Although there are many great reasons to have children, I have to admit one reason for me was having the opportunity to decorate a creative childrens’ space! My inner artist looked forward to painting beautiful murals that my children would gaze upon in awe and wonder.

I have moved four times since my not quite four year old was born. No beautiful paintings on the walls, no murals - just the basics that could be easily moved as we traveled the world. Add another kid into the mix and my days of painting murals have long passed - at least for now.

We have seen some cute wall decorations but when I saw WallaBabies, I squealed with delight! The designs are so retro adorable and NOT a licensed character from a television show! Just looking at the designs makes me (oh, and my kids) so happy. My daughter adores the bugs and my one year old keeps pointing at the bees … b…b…b. The designs are totally a hit!

Putting the wall graphics up was a snap, and took no time at all. In fact I did it myself. No need for my husband this time! The website has a great How To, that walks you through each step with no room for error. We have the Secret Garden Pack which consists of five 13″ x 14″ decal sheets. The perfect amount to decorate one wall beautifully or spread a little more sparsely throughout a whole room.

Now as my kids fall to sleep they are surrounded by clouds, flowers, insects and mushrooms and I can feel guilt-free for not painting them a mural! -Chelle

Win it! We’re giving away the same Secret Garden set that Chelle used and loved. To enter, leave a comment on this post before noon MST on June 19/08.

Additional entries available - up to four per person. See contest entry information and rules.

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNER EMAILED

My friends are wonderful and I don’t get to visit them nearly as often as I’d like. When I do, I love to leave a hostess gift in the room I slept in. For the person who has everything, I love the adorable handmade felt conversation birds from Gifts Define.

In addition to the any occasion birds, they are also available adorned with ribbon and a gift card announcing a pregnancy, welcoming a baby, saying thank you, I love you or any number of other sentiments. If (and I do mean if I have a third child, I’m thinking I’ll leave a conversation bird hanging on a doorknob in various people’s homes to make the announcement.

Then they’ll be able to say truthfully “A little birdie told me!”

Another amazing product from Gifts Define are their handmade felt tooth guardian angels. As a teacher of 6 year old children, I have seen first hand the excitement that accompanies losing a tooth. I make it as special as I can for the children in my classroom but nothing is as awesome as the memories created around those normal childhood experiences at home.

When your child loses a tooth, they can put it in the pocket of the tooth guardian angel and hang it on their door. It’s much easier to get to once they’re asleep than if it were under their pillow, and seeing it on the door drastically reduces the chance of the Tooth Fairy forgetting to come. The tooth can be replaced with a coin or other special item to commemorate the lost tooth for the child to discover when they wake in the morning. I’m saving mine and can hardly wait until we get to use it. I’m assuming my son’s molars will actually come in and he’ll sleep through the night once or twice before he loses a tooth?

Both products are incredibly well made with fabulous detailing and are gifted in a simple yet elegant organza bag. Keep in mind, these are not toys and many contain small pieces not suitable for young children. (Who, generally, are not losing teeth.)

Save 10% at Gifts Define with the code em>GDOPINI10 only until until June 13/08.

I am a rather frequent hand-washer and am intensely disgusted at people who slack in general hygiene - particularly when there is food or children involved. However, I have drawn the line at alcohol-based hand sanitizers anywhere but in a hospital. They dry my skin, they stink and they’re toxic - nothing I’d ever allow in my home. (Unless it’s in the beer fridge - that would be perfectly okay. Preferably a good cabernet.)

I’ve been gifted with some Cleanwell (not yet available in Canada, sadly, but they’re working on the approval process) and have resolved to never leave home without it. Made with Ingenium - a Thyme product - Cleanwell kills 99.5% of germs on contact, including staph, E.Coli and salmonella. It’s poison-free and totally safe for kids, 100% biodegradable and never tested on animals.

The hand sanitizer is available in spray or wipe form and both certainly have their place. A bottle in each purse and the diaper bag as well as in change areas at home, a wipe in the lunch kit and the glove compartment…it’s all about being prepared.

The hand soap smells good enough to eat and has all of the same great benefits as the hand sanitizer with the exception of being portable. Because, you know…it’s soap. Unfortunately, it contains sodium laurel sulphate, which is a deal breaker at my house, but if you use regular soap with SLS in it regularly, this one is much better than any I’ve seen.

I’m very glad I live so close to the Canada-USA border and can get there in less than an hour. I’ll be popping down to Target to pick up some more Cleanwell soon!

Win it! Thanks to Cleanwell, we’re giving away 25 coupons valued at $5 each redeemable at any store that carries CleanWell (Target, anyone?) You choose… a free hand wash or hand sanitizer product. Unfortunately, this contest is only open to US residents. To enter, simply email theopinionatedparent AT gmail DOT com with CLEANWELL in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body of the email. Twenty five qualifying emails will be drawn at random and the coupons will be shipped out asap. Contest closes on June 5/08 at noon MST.

Additional entries available. See contest entry information and rules.

CONTEST CLOSED

Remember the Flipper toothbrush holder?

Remember how they offered you a 20% off code because they felt sorry for y’all who didn’t win?

Well, you’re getting lucky again! We’ve got two toothbrush holders and two razor holders to give away. Two winners will each receive one of each - just leave a comment to enter! You’ve got just 48 hours to enter - contest closes at 8 pm MST on Wednesday, May 28/08.

Additional entries available. See contest entry information and rules.

CONTEST CLOSED

I’m always shocked when I clean our bathrooms thoroughly (not often enough, but that’s another story) and see the mung that lives in the bottom of the toothbrush holders. That’s some serious grossness. With everything I do to keep my family safe from harm, I’m letting them put that crap near their mouths?

I’m won’t be concerned for long because I’m switching them all out for Flipper toothbrush holders. These cute and sanitary individual toothbrush holders adhere to mirror or tile with suction cups and allow for completely hands free operation with no chance of cross-contamination from brush to brush. They’re super easy to use (see the product demo at the right side of the home page) and when they get dirty I just toss mine in the toddler basket in the dishwasher and it’s good for another 10,000 miles.

They make a great razor holder too!

Save 20% on your Flipper toothbrush holders with the code “opinionated parent”

Win it! We’ve got a cute little golden retriever Flipper (pictured) to give away. To enter, leave a comment on this post listing your favourite Flipper design that’s NOT mentioned in this post. Contest closes May 9/08.

Additional entries available. See contest entry information and rules.

CONTEST CLOSED

I’m a labeling freak. There are labels everywhere in my house - even the bin that holds the labels is labeled!

Lovable Labels is a Canadian mom-run company that carries a large selection of customized labels as well as some cool stuff to help a mom around the house. Goodness knows I need all the help I can get.

My kids especially love their unique fun stickies that are shaped like butterflies and dinosaurs and are available in lots more cool shapes (pictured at right). Believe it or not, they’re less likely to leave their things lying around the park when they have their own special label on them. And for those days when they do, I’ve got a better chance of getting them back eventually!

Have a child with allergies or medical issues? Check out these cool vital ID wristbands. The kids I know would be much more comfortable wearing those than a metal bracelet. And while you’re looking for things that make your kids ecstatically happy? Personalized notecards and way cool books would be fantastic gifts. Is it too early to shop for stocking stuffers? I think not.

Mention that you heard about Lovable Labels through the The Opinionated Parent during the checkout process and receive 15 FREE Red Regular Sticker Bonus Labels with your purchase. One per family. Expires May 30, 2008.

Our house is full of pictures - scrapbooks, boxes, CD’s full of digital images and walls full of frames. I was recently given the opportunity to try out Imagekind Story Frames™.

It’s an online service that allows you to build your own visual narrative by placing multiple images in the frame of your choosing. After uploading and selecting your images you use their unique framing engine to position, crop, rotate and resize your images in the frame of your choice.

The process is fun and extremely easy. You can try it out at no charge and see for yourself!

I made a story frame for my new daughter’s room with a belly photo, her ultrasound photo, a newborn photo with me and a 6 week photo. It looked great on my monitor but I was still very pleasantly surprised when the (extremely well packed & protected) parcel arrived on my doorstep. The framing is truly professional quality and the frame itself is obviously not from the local big box store.

Imagekind is so sure you’ll love their products that they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee - no questions asked! Imagekind Story Frames™ range from approximately $50-$90 - less than it would cost me at a local professional framing store but much more than a similar but far lower quality frame from a big box store. Perhaps these aren’t for every day at those prices, but for special occasions like weddings and babies, story frames are perfect!

Wooden letters are all the rage nowadays in children’s rooms. They’re in all of the magazines and you can buy them pretty much everywhere. I’ve looked around a little bit and everything I’ve found I either have to paint myself (no thanks) or is a flat (and therefore generic) paint colour that doesn’t quite match my kids’ rooms. So I’ve kept looking and until recently hadn’t found quite what I wanted.

The decorated letters from So Called Mommy’s Etsy shop fit the bill perfectly. At only $7 per letter maximum and super cheap shipping, they’re not only less than half the price of most I’ve seen but they’re far more beautiful and each one is personalized exactly the way you want it.

So Called Mommy Stephanie Paxman made my newborn daughter the letters of her name to match her new room and her taste is fantastic. They’re crafty but not country and are adorned with scrapbooking accessories like bows & buttons. Unless you like a simpler look. She aims to please! They match our nursery perfectly and have been complimented by everyone who has seen them. As an added bonus, my 22 month old son can now read his sister’s name and recognizes it in other places because he’s read it so many times on her wall!

I love everything about Etsy, and it’s because of people like Stephanie that it’s such a success. At these prices, I’m not only supporting another mom but am saving myself hours of work and getting something even nicer than I could have made and more personalized than I’d ever get from a larger store. What a lovely gift it would be to have these letters made for a baby’s shower to match his or her nursery!

When you place your order, mention The Opinionated Parent to get 10% off.

Be the first reader to place an order from So Called Mommy and mention The Opinionated Parent and you get one free wooden letter in addition to the discount on your order!

If you have a toddler and you haven’t got a KABOOST, you don’t know what you’re missing.

At about 17 months my son began to occasionally refuse his booster because, quite frankly, he got my control freak streak and hates to be strapped in if he’s “in one of those moods” and/or not absolutely famished. We’ve tried letting him sit right at the table without his tray many times but his booster seat didn’t allow him to be pulled close enough and he was eye level with the table without it.

With KABOOST, we’ve found our answer.

It’s a lightweight chair booster that fits under the legs of any 4 legged seat and lifts the whole thing closer to the table. There are two different heights (4.5” and 3.75”) adjusted simply by flipping it over. The height adjustment feature is great for growing kids and also for different table styles. My son could probably use the higher seat height right now at 19.5 months but his legs would be crushed by the edge of the table and the shorter one is certainly good enough to make him happy and comfortable at the table.

The KABOOST folds up small for portability and each of the four legs is tightly spring loaded to grip the legs of your chair safely, whether they’re round or square, fat or skinny. Since it increases the base measurement of the chair, it actually increases the stability slightly. A nice touch for a monkey like my son!

The KABOOST retails for $40 and is available in three colours.

If only they made these for short moms.

(Wait. They hold up to 300 pounds! What do you think the wait staff would say if I brought my own KABOOST for my bar stool?)

Save 20% on your KABOOST order until January 31, 2008
with the code kaboostday

One randomly selected lucky T.O.P. reader will win a KABOOST in their choice of colour. To enter, email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com with KABOOST in the subject line and list the three available colour choices before midnight MST on 12/19/07. Please include your complete mailing address and blog link if you’d like us to link you up if you win. Congratulations Betty!

I seriously can’t believe I didn’t change that title before posting this.
Blame it on the hormones with less than 3 weeks to go…

WedgEZ™ is another one of those products that we love to find here at T.O.P.. You know, the ones that we should have thought of ourselves but didn’t. Or if we did we were too lazy or stupid to do anything about it and that’s why we’re so grateful for all of the great folks that email us to tell us about their inventions!

Such a simple concept really, and one that many parents have likely wished someone would invent.

You know those little plastic outlet plug inserts?

The one you’ve probably broken several nails trying to remove?

The one that I actually used a butter knife to remove once? (Duh.)

Now you can simply insert the top of a WedgEZ™ between the plug and the outlet, gently press it toward the wall and it’s dislodged. So simple. So smart. So not a butter knife.

I tried it and it’s incredibly simple to use and works like a charm. It’s also designed to attach easily to your vacuum cord so it’s easily accessible when you need it. For me, I’m hoping it inspires me to vacuum each time I need an outlet for something.

The WedgEZ™ is 100% guaranteed — if it breaks or fails to perform as specified, they replace it for free. They retail for only $3.99 or 3 for $9.99.

Ten randomly selected readers will win their own WedgEZ! To enter, email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com before midnight MST on 12/14/07 with WedgEZ in the subject line and tell us how many forms of payment are accepted at the WedgEZ site. Just a number is good! Congratulations to Kristin, Jennifer, Megan, Renae, Nissa, Amber, Jessie, Bree, Angela & Betsy!

I was excited to hear about Lily On The Fly because, though I consider myself a good cook, I rarely remember to plan meals in advance and am often throwing something together at the last minute or eating appetizers for supper.

When the starter kit arrived in the mail it was even better than I thought it would be. It’s not just recipe cards - it really is a complete family meal planning kit that includes a deck of 36 meal cards and a 7 slot magnetic organizer so your whole week of meals is easily accessible on your fridge. The cards are colour coded into main dishes, side dishes and treats for easy planning, and each card has easy to follow instructions for day-before/morning prep as well as the last minute toss-together instructions. Turn the magnetic holder over and the back of each card becomes your shopping list for the week.

Brilliant, isn’t it? It really is the total package.

There are recipes that take a little bit of prep and recipes that take hardly any so you can plan your weekly according to your schedule and always have something yummy to eat. My favourite recipe so far? Cheesy potato soup. Perfect for a cold Canadian winter! There are currently two 36 card expansion packs available for $10.95 each in addition to the starter kit which sells for $15.95.

This would make an awesome gift for anyone, but especially a family with a new baby looking to do something that I find very challenging for the first several months of newborn life. Eating warm food at least once a day. Is that just me?

Use the discount code OP to save 10% until 1/15/08!

Lily on the Fly is giving a Complete Hearty Meals Collection to one T.O.P. reader. To enter the random draw, email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com before midnight MST on 12/10/07 with Lily on the Fly in the subject line and tell us the three ‘on the fly’ steps to creating great hearty meals! Congratulations Katalin!

Anyone who’s had a baby knows that if you aren’t well prepared you’ll often be running stairs just to change a diaper or you may even have a package of diapers and wipes laying in every room just to avoid the hassle. Since that looks, well…crappy, you’ll be very pleased to know about the SaraBear diaper caddy available from the fab online retailer The Polkadot Platypus. Available in six colours including my fave pictured at right, this well-planned basket is perfect for storing changing convenience right at your fingertips without completely ruining the flow of your decor. You know…if that’s important to you. I don’t know many people who go all the way to their child’s bedroom to change a diaper after the first few hazy weeks so why don’t we just make it easy on ourselves from the start? (You know that gorgeous hunk of wood taking-up-valuable-space changing table you bought and set up in the nursery upstairs? Do yourself a favour and return it now.)

Whether you love the diaper caddy for style reasons or not, I guarantee you’ll love it for the function. The removable and washable fabric insert has five fitted compartments and four pockets in the perfect sizes for a baby wipes container, diapers, creams, burp cloths and anything else you might need. I’m a big fan of anything that makes a parent’s life easier and this is one product that will do both that and look a whole lot better than the alternative. I sure wish I had one when I was a new mom!

The Polkadot Platypus always offers free shipping on orders over $75.

Win a SaraBear diaper caddy of your choice from The Polkadot Platypus! To enter, email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com before midnight MST on 10/9/07 with Polkadot Platypus in the subject line and tell us the name of your favourite diaper caddy style. Congratulations Betty!

Some kids need a little incentive to get excited about learning. The Learning Calendar from Fat Brain Toys is a fantastic “Back To School” gift that’s sure to get kids pumped!

It’s a 17 month (Aug. - Dec.) activity and trivia calendar that includes some very cool themes like ‘Holidays & Celebrations Around the World.’ Perhaps my favourite feature is new to the 2008 calendar and that’s the ‘Surprise Time Capsule’ assignments that guide children in gathering images, personal artwork & notes, documents and artifacts that, over the 12 fun tasks, create an irreplaceable collection of history from the year 2008!

We’ve got one to give away! To enter, email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com before midnight MST on 9/19/07 with Learning Calendar in the subject line and tell us the retail price of it. Congratulations Allisa!

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By CPA Mom

Wee Gallery uses animals made up of high contrast repeating patterns to stimulate your baby’s visual development. They have recently introduced a new line of products for your baby’s room: Wrapped Canvases. Each 9×12” (some 12×12″ available) canvas print is printed on high-quality canvas with UV-resistant inks, so they’ll last for years! Bonus? No glass means you don’t have to worry about cuts from broken glass should your rambunctious preschooler manage to get them off the wall. They all come in themed sets of three and there’s something to match most every decor. Each set of 3 retails for $60 USD. We fell in love with the simple, yet ingenious art. Designed for babies, my pre-schoolers enjoy them as well.

A stripey zebra, dotty giraffe, and a curly elephant on a green savannah scene make up the Savannah Collection.

A spotty stingray, stripey seahorse and fat turtle on a sea blue undersea scene, pictured below, make up the Undersea Collection.

A sunny lion, patterned parrot and silly monkey on a leaf green jungle scene make up the Jungle Collection.

A stripey dragonfly, swirly squirrel and fat bird on a rose-colored garden scene make up the Garden Collection.

A curly sheep, flowery pig and speckled cow on a corn-yellow farm scene make up the Farmyard Collection.

Like what you see? Wee Gallery also carries flash cards, a mobile, wall graphics and more! Wee Gallery products are highly regarded the world over. All products are available for purchase online and in stores around the world.

We love these classic black and white designs because they’re visible to baby from birth but on these great coloured canvas backgrounds they’re perfect for the big kids who have graduated to colour. We’ve got a 3 pack of UnderSea Wall Canvases for one lucky reader. To enter, email theopinionatedparent@gmail.com with Canvas in the subject line by midnight tonight and name one Wee Gallery product not mentioned in this review. Congratulations Cori!

Guest review by T.O.P. reader Heather. Pay her a visit, won’t you?

For no particular reason my aunt sent us a gift of a Cuisinart Ice 45 Mix It In Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker and it was a great surprise. Unfortunately, it may have been a little too great since I have been making it 2-3 times a week and I’m trying to lose weight. We already had a more basic ice cream maker that rarely got used but this one is a soft serve one that lets you mix in candy toppings and even has a cone holder. The kids think its a ton of fun and every time we have their friends over we make it.

Buy it from Amazon. It’s on sale now for $100 (from $235) and ships free!