Household Tips

First, can I just say, I love the term “mompreneur”, and really, who better to figure out what moms need than a mom? I love the idea of this product. Special gloves that let you touch baby to bathe her, but at the same time, keep her from slipping.

Celebrity and non-celebrity parents of new babies have one less thing to worry about. No Slip
Charlie(TM), a unique baby bath safety product offered by mompreneur-owned Mom Sense, gives parents the ability to maintain a firm but gentle grip on their wet, slippery baby during bath time. Already embraced by mommy bloggers and consumers both as a personal must-have and as a great baby gift idea, No Slip Charlie(TM) is now on its way onto celebrity parents’ hands. The stylish bath safety product has been accepted by Celebrity Baby Swags for inclusion in baby gift bags created for famous new moms and moms-to-be. No Slip Charlie(TM) will debut with Celebrity Baby Swags in packages sent to Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie.

Soft, durable and easy to maintain, No Slip Charlie(TM) is a pair of fingerless gloves that promote bath safety by providing a secure gripping surface while leaving parents’ fingers free to wash hair and make skin contact with the baby. In addition to a pair of soft poly/lycra gloves, each No Slip Charlie(TM) package also contains two machine-washable terrycloth wash mitts that attach to the gloves during bath time. The product is available in pink and blue.

No Slip Charlie(TM) was created by mompreneur Kim Shulman, who realized the need for this type of baby bath safety product after the birth of her son, Charlie (for whom the product is named). Worried about the dangerous combination of her wet, slippery baby and the equally wet and slippery hard surfaces of a bathroom, Shulman developed the gloves to help alleviate unnecessary stress that can arise during an otherwise joyful time. With No Slip Charlie(TM) gloves, parents can relax and have fun with baby during bath time, knowing they are equipped to keep their child steady in the tub
and while lifting their baby in and out of the bath.

For more information on No Slip Charlie(TM) (http://www.noslipcharlie.com)

And for your older kids, don’t forget the importance of hand-washing!

Need some ideas of top-rated toys for the kids this year? Check out this child-approved list:

Serpent’s Spiral Coaster (K’NEX)
Winner: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Lead Free Platinum Award, iParenting Outstanding Products, Parent’s Choice Foundation, and National Parenting Center

The newest addition to the K’NEX Thrill Rides Series, the Serpent’s Spiral Coaster is the biggest, baddest roller coaster ever. The giant coaster features K’NEX micro parts for bigger, more intricate building. Coaster cars travel up the motorized chain lift, enter the mouth of the serpent five feet above ground, and then go spiraling down more than 38 feet of winding track!

For ages 9+. $59.99

Pop Beads (Parents(R) Magazine)
Winner: Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products and National Parenting
Publications Awards (NAPPA)

Future fashionistas will have a blast making their wildest jewelry dreams a reality with the Pop Beads make-your-own jewelry set. Classic pop beads, which feature a knob at one end that fits into a corresponding hole on a neighboring bead to link them together, get a distinctively modern update with cool shapes, textured surfaces and funky colors and patterns, all in silky-to- the-touch rubberized matte plastic.

For ages 4+. $20

SEE Toys Dynafly (Zen Design Group)
Winner: Creative Child Magazine’s Seal of Excellence Kid-powered SEE (Safety, Ecology, and Economy) Toys Dynafly features a
unique power crank that kids use to convert their own energy into electricity. This means that they never require disposable batteries, and unlike electronic toys that use solar power, kids control when and for how long they play. Dynafly features a dynamo ‘giggle crank’ — kids turn the crank to hear Dynafly laugh and buzz as they power him up for playtime. Dynafly’s big, buggy eyes light up with six colorful LED lights, while his movable fiber optic wings burst with colorful lights and his tail glows
red.

For ages 5+. $29.99

Colored Blocks (Brio)
Winner: Parent’s Choice Foundation Silver Honor Award Brio brings a modern edge to classic wooden toys with the all-wood
Colored Blocks. Budding builders will spend hours constructing colorful creations with the variety of fun shapes and stylish colors such as red, white, lime green and black.

For ages 12 months+. $26.99 (50-pc set); $43.99 (100-pc set)

Kid K’NEX Zoomin Buddies (K’NEX)
Winner: Parent’s Choice Foundation and Creative Child Magazine’s Seal of Excellence

KID K’NEX Zoomin’ Buddies is a playful set filled with friendly creatures on the move. Build fun, kooky characters that are vehicles, too! The set includes lots of colorful KID K’NEX rods, connectors, wheels and big, blinking eyes to add charm and charisma to any creation — from clunky trucks to silly sailboats.

For ages 3+. $9.99

10 Model Speed Machine (K’NEX)
Winner: Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products Speed demons and construction aficionados are in for the ultimate building experience! Loaded with 150 parts, the 10 Model Speed Machine comes packaged in a handy storage case and contains ideas for 10 high-velocity models sure to satisfy any young builder’s need for speed, including a Rocket Ship, Hovercraft and Speed Boat.

For ages 5-7. $9.99

Double Ferris Wheel (K’NEX)
Winner: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Lead Free Platinum Award An exciting, high powered ride, the Double Ferris Wheel stands over 3 feet tall with 850+ K’NEX pieces creating two star shaped wheels that spin in opposite directions as a result of the battery-powered motor included.

For ages 9+. $29.99

Kid K’NEX Country Pals and Undersea Pals (K’NEX)
Winners: Creative Child Magazine’s Preferred Choice For the littlest builders in your home, Country Friends and Undersea Pals are filled with friendly, familiar creatures from land and sea. Little animal lovers will spend countless hours creating fanciful, far-fetched versions of their favorite country-dwelling creatures with the Country Friends Set, while young aqua-nauts will be bubbling with enthusiasm over the fun, friendly comrades they can create with the Undersea Pals Set.

For ages 3 +. $9.99

Water Works (Parents(R) Magazine)
Winner: BabyZone Amazing Toy Award and National Parenting Center Who needs paint to make great art, when water can be just as creative? The Water Works two-sided drawing tablet comes with four pens that easily fill with water. Both sides of the tablet board are covered by a special fabric that yields images when drawn upon with the water-filled pens. Images fade as the special cloth dries, meaning energetic young artists can quickly move on to creating countless new momentary masterpieces.

For ages 18+ months. $20

Kitty Keyboard (Parents(R) Magazine)
Winner: Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products Your toddler will feel like one groovy cat when he’s jamming on this sweet and silly feline-shaped instrument. Kitty Keyboard is chock full of purr-fectly fun features sure to keep active tots engaged and entertained. The keyboard lets kids choose from one of four different instrument sounds, including piano, bells, organ and banjo, or, they can embrace their inner kitten by activating the “Meow” button, turning the entire keyboard into a kitty concert-every note gets played in “meow”! Other entertaining functions include: automatic beat buttons, a record and play-back feature, a microphone with retractable cord and two prerecorded melody buttons that include fun favorites like “B-I-N-G-O” and “Hokey Pokey.”

For ages 2+. $30

Safari Figure 8 (Brio)
Winner: Creative Child Magazine’s Seal of Excellence The Safari Figure 8 set allows young adventure seekers to take the safari train to see animals in the wild. Safari guide figures are ready to lead you through the jungle expedition. Set also includes an engine and animal wagon to transport everyone, a decorated viaduct and jungle trees, and jungle friends like the zebra, leopard and rhinoceros.

For ages 3+. $34.99

Pull Along Duck (Brio)
Winner: National Parenting Center A traditional pull along toy, Brio’s Pull Along Duck is certainly eye catching, brightly painted in yellow, red, and blue. As a child pulls the duck along, the head shakes, the wings flap, and best of all the duck quacks! These fun, simple actions are sure to entertain a child for hours.

For ages 12+ months. $14.99

And for more ideas for kids and stockings, check out this post!

It is that time of year. Time to carve pumpkins. Or if you’re like me, time to take the kids to buy pumpkins, then lock them and your husband outside on the porch until the deed is done. I HATE pumpkin carving! If you’re smart, you’ll talk yourself into painting a pumpkin or putting stickers on one INSTEAD of carving. You can always oooooh and aaaaah over the neighbor’s carved pumpkin, right? But you’re likely not going to do that. You’re going to carve one. And if you’re like millions of Americans, you’ll use your garbage disposal for all the pumpkin-y goo.

Bad call.

Halloween drives lots of business to your local plumbers. Lots. That ooey, gooey, pumpkin-y goodness wrecks disposals and clogs plumbing. According to our friends at Mr. Rooter, all that pulp hardens and clogs your drain.

“A pumpkin’s stringy, slimy substance is too much for the garbage disposal to handle,” said Mary Kennedy Thompson, president of the Mr. Rooter Corporation. “Your thoughts should be on Halloween costumes, trick-or-treaters and giving out candy — not calling a plumber to clear your drain.”

Mr. Rooter(R) offers these tips to keep pumpkins from haunting the plumbing system:
– Carve pumpkin on a newspaper instead of over the kitchen sink.
– Do not dump pulp and seeds into the disposal or toilet.
– Instead, throw all pumpkin-related material and newspaper in the garbage.

Better yet, use the seeds! I actually buy roasted pumpkin seeds in little packets during the “down-time” of the year. Roasting them yourself at home is easy and healthy. Check out the recipe at Elementary Chef here

For crayon marks on wallpaper, reasonably glossy paint, or vinyl tile, try a squirt of WD-40. Just spray and wipe. The marks will come right up!

We all know that hand washing is important. Especially this time of year. Especially if you have children. Now, the makers of Airborne (which is liquefiable gold, mind you) have created a new soap to encourage kids to wash long enough. Get this, it puts a temporary dye on their hands, which doesn’t disappear until they’ve washed long enough! I love this idea. (But I have to tell you, my preschooler freaks out when marker gets on his hands. I’m not convinced he’d put up with this stuff…) Anyway, it’s called squid soap, and here’s what the Airborned folks have to say about it:

Your child has been playing outside. His hands are dirty, so you tell him to wash up before dinner. It’s a nightly ritual in millions of homes all over the United States. But hand washing isn’t just about dirt. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hand washing is one of the most important things children can do to help stay healthy.

According to the CDC, the best time to wash your hands is:
— Before eating.
— Before, during and after handling or preparing food.
— After using the bathroom.
— After handling animals, their toys, leashes or waste.
— After contact with blood, saliva, nasal secretions, etc.
— After touching something that could be contaminated, such as a trash can, cleaning cloth, soil, etc.
— More often when someone in your home is sick.
— Whenever they look dirty.

The CDC says it’s best to wash your hands by vigorously scrubbing with soap and running water for about 20 seconds. For more information on hand-washing benefits, visit http://www.cdc.gov.

SquidSoap by Airborne(R) is Designed to Teach and Train Proper Hand-washing Technique to Children

But, how do you get your child to wash his hands for about 20 seconds? SquidSoap by Airborne(R), with its patented technology, is designed to teach and train proper hand-washing technique to children. It’s the only liquid-soap dispenser with a specially designed pump that stamps a child’s hand with vegetable dye. It takes about 20 seconds of thorough hand washing to remove the ink mark, leaving the child with clean hands.

MSRP is $3.99. To learn more about SquidSoap, visit http://www.squidsoap.com

kids, handwashing, squid soap