Didi & Ditto Preschool "Mother Nature's Visit"

We all need a little help sometimes. Even (or especially) me. And as I get this review site up and running, Sunshine, who is quickly becoming my mentor and inspiration in all things blog, has been gracious enough to cross-post this over at her review blog, Lather. Rinse. Repeat. A million thanks to her, and be sure to go check her out!


My quick review: this computer game is great.

Evan's quick review: "Mom, can I play Didi and Ditto again?! Please?!?!"

But perhaps you are wanting some more details? Sure, I'll oblige.

The premise of the game: help the main characters (super-cute little beavers-- yes, beavers-- named Didi and Ditto) collect prizes to take to a party upon successful completion of the game. It's for ages 2-4, with three levels of difficulty. Kids can choose to play an entire game, or "practice" individual activities from the game. Activities reinforce age-appropriate educational tasks such as pre-reading, pre-math, science, music, and art.

The good stuff: Evan is delighted every time he plays it. It is encouraging him to learn to use the mouse; the graphics are adorable and appealing; he can play relatively independently, with only minimal assistance from me; it encourages lots of exploration; the pacing (which seems a little slow to an adult) is just right for his level; it keeps his attention for as long as I'll let him play.... I could go on. But I won't. In short, it's perfect for a four-year-old who hasn't been exposed to a lot of video games. There is nothing about this that I'd change.

We are very pleased with this game. Looking for a gift for an older toddler or preschooler? This would be an excellent choice.

Didi & Ditto Preschool "Mother Nature's Visit" hybrid DVD-ROM, ages 2-4, by Kutoka Interactive, suggested retail $19.99

Yookidoo Discovery Playhouse

Caleb turned one over the weekend.

Seriously, I hate trying to buy gifts for one-year-olds. They're too old for "baby" toys, too young for "toddler" toys and nothing seems quite right. Add to this the fact that he has two older brothers and approximately 20,000 hand-me-down toys, and I had no idea what to get for him.

No worries. My mom and dad got him the Best Toy Ever. For a one-year-old, anyway: the Yookidoo Discovery Playhouse, by International Playthings.

This is a little tent, just the right size for crawling inside or for cruising around the outside. Each panel has interior and exterior activities that totally get a one-year-old going: mirrors, spinners, ball ramps, shape sorters, and a few other fun things. The top is perforated so he can look out, and there are lots of peek-a-boo opportunities. It has, in all honesty, kept him occupied for up to an hour at a time-- no small feat for a baby.

From a parent perspective: it doesn't have a million and one little pieces to lose-- only a few balls and a set of baby keys. And the balls are shakers-- but there are no batteries, no too-loud electronic songs, and absolutely no "obnoxious factor" (you know what I'm talking about).

Very good stuff. Highly recommended. As a matter of fact, we returned the gift we bought him. This is that good. (Turns out, it's won some toy awards. This is not a surprise.) It's relatively expensive at about $100, but if you're going to spend that much on several little toys, I think this is a better use of your money.

Oh, and a quick plug for one of my favorite toy stores ever: Creative Kidstuff. I had kind of forgotten about it, but this is where they got the tent. And it is totally where I'm going to look for his Christmas present (because I've been procrastinating). Anyway. Click over and check them out.

Come on in!

Welcome to my review blog!

I know, everybody's doing it these days. Review blogging, that is. But listen: I'm a mom, I have three sons, and a good portion of our expenditures go toward them. I cannot tell you how often I share recommendations with other moms, and act on advice that they have given me. If you're a mom, or a marketer, you know this about me. Now I'm just providing my opinions in one central location.

I'm a 38-year-old stay-at-home mom. Our sons are very different kids. The seven-year-old is way (!) into sports and cars and is pretty sure he'll play in the NFL when he grows up. The four-year-old is all about dinosaurs and wildlife and thinks he maybe wants to be a veterinarian. They're both completely obsessed with reading, and with Legos and Bionicles and building things. And the baby is, well, a baby. He has no interests (besides me) yet. You can read all about us (and probably learn more than you want to know) at my sometimes-kinda-daily blog: http://www.onthreekids.blogspot.com/.

By virtue of the fact that we are parents in this society, we are consumers. We try to be responsible consumers, and don't necessarily run out and buy every "must-have" toy of every shopping season. (Believe me, our kids are far from deprived, though.) I guess my goal here is simply to help other parents spend their kid-dollars wisely, in the event that they read and value my opinion.

This is a work in progress; I'm sure I'll be refining as things move forward. For now I'm just writing about things that we are currently using and loving. Probably most of these early reviews will be about kids' stuff. ('Cause about 98% of my conscious energy is directed towards them.)

So keep checking in and reading, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney

Here's what you need to know: these books are funny. You should read them. Your son should read them.

Okay, want more information? Understandable.

The protagonist is a middle-school student named Greg. He has a surly older brother and an annoying younger brother. His parents are dorks. He's not as popular as he thinks he wants to be. His best friend is irritating, but somehow they manage to stick together. The writing style is completely accessible and sympathetic to a young boy-- and it made me laugh until I cried. (Seriously, the part about wrestling in PE? Hysterical.) Greg isn't an angel, but there's nothing in these books that is blatantly offensive, either. And! It's illustrated in a highly amusing, minimalist style.

Jensen cannot get enough of these books. He spends (no joke) hours at a time, reading and re-reading them. He used his allowance to buy the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book" too, which is a journal with prompts, places to write, and places to draw. He keeps his own journal now, and the prompts have really encouraged him to write imaginatively. This gets the big thumbs-up from Jeff and me.

Jensen is a self-motivated reader, but we're still always on the look-out for books that will really engage him. This definitely did the trick! Funny, elementary-school-hip stuff. Yea! for Jeff Kinney!!!

Philips Avent Magic Trainer Sippy Cup

Baby stuff. We have lots and lots of baby stuff at our house, being on Baby #3 now. And now Baby #3 (aka Caleb) is learning to use sippy cups.

Here's the boring consumer alert: when the older boys were babies, I hadn't heard of BPA. Now it's in the news kind of a lot, and I'm paying attention. BPA is short for Bisphenol-A, which is present in the plastics used to make a majority of baby feeding products, like bottles and sippy cups. It's considered potentially hazardous and many studies are currently being conducted to determine its safety. (Google it; you'll get more information than you want!) I'm playing it cautious now. I'm not overly-strict about it, but I do look for BPA-free products when they are available. Unfortunately these products aren't always easily available, and can be expensive.

Ah! But wait! I loved Avent bottles and sippy cups for the older boys, and Avent now makes BPA-free sippy cups (I found them at Target) for a completely reasonable price.

We're using the Philips Avent Magic Trainer cups with Caleb right now, and he's getting the hang of them. And, once again, we love them. Yeah, they leak (just a little bit), and you do need a nipple brush to really clean the spouts out well-- but these are my only complaints. (And they're pretty minor complaints in the world of sippy cups.) They have been easy for him to use, and the construction is about as maintenance-free as any training cup I've used.

I'm definitely recommending them to friends and family who are transitioning babies to sippy cups, especially if they're concerned about BPA.

V-Tech Kidizoom Camera

My kids love to take pictures. They love to use my point and shoot digital camera, they love to use my camera phone, and I'm sure they'd use my husband's Nikon tricked-out 12.3 megapixel super-spy camera if he'd let them within 150 yards of it. Fortunately, they have their own camera.

Our oldest son, Jensen, got the V-Tech Kidizoom camera for Christmas last year, when he was six. It was an instant hit with him and his little brother (who was three at the time). From a kid's perspective, it rocks.

You know what? It also rocks from a parent perspective, for several reasons. Here's what we all liked about it:

• Most importantly (to the parents in our house) it encourages creative play. The kids look for interesting things to photograph; if they can't find something fun, they stage their toys and take pictures of those. They also spend a lot of time scripting and filming their own movies (it has a video function). Good stuff.



• It's intuitive. We didn't have to spend hours reading the owner's manual and then teaching them how to use it. They picked it up and started snapping pictures. The menus are easy to navigate and they encourage exploration.



• It's apparently indestructable. My boys aren't exactly delicate, and they've dealt their share of abuse on the camera. It's come through without a problem.



• And, finally: it has withstood the test of time. They use it as much now as they did during the week they got it. I think every parent knows how disheartening it is to watch a kid cast aside a Christmas gift in January, never to touch it again. I cannot stress enough how much they still like this camera, and how happy that makes us.

If you're looking for gallery-quality photos from your kids, this is probably not the camera for you. (My kids have no problem at all with the photo quality, and neither do we.) And Jensen, at the age of seven, is maybe outgrowing it a little bit. But the kids are learning how to take photos, are very happy with their pictures, and this toy will definitely get passed down to the two younger kids. It is absolutely one of the best toys they have.