The Good
Laurie Berkner became a favorite of ours when we first saw clips of her songs on Noggin in between shows (and noticed she was featured on Jack’s Big Music Show and the Today Show). Her songs are great…catchy, sing-songy, fun, light-hearted, along with really creative lyrics! My son would dance to her tunes and get excited when she was singing on T.V. Recently, I heard she was on the market with her first “Best Of” album, so we had to have it. Well, it has not disappointed! There are 20 tracks of total fun! We popped it in the car and have been listening to it for a week now. I can honestly say even though it is a “kids music CD”, I like it….no kidding! My son (4 years) loves it, and has mastered the lyrics to sing along to at least half the songs, if not more. My daughter (15 months) really gets into to it too, bopping her head around and singing the tunes in her own words! Overall, The Best of Laurie Berkner has quickly become a family favorite. I wrote this The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band CD Review because I think it can be a challenge to find music that is both good for the kiddos and not super annoying to listen to as the adults! Laurie Berkner finds this balance. I personally recommend the songs: Rocketship Run, Moon Moon Moon, and BOOTS! My hubby likes: I’m Gonna Catch You, I’m Not Perfect and Fast and Slow. The kids love ‘em all! I will admit, I have even noticed myself driving around town this week with this CD still playing, even though I am the only one in the car. Has to say something, right?
Find out the BAD after the jump!
The Good
We have an older house (1961) and it is quite obvious during the summer and winter months that we are not well insulated. We have new windows, which helps, but I couldn’t help but notice both of the kids rooms stayed colder in the winter and warmer in the summer. The winter was a challenge. I could not fathom running our central heating system all night long (we live in San Diego, it just not that cold!) but I also couldn’t sleep knowing my babies were chilly overnight. I did a bunch of research on space heaters and quickly nixed that idea with all of the potential fire hazards. One last internet search turned me onto the ECO-heater, and we have one in each kid’s room now! Absolutely awesome! The ECO-heater is mounted on the wall about 6 inches off the ground. It is flat panel, about 24” x 24”. It is just plain white, so although it does take up considerable space on the wall, you really do not notice it after it’s installed (the user’s manual even mentioned that it is safe to paint the panel using water-based latex paint, if you really want it to match!) Here are some of the stats that make the ECO-heater so “hot”: Effective — Warms a 10′ x 12′ room with only 400 Watts…great for bedrooms Efficient — Uses 73% less electricity than other room heaters Economical — Save up to 50% or more on your total heating costs ECO-heaters are wall-mounted electric convection space heaters that use less than 1/3 of the energy typical space heaters use. An environmentally-responsible alternative to 1,500 watt space heaters, an ECO-heater heats a 120 square foot space using only 400 watts. ECO-heaters are less than 24″ square, and are mounted 3/4″ off the wall to create a convection heat channel. The air between the wall and the panel is heated and rises, drawing cool air from the floor, thus silently circulating warm air throughout the room. ECO-heaters are easy to install, can be painted to match any décor, and plug into a standard outlet. ECO-heaters are tested and certified to Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety standard 2021 and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) safety standard 60335-2. What I love about our ECO-heaters is the way they make the room so cozy and warm. It is not that sensation of hot, dry air blowing like you feel from some heaters. This is definitely more of a constant, but low, warmth added to the room. We switch them on while the kids are in the bath and their rooms are perfect for them when they hop into bed. Now I can sleep more soundly knowing they are warm even if they kick their covers off! 
Find out the BAD after the jump!
posted by
Stevee in
Baby Gear, feeding
The Good
Recently, we have started giving Joleen more food meals than milk meals. Now, she only gets a bottle of milk before naps and bedtime. This means, she is eating a lot more solid foods. This also means that I have to pack a lot more snacks for when we are out-and-about. At first, I tried just putting her snacks in zip-lock baggies. That didn’t work. Her delicious snacks got all smushed in my diaper bag. Then, I tried a snack holder by munchkin where the top collapses in so Joleen can stick her little hand in and grab her cheerios. This snack holder is great for at home, but not so much on-the-go. I ended up with cheerios on the bottom of my diaper bag. Lastly, I tried the Boon Snack Ball. Bingo. We have a winner. I love this snack holder! The Boon Snack ball is a hard, little round ball. It is small enough to throw in a diaper bag, and yet it protects you baby’s snacks from getting crushed. This cute little ball twists apart to be able to pour snacks inside, then twists back together nice and tight. This twisting apart also allows for easy cleaning. The best part, however, is the top. The top has a lid that swivels so Joleen can reach inside and pull her snacks out, then swivels and snaps back in place to keep her snackies inside.
Find out the BAD after the jump!
posted by
Desiree in
Playtime & Toys
The Good
As you’ve read in my previous reviews, we’re big fans of Melissa & Doug toys in this house! Another lovely addition to our collection is the Melissa & Doug Classic Wooden Abacus. This simplistic wooden toy is great for tiny curious babies and older children alike. The little ones have lots of fun just playing with the colourful beads, while preschoolers can count and explore mathematics! As usual, I’ve found this particular M&D toy to be quite sturdy and very durable. It’s been thrown and dropped, knocked over and more — and still there’s not a dent to be seen. We actually found our abacus at a second hand shop, so who knows what sort of torture it was put through before coming to our home! My 18-month-old daughter loves to hold her abacus and shake it back and forth, enjoying the sounds that the beads make as the click and clack on the frame. It’s one toy that she often goes back to — definitely one of the first toys she pulls out of her toy box each time it’s opened! Thumbs up to M&D for making another well-built, fabulous toy!
Find out the BAD after the jump!
posted by
Sarah in
Baby Gear, feeding
The Good
My husband and I learned early on with our first baby; always have a travel booster seat/highchair in the car with you! It has saved us on many occasions. We love The First Years: On the Go Booster Seat, as you will not from my glowing review. In fact, we love it so much, we use it in our house for the kids (at our kitchen table) when they are too big for a highchair, but not quite tall enough to sit comfortably at the table with us! And we keep one in the car, just in case. I can’t tell you how many times we have shown up to a BBQ at a friend’s house, or maybe a “hole in the wall” burrito place and there wasn’t a highchair in sight. No problem for us! Simply find a stable chair, and take the 10 seconds it takes to install the On the Go Booster and you are all set. The best part (in my opinion) of the On the Go Booster is that there are 2 straps for security; one that goes around the back of the chair and one that goes under the chair. You tighten those up and really feel like the booster is completely stable and safe. And of course there is a lap belt as well to keep baby secure in the seat. Another super cool feature is that you can ‘inflate’ the seat portion of the booster. There is a valve that you can open and it will inflate the bottom part of the booster up to 4 inches (which can be nice when they need a little height added to their table seat!) Easy clean up too…I just wipe it clean with a wet cloth and on occasion, take it out back and shake-shake-shake the crumbs out! 
Find out the BAD after the jump!
posted by
Sarah in
Books, Playtime & Toys
The Good
My 15 month old daughter, Kenzie, absolutely loves books these days! However, if she wants to read on her own, she can’t be fully trusted with some of her older brother’s paper books (as we have turned around to find a precious page torn here or there!) With that in mind, I have come to love the cloth books we have, especially Squishy Turtle and Friends. This book is cute and colorful, and features a collection of sea creatures including a sea turtle, fish, a whale, a seahorse, a starfish, and much more! Each page features a little something different to capture your baby’s attention (crinkly material, octopus legs, etc.) A cute little rhyming story goes along with the sea creatures as well. I wrote this Squishy Turtle and Friends Book review because we’ve have had this book since my now 4 year old son was a baby and it is still a family fave around here! 
Find out the BAD after the jump!
> Follow 
