NYC-based singer/songwriter Bari Koral’s new CD, Rock and Roll Garden gets top ratings from my children. It’s taken top spot in our musical rotation since it’s arrival and the kids have even been taking it to their dayhome for their dance parties.

My husband and I have been heard calling to each other with “Hey duckies!” and replying “Hey, What?”

Get the CD and you’ll start too – you won’t be able to help it.

Dubbed the “Sheryl Crow for kids” by the NY Post, Bari Koral is just the perfect mix of kiddie & folksy that makes everyone want to sing along. For days and days after they last hear the CD.

This CD’s getting played so much here that I’m going to rip it to my iTunes before it gets wrecked – if that happens there will be two very unhappy campers.

Win it! Comment here before noon mst on Feb. 8/10 to enter to win a copy of this super CD!

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED

I’m scared that my son is going to choose hockey as his sport of choice. Not only because it runs many Canadian parents upwards of $5000-10 000/season but because the obsession and competition appears very unhealthy to me. Not on the part of the kids – they just want to play the game – but on the part of the adults involved. Game On: How the Pressure to Win at All Costs Endangers Youth Sports and What Parents Can Do About It (now available in paperback for just ten bucks) is an educational book that aims to protect children in the world of sport. The author, award-winning ESPN reporter Tom Farrey, explores both the causes and the consequences of this unhealthy and un-sportsmanlike attitude. It’s a must-read for coaches and parents of athletes everywhere.

Joe Rothstein, a speech-language pathologist trained in early childhood education, has recently released his groundbreaking CD Power Tunes. Normally we’re excited to tell you about CD’s that are perfect for the whole family, but this CD is definitely just for the kids. Power Tunes meets children’s most simple language needs with ten upbeat, original tracks.

Tracks include School Song, Train Song, Food Song and Red Light, Green Light pick kids up and get their bodies and brainwaves moving together while empowering them with important language tools. They’re educational and address many language learning skills but are so fun that kids will never realize they’re learning. That’s my goal as an early childhood educator – to make learning so fun and engaging that kids don’t realize what’s happening. I have several students with speech issues in my room this year and was thrilled with the results of playing this CD for my class. Whether your children have speech concerns or not, it’s a great CD for all children and is particularly great for toddlers who are in the early stages of developing language.

I give it a ten out of ten – even if I wouldn’t listen to it without my kids around.

You may have heard of Perricone MD and the Dr. Perricone Products – when I received their pitch I knew the name sounded familiar but wasn’t sure where from. Turns out it was probably Oprah. Founder Dr. Nicholas Perricone is a board certified clinical and research dermatologist, and his line of “cosmeceuticals” are big with the big wigs.

I received some Advanced Eye Area Therapy to review.

Some information on the product and it’s ingredients, according to the Perricone MD website:
Advanced Eye Area Therapy is formulated with DMAE and Alpha Lipoic Acid to help prevent and correct the early signs of aging that appear around the delicate eye area, making us look older than we really are. It minimizes the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and puffiness, while diminishing dark circles and discoloration with Vitamin C Ester. Paraben-free.

Alpha Lipoic Acid – Patented
- The ultimate antioxidant protects the cell
- Diminishes fine lines, wrinkles and discoloration
- Refines skin texture
- Reduces pore size, puffiness, imperfections and uneven skin tone

DMAE – Patented
- Provides ultimate contouring benefits to skin beginning to lose elasticity
- Delivers lifted, tightened and toned appearance to the skin
- Diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

Vitamin C Ester – Patented
- A powerful antioxidant that improves firmness and elasticity
- Diminishes the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and discoloration
- Imparts a radiant, smooth and luminous appearance

INGREDIENTS: Aqua (Water), Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (Vitamin C Ester), Aminobutyric Acid, Isopropyl Palmitate, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Phosphatidylcholine, Thioctic Acid (Alpha-Lipoic Acid), Caffeine, Niacinamide, Ceteareth-20, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Squalane, Folic Acid, Tocophersolan, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Dimethicone, Polysorbate 60, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethyl MEA (DMAE), Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Oil, Phytonadione, Phenoxyethanol, Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C Ester), Tocotrienols, Hexylene Glycol, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Astaxanthin.

My first thoughts pre-application? Dr. Perricone appears to have hired an overzealous Photoshop artist. Why do people insist on plastering their face on things they want people to buy? A fancy logo would have been a better choice, in my ever so humble opinion. Not that that has anything to do with the actual product. It’s just what popped into my head. Also, a hundred buckaroos for a teensy little eye cream that lasts 6 weeks? Yeesh. No wonder Oprah likes it. That’s pocket change to a celeb, but would feed my children for a week. See that bottle over there? Yep, you read that right. Half an ounce. Half of a shot glass. Mmm hmmm.

However, I must say that while my “fine lines” aren’t even close to being gone and don’t look much different when I’m critiquing my face while an inch from the mirror, I felt that there was a definite difference in the way the skin around my eyes looked after a month of using Advanced Eye Area Therapy morning and night. A little…tighter maybe? Or less puffy? I am chronically sleep deprived (aren’t we all?) and I’m pretty sure this stuff reduced my dark circles so that deprivation wasn’t quite so evident. I can’t really decide what it did, but it did do something that my regular cream doesn’t do. For the first few days there was a little bit of stinging after application (reminiscent of the retin-A of my teenage years) but it wasn’t bad – not even bad enough to be annoying, but just…there – and didn’t persist after those first days.

While it’s not something I’d ever have the luxury of purchasing, it certainly is something I’d consider should I ever win the lottery. After surgery, of course. (But with this link you can get a half-size (0.25 oz) and a small size of another facial product for $30. If you want to try it, that’s the route I’d suggest if you’re not rolling in cash but want to see how celeb faces live.)

Check out the Perricone MD blog for lots of information and customer reviews. There are definitely lots of honest ones there.

Win it! Enter to win some advanced eye area therapy just by commenting below before noon mst on February 2, 2010. Why do you want it? Any bad experiences with products in the past? Winner, as always, will be randomly drawn from all comments – whether you answer those questions or not.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED

I’m one of those mom’s who sends thank you cards for everything – the children help me choose the image and we make them in Photoshop since they’re too young to print, but they get the gist of it and the meaning behind it. This year, though, my 3 year old son scribbled his thanks to a few people in his new Bugaboo Notes. Personalized with his name and adorned with a cute little alien dude, they’re just cute enough to be special to him without being over the top barfy. As somewhat of a self-proclaimed an early literacy specialist (I teach it daily, but have no specific specialty on my degrees) I am very big on children writing daily & with a purpose. With these notes and many other products from Bugaboo Announcements writing is much more fun than it is in a scribbler. After all, what child doesn’t love anything with their name on it? Even better if their special name is hanging on someone else’s fridge.

Save 10% on your Bugaboo Announcements order until Feb 28, 2010 with the code opinionated.

Win it! Bugaboo Announcements is giving away a 12 pack of personalized note cards to one lucky T.O.P. reader. To enter, comment below with your choice of notecard before noon mst on January 25, 2009. The winner will be contacted for specifics via email.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED

We live in the land of toboganning, snow angels and daily snowman creation, and not much ends a snow-play afternoon quicker than frozen fingers, snow in the sleeves or mittens buried in a snow pile. With our recent discovery of Smittens, from Canadian company January Baby, we no longer have that problem with our two year old. Smittens are no-escape mitten for children between 6 months and 2.5 years that they can’t take off. They come in 4 sizes and 7 different colour combinations. They’re made with soft, warm, Canadian-milled Blizzard brand polar fleece and are made in Canada for Canadian winters. Well, for any cold kid, really, but if they’re good in Canada they’re good anywhere, right?

So how do they work? You place your child’s hand into one pocket, wrap the Smitten around the child’s back and place the other hand in the other pocket. Then put on the child’s jacket or snowsuit, and that’s it! The pockets will come up to the child’s elbows so there is no way the child can pull them off, but an adult can easily pull one off and get it back on for snacking and nose-picking emergencies. Smittens are loved by parents all over North America, and are available online ($15) and in select baby boutiques.

Win it! We’ve got a selection of Smittens to give away to T.O.P. readers. To enter, comment with your choice before noon mst on January 19, 2009. Your choices are (1)size large primary, (2)size medium blue or (3) size small two-tone green.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNERS EMAILED

Not THE common cold. Not the one that involves lots of snot and ears that feel like they’ve been stuffed with cotton.

The Nuddle cures cold – like the thermometer dipping kind of cold. The Canadian kind of cold, even.

The Nuddle Blanket (nap + cuddle = nuddle) is a truly luxurious blanket. Whether you have the adult version ($68), the kids version ($48) or the baby version ($38), you’ll be amazed when you feel the fabric. Just pure ultra-plush heaven. It has holes for your arms, a foot pocket and an outer hand pouch like a muff. The arm openings are just the perfect size – not large enough to let a bunch of cold air in but large enough to fit pretty much anyone’s arm.

The Nuddle Kids blanket (which my two fight over constantly – “It’s MINE!” “No, it’s MINE!”- comes in three delicious colours: cherry, fudge, & blueberry, and is the perfect size for children from about 2-12 after which they’d likely be ready for an adult Nuddle. (Though it says 4 and above, my daughter who will be 2 in a week or so would fight you on that and she’d win. She always does. I have no idea where she gets that from. Heh.)

The Nuddle Baby (available in neutral oatmeal, bubblegum pink & cloud blue) is the newest Nuddle product and it’s intended for use in the stroller. It measures 24″ x 32″ and has the classic Nuddle foot pocket and holes for the five-point safety harness on your stroller. While I no longer have a baby who rides in a stroller (sniff) I asked a local new mama to test the Nuddle Baby for us and her words follow: “Wow, this is an amazing stroller blanket! It’s impossible to get it to fall off, even in our crazy winds, and it’s SO soft! The foot pocket is fantastic and keeps my little guy snuggly no matter how long our walks are. What a great product!”

Sure, they’re not as cheap as a Snuggie, but have you felt a Snuggie? They’re only worth the $10-$20 you’ll pay for them and not a penny more. It’s like comparing a Lamborghini to a Kia, so don’t bother. (If you’re desperate for sleeves, which you needn’t be, then shun the Snuggie and get a Slanket. Trust me.) < /ramble > If you want a quality blanket that washes well over and over again, that keeps you & your babies warm & cozy and may prevent you from leaving the house because you’re just to darn cozy, then you need a Nuddle.

Win it! We’ve got a Nuddle Kids in fudge and a Nuddle Baby in oatmeal to give away to one very lucky T.O.P. reader. To enter, leave a comment on this post before noon mst on January 15, 2010.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED!

We’re asked to review food items on the reg, and most of those requests are denied due to the presence of ingredients that we won’t feed our family. We were overjoyed, however, to accept a request from the folks at Veggie Patch. A large box recently arrived on my doorstep. It was lined with styrofoam in the form of a makeshift cooler and at least twenty solid ice packs surrounded our samples of veggie and cheese bites. I was impressed by the effort they took to get them to us in the great white North safely. We were sent the spinach, broccoli, corn and portabella bites.

We had a selection of the Veggie Patch “nuggets” for lunch immediately after they arrived. (Patience is not my strong suit.) Having only tried the spinach ones in the past, I was excited to sample the other flavours. The spinach ones are good, but in my opinion Costco chose the wrong one to stock. The other three are GREAT! My children will eat a few spinach nuggets, but they each ate at least ten when we offered the whole variety. My personal fave was the broccoli, but they’re all delicious. Veggie Patch veggie & cheese bites are all natural (not organic) and are good sources of fiber, protein, and vitamins (which vitamins depends on which one you’re eating, but mainly vitamins A, C & calcium). They contain no MSG, no trans-fats and are 100% vegetarian. My own children have never seen a chicken nugget and eat a boat load of vegetables so these are just a special treat for us, but if you’re in the habit of letting your children eat processed foods then these products would be particularly beneficial toward getting vegetables into their little bodies.

We’ve had the Spinach Nuggets in the past from our local Costco and they’re good but not as good as the spinach veggie & cheese bites – I think it’s the fact that there’s more cheese and less spinach in these ones since they’re geared toward children. We’ve also had the Veggie Patch falafel balls from Costco, and they’re absolutely awesome – particularly dipped in hummus!

Win it! Two winners will each receive their choice of two packages of veggie & cheese bites from Veggie Patch. Which two would you like? Comment with your choices before noon mst on January 11, 2009 to be entered to win.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNERS EMAILED