The Clear Banister Gaurd Kit

Bought the Clear Banister Guard Kit from Cardinal Gates a few days ago. The gaps in between the rails of my banister are just too big, and I felt that this posed a safety risk for my son. The kit contains a large plastic sheet, a hole puncher, and some ties.

It's relatively simple to install. My husband did it in about a half hour (it's a small banister). All you need to do is measure the plastic, mark where the rails are, hole punch the plastic sheet and put the ties through and around the rails. Once all of the ties are securely around the rails, the plastic sheet will cover all of the gaps. No need to drill or screw any nails into anything.

So far it's working pretty well. My son is intrigued by his reflection in the plastic but other than that he pretty much stays away from the banister. It's barely noticeable, which is nice.

The plastic rolls are available in 5ft ($21.95) and 15ft ($47.88) lengths.

Trick Your Kids Into Exercising

Sometimes you just need to fool them a little so they get what's good for them. Like when you sneak vegetables into their food without them knowing. Now you can sneak in a little exercise too. Behold, the FXB (Fun Xercise Bike)! The FXB is designed to make exercise fun for kids and adults by attaching a steering wheel video game accessory to a folding stationary bicycle. The FXB works well with the Nintendo Wii™ racing games such as Mario Kart™.

Retail price: $99 (Wii sold separately of course!)

Furreal Friends

If your kids are bugging you about getting them a pet for the holidays, Furreal Friends may be just what you need to get them off your back. My husband and I first saw these furry creatures at Toys "R" Us and they scared the crap out of us...they are that life-like. Especially the cat...if you are a cat person then I am sure you will think it is adorable but for me...I'm still having nightmares about that cat. It purrs, it opens it's eyes, it moves it's head! It even rolls back so you can scratch it's animatronic stomach!

There's a bunch of other animals to choose from as well. The chipmunk is a little strange. As per the website: "It acts just like a real baby chipmunk!" Umm...how exactly does a chipmunk act?

Oh wait...

Zid Zid Kids

Are you looking for something other than a Disney character to decorate your child's room with? Check out Zid Zid Kids. Based out of Marrakech, Morocco, the company offers unique and beautiful children's furnishings, toys, and accessories. Here are some of the items:

Animal Caravan Double Sided Bird Pillow $44

Riding Elephant $284

Animal Caravan Hippo $30.80

Round Mini Poof- Zebra $78

Backpack Airplane $48

Animal Mask and Cape- Giraffe $68

Also, Land of Nod offers crib bedding with a Zid Zid design.

The Land of Nod

Just received The Land of Nod catalog. As usual, the catalog is amazing. The Land of Nod, a subsidiary of Crate & Barrel, sells children's furnishings. While the furniture may be a bit expensive, most of the bedding sets are reasonably priced. Get yourself on their mailing list and check out the catalog. It will inspire you to create an amazing space for your little one!

The Warmest Jacket from babyGap

Four Gaps. That is how many Gaps I had to schlep to to find the Warmest Jacket in size 18-24 months for my son. Yes, I know I could have ordered it online and saved myself the trouble, but considering my office is near three Gap stores, you'd think I'd be able to save on the shipping and just buy it there. And yes, after visiting a fourth story, I managed to get my hands on it. Also, Gap is running an in-store promotion on the jacket right now (making it even more scarce), so I was able to get $10 off my purchase.

The jacket has a bunch of great features that are perfect for cold-weather days.

• Long sleeves with logo patch at arm, removable hood, zip front beneath snap placket, adjustable hook & loop fastened cuffs.
• Lower front snap-flap patch pockets, interior storm cuffs and snow skirt for extra protection from the elements.
• Warmest jacket has cozy micro fleece lining throughout.
• Comfortable down-filled water resistant polyester Warmest jacket with topstitching throughout.

Also got a great hat but they don't have that available online, so it really is worth a schlep to go check out their outerwear items in the store.

Geox Baby Shoes

My son is almost 15 months old so we needed to get him his first real pair of shoes. We went to Little Steps in Englewood, NJ, a store that only sells baby and kids shoes. The person helping us was very attentive. He measured my son's foot and then brought out lots of options for him to try on. Fortunately, the first pair he tried were the perfect shoes for him so we didn't have to search that long. We got him a pair of Geox sneakers. The shoes are 100% leather inside and out and are waterproof. The price: $65.

We went to Central Park today to test them out and my son seems to be getting the hang of it. He was apprehensive at first, but I think he likes his new shoes.

So if you happen to be in Engelwood, NJ and you are in need of some kid shoes, check out Little Steps.

The Neiman Marcus Christmas Book 2009

It's here. It's online. And it's waiting for your credit card. While most of the gifts in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book would be considered budget-busters, they do have a category for $250 and under. But who are we kidding? We want to see the good stuff!

Check out some of the "Fantasy Gifts":

Customized Cupcake Car (for real) $25,000

Algonquin Round Table Experience (Dinner and conversation with Christopher Buckley, Roz Chast, Delia Ephron, Nora Ephron, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Gopnik, John Lithgow, Anna Deveare Smith, George Stephanopoulos, Ali Wentworth at the Algonquin Hotel) $200,000 (all the money goes to charity)

His & Hers ICON A5 Sports Aircraft and Pilot Training for Two $250,000

Hall Artisan Wine and Art Experience (includes resort stay, winemaking lessons, make your own personal wine and it will be bottled and delivered to your house) $20,000

2009 Hot Toy List for the Holidays from Toys "R" Us

Toys "R" Us unveiled its annual Holiday Hot Toy List, which includes 36 new toys specifically chosen for outstanding value in quality, price and play. Included in this list is the "Fabulous 15", representing the best new toys of the holiday season. Here's a look at the top 15:

BAKUGAN BATTLE BRAWLERS(TM) NEW VESTROIA(TM) Maxus Helios(TM) 7 in 1 from Spin Master $39.99

ChixOs(TM) Pink Design-A-Luxury Loft from Spin Master $26.99

Color Me a Song(TM) from Crayola Beginnings(TM) $24.99

Disney Netpal from ASUS $349.99
Disney-Pixar Toy Story Interactive Buddies Talking Action Figures (Buzz and Woody) from Thinkway $99.99

Disney Princess: Just One Kiss Princess Tiana Doll from Mattel $89.99


Fast Lane JLX OVER DRIVE(TM) RADIO CONTROL ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE from Toys"R"Us $159.99

Laugh & Learn(TM) Learning Farm from Fisher-Price $79.99

Little Mommy(TM) Baby Ah-Choo(TM) from Fisher-Price $34.99

Mindflex(TM) from Mattel $79.99

NERF N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35(TM) from Hasbro $34.99

Star Wars Fan's Choice Anniversary Edition Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser from LEGO $109.99

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN CONSTRUCTICON DEVASTATOR from Hasbro $99.99
Wii Sports Resort(TM) from Nintendo $49.99

Zhu Zhu Pets(TM) Hamster from Cepia $9.99

Halloween Costumes for Kids

Halloween is a little over a month away so if you have kids, now is the time to start searching for the perfect costume. My son was only 4 months old last Halloween so he went to daycare in a pirate pajama outfit (not from the Pyramid Collection). Here are some cute costume ideas for your little ones.

The Baby Candy Corn $20

Baby Sushi $25

Cupcake Kid $59

Hamburger $59

Swaddle Blanket & Cap Set Costume $19.95

Peacock Costume with Booties $34.95

Triceratops Costume $24.95

80's Rocker Girl Costume $15.95

Baby Costume Ice Cream $19.89

Baby Costume Little Trees Car Freshner $21.89

Baby Skunk Costume $39.99

Newborn Baby Chili Pepper Costume $26.99

LeapFrog Alphabet Pal

My son received the LeapFrog Alphabet Pal this weekend as a gift. This plastic caterpillar has buttons on each of its legs that when pressed will either say a letter of the alphabet, sound out a letter, name the color on the leg, or play a song depending on what setting it's on. The toy is cute, although it is a bit annoying (as most kid's toys are). Everytime the cord attached to the caterpillar is pulled, the alphabet song starts playing. And after about 100 times of hearing the song, you may be ready to throw the poor caterpillar out the window.

Interesting fact: The LeapFrog Alphabet Pal will not let you sound out dirty words. Yes, I tried it. Yes, my husband tried it. And everytime you even come close to sounding out a dirty word, the caterpillar starts to giggle and says "That tickles!". Pretty cool that they thought of this little parental control, just in case you have a precocious older sibling or an immature parent playing with it.

Mouth Man: It's Amazing How People Come Up With These Things

Did you ever think to yourself "Gee, I wish my shirt had pictures on the sleeves so that when I give myself a hug it will form a face with a mouth?" That is the concept behind Mouth Man. Yeah, I needed to actually see it to understand it. But now that I do, I am sort of mixed on how I feel about it. It's weirdly fascinating but kind of frightening (The Orca is freakin' scary!).

Mouth Man was invented by Ross Valory, founder of the rock band Journey. You gotta wonder what kind of hallucinogenic drugs this man was on when he thought of this idea. Here's a few pictures...I think these speak for themselves.

Not too scary.

Scary.

OK, this one is cute.

Aaagghhh! Scary Shamu!