gogo Kidz Travelmate

Traveling with babies and toddlers can be a complete nightmare. Not only are you dealing with temper tantrums in crowed airports, but you’re also forced to pack up the entire house and manage to drag it with you. Go-Go Babyz makes traveling with little ones much easier with the gogo Kidz Travelmate. The gogo Kidz Travelmate allows you to wheel your car seat and child through an airport instead of juggling them in each arm. What a great way to free up one of your hands. Traveling with it is great because it’s lightweight (only 5 pounds), it’s easy to attach and remove car seats, and it folds flat for easy storage. The gogo Kidz Travelmate is also completely safe and is compatible with just about every car seat. (Click here for a complete list.) Once you use it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed with it.

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Hopscotch Rugs

I was the hopscotch champion back in the day. My lucky rock, which I smoothed to perfection, was tucked inside my pocket everyday so that I was ready when recess rolled around. I seriously love the game. That’s why I absolutely fell in love with the Hopscotch Rugs at Just Kids Rugs. They have a beautiful assortment of hopscotch rugs in different styles and colors.

Hopscotch in the house - anytime, anywhere! This would be great for those rainy days when your children are stuck inside. And with these rugs, say goodbye to chalk!

Cold Medicine too risky for little ones

The FDA issued a warning for parents to stop giving babies and toddlers (ages 2 and under) over-the-counter cough and cold medicine "because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur.”

It’s not the first warning about cold remedies for toddlers. Last October, drug companies quit selling dozens of medicines targeted specifically to babies and toddlers. That same month, the FDA’s own scientific advisers voted that the drugs don’t even work in small children and shouldn’t be used in preschoolers, either — anyone under age 6. Read the full article here.

My daughter received the book Tails, by Matthew Van Fleet, as a gift and hasn’t put it down yet. She loves the vibrant colors, the textures, the interactions on each page, and the rhyming text.

This book allows babies and toddlers to see, feel, and even smell the tails of many creatures up close. From the sparkly blue tail of the peacock to the spiny tail of the porcupine, this book is sure to hold your baby’s interest. Bottom Line: this book is absolutely great for babies and toddlers!

Yaktrax

Walking outdoors during the winter is a nightmare because of ice. Even carrying my baby across the parking lot scares me to death. I’m glad a friend told me about Yaktrax. Yaktrax easily slip on over your regular shoes or boots to provide traction so you can confidently walk on ice or snow. What a great product for women and men who fitness walk in the winter! And it is small enough to fit inside your purse so you can carry it with you for an emergency. Don’t leave home without it – seriously!

Crazy for Crayola Flip-Top Markers

If you have children that love to color with markers, you also know what a pain it is to have a cap-less marker. You might as well throw it out because drying up is inevitable. With these new Flip-Top markers from Crayola, you no longer have to worry about finding all of your caps because the cap is attached! Just pop the cap up, slide it down the marker, and lock it into base at the base of the marker while you color. It's that easy. And these markers come with the superior advanced washability formula so you don't have to worry about staining either. You just can't beat these markers. Happy coloring!
Check out some more products from Crayola.

Delicious Hot Chocolate

One thing I cannot live without during the Winter is Hot Chocolate. In fact, I love it so much that sometimes I drink it during the summer. (My husband thinks I'm crazy.) I thought I'd share a delicious recipe for Creamy Hot Chocolate that is lip-smacking good.

Ingredients
1 cup real semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
6 cups milk
2 cups (1 pint) half & half
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
Combine chocolate chips, sugar, and water in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH, stirring every minute, until chocolate chips are melted and mixture comes to a full boil (3 - 4 minutes). Microwave on HIGH 2 minutes. Stir in milk and half & half. Microwave on HIGH, stirring after half the time, until heated through (8 - 10 minutes), but do not boil. Add vanilla. Whisk until frothy. Enjoy. (It makes about 8 servings.)

(Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Good Night Moon, written by Margaret Wise Brown, follows a young rabbit as he says goodnight to anything and everything just so he can avoid going to sleep – something all toddlers can identify with. Thanks to the rhyming and soothing text and the illustrations that progress from evening to night, this book is a fabulous bedtime story for little ones.

EarCheck® Middle Ear Monitor

While sitting in the waiting room at the pediatrician’s office last week, I saw a pamphlet for an EarCheck® Middle Ear Monitor that caught my eye. The EarCheck® Monitor detects middle ear fluid, a key sign of an ear infection, to help you identify if your child has an ear infection. As a first time mom, I would really love to eliminate the guessing game and know when I need to take my daughter to the doctor. When I returned home, I checked out the website and found some more great features about the product.

1. It’s Clinically proven and physican recommended; FDA cleared and UL approved.
2. It's easy to use and easy to read. The monitor indicates the likelihood of middle ear fluid and interprets the results: Consult Doctor, Monitor, or Fluid Unlikely.

Visit Earcheck.com to learn about how the product works, or purchase yours today at Walmart or Babies “R” Us.

Beat the Wintertime Blahs

Ahh, Winter - I can honestly say that I don't like it. Period. Even as a child I dreaded wintertime. You can only build so many snow forts before it gets old. Looking out my window this morning, seeing the ground covered in 6 inches of fresh snow, I thought I'd share some toys that children could have fun with this winter.

Who doesn’t love a good snowball fight? The Sno-Baller® can help you make perfect snowballs every time, and you can make up to 60 snowballs per minute! Anything that'll save my fingers from becoming soaking wet and numb has my vote!











I remember spending hours in the cold building snow fort and snow castles with my sisters. This inflatable snow castle would've saved us a lot of time. Or if you would rather spend the afternoon inside, just pump it up in the playroom and let your imagination run wild!







Or you can pretend you live in the artic with this inflatable igloo. This, too, can be used both indoors or outdoors. It measures 6 feet in diameter and can fit up to 4 children.