http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/mhew Fri, 02 May 2008 21:00:01 GMT Reviews by mhew http://www.viewpoints.com/Sesame-Street-Elmos-Potty-Time-review-89432 When my daughter was potty training, my husband bought her this DVD to get her more excited about it.  You can't ever expect a DVD to do the training for you, but it doesn't hurt to have a little assistance.  Elmo made it fun, and even today, my daughter enjoys watching it, as we feel she sometimes needs reminders about hand-washing. — What We Love About Elmo's Potty Time — Elmo's Potty Time DVD is educational and entertaining.  Elmo and the Sesame Street gang not only explain what going to the potty or toilet means, they also go into the subjects of what it entails.  Including toilet-paper use, flushing and hand-washing.  It also discusses the excitement of transitioning to underpants and also that it's OK to have accidents.  It never labels potty readiness with an age, instead they encourage children to do it when they're ready.  I love that it includes the positive message that, "even if you are not going to the... Fri, 02 May 2008 21:00:01 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Sesame-Street-Elmos-Potty-Time-review-89432 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/In-the-Forest-Nature-Trail-Books-review-0f48 What I Love About This Maurice Pledger's Book — —... Thu, 01 May 2008 00:50:21 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/In-the-Forest-Nature-Trail-Books-review-0f48 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Adventures-Of-Elmo-In-Grouchland-review-f0202 Elmo and His Blankie — Elmo loves his Blankie, they are inseparable.  So much so, that Elmo is not wiling to share it with his friend Zoe, who only wants to hold it for a little while.  "Mine!", he shouts.  Being possessive is a stage most, if not all, children go through.  And we all know it's normal.  But, it also isn't very nice.  After a tug-of-war to get his Blankie out of Zoe's grip, a gust of wind takes Blankie away and all over Sesame Street and eventually down Oscar the Grouch's trashcan.  Elmo sneaks in to find it, and accidentally opens a door that sucks he and his precious Blankie down a warp hole to Grouchland! — A Greedy Villain — Elmo loses his Blankie in Grouchland to a villainous character who claims any item he comes in contact with, a true hoarder and junk collector.  Brave  Elmo sets on an adventurous journey to rescue his best friend and lovey.  Greedy Huxley tries to stop him, setting traps... Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:54:10 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Adventures-Of-Elmo-In-Grouchland-review-f0202 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Guess-How-Much-I-Love-You--135060-review-e9c49 The Artwork of Guess How Much I Love You — Being an artist myself, I'm always attracted to the illustrations.  The colors are soft,yet rich, and fittingly "earthy", since the plot takes place in a forest.  The two hare characters are loveable and realistic, with a cartooney touch and some very non-hare-like body language.  I can only wish to be so skilled with watercolors. — The Story — By the title of the book, you can already guess what it is about.  This story takes a wonderful spin on the phrase, "I love you this much!" — What's fun about this story is how the father and son hares compete on how much one loves the other.  The little hare meets tough competition when his father always out-measures his love for him.  In the end, you really think the little guy has fiinally won this fun-loving game, until his father out-measures him one last time - but the way he does it, gives you such a warm... Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:05:01 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Guess-How-Much-I-Love-You--135060-review-e9c49 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Tarzan-review-b4682 Disney's Tarzan is one of my favorite Disney films.  It is part of my Disney VHS collection I started as a teen.  Now that my daughter is old enough to sit through a feature-length film, she is breaking out my old VHS tapes and enjoying them with me.  — ***SPOILER*** — The film invites you into the story of a boy, who as a baby was shipwrecked off the shores of Africa with his parents.  The young couple attempted to survive in the wild with their baby boy, but a vicious leopard kills them (not shown in the film), leaving the baby boy barracaded behind furniture and under a blanket, temporarily hidden away from the hungry jungle cat.  Fortunately, a female gorilla hears his cries and comes to his rescue just in time! — The animation and artwork are just wonderful, the music, some of which was written, produced and performed by Phil Collins, is captivating and just fun.  The film itself is adventurous and exciting. ... Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:50:43 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Tarzan-review-b4682 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Fisher-Price-Geo-Trax-Train-system-review-3d992 Knowing how much our little girl loves trains, my husband thought it would be fun to get this for her.  We bought it for her last year, before she was even 3 years old.  It was easy for us to assemble and even easier for her to use. — This Geo-Trax train set is a wonderful toy.  It gets a child involved in imaginitive play and gets the parents involved in getting down and playing with the kids.  I know my husband and I take turns playing with our daughter.  My husband loves to try and find different ways to assemble the tracks with my daughter.  When he got her this toy he also bought her a box of extra tracks and props to make it even larger. — Our little girl loves to pick up passengers at the station and drop them off somewhere else and pick them up again.  This set came with three figures, the conductor and two passengers.  The remote control can make the train go forward, stop, or reverse.  It also makes some great train... Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:57:14 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Fisher-Price-Geo-Trax-Train-system-review-3d992 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Avent-Isis-Manual-Breast-Pump-review-aeba3 I have two daughters.  Over three years ago, when I attempted to nurse my firstborn, I found it very hard.  No one in my family could support me and found it easier to advise me to go with a bottle, since they were inexperienced.  Of the few friends I did have that were experienced, I felt insignificant because they were so successful and I was having a terrible time.  My problem, I had milk supply issues and my milk took a long time to come in, the Avent Isis Manual Breast Pump was not ideal for someone like me.  Not for the frequency in which I needed to express milk. — At the time, I was also a working mom and had to return to work 1.5 months after my daughter's birth.  Foolishly, I thought the Isis would be a good enough pump for me to take to work to express enough milk to feed my daughter the next day.  It was not possible.  Before I knew it, I was supplementing with formula because what little I expressed did not meet the... Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:03:14 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Avent-Isis-Manual-Breast-Pump-review-aeba3 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Dr-Seuss-Horton-Hears-a-Who-2008-review-72873 My 3-year-old daughter, Leila and I had a "date" on Friday night.  This is the first time I have ever taken Leila to see a movie, so we went to see Horton Hears A Who. This is an excellent CGI adaptation of one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books!  I had the book and it is now Leila's. She loves the book, but she was really into the movie.  Every now and then she would ask something a little too loudly like, "What's happening to Horton?" or "Horton can't find the Mayor, Mommy!", and I would have to remind her to whisper. — — It was such a great film, I absolutely loved it and was impressed by how they adapted the book to make it a feature-length film. The animation was awesome and the artwork was definitely "Seuss" and made you feel like you were in one of his stories.  I love how they added to the story by adding more of a personal touch to the mayor's life in Whoville, and the bossy demeanor of the mother kangaroo.  The humor was... Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:17:01 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Dr-Seuss-Horton-Hears-a-Who-2008-review-72873 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Illustration-Friday-review-e2345 I stumbled upon the Illustration Friday website through a friend's blog.  It took me a while to participate, but once I did I was so happy to have found such a wonderful new place to express myself artistically. — This website is dubbed" Illustration Friday" because every Friday, the site managers post a new "theme".  The theme is usually only one or two words, just enough to spark a thought.  Artists of all skill levels are then encouraged to create a work of art based on the theme of the week and share it on the website. — I am not always able to participate, due to my busy schedule.  But, I enjoy browsing and being thoroughly inspired by the amazing artists who participate.  Many of the artists are published illustrators of children's books - a field in which I hope to make my mark someday. — Since you are required to post your artwork on your own blog before sharing on the website, I have found the blogs of many talented... Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:18:16 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Illustration-Friday-review-e2345 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Cloud-B-Twilight-Lady-Bug-review-ce271 When you have an imaginitive tot who becomes afraid of the dark, you try to find ways to get them to sleep in their own bed. — Unfortunately, this little critter did not stop our daughter from insisting to sleep with us, but he did add some playtime fun to our evenings!  The Cloud B Twilight Lady Bug has a soft and cuddly body with a hard plastic shell on its back.  On the shell are little star-shaped holes and four buttons near his hind legs.  When the power button is pressed, the lady bug's shell lights up.  In the dark, the little holes on its back project stars and a little crescent moon onto the walls and ceiling of the room.  Pressing the other three buttons will change the color of the lights from green, blue and then to red, which is the "nightlight mode" (the shell glows brightly, but the star projection is very faint in this mode). — The bug comes with a little pamphlet that tells its story and has... Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:59:04 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Cloud-B-Twilight-Lady-Bug-review-ce271 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Kids-Only-Disney-Princess-Season-of-Enchantment-Activity-Table-Chairs-Set-review-a18d2 My sister came over one day and surprised my daughter with this table and 2-chair set.  She instantly fell in love, and I do believe this set was the catalyst for her love of the Disney Princesses! — I personally love this table set because it is foldable!  We currently live in an apartment, so space is limited.  I have always wanted to get my girls a table and chair set, but had nowhere to put it.  With this set, I can pull it out when my daughter asks for it and put it away when she is done.  The table and chairs each a safety button that has to be held down to fold them.  I believe this is so that they lock in open position and the children don't hurt themselves trying to close them. — The table top and chair tops are cushioned, but smooth and shiny so they are also easy to wipe.  I am concerned that my daughter will puncture the vinyl and ruin the table, but so far, so good.  I especially love the illustration of the... Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:37:32 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Kids-Only-Disney-Princess-Season-of-Enchantment-Activity-Table-Chairs-Set-review-a18d2 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Fisher-Price-Little-People-Touch-and-Feel-Circus-review-29772 My 3-year-old daughter plays with this more now than when I bought it over a year ago for her.  It is adorable!  It has four circus animals that are really adorable.  A monkey with a top hat, a poodle dog with fuzzy ears, an elephant with leathery ears and a lion with a velvety mane.  Each character has a peg hole underneath so that they can be placed on the stage to "dance", on the "seesaw" to play or on the "trapeze" to glide. — The colorful circus stage is a nice size, but not too heavy to be carried by its handle by a toddler that is about 2 years and up.  It has circus sound effects that are activated when one of the props are used or it is tapped hard or moved around. — Your child can hold a show of their own using this fun toy!  They can pretend their character is making an entrance through the curtains on the stage, which has an opening so they can reach in from behind the toy.  — This toy has proved to be... Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:57:47 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Fisher-Price-Little-People-Touch-and-Feel-Circus-review-29772 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Nuby-9oz-Insulated-No-Spill-Straw-Cups-2pk-review-ef6f0 Since our baby is now drinking out of sippy cups, we've phased our older tot into straw cups and open cups only.  When we're traveling, we prefer her cups still be spill-proof. —  I love these cups because they come in fun designs and they are very well constructed.  They really are spill-proof, even when the top/outter part of the straw is exposed and the cup is turned upside down.  Nuby makes their straws similar to their sippy spouts.  They are made of silicone and appear to be "closed" except for two little slits that only open when the child sips. — These particular straw cups are also insulated, so they keep your child's drinks warm or cold.  A definite plus! — They are also easy for a tot to use.  My 3-year-old daughter has no problem sliding the lid open and closed to expose or hide the straw. — She loves her cups and asks to use them all the time! —... Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:09:43 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Nuby-9oz-Insulated-No-Spill-Straw-Cups-2pk-review-ef6f0 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Snack-Catcher-Bowl-review-260f0 I wanted a bowl like this for my older child, but just never got around to buying one.  Now that I have a second child, I still see how useful these bowls can be, especially when traveling.  These bowls are designed to be spill-proof.  The lids are made of flexible silicone, with a slitted design cut into the center so a child can stick their hand into the cup and pull snacks out, yet if the bowl is toppled or flipped over, no snacks get out, minimizing the mess there would be if you handed your child an open bowl or cup full of dry cereal or small cookies.  The Munchkin Snack Catcher comes in fun colors and has comfort grip handles and a non-skid base. — These bowls are especially handy for smaller toddlers who have not yet learned that bowls and cups should not be tipped upside down.  It is also perfect for tots who can't yet hold a snack bowl without leaving a trail of cereal behind them! — I love them for trips in cars,... Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:26:41 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Snack-Catcher-Bowl-review-260f0 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Kids-II-Boppy-Tummy-Time-Play-Pad-review-cb2a1 This Boppy pillow is not designed for wearing around your waist as it is too small.  It's especially made to prop baby up on her tummy when they are learning to raise their head up. — Tummy time is important for newborn babies.  Since we are all encouraged to put our babies down to sleep on their back, tummy time during waking hours is very important.  Too much time on their back can delay their ability to strengthen their arm and neck muscles and can also lead to a misshapen head. — The Boppy Tummy Time Play Pad is not just useful for tummy time, it is also great for entertaining a slightly older baby that is learning to play with toys.  It has three detachable toys on six toys links; a teething ring, a little plush bug and a rattle.  It also comes with a leaf-shaped mat which you can use with or without the Boppy pillow. — Not to mention, the design is absolutely adorable!  The colors are bright and cheerful, definitely eye-catching... Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:38:36 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Kids-II-Boppy-Tummy-Time-Play-Pad-review-cb2a1 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Luvs-Diapers-review-f0107 Diapers are expensive.  my husband and I stay away from high-priced brand names as much as we can.  We've used store-brand, but they are not always great.  When our local supermarket changed their store-brand to a realy low-quality diaper, we decided to try Luvs since it was still pretty affordable. — They are working out great!  My 11-month-old has not leaked through one yet.  They hug her bottom and even hold moisture through the night until morning!  Overall we are pleased with them.  They are soft and comfortable and it's also easy to tell when it's time for a change.  They are not bulky either, which is important for our daughter who is learning to walk.  She's very active these days, so she needs that flexibility. —... Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:09:46 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Luvs-Diapers-review-f0107 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Pampered-Chef-Bar-Pan-review-81441 This is one of my favorite and most used products form the Pampered Chef line.  I purchased this bar pan because it was the most versatile in the stoneware line.  I use it to bake cookies, chicken, home-made pizza, whatever can be made on a flat surface! — My pan is currently turning dark brown, which is normal for well-used stoneware.  It's easy to clean and food doesn't really get stuck on it.  Cookies come out perfectly.  I love that I don't need to use a cookie sheet, which to me, has a very short life if you bake a lot. — One thing a stoneware owner must remember is not to wash it with soap.  Warm water should suffice, and use the scraper it comes with to get food off.  That is kind of hard, I admit.  Especially whe have fat residue on the pan.  Oil doesn't wash off that easily with just hot water.  What I do in those instances is I wash it the best I can with water, let it dry out, even f a little greasy, and then I... Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:59:06 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Pampered-Chef-Bar-Pan-review-81441 mhew 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Diaper-Change-Organizer-review-a778 I'm the type of mom who likes to have a changing station set up at home with everything at arm's reach.  With my first daughter, we had the space for a changing table in her room.  All the diaper changing accessories could be arranged on its shelves.  But, now that we have a second child, the girls have to share a bedroom.  The changing table had to go to make room for the new baby's dresser.  So this time we just placed a changing pad right on top of the dresser.  Ah, but where do I put all the diapers, creams, lotions and wipes? — Thankfully, I discovered the Munchkin Diaper Changing Organizer.  It was perfect for hanging off the side of the dresser.  The organizer comes with two options for hanging it.  The first option, which we tried, was that you can attach straps that have a sticky adhesive on one side and stick them on the top of the dresser and hang the organizer over the edge.  The other... Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:41:38 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Diaper-Change-Organizer-review-a778 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Crayola-Twistables-Markers-review-e0a34 I bought this set of markers for my toddler who loves to draw.  She has had crayola markers before, but I have had to toss a few away due her losing their caps and them drying up before I found them. — These new twistable markers are neat because you don't have to worry about missing caps anymore.  If your child happens to leave it lying around in the "twisted up" position, you can just twist it shut.  I have been encouraging my daughter to remember to close them up when she is done with them, so I have only found a couple open since she started using them. — I at first wondered if my daughter would be able to twist them up and down, but she figured it out easily (she was about 34 months when I gave them to her). — I love the ink flow on these markers.  The colors are very bright and wet, so they are easy to draw with on any type of paper (well, the types we've used anyway). — They are nice and chunky as well, so my little girl can... Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:36:54 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Crayola-Twistables-Markers-review-e0a34 mhew 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Fisher-Price-Brilliant-Basics-Ready-Steady-Rider-review-08862 We bought this little "bike" for my daughter when she was just over a year old.  — What I love about this ride-on is that it has a sippy cup holder and a basket.  The entire thing is made of very durable plastic, and no parts can easily come off.  It has a squeaky "horn" and a key that clicks when turned on the dashboard. — As its name indicates, this is a very sturdy rider that does not topple over.  Perfect for the first time rider. — The colors are so vibrant and fun, it's a wonder my daughter immediately took to it.  She has a more age-appropriate small bike with training wheels now, but she still asks for this one (no honey, you're too big and your little sister has inherited it). —... Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:49:52 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Fisher-Price-Brilliant-Basics-Ready-Steady-Rider-review-08862 mhew 5