Gearhead Mom

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Under the Sea, Ariel Not Invited

Posted by Missy W. @ 1:07 PM

Last month, I looked through the mass of toys either scarred by a recall or just plain old yucky and decided to do a mass purge. I got rid of a lot of our light on use, heavy on noise toys and went for simpler ways to have fun. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to get rid of the Dora Talking Vamonos Bus. You’ve got to be kidding me with that thing. The Canadian version was recalled and I decided we live close enough to Canada to include the poorly made, door-falling-off-all-the-time toy and chucked it into the nearest waste bin. What sweet relief it is to no longer be yelled at to go on a FANTASTIC ADVENTURE twenty times a day.

So, after the purge, Sy got some simpler toys that suit her just fine. First and foremost, I finally got Sy the Sarah’s Silks play canopy. Joy! I got her the Under Sea canopy and I put it over her cushy lounge chair that I got her from pbteen (cushy lounge is a great line for toddlers, by the way. Low to the ground + microfiber = easy to climb on and easy to clean off spilled milk!).

Sy just completely geeked out when she came home from play group one day and I had the new canopy hanging in her room. She ran in, dove right into her “fort” and refused to come out. She curled up and took a two hour nap right there. She probably naps under the canopy about once a week. The silk canopy is huge, with far reaching sides, making it easy to drape it over furniture or kids. Sy plays hide and seek (uh, I can see you in there, kiddo), “fort”, library time and a multitude of other games in there. She comes up with new games to play in there all the time. As I mentioned in an earlier post, our neighbors have one and they move different things in underneath. The last time we were there, it was the play kitchen, other times it’s been a reading den, an enclosure for the doll house or a place to play dress up. I like that it instantly creates this cozy place for kids to play without having to bust out all the king-sized sheets. Although I can’t wait til Sy is a little bigger and we can take over the entire living room with a ridiculously complicated sheet/blanket/towel fort like my mom used to let us do.

When I opened the package I was surprised to see it was in a few pieces that I needed to put together. For $99.00*, I would think it might be put together already. That being said, I had it out of the package and hanging in 16 minutes. I already had a ceiling hook in place, though, so it would have taken a bit longer if I had to do that as well. I am not an instructions reader, it’s just not the way I learn. I need to either watch someone or see pictures, so it would probably take all of you instruction whizzes half that time to tie it all together.

Snapshot:
• Made of silk, these canopies are large enough to drape over tables, furniture or beds. So far we’ve had many a toddler yank on it and no tears.
• I like that the silk is a breathable fabric for when Sy gets tangled up in it while playing.
• There are different themes to the canopies, such as Under Sea, Celestial Night Sky and Royal Castle that suit both boys and girls alike.
• I’ve noticed that different retailers have different canopies in stock, so check out Sarah’s site for a list of all her retailers. Don’t you just want everything she makes??

*I saw them on sale at Blueberry Forest for $79.95. 

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