Barney

When we choose movies and TV shows for the boys to watch, we’re pretty picky. Thankfully HIT Entertainment and LIONSGATE make it easy for us to find family-friendly, educational things the boys can enjoy and we don’t have to worry about.

We’ve gotten the opportunity to review several great DVDs from HIT Entertainment recently, and I thought I’d share some of them with y’all in case you’re looking for ideas for your children!

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Roary the Racing Car • Released June 7 • Standard Retail Price: $14.98

With this DVD you have a front row ticket to Silver Hatch Racetrack to delight in the high-speed adventures of Roary, Dragga, Zizzy and Lugga, along with human pals Big Chris, Marsha, Officer Pete and Mr. Caburettor. They drive through lessons in doing the right thing, staying positive, helping others, staying safe, problem solving and friendship.

Our Opinion: We watched this while on a road trip, so Brian and I mostly just heard the dialogue. It seemed a little slow to us, but the boys absolutely loved it, and I did like that it promoted kindness and other good qualities.

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Angelina Ballerina: Pop Star Girls • Released June 7 • Standard Retail Price: $14.98

Join beloved mouseling Angelina Ballerina and her friends as they star in an all-new, show-stopping spectacle full of fun, friendship and dance. Just like all aspiring stars, Angelina and her friends are always ready to dance and have a good time! When kids share in Angelina’s experiences, they’re inspired to go after their big dreams too.

Our Opinion: We sent this DVD with the boys when our friends babysat for them one day; they have two little girls and I figured they might enjoy it more than our boys would. J & C said they liked it but they seemed indifferent. It was a hit with the girls, though!

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Bob the Builder: The Big Dino Dig • Released June 14 • Standard Retail Price: $9.98

Bob and the Can-Do crew star in an all-new, Jurassic-sized adventure. Always on the job with a smile and a can-do attitude, Bob, Scoop, Dizzy – along with new team member Rubble – tackle every project with the power of positive thinking, problem solving, cooperation and follow-through. From start to finish, these hard workers prove the fun is in getting it done!

Our Opinion: The boys loved this movie – it combines machinery and dinosaurs; what’s not to love? I like that Bob the Builder promotes sticking with something until you finish it, and good teamwork.

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Fireman Sam: Brave New Rescues • Release Date: July 5 • Standard Retail Price: $9.98

Fireman Sam is as ready as ever to save the day! With a level head, a courageous nature and a compassionate heart, Sam is a role model for kids of all ages, teaching lessons in safety, loyalty, leadership, cooperation and friendship. Whether showing the community the importance of honesty, setting sail on the sea, organizing a surprise party or hosting a fire station open house, Fireman Sam welcomes you to join in the fun!

Our Opinion: I’m indifferent toward this DVD; Brian wished the siren wouldn’t go off so much, but I guess that’s par for the course with a fireman movie. The boys thought it was great and seemed riveted to the TV.

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Timmy Time: Picture Day • Release Date: June 28 • Standard Retail Price: $14.98

The fun and learning never stops when Timmy is ready for his close-up! Whether struggling to keep clean for class photo day, celebrating the color blue, jamming with the school band or just playing with his pals, you know your in for a barnyard-sized bunch of hilarious antics and adventures with Timmy!

Our Opinion: The boys and Brian like Timmy Time a lot – Brian for the claymation style animation, and the boys for the story lines. I think it’s a decent show, but I get a little bored if I try to watch it with them. C especially loves this, though, and asks to watch it all the time!

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Preschool Fun • Release Date: July 5 • Standard Retail Price: $14.98

Class is back in session with all your favorite friends! Making the grade in this all-new collection of eight episodes are Barney, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, Kipper, Roary the Racing Car and Timmy Time. They’re ready to teach lessons in friendship, responsibility, cooperation, loyalty, sharing and more.

Our Opinion: This is a great mix of shows, and it’s nice to have a compilation with some variety. Great DVD for road trips!

Note: We received copies of these DVDs to review, but all opinions are honest and are our own. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.

Our city has a twice-a-year consignment sale for infants’ and kids’ clothing, toys, books, and all that other stuff you need when raising kiddos.  It’s something I look forward to each time for two reasons – first, we sell a lot of clothes the kids have outgrown or toys they’re not interested in anymore, and we make a lot more than we would at a garage sale; second, I find a lot of bargains!

This year I spent $187 and got a TON, including my favorite item of the night…

A Chicco twin stroller! Almost brand new, and only $40. Chicco is an Italian brand, so I had a hard time finding out the value of the stroller brand new. Finally I found it available several places for $189. So, I feel like I got a steal with this stroller.

We’d been looking for a side-by-side stroller for a while. Now that C is older I think he’d like to be able to look around, which is harder for him to do when we use the Graco DuoGlider. Plus, the DuoGlider takes up a TON of space in the back of either of our cars, so if we’re traveling we usually have to leave the stroller behind if we want any room for, you know, clothes and things of that nature. This Chicco stroller folds up a lot more compactly, is less heavy, and is really easy to maneuver. It fits through doorways just fine, which is one concern I had with a side-by-side stroller. And I loooove the bright red with the gray.  I’m looking forward to taking it on a test-drive soon!

Another find I was pretty happy with is the My First LeapPad with four cartridges, and ABC game, and a game built in to the system. I bought the set for $10. This system isn’t available new anymore, but I found a similar listing on ebay going for $25, so I’m pretty stoked about it. J really likes it, and it’s meant for ages 3-5 so hopefully we’ll get a lot of use out of it.

I also found this slide at the sale, for $6!

Again, in great condition – and it’s small enough and lightweight enough that I’m fine with keeping it inside. J’s had a lot of fun with it so far, and I think this will be a hit with both boys for a long time to come. I looked this up on Amazon and found it for $34.95. Not too shabby!

I got three pairs of shoes – two for C and one for J. The total for all three pairs was $12, and again, they’re in good condition. They’re Target and Payless brands, but I still feel like that’s a better price than I’d find in-store.

I got three stuffed “animals” for J – Barney, Thomas, and Clifford; and a wooden Thomas bridge – the total for toys was $16. I don’t have photos of the toys, but I found some links. The Thomas bridge goes for $59.99 on Amazon; the plush Thomas is $19.99 new. I couldn’t find links for the particular Barney or Clifford toy I bought, but even just knowing the price of two of the toys lets me know I got a good deal.

The rest of what I bought consisted of clothes – I didn’t keep track of prices on each individual item, but I spent $103 total on clothes.

Here are the clothes I bought for J (if you can’t tell, we’ve got a pretty big Thomas fan in the house):

And here’s what I got for C (not as much, because I still have a lot of J’s clothes that I’ve saved for C to wear too):

That’s 33 items of clothing (some items are sets), so that averages out to $3.12/item. I got a lot of name brand clothing, and all in really good condition. One thing I love about this sale is that they’re extremely picky about quality of items they accept. I can buy things without having to worry about finding a stain or tear.

So, there’s my consignment sale report… for now!  I’ll actually be going back later this week for the half-price sale! Not all items go to half-price; it’s up to each individual consignor. And of course you never know what’ll be left – sometimes there’s a great selection and sometimes things have been really picked over. The hunt is half of the fun, though! Wish me luck.