Aquadoodle!!

Have you ever heard of the AquaDoodle Draw 'n Doodle mat? Now this is a fun toy. All it entails is a mat (which can be easily rolled up and stored away) and a "pen" that you fill with water. When you draw on the mat with the water-pen, it appears that you're drawing in blue ink. When you draw on yourself or your furniture or the floor or the toys or the walls - your mom doesn't get mad, because its just water!

I have to say, this is about the best possible toy for my mischievous son. He loves to draw, but no matter what the consequences are he just cannot seem to keep the crayons off the walls and furniture. I've had to hide all pens and crayons (and we'd never think of allowing markers in the house!), but I hate to do so when this means his creative drawing skills aren't allowed to blossom.

The mat itself is much nicer and higher quality than I expected. We spent about an hour when we first got it, drawing pictures and writing out letters and numbers. And clean up? Just let it dry, and roll it up!

The only downside is that it comes with only one pen; I'm looking in to getting a few so we can draw together, or with friends. That shouldn't be too hard.

I love it.

Bath Bubbles from the Bath Blizzard

We recently received the "Bath Blizzard" by Kid Kleen - a bubble making machine that hangs over your bathtub and spills bubbles into your tub while your little one bathes.

The point, of course, is to make bath time fun. My son would think bath time was fun no matter what was or wasn't in the tub with him, but he was still excited to try it out.

Its easy to use, and it does indeed produce bubbles. It comes with a small container of bubble bath, and you can use it with whatever bubble bath you prefer. The bubbles we got disappeared quickly - I assume that's due to the quality of the bubble bath, rather than the Bubble Blizzard itself. It also requires C batteries, which happened to be the only kind we didn't have in the house.

Its a gimmick, to be sure! But sometimes with toddlers you need bath-time-gimmicks. And this one is pretty fun for everyone.

Littlest Pet Shop

We've come a long way from the Strawberry Shortcake dolls and My Little Ponies I played with in elementary school.

When I received my own dolls and toys from the Littlest Pet Shop collection, I was certain of two things: 1. My friends and I would have loved this when we were kids; and 2. Its been a lo-ong time since I was a kid.

These cute stuffed animal pets come with a code that you can use to log in online - hence, their status as Virtual Interactive Pets or VIP's. You play with the toys at home just like in the old days. But when you log in online, you can adopt and play with your toys in a whole new world. (Click here for a video about the fun that waits online).

There's also high-tech accessories that are certainly up a little girl's alley. Like this digital pen. You know we would have loved this back in the 80's!

So there you have it - cute, colorful, stuffed animals and toys just like we had when we were kids - that comes with digital accessories and interactive tools online. Check it out!

Baby Jamz!

My son loves anything with a melody or a rhythm. Cars with stereo blaring, mommy humming around the house, even the steady drumming of the washing machine or the pepper grinder - they all start him dancing. So when I heard of Baby Jamz I knew he would love it.

Created by Beyonce's father and sister, this new toy line includes a CD of favorite nursery rhymes "with a new hip-hop adaptation" as well as a Baby Jamz cell phone, dance mat, key chain, boom box shape sorter, and mix master chair.

My husband and best friend love hip-hop. My music tastes fit better with candle light than with flashing lights, but even I admit this is fun. My son enjoys "dancing" on the dancemat and hearing the fun sounds he can add to the songs (and I love that there's an "off" button when I'm ready for some quiet!). The CD of lullabies-turned-hip-hop is creative and fun, and great to dance to with your kids.

I think this line from Hush Little Baby sums it all up "and if that mockingbird don't sing, Papa's gonna buy you some new bling-bling."

The Vaccine Book

As soon as I read this book my first thought was: Where was this 16 months ago!

While I was pregnant I researched many things about parenthood, and vaccines topped the list. But try as I might, I was not able to find any information that I felt was helpful. There were definietly two sides to the issue, but they offered data in direct opposition to each other while each claiming that following their advice over the "propaganda" of the other side was a matter of life or death. This was insane, and utterly unhelpful.

So I turned next to friends, but found essentially more of the same. Some were strongly on one side, and others were strongly on the other. Many felt like throwing their hands up as I did.

Next, I turned to my Doctors and Chiropractor, all of whom I respected. They walked me through some of the pros and cons, and told me what they had done for their own children.

But in all of this, I never felt that I was being given well researched data. Opinions, repeated opinions, and some helpful perspective, but not what I'd been hoping for. We made the decisions we made, and I'm happy with them. But I was thrilled to now have Dr. Sear's The Vaccine Book.

Sears bends over backwards to not give parents yet another guilt trip and list of "shoulds." Instead, he speaks openly to both parents and doctors, acknowledging the limitations in all our educations regarding this issue. For each vaccine he gives a description of the disease, the risks of the disease before and after vaccination became standard, the ingredients and production method of the vaccine for each manufacture, any controversy regarding the ingredients, production methods, or side effects, as well as detailed information about the risks of each. Sears does not come down on either side of the vaccine debate, but does wrap each chapter up with a helpful summary, and documents his research thoroughly.

As I read, I did not feel that I was being pushed one way or the other, simply being given access to the data I've been wanting all along. With this information in hand, my options have increased. I now know specifically which vaccines I think are important, and why, and which brand I would prefer, and when I would like to get them for my child.

If you have a child still in the vaccination stages, I highly recommend at least a perusal of this book, if not making it part of your parental reference library. I wish I'd had it 16 months ago, but I'm grateful to have it now.

There's a whole book club discussion going on here if you'd like to know more about what others think of the book. Also, the Chicago Moms Blog and our sister sites had a fascinating discussion about breastfeeding yesterday; I posted my own story among others - come check it out.

*Giveaway!* Barefoot Books: Celebrating Art and Story

If you know anything about me, you probably know that I love to read. It won't take much for you to guess that I already love instilling this same enjoyment into my son. And if you've been paying any attention to the kinds of books I enjoy, it will come as no surprise to you that I'm head over heels in love with Barefoot Books.

Their website says it perfectly: Taking our imagination from many different cultures, we focus on themes that encourage independence of spirit, enthusiasm for learning, and sharing of the world's diversity. I couldn't have said it better myself.

I wish I had a whole bookshelf full of barefoot books. And maybe someday I will. But right now I have two and, in the spirit of Mama Panya's Pancakes I'm excited to share one with you.

Here's what to do: To win a copy of Elephant Dance: A Journey to India written by Theresa Heine, illustrated by Sheila Moxley, and published by Barefoot Books, sign in using Mr. Linky below, and link back here on your blog between Monday, October 1st and Wednesday, October 3rd. Once the contest ends, I'll choose one winner at random. If you don't have a blog, just sign Mr. Linky. Be sure that I can contact you via email or your blog!

Then, tell all your friends to visit this contest, and start reading Barefoot Books I know I will be. :)

Name your tune!

When I was a kid, I loved to have things with my name on them. Pencils or bookmarks or wall hangings - I couldn't get enough. My favorite was a set of books my cousin bought me for a birthday present - the publisher had come up with a great idea - tell a story, and insert the name of the individual kid into the story. The main character in my copies shared my name, my town, my age. I loved them, and I've kept them to this day!

While I didn't have an unusual name, most Catherine's went by Cathy, or spelled their name with a "K." It was the rare item that was marketed to "Catherine." So when it came time to name my son, I kept this in mind. Ironically, the name we settled on is much less common than mine was.

Which is why I'm so excited about Name Your Tune. Now, you don't have to rely on what's popular - you can have items custom made with your child's name. You can purchase a CD full of favorite children's songs, specifically with your child's name inserted! Instead of McDonald having a farm, its your child. There are fourteen fun songs on my cd, and the best part is seeing my son raise his head curiously when he hears his name being called out from the speakers.

If you'd like to buy one yourself, or get more information, here's where to go!

Name Your Tune

info@nyt.ca

http://www.nyt.ca/

NAME YOUR TUNE The Personalized CD for Children is an iParenting Media Award Winner for Outstanding Product 2006!