be.strong

You are what you wear. I definitely believe in positive messages and positive energy. be.ology, an inspiring t-shirt company, has an exceptional business mission.

"Through the spreading of positive thoughts, words, and energy they hope to initiate a movement of compassion, acceptance, and empowerment. be.ology tm T-shirts were created to inspire you to be who you are and who you are ready to be. There is a place between striving to live your greatest potential and an acceptance of where you are at this moment…..be.ology is that place."

With this thought, they set out to make some creative, yet simple messages on their shirts:

be.you

be.strong

be.peaceful

be.inspired

be.greatful

be.loved

be.involved

be.hopeful

be.kind

be.exceptional

be.free

How could you not be.inspired by these powerful shirts?!? As a bonus, 10% of the sales from the be.involved and be.hopeful shirts go to various charities, so please be.you and be.charitable!

I wish the founders, Linda and Ali, all the best. They want to make the world a better place. Ladies, just by creating these t-shirts, you are well on your way! Thank you for being positive and spreading the energy.

Move Over Rainbow Playsets...

When my parents bought their first house it was $25,000. Granted it was the early 70's, but none-the-less it was $25 K. Fast forward to the year 2007. For a mere $25,000 you can now buy a 15' x 8' backyard custom Victorian playhouse for the little kiddos.

Spirit Elements sells these incredible structures that are sure to knock your socks off... and attract every little rugrat in the neighborhood! So you might want to also purchase a "Keep Out" sign. The above picture is the Bungaloo Custom Tree House. How cool is that?!!? It reminds me of the Berenstain Bears house. Your kids will be the envy of every kid in the city (not just the block) with one of these.

They also make:
Firehouse

Hansel & Gretel Playhouse

Huckleberry Playhouse
Corner Store Playhouse
Castle

and many, many more.

You won't believe your eyes when you see all the possibilities. It's amazing. Your kids can use their imaginations every day for hours on end in any one of these uber playhouses. Now, that just might be worth it.

My Laptop Thanks You, Abbi

Are you sick of the black, bulky, heavy laptop bag that came with your computer? Or perhaps your company bought for you? Either way it's lame, out of style, and putting a serious strain on your posture.

Say hello to Abbi New York. Finally, some fashionable, manageable laptop bags anyone would want to be seen with. Above is the Sienna. I think it's gorgeous with the silk brocade fabric. The Ally is beautiful too. And to appeal to the classics, she also carries some leather pieces.

I equate the revelation of the trendy laptop bag to when designers finally started making stylish diaper bags. I mean, it's not rocket science people. Who wants to carry around some clunky, black thing every day? Women want to spice it up, feel modish, and still be walking upright when we are in our 70s. Abbi understands!

All Things Posh

Forget Posh Spice. In fact, we're a little sick of hearing about her and she hasn't even moved to California yet.

I'm talking about The Posh Mom Life. That's right. Every one of us deserves the title Posh Mom. And there is a website to go along with your inner desires. This friendly site deals with fashion, beauty, home and entertaining, travel and culture, and body and soul. Basically, they have it all covered.

Sign up for their emails and they will tune you into their “must-haves,” “did you knows?” “of-the-moments,” “wise words,” “new and for you,” and “splurges”. The emails are short and sweet because let's face it who has an hour to sit down and go through 30 links... unless you call the nanny over!

The founders, Amy Nebens and Jara Negrin, have quite an interesting past and past experience. They also have a book coming out soon (Spring 2007) titled, Living The Posh Mom Life. We look forward to reading it.

The ABCs of Learning

Here is a super unique baby gift idea. My cousin bought this wallhanging for me when my first was born. I had never seen one like it - I love those kinds of gifts! Each ABC pocket holds a pillow toy corresponding to that letter. They are adorable, soft, and fun to play with. The L is a cute lollipop. The reverse side shows the matching letter L for the younger Einsteins out there.

The company, Pockets of Learning, manufacturers a bunch of educational and interactive toys.

Soft books

Soft blocks

Soft toys, like a toolbox, Noah's Ark boat, and tea party set

The read and play sets are quite impressive too

and there's more.

If you are looking for an exceptional baby gift (and let's face it, who isn't?), checkout the Pockets of Learning website. I love it when fun and educational are in the same sentence!

Readers: I think we are past due for a "Just for Moms" post. That will be next!

Shop Intuition

Now through March 31st you can save 20% off your entire order at Shop Intuition.
They also have a baby & kids section as well as a maternity section.
Happy shopping!

Flying Turtle

Speaking of the PlasmaCar (see previous post), there is another ride-on toy my kids absolutely love. It is the Flying Turtle. Our neighbors own a couple of these and my kids ride them in the driveway any chance they get - around and around and around. It is another kid-powered toy, again moving the steering handles right, left, right, left. You can sit on your butt, like this picture. Or you can ride like my boys - on your knees with hands on the steering handles and then you have a free foot to push you off and give you even more speed. These are also a total blast in a gym because you have so much room to ride!

They come in a few colors and are usually $60 - $70. Another toy where kids have to use their own energy and not rely on a motor to move them around!

Pure Energy, Pure Fun!

One of my boys received this PlasmaCar by PlaSmart for his birthday. Naturally both of my boys absolutely love it and therefore fight over it. They would ride this car all day if we let them. Luckily there has been no damage to the floors (big plus), but some corners on the walls have a slightly different story.

Even though I'm in my 30's, I have to admit it is a pretty cool car (heck, adults can even hop on if they have the urge; it holds up to 220 pounds). The car runs simply by turning the steering wheel - left, right, left right. That's it! Genius really. No pedals needed. No gears needed. Just plain old fashioned kid-power. And if you turn the steering wheel all the way around you can back up (from the wall you just hit). If you are a science geek and need more explanation, it runs by inertia, centrifugal force, gravity & friction. If you are a total science geek and still want more explanation, contact PlaSmart.

Check out Amazon.com. I found them starting at only $53. There are other colors to choose from as well - blue, purple, green, yellow, and Pink. I'm not surprised this zippy little car has won many awards. Very fun!

Flyin' High

I just had to share this picture. Last weekend we finally recieved buco snow here in MN (I know the readers in the upper East Coast are rolling their eyes thinking, "You don't know what snow is this year")!

Our neighbors and my family had "sledfest 2007" in our backyard. We had loads of fun sleding. We even had a fire going and were roasting hot dogs! This is a picture our neighbor took of my son flying down our hill off the "jump". He loved every minute of it.

Good times!

Calling All Writers & Postal Carriers!

My kids are at the stage where they absolutely love to "write" letters, fold them (sort-of), put them in an envelope (yes, my husband is sick of wasting envelopes), and giving them to people or pretending to mail them. I think most kids go through this stage, boy or girl. It's fun!

The Melissa & Doug - Jumbo Stamp & Sort Mailbox Set is perfect for little writers and postal carriers. You know it's good quality when you see the creators are Melissa and Doug. It is wooden and the envelopes have velcro for the stamps. There is even a key to open the mailbox when it's full!

This could keep my kids busy for quite some time. Those are the best toys! And it's a good tool for teaching kids that people still write letters. Even with email around, people still like to get mail, especially kids.