Curious George Christmas Special Review

A Very Monkey Christmas, the new PBS special featuring my kids' favorite little monkey Curious George, premiered just before Thanksgiving. Thanks to PBS, we were lucky enough to get a copy for review a little earlier than that! Plus PBS sent me a free copy to watch and another free copy to give away to a reader, so lucky me and lucky you!

I knew that because my kids love Curious George that this would be a hit in my house, and I was not mistaken. It's a very welcome addition to our Grinch-Rudolf-Charlie Brown rotation, both for the kids and the parents. In the special George and the Man in the Yellow Hat fret over what to get each other for Christmas. They solve their problems and discover the true meaning of the holidays with the help of the whole cast of friends. There are Christmas songs throughout the special, with a few originals thrown in for good measure!

And in the spirit of the season, leave a comment and you'll be entered to win your very own brand new copy of A Very Monkey Christmas, guaranteed to arrive in your mailbox before Christmas!

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.

Here is your winner! Congratulations CanCan!

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There were 11 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. CanCan
2. valmg
3. laura-dolcepics
4. Valerie
5. NadJen
6. Feener
7. one frugal lady
8. MJ
9. ilinap
10. Bonggamom
11. Wacki Jacki

Timestamp: 2009-03-31 11:20:16 UTC

Doin' What Comes Naturally

Last year we planted our first garden. Despite some rookie mistakes, it was a rather successful endeavor. All winter we planned and plotted, started composting and got excited for the new gardening year. 

We planted our seedling less than two weeks ago. Last week they looked like this. Just one week later here they are!

I'm almost worried that they'll grow too big before they are able to go into the ground! 

While I'm excited about all of the tasty food we'll have come summer, what's really got me jazzed is how involved the kids want to be. Sam has been all over me to help plant seeds and help dad dig in the dirt. I asked his advice about what to grow and he actually suggested something! Peas! We're growing peas at the request of my child! Beyond growing our own veggies, we're also thinking about joining a co-op, or donating our excess to a local food bank. 

There is a lot to do, and there is a lot to think about. I'm glad I have the company of my family to accompany me on these journeys. 

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This post was brought to you by SC Johnson's Nature's Source and The Parent Bloggers Network! 

Leap Frog Tag Reader Giveaway for You and Your Local Library!

Last July we reviewed the Leap Frog Tag Reader, and as I said back then we absolutely adore this thing! 

"The way this fun little gadget works is really cool. It looks like a thick pen, which is easy for little hands to hold. Once you install the software on your computer you can download books onto it just like an ipod. But it doesn't just read the book. When you touch the tip of the book to the pages it can read them or you can use it to play games! "

Since then not only have we have purchased additional titles for our own library, but we've given the Tag Reader as a gift to several other friends and relatives. Every time we always hear that both the kids and the parents love it. I even suggested it to an indecisive grandma at Target one day, after hearing her wonder out loud what she should buy for her grand daughter. 

In conjunction with National Reading Month, Leap Frog has launched the 1 Million Reading Hours program to encourage literacy and families reading together. To achieve this goal, Leap Frog has been kind enough to offer one of my faithful readers their very own Tag Reader with five book titles for their collection. In addition, Leap Frog will also send an expanded memory Tag Reader and ten book titles to their local library for community use. 

All you have to do is leave a comment by Monday March 30th at 12 noon EST stating how much time you wish to pledge. The click over to the pledge page and record your pledge there as well. No registration is required, but you do need a valid email address. On March 31st a random winner will be selected! It's just that easy! 

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!

Houseplants Beware!

This is my cat Simon. He is awesome. He loves people, he is insanely patient with the kids, he's neat and clean and doesn't shed too much. His one and only negative quality is plant eating. I could buy this guy all the cat grass in the world and he turns his nose up at it, but if I bring home as much as one little house plant it gets devoured within minutes. So it follows that his favorite place to sleep isn't on the furniture, but as close as possible to the newest addition to the buffet! 

Luckily, I care more about my out door plants than I do the indoor varieties!

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This post was brought to you by the Pledge Fabric Sweeper - Show Off Your Shedder contest and the Parent Bloggers Network. 

All Is Busy, On New Year's Day

Every year my husband works on New Year's Eve, which means that most of the time he is off on New Year's Day. Since we are those people who decorate waaaaaaaay back in early December (or late November, occasionally) our tree is usually crispy by the 24th. With two kids and one cat, bits of wrapping paper are tucked under and in every little nook and cranny. Toys are strewn about and the animatronic Santa in the front yard is half burnt out. 

It's really quite tragic. 

So we spend the day sorting and piling, packing and filing. He's in charge of the outside and I take care of the inside, with a little (and I mean a little) help from the kids. Once everything is safely stashed in the basement in their big red and green tubs we haul out that vacuum and start sucking up the needles. Luckily, the kids like this part and are quick to point out any strays that I missed. 

Once everything is finally clean and the kids are in bed we enjoy the champagne we missed out on the night before!

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This post was brought to you by The Parent Bloggers Network and right@home. Click through to PBN to find out how to play and win!

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Avoidance: It's the Only Way

Here it is, plain and simple: when we go back to visit our families of origins during the holidays the drinks flow a little too freely. My mother-in-law loves champagne, as do I. My parents always stock up on Mike's Hard Lemonade over Christmas. As soon as five o'clock rolls around (technically, it's actually when the kids go to bed) the libations begin flowing. And sometimes they keep flowing late into the evening. And sometimes early into the morning. Which only leads to sorrow the next day when someone is calling for 'Mommy' at 7:05am. So this year, to control at least some of the chaos, I am going to try to avoid the booze. Maybe not every day, or maybe not 100%. Let's just be honest here, some occasions necessitate a drink. 

Just maybe not three. 

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This post was brought to you by the Parent Bloggers Network and BigTent. Click on over to find out how to play and maybe win a $250 Target gift card. If only they sold six packs!

eebee's adventures!

Waaaaaaaaaaay back when Sam was a baby and we were new to the world of videos on demand, I went through the entire 'kids' menu trying to find some good quality programming. Amidst all the PBS and Nick offerings I stumbled upon eebee's adventures. It was a big hit with my wee boy, and for a few months we would watch some of the short videos every few days.

Cut to almost three years later. Sam is now very opinionated, and when we flip on the TV he is usually the one choosing the show. Lucy doesn't seem to mind too much, but I've been trying to come up with something they can both watch and enjoy. Plus it needs to be something I don't find to be completely mindless drivel as well. Needless to say we end up watching the 'Your Baby Can Read' DVDs quite often. 

Luckily the Parent Bloggers Network came to the rescue, sending us an eebee's adventures DVD and a soft eebee book for our viewing/playing pleasure. The video contains three segments: laundry list, just you and me and little objects, big ideas. The book is all about laundry time and ties in nicely with the video.

The main focus of eebee's world seems to be learning from the objects around you. Eebee and the other children featured in the video use fabrics, mirrors, cereal and pots and pans in their learning adventures. There are simple, catchy songs that got both of my kids dancing and singing along. Plus the title song is easily adaptable to accommodate any child with a two syllable name. I don't get it entirely, but they both lose their minds when I substitute 'Sammy' or 'Lucy' for 'eebee' in the song. 

The book is also a fun little learning experience for young minds. The laundry book has activities such as putting towels in the washing machine and hanging clothes on the line to dry. It's bright and colorful and full of different textures. Lucy especially loved the crinkly parts. Being almost three, Sam was a little too old for this book, but he actually had some fun showing Lucy all of the ways to play with it.

As a bonus, it doesn't feel like they are trying to sell my kids something every other minute. I mean, even Sesame Street had commercials these days. Yes, they have toys and other merchandise, but they don't beat you about the head with it. 

As a parent, I have very much enjoyed eebee's adventures. It's simple approach to learning and exploring with everyday objects has made me more creative with my own everyday objects. 

Care to win a copy of eebee's adventures 'All in a Day's Play' and the 'Laundry Time' soft book? Leave a comment here by friday 12/5 at midnight to enter!

Truly Amazing

From the moment my first child was born I was astonished. His tiny body, so recently surrounded by my own, made so many miraculous changes practically in the blink of an eye. The transition to breathing rather than getting oxygenated blood via the cord. The closing of heart valves and the opening of new ones. Without these, his life, and human life, would be impossible. 

In Amazing Baby, Desmond Morris covers everything from these first moments until your sweet little newborn is somehow a two year old. From organ systems to personality development, this book covers basic biology in a way that would make any person, parent or not, interested in these lovely little beings. 

Accompanying Morris' text are hundreds of stunning photographs. These are what transform this from simply a parenting reference to a work of art. Take it from someone who considers photographing her children a highlight of her day: these photos are a big part of what makes Amazing Baby amazing. Also, you don't have to take just my word for it. Both of my kids attempted, on several occasions, to kiss the photos of the adorable babies. Luckily I had dry washcloths near by so that the book wasn't ruined. Several of the photos are also accompanied with overlays which show complex internal structures, such as the newborn skull, eye anatomy or brain lobes. 

With all of the information on development and anatomy, Morris never misses an opportunity to drive home his main point that parents have the most profound effect on their child's development. As he states at the end of the book, 

"Looking into the tiny face of a newborn baby as she nestles in her mother's arms, it is important to remember that they way the little infant is treated during the first two years of her life will have a profound effect upon the course she takes later as an adult. It should be easy enough for a child who has enjoyed a loving, richly stimulating, fun-packed infancy to grow up into a happy, well-adjusted adult. For an neglected or deprived infant, however, it may prove much harder."

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Thanks to the The Parent Bloggers Network for introducing me to Amazing Baby. I'm definitely going to be holding onto this one. You know, just in case! 

Autism's False Prophets

Just before Lucy was born I reviewed Paul A. Offit, M.D.'s book Vaccinated. I know it's odd to say that I enjoyed reading a book on vaccine history, but as a (former) scientist and a parent, it appealed to me. It was well written and well researched. When The Parent Bloggers Network reached out to me to review his new book, Autism's False Prophets, I couldn't say no. The first book only covered the history of vaccines, and as any person, parent or not, knows, vaccines have been very much at the center of many major stories in the past decade. 

Offit knows his work has consequences. He starts the prologue by quoting some of the more colorful hate mail he has received. Having my own children, I cannot fathom how difficult it must be to parent one with special needs. I can imagine that these parents, in moments of desperation, are just looking for someone to blame. Many choose Offit as their target, and while this could lead to risks to himself and his family, he presses on. Why? Because he believes he is doing the right thing. The just thing. 

I admit, I have to agree. 

Offit spends the beginning of the book discussing Andrew Wakefield's proposition that vaccinations, specifically the MMR vaccination, causes autism. The way in which the information was presented lead to a media storm of enormous proportions that had millions believing unproven, unsound data. After Wakefield's bombshell, Offit goes on to detail many of the supposed treatments for autism. These treatments had parents of autistic children digging deep into their pockets, giving them hope of a cure. None of the children were 'cured' and some of them were even harmed in the process. 

Offit also delves into the scientific and judicial process for the reader to dissect exactly how these process work in relation to these cases against vaccinations. (I know it sounds boring, but seriously it's not!) He also discusses the relationships between science and the media, science and society and how those can affect the way information is disseminated. 

Paul A. Offit M.D. is, no doubt, a man with an agenda. He wants to protect children from unnecessary, harmful procedures. He wants to protect parents from spending countless dollars on what amounts to snake oil. And he wants to protect the doctors and scientists who are hard at work on autism causes and treatments. 

Which is why I hope we continue to hear from Paul A. Offit, M.D. 

Finally! An Acceptable Form of Bathroom Reading. Once Upon a Potty.

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted a picture of Sam in big boy underpants? Yeah, well, that was kind of a short lived adventure that ended in me cleaning poop off of the floor in three separate locations! Fun times. So when the Parent Bloggers Network sent me a copy of Once Upon a Potty (actually two copies! The girl version and the boy version!) I was ecstatic! 

Truth be told, we already owned a copy of the boy version, with Joshua and his mother, and it had been a big, big hit. But when our new copies arrived I couldn't have been happier. First of all, they have sturdy, board book-like pages which are nearly impervious to ripping little hands. Plus they came with an audio cd of original music, introductions by the author Alona Frankel, and a reading of the story. 

The songs, 'The Joshua & Prudence Theme' and 'The Potty Song' are kick-y little jazz numbers that come both with lyrics and as instrumental pieces. This is a nice feature if you have a little song bird in your house. It's like toddler potty karaoke! The only drawback to the cd is probably unique to us. As soon as Sam sees a disc, he assumes it's a video, so he was initially a little disappointed that there was only music. Once he heard the song, though, he was grooving his little bum to the sax. 

The reading of the book is quite lovely as well. There is music and plenty of cute sound effects. Sam especially likes the sound of the Joshua's present being unwrapped and of the toilet flushing. Why am I not surprised? 

Wanna know the best part, though? Last week Sam peed and pooped on the potty! I was so excited! And so was he! As soon as he was done, he turned around and looked into the potty to see his accomplishments. When he saw what was in there, he exclaimed, 

ALL MINE PEE AND POOP WIGHT INSIDE IT!!!

Which is a toddler variation of what Joshua says when he finally pees and poops on the potty. I made sure to tell him that I was very happy and proud, just like Joshua's mother. He couldn't have been happier.

And that is the moment I will choose to remember in the future when I recall the trials of potty training. Not that one where I was cleaning human poop off of the floor in my living room, foyer and bathroom. 

The First Time I Ever Found Myself Rooting for Another Man's Sperm

One of the first blogs I ever read was A Little Pregnant. I was newly pregnant myself (hence the obsession with blogs that had the word 'pregnant' in the title) and had plenty of free time (since I had no kids yet) and so I spent the better part of a work week reading Julie's archives. It became an obsession, but in a good way. As I would later find out, having a little insight into an infertile couples' struggles helps when dealing with the situation in real life. I have been very fortunate to only have know a few people who have dealt with/are dealing with infertility and I feel I was, perhaps, slightly more aware of my words and actions because of reading this blog.

Enter Maybe Baby, a book by Matthew M.F. Miller, who also pens a blog of the same name. This story of infertility is somehow entertaining and gut wrenching all at the same time. It's also unique because it is written by a man, baby. In this whole slew of parenting blogs there is a good corner devoted to daddy bloggers, but this was the first infertility blog/memoir I had heard of that was written by the less fair sex. 

Miller delves into his past as an overweight adolescent and the road to becoming healthy in a way that makes you really invested in his story. Once he's met Constance, his wife, you can't help but root for the guy. When they decide to buy some Pottery Barn crib bedding before they even begin trying for a baby, though, you know you're going to be reaching for the tissues by the end. 

And if this story doesn't quite convert you to Matthew M.F. Miller fan-dom, check this out: He's going to run 22.6 miles (the distance between their first apartment and the fertility clinic) and get sponsors in order to help fund another couples' fertility treatments. He's calling it the 1st Maybe Baby IVF Scholarship. Constance is a lucky woman.

I've become a total fan of Miller and his story, and am now an avid follower of his blog. I won't spoil it for you, but I have a feeling there's a happy ending in store for them down the line!

Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network for bringing this book and blog my way.  As if I didn't have enough blogs to read, now I'm hooked on one more! 

How the Good Lord Helped Me Learn About Finances

When I had my first communion I received over two hundred dollars in gifts. To a seven year old it was like hitting the lottery. My parents took me to the bank and helped me open my first savings account. They also let me keep ten bucks out to buy myself a toy, which made handing over the rest of the money a little easier. They explained how the savings account worked, and even though the interest I was making amounted to less than a dollar a year I was enthralled. 

As I got older I worked as a baby sitter, a bingo waitress and at McDonald's. Every time I got a paycheck I went to the bank and made a deposit into this same savings account. 

I started thinking about that day a few months ago when Sam became aware of money. Coins, to be exact. While I'm not sure he understands their specific value, he seems to grasp that you can exchange it for goods and services. When he uses the potty he often requests a quarter for his potty prize in lieu of a stickers or candy. As soon as he gets the money in hand he darts upstairs to put it in his bank. Unfortunately he doesn't quite understand about paper money. This became immediately apparent when we took him to trade in his full bank of coins for paper money. He pitched a fit of epic proportions in the bank lobby. As he gets older we plan to let him start buying a toy or treat for himself with money he saves in his bank.

We often play grocery store and use pennies to pay for our baskets of pretend apples. I've bought him a play cash register for Lucy's birthday (although I never did give it to him because so many other people brought him gifts!) and once we break it out I'm hoping he'll get a little better understanding of things. 

Once they both get a little older we'll start assigning some simple chores that they can do in order to receive an allowance. Then the savings accounts will be opened, and allowances and birthday moneys will be deposited with great gusto. 

I think my parents did a pretty good job teaching me about money and savings. I can only hope I can do the same for my kids.

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One way I can help to save money now is by winning and iphone instead of buying one! Capital One and The Parent Bloggers Network are giving away THREE iphones this weekend! Just write a post about how and when you taught/plan to teach your kids about money and then email the post to the folks over at PBN. 

Moe' Yoyo Mommy?

A few weeks ago we got a coupon in the mail for some Yoplait Kids products thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network. I've seen them before in the supermarket, but honestly I usually spring for that other 'Yo' brand yogurt for kids and babies. The main reason for that is that I can't stand when a product has licensed characters plastered all over the packaging, and these Yoplait products seem to be Nickeloden's whore. Dora, the Backyardigans and Blue's Clues adorn every container. However, the claim that they have 25% less sugar than the leading kids yogurt and are supplemented with DHA always caught my attention, so I was glad to give them a try for free! 

I picked up the drinkable yogurt in mixed berry flavor and the yogurt cups in vanilla/banana. The drinkable yogurt was a huge hit. I tasted it, too, and I found it to be pretty yummy. As an added bonus Sam was able to drink it through a twisty straw. It's actually a double bonus because not only does he love it but it's good for his speech therapy! 

The yogurt cups went over well, too. We usually mix yogurt with some fruit and cereal. The banana and vanilla flavors lend themselves to this very nicely. The texture was smooth and Sam gobbled them up.

One thing I really liked is that when you visit the Yoplait Kids site you can get all of the nutritional information for each different style and flavor of yogurt. 

Because Sam isn't a huge milk drinker (unless it's chocolate milk, of course) it's very important that he gets calcium from other sources. He likes cheese, but he loves yogurt. Since these yogurts contain less sugar, they are a plus. However sugar is still the second ingredient in most all of the flavors.  I would love it if they made a plain yogurt as well since we usually just mix our own flavors with fruit purees, but these are a nice, quick snack. Plus they are a little cheaper than that other 'Yo' yogurt brand I usually buy.

And I know they are a big hit because I constantly receive the request for 'Moe' yoyo Mommy!' after every helping! 

Reality Bites

The one and only piece of advice I give first time parents is that they should try and eat out as much as possible when their new baby is born. With the baby. Why? Because until that baby is, say, 4 or 5 months old eating out with him or her is a snap. They are too young to require any food of their own, even when crying they are relatively quite, they are uber-portable, and if you are lucky, they'll fall asleep in the car seat on the way there and remain so for the duration of your meal.

But once you hit a certain age, all bets are off. We learned this the hard way with Sam when he was about 7 months old.

In Atlanta, at least for a while, we didn't have a babysitter. We tried to eat out early so that we could take Sam. Plus the restaurants usually don't get busy until 7-ish, so if you show up at 5:30 there are fewer people for your kid to potentially annoy. 

One night we were feeling bold and decided to try a new, upscale causal place. SOB had heard from a friend at work that it was family friendly, so we packed Sam up and headed out for our early bird special. With traffic and parking difficulties we didn't get into the restaurant until almost 6:30. We were nervous, but they staff was kind and seated us way in the back. Unfortunately the place filled up right quick and soon Sam was terrorizing the hell out of us and everyone nearby. He was throwing puffs, toys, spoons, anything he could get his hands on. 

Needless to say, we took our desserts to go.

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This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Burger King Corp.

I'm So Savvy!

Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, The Savvy Source for Parents and Leap Frog, a few weeks ago Sam got a fantastic new present in the mail. It was a Leap Frog Tag reader, and from the first moment he simply adored it. The way this fun little gadget works is really cool. It looks like a thick pen, which is easy for little hands to hold. Once you install the software on your computer you can download books onto it just like an ipod. But it doesn't just read the book. When you touch the tip of the book to the pages it can read them or you can use it to play games! Our package came with three books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, one of Sam's absolute favorites. He loves it so much that he's barely even looked at the other two. As an added bonus to moms and dads, it has a headphone jack so it would be a great take along item for a plane or car trip.

The Leap Frog is working in conjunction with The Savvy Source for Parents on this outreach. The Savvy Source widget you see over there in the sidebar is filled with questions about your preschooler. Once you complete the quizzes (there are 8: visual arts, language development, early science, music, early math, social skills, movement and coordination, and orientation in time and space) you are given a list of games, toys and activities that would be useful for your child's development. The quizzes don't take too long, but you can save you results and finish later if you get overwhelmed. The list items range from activities suggested by other parents (which are usually FREE) or things you can buy.

We tried several activities, but Sam's #1 favorite involved sorting and counting M&Ms. I had him separate them by color and once he counted each pile he was allowed to eat them. I'm sure you can figure out why he liked this one! Also, since we already had a few of the books recommended in the visual arts guide, we focused on them at bedtime.

Finally, the part of the Savvy Source site that I really think has the most potential is the pre-school assessment quiz. When choosing Sam's current school we had to really just go with our gut after touring and meeting with staff members from different places. On the Savvy Source page parents can answer questions about their child's school for something of a data base. Once enough data gets collected this will be an awesome online resource for parents when choosing schools.

By the way, if you are interested in running the Savvy Source widget on your blog, drop me a line at cheeseparty@gmail.com. You could make a little bank from your blog!