Fabulously Chic. Irresistably Practical.
Earlier, I announced I was part of the Frigidaire Mom Test Drive Team and promised to share my experience testing out Frigidaire’s More Me Time Guarantee.
The appliances (courtesy of Frigidaire) have started to arrive so let’s check them out! Is the new Frigidaire refrigerator super cool, or just lukewarm?
Not content to just innovate in producing safe, convenient car seats, Britax is turning its engineering genius towards making strollers.
Since I’m a dedicated babywearer, a stroller has to be something special to get me excited about it and I really enjoy the Britax Blink Stroller.
A priority for a compact stroller is its size. At 16 lbs, the Blink is not the lightest weight stroller on the market but it is light enough to carry in the included shoulder bag and offers some design innovations you will not find in other strollers in its price range…
One of the charming things about young children is their literal-mindedness.
So, just imagine our often confused but always well-meaning friend, Amelia Bedelia, as a kindergartner. In Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School, the classic character enthusiastically, and literally, jumps right into class. She takes each instruction very seriously and the results are hilarious.
Tigger has always been my favorite denizen of 100 Acre Woods. My best friend in college and I used to bounce up and down the streets singing his song. So, it is no surprise that I enjoyed The Tigger Movie–although my daughter’s DVD time is usually “mommy’s work time,” I could not resist watching with her–but how did it look from a three year-old’s perspective?
A kid’s work is play. And toddlers and preschoolers learn primarily through exploring the world around them. A few high quality toys, like the gorgeous sustainable, fair-trade toys available from Plan Toys, are enough to spark their imaginations. The tactile feel of real wood, the non-toxic, bright colors, and the open-ended nature of these toys make them perfect for flexible, young minds.
Plan Toys sent us three items from their catalog of Developmental Toys for Preschoolers and they have quickly become favorites in our house: Animal Domino Memory Game, 30-Piece Construction Set, and Stacking Tree.
As LeapFrog Summer Reading Ambassadors, we’ve been showing off the LeapFrog TAG and TAG Junior systems at schools, libraries, and playgroups in our area.
When I reviewed the LeapFrog TAG last year, I was impressed. As an educational consultant, I believe the TAG system is a great example of technology that genuinely engages kids in learning. Download classic stories onto the reading pen and children can listen to the whole story, hear individual words, and play games. Using the TAG helps build reading comprehension and fluency.
Whenever I wear my baby, curious parents ask me about my carrier. Having tried out dozens of carriers, I have a different favorite at each age for each different situation. If I have to choose just one carrier, however, I default to a ring sling. Lightweight and compact enough to fit in my diaper bag, adjustable for different positions, and perfect for breastfeeding, ring slings are my go-to baby carrier. Lots of parents worry, though, that baby is not secure enough in a ring sling.
The UpMama hybrid pouch-sling offers the adjustable flexibility and wide shoulder of a ring sling with the “bucket seat” and structure of a pouch.
I’m not sure who loves the new Harumika Fashion Design mannequin more, me or my daughter. Anyone who has an interest in fashion would have fun with this toy. Harumika sets make a great present for a kid or a fun desktop creativity toy for an adult harboring a secret dream to become a fashion designer.
Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience, by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, is a book I would love to recommend to all of my pregnant friends–and I almost can.
Lake and Epstein, or, as they would probably prefer to be called given the “girlfriend” tone of the book, Ricki and Abby, set out to awaken the inner birth goddess in every pregnant woman, but more in the fabulous and fearless sense of goddess than in the crunchy or new-age meaning. They want you to have “YOUR best birth,” rather than THE best or the PERFECT birth, because there is no one-size-fits-all and they know that flexibility is key in childbirth.
