Magformers are truly fantastic and innovative building sets.  My two boys have hours of fun creating and building structures and toys out of these magnetic forms.  They received their very first simple Magformers set a couple of Christmas’s ago and have since gotten some of the more advanced sets.  They continue to play with them to this day at ages 4 and 6, and I am sure they will continue to do so as their imaginations grow.  They create buildings, cars, bridges, spheres, rockets – basically anything that you can imagine.  The magnetic nature of the pieces are what make Magformers so unique.  Nothing is needed to hold the pieces together, because they are magnetically attracted to each other.  And the best part is the cleanup! Because they are magnetic, you can basically pick up a pile of these with just one sweep of your two hands.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I bought the Vidalia Chop Wizard hoping that it would make some of my work in the kitchen more efficient, and after having used it for the for past two years, I have no idea how I got by without it! I have been thoroughly impressed with the ease and speed of chopping and dicing ingredients. I have pretty much tested it with every ingredient I have needed to chop or dice, and it worked brilliantly. Not only does it cut my time virtually in half, but there is basically no mess because everything you chop goes in the catch container, which is a breeze to clean (it’s dishwasher safe) – this means no more messy counter tops or cutting boards to clean!

The Vidalia Chop Wizard is a better way to chop vegetables, fruit, cheese, and more. It consists of a 2 cup catch container which doubles as a measuring cup, large blade for chopping, small blade for dicing, and a lid cleaning tool. The blades allow you to chop food swiftly and safely, since your finger don’t come in contact with the blades when chopping.

I used the Vidalia Chop Wizard to make a tuna salad the other day and it took me all of 5 minutes to have every ingredient (onion, celery, hard-boiled egg, etc.) finely diced and ready to go. No onion crying either! I use it to chop my son’s apples everyday – all it takes is three swift motions and the apple is chopped in less than a 30 seconds! And my husband even tried it a few times to dice tomatoes, celery, green pepper, and cucumbers for salads that he prepares for work. He has been very impressed and said that he’ll continue using it to chop and dice fruits and vegetables.

Oh yeah, and I make a mean salsa with it too!

Popularity: 4% [?]

My youngest son’s favorite lovey is his Snoedel, even with his fourth birthday coming. Originally, when my oldest son was born, he had to stay in the NICU for 5 days. This was where we received our first Snoedel to help with the bonding process between myself and him since I was not able to hold him and cuddle with him the way I wanted to. I was told to hold the Snoedel close to me so that it could capture my “scent” and that he could become closer to me while he lay in his NICU bed. Three years later that original Snoedel is still with us, having been adopted by my youngest son as his absolute favorite lovey, that he has affectionately named “Buddy”. We even went so far as to order a second “Buddy” since he is now attending daycare/preschool and needed a second one to snuggle with during naptime at daycare. His Snoedel now go with us wherever we travel and he always sleeps with them at night and naptimes. We would truly be lost without these wonderful loveys – they have been the one and only thing to keep him happy and comforted when he sleeps and when he’s at daycare.

From the website : “Snoedel is the original sleeping and bonding aid for babies completely handcrafted in the United States by moms, grandmothers, and female college students under “newborn-safe” conditions (environments free of tobacco and perfumes.) It is comprised of 100% natural fibers and has been safe for use with all babies including newborns, premature infants, and other babies in Neonatal Intensive Care units.”

Snoedels are a soft cotton flannel doll, which is designed to absorb a parent’s scent. The premise of the Snoedel is that a babies sense of smell is the first thing that bonds the child to the parent. Not only is the Snoedel wonderful for initial bonding, it can serve as a security blanket or lovey later in life, as it has with my 2 year old. The Snoedel is completely safe for machine washing and drying and is able to be sterilized in a hospital environment.

For purchasing a Snoedel, check it out on Amazon.com!

Popularity: 28% [?]

My children have been in Britax car seats all their lives, and I couldn’t be happier knowing that we are safe anytime we have to drive anywhere. Britax is the leader in the car seat industry. They have several patented innovations which help make your child safe in your vehicle and work to minimize movement of the seat and your child in the event of a collision.

The first is their patented True Side Impact Protection™ system which helps transfer energy away from your child in the event of a side impact collision. As explained on the BritaxUSA.com website, the design features of their True Side Impact Protection™ system include: 1) an energy-absorbing foam liner over a stiff structure to distribute crash forces; 2) side walls that shield the child from vehicle intrusion; 3) deep head wings and side wings for head and body containment; and 4) an adjustable head support to minimize lateral head movement during a crash. These features are extremely important since data shows that 25% of all vehicle crashes are the result of a side impact collision.

Second, Britax‘s patented Versa-Tether® system reduces movement of the seat in both the forward and rear-facing positions by having two attachment points on the child seat and anchoring the top of the car seat to the vehicle. The two attachment points feature the LATCH system, but the seat can also be installed using your vehicles seat belts if it is not LATCH capable. I have found that my Britax car seats were very easy to install with the LATCH system and are incredibly stable having nearly no movement side-to-side or forward and backward, no matter how hard I try to push on them.

Third, Britax offers five-point harnessed seats with their patented HUGS™ (Harness Ultra Guard System) which reduces a child’s forward head movement in the event of a crash. These car seats also allow for higher weight capacities up to 65 pounds in convertibles and 80 pounds in youth seats. Their seats also have the feature of being able to remain rear-facing up to 35 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ride rear facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer, so this is a wonderful feature that allows your child to remain rear-facing longer than other car seats.

Britax car seats come in several styles, from compact convertible to combination booster, in order to best fit your child for their specific age and weight. For more information regarding Britax car seats and their safety features please visit their website at BritaxUSA.com.

Popularity: 23% [?]

We have a winner this year! One of the best Christmas presents my boys received this year were the Melissa and Doug Cardboard Blocks. Sometimes the simplest toys are the ones our kids love most. These colorful blocks have occupied most of my boys’ time out of all of the presents they received. It has been non-stop fun ever since we opened them!

The Melissa and Doug Cardboard Blocks are very durable and colorful blocks that really touch the imagination. These blocks are made of a heavy duty cardboard but are very light, so even my youngest son can easily build and stack them. My boys have built forts, race tracks, towers and have had a blast not only building but knocking it all down as well. My husband has had a fun time with the boys building all sorts of things, even to the point where he asked me to buy another set so that we could have even more blocks to build bigger things.

The blocks come in three different sizes: small yellow, medium blue, and large red. One red block is the same size as two blue blocks or four yellow blocks. It takes a while to put all the blocks together as they come disassembled in their original packaging. But once you get the hang of it, it’s even fun to assemble these blocks for your kids.

Popularity: 60% [?]