Tackle it Tuesday

When I received my bottle of CLR to try I thought I would use it to clean the bathtub and bathroom sink. The kids have some of those bathtub markers and just water never gets all the red marker off the tub surround. But the night before I was planning to clean, Craig cleaned it using the standard cleaner he always uses. (Sorry ladies, he's taken. Handsome, and he cleans a lot more often than I do.) Sorry you won't get to see the purdy baby blue tub and sink.


So instead I thought I'd tackle the kitchen sink. It's one of those things that sort of gets cleaned every day when we (Craig) wash the dishes, but it still gets soap scummy and rather icky-looking. (Those are technical terms.)


So here's the before:

Mid-way through the cleaning: See I even did the dishes. First time for everything, right Craig?

I have my blue rubber gloves ready to put on before I use the CLR.

Here you can see how stained the drain is:And after:
The CLR didn't get all the stains out, but it's much improved over what it did look like.

And here is the shiny finished product:

So my impressions?

The CLR worked well. It did what it claimed to do. However, it's a little harsh for my taste. When you have to wear rubber gloves and use in a well-ventilated place I have a hard time. So everyday cleaning, I'll use something easier on the nostrils and the hands. When I have a deeper clean in mind, I'll grab the CLR.

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

This costume is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Wouldn't D look beautiful in it? (when she's a bit bigger)

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

VSmile Cyber Pocket

When the UPS man rang our doorbell and left the package it was like Christmas come early to our house. Even though there was only one Vsmile Cyber Pocket in the package, the kids immediately insisted they would take turns using it and wouldn’t fight. I hoped the game and the kids would live up to their promises.

Packaging and Contents

I was happy to see that the package was easy to open. I know I’m not the only parent that gets annoyed by having to undo 400 zip-ties and unscrewing toys from cardboard. There was one strip of tape over the edge that I could peel off easily. Once that was open it was a matter of cutting open the plastic tray. I would have loved it even more if I didn’t need a scissor to open it, but I’ll take what I can get.

The Cyber Pocket comes with a wrist strap (which can be attached to the left or right side of the unit), a TV hook-up cord, one Smartridge, the new V.link (more on this later) and manuals for the game system and the Smartridge. Four AA batteries are also included so you can get started right away, however they recommend switching them out for alkaline batteries for longer life and optimal performance.

Set up

Set up was minimal to get the kids started. Just insert the batteries (no screwdriver required – yay!), attach the wrist strap, plug in the game and you’re set.

However, if you want your kids to start using the V.link right away, you have to set up your accounts online first. I didn’t set it up immediately as the kids wanted to just play the game. I actually used the TV hook-up option and put the game on the big TV so both kids could see it easily while I set up the V.link.

V.Link

So what is this V.link business? The V.link is essentially a USB drive that you plug into the game console. It saves your child’s games and records their points and progress. Their points get transferred to their accounts online, which can be used to unlock MORE games. I like to think of it as motivation for them to get better at the games… which, by the way, are educational.

The set up for the V.link took about 5 minutes. It probably would have taken less time, but the user name I wanted to use for my daughter was rejected because it contained “inappropriate language.” I wanted to use the word butterfly.

Kids’ impressions

The system says it’s for 5 years and up, and the game that came with it was a little beyond K, but he still had fun playing around with it. He was able to do some of the game and we took it with us to M’s swimming lesson. K sat still for the first time ever at her lesson. The Cyber Pocket is likely to become a regular at swimming lessons now.

M would have played all day if I’d let her. She was practicing putting sentences in correct syntax order and having fun doing it.

Mom’s impressions

The unit itself seems sturdy so that perhaps even Destructo Boy might be able to play it for a while without ruining it. Both my older kids liked it so much they were fighting over it, which I guess means it’s a good toy. The price tag however, at a hefty $70, makes it unlikely that I will be able to spring for 2 units so both kids could have their own.

We already owned the original Vsmile console, and all the Smartridges that we have for that also work in the Cyber Pocket, which is a big positive with me. K can play some of the easier games until he learns more reading skills.

Verdict

Great toy! It held my kids’ attention, they had fun and they were learning instead of beating up cartoon characters. If you’re looking for something to ask Santa for, this might be just what you want.

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Check out other bloggers’ impressions of the Cyber Pocket and other products at PBN.

Once Upon a Potty

I have to come clean up front and say that when I agreed to review Once Upon A Potty K was still pooping in his pants. He has since decided that the potty is the best place to do such things. However, we still sat down to look at the materials together so I could see what he thought of it all.

But before I showed it to him, I looked at it myself. Chances are, if you’re a parent of a potty training aged child or older child, you’ve seen or heard of these books before. I’d heard of them, but never looked at them before. Perhaps these books would have assisted in getting my kids to use the potty sooner than they did!

This year, Firefly Books has released a new board book edition that is accompanied by an audio CD. The CD includes the original story by Alona Frankel and three songs.

I love that the book is a heavy board book, especially since my children tend to be potty training for many, many, many (did I mention many?) months. The book will likely stand up to the wear and tear of such extended use. The cover is also slightly padded and has a waxy coating on it that looks like it would wipe clean easier than a strictly cardboard board book would. That’s a handy feature to have considering it’s likely to find its way into the bathroom for those attempts at using the potty.

I like that there are two versions of the story, one for a boy and one for a girl. Even my 6-year-old daughter who has been out of diapers for years wanted to check out the girl version since her brother got to read the boy version.

When we sat down together to read the book, my son was still excited to read it even though he’s been using the potty consistently for a few weeks now. M joined us as well and listened to the story. They both sat still and listened intently. I thought perhaps the wee-wee and poo-poo words would get them giggling, but they just listened without the silliness. After we finished the book I asked K what he thought of it. “It was really, really good mama!” he exclaimed.

Then we put the CD in and listened to the songs. The kids enjoyed the first song, then the story started over. We listened to part of the story, then the kids moved to the window to look outside and my daughter said, “we just read that!” So I skipped over the rest of the story. Note to self: the kids no longer want to read the same story 400 times in a row. They seemed to enjoy the songs and did some dancing while we listened to the music.

I’d say the book would be another tool in the arsenal that parents need to help their children along the road toward using the potty consistently. It explains how the child uses diapers at first, but then learns to use the potty. It also illustrates that there will be accidents which K found quite interesting. He even commented, “just like I did!”

When you’re potty training, you’ll take any help possible, right?