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?

Now that we are heading into summer, I have been on the lookout for sunscreen for me and kids (more so me though — I have some spf50 for them already).  It is really hard to find a facial product that isn’t greasy and slimy.  I find that the more greasy that a sunscreen feels, the more it makes my face break out.  Trust me, I do not need any more help in my breakouts — I do fine enough on my own on that one.  When I saw that Screen Inc. had some dermatologist approved facial sunscreen, I knew that I had to try it.

The first kind I looked at is chicscreen.  Now, this is spf 16+, and you should be reapplying every two hours to keep the protection strong.  The nice thing is that you can apply this under your makeup.  I had to giggle a bit when I read the warnings on this.  The two things I found humorous was the warning that I was a smart gal so I shouldn’t eat it and that no boys are allowed to use it since this product is was designated for the feminine crowd.  This was not tested on animals.

Secondly, there was the manscreen.  I loved this stuff.  This also is spf 16+ and should be reapplied every 2 hours.  Directions for use:  shower, shave, screen.  No man can screw that up.  Bill liked that it didn’t smell fruity.  For some reason, he doesn’t want to smell like a dozen of roses when he walks out the door.  The warnings on here also made me smile:  apply only to you dapper face, for manly men only — no youngsters, and use your noodle — don’t swallow this stuff.

Next, there is the teenscreen.  Same as above — spf 16+ and make syre you keep applying it for protection.  To quote the directions, just like deodorant, use Teen Screen daily.  The warning I liked the best is “as much as you love avocado and green tea, don’t swallow this product”.

Lastly, there is the tweenyscreen.  This one has a tropical fruit scent (you know, the one Bill didn’t want to smell like when using sunscreen which makes me want to use it all the more!).  It is spf 16+ and needs to be reapplies after 2 hours like the rest.

This sunscreen is already in complience with the upcoming standards on testing and packaging from the FDA.  They also have received the Seal Of Recommendation from the Skin Cancer Foundation.  Personally, I liked the sunscreen so much that I am extremely excited to see that they are going to be coming up with a spf30 lipscreen and a spf 35 extreme sunscreen.  I am also able to extend a special discount to all of you.  If you enter BLOGGER10 with your order, you will save 10%!  This is a sunscreen you should try out this summer and you’ll never go back!

Several years ago (Bill and I weren’t even married yet), we were invited to a wedding for his cousins. It was Halloween weekend, and the theme was to dress like we liked in the Renaissance area. I wish we would have known about The Renaissance Store back then. We needed renaissance costumes with all the props without spending an arm and leg since we were college. I have to admit that it was one of the coolest weddings we have been too.

The Renaissance Store carries armor, books, boots, costumes, accessories, gifts, videos, jewelry, etc. As you can tell, they carry anything you would want or need. I know that there are people who do renaissance fairs on the weekend who would completely love this shop! Definitely check this shop out for all your Renaissance needs.

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!

Another toy that you must get if you have kids is the Laugh & Learn: Learning Home. This came out several years ago, but is a huge hit at my house. There is just so much to play on with this! The door open and shuts and allows your children to crawl through it. The light turns on and off. There is a mail box slot and the flower spins. The window opens and closes. Up on top, you can turn the thing with the moon on it, so it shows the sun. Of course, there is a corresponding noise with all these actions. On the other side (which this picture doesn’t show), there is a little mini radio for the kids to play with. It has 4 stations and the kids can hit that and hear just music or it singing the ABCs to them. I don’t know how this all works (maybe HDMI switches?) However, the kids love it, so it doesn’t matter. At this point at ten months, Will is really not sure what to do with this. He does play with it a little. Madison, however, is in seventh heaven. I don’t think she remembers playing with it, and she played with it a lot. At 4, she is enjoying this.

This is one of the more pricier toys to get your kids. However, it is another toy that is worth every cent, because they will play with it for years!

This Disney Princess book is a hit in my house. This is one of the look and find books. The age group for this would have to be older toddlers. Madison is 4, and it holds her attention pretty well. Each story has a little mini story about each of the Disney princesses. They also have items like chandeliers, horses, flowers, etc. that you need to find. Some of the items I even had to search a bit to find! This is a great book to keep a child entertained with for a quite a while. I definitely will be purchasing more of these Look and Find books!

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I know people are looking for things to get their loved ones. Let me tell you a secret — the best kind of shopping is the online shopping. It looks like you put a ton of thought into your gift - yet you never got out of your chair. Plus, a lot of the things you can find online are better than what is in the stores. You can spend half the time and get a better gift online. One of the companies that I use for stuff like this is 1-800-Flowers. I highly recommend them. I have used their company several times to send gifts (since I live in another state than most of my family and friends this makes my life so much easier) such as organic fruit gift baskets, balloons, flowers, etc. My items have always been delivered when said and the quality was great! The arriving item always has looked like what it did online. I have yet to be disappointed with their products. You get what you pay for, and with 1-800-flowers you do get quality.