The CareBears Dance ‘n Play Piano has been a huge hit in my house with both my kids. Madison (my four year old) doesn’t play with it too much anymore, but my 15 month old still enjoys it. The piano plays three different songs, and has different settings. It also lights up when you press the keys, and the Care Bears dance which makes my son laugh. It is a tad on the loud side, so you may want to check your health insurance and have your hearing checked if you think its quiet. :)  If you want a great introduction to music for your little one, this is a great toy for that.

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?

Journal of A Rock Angel is a personal blog that should be checked out.  She has an awesome layout that includes intense colors, but it is enjoyable to look at.  I personally love the three flowers in her header.  They are really pretty, and I think they actually set the tone for the blog.  Sometimes when you read another person’s blog, there is no emotion there.  However, with hers, I can definitely “hear” her voice.  You can easily laugh with her, cry with her, be angry with her, and smile with her.  That is talent you don’t see all the time.  I think she gives us an awesome glimpse into her life.  I almost feel like I am there.  This is blog that is never boring and always interesting to read.  Go check it out!

I love a blogger with a sense of humor and A Bird’s Life definitely fits that bill. Maybe I am just weird, but I found this statement on her about page incredibly hilarious: I currently live in Albany, NY with two human roommates and three hamsters. (I got a kick out of the human roommates part in case you don’t get my sense of humor.)  The template on this blog is one the most pleasing ones that I have seen in a long time.  It is very calming and uncluttered.  Almost all her posts, make me laugh.  I love her post about corn not qualifying as a fruit and her hamster video.  If you want to be entertained and enjoy yourself reading a blog, A Bird’s Life is one place you should stop.

I have a guilty pleasure — it is reading Mummified Times Five. I first met this Australian mommy on a forum that I frequent. I have also seen her on other social networking ventures I am a part of like Twitter and Entrecard. She makes me laugh and I wonder how she does it all. I only have 2 kids, and I feel like pulling my hair out most days. I love her blog picture. It reminds me of myself with the wild and crazy hair and the look of craziness. I also love her tagline, “Martha Stewart Couldn’t Handle This House!” The colors of her blog template also immediately jump out at you. They are a little girly, but I couldn’t imagine her blog with any other template. It immediately grabs your attention. I personally like reading about other people’s lives (and obviously I am not the only one since on my family blog I get a lot of traffic). I like the advice given to handle the unruly ones and ideas like the pirate goody bags. If you want a great and interesting read, I highly recommend Mummified Times Five.

When I first came across the blog Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pickles, I had to laugh at the title . This is a title you are not going to forget. I personally would not put pickles on anything, but I know people who would. I also love the tagline: (on low-carb bread). I had to laugh out loud at that too. Its like ordering 1,000 calorie meal with a diet coke. LOL

I love that posts here are short, sweet, and to the point. They are very informative and enjoyable to read. I have to laugh at some of the title of her posts like Porn For Low-Carbers. I can only imagine the search engine hits she is going to get for that one! She also has great posts like Rebounding which talk about working through eating disorders.

This is another blog you should definitely check out!

I very rarely come across a blog that makes me click. However, Cultured Views does it for me. Her reviews are so interesting and entertaining that you can’t help but click the link in her posts. I love her style. Like me, she also includes interesting tidbits about her family and why she likes something. Her reviews are definitely personal. I also enjoy that she has one or more pictures in her posts also. You have to make sure that you check her post out about the Baby Bottom Butter (I don’t think I would want that stuff in my baby cribs). When you read her Wendy’s fact page, I couldn’t help but nod and laugh when I came across this line: “I have five kids and they will tell you I worry too much; nag just as much and never buy them what they really want for Xmas each year.” I luck out that Madison doesn’t know what she wants yet. However, when she does I’m probably not going to buy what she really wants either. LOL

If you are looking for new blogs to read, this is one that should make your list. You have everything you could ever need — humor, personality, and great posts!