We have a 12 hour car trip to the beach coming up soon and my husband and I are always looking out for some new DVDs to add to our rotation.

“Summertime Fun” consists of five episodes of your child’s favorite characters. The episodes of Barney and Thomas the Tank are new to DVD and there also appearances by Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam , and Bob the Builder. Each featurette is less than 20 minutes and that really kept my kids’ attention. The shorter length helped stave off boredom. Read the rest »

My daughters have a tendency to wake up in the morning with hair that rivals Medusa on her worst day. I recently took them to get a hair cut and the salon used this awesome detangler that made for ouchless styling.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I passed on the $8 bottle of detangler and set out to find one at Wal-Mart. I snatched up one for $1.50. I didn’t really have any basis for selecting this particular brand other than the fact that it had an octopus on the front and my two-year-old loves this particular sea creature right now. Read the rest »

It’s easy to pop in a DVD when you need to get dinner made or fold another load of clothes without “help” from your toddler. And if you’re like me, you’ve noticed it’s rare that you will find a DVD that doesn’t just require your child to sit on the couch.

Tot-a-doodle-do has created entire kits that include education DVDs and a fun hands-on activity for your kids. We got the Animal set which included the 30 minute DVD and a craft kit with everything we needed to make animal masks. Read the rest »

My four-year-old daughter is a ballet school dropout. After just one eight week course at our local community center she decided the life of a ballerina was not for her. Despite not wanting to pursue ballet as a hobby she continues to be fascinated by the art form.

There aren’t many DVDs out there about ballet that are made for young children. I recently came across Prima Princessa. It’s a 40 minute DVD that combines a performance of Swan Lake by the Paris Opera Ballet with ballet instruction from students at the School of American Ballet. Read the rest »

Thomas and his friends have been around the tracks a few times, but their new DVD doesn’t disappoint! Engines and Escapades is the latest adventures of the loveable Thomas and his pals as they travel around the Island of Sodor.

The DVD also introduces us to the little truck Madge. My girls were laughing at her antics as she tried to help the trains get clean for the country fair, only to end up covered in mud herself. She appears in several of the episodes on this new DVD. Read the rest »

A picture is worth a thousand words or so the saying goes. I am an avid photographer and love capturing my kids doing everything from the everyday to the extrordinary. From their first steps to our family vacations and every day in between my camera is always within arm’s reach.

I am always in search of new and clever ways to display my photos; ways that really let my pictures do the talking and the images I have captured be the stars. Imagekind’s Story Frames do just that. You can easily create a simple display that tells your family’s story, whatever that may be. Read the rest »

When it comes to entertaining and educational DVDs for your kids there are thousands of choices. Braincandy, pardon the pun, is the brainchild of two Seattle parents. They’ve created a series of five DVDs that help your child explore their senses. With the help of “Bruce the Brain” your child gets to hear, smell, see, taste, and touch their world.

The brightly colored (and eco-friendly) packages had my kids attention from the minute they landed on the kitchen table. My two year old was hopping up and down saying “Movie!, Movie!” I swear she doesn’t see as much TV as her reaction may imply. Read the rest »