A kid in a toy store... literally! #sweetsuite12

I have to tell you, one of the "funnest" events I attended during BlogHer '12 was The Big Toy Book’s Sweet Suite.  Imagine a room, with THREE adjoining rooms, and ALL are FULL of toys!!!  Not only toys, but toys that are out in the open for us to play with!  I was supposed to have been there for an hour, I ended up being there almost 3
;) 

Seriously was hoping my kids could have been in there so they could have played with everything, but in a way it was a good thing because we would have never left the building ;) 

From Etch-a-sketch, to Xbox Kinect, to Pony Royale, to Bandai toys to Skylanders to Legos!!!

The sad part is that I had no phone, it wasn't until later that weekend that I won a phone during the expo at BlogHer, which maybe was a good thing because I would have gotten sent to twitter jail with all of the pics ;)

My favorite had to have been Pony Royale, because my daughters love horses, and for my boys Bandai and Skylanders are a staple in our house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The fun/awesome/nice part of the event for me was the Xbox kinect center.  2 weeks before BlogHer '12 our house was broken into and all of our electronics were stolen, the kids video game consoles and anything else you can think of.  Being so stressed about not having renter's insurance and not having an outlet, it felt good to have a little piece of excitement I would have otherwise be having at home with the kids. 
Video games and board games are our thing.  We spend a lot of time together, it's easy to do that when you have a $0 budget for fun lol.  Needless to say, it helped me realize how much I want an Xbox kinect when ever we are able to save up again for another, it's fun, the workouts you get are amazing, and the best part for me as a Mother of 6; is that there are no controllers to fight over, to lose, to buy batteries for. 

Defintely loved the Sesame Street games, because c'mon who doesn't love Sesame Street?!?!!?!?

 

I wish I could show you picks from the event, but as I finally have a laptop in my possession, I will post about the event, toys, and wonderful people I met ;)  It is an amazing experience not only to see so many toys, to get ideas for your kids, for the Holidays, but also to be able to interact with the vendors and representatives who know so much more about the toys than most Moms do ;)  I can honestly say that I learned several things about toys my kids play with, that I otherwise never would have known.  I was able to learn a few facts about the Skylanders that my kids don't know I know ;)

Want to read some fun facts about the Xbox Kinect?  Of course you do!! ;)

Ten Things I learned at the Xbox Sweet Suite Booth

1. No more worries of throwing a controller through the TV screen. According to Kinect, “I am the controller,” a tagline I may need on a t-shirt to wear around the house as a reminder.

2. I can use Xbox LIVE to play my favorite YouTube videos and even watch Netflix. All-you-can-watch Nicholas Sparks movies and talking dog videos after the kids are in bed – sign me up!

3. Xbox LIVE isn’t just a gamer thing. It’s a service that has my favorite TV shows and it won’t judge me if I waste an entire Saturday watching Downton Abbey, True Blood and Glee episodes.

4. Next month, they’re introducing 2-way TV experiences with Sesame Street and Nat

Geo shows so I can finally trick my kids into learning while they watch

their favorite TV shows!

5. “Dance Central 3” is an instant party in your living room. You can

bring out your mother-in-law’s competitive side with a dance-off in

“Crew Throwdown,” or just keep the music and dancing rolling with your

girlfriends in party mode.

6. With “Nike+ Kinect Training,” I can get my sexy back in my living room, and the virtual trainer who coaches my every move won’t call me out for wearing the same yoga pants three days in a row.

7. Xbox LIVE is packed with streaming and archived sports, even Olympic highlights!

8. I can set up my Xbox to only show the content I approve for my kids. I am the controller after all.

9. Kinect games will get my kids off the couch and they’ve won accolades from groups like the Children’s Technology Review and Parents’ Choice Awards.

10. On August 5, I can watch the live Mars Rover landing with my family on Xbox LIVE.

Seriously, if you don't already have an Xbox Kinect, start saving for Christmas, it will be the best gift under the tree ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!