Ever wanted a game that your kids can grow into? Or would you want a game that will take them years to outgrow?  If you want both of these things, then you definitely need to get your hands on the Ultimate Spinner game.  This game is for kids 4 and up, and I can see us playing with The Ultimate Spinner game for years. This game is 12 games in one!  I know we have been able reinforce a lot of what we are teaching Madison with this game.  They work with the alphabet and numbers.  Some of the more advance things (that we will eventually work toward are the math equations and telling time.  There are rules that come with the games.  However, I love the fact that there are “Considering Tender Hearts” rules.  These rules are for those little ones who don’t have the attention span for an entire game.  There is also enough things in here that they can make up their own games!  I know Madison liked that the best with this!  I also love that the game is very brightly colored and everything is made with good quality material.  For those of us who are worried about foreign products, have no fear.  This game is made here in the United States in Maine by a family company who wanted to provide their grandchildren a game they didn’t have to worry about.

I definitely see this being a top game this Christmas season.  Check it out and you won’t be disappointed.

Brighter Minds Media has now introduced Bob The Builder Can Do Zoo. It has already been awarded three awards — that’s how good it is!  I let my greatest kid tester in my house try it out — that would be Madison who is 4.  Since we have gotten the game in the mail (thanks Family Review Network!), Madison goes around singing “Bob the Builder . . . We can do it  . . . Bob the Builder . . .  Yes we can”.  That has been my house for a week now.  However, I don’t actually mind all the much, because we really like this game.  As soon as I found out the Diner Dash (my favorite computer game ever) was behind this, I knew we had a winner.

Bob The Builder Can Do Zoo has 3 modes of play - Story, Free Play, and Sticker Book.  There is also 6 animal habitats to build,  7 unique learning activities, and hundreds of stickers to collect for building achievements.  There are three levels, so it is quite easy to pick the level that is best for your kids.  You are able to play in both English and Spanish.  There are also many skills taught through this game - problem solving, critical thinking, object classification, planning and time sequencing, pattern, size, and spatial recognition, and shape and color identification.

Why is this game a winner in my house?  That is actually pretty easy.  First, this game works on our desktop that is 8 years old.  Most games won’t work on there, and we actually consider that Madison’s computer.  When a game works on there, we all cheer for joy.  The second thing that I loved was that she was actually learning something while playing.  There are a lot of games out there that are just mindless, and I would much rather have her playing games like this.  Next, the price is right.  It should retail around $19.95 which is very cheap and affordable for a computer game.  Lastly, Madison can play this herself.  I didn’t have to help her at all.  She is only four, but that say a lot about this game.  It is truly simple and age appropriate.  Nothing is more frustrating than to get a game for her, and I have to play it because it is too hard to do and/or navigate.

If you are looking for a great Christmas or birthday present, I highly recommend Bob The Builder Can Do Zoo.  It was a big hit in my house and will be in yours too!

As a work at home mom, I often feel like I am going in 20 directions at any given time.  Add in extended family and you really think your life is a circus.  My kids are only 4 and 1 so I can only imagine how much worse this gets.  Qlubb is one of those organizing sites that allow you to not feel that your life is a circus.  You can use this as your own personal orgaziner, family organizer, playgroups organizer, school, organizer, or even a community organizer!  There are even sign up sheets you can use — I can definitely see this coming in handy for your next family reunion.  It is just as easy to add tasks as it is to add pictures.  The majority of the things you want this to do is on the main page which makes nagivating the site quite easily.  This is one of the few sites out that I have ever seen that allows you to use your social networking to benefit your real life.

If you need to get organized, check out Qlubb, and let me know your thoughts.

Don’t you wish your kids came with a handbook?  I know I wish mine did.  I luck out that my children are still young.  We don’t have the out of control tweens or tweenagers here.  I don’t having challenging behaviors to deal except for 4 year old energy.  However, I don’t want my kids to turn into those kids!  That is why I decided to look at The Total Transformation Program.  I also read on so many moms blogs about their children treating them poorly — calling them names, being violent, not listening, etc.  What always floors me is that they would not put up from that behavior from a stranger, but it is okay for their children to behave in that matter.

Now, I wasn’t expecting much.  Instead, I got 7 CDs, 1 DVD and a workbook.  The first thing I do have to tell you:  this program will NOT work if you don’t put the time into it.  This isn’t read the book, and you have a magic pill to make everything good again.  There is work involved here.  Now, if you have younger children like mine, you may have to do some modification on this program.  (Then again I don’t have a lot of the problems either so I just am modifying it for my own needs).  I’ll be honest, if you don’t want to do the work, then don’t buy this.  Otherwise it will just end up being a bookend in your house.

What I have learned so far?  First, I learned that some of my parental methods are not the right ones (which I knew already).  You are able to find out what you fall under for your ineffective parenting roles.  Personally, I am the screamer.  I know, I shouldn’t but I do.  However, I never realized what I was teaching my children.  When I get into a yelling match with Madison, I am showing her that we are emotional peers.  I have come down to her level and just undermined my own authority (this was my duh! moment).  I also am showing her that no one is in control.  Now, this seems like common sense, but you don’t even realize this is what is going on. (All of this is in the workbook).  You have to assume parental control.  You need to give simple directions and quit asking your kids to do things.  You tell them to do their homework versus asking them.  You have to disconnect when disrespect occurs.  When the scream starts, you walk away.  There is no reasoning with your children.  You are the boss (and there are scripts in the workbook that you can use).  You need to lessen the stimulation in their lives.  Give positive feedback when appropriate.  If they do good, tell them.  You can’t just be on their butts about all the negative behavior.  You need to show them that good behavior gets them a much better response.

This is how The Total Transformation Program works.  First, get the workbook.  The workbook has a pretest for each lesson which is your introduction for the lesson.  Next, you listen to the audio CD.  These are long (I’d say maybe an hour or so), so make sure you have the time to listen.  Then after the CD is over, you go back to the workbook.  There is a summary of what you should have gotten from the lesson, exercises for you to do, and an action plan for you.  Then do it again with the next lesson.  They recommend one CD a week, so this is pretty easy to schedule somewhere in your life.

Now, this isn’t going to work with every single kids out there.  There is no way I can say it will.  The part I like about this program is that you can work it according to your schedule, your pace, and your family.  They have a 30 day trial, so you can try this out with your family.  If it is not working, send it back!  They also have a parental support line.  They can clarify lessons for you and even direct you to the correct response to incidents occurring in your house.   This isn’t a program that leaves you high and dry after you get the stuff in the mail.  They are with you every step of the way.

If you are at your wits end with your children, I definitely think this is program you should try out.  I’ve seen little changes I have made with my daughter (like it keeping it simple) already working with her.  I’d love to hear from any of you who have tried this program and tell me your thoughts!

How many of you are parents and still have electrical outlet plugs on your electrical outlets?  My house is personally covered with them.  However, the bad thing about regular outlet plugs is their size!  How many of you had your kids put them in their mouth??!!??  For keeping things out of your outlets, they work great.  However, as a choking hazard, they are one of the worst things to have in your house!  I have watched both my children put them in their mouths.  Then you have to go and retrieve them from their mouths leading to a tramatic experience for all involved.

That being said there is an awesome product on the market that solves this problem.  Safety Caps are bigger than the traditional outlet plug, so your children are not able to stick the whole thing in their mouth.  If for some reason they are able to get the whole thing in there, there are two holes in there to aid in breathing.  The dad who designed his had his own daughter choke on a regular outlet plug, so he knew he had to do something so it never happened again to another family.

The things I definitely like about this product are almost too numerous to count.  First, my kids can’t choke on it.  Second, the color is awesome.  It actually blends in really well with our electrical covers, so you almost can’t even tell that I have my outlet covered.  Its a small thing, but it does look prettier.  Lastly, the price rocks!  For $9.99 (plus $2.97 shipping and handling), you can outfit your whole house by using this coupon!  My regular ones were more than that!  I know that my children’s safety is definitely worth that.

If you have little ones or know someone who does, this is a product that is both safe and can save lives.  This can make a great gift for a new mom or just making your own house safer.

A great bedtime book is Goodnight, Thumper. This book is about Thumper not being sleepy and going around the forest saying goodnight to everyone. Don’t you remember the days when we didn’t have to worry about weight loss diet pills and our biggest concern was staying awake as long as we could?  Since this is a Disney book, the illustrations are awesome.  They are so detailed and gorgeous.  This is a great book for any family that reads to their kids before bedtime.

My family and l luck out.  We have plenty of credit cards at our disposal when I want to do some online shopping.  However, not everyone can get a credit card, or if they have one, it is only for emergency purposes.  What do you do when you want to shop and not use a credit card?

EBillMe comes to the rescue and allows you to pay cash online by using the bill pay portion of your checking account. I personally tried out this service yesterday, and it is super easy to use. First, I went to Tiger Direct to order a Wii game.  You click on the add to cart just like you normally would.  Then click on proceed to secure check out.  Fill in all your information and where it says “submit order” pick eBillMe.  That’s it!  You now have ordered using your checking account!  Now, on the screen you will have what you need to set up payment through your bank.  You also will get an email too!  Everybody’s bill pay is different, so I won’t go through how to set that up, but they make it super easy by giving you everything you need.  I didn’t take me any longer to buy my game  this way verses using a credit card (that is because it usually takes me a while to find my purse and wallet that has my credit card).

If you prefer not to shop online using your credit card, I highly recommend EBillMe.  This is also a great way to shop if you don’t want to be handing out your credit card number too!