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.

3 Minute Pooh Stories is a wonderful book for children and adults alike. There are 25 stories that take about 3 minutes to read each. Your kids are able to prop themselves up with a sleep wedge for a great nighttime story. All the stories are about Pooh and his exciting adventures with his friends.  Each page is illustrated, and your kids can make up their own stories with the pictures.  Since the stories only take about three minutes, this is great for kids with short attention spans (like mine).  This is one of those books that can take a long time to read (since there is so many stories), but it allows your children something to look forward to each night.  The stories are entertaining for babies and toddlers alike, so this is a definite good buy.

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!

If I would let Madison write my blog, this would top her list of favorite things for all time. If you liked Lego Star Wars, then you will love Lego Star WarsII:  The Original Trilogy. How does the Lego version differ from the regular Star Wars games? Well, they are rated E (for Everyone). They are also easier for kids to play. Also, you have unlimited lives. If your character dies, it just starts back up again. There is some humorous scenes like when you walk in on the Storm Troopers taking a bath (they have swim trucks on!) and you get to see the innerworkings of the Death Star with all its bulk cable and metal and stuff (you have to blow it up too). Bill even loves this new games. There are so many new levels and tricks you have to learn to get through it! Madison is only 4, and she can beat most adults at this game (she’ll also tell you exactly how to play it). Granted, it isn’t the most educational thing for kids. However, it makes a great reward. It keeps their attention (both kids and adults). It isn’t too hard for either age group either. It is pretty easy to figure out and is very entertaining. This is a must have for any Star Wars fan!

I know it is past Christmas, but I just came across Jingle Babies in my bookshelf. I love this book! This book is a hit with toddlers, babies, and moms. I love all the little ones in there. They are so cute. These babies definitely do not need the best diet pills out there. They just have the baby fat in all the right places. On each page of this book there is a baby dressed up for the Christmas season. The first page has a snowman, then an elf, and then an angel. There are also words on each page. The pages are cardboard, so they are not easily torn and can be chewed on. The book takes less than five minutes to read, so it is great for kids that don’t have much of an attention span. It is beyond super cute. This would make a better gift around Christmas time but is great to look at year round.

A Day at the Beach is another book that works great for toddlers and babies. The pages are made out of thick cardboard, so you do not need to worry about tearing or then being eaten.  Dora also is usually a hit with the younger crowd, and this book is no exception.  The pictures are good enough that your kids can figure out what the words say without being able to read.  The plot of the story is obviously Boots, Dora, and backpack spending the day at the beach.  One of things that I love is that in the first couple of pages they apply sunscreen.  That is great attention to details.  The book is about ten pages long, so it is the right length for little ones.  If you need a great filler gift for a present or just need some more kid friendly books, then this is you choice.

We gave Madison the Learning Resources - Gears! Gears! Gears! Lights and Action Building Set for her birthday, and it has been a huge hit in my house. I say in my house, since I think my husband has had as much fun as Madison playing with it. The age is 5 and up on it. However, Madison was able to play with it, and she just turned four. She didn’t have quite the attention span to play with it like my husband who spent an hour last night building the picture that is on the front of the packaging. It somewhat complicated (not as complicated as say business performance management software) because they have to understand how to make multiple gears move at the same time. I like that this comes in its own container, so that you are able to put the pieces back in there. Also, there are very few little pieces, so I don’t have to worry about Will so much. This is still something she’ll have to play at the table with. However, since it is motorized, she absolutely loves to sit there and make everything turn. That alone makes it worth purchasing. There are also several different sets. I think we may get the Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Safari Express Motorized Set next.