Until recently, I had not heard of Ta-Ka-Radi. However, now that we have it, we can’t stop playing it. This is a game that is perfect for the family. Ta-Ka-Radi involves players constructing a tower with spaces in-between three chosen tiles per level. After the tower is built, each player takes a turn pulling out a tile from any level and putting it on top.  The only rule is that you can’t touch the other player while they are making their move!  Now, if you are like me and live with an engineer, well, you are at an instant disadvantage!  However, even though I haven’t one yet, we have had a ton of fun playing with this.  This is too hard for Will and Madison to play.  However, they take the wood tiles and built towers with them every day.  They loves these just for their own use too.  Ta-Ka-Radi is made by a family-owned company in Maine. The tiles are made from native Maine hardwoods, and the game is packaged in personalized re-usable tote bags. Ta-Ka-Radi makes a fun and unique gift for the holidays and is great for a lot of family fun!

Want a product that both you and child will love that is educational? Goosie Cards is just that. These are first and only flash cards that you can fully customize! They have sets already predone that you can choose from, or you can upload your own personal photos to make flashcards according to the needs of your children. I made several flashcards for Will (on top of doing a set they already have predone — they have over 150 free full color professional photos to help you design your cards too.). It is really simple to do also. You upload your pictures, label the cards how you want them to read, and then check out. That is it. I had my cards in less than a week (actually, I think it was within about 3 days!) For Will, we did some cards to help him recognize me, daddy, and Madison. It was super cute, because he immediately took Madison’s card and started kissing it. It was also very cool to see that he recognized the other items on the other cards (like the goldfish crackers). I am hoping these will help him talk or at least let us know what he wants. You can create 10, 20 or 26 custom cards and the prices range from $28 to $46. You can also buy someone a gift certificate for here also. Best of all, these are made in the US.

Goosie Cards are also being used by parents, teachers and medical professionals in the autism and special needs community. They can help children with autism to learn a variety of skills to communicate effectively in the following areas: social, emotional, sequential, memory and communication skills. There is a discount program to provide some relief in price, while providing one of the most advanced, communication learning systems on the market.

I love these cards and would highly recommend them to anyone. They are tough (Will tried to wreck them already and has not been successful yet). They also wipe clean very easily. Best of all, my kids like them.

One of the many things we need to do before we have family over for the holidays is clean.  Perfect Planet tries to make our lives with their new product called Squeeze and Clean Floor Cleaner.  It is as easy to use as the title implies.  You literally just need to squeeze the bottle onto your floor, mop with a damp mop, and let dry.  That’s it!  The best part is that this floor cleaner is ecofriendly.  It is made without using harsh petrochemicals, ammonia, VOC’s and phosphates.  You can use it on finished hardwood, linoleum, vinyl, laminate, ceramic tile, marble, grouted tile and non-porous hard surface flooring.

Perfect Planet’s Squeeze & Shine Floor Polish works in conjunction with the Floor Cleaner.  Using it can’t be easier.  Again, all you need to do squeeze it on your floor, spread with a damp mop, and wait 15 minutes for it to dry.  You will definitely notice a difference right after your first use. It will also make your floor more resistant to dirt, scuff marks, and scratches.  It contains no heavy metals, ammonia or formaldehyde.

If you read my post before this one, I have also reviewed some additional Weiman products you should also try out.  Now, I know that you would love to have some of these products in your home, so I have arranged a prize pack valued at $100 for one of my lucky readers.  In this prize pack, there will be:

• Wright’s Silver Polish
• Perfect Planet Floor Cleaner
• Weiman E-Tronic Wipes
• Weiman Leather Wipes
• Weiman Cook Top Wipes (a personal favorite of mine!)
• Wonder Mop
• WonderFiber Cloth

Interested? Here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post. Tell me what product you would like the best and/or why you want this.
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. (1 entry for each social network).

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
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This giveaway will end on December 8 at 8:00 pm CST is available to US residents only. Good luck!

Want your kids to enjoy bath time even more? You have to get WettGiggles soap then.  I can honestly say that this has to be the cutest soap I have ever seen.  WettGiggles is actually a 3 in one product.  First, you have the soap.  It is made with natural glycerin, essentials oils, and shea butter.  The soap doesn’t dry out your skin and is actually quite nice to use.  Then there is the toy on top.  Lastly, in the soap there is a manicure brush to help get at the kid’s fingernails.  There are nine unique characters, and each has its own scent.  For example, Cupid, the pup, is coconut banana scented, and Juliet, the duck, is orange scented.  The scents also aren’t knock you over overwhelming, so they can be used in a house where heavy scents are an issue.  These also make an excellent talking point when you put them by your sink!  Everyone will ask where you got them from!

This definitely falls under a unique Christmas gift that every child will enjoy (and some parents too!).

If you are looking for software to purchase this Christmas, Creativity Express definitely should be on your list. The animators who created animated films like Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, and Sinbad have joined forces to create this game. The ages on it are from 7 and up. However, Madison (who is 4) and I were able to do play with this together. Creativity Express has 16 lessons on it. The lessons include movement, portraits, museums, making paint, etc. On top of having 16 lessons, there are also 30 hands on activities your kids can enjoy. Some of the activities include creating a comic book, a time capsule, and making crazy masks. With the software, you can easily store and share their artwork too!

The part that impressed me most with this software was that I found myself learning a lot about art. There was a whole section on what ingredients make up certain paint colors. I was really surprised at some of the ingredients. I learned that the impressionist era was the first time painters had paint in tubes. They no longer had to make it from scratch every time they painted which is why you find lots of outdoor paintings for that time period. The artists were able to take the tubes of paint out to their subject, and it was just easier for them. I could really go on and on about all the things I learned.

Creativity Express is software that will definitely keep your kids (and even you) occupied for hours.