Thursday, December 16, 2010

Product Review: Fisher Price Learning Home

You know when you come up with an idea for an awesome invention and then you find out somebody has done it already? That's what happened to me in the case of the Fisher Price Learning Home--and I would have been rich, I tell you, because this baby retails at around a whopping $115!

Fisher Price Learning Home

My son loves this toy and, luckily, we inherited ours from a cousin, because I don't think we could have justified paying so much for it even in all its awesomeness. Its a toy door (that was my "great" idea!), with a light switch, ringing doorbell, mailbox, clock, window, and numerous other open and closing and spinning and sound-making/singing/teaching devices. Really, what baby could stay away?

I do have a few bones to pick with the toy, though, and they are safety related (so you toy makers at Fisher Price better listen up!) After some time, the stickers start to peel off, which could definitely be a choking hazard (I don't know why children's toy makers don't just print images directly onto the plastic). The window closes really forcefully and can slam little fingers. And, finally, my son has learned to push the whole darn thing over, which scares the hell out of me, but which there really is no remedy for (he is, apparently, the incredible hulk baby).  

That said, I really feel so lucky to have inherited the Fisher Price Learning Home and would consider it a must-purchase item for crawling to walking babies if it wasn't for the ridiculous price. Fisher Price has a Learning Farm with fewer bells and whistles for around $50 as an alternative, but if you could spare the dough or score the Learning Home as a gift (registry!), I'd say "go for it, mama!"

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Warning, this Post Might Gross You Out (Or, How We Battle Our Roaches for Cheap)

Ok, so its not as bad as the title makes it seem. Its just that, like many apartment dwellers, my husband and I are engaged in a no-holds-barred war with (dun dun dun) cockroaches. Argh! How I hate them! And I also hate how expensive it is to have an exterminator come by the apartment on a regular basis to take care of them.

Since my landlord is most certainly not paying for tri-monthly exterminator visits, I had to come up with another battle plan. Luckily a friend of a friend is an exterminator and I was clued into a safe and easy roach killing product that many exterminators use: Maxforce Roach Bait Gel.

You can get a syringe of the stuff from DoYourOwnPestControl.com for around $13. That's a huge savings on the $300 fee the exterminator charges each time he comes--and he's using the same exact product! All you have to do is place a little bead of gel bait in nooks, crannies, cracks and crevices around your home every couple of months and the war on roaches will tilt in your favor. Its even kid, pet, and food safe.

DoYourOwnPestControl.com has a bunch of other inexpensive do it yourself pest control products if you are looking for a simple and effective way to make your home bug/rodent free. I reccomend you check it out... why pay someone hundreds of dollars when pest control can be so simple and cheap to do yourself?

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

I've missed you!

Hello again! I've really missed posting here and it feels so good to catch up with all of those on my reading list and get back in the swing of things. 

A lot has happened in the past month or so, from Andrew getting in all of his four front teeth (hooray!) to a family health situation (all is fine, thankfully!) We even took Andrew on his first plane trip to visit my father-in-law in Arkansas. He did great, even though his mama clenched the seat in fear the whole bumpy return flight home!

But now we're home safe and sound, our apartment-sized (2-foot-tall) Christmas tree is out and decorated, and I'm practically bursting with excitement over celebrating Andrew's first Christmas and then his first birthday in January. How to restrain myself from buying him a million gifts that will spill out our apartment windows? I've already got him these two adorable things on sale from Totsy: (seriously, join Totsy--even though it takes FOREVER for them to ship and even if you don't order but use it to just find out about cute stuff you might find cheaper on Amazon, ebay, etc.):


Tomy Pirate Ship Bath Toy  International Playthings iPlay Interactive & Musical Animal Activity Ark
The Tomy Pirate Ship bath toy was $9 on Totsy ($11.95 on Amazon) and the International Playthings iPlay Interactive & Musical Animal Activity Ark was $17.15 (a steal, because is is $30 on Amazon).  

Well, I'm off to read more of your blogs to see what you've all been up to this past month! Its great to be back in Queens and on Queens Mama!