Melissa & Doug Jumbo Knob Puzzle Review

A few weeks ago I was asked to test toys for a company called ebeanstalk. They sent out a number of baby toys and toys for 1 year olds to toy experts (moms) for their review. While ebeanstalk picks great toys, they like to get some help from the real experts - moms - and we help them select great learning toys. The toy they sent was Jumbo Knob Wooden Puzzle from Melissa & Doug who makes lots of ">wooden toys.

My daughter, who will be two this weekend, loves puzzles. As in L-O-V-E-S them. So she was quite smitten with it the moment I took it out of the package. Even though assembling the puzzle was quite easy for her, I was able to ask her questions about the shapes and colors of the puzzle pieces to keep her interested for a bit longer than she would have been just putting it together. Additionally, my 3.5 year old son wanted in on the action. The puzzle is simple enough that he could easily participate in quizzing my daughter as well. It was more than adorable to hear him ask her, 'What color is this square, Lucy?'

We have an arsenal of puzzles in our house, and this one keeps pace with the other favorites in our collection. Which is pretty impressive to me, considering it doesn't make noises or anything like some of our others. I enjoy wooden toys in general, and I think Melissa & Doug makes some high quality products, though I would like to see more of them made in the USA. That said, the Melissa & Doug website does have a full section devoted to safety, with each individual item's general conformance certificate available for inspection.

Overall, I think this puzzle is fun and age appropriate for a one year old child. Its simplicity would make it an ideal puzzle for a first birthday gift.

Don't Tell My Mother, But This Post Is About Sex Toys

When I was first contacted to do product reviews for Eden Fantasys (I know and they know it's misspelled) I thought it was some kind of spam. I get several pitches a week and most of them are garbage. However, the gentleman who emailed me seemed like a real, live person, and he was friendly, too! 

So then I had to really think things over. I mean, was I really interested in writing about sex toys. Here, where anyone (my mother comes to mind) might be able to find me? Did I really want to put that part of my life out there on the interwebs? It took a long time, but I finally decided that if Kristen can do, well then so can I! Plus, I'm pregnant and in about three or four months my husband isn't going to want anything to do with me physically. It's not his fault, it's just a mental thing, but a girl has needs, you know? 

So if you are my mother, or anyone else who isn't interested in reading about thing I may or may not do in the privacy of my bedroom, then please click away. Go visit the totally innocent, adorable site Cute Overload!

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The first sex toy I ever used was a plain old vibrator. And it was lame. Mostly it sat in a drawer. So when I got to choose my first item for review over at Eden Fantasys I tried to pick something I really thought I would like to use. Because of it's popularity in mainstream culture, I decided to go with a rabbit style toy, but I also figured why not throw in some other gadgets as well. Luckily, the Orgasmic Foreplay Kit 1 featured not only a multi-speed rotating rabbit vibrator, but also a multi-use probe sleeve with a removable micro-stimulator. Check it out here. 

After a few weeks of really running it through the ringer, I can say that the multi-speed rotating rabbit vibrator is a winner. Let's just say it gets the job done in record time, every time. Personally, I think every gal should have something like this in the night stand. It's a bit on the loud side when you turn on the rotation, but not so bad when only in vibrate mode. It has multiple intensity settings so you can easily work your way up to climax, and the rotation mode can go in either direction for even more variation. I did find it a little odd and a bit humorous that in order to add texture the vibrator, they covered with raised pictures of fruit. Somehow, a pineapple just doesn't scream sexy to me, but you can't really see it when you're using it. 

Since I'm pregnant and puking a lot of the time, we haven't had much opportunity to really use the kit together. I have to act when the mood strikes me, and often it's when the hubby isn't home. The micro-stimulator was helpful when used in conjunction with a partner, but maybe a little too powerful on the high setting. The sleeve looked interesting, but to be honest I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I think that since the battery pack was attached via a wire, I was a little more awkward with it, as opposed to the rabbit vibrator, which has the batteries contained in the base. 

Overall, I think this kit is a great way to start out for someone who isn't too savvy in the realm of sex toys. With all of the options, you'll figure out pretty easily and quickly what you like and then you can move on from there. I know that's what I plan to do!