Many Kids, Crumby Floors

I have a passel of kids...which means I have issues with food on the floor. Who doesn't? One of the best tools NerdDad and I have found is an old school carpet sweeper, yes you heard me right. A carpet sweeper. One of the reasons that we love it is that the kids can use it all by themselves and they love it. It has no batteries or cords to cause issue. It is a simple push operated device. And it works! When I say that is works I mean it picks up dirt, hair, cheerios and just about any little annoying crumb that falls! For less than $20 you can't go wrong. It beats all the pretend dust busters that people give kids and then the kids actually help!!!

Curious George 2 Soundtrack: Review and Giveaway!

My kids were so stoked when they saw me open up this CD. They absolutely love Curious George and frankly, who doesn't love Curious George;)? My whole family had really enjoy A Very Monkey Christmas so we were all looking forward to Follow that Monkey!

I know that many of you parents are groaning, "Not another kids cd". Well, this Curious George CD is a little different. The music is a little more mature than you might expect. The music is still fun but not as bubbly as many silly kids cds. My kids all like the CD but didn't think it was as Curious Georgey as the other CD but really good (their words;).

So how would you like to win a copy?

Win it!

How would you like to win your own copy of Curious George 2: Follow that Monkey soundtrack? Well, I have 1 to giveaway to a reader in the US!

To enter:

* Just leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about Curious George!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on March 2nd.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter and then Tweet about this!
* You can tweet everyday for an additional entry, just make sure to leave a comment for each time!

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program for 429 Records, who supplied the product for review. All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.

Good Cheap Organizing Tool

I have lots of kids with lots of toys. I need these toys organized but bins, containers and other organizers are quite pricey. I have found a cheap alternative (relatively). You know that disposable plastic ware that you use when you are willing to not get them back? Well they are the perfect thing to organize small toys. They are uniform in size so they can stack. They are clear so you can see in. And they come in different sizes.

What is not to love?

Prima Princessa Review

Last year I was so pleased to introduce my kids to the Nutcracker ballet. All 3 of my oldest watched it with rapt attention but my oldest daughter (now 6) was mesmorized. See she desires to be a ballet dancer but those lessons are pricey;). That is why I was delighted to have the opportunity to review Prima Princessa presents the Nutcracker.

This is a delightful presentation of the Nutcracker with the addition of some ballet lessons. The San Francisco Ballet performs the delightful ballet while a Narrator explains what it going on. That is perfect for the little ones so you don't have to read the story to them before viewing. It also has young students from the School of American Ballet that actually dance in between acts and in the bonus features to teach a few ballet moves. Some of the things it teaches the kids are glisade and arm positions. On the web site they even have coloring pages to go along with the Nutcracker!

This is so delightful! This is going to be perfect for both all my kids (8-2). My kids are going to love it!!! I already do! This is Prima Princessa's second dvd. Their previous offering is Swan Lake and for just $12.99 they are great investments. So go check out the Nutcracker and enjoy the early start to the Christmas season!!!

This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Prima Princessa, who provided the DVD for review.

Shandle Review

See the little thing sticking out on the toilet seat? That thing with the writing on the right side? That is a Shandle. I recently received a Shandle in order to review it in my home.

I have 4 little kids so this is quite a blessing. It serves as a handle to lift and put down the toilet seat to keep their hands (and mine) off the germs. They have styles that are imprinted with hand washing reminders, reminders to put the seat down or just designer prints. You can even get plain white to blend in.

The Shandle is made of an antimicrobial treated plastic. It is easy to install with just the included pressure sensitive adhesive. Just push it on! The only issue was that you need to make sure your kids don't actual use the Shandle for 24 hours. And it is a long 24 hours;). I was very happy to see that even though it has a decal on it, the Shandle is very cleanable with bathroom cleaner!

I highly recommend the Shandle! At less than $7 it is a cheap and easy tool to keep your family healthy. There is even free shipping right now! It would also be great to add to a gift!

This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and The Shandle who provided the product for review.

Keeping Parents and Kids Happy!

I recently received a copy of JumpStart 3D Virtual World 1st and 2nd grade to review. My kids and I love it! For those of you that aren't familiar with JumpStart, it is educational software. It has always been fun but wasn't as always something kids would choose over video games. With the incarnation of the 3D Virtual World they have found the secret to kids hearts.

The kids start out creating their own characters, or jumpees, by picking out forms and then they personalize them by choosing all the characteristics. My oldest is excited that he can be a robot and NerdPie got to pick all her girlie things;). Then they cruise through the world that the conquering and earning jewels by completing academic missions. These are are in all different areas from sentance formations, charts, logical thinking, patterns, and lots more. There is also an entire online world! But that is another review;).

Then comes the parts for parents. First off I can register up to 3 kids, I love that. JumpStart will track each one separately. Then JumpStart sends me a progress report. They tell me what areas the kids have worked on and if they have completed it or if it is in progress. It is great because I can see areas the kids have mastery in and the areas they might be struggling in.

The kids seem to love this and I like that they are learning during their computer time without just doing drills. This would make an awesome gift the kid in your life if they are very familiar with computers or even just learning because it is so intuitive. So run out and buy a copy! Then let me know what you think about it!

Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella

I recently received a copy of the brand new VeggieTales movie, Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella! We loved it! Now, we here in the NerdFamily are huge VeggieTale fans to begin with. So we all snuggled in and watched it together. It was a huge hit!

This Minnesota Cuke story was great! It hit on so many issues that speak to all my children, regardless of their ages. It hit on the issue of not paying attention, friendship, and confidence. Even the Silly Song, Sippy Cup, spoke to the issue of spilling (we still have one in a sippy cup) and the whole family thought it was hilarious!

I would highly recommend this to anyone! It would make a great gift and a fun family night. So pop over to Big Idea and get this! They are even running a special right now!

This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program for Big Idea, who supplied the DVD for review.

Oliver's Labels Review

I have lots of kids, which means I have lots of stuff that I have to keep track of so we don't lose it all. So I was very excite to check out a sampling of labels from Oliver's Labels. These are awesome!

Now one of the things motherhood has taught me is that the kids can lose everything. Shoes because they all took them off to run through the grass, Cubby vests because they get hot at Awana, not to mention backpacks and the such. Previously my strategy has been a black permanent marker on tags and that hasn't worn so well. It doesn't take long for the writing to get blurry between washing, sweating and being dragged on the ground. That is why I love these labels! They are clear and tough, extremely tough. They are even pretty water resistant so they work for water bottles and beach towels. I really love the shoe labels because they don't slip and are clear to ready! I also love the fact you aren't force to be cutesy, you can get you labels done in all kinds of cool fashion prints.

I really like the Found It Code. This is a free feature that Oliver's Labels offers everyone. They print a code on each label and a website. If someone finds 1 of your things they just go to the website and input your code. Oliver's Labels then sends you an email. I love that for security's because walking around with a fob that has your name, address, and phone number makes me nervous.

Now I admit that I am a cheapskate. I have seen these before but never bought them. Part of the reason why is that I never saw the prices. It is not nearly as pricey I would have once thought. It would also make a great present. You can get a mixed pack for less than $30. And to sweeten the pot, Oliver's Labels has provided a coupon code for 10% off! Just use "LABELEVERYTHING" before June 31, 2009 (when it expires;).

So go, check it out and let me know what you think!

(This is a FRN Review)

LemonHead Kidz Review

I have a lot of hair. I also have 2 daughters: 1 has thin baby hair and 1 has thick hair. That is a lot of hair to try to wrangle in 1 household and a lot of different types of hair. So I am always searching for the perfect hair clips that will hold all of our hair and (hope against hope) will stay in the baby's hair. So you can imagine how excited I was when I received products from LemonHead Kidz!

They sent me a great clipeez with a beautiful yellow flower on it. This I really liked! The clip had a rubber block in it that made sure it didn't slip out of anyone's hair. I was able to use this in all 3 of our hair and it looked adorable! They have all different types of flowers, bows and butterflies to choose from for really great clips.

I also received a bandeez hairband. This was a beautiful piece of ribbon that gathered in the back to help secure it in your hair. One of the key parts of the bandeez is a strip that grips on your hair to prevent it from falling out. I can say it stayed in the 5 year olds but didn't work that well in mine. The strip grabbed little pices of hair so it wouldn't fall out but it didn't hold very much of my hair back at all.

So I have to say that while the bandeez didn't work great for me, the clipeez were great. So go over to LemonHead Kidz and check them out!

(An FRN Review)

Cart Stopper Review and Giveaway!!!!

It has happened to all of us, parents or not. We wheel the cart up next to the car and while we start unloading it starts rolling away. Some times it is right into the main parking lot and sometimes into your ankle. Then add a baby in the cart and you can imagine how intrigued I was to review this nifty little gadget called the Cart-Stopper.

The Cart-Stopper has a suction cup that hooks onto you car. Then there is a toggle on a cord that goes on your cart. This is a really cute idea. Back when I had just 2 little ones would have been when I would have used this the most. When you get the first child at the cart you would know that the cart couldn't have possibly run away. I hate having to link my foot into the rack on the bottom or, even worse, rest the cart up against my van. I was impressed how well it suctioned to my very dirty van. It was small enough to fit in my very crowded purse and it was easy to hook on with only one hand. I think this is a great little gift for that new mom you know or the new mom of 2 would be even better!

Win it!
How would you like to win your own Cart Stopper?
To enter:

* Go visit the My Lil Monkey's Website and tell me what color you would like (just follow the order now button but you won't actually have to order;).
* A random winner will be selected and notified on May 13th.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed.
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter
* Tweet about this!

This giveaway is open to addresses within the US. Please leave a way to contact you in case you win.

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday!

(This is a FRN review)

Kinesys Sunscreen Review and Giveaway!!

I am white. I don't mean ethnically but I have that slightly transparent, glow in the dark white skin. I can't tan. I burn bad, turn bright red and then turn white again even if I don't peel. In addition to my fairness, sking cancer is prevelant in my family. So as you can imagine sunscreen is important in this house. I recently received 2 bottles of sunscreen to review from Kinesys. I received the Kids SPF 30 sunscreen. It is a pump spray that said that you didn't need to rub it in, which I doubted, but I was really surprised that if you hold it away from you a good distance you really don't need to rub it in. With 4 kids to sunscreen, that saves an immeasurable amount of time and annoyance. It is also fragrance free, which I loved! You really had to hold their arm to your nose to smell any tell tale sunscreen smell. I also received the SPF 30 Girl Sunscreen (yes, that is what it is called) which is Vanilla Green Tea scented. Is smells very nice, not to heavy and very pleasant. This also was a truly no rub spray.

Both of these appear to work very well. I only say appear because it has either been so hot you aren't going out (96) or very mild so I haven't gotten a chance to try it out as thouroughly as I would like. It is very light feeling so you don't have that oily heavy feeling. It also watches off very easily. My only issue is that they are water and sweat resistant and not proof. Since it is often over 100 here during the summer and water is a big cooling tool, that isn't the best for us. But over all there are really nice products! Kinesys is offering a 10% coupon Code BRC10 (free shipping on orders over $45 AFTER the discount) on all purchases right now! But what is better than a coupon? Winning it free of course!

Win it!
How would you like to win your own 4 oz Kid's Sunscreen and 4 oz Moisturizer?
To enter:

* Go visit the Kinesys website then come back here and tell me 1 fact you learned!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on May 6th.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed.
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here and to Kinesys.
* Subscribe to my Twitter
* Tweet about this!

This giveaway is open to addresses within the US. Please leave a way to contact you in case you win.

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday!

(This is a FRN review)

Tie Buddies

Ok, I admit it. My oldest child, who will be 8 in June, couldn't tie his shoes until last couple of weeks. We bought NerdBug the neatest Spiderman shoes last fall, thinking that would encourage him. But no, no shoe lace tying. That was until I got Tie Buddies. These are little plastic pieces that slip onto shoe laces to work almost as a pull tab. This helps get over the hardest part, forming and keeping the loops. You get directions that are easy to follow.

At less than $8 these are a great deal. I admit, it is an especially good deal for me because I have another 3 kids that I am going to use them with. But even with one, it would totally be worth it.

I love these! And the NerdBug loves these! He looks cool sporting his nifty SpiderMan shoes. So go check them out and tell me how much you and your kiddos love them too!

(A FRN Review)

Bright Star Kid Review

Aren't these the cutest graphics? This is just a sampling of the pack of wall graphics I received from Bright Star Kids for my NerdBug. I have wanted to do the kids rooms for a while but my problem has always been that they want wall paper decorations and I don't want to have to take them down. (I am assuming that they will want things changed a little between 7 and even 10, as far as maturity) These are awesome because they go up easy and come down easier. This pack came with 189 different decals in various sizes and 4 colors. You can place these decals on the walls and then take them down and put them up somewhere else! I love this feature because I am a commitment phob when it comes to decorating (what is I put it somewhere and hate it;) but it is also a good solution for someone in an apartment because it doesn't leave any marks or gunk on the wall. Given this set is for a 7 year old boy's room, I was very happy that they are water proof so you can wipe them down but you could also use them in a kid's bathroom.

The website is awesome because it has a gallery of rooms that you can look at (and copy in my case). They also gave me the idea to paint around 1 side in a different color and give the shape a shadow. I thought that was so cool;). I really liked working with this company too! They are in Australia so shipping to the US takes a bit but they have such a quality product it is really worth it. They also don't just have wall shaped decals. They have other decals, labels and the like.

Right now they have quite a few things on sale but just in case you want something that isn't on sale they have given me a coupon code for all of you! Use FAMILYREVIEW for 20% off from March 25-April 25 in the promo code box at checkout. Remember it isn't good on any of the things already on sale.

So go check them out and let me know what you think!

DaBib Review and Giveaway!

Look below for the review and giveaway!


Ok, I love this bib! Now I am a mother of 4 kids and the oldest (by a lot of 5 kids) so I would say that I may be a bib expert. Once again I say, I love this bib!. DaBib has many great design features. First, it is dual layer with a micro fiber terry cloth on the front and a water proof cloth back. I love that it is water proof but not plastic so it doesn't crack or wear. I have already washed it quite a few times and there isn't any wear on it. I love the neck. It is a high cloth neck that is like a cuff so it keeps the crumbs and dribbles out. Because we all know. The worst things are the ones that get past the top of the bib. It wraps around with velcro and is adjustable. There is a 2 or 3 inch strip that you can adjust on. It also has a pocket on the front. I love a pocket on bibs but you can't ever clean them out all the way and they just don't stay open to catch enough. Well, the makers of DaBib seemed to find a way around that. The pocket is attached from the back and then you flip it to the front. Then it stands out a bit and to clean it just flip it back so all the crumbs (or oatmeal in my little one's case) don't end up in the washer.

So I love this bib. My biggest problem is that I didn't find it until my 4th and last kid!

Win it!
How would you like to win your own bib from DaBib?

To enter:

* Just pop over to the DaBib site and then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which one of these great bibs you would want to win.
* A random winner will be selected and notified on April 14th.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed.
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter

This giveaway is open to addresses within the US. Please leave a way to contact you in case you win.

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday!

(This is a FRN review)

Play and Learn Baby Spoon Review

I got these awesome spoons from Baby Human to try with my NerdPud. Here in the NerdFamily we are slow to transition to spoons because of the horrible mess. So when I read about how great these help kids learn to use a spoon I was excited to give it a go!

First off they are made of an awesome soft plastic. It has a little give and it top shelf dishwasher safe. It is curved and perfect for little hands to hold it. As soon as the NerdPud picked it up she could get it right to her mouth because of the shaping. It also has a neat safety feature. It has a gag guard. That little disc right after the bowl of the spoon prevents the spoon from being able to go to far into the kiddo's mouth. It even doesn't stain. We did spaghetti sauce and it cleaned right up, leaving not a single stain!

Now, the NerdPud has a bit farther to go until she can feed herself everything with a spoon but I do think within a week she will be great! For only $8.99 you can pick up a 2 pack of these awsome spoons at the Baby Human website or Amazon.

(This is a FRN review)

One2Believe Noah's Ark Set

My kids love it when I get to review a toy so you can imagine their delight when I received One2Belive's Noah's Ark Set. They quickly volunteered to play with it and let me know what they thought (How unselfish of them;). Some of you may remember my enthusiastic review of their Nativity Set last year, well the Noah's Ark Set was just as good. Like the Nativity Set, this was made well and has enough pieces that all the kids can play together with it (always a winner).

Even as I was handing out the animals the fun began. I had to remind them to come back to ma and get the rest of the pieces;). Of course my type A kids did ask about Mrs. Noah but they quickly got over it. They also loved putting the plank on the boat and taking it off and just playing with angles, etc. So that was its own educational toy.

The only disappointment my kids had with the set was that the boat didn't open up. But that disappointment left when they realized that the reason it doesn't open is because its, wait for it, a water toy!!!

We loved this set and highly recommend it for your children or as a gift for a child you love!

Abe and the Amazing Promise

Right now my kids are loving my blogs. That is because I got a chance to review the not yet released Veggie Tales: Abe & the Amazing Promise! Here in the NerdFamily we are huge VeggieTale fans. So you can imagine our delight when we popped this in the dvd. The main story is a lesson on patience that is about Sarah and Abraham having to patiently wait for the arrival of baby Isaac (it doesn't touch on Ishmael or Hagar at all). It is a cute retelling that stars radio personality Delilah.
My 7 year old's favorite part was the silly song Sneeze If You Want To! It was completely adorable. The part I absolutely loved was the musical Blunders in Boo-boo-ville about how fast isn't always best.

If you love VeggieTales you have to check out Veggie Tales: Abe & the Amazing Promise! It comes out Fed 10th on Amazon but you can preorder it today!

(FRN Review)

Nana Star Review

We recently received the Nana Star doll and book to review and the NerdPie loved it! This soft doll is just precious and comes with her star and the twig he sits on. The book is sweet and well illustrated. The only bad thing that could be said is that is was a bit short. But it is so sweet and also comes with a cd. This is that perfect grandparent gift because NerdPie will have this doll and book for years! They also have a Moonman for boys and it is also very cute!

So go check it out!

Times Tales Review

We recently received Times Tales to help the NerdBug learn his times tables. This is a cute mnemonic based system that is full of illustrations to help kids memorize their upper times table. Everyone I have talked to loves it. Well, we aren't those people. For us, this system is harder than just memorizing the facts themselves. Because we are focusing so much on teaching him the theory, by the time he understood the concept he memorized it. This would be perfect for the person who isn't working on the concept but is just trying to memorize. I am just not sure what kind of recall speed you would have if you have to recall the picture and translate it to numbers. At $29.95 you really have to figure out if you have the kind of child who would benifit from this system.

Time for Learning Review

My Nerdlings and I recently got the opportunity to use the Time for Learning. Basically this is an online educational service. You sign your kids up individually and enter their academic level. Then they log in and complete lessons that are organized by subject. Time for Learning tracks time spent on each lesson, score and activity type so parents can go in and review the basics of what their kids are doing. You even have the option of printing a report for your academic records.

The price basics are:
Subscription Costs:
$19.95/month
$14.95/month per additional child
14 day money-back guarantee
No contracts
Cancel at any time

So what did we think? The kids liked it well enough. It was a centralization of academic activities but was it worth the price? Not for me. I could look at the subject and basic details of what an assignment was but when my kids didn't score 100 I would have liked to look and see what they got wrong so we could correct it. You can't see any of the actual work they did. Also, and this isn't a big deal, NerdBug did the playground time (a reward for getting their assignments done) and it took him to PBS Kids. I don't have a problem at all with PBS Kids but it was the fact it took him outside the system that bothered me.

The user interface was a bit clunky because the kids had to listen to every explanation ("Click here when your done", for example) before they could do anything. My kids who have been on a computer for years found that a bit annoying.

Frankly, if you are friends with your Google I think you can collect enough sites to not need a service like this. But if you are not real internet savvy or don't want to spend the time, it is a nice service.