It’s no secret that I’m a photo lover. Obsessed might be a good word for it. I scrapbook, but since I have a small family photography business I also order myself the same canvases, albums and more that I can order for my customers and I tend to go a little crazy. Now I’ve got another option (thank you, with apologies to my Visa…) with Fracture.

I’d never heard of them or anything like them before a couple of months ago, and the process still eludes me a bit, but they are fabulous so my understanding – or lack thereof – really is a moot point.

Fractures are made of glass and the printed surface is inaccessible from the front so it’s virtually unscratchable. (Making up words? It’s my thing.) The colours are vibrant, rich and glossy and the surface is perfectly flat. Like glass. They’ve got the “HD-TV look, but for photos.” Because the entire frame is printed digitally, there are potentially limitless ways you can make your Fracture unique. If you don’t see what you want, I suggest you ask because their customer service team is fabulous.

When you want to create framed art for your home, a Fracture is the economical one step solution because when you buy a Fracture, you don’t need anything else – not even screws to mount it with. Sounds like it should cost s decent amount, right? Nope. Fractures range from just $8 – $25. Insanity! I’ll take ten.

Win it! Fracture is giving FIVE good looking TOP readers of their very own Fractures! To enter, comment on this post before noon mst on October 15, 2010. Any comment will do, but I’d love to know what you’d Fracture!

Remember to get your extra entries, and if more than one of your entries wins you get more than one Fracture!

Tegu Blocks, named after the place they’re made (Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras) are the wicked coolest wooden blocks on the planet, I’m pretty darn sure. Not only are they un-plastic, but they’re made of wood that’s sustainable sourced & FSC certified, and their production and each sale helps the Honduran people on their journey toward long term solutions to their poverty & hunger. The wood is coated in a safe, water-based laquer.

Now that people are hip to the wood, there are lots of wooden blocks available around the interweb, but there’s something else that makes Tegu blocks the coolest of cool – magnets placed inside each block (read: fully functional but completely inaccessible to little people!) encourage dimensional building in all directions while children learn about positive & negative polarity, attraction and repulsion, gravity and more.

While we’ve only used them as toys because we have children who love them, they would also make a great executive desk toy or designer gift for anyone. The “Discovery Set” includes 26 magnetic wooden blocks in three shapes: 12 Cubes, 10 Long Planks, and 4 Short Planks. The toys come in a natural finish. The magnetic connections between the blocks make for innovative play that defies gravity and increases a child’s creative freedom. Who knew toddlers & preschoolers could learn so much about science from one simple but brilliant toy?

These aren’t your Grandpa’s blocks, but they very well could be your great grandchildren’s. An “educational toy” that encourages open-ended and unscripted play, is heirloom quality, helps the earth and it’s people, and is so much fun even the adults in our home play with them after the kids go to bed…what more could you ask in a toy?

You can see the blocks in action on YouTube.

And because they’re so wicked cool? We’re offering them for sale in our OpenSky Shop!

That’s not something we take lightly here at TOP – nothing’s for sale that we haven’t tried ourselves and loved more than ice cream.

Buy Now (without even leaving our site!)

Also available in mahogany” and in the BIG original set and a mahogany original set.

Win it! Tegu is giving away TWO discovery kits! To enter, comment on this post before noon mst on Sept. 30, 2010.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNERS EMAILED.

Monkey Monkey Music, lead by NYC based musician & educator Meredith LeVande, recently released its second children’s CD, What Are The Odds?. It’s a super fun collection of songs for the 2-7 set that the littles in your life are sure to love. Merideth’s voice & style are totally built for the young child to love, and the children who live in my home are no exception. Neither are their friends, actually. A living room full of kids grooving to “Air Guitar” is enough to make any mama’s heart swell, and now that they know that their air guitars are always with them they pull them out at the most hilarious of times!

Yet another great addition to our regular musical rotation!

Win it! We’re giving away a copy of this fabulous CD. To enter, comment before noon mst on 9/25/10.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED

Yesterday…just yesterday is a keepsake autograph book designed to capture the autographs of children from preschool through high school. When I was contacted about reviewing it, I was thrilled because I’d never heard of such a thing and that doesn’t happen very often after reviewing things for nearly five years. When I opened the package I was doubly thrilled because it’s gorgeous, and my son just learned to print his name!

It would be a perfect baby gift, but I also love it as a gift for the parent who is sending their child off to preschool or kindergarten. Each year, parents have their child write their “autograph” on a designated page. That signature becomes a keepsake that captures moments in time as the years go by…beginning with a toddler’s scribble, those first preschool attempts at writing their name, the changes in their penmanship through the years, and finally the developed grown up signature of a high school grad!

It would be so nice to have those sweet signatures captured in one perfect place, and this book is it!

The book measures 9.8″ x 7.8″, has a sturdy soft cover and is spiral bound. It sells for $19.95 from Blueberry Island Publishing.

Win it! We’re giving one away! To enter, comment below before noon mst on September 18, 2010.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED

Caspar Babypants, also known as Chris Ballew (thank goodness) is the lead singer for The Presidents of the United States of America. As his alter ego, however, he’s a really super duper awesome storyteller songwriter and entertainer for the 0-5 set. Caspar Babypants’ new album, THIS IS FUN!, will be released on November 2nd and I am here to tell you to buy it that very day if you have little people in your life. My children immediately began dancing like the lunatics they are as soon as the music started, and didn’t stop until it was over. Well, except for when they stopped to listen to the lyrics more closely a few times – the story never stops. In fact, by the second time through Babypants had our whole family singing & dancing!

Win it! We’re giving away a copy of this CD, two months before it’s even released for purchase! Comment below before noon mst on September 18, 2010 to enter.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED

Are you a Wii family? ThinkSMART family! for the Wii from Mentor InterActive is based on the ThinkSMART DS games offering a great variety of brain teacers, beaters, puzzlers & mental challenges but adding the physical challenges for the whole family that we’ve all come to expect from the Wii.

The ThinkSMART series is designed to increase players’ skills in logical thinking, three dimensional perceptions, math, memory, language comprehension and much more.

I’m sure it does all of that, but it’s also really fun, safe for the whole family (rated E for everyone, but notes mild language & alcohol reference that I either didn’t get to yet, or didn’t notice) and a great addition to your family game nights. It has over 8000 exercises, and up to 16 players can join in! That’s almost the Duggars, so it’s sure to suit your entire family.

My kids were recently sent come products from Colgate Kids to review. The toothpastes were full of chemicals and way too old for them so I wouldn’t let them use them, though they sure wanted to since they were plastered with licensed characters. They were thrilled with their new Spongebob & Dora toothbrushes though!

They’re inexpensive, and available pretty much anywhere, so they’ve got that going for them. I suppose if I’d chosen what was going to be in the package, I’d have more to say about it. Since the two toothbrushes were the only things we used, this is all I’ve got! They’ve got a pretty decent website though.

Though we are pretty committed to the philosophy of attachment parenting, we do have to work full time…it’s the way of the world nowadays. No matter how dedicated a parent you are, you have to leave your pweshus widdle baybees with someone who is not you sometime. I swear it. New mamas may not believe me, but it WILL happen. And it tends to be pretty heartbreaking for many of us, even if the kids are just fine. When the kids aren’t okay with it, it’s pure hell on earth.

The infamous Elizabeth Pantley, of No Cry fame, has recently released her newest title, The No-Cry Separation Anxiety Solution (amazon link) and it’s amazing. If you’re about to embark on a journey into childcare or even occasional babysitting or visiting the bathroom alone, this will be the best $11.50 you ever spent ($10 on your kindle). Pantley offers solutions for pretty much every problem you might encounter, helps you find the cause, and deal with it logically in a way that everyone feels safe. (No, leaving your child to cry does NOT make them feel safe. That’s ludicrous. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. /opinionated rant) And she ingeniously includes a free “magic” bracelet inside the book as a special tool for children to feel close to their parents-even when they’re not together, giving anxious older children something to remind them their parents aren’t too far away and providing them with the comfort and reassurance they need.

Though a new parent may look at you a little strange, I think this book would make a great baby gift. It says “I know where you’re going, I feel your pain, and it can be easier than that!” At least that’s what I hope it says because I just ordered two to add to the gifts I have for new babies that friends of mine are expecting soon!

Win it! We’re giving away FIVE copies of this awesome book! To enter, comment on this post or email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com with NO CRY in the subject line before noon mst on September 18, 2010.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNERS EMAILED