The walk is a 10 minute walk and unless you have people in your party who can’t walk that far, skip the chair lift!

Costa Maya, Mexico

Costa Maya was our 4th and final port. We had pre-planned a shore excursion to visit the Mayan Ruins through a local Costa Maya company rather than through Holland America. We had a private, air-conditioned van for our party of 10 and our own private tour guide for the same price as a group tour through the cruise line.

While the adults in the party really enjoyed this excursion, the almost 4 hour excursion was just too much for the kids in the group. It was an hour drive each way to get to the ruins and a hour and a half tour through the actual ruins. I think the travel time was what put my kids over the top with this one. By the time we arrived at the tour, within 10 minutes both my 4 and 6 year old were whining about returning to the ship to go swimming. We spent a lot of the ruins tour carrying children. Part of it was our fault because we didn’t realize that a stroller would have come in handy with this excursion.

The tour was fun and educational but I just wouldn’t recommend it for antsy kids between the ages of 2-6. And if you have to take them, I recommend bringing a stroller for the tour and a car seat for the van ride.

Activities/Entertainment

Since Holland America caters towards an older crowd, you will find different types of activities and entertainment than you would on other cruise lines. Instead of the volleyball tournaments, belly flop contests, and parades down the promenade, they have things like trivia contests, afternoon tea, card/scrabble player meet-ups and ballroom dance request hours. Besides the planned ClubHAL activities, there are not many kid-friendly activities. Sure, they have the traditional daily bingo games but they are not really meant for kids.

The ship has a basketball court/tennis court that is open all the time. There are rackets, tennis balls and basketballs ready to be used.  Every time we went up to the court, it was empty and ready for play.

In the ship’s theater, there are nightly shows to entertain. I have to be honest though, the shows are definitely not up to par with other cruise lines. I love show tunes. Love Broadway. Love musicals. Love theater. The shows that I saw during our cruise were just not that spectacular. I would compare it to a high school musical vs. the extravagant Broadway-style shows that I have seen on other cruise lines. They aren’t bad (the grandparents in our group thought the mid-week show was “cute”) but just know people don’t cruise Holland America because of the shows. All the adults under 40 in our group walked out after 10 minutes of sitting in the first show and headed to the casino.

Speaking of a casino, the adults in our party were very happy to see a casino onboard!  It had all your typical casino games like roulette, blackjack and craps, as well as, many slot machines to keep the gambling going.

Wrap-up

Overall, we had a fabulous week! We did miss all the kid-friendly activities of other cruises, but because of the pool, we never had a shortage of things to do. My kids could basically spend the entire day at the pool and that’s pretty much what we did when we weren’t getting off the ship at the various ports.

Yes, the ship is full of older people. I’m talking about 85% of the passengers were over 60!  To be honest, I was nervous from time to time during the week that my kids were upsetting the older passengers so I had to really keep them in check more than I normally would. An innocent run down the hall would worry me that a lady with a walker or a gentleman on a scooter would be around the corner. Most of the passengers were super sweet and smiled at my kids or told us that they looked just like their grandchildren who they missed. There were a few though that looked as if they didn’t appreciate the kids on board. Honestly, you’ll find that anywhere though. Some people are nice and understanding and some people aren’t. The staff on the other hand was excellent with the kids! Many of them said they had kids of their own and loved when kids were onboard. They really went out of their way to accommodate their requests and keep them happy.

Holland America is a different type of cruise for kids. There are no waterslides, mini-golf courses, rock walls, arcades, FloRiders, Johnny Rockets or even shuffleboard on the Nieuw Amsterdam. You have the pool, ClubHAL and a tremendous group of Holland America employees that give you the royal treatment. That being said, you don’t have the drunks in the hallways, the loud partying at night, the pools that you have to get to at 8am just to get a chair, pools with wall to wall people and a ship with 1/3 of the passengers being kids.

If you are looking to take the family on a cruise, I would definitely recommend Holland America if you are traveling with grandparents and looking for a low-key cruise. It’s one of those cruise ships that the grandparents will appreciate the lack of drunks and super loud music, but the kids will still have fun hanging with new friends at the pool and in ClubHAL.

For more information on a Holland America Cruise, visit their website at http://www.hollandamerica.com/

 *Disclosure: This was a personal family vacation. We’d like to thank Holland America for 2 of our 3 excursions and for covering the charge for the alternative restaurants. As always, all opinions and statements are our own.

As a follow-up to the video a few days ago, Essentials I Bring to Cruise with a Toddler,  I decided to do a video highlighting my tips and favorite products for airplane travel with a toddler.

SHOP the products featured in the video:

Cars 2 Lightning McQueen Rolling Luggage

Skip Hop Zoo Pack

CARES Harness

Zoobie Pet

Vtech Innotab

Crayola Twistables

We all know that once you become a mom, you enter the world of Judgerville. It’s a mean and brutal sorority that you don’t have to ask to be in because you are thrown into it whether you like it or not. Judgerville is the place where everyone judges your every parental move and rakes you over the coals for not doing it their way.

Before the internet, it was just nosy neighbors judging everything you did, but now with social media, moms have taken it upon themselves to be so much more brutal and mean to other moms online. Saying things they would never have the nerve to say to someone’s face but since they are sitting behind the security of their own computer, they feel a need or a right to chastise other moms as if they are the end-all, be-all of parents. Here is my open letter to all the Judgy Judgersons out there…

Dear Judgy Judgerson,

Yes, you are perfect. You are the image of sheer perfection in mommy-world. Obviously, every choice you have ever made is the right decision and you are brilliant. For that - I bow to you. Can’t you just be happy knowing that, and not share all your wisdom, critiques and outright judging with every single mom you encounter?

Being a mom is hard. Some days it feels like the hardest job in the world and I’m not sure how I’m going to make it to bedtime. Some days the crying, fighting, whining, temper tantrums, and chaos just feel a bit overwhelming. Kids are…well…kids. They can be awesome but they can also be exhausting.

The last thing I want to hear is that I’m doing everything wrong from the same women who are going through the exact same thing that I am. The same women who are supposed to feel my pain not give me more pain.

You’ve done everything right. You breastfed until your child was 3. You never checked your smart phone or watched TV while breastfeeding because you were constantly making eye contact for proper bonding. You never nursed your baby with intention of getting him back to sleep. When you did bottle feed, you had your child weaned by their first birthday without fail. You had your baby sleeping peacefully through the night at 2 days old with your strict schedule. You never let your baby cry themselves to sleep. You never rocked your baby to sleep. You never propped up a bottle with a receiving blanket so that your baby could eat (in a car seat – gasp!) when you didn’t have a free hand. You never forgot to restock diapers in the diaper bag and were left diaper-less with a diaper blowout at the car dealership. You never used a pacifier. You never used the Exersaucer as a babysitter to just to get a few things done around the house. You always cloth diapered to be the greenest mommy you could be. You read your kids countless books every single night no matter how tired you were. You never got tired. You never cried in the middle of the night that you just wanted the baby to go back to sleep. You never raised your voice to your children. You made all your own baby food all from organic fruits and vegetables, of course. You never missed videoing a baby milestone. You never gave your babies one taste of sugar (especially lollipop sugar!). You never stopped by McDonald’s because you just couldn’t bear to make dinner. You never contemplated calling a dry cleaning service to pick up all 10 loads of laundry that you just didn’t think you could get done. You never let your kids watch TV so you could have time to yourself. You never let your kid play with your iPhone so he would be quiet in the store. You never let your kids eat a piece of cheese and an ice cream cone for lunch because you just couldn’t argue about one more thing. You never felt happy that you were on vacation away from your kids because you got to have a little me-time. You never had the kids that turned into a train wreck in Walmart.

You never did any of that!  I get it. You. Are. Perfect. But me?  I am not.  And most moms aren’t either. I have done all those things and am probably still doing some of them.

I stopped breastfeeding at 6 months.

I’ve checked my iPhone or watched TV while breastfeeding because you know why…babies breastfeed A LOT!  Like every 2 hours. There is only so much eye contact bonding I can do.

I nursed babies back to sleep.

My 3^rd baby drank from a bottle until one week shy of his 2^nd birthday.

My last baby didn’t sleep through the night until 9 months and still at 2 years old may wake up from time to time.

My babies many times cried themselves to sleep.

My middle child slept in a crib until he was almost 4.

I rocked my babies to sleep from time to time.

I propped up that bottle in the car seat!

I was diaper-less at a car dealership with a diaper blowout.

My babies used pacifiers and it took until my oldest was 3 to wean her from it!

The Exersaucer was my best friend when my kids were babies.

I use and always have used disposable diapers.

I get tired and sometimes don’t read to my kids.

I’ve cried in the middle of the night that I wanted the baby to just SLEEP.

I’ve screamed at my kids.

I’ve have never made my kid’s baby food. Yes, they ate from the jar. (gasp!)

I’ve missed videoing plenty of milestones.

I’ve given my babies Dum Dum lollipops on more than one occasion.

Dinner is out of a bag many nights and McDonalds isn’t a strange place to us.

I’ve thought about the dry cleaning service.

I let my kids watch TV. Even my toddlers!!

My kids play with my iPhone. Often.

My kids have eaten cheese and ice cream for lunch.

I’ve been happy on vacation (and not guilty!) for having me-time.

That train wreck in Walmart has been, and will be again, MY KIDS.

Yep, that’s me. Little Ms. Non-Perfect Mommy!  Sure, I put myself out there all the time online and pretty much ask for judgment. I get it. I’m a little different because I run a baby website. But I’m writing you this letter on behalf of all those other moms who are just online or at your playgroup or at school or at the mall or at the restaurant that do not have as loud a voice!  They are all not perfect, but they don’t need you to tell them so. They say something here and there only to have you jump down their throat for not doing something right.

Yes, I’m totally not perfect in the way that I judge others too. I’m not going to lie and act like I don’t. When it comes to things like car seat safety, my brother putting Mountain Dew in his kid’s sippy cups, and people having iPads for their kids who are sitting in a piece of crap stroller- I’ve judged. Yep. I did it. I can admit it. I am not perfect. Add it to my list.

But I ask you, Judgy Judgerson, to have a heart. Keep most of your judging to yourself. We all love a good discussion but sometimes your judging turns mean, brutal, unnecessary and people’s feelings get hurt. Remember we are all moms and all in this crazy ride we like to call motherhood together. Just give us imperfect moms a break. Please? Thank you.

xoxo,

Hollie

PS. If you have to judge – just judge the celebrity moms. They aren’t really like us anyway with their nannies, night nurses and 1.3 million dollar births. Judge Beyonce. Whatever. The celebrities don’t care if we judge them, I’m sure. They probably expect it because they are “celebrities”. Opps…was that judging?

We just returned from a weekend adventure to the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. If you haven’t heard of this indoor/outdoor waterpark resort, you should!  Kalahari is a full-featured resort that offers something for everyone in the family from the babies to the grandparents. While Wisconsin can be brutally cold in the winter, it’s always summertime inside the indoor waterpark where you and your kids can splash in the wave pool, brave the water slides, surf the waves in the Flowrider, hang with the kids by the giant water play structure in the center or the new Tiko’s Waterhole for the toddlers, or just pull up a beach chair and drink to relax.  

On our visit this weekend, we tried to see as much of the inside fun as we could.  While it’s a bit much to get done in 2 days, we accomplished a lot to bring you an inside look at Kalahari.

All the details are below but if you’d prefer to watch our video review about Kalahari, just click play on the video below:

ARRIVAL

I don’t know if it was a combination of good timing and good luck or if this is how it always is, but we arrived at 7pm on a Friday night and I was through the check-in process with key in hand within 3 minutes.  We were helped by “Jason” at the front desk to check-in and I have to tell you – this was service!  He was polite, helpful, friendly and yet speedy all at the same time. Kudos to Jason!

ROOM

We had a two bedroom suite for our stay and I cannot say enough good things about it.  If you have small children (we have a 2, 4 and 6 year old), I highly recommend looking into one of their 1, 2 or 3 bedroom suites.  What was fantastic about our room was that there were two separate bedrooms (one with a king and another with 2 queen beds) where the kids could sleep while we chilled in the living room and watched TV by the fireplace without fear that we’d wake the kids.

The room was super clean when we arrived and was complete with a mini-fridge, full-sized coffee maker, sink and wet bar. The two full bathrooms were perfect for our bunch since there was a lot of changing in and out of swimsuits. We had a large balcony complete with patio furniture that we didn’t use because it is January but would be of great use in the summer.

LOBBY AND COMMON AREAS

Kalahari has an African theme and it is shown throughout the resort.  The front lobby is large and welcoming and my kids loved the African animals around every turn. I loved the multiple lounge coves in the resort that were setup with large, comfy couches, a fireplace and plenty of room to just sit and relax.

In the lobby, you will find the Sweet Hut (think yummy homemade ice cream, caramel apples to die for and lots of other candies), Pottery Pizzaz for those looking for a fun pottery craft, Java Manjaro for a hot drink or tasty baked good and gift shops.

RESTAURANTS

For breakfast on Saturday morning, we headed out with pancakes in mind.  We decided to visit The Ivory Coast Lounge because of its laid back feel (it’s right off the lobby!) and menu full of pancakes, eggs and other breakfast goodies. We were seated immediately and greeted by our waiter, Alex, within 1 minute.  Alex was superb! He was friendly, great with the kids and quick.  He checked on us often without being annoying. Alex even dropped the check immediately upon seeing we were finishing up. This obviously wasn’t the first table of kids he has waited on during his shifts.

The food was excellent. It was hot, the portion size was good and everything was tasty. No complaints at the Ivory Lounge from start to finish. Great place to eat. We enjoyed it so much that we returned to the Ivory Coast for lunch and had the same great experience.

Other sit-down restaurant choices on property are: Damon’s – BBQ restaurant specializing in prime rib, grilled steaks, chicken, seafood, salad, and ribs, Kahunaville – a tropical themed casual restaurant where the bartenders entertain, and Great Karoo – a nicer restaurant featuring steaks, pasta and restaurant made desserts.

INDOOR WATERPARK

Wisconsin Dells is known for their waterparks and Kalahari is probably one of the most well-known. Kalahari has two waterparks, one indoors and one outdoors. Since we visited in the middle of winter, the outdoor waterpark was obviously closed and we focused on the indoor park which was the highlight of our trip. My kids couldn’t wait to hit the waterpark as soon as we walked into the lobby. Kalahari’s indoor waterpark has a wave pool, lazy river, giant water play structure, Flowrider, new Tiko’s Water Hole (for babies and toddlers) and 7 waterslides.

We were excited to visit just weeks after Kalahari completed a multi-million dollar renovation to their indoor waterpark that included a new baby/toddler area and three new thrill waterslides.

I have to say we have been to many indoor waterparks in Wisconsin Dells and Kalahari’s is one of our favorites. First, I love that the entire waterpark is in one building so if you are visiting with teenagers, younger children and babies, they can all remain in the same building with activities that will appeal to all of them. Other water park resorts may separate the wave pool, toddler areas and water slides into different buildings therefore making you pack up everyone each time you want to switch from let’s say the wave pool to the toddler area. I just like it all in one place like Kalahari. Second, I think Kalahari is the perfect sized indoor waterpark.  Not too big but definitely not too small. Third, Kalahari has definitely taken time to accommodate its smaller visitors with plenty of play space.

With my 2, 4, and 6 year old in tow, we headed straight for the giant water play structure called “Leopard’s Lair”. This water structure was huge complete with 7 kid-sized water slides, rope ladders and lots of fountains and water sprays. The water wasn’t too deep but there are life jackets provided by the resort that they ask that all children 42” and under to wear. Leopard’s Lair is a perfect area for your 3-9 year old children give or take a year or two. My 2 ½ year old even loved it and his favorite part was that there wasn’t a huge bucket of water that dumped all over the structure that scared him at other waterpark resorts. There is a constant rain in one area of Leopard’s Lair (that you can avoid) but no water dump – which he appreciated.

One of the new areas of the water park was “Tiko’s Watering Hole” which was designed exclusively for the tiny crowd of babies and toddlers. This area was a perfect size for the 2 year old. It’s complete with 10 little waterslides, baby water swings/bouncy chairs, a mini lazy river (complete with mini rafts!) and lots of little water sprays. Tiko’s Watering Hole keeps the African theme with lots of animals that the little ones can climb all over.

If you have older kids or a husband that is a kid at heart, the 7 waterslides are awesome. Between my husband and I (and the kids on the family raft ride), we hit them all. Note: Some of these waterslides such as the Screaming Hyena and Sahara Sidewinders are not for the faint of heart. They are scary! The FlowRider is also a fun area for the older kids and adults. It’s a five-foot ocean-like wave that allows you to “surf” or “boogie board”. 

A wave pool and lazy river complete the waterpark with activities that would appeal to everyone from babies to grandparents.

My three tips for the indoor water park are:

1)  If you plan to sit on the sidelines, dress lightly and sit near the perimeter of the building. While the temperature is absolutely perfect if you are in the water, it can be quite warm if you are not. The coolest areas are near the emergency exit doors.

2)  Bring your own towels or a robe if you plan to walk back to your room before changing out of your swimsuits. The resort provides towels but you are required to leave the towels in the locker rooms before you leave. The walk back to your room in a wet swimsuit can be a little chilly without a towel or robe.

3)  Get to the waterpark when it opens at 9am in the morning. You will be able to ride every waterslide without waiting in any lines and it will be the least busy time.

ARCADE

My kids love games and the arcade next to the waterpark was a huge hit. It was stocked with games such as skee-ball, claw games (yes, I still hate the claw game!), driving and shooting games. All the games work with credits on a card so there are no coins to deal with and tickets can be won.

INDOOR THEME PARK

A unique area of Kalahari is the Giant Indoor Theme Park!  It has a giant indoor ferris wheel (totally cool!), 100s of arcades games (yes, many of those darn claw games here too!), rock climbing wall, ropes course, mini-golf, go carts, laser tag and a bowling alley. You can buy a theme park wrist band for a daily fee (it doesn’t include things like bowling and arcade games though) or you can pay for each activity separately.

We chose to play a few arcade games and hit the bowling alley. My kids have never bowled before and I figured since they had bumpers and lightweight bowling balls, we’d give it a whirl.  It was a huge hit! The bowling alley was not crowded (we were there at 5pm on Saturday night) and we got a lane right away. For lane fee and shoe rental, it was $7/person.

OTHER RESORT AREAS

Kalahari also has a huge AMC theater attached to the resort if you’d like to catch one of the latest flicks while you are visiting. See, I told you this resort really has everything! A spa, fitness center and pottery shop (the kind you paint a pottery piece) round out the amenities to the inside of Kalahari.  There is a golf course and outdoor waterpark that we missed on the outside.

Overall, we had a fabulous weekend getaway at Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Every resort employee we encountered from the front desk staff to the lifeguards to the cleaning staff were unbelievably friendly – the kind of people that go out of their way for you. We did not meet one single person with an “attitude”! Love that!

If you are trying to decide where to stay in the Wisconsin Dells or you hadn’t considered a vacation to the Wisconsin Dells before our review, I highly recommend the Kalahari Resort. I can’t find anything wrong with it!  It can be pricey but if you go in the off season, during the week or wait for a special, you’ll get a deal and it will be worth every penny. We can’t wait to visit again during the summer to try out the outdoor waterpark because we are sure it’s as great as the indoor park!

*Disclosure:  We’d like to thank Kalahari Resorts for providing the room for our review. As always, all opinions and statements are our own.

Congratulations to the Bugaboo Donkey Winner –

Caree C. from Peoria, AZ!

According to the Chinese calendar, 2012 is the year of the Dragon.  Not at Baby Gizmo! We consider it the year of the Donkey! The Bugaboo Donkey that is! We ended 2011 with some pretty great giveaways and we wanted to start 2012 with a bang as well. Why not start the year with the biggest giveaway yet?!?  Well, it’s the biggest giveaway of 2012 so far!  That’s right we are giving away a fabulous, chic, fantastic, celebrity-worthy Bugaboo Donkey to one lucky winner. Woot! Woot! This stroller was so special that when it was announced we even did a pretty funny ”Unauthorized Donkey Video” when they first unveiled it in the US at the ABC Kids Show. Luckily, Bugaboo didn’t hold it against us that we did the video undercover Dateline-style because they have agreed to let us be the second to do a Donkey giveaway. Why weren’t we the first? Hmmmm…maybe they did hold it against us?

This giveaway is so HUGE that we are giving you 2 weeks to enter!  The giveaway starts now and ends at 11:59pm EST Friday, January 14, 2012!

To read (and watch!) our full review of the Bugaboo Donkey go here:  Baby Gizmo Bugaboo Donkey Review

To watch our “Unathorized Donkey Video” (you might want to because there might be a quiz!) go here: 

Baby Gizmo Unauthorized Donkey Video

Yep, it’s Rafflecopter time again! Rafflecopter has changed things up a bit so take a look and follow the directions on the widget below.  A blog comment is the only mandatory entry! Baby Gizmo friends don’t just stick with “mandatory” though, right? We are overachievers! So, there are additional (optional) entries you can get. But let us warn you – make sure you actually do the entries! If you click on “leave a blog comment” on the Rafflecopter widget – make sure you actually leave a blog comment. We check! If you don’t do the actual entry – it doesn’t count! You won’t win. We’ll both be sad.

*You can only do each entry method ONCE (besides the Twitter and Message Board post options which is once per day!) Please do not cheat and enter more than that! Doing each entry method will require a few different blog comments so don’t worry about commenting more than once. Just follow the Rafflecopter directions. Giveaway STARTS now and ends at 11:59am EST on Janurary 13, 2012. (Sorry, US residents on this one, folks!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With so many people traveling for the holidays with their children to grandparents and relative’s homes, we thought it was a great opportunity to do a quick video on dangers to watch out for in a non-babyproofed home.  From location from “grandma’s house”, I highlight different areas of the house to just keep in mind to keep your babies safe. This video was filmed with complete cooperation and approval from the grandparents.

Everyone is in a mad rush to get all their holiday shopping done.  If you still have a young child to buy for on your shopping list, the cloud b Twilight Turtle or Ladybug is a great option!  We highlight both products in this brief Baby Gizmo video review:

If you have been shopping for a tablet for you child for the holidays, you are probably struggling with the decision – Innotab or LeapPad.  Which ones better, right?  It’s the question of the season!!  Well, we have reviewed both the Innotab AND the LeapPad and we’ve put together a side-by-side comparison video to help you out.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Have you decided?

SHOP VTech Innotab HERE

SHOP LeapFrog LeapPad HERE

Living in the fashion capital of the world, I would never be caught dead in a reindeer sweater. (No offense, folks!)  However, I have managed to find some stylish clothes that I am able to put my stamp of approval on for the little ones to dress in the holiday spirit.  I am pretty confident that other fashionistas would agree and none will break the bank.

IF I had a daughter and celebrated Christmas (heck even as a Jew!) I would dress her up in this MudPie I Love Santa Tutu Set ($38)

Available in size 12-18 months and 2T-3T, the 2 piece set includes long sleeved cotton top with  embroidered sequin heart “I Love Santa,” chiffon ruffle tutu and matching polka dot pants.

 This Christmas carol parody No More Silent Nights Onesie ($11.00) couldn’t be more perfect for your newborn due around the holidays to meet his/her new admirers.  Fits 0-3 months.  100% cotton.

You feel as if your baby is a gift delivered straight from Santa and he/she will look so adorable celebrating the holidays in thisInfant Santa Jacket by Gund ($21.99)

It features a red fleece Santa coat with hood and plush lining around waist and wrists.  Fits ages 3-12 months.

Look what happens when mommy kisses Santa Claus!  This shirt is guaranteed to be the talk of the playground after the holiday parties.  Result of Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Shirt ($29.95)  Machine embroidered “Result of Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” on a red tshirt size 12 months to 8.  This can also be embroidered on a onesie in red, comes is sizes 0-3 months and 3-6 months.  Your child’s name or initials can be monogrammed under the design.