I liv for Liv Dolls (and other dolls too!)

www.livworld.com

Liv dolls are totally cool dolls that can do yoga. They have eight movable joints - ankles, knees, hips, waist, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck and you can remove their hair. They have very pretty wigs that can be colorful or normal hair colors. They can have short hair or long hair. The dolls are so cute. There are four Liv dolls - Alexis, Sophie, Katie and Daniela. I have Sophie and Katie. Liv dolls are so fun cuz you can change their wigs from brown to green to blonde to pink. They are teens. They are four fashionable female friends. They made new Liv dolls that come with dogs. Daniela has DJ, Katie has Sk8 but I don't remember the others. They fit in Barbie clothes.

Lily

lily is not a girly girl but she loves dolls. she has four baby dolls who are her "children" - sissy, stella, bella and rebecca chelsea. one or all of these "kids"  have come with us wherever we go for as long as i remember. they have more clothes than i do and get christmas presents every year. this year lily asked for a "twin" brother for rebecca chelsea and was very disappointed when santa brought a "little brother" instead. (message to toy manufacturers. everyone is making 18" american girl type dolls but not a boy in the bunch. somebody please make a boy doll. please!) sissy was the first. lily got her for her first christmas. she is a red haired moppet, an adorable cloth doll, a madame alexander doll made in the image of a mary englebreit illustration. i am convinced that lily will have sissy all of her life. for a while she was obsessed with groovy girls. adorable cloth kids by manhattan toy. a great alternative to barbie for young kids who love fashion and dress up. they have cute outfits that come on and off easily and close with velcro so little fingers don't have to fumble and little fashionistas don't get frustrated. for christmas this year lily wanted the newest doll to hit the market, the liv doll. i was skeptical - another doll, another gimmick and more STUFF to buy. but the liv dolls are different. unlike the vacuous barbie the liv dolls are 4 tween friends with distinct personalities and interests. they are also super posable which has been fun for lily who likes to style, pose and photograph her dolls for fashion shoots. each doll comes with two wigs. accessory wig packs in different styles and colors are also available which has been fun for lily as well. the dolls are a little pricey around $17.00 each but the latest dolls come with a dog as well as clothing wigs and accessories. the dolls are also computer interactive (what toy isn't these days.) we are disappointed that the yoga set and Katie's skateboard which figure prominently in the advertising are not available for sale anywhere at this point.

mom

the Hot Pink Cake Stand , Wilmington, NC 3/10/10

 i love the hot pink cake stand, a fairly new addition to wilmington's downtown at 114 north front street. i first tried it by myself last week. in the time it has been open the hot pink cake stand has gained a reputation for delicious cupcakes and beautiful cakes made by owner and cake artist jody carmichael who is as cute and sweet as her creations. since it was early morning on my first visit i tried a blueberry muffin which was the perfect breakfast treat. i returned the next day to try vegan pineapple cupcakes that jody told me about the day before. just as i walked in another customer purchased the last of the pineapple - no problem i bought lemon and coconut instead and brought them home to share with lily. they were both delicious but we both had a slight preference for the lemon - super yummy.  the hot pink cake stand is the perfect combination of cozy, fresh and modern decorated in bright pinks and greens and blues with fresh flowers everywhere! the tables at the front are the perfect place for girlfriends to stop and chat after shopping or for an informal business meeting. i prefer to sit at the mosaic glass tiled counter and chat with jody as she works. what fun! in addition to cupcakes and muffins, jody has added cookies, scones and brownies to the menu and plans to add a savory breakfast roll sometime this week. vegan cupcakes are available daily ( i tried the chai tea variety and it was delicious) and gluten free are available friday and saturday. check out the hot pink cake stand's fan page on facebook to see what jody has baked fresh each day. or check their website @ www.hotpinkcakestand.com


mom




I like that the Hot "Pink" Cake Stand was "pink". The cupcakes were terrific. I've had lemon, coconut and vanilla. Lemon was my favorite. I am looking forward to eating the Oreo cupcake. The cupcakes there were awesome and the lady that owns it is very friendly. I liked sitting at the counter. The counter top is pretty and you can see them making cupcakes. It would be a great place to have party decorating cupcakes or an easter egg cupcake hunt. I want to go back over the weekend for a playdate with Chloe and eat cupcakes.


Lily

Book Fair 3/5/10

i love books. i have always loved books. some of my best memories from my childhood are being read to by my mom. some of my best memories as a mom are reading with my child. i love that lily shares my love of reading and my love of books. it makes me smile to hear her read aloud some nights when she is in bed, creating different voices for each character, reading with feeling and emotion. long before lily was even a thought i collected children's books choosing them for their simple telling of a beautiful story or their rich and whimsical illustration. i took favorite books from my own childhood with me when i grew up and moved away from home. before she was born i imagined us curled up together reading. so twice a year i look forward to the school book fair with almost as much excitement as lily does. we have discovered some of our favorite books at the book fair - knuffle bunny by mo willems, the miraculous journey of edward tulane by kate di camillo and the first book in the suddenly supernatural series which lily loves. in the past lily and i have butt heads about book choices i believe in exposing her to literature and helping her make good choices. i DO judge a book by it's cover. book design is an art and i look for newbury and caldecott award winners. books about barbie or spongebob are not literature. i have had to persuade her in the past to choose a real story over a flashy, heavily advertised character. this year lily made all her own choices based on subject matter that interests her. she took the time to look and read back covers before determining what she would like to purchase and there was not a barbie or spongebob in the bunch. take the opportunity to meet your child at the book fair and look together.  guide kids to books and topics your children are interested in and steer them away from the glitzy, non- book trinkets that are unfortunately available at these fairs. if you can't make it to the fair send your child with money (easier to stay within budget if mom's not there) and a note to the teacher saying you wish your child to purchase BOOKS at the book fair.

mom


I went to the book fair at my school and I bought three books, My Sister the Vampire - Revamped, Wait Till Helen Comes and Cicada Summer. I wanted to buy a pointer which is a hand on a pole for pointing at stuff but my mom said I couldn't. I am going use my own money to get it because I like them. They are cool. I like to read ghost stories. I like mysteries. They are scary and fun.

Lily

iLove iCarly

I do love iCarly! But not as much as.......MANDY!!!!! Their biggest fan. It's an awesome show. It's a show about a web show that is made by three cool tweens - Carly (Shay), Sam (Pucket) & Freddy(Benson). Spencer is Carly's older brother, & my favorite character too. iCarly  is a crazy show! My favorite episode was when Freddy made FRED ( from YouTube ) mad. I like when Sam insults Freddy and Spencer's sculptures - "Merry Sniffmas", "Yippee Yi YoYo", "Giant Newton Ball" and "The Seat of Sitting" to name just a few. Believe it or not there's a new episode where Carly, Sam and Freddy go into outer space. I can't wait.

lily



honestly, i like iCarly too. it doesn't talk down to kids the way disney channel shows do and the kids are not nearly as dweeby and obnoxious, plus it references pop culture, changing names of say, bobby flay to ricky flame, pf cheng's to to bf wangs and the disney channel ( where middle aged men steal ideas from iCarly for their lame TV shows) to the dingo channel. as kids TV goes - not too painful, maybe even kind of cute.

mom