I don’t often products that I fall in love with the first day I have them. However, it was love at first sight with this laptop cooling stand.  I spend a lot of time on my laptop, and anyone who has a laptop knows how hot they get on the bottom.  I actually have a burn mark from my laptop on my leg (and yes I am serious, I really do).  I have been trying to find something, anything that would help me out.  This cooling stand is exactly what I was looking for.  The size of the cooling stand is perfect.  It adds a small amount of height to your laptop and that’s it.  My favorite part is that the fan is run by the USB port on your laptop.  I saw many versions of these cooling stands that made you plug it in to get it to work.  Personally, I have a laptop, so I am not tethered to the wall.  Why would I want a device that makes me stuck in one spot?  The fan cools down the bottom of the laptop, and it almost feels like your legs have their own air conditioner.  If you are having laptop heating issues like I was, I highly recomment one of these cooling stands.

I am not ready to let Madison (my 4 year old) use a real fishing pole yet. Right now, I envision many hospital trips if she had one. However, we have several magnetic fishing pole sets, and they are awesome. Basically, she goes fishing in my living room almost on a daily basis. She spends several hours catching her fish and then throwing them out back on the floor. Will (my one year old) likes to get involved in the game too. He either plays with the fish or tries to pretend to be the fish and grab the end of the string. The ball pit we have is a boat so it ties in quite nicely. The only thing we are missing is one of those gps tracking devices for fish. I really need to get a picture of her sitting in that boat with her pole. It is super cute.

I highly recommend a magnetic pole until you are comfortable that your children won’t cause serious damage with a real one. I don’t think Madison is ready this summer either for a real one. However, she is completely happy with the magnetic fishing poles and we’ll keep her using those until she is ready.

How many of us remember that song from when we were kids? I know I do. That is why when I saw the Fisher-Price Musical Tea Set. I had to buy it for Madison. I can say I am happy to report that it is awesome. Granted, hearing the I’m a Little Teapot song gets a tad annoying after about hundred times in one day, it was still a great buy. First, I love it because it isn’t dainty. It can take a beating. There are no small parts that I have to worry about Will getting into. The set includes four cups, saucers and spoons, creamer, sugar bowl with lid, and everything fits on the tray for serving. The only part of this set that sings is the teapot. It makes a cute noise when you pretend to pour. If you press the top of the teapot, that is when the song starts. This is great addition to anyone’s toys.

A Light in the Attic is one of those books from my childhood that my kids had to have. I actually bought the book before I even had kids — that’s how much I love this book. Shel Silverstein is one of those authors that is able to speak to both kids and adults alike. His poems are cute and definitely make a picture in your mind. I remember being a little kid at school and having the teacher read this to us. I am hoping my daughter and son are able to have such great memories of this book too. The 20th anniversary edition (which is the one I own) actually has a CD included with Shel Silverstein reading his own work. One the poems that still makes me laugh is “Prayer of The Selfish Child”:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
and if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my toys to break.
So none of the other kids can use ‘em . . .
Amen.

I was giggling as I was typing that. I guess what I really love about Shel Silverstein is that he is able to get into the hearts and minds of children and tell us what they really are thinking.

We tried this today for lunch, and let me tell you, it was a big hit at my house. Madison is loving that she has fishies swimming in her soup (that’s what she told me they were doing). The fish taste great too! The goldfish are included with the other noodles. You can add goldfish crackers if you want. The soup is super easy to make. It isn’t like having to lay fiber cable. All you do is dump the soup into your pan, add in a can of water, and cook away. It took about five minutes. This soup was not any more expensive than regular chicken noodle soup, so I will definitely be buying it again.

After having this soup, you may not have to look at cruise vacations or
cheap cruises this winter to keep warm. It definitely warms you up from the inside out. However, if you still want to look at a cruise or
cruise travel vacation, go right ahead. You just can’t use the cold as your excuse. There are many resorts, cheap hotels, and las vegas resorts that you can stay at in a warmer climate compared to the snowing and freezing here. Anybody know when spring is coming?

Blood Diamond is set during the Sierra Leone’s bloody civil war in 1999.Danny (Leoardo DiCaprio), a smuggler who sells “blood” diamonds used to finance terrorists, meets a local fisherman (Djimon Hounsou) who has found a 100 carat diamond that he has hidden. His family has been torn away from him, and Danny and him strike a deal. Danny gets the diamond and Soloman (the fisherman) will get his family back.

This movie is rated R and for very good reason. It is very violent. The part I have a hard time wrapping my head around is that this could still happen in the world today. The first 30 minutes of the movie are slow. I almost turned it off. However, it is well worth sticking around for the whole movie. The action is very riveting. The ending is fairly predictable, but it still is a movie well worth seeing. After watching this movie, you will never look at a diamond the same again. I know I will be asking if my diamonds are conflict free from now on.

Both my kids loved their baby swings. The one we had with Madison has a crank on it which stinks to use. When we went to buy one for Will, we had a few ideas of what we wanted. Most of all, it could not be crank. The swing we ended up buying was the Fisher-Price Open-Top Cradle Swing.

I love this swing and so does Will. It rocks two different directions. The seat itself has several recline positions too. The swing will swing at 6 different speeds. On the very top, there is a mobile. You also can play music and there is two different music choices. The colors on the swing are very neutral, so they blend in quite nicely with your living room.

We have been using this swing since Will was born. He likes to nap in it. I love it, because it allows me to get things done around the house. Pricewise, it was middle of the road. It wasn’t the cheapest swing, but it wasn’t the most expensive either. If you are in the market for a swing, I highly recommend this one.