Wee Hairy Beasties Concert Photos!

Beat the Heat In Style!

A few of our fave ways to beat the heat in the summer are: iced tea, cool colored sunglasses, the beach front here in Chicago and the obligatory summer dress! Now that's for us - what we love to keep our baby gals cool and refreshed are onesie outfits like the new one from Glamajama! Perfect because the ruffled tushy makes this one-piece a two-piece, this onesie will give her cool style at the park when the weather is hot! Let us know what other summer tips you have that help keep the temp down with your kids!

Backpocket Wisdom - Fun with Tony the Tiger!

We just got Great new Gifts from Kellogg's and we thought, in honor of Tony the Tiger, we'd lay down three fun Tiger facts for the kiddies! If your lil one loves Big cats and you have a fun Tiger fact to share, be sure to send in those comments!

1. Tony the Tiger, Frosted Flakes' spokesanimal, competed against a dog and a few other kittens to win his post in 1952. His trademark phrase? "They're Grrreat!"®

2. Tigers are the Biggest of all Big Cats!

3. Three fun sporty Tigers are: Tiger Woods, who just won the US Open!, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Detroit Tigers!

-posted by Kristina

Great Gift Idea For Twins

In honor of Gemini, I thought it would be super fun to explore our Top Five Gifts for Twins, from the traditional matchy-matchy to corresponding gifts of fun. Each works well alone or paired with other Great Gifts so you can have double the fun!





1. Since it is an Ugly Dolls month on our blog, check out Bop N Beep, an Ugly Doll with two sides of fun and two different color schemes that make for a large amount of fun for lil ones! ($11-51)












2. PsychoBaby is bringing a new definition to the term "twin set" with their boy and girl sets that come already ready for the party! ($36)







3. Inky Dink's Tees answers the question "Do you want fries with that?" by giving you a cheeseburger, fries or a cola to choose from for a Fast (food) Gift! ($27/each)













4. Punk it up with Me in Mind skull booties in black/pink and black/white for those rock n roll twins! ($26)













5. Grab Mom a Skip Hop Double Duo for her jaunts out- she'll thank you when she has her hands free for her coffee! ($82)






-posted by Kristina

Lady Lavona's Astrology

Your little Gemini loves the world of ideas and needs plenty of mental stimulation. Freedom is the key to keeping Gemini happy, and the secret is to keep your lil one safe and yet unconfined! Your little one will enjoy long walks and will take notice of every detail from the cars in the street to the clouds in the sky while saying hello to every passerby! Gemini is quite the social butterfly, possesses the "gift of gab" and will most likely talk your ear off while s/he shares all their new ideas! Never mind that old myth about Gemini having two personalities. If his "evil" twin arrives, it is usually just a sign of over stimulation. It is very important for Gemini to have equal parts activity and quiet time. They will enjoy hours of imaginative play, reading books and are sure to love watching movies-- anything to refuel their bright and inventive minds!




Gift Ideas for the Twin: Puzzles, Books and Learning Games, Art Supplies, Outdoor Toys
Stones: Lapis Lazuli and Agate
Essential Oils: Lavender, Clary Sage

We've graduated to the Big School!

Meow, right? This falls (again!) into the 'cat'egory (sorry, couldn't help myself!) of Cool Stuff We'd Wear (except our feet aren't small enough!) Just wanted to let y'all know that Vans are back! There's Big Style in the Big School, which comes in Olive, Black Swirly Hearts, a Satin Leopard and Pink! We love 'em for their classic deck shoe style and "Just Like Mommy and Daddy" factor, but also for the ease of Velcro when you need to get out the door and enjoy the weather!
We see a lot of parent child matchy, especially in our Shoe Department- is there any hip coordination in your closet? Let us know what style favorites (or habits, you tag cutter-outer!) you and your kids share!


The Big School is available in baby and toddler sizes (ie when you're still doing the lacing) and go great with a cool tee or rock n roll dress to make a Great Gift!

Check out the Big School Vans here!

Don't miss your chance at Uglydolls 6 foot Ox raffle!

Our Uglydolls Ox has arrived, and he is huge and the epitome of cuteness! Enter our raffle to win his winking-and-smilin' self, but be warned: He always "has to steal some kisses from you" especially of the chocolate variety! Don't miss your chance to be the only family on your city block with a Giant Ox- he's the definition of a conversation piece! For more fun, be sure to check out our interview with David Horvath, the creator of Uglydolls, below!

To enter email your email to contest@psychobaby.net w/Uglydolls in the subject! Unfortunately, we can only accept entries from the lower 48 States at this time. The raffle closes on 6/30/08. Good luck!

Cool, Crazy Person - David Horvath, creator of Uglydolls!

We love the motley crew that are the Ugly Dolls! Full of life, quirks and individuality, each Ugly Doll speaks to the hearts and minds of the kids that come into our store! A favorite cool baby shower gift because the polar fleece is all sewn on, touchable, soft and interesting for lil ones and a collector's items for the bigger kids, Ugly Dolls rule the roost! We are thrilled to have Plunko and Babo's Bird joining the diverse array of Ugly Doll characters, and to present David Horvath, the creator of Ugly Dolls answering our 6 Psycho questions.

A brief history before we begin:

"From the creative minds of two love struck artists David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim emerge the Uglydoll family! What started as a drawing of a playful orange character known as Wage has turned into a whole new world of fun! In 2001, when David's soon to be wife and creative partner Sun-Min had to return to Korea, he sent her many "I miss you" letters with his little Wage character drawn at the bottom.

Sun-Min sewed Wage into a push doll and sent him to David as a surprise gift. David asked Sun-Min to sew a couple more for a store in Los Angeles and they sold out in one day! A very excited Sun-Min sewed many more and those sold just as fast! Sun-Min and David then began to pull more characters from the Uglyverse, a universe where UGLY meant unique and special, to translate into plush Uglydolls. They both met again at their very first Uglydoll Toy Fair booth (a small 6x6 booth made of felt and wood) in New York, where they would go on to win Toy Of The Year 4 years later!"

And now, 6 Psycho Questions with David Horvath!

1. What is the coolest thing that has ever happened to you?
December 2001, I opened an EMS delivery package from Sun-Min in Korea thinking I would find another Ultraman monster or robot (those are great too though) to find WAGE, the very first hand sewn Uglydoll. My first response was "woah wait this guy is very familiar."...then it hit me, this was the guy from my letters to her!

2. What is the craziest fashion statement you have ever made?
Make-it-yourself pink, yellow and blue Nikes while wearing clothes from Brooks Brothers. I know, nothing too nutty but I am a stay home and make the things you go out and do kind
of guy.

3. What is your favorite book?
MINE! I mean ours. But I also love the WAR OF ART by Steven Pressfield. I have yet to procrastinate about anything since reading that one 7 years ago.

4. What toy can you not live without?
The first Wage Sun-Min made for me. But it is a lot more than a toy to me. It's one of several characters from a world which is very much alive to both Sun-Min and I.

5. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
We all have many super powers, so not sure what you mean. Ah, but do you mean which one would I actually believe in enough to use? The power to help others realize that they are super powerful. That, and my chocolate detector power.

6. Who is the coolest parent you know (ties between your own Mom and Dad are totally understandable!)
Alita Friedman, our director of all things at the Uglydoll office, is the coolest parent I know.
Every time I call her out of the office, she's always either doing something for her kids or watching her kids do the fun things she brought them around to do.



posted by Kristina____________________________________________________________________________________________

Wicker Park Kids' Karnival June 8th

Looking for something cool to do? On Sunday, June 8th, the Wicker Park Advisory Council is throwing their annual Kids' Karnival, full of fun in the sun for the kids! With bouncy houses, face painting and other fun (as well as the opening of the Farmers' Market) families are sure to have a smashing time!

Kids' Karnival, 1425 N. Damen, Chicago, IL 60622, 9am-3pm
For more info on the Karnival and upcoming neighborhood events, go to www.ourwickerpark.org

Alex Toys A Hit With Little Hands!

Check out Alex's cool selection of art and bath toys for baby and kids, including the expansion of their Little Hands line (including Tissue Art and a Very Busy Box) which is perfect for the 2 and up set! Our new faves are the Baggy Bunch (left), where kids use the included materials to craft their own puppets. One set is "Guys" and the other "Gals" but we say, grab 'em both and have your mermaid fight a fire or have a cowboy themed ballet recital! All sets make for Great Gifts and super play date fun!