Archives for Babies & Kids category
Posted on Apr 22, 2009 under Babies & Kids |
If you are a big fan of the Amazing Race games, you’ll love the birthday party and group activity versions for ages 10-16 from Chase Games.
It was our pleasure to review two of the “legs” they offer - the “Home Leg” and the “Library Leg Jr”, which is designed for younger players. The packet arrived with detailed information including “Read This First” pages that outline how the games work if you are not familiar with it (like we weren’t) and how to make the most out of whichever “leg” you have purchased.
Immediately I noticed how easy it would be to play this at home with just my kids and a few friends, since the games can be played with as little as two teams, even though they can be played with up to 10.
Another feature of this version I noticed is each “leg” is designed to be played alone OR with other legs. At the time of this review, there were currently 5 different legs offered - Home, Mall, Pool, Park, and Library.
To start you’ll need to designate the host. A checklist comes with each leg so the host may set up the event properly. We started with the Home Leg, of course, since the review began at home. It is recommended you do start with this leg, especially if you group activity or party is starting there. This particular leg is easy to set up, since you don’t have to visit anywhere ahead of time.
Next was the Library leg, which does need to be set up ahead of time. This works perfect in a small town where librarians are more than happy to host events such as this. It also gives kids a chance to see some books they might not see otherwise.
Overall this is a fantastic activity to be used at a party, or whenever you want to spend time with your family. Of course it will work best in a household with multiple children, although parents can join in as well if need be or you can grab a few neighborhood friends.
More information and details on additional “legs” to add can be found at:
Chase-games.com
Highly Recommended!
Posted on Jan 26, 2009 under Babies & Kids |
Today it was my pleasure to review the Kufi Cap from Posh N Pretty Boutique. It arrived in a padded bag, folded in half and sealed in it’s own bag so as not to be damaged by rough postal workers. I was pretty excited, as was my 6yr old daughter, since she loves accessories of any kind.
Not quite sure what a Kufi cap is? Basically it’s a crochet beanie cap, although it’s design, material, and texture take on more of a knitted appearance to me. We received the pink one, which happens to be one of my daughter’s favorite colors. (What little girl doesn’t like pink?)
The detail on this cap was beautiful, and I can see this being worn with quite a few different outfits. From casual to dressy, it works for any occasion. I believe it also makes a perfect spring or fall cap, just as the temperature hits the range too warm for a stocking hat but too cold for nothing. Being in the Midwest, we can appreciate the need to have something on our children’s heads on days such as those.
For older children who think stocking caps are not in style, the Kufi Cap makes a nice stylish alternative. This is perfect for Jr. High children walking home from school on cold days.
The Kufi Cap is reasonably priced and comes in a variety of different colors in one size. It’s small enough to place on younger ones, yet stretches for bigger kids. You can take a look at their selection here. In addition to the regular style, these are also sold with ribbon and bows for extra decoration. This makes it extra cute for the little ones!
If you need additional accessories, Posh N Pretty Boutique has a wide selection of handmade goods such as bows, headbands, ribbons, and even jewelry. You’ll have no problems finding perfect gifts for your special little girls!
Overall, Mom’s Market highly recommends this product (and site) for children of all ages!
Posted on Apr 21, 2008 under Babies & Kids |
What parent doesn’t want to keep their kids safe? We never want to think about our kids lost, hurt or worse. But when something does happen, you can be ready. Companies like MyPreciousKid.com who’s main goal is protecting our kids have complete kits like the Child Safety Pack to help keep your kids safe.
Included is quite a few different items designed to keep your kids safe. This includes DNA/Fingerprint Kit (with ink), wallet card, car seat card & velcro, medical release card, luggage tag card, vinyl ID bracelet, shoe ID stickers, and 4 self seal pouches. All of it is very easy to understand what information to include on each item, making it super easy for parents. Details of several of the items is as follows:
The medical release card has to be one of my favorite items, since you never know when something will happen while you are not with them. These cards are great for grandma or day care providers to have just in case. Ours will be given to grandma since she is our main care giver when mom has appointments.
The shoe ID tags are specially designed for younger ones who haven’t yet learned their phone numbers or mom’s cell phone. Kids can get away from you very easily when in a crowd sometimes, which can be a terrifying experience. Even my 5 year old can benefit from this, as she likes to wander and doesn’t know our phone number just yet. Put these inside their shoes so you can be contacted immediately if they get lost.
Child ID cards need to be filled out with all information including a photo ID. In case they get lost, you can give this card and all the information on your child can be immediately given. It also features automatic medical treatment release. This is to be kept in your purse at all times. Self laminating.
The DNA and fingerprint kit was probably my daughter’s favorite. She thought it was pretty fun putting her finger prints on the paper. We never want to think about our child being missing, but if it should ever happen this will help find them that much faster. Very easy instructions on how to collect DNA samples and all kinds of information to put in this handy card.
Luggage Tags are perfect for trips, or can go on things such as back packs, diaper bags, strollers, car seats, etc. The car seat ID tag is also designed for the car seat (of course), and is used to allow immediate medical treatment in case of a car accident and you are unable to speak. It also give extra contact information for other family members.
All in all this is a very complete kit that’s easy to understand and fill out. It took very little time for us to get all of it completed, but it makes me feel a whole lot better knowing my kids are safer.
Posted on Apr 10, 2008 under Babies & Kids |
MyPreciousKid.com, which features safety products for children, has a wonderful safety game called the Guardians. The game is geared towards ages 4-10, and is focused on a fun way to teach kids about safety.
Since my kids are 5 and 7, this game was specifically directed towards them. It was very easy for them to understand the rules of the game, so we got started right away. I thought the was an important feature, since the focus should be on the actual game and not just trying to learn how to play.
Both kids picked out the character they wanted to be from 4 different ones (two boys and two girls). My daughter wanted to be “Angel” since she liked the name, and my son just wanted to be “the red guy” since he likes that color. The other boy was blue, so that probably would have been acceptable as well.
There were 4 decks of cards, each with safety questions and answers. Also included were several blank cards for us to write our own safety questions on. Since this was our first time playing, we set those aside for the time being. But in the future, we will probably write down a few safety rules of our own.
The object of the game is to safely get your character from school to home by correctly answering the questions. Depending on what color space you land determines which deck you draw the question from. My son was the first to roll and moved ahead a few spaces. He correctly answered the question, and moved ahead 2 more spaces.
While I’ve tried my best to teach my kids important safety rules, this game made me realize there is still things they needed to learn. For example, there were a few questions my daughter did not get right, but she learned from the game anyway.
I was very excited to get the chance to review this, and my kids were very excited when the game arrived. We had to play it immediately, and they had a blast. This is an excellent way to teach kids important safety rules while spending quality family time playing a game.
The Guardians is endorsed by the National Parenting Center and is the recipient of their “Seal of Approval”. Details and ordering information about this wonderful safety awareness game can be found at:
http://www.mypreciouskid.com/safety-game.html
Posted on Mar 08, 2008 under Babies & Kids |
It was our pleasure to receive in the mail an absolutely adorable bow (clip type, no-slip) specifically for the fine hair of a baby. Since my kids are older, I had to try it out on a friend’s daycare baby who is less than a year old. It was just too cute! I now see why the site is named “Bows2Cute.com”.
Bows2Cute specializes in “bows for fine, thin, or barely there hair”. The bows really live up to their name too, as they will stay in place in even very fine hair. When I put it in the baby’s hair the day we received it, I saw how there was no way it was going to slip out. Perfect! When my daughter was little, it was impossible to keep adorable clips in her hair because it was so fine. I just wish I would have had these several years ago!
The bow we received was a mini bow, which they have quite a few choices for. Ours was the brown and pink striped one, which is just so darn cute. There’s several options for clip types, colors, and styles just in this section alone.
Other products featured on the site include Snappies, headbands, and a few others. If you are looking for hair products for little ones, this is a MUST see site. Visit Bows2Cute at:
www.Bows2Cute.com
Posted on Jan 15, 2008 under Babies & Kids, Bath & Body |
Foaming hand soap is a fun way to get kids to wash hands. Add natural ingredients and a great smell, and you get a product the entire family loves.
Foaming Hand Soap may not be unique, but the particular soap offered by The Natural Newborn isn’t like ones you may see in stores. This hand soap is not only fun for little ones, but it’s natural too - it contains absolutely no chemicals!
This item was a huge hit with my kids, mostly because of the “foaming” ability and its large pump. The pump is perfect for little hands, and even my 3 yr old has no problems using it on her own. The only problem we’ve had is she now washes her hands too much!
My youngest daughter absolutely LOVES this soap! After we introduced to her and she was shown how to use it, she was constantly saying “I have to go wash my hands now!”
I’ve never seen her willingly wash her hands for no reason this many times a day.
In addition to being fun and natural, the hand soap smells great, and my daughter is constantly saying “smell my hands!”. We like the smell as well, and our entire bathroom now smells like watermelon almost all the time.
The Natural Newborn has several other items especially for toddlers, including foaming body wash, skin & body care, hair care items, and more. You’ll even find products just for mom as well!
For details on the many natural items at The Natural Newborns, visit:
http://thenaturalnewborn.com
Posted on Dec 18, 2007 under Personalized, Babies & Kids |
Read to your child, as well as have fun playing on the computer with their own personal Storybook CD!
In addition to personalized books, Ann’s Personalized Books also offers a new and unique line called Storybook CDs. Each CD features a personalized story with your child and their friends. My 5 year old son and I were VERY impressed with this CD, since it combinds reading skills and play.
What makes it most unique, is the ability to “play” in between pages. After you read one page, your child can click on pictures on the screen and make them come to life. This keeps them interested in the story and wanting to see more! Each page has lots to click on - you could possibly go through the story many times and still find something new to click on each time.
After you are done with the story, there is also a section for fun games. My son love memory type games, and had fun matching up pictures from the story. We didn’t have a whole lot of time to play today, but I know this CD will keep him occupied for hours with or without me.
The CD we got was “Too Many Monsters”, which at first I was afraid was a bit too scary for my 5yr old. While some noises made him jump a bit, he was laughing the whole time at the funny looking monsters and funny things they did in the story.
Each CD can be read and previewed before purchasing, to see where and how your child’s name is used in the story. Once you decide on a CD, the first step in the ordering process is filling out their very detailed form for personalizing the book.
Storybook CDs come with the following personalization:
- Child’s name
- Friends name (1-3, depending on book)
- Child’s age
- Dedication (example: “From Mom”)
There are currently several different CDs to choose from at Ann’s Personalized Books, including “My Train Adventure”, “The Giant Turnip”, and “The Fairy”. Several others are also available, along with personalized books and gifts at:
Ann’s Personalized Books
http://www.anns-personalized-books.com
Personalized Books make your child the star of the story. Books for toddlers, adventure stories, books for girls and more.
Posted on Dec 13, 2007 under Babies & Kids |
My Doudou has come up with a perfect solution for toddlers just starting to sleep in their own beds. These bed bumpers not only work great for smaller kids, but bigger kids as well. Such is the case with my 7 yr old son who got to try out one of these bed bumpers.
The bumper arrived safely yesterday along with important information about the product. It included safety warnings, disclaimers, and instructions. The safety warning noted these bed bumpers were not to be used with cribs, but instead for toddlers 3yrs old and up who are just moved into their own beds.
Putting up the bed bumper was painless and very simple. I loved the fact there was nothing to tie on, but rather sticky back velcro that attaches right on the wall. Three pieces to be exact, so the bumper stays in place during the night.
My 7yr old son has always tossed during the night and bumps against the wall. I’ve also always been concerned about how warm that wall is at night, since it’s an outside wall he sleeps next to. Now with the bumper he’s got a nice cozy bed! The design he also liked, since the print is trucks. It takes quite awhile for any boy to grow out of trucks after all.
It’s easy to take off the wall and wash, as well as move if you need access to the wall. Which was important since we will need to move it when we paint his wall. It won’t be a problem at all!
For details on the My Doudou Bed Bumper, be sure to visit:
My Doudou Bed Bumper
http://www.mydoudou.com
Unique (post-crib) themed bed bumpers for children, made in USA, fun for kids and child friendly.
Posted on Dec 03, 2007 under Scrapbooking, Babies & Kids |
My daughter and I had the pleasure of trying out a Halloween scrapbook page kit from Little Scrappers. This particular kit came with everything needed to complete two different pages with a Halloween theme.
The first page which said “Halloween 2007″ at the bottom we of course used for her costume pictures. The second page however, featured cute pumpkins. So we decided to use the pictures from our pumpkin patch field trip with it. They fit just perfect!
These kits are wonderful for even little kids to do. My daughter, who is 5 years old, absolutely loved the idea of being able to create this nice looking scrapbook page all by herself.
The scrapbook kit also came with a fun craft for us to do as well - a pencil case. She had a blast putting on the foam letters and stars, making it look pretty. Another craft included a decorative paper clip, which we are looking forward to do. I thought this was a very nice bonus added to our package.
For details on scrapbooking kits for kids and other crafts, visit:
Little Scrappers
www.LittleScrappers.com
Scrapbook page kits for kids to complete themselves.
Posted on Nov 12, 2007 under Babies & Kids |
Bilingual Fun: Spanish for Children, Volume 1 DVD
Wanting to teach your children Spanish, but not sure where to start? The Bilingual Fun Company makes it easy for children to learn!
Our package arrived very quickly in a padded envelope, and I was please with the quick service from the Bilingual Fun Company. The DVD Spanish for Children Volume 1 was an instant hit, and I was impressed as well.
Inside the DVD case was the words to all the songs included on the DVDs so parents can help sing along. Songs included on this DVD were the following:
The Hola Song (Hello Song)
Los Colores (Colors)
Diez Deditos (10 Numbers)
Chocolate (Chocolate)
Los Animales (Animals)
La Arana Pequenita (Itsy Bitsy Spider)
The Adios Song (Goodbye Song)
Each song and activities that followed focused on the very basics of Spanish, covering numbers, colors, and animals. As noted above, a few fun songs were thrown in as well to keep kids interested. For example, the chocolate song - what kid doesn’t love chocolate?
My kids enjoyed this DVD, and have begged me to “watch it again” several times in the few days we’ve had it. Both kids (age 3 and 5) have been extremely interested, and love to repeat words and sing along. My oldest was excited saying “I said colors in Spanish!”. The youngest was absolutely glued to the screen. I believe it helps having other children in the video singing along as well.
More information on this DVD can be found at:
The Bilingual Fun Company
www.bilingualfun.com
Offers an effective and interactive Spanish for Children video series.
