If you’ll be in New York any time soon and have a little one be sure to check out the Vital Theatre’s production of ANGELINA BALLERINA™ THE VERY MERRY HOLIDAY MUSICAL .

The play is based on the famous dancing mouseling and her friends created by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig.   We are BIG Angelina and Alice fans here, some day I will have to do a post about the collection we’ve amassed, I seriously miss seeing Angelina items in the American Girl catalog but shows like this totally make up for it!  We will attend a performance soon, can’t wait to report on it.

Catch performances Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 1pm with special holiday performances on December 26^th, 27^th, 28^th and 29^th and January 2^nd. Tickets start at $29.50.

The show is appropriate for ages 3-12. School/Group performances are available at Vital Theatre or your location. For reservations visit www.vitaltheatre.org or call (212) 579-0528.  VITAL THEATRE COMPANY 2162 Broadway 4th Floor, at 76th Street, on the Upper West Side.

We got  a late start this morning but before we left the house I made sure to check out the deals on AmericanGirl.com for cyber Monday!

Last year I got two sets of Molly’s Tap Outfit and two of the ponies and some other little things but this year I was ready to strike and snag some more outfits.  I also stocked up on American Girl workbooks, girl2004 loves doing the ones she has now.  I picked up a few with my weekly coupons from Borders but that well has obviously run dry and I need to plan ahead.

I wanted to share what I purchased and also vent a bit about the ordering process!  I had a lot of trouble checking out because I updated the amount I wanted of each item but in the final page it separated the items so it was hard to be sure I was getting doubles of the things I wanted!  I’m guessing the easiest way would be to alphabetize everything at the end so customers could spot doubles easily — that would be the very least they could do for all the money spent on the website!

Another frustrating thing is I received a confirmation that I ordered pretty quickly but no detailed listing of what I bought came until 628 p.m. — that’s about 9 hours from the time I ordered!  Since I ordered in such a rush I couldn’t remember what I did get!  I’ve ordered several times before but never so much at one time so I never noticed all of these inconveniences.  There are only a few more hours of cyber Monday 2011 left but I hope you all can get some deals!

I never spent this much at one time but I enjoy playing with this stuff too so it’s for a great cause all around!  Here’s what I got myself them this time around:

• Clean Skin Kit for Dolls $6
• Julie Collectible Mini Doll $11
• 2 x Party Favor Bag for Girls $4  (just realized I’ve got 4 of these coming I”M REALLY annoyed!!)(most likely they are all going back!)
• 2x Ruthie’s Play Outfit $16  (I also just realized I have 4 of these coming!!!!) peeved!
• 2x Snowflake Pajamas for Dolls $12
• 2x Star Hoodie Outfit $7
• 2x Sea Breeze Outfit for Dolls $14
• 2x Pet Show Set $8 (my girls have been dying for this!!)
• 2x Everyday Accessories $12

American Girl WorkBOOKS:

• OODLES of Stars $4
• OODLES of Polka Dots $4
• Go For It! $4
• Real Beauty: 101 Ways to Feel Great $4
• Math Smarts! $4
• See What You Can Be $3
• Dance! $4
• The Pop Quiz Book $4
• Kanani’s Photo Album $4

Consider yourself warned the bugs have been unleashed!  Our family received a copy of ATARI’s new game Centipede  Infestation a few weeks ago much to my children’s delight!

Boy2001 is the most interested in the game and has a clear grasp of what he needs to do while I sit there cluelessly getting attacked relentlessly!  I’m still working on gaming on more than one dimension and quickening my reflexes but it’s still fun to participate!

We all freak out (girls included) when the Centipede starts charging and splitting up and coming down faster!  I tried to tell the kids about going to the movie theater to play Centipede the old fashioned way but there was no time, the wasps and beetles would not leave me alone!  I found myself screaming out loud as this game is very fast and unpredictable and somehow scary – I guess the thought of all those bugs!

Boy2001 is the perfect age as this game is rated E for Everyone 10+ and he is thoroughly enjoying the game play.  There are 40 stages and seven environments to explore and rid of those pesky bugs.  Here’s a link that will open in a new window: Centipede Infestation on Amazon.  If you have a Nintendo Wii or Nintendo 3DS  be sure to check out this game ASAP!

We’ve been playing a LOT of board games around here lately. One of our family favorites is MONOPOLY by Hasbro.  Growing up as an only child I didn’t get a lot of chances to play board games so I’m enjoying (mostly) the chance to learn the rules and play “the right way”.  We purchased the cheapest set at Walmart for under $10 and it’s been some of the best money I’ve spent on my kids, especially boy2001.

I’ve seen so much of his business saavy and “it’s only business” attitude.  When he was younger he told me he was going to be like Mr. Howell (Gilligan’s Isand remember?)  and now I totally believe it!  He doesn’t always win but he’s very focused on getting a good deal and analyzing if it makes sense to keep cash or buy properties.  We’ve made a few variation but for the most part we’re trying to stick to the rules provided which are simple to follow or reference if you’re not sure.

If the game is too long  just keep some napkins or paper handy!  wrap up each players MONOPOLY cash and property and note which space the player is on.  Also take note of whose turn it is and any houses/hotels and pick up where you left off next time.