Radio Shack has the limited edition HEXBUG Halloween Zombie Nanos, and you can bet that they’re going to be selling out. These adorable HEXBUGs come in a black or orange coffin and have a glow-in-the dark exoskeleton. They retail for $5.99 and are only available from Radio Shack. Don’t wait to pick up a couple of these. They’re really nice gifts for your kids, and a nice way to swap out some candy for something without sugar!

We also had a chance to take a look at the new HEXBUG Larva up close. Admittedly, these guys creep me out, and have since I first saw them. But once we had the time to play with them, I also decided they’re pretty cool. They have a sensor that causes them to change direction when they approach an obstacle. It makes them decidedly creepier, since now they seem to have some intelligence, but they have grown me. I hope HEXBUG makes one in the future with an LED or a glow-in-the-dark shell, because they would be perfect for a disturbing haunted house display.

Here’s what Larva looks when it’s just roaming around:

So, there you go. Our HEXBUG Halloween party was a hit. The kids were all thrilled to go home with HEXBUGs of their own. My kids, of course, believe that you can never have too many HEXBUGs and I am inclined to agree. Shh… don’t tell, but we’ll be surprising another bunch of kids with HEXBUG fun at Bug’s friend birthday party at the end of the month. We love to share the HEXBUG goodness!

Disclosure: We received a HEXBUG Halloween party kit from BSM Media and InnovationFirst. There was no promise of a positive review and the opinions contained in this post are my own.

Related posts:

1. Halloween 2011
2. The Great HEXBUG Nano Party
3. The 6th Birthday That Almost Wasn’t

In addition to the Summer in the City party I’m co-hosting on Friday with EA Sports, Pogo.com and the Wii Mommies, I’ve got another little shindig on my radar.

Tonight I’m hosting an early bird reception for roughly 35 bloggers and friends. It all began when some of the Ford attendees started to talk about getting together for dinner or drinks the night before. I took that and ran with it and now we’re having a small reception at Quartino’s Ristorante in Chicago. It’ll be low-key, but it will also be a nice chance to get to know each other in a small group before the main conference kicks off.

We are fortunate to have a few really great sponsors. Our first sponsor is RIDEMAKERZ. For those of you who don’t have one nearby, it’s sort of like Build-a-Bear, but you’re designing  model cars instead. We had the chance to play around with one of the remote control versions and it’s a big hit in our house. The RIDEMAKERZ folks are not only sponsoring the event, but they’re sending some nice giveaways as well. Plus, we’ll have some RIDEZ on hand to assemble and play with. Fun!

Our other primary sponsor is 360 Public Relations. I’ve had a chance to work them quite a bit and am always impressed by their professionalism when it comes to working with bloggers. They work with some high profile family-friendly brands, including PBS Kids, Stop and Shop and Safety 1st and maintain the 360PR MomSquad (of which I am a member) to provide frontline feedback to their clients. They’re heading to BlogHer Business and will also be representing Safety 1st  in the Expo area. They’ve given us some great giveaway items, too, including a new carseat which utilizes the new Air Protect technology for added protection in side-impact collisions. If you see them around BlogHer, please give them a warm hello and tell them I sent you!

Lastly, not so much a sponsor as a generous donor, we’ve got Eli’s Cheesecake. Andie, from the mail order division saw a plea from one of our attendees for some cheesecake. She kindly offered to send us a cheesecake tower. Yeah, pretty fabulous!

So, that’s the “Enjoy the RIDEZ” reception. It’s fitting to kick off our time with Ford by playing with toy cars and giving away an amazing new car seat.

Related posts:

1. Party With Me at BlogHer ’09! (and try Word Whomp, too)
2. Stop & Shop Invites Boston Bloggers to Enjoy a Little Sibling Rivalry
3. Measuring My Influence