Another affordable toy out there on the markets this year can be purchased at Macy’s. At $14.99, Skoodlez makes a great toy for your kids or a grab bag, and can be given to kids 4 – 12. The stuffed animal has weighed down hands and feet, so you can easy pose them and hang them.  The cool part is that there is a coin handing around the stuffed animals neck.  You take the code off the coin and use that to access the online world.  On the site, children are challenged to create their own stories.  There are three different settings, so you can taylor it to your child’s age.  Beginner is from 4 – 6, medium is from 7 – 9, and advanced is 10 – 12.  When they finish their story, they can share them Skoodlez community.  They can also print them out.

This makes the perfect gift for the kid who has everything.  The Everday Skoodlez line includes fifteen animals:  hippo, cat, dog, mouse, duck, lion, tiger, leopard, panda, bear, zebra, giraffe, monkeys, and elephant.  There is also twenty four holiday ones.  They is definitely something here for everyone.

Smart Boy’s Toy Club & Smart Girl’s Party Game are the only games for preschoolers (age 3-6) on Nintendo DS.  These are “first-time games for first-time gamers.”  Included on these games are 18 skill based games that help develop the memory, and they encourage creativity through activities like interactive coloring books.  They also teach basic skills and work on hand eye coordination.

SingStar is making an encore performance with SingStar Vol. 2 which has 30 new chart-topping tracks from top artists including The Bravery, Spoon, Paramore, Radiohead and many more.  You are able to access hundreds of downloadable songs via the PS3 online Singstore.  You also are able to share your SingStar experience with friends and the online My SingStar community!  You can even get  SingStar ABBA for either the PlayStation 2 or the PlayStation 3.  SingStar ABBA features over 20 chart-topping singles from ABBA’s hit album, ‘Gold’ including ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme,’ ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Dancing Queen’.

Want a product that both you and child will love that is educational? Goosie Cards is just that. These are first and only flash cards that you can fully customize! They have sets already predone that you can choose from, or you can upload your own personal photos to make flashcards according to the needs of your children. I made several flashcards for Will (on top of doing a set they already have predone — they have over 150 free full color professional photos to help you design your cards too.). It is really simple to do also. You upload your pictures, label the cards how you want them to read, and then check out. That is it. I had my cards in less than a week (actually, I think it was within about 3 days!) For Will, we did some cards to help him recognize me, daddy, and Madison. It was super cute, because he immediately took Madison’s card and started kissing it. It was also very cool to see that he recognized the other items on the other cards (like the goldfish crackers). I am hoping these will help him talk or at least let us know what he wants. You can create 10, 20 or 26 custom cards and the prices range from $28 to $46. You can also buy someone a gift certificate for here also. Best of all, these are made in the US.

Goosie Cards are also being used by parents, teachers and medical professionals in the autism and special needs community. They can help children with autism to learn a variety of skills to communicate effectively in the following areas: social, emotional, sequential, memory and communication skills. There is a discount program to provide some relief in price, while providing one of the most advanced, communication learning systems on the market.

I love these cards and would highly recommend them to anyone. They are tough (Will tried to wreck them already and has not been successful yet). They also wipe clean very easily. Best of all, my kids like them.

Ever feel like nobody would understand how you feel?  Ever feel the need to connect to other moms?  If so, I definitely have the place you need to check out:  Moms Like Me.  I love the community on this site.  We are able to do everything from talk about cookie recipes to talking about how to get our kids to bed at night. It is one of those places that you get support from everyone even if they don’t have any helpful advice for you.  I remember a time when it was just Madison and me at home all day, I would have loved to have found this site them.  However, I am glad to be a part of it now.  I don’t mind telling people my story and my issues.  I have found Moms Like Me a great resource for me also.  I just recently learned how to sign up for the Toys R Us Newsletter!  There also have been some great giveaways over there for new members.  You can also sign up under one of the groups there are if you find one you like.  They have everything from a fundraising group to a blogging group to a knitting group.

If you are trying to find your place in this world, this is a great place to stop and check out.  If you have any mommy questions, this again is someplace to check out.  If you need a bit of support, you should definitely check out Moms Like Me!