Fighting Monsters: Extra Life 2014

Next weekend, Jim, Ranger and I will fight some real-world monsters in our third annual Extra-Life board game marathon for Riley Hospital for Childen who gave our Rogue a life-saving cranial surgery in 2012.

Rogue is doing great these days, and we want to help other families who are going through heavy medical concerns like injuries, illnesses and developmental needs.

Riley is a special hospital where kids and their parents are cared for together. My eyes tear up when I remember the parent cart that circulates the hospital dispensing toiletries and other small items for caregivers staying with a patient. The smallest things are monumental when you don't want to leave an infant's bedside even for a moment.

If you want to change a life with your donation, Riley Hospital for Children is a great choice. Not only are they healing kids from Indiana and the rest of the world, they also contribute important research to the global medical community.

Please consider donating to Riley Hospital during Extra Life. Even spare change, added to other's spare change, will change lives for the better.

As an added incentive, if my fundraising goal is met by Sunday, October 25th at 6PM, Jim and I will live-tweet the 1982 made-for-TV movie Mazes and Monsters over Halloween weekend. 

One randomly drawn donor with a Mazes and Monsters note attached to their donation will win our second-hand copy of the movie! I will mail the DVD to the winner or the winner's designee (offer limited to the United States; substitution of Amazon Instant Watch Credit may also be available).

Please help me reach my goal for Riley kids and their families.

How bad is Mazes and Monsters?

That bad. And yes, that's Tom Hanks. We may own the only copy of the movie he hasn't personally purchased and destroyed.

Why is he screaming?
Well, not to spoil anything, I suspect it may be the hats...

Or scenes about painting miniatures...

Share some serious joy- donate to Riley today! Don't forget to note Mazes and Monsters if you want at a chance at the DVD!

Together we can slay real monsters!

***Baby Toolkit is the epistolary adventures of some geek parents and their family.  We're Amazon associates, so if you click on any Amazon links, a small portion of their profits comes to us. We use those funds to keep the digital homefires burning. We have no relationship with whoever produced or distributed this laughably bad film. You can also find us using our big people voices at GreatBigTable.com, a podcast about board games and the communities they inspire. Thanks for reading the fine print. 

Listen-Along Storybook contest ends tonight!

Have you entered our contest to win all 8 books currently featured at listenalongstorybook.com? It ends at midnight tonight (CDT).

[Contest has ended.]

And find more great contests at Prizey.net.

Have you heard? ListenAlongStoryBook.com podcasts popular picturebooks for free!

In the 70s, my favorite rack in the public library held plastic bags with books and records. Over my childhood Arnold Lobel's Stone Soup evolved into Sterling North's Rascal while the records were gradually usurped by cassette tapes. Today, the mention of those authors' names conjure memories of laying on the green shag carpet in front of the stereo and engaging in those well-told tales.

Following the Raptor's toddling path through the library last week, I found that the library still has a small collection of those books on cassette (and now CD), but I suspect that those kids' audiobook are becoming a less common feature in libraries today. The audio mediums are more prone to breakage than print materials, so the collections require more patron care and general maintenance.

One children's publisher (Sterling Children's Books) is making it possible for excellent dramatic performance to be a childhood standard yet again.

On March 1st, Sterling launched ListenAlongStoryBook.com which offers live streaming and podcasts of their most popular picture books.

Sterling's publicist sent us a copy of Cesar Takes a Break by Susan Collins Thoms (MRSP: $14.95), so 4 year old Ranger could experience the podcast with the book.

Cesar Takes a Break is a very timely choice for kids about to take a Spring Break. Cesar, a classroom iguana, decides to explore the school when the children of the class leave for vacation. Ranger is in his second year of preschool, but every break seems to surprise him. This story seems a good way to make him mindful of the upcoming week's opportunities.

Jim thinks the book's varied characters (the school's other class pets) lend themselves to expressive reading. Ranger loves it when Jim reads this story as well.

The high quality podcast entails excellent and expressive readings (by Sterling Children's Book staffers) and original music.

Ranger loved the Cesar Takes a Break podcast with and without the book. His reading skills at 4.5 leave him a bit baffled about when to the turn the page. The story pleases him even without the book in hand. We would love to see a subtle signal added to cue page turns as it would allow pre-readers to follow along with greater independence.

Listen-Along Storybook's first 8 podcasts include the classic folktale Jack & the Beanstalk and new releases like Perfectly Arugula.

Ranger and I will get the books from the library so we can follow along with the vibrant illustrations, but YOU have a chance to win the 8 book set from Sterling Children's Books.

Sterling Children's Books has offered to give each of THREE lucky Baby Toolkit readers (in the U.S. or Canada) all 8 books currently featured on the podcast site.

[Contest closed.]
(Contest entries close at 11:59 PM Thursday, 3/18/2010. Winners will be notified by email.)

For a peek behind the production curtain check out the making of Cesar Takes a Break:


Sterling has also launched a Jokecast for the younger set. WARNING: These are serious groaners, and I know Ranger is going to love telling them to me HUNDREDS of times.

***Baby Toolkit is the brain dump of two Midwestern bibliophile geek parents with opinions on almost everything. We received a free copy of Cesar Takes a Break from Sterling Children's Books (~$15 value). While free books are a decent route to our bookworm hearts, we wouldn't bother telling you (at least not in non-lambasting tones) about something we didn't like.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream Socials!

The timing on this is much like a pop quiz, but wouldn't you love to win a 100 person ice cream party for your neighborhood?

Don't miss tonight's 11:59 PM (ET) deadline, to enter Edy's Slow-Churned Neighborhood Salute.

In a 1 minute (or less) digital video or a short paragraph (350 word maximum), explain why your neighborhood or community group should win one of the 1,500 ice cream parties Edy's is giving away.

Sorry about the short notice. I kept forgetting to add this to earlier Beautiful URLs, but we both know you would have put it off until the last minute anyway.

Tag Winner: Congratulations Renee!

Yesterday, I managed to pour a glass of water in my laptop keyboard. Fortunately the contest entries were on web-based Google Docs, so we could select a winner before my laptop is fully drip-dried.

Congratulations, Renee (I just emailed you the details)!

Thank you to everyone who entered.

Pledge Some Time During National Reading Month: Make Great Memories And Maybe Win a Tag

Ranger and I just read Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House before he curled up for a nap.

Jim and I both have fond memories of reading time with our parents in childhood. Jim's dad read to Jim from his college children's literature textbooks. My mom often read from selections like A Child's Book of Poems, a kid's Bible, Shel Silverstein, Jack Ezra Keats, and Beatrix Potter while Dad preferred Paddington Bear and Beowulf.

As I got older, my grandma gave me the Little House and Anne of Green Gables series. My dad offered Anne McCaffery. My mom's tastes in youthful reading were evidenced by the shelves of books around my grandparents' home: bright-eyed sleuths like Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and the Bobbsey twins cozied up to my uncle's favorite animal adventurists like Rin Tin Tin and Lassie.

Similarly, Jim's family deeply influenced his early reading. So much in fact, that he wanted to share the experience of great books with young friends. One college summer, he and preschool cousin could often be found sitting in the evening shade while Jim read The Hobbit aloud.

Anyway, please take some time this month to spend with a young reader. Pledge 10, 20, or 30 minutes daily to LeapFrog's 1 Million Hours Reading campaign. It's a great way to revisit some old favorites with new eyes and voices.

Plus LeapFrog will give an awesome Tag Reader and 5 Tag books to one lucky Baby Toolkit reader who has pledged their time to read. As if that prize wasn't cool enough, the winner's local library will receive a School Edition Tag with expanded memory and 10 Tag books.

So pledge some hours of great entertainment this month, and then enter our Tag giveaway:

CONTEST HAS ENDED.

Even if you don't win the Tag, you still get an awesome prize in the time spent reading with those you love.

What people and books shaped your childhood?

Winner of Relish! subscription

Congratulations to Janet, the winner of a year of Relish! menu planning.

Happy eating!

Win Giggles Baby Nursery Rhymes Software

Happy Monday, folks!

Last January, I wrote about Giggles Software for Babies at Parent Hacks. We, especially Ranger, really like the software.

Since that time Giggles' maker Leveractive, has issued a great new Giggles offering: Nursery Rhymes.

Nursery Rhymes offers a Toddler setting for more advanced play. Ranger loves it so much that we bought a flexible USB keyboard so he could play on our laptops without handling the whole machine (thanks, Parent Hacks for this smart suggestion!).

Win Nursery Rhymes:
Leveractive generously provided us with a copy of Nursery Rhymes to give to one lucky reader! To enter, please send an email to babytoolkitcontests[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject Nursery Rhymes.

General rules: Entries will be accepted until 5 PM CDT, Friday, Sept. 19. One entry per household. US residents only. Winner will be determined by random number generation. Winner will be notified by email. We're cheap, so shipping will be through the US Postal Media Mail (which puts the snail in snail mail); we'll do our best, but if the software gets lost in the mail, we'll take it as a bad omen and will not provide a replacement. Baby Toolkit family members cannot enter (sorry, Mom).

Good luck!

LeapFrog Tag: Winners (and Great Deals for the Rest of Us)

In the wee hours of this morning (while Ranger slept), I notified the Tag winners by email. Congratulations Corey, Keira, Mandy, Cheryl, and Jodi (and their lucky kids)!

LeapFrog is offering two great deals through the end of this month (6/30/2008) on new Tag Systems purchased through their shop at LeapFrog.com:

• Free shipping with the purchase of a Tag system,
• and a "Trade Up" offer code granting a free copy of T. Rex's Mighty Roar ($14 value).
  

Thank you for all of your entries!

LeapFrog Bounds Ahead With Tag: Win a Tag System

Rarely does a toy come into our house and seize everyone's affection, but in an unexpected swap for a doll house Ranger acquired the (now discontinued) LeapFrog Learning Hoops basketball game. This serendipitously- acquired game reinforced Ranger's burgeoning interest in letters and numbers. Unlike most battery-operated toys, this one quickly wormed its way into all our hearts and became a regular, often nightly, family activity.

When LeapFrog recently offered us a chance to try their new Tag reading system, I hesitated. The recommended ages of 4 to 8 seemed so much older than 2.75 year old Ranger that I pictured the device as a recipe for frustration. But the three blinking eyes of the beloved basketball game stared me down, and I decided we could use it without our alternate testers (ages 5 & 7) if it sent Ranger into a tailspin.

LeapFrog sent us the Tag reading system ($49.99 retail value, which includes the Tag Reader, Learning Connections software, a USB cable, and their self-developed soft cover book, Ozzie and Mack) and two additional hardcover books (retail value: $13.99 each) which were already among Ranger's favorites (The Little Engine that Could and I Spy: Imagine That!).

Please note: the Tag requires 2 AAA batteries (not included) and a USB-ready computer (XP, Vista, or Mac OS X 10.4+) with an Internet connection if you plan to use any book or accessory other than the preloaded Ozzie and Mack or use any of the system's Learning Path tracking features. The software is uncomplicated to load and easy to use. Downloading new books is also very easy.

The Tag (with 16MB on-board flash memory) can hold up to 5 books or activities at one time. The audio download for each book is stored locally on your computer, so even when you unload a book from your Tag Reader, it stays on your computer for fast re-installation later.

So what did Ranger think? It was love at first sight. He seized on the Reader (which I call a pen and he calls a temperature because it looks much like a fat digital thermometer). This similarity may have bolstered his interest as he used to carry a digital thermometer EVERYWHERE we went (here it is visiting a local pumpkin patch last October). Maybe he's just a futurist. Either way, I can't help but imagine that I may eventually find him frustrated sitting on the floor with a digital thermometer surrounded by books.

I started him with I-Spy, thinking an activity book might be better for his young age. He loves pointing at words and images and hearing them voice or illustrated with sounds. He soon figured out how to get the reader to read entire pages. He loves the sound effects and music from clicking on the pictures.

In many ways (for kids under 4) the Tag is a far more compact and successful version of the Little Touch LeapPad. It's a big improvement because Ranger no longer needs to hit go when he chooses a new page and doesn't get the wrong sound because a page is bent or laying improperly on the reader. There's no book cartridge for him to unseat, so it requires far less parental maintenance during use.

I love the Tag Reader's compact size. At 6.5 inches by 1.25 width" and 1.25" depth, the Reader easily fits in my bag (as do the 6.5" by 9.75" storybooks) and the Reader can fit in many pockets. It is lightweight, durable, and not much bigger than a cell phone. The Tag easily entertains Ranger during medical appointments and restaurant dinners.

The Little Engine That Could regularly delights Ranger with its excellent voice acting and great sound effects. We've read this book to him for over a year, so it's household classic. It's great to see him interacting with it on his own terms. It's funny how much he likes repetition of certain phrases and scenes.

I had originally discounted Ozzie and Mack's ability to interest Ranger. It struck me as the somewhat limited game that inevitably comes with the new video system but really isn't a killer app. Ranger has since schooled me on judging a book by its bundling. Ozzie and Mack is designed to showcase the abundant features of the Tag's dot pattern based reading system. It has lots of great incidentals that exceed the limitations of a classic story like The Little Engine That Could or even an activity based book like I-Spy. From the title pages' awesome alphabet to the hidden knock-knock joke in periphery of page 25, Ranger is constantly delighting in discovering new ideas. He's excited to learn on his own and loves showing me what he's found, and I love seeing his revelry in independence and information.

He really likes the control the stylus-type reader offers him to focus on HIS interests, and it works well with the developing agility of a toddler (better in my opinion than the Little Touch).

Being a random button pusher, he's found a combination that causes the reader to instruct him to "Tell your parents..." to connect to the software and how to download other books. We don't really like our toys telling our kids what to do; somehow it's just reminiscent of Saturday morning commercials instructing kids to pester their parents for products.

We're also not fans of the interruptive battery replacement warning. The warning starts long before the batteries are drained to non-functioning levels (so far, it's been ongoing for 3 days prior to battery failure), and we hate the thought of replacing any battery that still has life. I'd really prefer a small periodic warning flash in the on/off light to a message that interrupts play. Even the traditional notification of battery death (the toy not working) is preferable to an audio message. I'd like to an option to turn this notification off in future versions (or updates of this reader's firmware).

One of Ranger's best random button pushing discoveries is that the Reader can play the stories in full without the books. When Ranger accidentally discovered this cool feature during a car trip to a nearby town, both he and Jim enjoyed listening to his newfound book-on-Tag. The quality of the storytelling and voice acting really makes for an enjoyable listening experience.

We plan to get a lot of travel and waiting room use out of the Tag on top of normal at-home play. The books are high quality; Ranger recently water-tested Ozzie and Mack with accidental baptism at lunch on Father's Day. The dried pages still function properly. He sometimes jabs the books with the Reader- leaving impressions of the tip in the page, but those haven't affected function of the stylus or the books.

With an almost 50 dollar price tag, I was skeptical that the Tag could offer enough utility and value to meet its cost, but it is a flexible, well-designed, creatively-engineered system that really does much more than read words off a page (as if that's not amazing in its own right). This isn't another rote recitative Teddy Ruxpin because it puts the excitement of self-guided learning in your child's hands (demo).

And LeapFrog has generously offered to give 5 LeapFrog Tag Reading Systems prize packages away to Baby Toolkit readers!

To enter, send an email with the subject LeapFrog Tag to babytoolkitcontests [at] gmail [dot] com. One per household. U.S. readers only. Five winners (selected by random number generation) will each receive a Tag Reading System and one additional Tag book (prize package value: $64).

Entries will accepted through 11:59 PM CDT June 24, 2008. Winners will be notified by email; prizes not claimed within 10 days of email notification will be forfeited.

General disclaimers regarding contests on Baby Toolkit: we'll do our best, but we can't guarantee prize delivery. If a prize item were to be lost in the lost in the mail, we would take it as a message from a higher power that the situation was simply not meant to be (no compensation or replacement will be issued). We will use a random integer generator at random.org to determine winners. Jim, Adrienne, their parents, and Ranger are not eligible for this contest. We respect your privacy and will not use your personal information for any purpose beyond determining a winner and sending prizes. Prizes are supplied by and will be shipped from LeapFrog.

Winners Abound: Walking On Eggshells, Toddler Cookbook, and HABA dice dome Winners

What an exciting weekend! Random numbers were generated and winners were selected and notified for our recent contests.

Walking on Eggshells Winners
Katey in Mississippi
Jennifer in Arkansas
fellow Hoosier Amanda
Tracy in Michigan
Elizabeth in Michigan


Toddler Cookbook Winners
Carissa in Colorado
Allison in Wisconsin
Hannah in Massachusetts
Sarah in Massachusetts
Ellen in Virginia





HABA Dice Dome Winner
Carmen in British Columbia

Thank you to everyone who entered!

If you didn't win a copy of either book, I strongly recommend checking them out at your local library, bookshop, or Amazon.

Reminder: Contests ending tomorrow

For everyone on Daylight Savings don't forget to set your clock forward tomorrow.

Tomorrow also marks the end of our book contests, so register now if you haven't already entered:

• Walking on Eggshells by Jane Isay- a great book on navigating relationships with parents once you're an adult
• The Toddler Cookbook by Annabel Karmel- putting your young assistants to work in the kitchen.

Good luck!

Win a Wurfelbecher? LAST HOURS to enter our HABA Dice Dome contest

Until 11:59 (CDT) tonight, we'll be accepting entries to win a discontinued HABA dice tumbler.

Walking On Eggshells: Family Life as a Grown-Up

When Broadway Books offered me a review copy of Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship Between Adult Children and Parents, I thought, "Wow, that's a long way down the road, isn't it?"

The immediate applicability became apparent when I read a summary of some situations the book discusses:

If your grown daughter still winces at your tone of voice—even though she is thirty years old, or if you can’t get your adult son to return your phone calls, if you love your parents but find it impossible to visit them for more than three days without blowing up, or if you can only stand a couple of minutes on the phone with them.

Um, yeah. I guess adult children can read this too...

And it turns out that when we do what we can to improve our adult relationships with our own parents, we're paving the way to understanding and respecting our kids when they're adults.

Author Jane Isay, a former publishing executive, writes engagingly on the overlooked subject of parent relationships after a child comes of age. A natural story-teller, she shares information gleaned from extensive interviews with parents and adult children (ranging in ages from 25 to 70). In her professional background as an editor she "was persuaded that stories are the best teachers."

For all the books there are on baby and child rearing, our society has almost no discussion of how to navigate the parent-adult child relationship. When our kids are grown, we will still be their parents, but obviously we can't treat them as do now or as we will when they're high school. At some point, we're supposed to transition from actively intervening participants in our kids' lives to a position of greater observance.

Her book offers honest discussion of the things that antagonize adult parent-child relationships (issues like money, control, respect, changes in family structure, past grievances, in-laws, step-families, and holidays).

Most encouragingly, her stories underscore a deep love on the part of both parents and children even in conflict. Much of the conflict between parents and adult children is based on frustration in achieving desired affection, respect, acceptance, and understanding. Then guilt piles up on those failures which can paralyze all parties- through frustration or fear of having actions misinterpreted.

By telling the stories of numerous families, Jane Isay presents scenarios that are familiar and thought provoking. She doesn't offer the panacea of a bullet-point plan of action for a perfect relationship, but instead makes the reader contemplate communication systems within families. The ability to observe the inner-workings of other families lets the reader contemplate their own with greater distance and perspective.

For more information on the book and Jane Isay visit the book's website.

WIN a copy of Walking on Eggshells!
Broadway Books has given us 5 paperback copies of Walking on Eggshells to give away to Baby Toolkit readers. Email babytoolkitcontests [at] gmail.com with the subject Eggshells to enter. One entry per household, please. Entries will accepted through 11:59 PM CDT March 9, 2008. Winners will be randomly selected. International entries will be accepted but prizes shipped abroad may take some time to arrive as they'll most likely be shipped ground and sea.

General disclaimers regarding contests on Baby Toolkit: we'll do our best but we can't guarantee the same efforts from the postal system. If a prize item were to be lost in the lost in the mail, we would take it as a message from a higher power that the situation was simply not meant to be (no compensation or replacement will be issued). One entry per household. We will use a random integer generator at random.org to determine winners. Jim, Adrienne, their parents, and Ranger are not eligible for this contest. We respect your privacy and will not use your personal information for any purpose beyond determining a winner and sending prizes. Prize value: $14.


*** This is the independent opinion of the geek parents at Baby Toolkit, (c) 2008. We accepted a paperback review copy of the book ($14 value) under no obligation. We regularly decline items for review. We received no compensation from and have no undisclosed relationship with Random House, Doubleday, Broadway Books, Flying Dolphin Press, Jane Isay or their affiliates. After we agreed to a review, Broadway Books arranged for 5 paperback copies for our readers which we will ship at our own expense.

Come on in My Kitchen: Win a Copy of Annabel Karmel's delicious Toddler Cookbook

It is easier for me to envision a cookbook for toddlers and maybe even one using toddlers as an ingredient than it is to imagine a guide to cooking with toddlers.

When DK offered to send me a review copy of Annabel Karmel's new Toddler Cookbook, I had a sneaking suspicion it was one of those "toddler" books truly geared for age 5 and up. I am rarely so pleased to be proven wrong.

Although not every step of every recipe is toddler-friendly, I readily found recipes that 2.5 year-old Ranger and I could work on together. Not only that, they were recipes we might actually enjoy eating.

While some recipes include meat (chicken satay skewers, lettuce boats with chicken, salmon fishcakes, and chicken dippers), vegetarians won't feel excluded (pita pizzas, corn quesadillas, cherry tomato sauce, and mini Caesar salad with homemade croutons). There are also 10 snack, drink, and dessert recipes.

The book is well-illustrated with great photographs showing kids enacting EACH STEP of the recipe. Clear bowls prevent obstructions and everyone's hand seems magically out of the way throughout. Ranger loved seeing kids cooking, and the photos helped him see himself in the unfamiliar role of cook.

The strong visuals gave me courage to tackle meringues for Valentine's Day (while Ranger was taking a nap). I was tempted to stop there and proclaim the recipes easy and delicious, but deep in my heart I knew only a toddler-tested recipe would do.

Tonight we made mini banana muffins. The author calls for whole wheat flour which is a pleasant departure from stereotypical kid fare. Ranger and Jim were the mixmasters. They mashed a banana (which Ranger seemed to feel kind of guilty about), mixed ingredients, and then (drumroll, please) sifted in the dry ingredients. It turns out that while Ranger likes mixing, he loves sifting with my old school rotary sifter (which I need to upgrade to one without a loose handle). If we get homebound by another ice storm, I am breaking out all the flour and sugar and setting up a toddler-powered home grist mill.

We all had a great time, and I'm starting to realize how toddler Ranger can participate in the kitchen activity without risk of injury or meltdown. And the muffins, well...

even extraordinarily picky Ranger couldn't keep his hands off them.

Which is how I feel about the Toddler Cookbook (list price $10.99, $8.79 at Amazon).

WIN A COPY!
Thanks to the kind folks at DK, five Baby Toolkit readers (with U.S. addresses only) will win copies of the delicious Toddler Cookbook. To enter this random drawing, email babytoolkitcontests(at)gmail.com with the subject: Toddler Cookbook. Entries will be accepted through 11:59 PM CDT, 3/9/2008.

General disclaimers regarding contests on Baby Toolkit: we'll do our best but we can't guarantee the same efforts from the postal system. If a prize item were to be lost in the lost in the mail, we would take it as a message from a higher power that the situation was simply not meant to be (no compensation or replacement will be issued). One entry per household. We will use a random integer generator at random.org to determine a winner. Jim, Adrienne, their parents, and Ranger are not eligible for this contest. We respect your privacy and will not use your personal information for any purpose beyond determining a winner and sending prizes.

Good luck, we really think you're going to love this great book!

***This is the independent opinion of the geek family at Baby Toolkit, (c) 2008. We accepted a free review copy of the book, but under no obligation. We wouldn't write about it if we didn't like; we regularly decline reviews. We receive no compensation from DK or its affiliates for this review (though they are supplying and shipping the contest prizes). We do like DK as their travel books (including Rough Guide) and Eyewitness books have been household favorites as long as we've been a household.

All Shook Up: Win HABA's (discountinued) Dice Tumbler

Although we made a cheap imitation of this great product in 2006, our substitute fell short of the glorious original (which may actually be one of Plato's ideal types).

HABA, for reasons we cannot even venture to guess, discontinued the brilliant $5 Dice Tumbler last year.

I was practically giddy (thinking them re-issued) to see them stocked at my fabulous local toy store. Sadly, they are no longer being made, but the owner bought a lot of them when she heard they were going off the market. And she sells them for $4.98, their original price (again, the store is truly fabulous).

The bottom of the dome unscrews very easily with a coin and it can hold quite a few dice (though maybe not enough for Descent).

It also works as a stand-alone toddler amusement. Ranger likes to play with it with a few random objects inside (currently it houses two fuzzy craft pompoms).

WANT TO WIN ONE?
We bought an extra for a lucky Baby Toolkit reader. CONTEST ENDED February 29, 2008 (leap year day!). We welcome international entries in this contest- though it'll probably be shipped by the most economical (aka slowest possible) conveyance.

General disclaimers regarding contests on Baby Toolkit: we'll do our best but we can't guarantee the same efforts from the postal system. If a prize item were to be lost in the lost in the mail, we would take it as a message from a higher power that the situation was simply not meant to be (no compensation or replacement will be issued). We will use a random integer generator at random.org to determine a winner. Jim, Adrienne, their parents, and Ranger are not eligible for this contest. We respect your privacy and will not use your personal information for any purpose beyond determining a winner.

And, if you don't feel lucky today- or simply want to buy one- you can call the great people at my favorite local toy store [Toys To Treasure, (812) 477-2720] who still have some in stock. They don't have a web site, but they can ship credit card orders at reasonable rates.

***This is the independent, unsolicited, unprofessional, and sometimes random opinion of the geek parents at Baby Toolkit. While we love the HABA dice tumbler and our local toy store, we're shoppers and fans- not affiliates, partners, or beneficiaries. Baby Toolkit, (c) 2008.

You've Got To Ask Yourself a Question: Do I Feel Lucky? Well, do ya punk?

Okay, I'm probably channeling a little extra Dirty Harry today because my dad is having surgery. After the dawn of the VCR, my dad, brother, and I watched every Clint Eastwood movie made... Please forgive my action movie sentimentality this morning.

And I hope everyone is feeling lucky- or will be soon- because Jeremiah at Zrecs has dreamed up a great new online resource. Meet PRIZEY, it's a blog catalog of parent-friendly online contests. Prizey sorts out all the cruft (like linkback contests) and offers a calendar of upcoming contest deadlines. Jeremiah, like some new Professor X, has assembled a big team of mutant bloggers (including me) who search the interwebs for great contests.

And, in the course of setting up Prizey, I've already won a Little Capers Superhero t-shirt with removable cape (...for Ranger, because they don't come in adult sizes).

Don't forget to enter our contest for Siente (an awesome nocturnal cd) while you're at it.

Good luck, everyone!

Congratulations, Kim!

Our last copy of ScreamFree Parenting was won by Kim of Hormone Colored Days, Scrambled CAKE, and a couple other blog projects. I met Kim at BlogHer where we talked about food and parent blogging over lunch one day. Her allergy tips for the classroom are great for parents of young kids with food allergies.

Kim, in what can only be considered good karma, is hosting a PMS Survival Kit giveaway at her blog this week. This kit is loaded with delicious plunder from her journey through the All Candy Expo trade fair as well as other goodies. Stop by and enter; maybe you can win the deliciousness!

Like a Hammock in a Gentle Breeze: Siente's International Night Songs Soothe

Long after Ranger quit waking up at night, I found myself plagued with insomnia. At night my mind kept buzzing even though I was tired- very, very tired.

Then I got a cd (Siente) in the mail from Yellow Tail Records. Vocalist Partice O'Neill and classical guitarist Hilary Fields collaborate with a host of guest artists to weave a magic web of tranquility. Seriously, I fell asleep mid-afternoon the first time I heard this album. It was so lovely but so completely atypical that I began to wonder what genius neuro-linguistic hacker designed this profoundly soothing album.

The international lullabies and night songs selected were mostly unfamiliar to me, and they are sung in their native tongues. In every track exists a subtle motion that mentally transports me to an outdoor hammock or a gently rocking boat on a postcard perfect day.

Siente is like a brief hassle-free vacation. These songs might also work with kids, but honestly I've too relaxed to notice.

Sound good? There are samples of the songs on the Siente web site.

For more information on Siente, Zrecs also has a review and an interview with the artists behind the album.

View or buy Siente at Siente's web site or Amazon.

WIN A COPY IN OUR SIENTE GIVEAWAY:

Yellow Tail Records was kind enough to offer a copy of Siente for one lucky reader. If you want to enter the giveaway, email babytoolkitcontests[at]gmail[dot]com by midnight CST October 22, 2007. Use the subject SIENTE. If you want to keep my inbox interesting you can tell me your favorite location (real or imagionary) for a nap? Nitty-gritty contest details: We'll use a integer generator to select a winner (random.org). We are not liable for packages lost or damaged in the mail. Although we can't always provide international mailing, we can for this contest (YAY!).

*This review is the independent opinion of babytoolkit.blogspot.com. We've received a sample album from Siente, but have no relationship (beyond being grateful listeners) with Yellow Tail Records or any of the artists involved in Siente.*

ScreamFree Giveaway Ends Tomorrow at 6 AM EST

Congratulations to Dawn in Ontario on winning the 4th copy of ScreamFree Parenting donated by Random House's Broadway Books.

If you haven't already entered our drawing for a hardback copy of ScreamFree Parenting, there is still time. Entries will be accepted until 6 AM EST tomorrow (Tuesday, October 9, 2007).

Good luck!