If you have little ones in your house, check out Baby Rodenburg. This DVD teaches you child sign language, A-B-C’s, numbers, colors, and animals.  The DVD was a huge hit here.  Madison (my 4 year old) is learning sign language in preschool, so she loved the reinforcement.  My son who is 15 months loved it due to the music and seeing other babies.  I am not sure if he really “understood” any of the sign language.  Mom like it, because I got to actually learn some sign language (like how to sign eat) that is actually quite useful at my house.

My only complaint about the DVD is that it seems a bit disorganized at times.  I wish they correlated the signing to whichever letter they were on.  Meaning, when they did the sign for eat, I think they should have been talking about the letter E.  That being said, they really reinforced each sign and what it means using several different ways.  As each thing was signed, Madison often repeated the sign several times and repeated the word that went with the sign.  Will danced with the music and pointed to the screen and said “seeeeeee” every time an animal, baby, or toddler was on.

This DVD was created by a set of parents who couldn’t find any DVDs out there that fit their needs for their child.  Instead of complaining, they made their own DVD to use with their own child and to share with the rest of us!

I personally have a lot on my plate.  I am a mom, a freelancer, and a blogger with 5 blogs.  My free time is limited, and now that I am getting older, I am finding that my mind is not as good as it use to be.  When I saw ListPlanIt, I knew this was something I could definitely use!  I swear that this site has every kind of list you could ever need (my mother would be in heaven here — she loves making lists!).  I have to admit that my most favorite list had to be the grocery shopping one.  It allowed me to organize my shopping list, so I wouldn’t be running all over the store finding what I need.  It made me categorize each item I needed, so when I was in that department, I was able to get everything in one shot.  It is amazing how something so simple can save you a lot of time.  The second set of lists that I love is the time management ones.  Who can’t use a little help with time management?  You can do everything from a year in advance to daily routine planning.  I like being to write down what reviews I want to do, so I don’t miss anything.  There is even a weekly planner with meals!  I am in love with the meal planning lists.  There are just so many lists here, and I can find a use for almost all of them!  I literally could go on and on and on.

Now, can you use website that will help you organize your life?  (Seriously, who can’t?)  If so, I have the best giveaway for you.  ListPlanIt will give the winner a Quarterly Membership to their site to check it out.  Once you start using these lists, you will find it addicting.  What do you need to do to win?

Each one of these things will give you one entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know which lists you think you would use the most.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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Good luck! This contest will end Oct. 6, 2008 at 8:00 PM CST.

In my house, the question of when is my birthday is asked often — usually weekly.  Madison is dying to turn 5 years old.  I am not sure what she thinks happens when  you turn five, but she can’t wait.  The book When Is My Birthday? comes in handy after being asked that question a hundred times in one day.  The book starts off with Elmo helping his mom get ready for Daisy’s, Elmo’s sister’s, birthday party.  Elmo gets jealous and wants it to be his birthday too.  He finds himself jealous that daisy got a toy truck (now, as a grown up I’d be jealous of some new modern furniture).  However, we find out at the end of the book that Elmo’s birthday is close by, so he doesn’t have to wait for long for his turn.  Daisy also shares it with him too while he waits.  I find that this book helps Madison, somewhat, with patience and sharing.  Plus, kids always enjoy reading about parties, presents, and cake.  When Is My Birthday? is a great book for impatient little ones waiting for their birthdays.

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.

It is the small things in life that can make the biggest difference. Did you know that by brushing your teeth with Recycline Toothbrush, you can help save the world? Ok, you aren’t going to be Superman. However, the Recycline Toothbrush uses recycled plastic and when you are done with it, send the toothbrush and case back to Preserve using their postage-paid label. It will then be reprocessed into plastic lumber for picnic tables, boardwalks, and decks.

Now, I did the ultimate test in my house to see how good this toothbrush really is — I switched my husband’s toothbrush without telling him.  This is the same guy who didn’t notice for around six hours that I had cut off six inches from hair, so he isn’t the most observant person out there.  However, he knew immediately that I changed his toothbrush out.  When I ask him what he thinks of his new toothbrush, he just replies “awesome”.  He thought it had a great design, and he likes how it feels.  When I told him how we were saving the enviroment, he like it even more.

This toothbrush passes the mom test for me just because of the enviromental factors involved.  Any time I can make the world a better place for my kids, I am going to do it.  These toothbrushes are super easy to find — just head to your nearest Target.  Since my Target is just down the street from me, that works great.  They are also only $2.04 which is not a bad price for a toothbrushes.  Of course, they have coupons you can use too for $1 off.  Lastly, these come is sizes for both adults and kids, so the whole family can save the world!

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?

We allow my four year old daughter on the internet.  Yes, we are right there and monitor what she is doing.  She is only playing games on Noggin or Disney Playhouse.  However, I do worry about when she gets a bit older  Did you know that:

• 41% of unwanted sexual solicitations, 29% of unwanted exposure to sexual materials, and 31% of harassment occurred when children were online with their friends. (I can believe this due to the IMs I get.  I have it listed in my profile that I married, and I still get IMs from men wants who knows what).
• Law enforcement officials estimate that more than 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given moment.
• 1 in 5 youth ages 10 to 17 received a sexual solicitation or were approached online.

These are just a few of the scary statistics out there.  I like to think that I am always going to know what my kids are doing online.  However, I know that isn’t always going to possible.  That is where GuardChild comes in.  It does exactly what you think it does.  Its all about protection, education, and community.  You are able to protect your family by blocking pornography, stopping online predators, and monitoring instant messages, blogs, chat rooms (AOL, MSN, and Yahoo) email, and even what your child is doing on MySpace.   You also are able to join the members community which will give you hundreds of articles, parent resources, educational sites, and family-friendly entertainment sites.  Lastly, there is community. Guard Child has a blog that allows you to share concerns and successes, learn from online safety experts, and contribute articles, advice, and questions.

The saying that it takes a village to raise a child is still true. Things have changed so much since I was little. I can only imagine what it will be like in a few years when Madison will be trying to hide what she is doing online from me. However, I do believe in being proactive and software like this is exactly what you need.