sweetisu

I’m not going to apologize talking about KangarooBoo on here. It’s not shameless that I talk about my business here - I started this blog way before we started KangarooBoo. I don’t see any shame in talking about something that takes up so much of my time. And KangarooBoo is our third baby. I just wanted to clear that out for all intent and purposes, for future references, and for just in case.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you some of the things we’ve been busying with in the last few months.

We’ve added several brands and literally hundreds of new products to our selections. Brands that we’ve added:
* Petitcollin
* Plan Toys
* Boon
* Green Toys

Petitcollin was founded in 1860, almost 150 years ago! Petitcollin dolls are made in France, the last French factory of dolls that’s still in operation. I adore these dolls. They have a sweet but not overwhelming vanilla smell to them, they are phthalate free dolls and many of them can be used as bath dolls. The best is they have a large selection of boy dolls and ethnic dolls that are usually hard to find!
A few of the Petitcollin dolls. Click here to see more

Plan Toys create toys that inspire imagination as well as promote children’s physical and intellectual development along with being socially & environmentally responsible and maintaining good values. Plan Toys are made from sustainable rubberwood. Trees that produce rubber eventually cease to produce rubber, those trees are then cut down to make room for new ones. Instead of burning the trees like the old practice used to do, these trees are now being used for all kinds of things, including making toys! Fun toys, eco-friendly practices and great value. What’s not to love about Plan Toys??

Boon feeding products are phthalate free, BPA free, and they look really nice and modern. Boon bath products are awesome too. After we started using Flo a year ago, no more bathtub injuries by the stupid faucet! The kids love LOVE using the Fluid sippy cup. The only drawback on the sippy cup is, it cannot be tipped over inside a bag or the liquid will spill out. We’ve been able to get Fiona to drink a lot more water by leaving it around the house near her height level or taking it on walks. The ergonomic design allows her to grab the bottle one-handed really well!

Lastly, Green Toys. Absolutely green, eco-friendly, and completely safe. These toys are made from recycled milk jugs (not kidding!). All made and packaged in California. Not only is it keeping jobs right here in the US, but it’s also reducing carbon imprint caused by enormous amounts of shipping back and forth to overseas countries.

We’ve also added hundreds and hundreds of new items to our already existing brands: Haba, Vilac, Flensted Mobiles, Zid Zid Kids, Vulli, Melissa and Doug, Maple Landmark, Fred & Friends and Estia. Whew. That was a mouth full. Trying to organize it and fit it all in place is even harder!

As always, you can see the new arrival products (being added daily! so check back often) by viewing it here. We send out an occasional newsletter periodically to let people know about new products, and or discounts. Sign up if you’re inclined to get the latest news. The sign up box is at the bottom of most pages on our website.

I originally planned to talk about another very important thing too, but this post is longer than I anticipated. So I’ll talk about that next time.

Thank you to those of you who’ve supported and continue to support us by purchasing toys and products from KangarooBoo, and or by telling others about us. You know who you are! We truly truly appreciate it.

Almost everyone knows about Sophie the Giraffe (natural rubber, phthalate-free, food quality paint), a very popular teething toy by French company Vulli. Sophie has been and continues to be very popular in Europe for the last several decades and getting increasingly noticed in America, and among celebrity-parents.

What is little known is the new line of teethers and toys offered by the same great company who’s made Sophie since 1961. Chan Pie Gnon is a cute little word-play with the French word “champignon” which means mushroom. Chan (blue) Pie (pink) Gnon (yellow) are actually three siblings who are adorably shaped like mushrooms. They possess qualities that Sophie has — handmade, natural rubber, pthalate-free and use food quality paint. They also make a fun little squeaking noise when squeezed and each has their name written on their tummy.

Chan Pie Gnon

Perfectly safe, great for grabbing, squeezing, and even chewing!!! And they look so darn cute!

In the last week or so, we’ve gotten some blog buzz.

So I made a page where I list all the blogs that have posted mentions of KangarooBoo. I truly appreciate the kindness and sincerity. I thought I’d share with all of you too. The page will sit permanently on my sidebar to the right, immediately below the “calendar” there (or maybe I’ll move it to the header? not sure yet).

Linky Love Page

My little token of thank you.

Grab some tissues before proceeding if your tears run easily like mine.
- - -

A lot of times I don’t believe things happen for a reason, but if I allow myself to take a closer look to dissect and analyze events and sequences in which they happen, I often end up with the conclusion that indeed, things do happen for a reason.

I “met” Sandy because of this year’s Nablopomo. Her blog is Momisodes. She’s funny, witty, talented, beautiful inside and out, and our two-year-old daughters are exactly 6 days apart. From reading her blog, she’s also likely to have the same taste in food choices as I do. I wonder how often we would hit the noodle joints and dimsum places together if we lived closer and close to good ethnic foods.

Unbeknownst to me, Sandy is also a co-founder of ConnectingMoms, and she wanted to interviewed me! I was very excited at the opportunity and said yes. Here’s the interview link, in which you’ll read about some of the things in my past and where I talked a little about our store KangarooBoo as well. Little did I know she also wrote a very moving post about me yesterday on her blog. I cried when I read her post. I broke down and wads of tissues ensued wiping my eyes and nose.

Thank you Sandy for everything. I am so glad to have met you online and hope we will meet in person some day. I’m sure our girls will enjoy each other’s company as well.

We’re having a big Black Friday sale at KangarooBoo. For today only, take 20% off of your entire purchase!

Go to KangarooBoo.com for more details.

For advance notice of future news, new products, promotions, etc, sign up with our newsletter. Worry not, your email address is safe with us. We hate spam too.

Now KangarooBoo has its very own blog!

It is a space where we make announcements, new features, new brands or new toys, share with you about our media and press coverages, and anything else related to KangarooBoo.com

You can subscribe to the RSS feed to KangarooBoo blog (our “new arrivals” are also on RSS feed!). We welcome you to comment on our blog, make suggestions, comments, or anything else related. We’d love to hear from you.

I probably will cross link the info on my personal blog from time to time, but check there for all the details

I typically do not subscribe to horoscope readings or fortune tellers.

I was on some website and it said I have a “NEW horoscope” for today. Well now, who can resist NEW?! I was not disappointed, because this is what it said:

“The line between your family and your career is starting to get blurry — and that might not be such a bad thing. Blending your two worlds right now will enable you to operate more efficiently in both of them. You will be able to be your entire, whole self all the time — which means your ideas will be more valuable and your emotions will be more complete. Embrace this change in your life and try to push any anxieties away. There are good things coming.”

Are all horoscopes so generic that no matter who is reading it will feel a connection to it?! Is that the whole idea behind it? I really did feel a tug in my heart when I read that. I think The Universe knows that we have many challenges ahead, to make a name of ourselves, and to blend family and work life together in a way that we’ve not done before.

Embrace. Good things are coming.

As told to me by Hubby.

This afternoon the kids were playing threading with their Baba. They both like to do things with their hands and threading beads is a perfect activity to keep them busy and occupied, not to mention it greatly helps with hand eye coordinations, fine motor skills and patience.

They were using this Haba Threading Beads set. It comes with 72 pieces (6 different shapes) and 3 long strings, just the perfect number of strings.

Things were going good, until they (Seb) decided it was too quiet…

Fiona “Look! This is a necklace,” proudly showing off her creation to Baba.

Seb “No, that’s a budoodah.” (he likes to make up words, and he also likes to aggravate little sister from time to time like a brother would, knowing this will definitely irritate her).

Fiona “NO! It’s a necklace!”

Seb “NO it’s a budoodah”

Fiona, now frustrated, screams “NOOOO! It’s a neck-LACE!”

Seb, smiling, fully aware of what he’s doing, “NO it’s a BUDOODAHHHH.”

Fiona CRYING/SCREAMING “NOOOOOO it’s a NECKLACE” and then proceeds to strike Seb with her hands, in an attempt to quiet him.

***
Glad I was not there doing the referee work. So when do siblings stop fighting like this?! Never?? SIGH.

Beta test is completed, for now. Hopefully all the bugs are gone or will be gone soon.

SO! We are officially open for business! After months and months of preparation, KangarooBoo is finally here!

Please come by to take a look, sign up, tell your friends/family, stick around (and click around too), check us out! And you just might find something that you’ll want to get for the beloved little ones in your life.

Our store offers natural toys, handcrafted and handmade toys, open-ended playthings, and unique children products for infants and up. We do not have TV character types of toys. We are constantly adding new inventory, as well as new features for our users. So come on over and browse around, we’d love to have you!

Below is a very small sample of some products that we offer. Click on the images to go to the product detail page on KangarooBoo.

Melissa & Doug Food Groups Set

Haba Fantasy Land Jigsaw Blocks

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Fishing Game

Haba Tra-la-la Wooden Clip

Haba Blossoms Pacifier Chain

Vulli Chan Pie Gnon

Zid Zid Kids Mama Popo Cushion

Zid Zid Kids Monkey Bag