Madison can never remember Madagascar, so we call it “I like to move it, move it” in my house.  My kids love both of the Madagascar movies (heck, my husband and I love them too — the penguins are my personal favorite).  For us, it was a naturally progression to get the Wii game (since we have done this with several other movies we have seen).  The first thing I love is that it is rated E for Everyone.  Why is this important?  We have had kid’s games rated higher than that even though they are based on little kid movies.  If it rated any higher, Madison has a tendency to not be able to play it which is just too frustrating for everyone in this house.  The graphics do the characters justice too.  The main game is a single player game.  However, there are several minigames also, and those tended to be two players.  I love that this actually easy enough for a four year old to play (hot potato and musical chairs were a hit here) and still hard enough for adults.  You also are able to pick your favorite player to play with too be it Alex or Marty or even the penguins. Each character actually has their own unique abilities (Melman has healing powers), combat skills (Marty has a powerful kick), and special moves (Alex can zip down vines).  This is truly a fun game to play, and if you don’t have a wii, you are able to get this game on DS, PSP, XBox, Playstation and PS2 also.

Every so often I come across a product, I know I must have. Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred is one of those products (though I am not picky, I’d even take the Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard). I know, you are asking yourself what Dragon Naturally Speaking is and why you need it.

Well, the first question you need to ask yourself is how fast do you type? Personally, I type pretty darn fast (over 70 wpm). However, what Dragon Naturally Speaking does for you is allows you to talk, and it types what you say. You do need to “say” the paragraph breaks and punctuation. However, you end up with typing 150 words per minute! Most people I know cannot type that fast! It makes it much easier to generate more content in less time too. I know when I am composing a post like this I am actually saying the words in my head anyway. However, my head works faster than my fingers. That is why I love this product. Do you do podcasts? You can use Dragon to convert your podcasts into a transcript that you can also post on your site! There are just so many uses that I can come up with for this. I know people who use this and absolutely loved it including the New York times (click here for the NY Times Review of DNS10). Some other uses include people with disabilities such as dyslexia and even people with carpal tunnel who can’t type anymore. Heck, I’ve heard that John McCain doesn’t use the computer due to his injuries suffered when he was a POW. This is would even be helpful for him!

If you would like to see this in action, watch the videos below:

Don’t you want one of these to make your blogging easier?

As you all know, I love reviewing kids books and kids toys on here.  With having a 4 year old and a 1 year old, I have great product testers, and I really get to see how products hold up.  That being said, at my house, we have been playing with the Nana Star books and plushies, and we have a winner at my house.

Before I go to far into the books, I need to give you a little background on how Nana Star came about (and I got a little teary-eyed myself when I found this all out).  The authors of this series of books are Elizabeth Sills and Elena Patrice.  The illustrator is Linda Saker.  The original creator of Nana Star is Elizabeth Owens (Elizabeth and Elena’s grandmother and Linda’s mother).  She had a grandson named Vance  that she made up Moonman and Nana Star for.  When he moved away, she often sent him hand made cards with her characters, so he always knew she was with him.  Unfortunately, Vance now “dances with the stars“, but she has allowed us into her fantasy world, so our children can have that sense of belonging too.

The first thing I have to do is warn you. You need to read the Nana Star book first. Trust me, it all makes more sense if you do (**blush** won’t tell you how I figured that out). This is a truly entertaining book. Not only can I read it to my kids, there is a CD that comes with it.  When you listen to the CD, make sure you get comfortable.  They have really awesome background music behind the narrator.  There is also an additional song on there.  Madison was singing along after the first time listening to the songs.

The other really cool thing that they do with these books is that they have a Nana Star’s Little Twinkles Club.  On purpose, they have a spellling mistake in the book.  You are able to write them and tell them what the mistake was, and you can then join the Twinkles Club!  This is such a cute idea to engage their little readers.

The second book we read and listened to was Nana Star and the Moonman. Now, in the first book, we learned that a little star fell out of the sky was looking for her Nana. Now, the second book is the start of the journey the little girl (Nana Star) takes to help the little star get home. I truly can see this being an awesome series of books. As an adult, I’m wondering what happens next.  The other nice thing is that the CDs that come with the books are held by a pocket that is attached to the book.  You don’t have to worry about losing the CDs.

Now, I highly recommend these books.  Madison was engaged with them.  The thing I noticed and loved about the books themselves (besides the CD pocket) was that the paper is a thicker paper.  It does not rip easily which is a huge problem normally in my house.  You also get a bookmark with each book.  Amazingly, we don’t actually own any bookmarks, so it is a welcome addition in our house.  I also like that I am not the only one who thinks these products are great.  They have gotten numerous awards including Mr. Dad Seal of Approval and Great Dad Recommends Awards, Nominated by Mom’s Choice Award® for Most Inspirational Story, and iParenting Media Award for Excellent Products of 2007.

Not only did we try out the books, we even had some fun with the plushies that they offer.  Now, I’ll be honest, I didn’t quite know what to expect.  I really am not good with measurements and figuring out how big things really are.  However, this Moonman was quite a bit larger than I expected!

Now, if you push on Moonman’s belly, his head lights up and it plays a lullaby (which you can kinda tell with my picture of Will and Moonman).  Will likes walking around with him (and let me add that is kissing him not biting him in the second picture!).

Now, this Nana Star plushy is a huge hit with both kids.  Its cute, easy to carry, and even has bloomers on under the skirt (yes, I checked).  Madison immediately made the connection between the doll and the books.  She talks about Nana Star quite often now.  You can also tell that this is not a small doll either.

If you need a great children’s gift, this is the way to go.  The books are for 3-7 years olds and they have such a postivie message.  In some of the books to come, they will learn about good manners and courtesy, friendship and fun, and giving and sharing just to name a few.  Now, if you’d like to win a copy of these books and plushies for yourself, they are running an awesome contest.  All you need to do is comment on their Got Lemons post and tell a story about how you turned lemons into lemonade.  The best story they get by July 7th will win you a copy of the books and they will also donate a copy of the books to your favorite school, childcare center, library, children’s hospital, or doctor’s office.  How awesome is that?

Yes, I know, it is hard to believe that I actually watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. What may surprise you (heck, it surprised me) the movie wasn’t half bad. Now, I wouldn’t give it 5 stars or probably watch it again. However, it was entertaining enough to watch the whole thing.

Larry (Kevin James) is a widower with two kids. The only way for him to change his insurance policy changed is to get married. Larry is a firefighter, and is partnered with his best friend Chuck (Adam Sandler). To help Larry out, Chuck and Larry get a domestic partnership and get married in Canada. Should be the end of the story right? Wrong. They then have to prove that their relationship is the real deal. The jokes sometimes are really, really bad and a little to stereotypical. However, there is a great scene where the two men fight and call up each others shortcomings that need to be addressed. All in all, it is a movie you should see.

One of the my favorite shows that Madison watches is called The Upside Down Show. It is on Noggin, and it is about two guys named Shane and David. They have an imaginary remote control that causes them to do silly things. They even allow “you” to control their activities. The show is about all the new things they learn about. It is truly a silly show but so educational. The learning goals that are worked on are:

Imaginative Play

* boosts creativity by modeling pretend play
* fosters a humorous approach to problem-solving
* models a think-outside-the-box attitude

Language and Early Literacy Skills

* introduces new vocabulary in surprising and funny ways
* reinforces phonological awareness with use of alliteration, rhyming, and other kinds of language play

Cognitive Skills

* reinforces logical thinking skills such as making predictions and noticing connections
* models using abstract thinking and imagination to find new ways of looking at a problem
* demonstrates and explores relational concepts (high/low, inside/outside, light/dark)

Social and Emotional Development

* models cooperation and negotiation
* models accommodating and supporting the needs of others

If you are looking for a great show for your kids to watch, The Upside Down Show ranks pretty high up there at our house.