Review: Cranium Cariboo

For the last few nights at bedtime, Marc and I have been playing our first board game with Alex: Cranium Cariboo. He loves it and asks for it by name. We love it because it makes teaching him a little easier.

The basic concept is fairly simple. The "board" is a box with 15 small doors that flip open when you use a key. At the beginner's level, each door has one to four pictures in one of four shapes in one of four colors, as well as the word describing what's depicted in the picture. There are six small brightly-colored rubber balls that you put in the box; they roll around and settle under six of the doors. When you pull a card from the set, you'll get a number, letter, color or shape. You select a door that corresponds to the card, open it, and look for a ball. If there's a ball, you slip it into a tunnel on the right side of the board. The sixth ball causes the little treasure chest at the end of the tunnel to open, so whoever finds the sixth ball is the winner.

There are two sets of cards, one for "beginners" and one for "advanced" players. We've been playing with the beginner cards because they have the shapes, and Alex has been having a bit of trouble identifying a triangle.

When we started playing this game, Alex already knew his letters and numbers, so we'll be moving up to the advanced cards as soon as he masters the triangle. We have Alex spell out the words underneath the colors, shapes and numbers, so he practices his lower-case letters and the sound each letter makes while we play. However, I think you could also use the game to teach letters and numbers to a child who doesn't know them yet, it would just be a slow process.

Cariboo is for players age 3 and older. You can buy it for $16.98 from Amazon.com(I think shipping is $6.97). Or you can buy it for $16.95 from Drugstore.com, and shop through Ebates to get 6% cash back (making it $15.93). Drugstore.com also has a couple of free shipping deals. (Disclosure: I'm an Amazon affiliate. And if you sign up for Ebates and make a purchase by August 15 using my referral link, we'll both get $10. You can read my Ebates review for more information about my favorite shopping portal.)

Now that Alex is playing board games, we're looking for more. What game does (or did) your preschooler like to play?

Review: Kaboost Portable Chair Booster

The folks over at Kaboost were kind enough to send me one of their chair boosters to review. The concept is simple: Put a chair's legs into a four-pronged booster so a little kid can sit at the table at the right height.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we took the opportunity to move Alex out of his booster seat and into a regular dining chair outfitted with the Kaboost. Set up was amazingly easy and took only a minute or two.

We've been loving our Kaboost ever since we got it. Especially Alex. The slogan, "Little kids sit like big kids," really applies to him. He especially likes being able to slide out of the chair since there's nothing tying him down. This is good and bad, of course. Tyler seems to be jealous of this aspect, but there's no way I'm letting him loose just yet.

If I have one complaint about the Kaboost, it's that it's difficult to slide in and out from under the table. But of course, this is also a good thing in that it's an important safety feature. Alex can't push his chair around by pushing on the dining table, nor will he topple over because the chairs legs slid out.

I would highly recommend the Kaboost to anyone who wants to keep from scratching their dining chairs up with a booster, or whose kid is ready to get out of a booster. Even if you are hesitant to give your child the freedom to climb off the chair at home, you might want to consider one for the grandparents' house, where protecting the furniture might be a bigger concern. The Kaboost is also easily portable and actually comes with a handy travel bag.

Check out this video to see what the Kaboost looks like in action:

Update on using the Reynolds Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealer

Earlier this month, I reviewed the Reynolds Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealing System and said I would report back on whether the bags are washable. Good news: it appears that they are. Of course, I only washed and reused one quart-size bag, but I had no problem using the vacuum sealer on it once it had dried. However, if you decide to wash and reuse these bags, I ask you to keep in mind Reynolds' warning against reusing bags because of cross-contamination.

In more good news, I've discovered that the vacuum sealer is a huge help with meal planning and I've been storing many bags in the fridge (rather than the freezer). I can chop vegetables days in advance, then seal them until the day I need them. I've also been using the bags to store cheeses that might grow moldy before I use them up. Although I haven't done a detailed cost analysis, I think the fact that the bags help me cook more at home during the week more than makes up for their higher cost. I'm more likely to stop for fast food on the way home if I have an hour's worth of cooking and clean-up to do, but cut that down to a half hour because the prep work is done and I'm excited to cook when I get home. And of course, you can't discount the health benefits of homemade food versus fast food, or the savings from bringing leftovers to work for lunch.

All in all, I'm very happy to have the Handi-Vac in my kitchen drawer and look forward to making many meals with its help.

Review: iRobot Roomba 4220 Discovery SE

After reading about Lazyman's Roomba a few months ago, I began thinking seriously about getting one. See, I hate vacuuming. Actually, I loathe it. And I have very little time for it. In fact, I'd be waaaaaaay too embarrassed to actually reveal how often infrequently I vacuum. The only reason I didn't have a Roomba before reading Lazyman's post was because I didn't think it would actually work. But since Lazyman seemed pleased with his, I was intrigued (and hopeful).

And then one day in November, Woot! offered a Roomba 4220for $130 with $5 shipping. I couldn't resist. Especially since someone could "give" it to us for the holidays (in fact, it's officially a gift from my in-laws).

I'm concerned that my long hair is going to create problems in the long run (I've been cutting the hair off the brushes when I remember), but overall, I'm pretty pleased. I use it in one room at a time, but that's fine because I can set it and go. I do try to clear the floor so as to get maximum coverage, although the Roomba can't get into corners. The battery life is pretty brief, only about 45 minutes to an hour, but charging time is only 2 hours, so it's not bad. On days when I'm in and out of the house, this means I can vacuum a couple of different rooms in a day, all while I'm not actually doing any of the work.

There are some major pros to the Roomba:

• First and foremost, the Roomba is relatively effortless to use. If you stand and watch it, you'll find yourself thinking that there's no way it can cover the entire room in the seemingly illogical way it retraces its steps and covers the same ground while leaving entire patches of the room untouched. But when you return, it will be obvious that the Roomba did eventually cover the entire room.
• The "virtual walls" work well. I use these to keep the Roomba from tumbling down the stairs. But you could also use the virtual walls simply to keep the Roomba in a contained area that you want it to focus on.
• The Roomba can get where your upright vacuum can't reach. I don't think the area under our bed has been this clean since we first moved in.

So the pros are substantial. There are, however, quite a few cons:

• The charging base doesn't seem to work properly. The Roomba is supposed to head back to the base when it's done but ours always seems to have trouble docking. It also didn't stay charged in the base when I left it there for a couple of days. However, there's an easy fix, which is simply to plug the a/c adapter directly into the Roomba.
• The coverage area per use is relatively small. I had originally intended to let the Roomba do one level of our house at a time but because of the way it works, I think it's only good for one room at a time. This hasn't been a problem in terms of time, though.
• The Roomba can't handle much deviation in surface. For example, the Roomba got stuck going from the master bedroom into the master bath, because there's about a one-inch drop from carpet to linoleum. It's not a huge problem, but I have to remember to close the bathroom door before leaving the Roomba to run in the master bedroom.
• Long hair is supposed to be a problem and needs to be removed by hand, according to the manual, although this hasn't become a problem for us yet.
• The Roomba can't get into corners, so I still need to break out the upright on a regular basis. But at least I can do that less often.

Before purchasing the Roomba, I read some reviews that said many owners love their Roomba like a pet and develop an emotional attachment to it. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be one of them.

But, I think the Roomba is saving me enough time from vacuuming that I am considering getting a Scooba.Like vacuuming, scrubbing my kitchen floor is something that I do embarrassingly rarely. So I think a Scooba could really improve my level of happiness since I want a sparkling clean kitchen floor. Besides, I want to improve my kitchen because it's the feng shui money center of my house. I'm going to give my Roomba a few more months to prove its worth, and if all continues to go well, I'll consider getting a Scooba - of course, only at a great price!

Review: Reynolds Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealing System

The folks at Reynolds sent me one of their Handi-Vac Vacuum Sealing Systems to test out, and I have to say, it's wonderfully easy to use. The Handi-Vac works with a special zip-top freezer bag that's easy to close. You then just put the Handi-Vac on top of the little specially marked escape hole and suck all the air out. It is a little tricky getting the sealer into the exact right position, but once it's there, it works quickly. I didn't even have to read the directions to figure out how the system works. And not-quite-three-year-old Alex was able to operate the sealer while I held the bag in position for him.

The Reynolds folks claim that "[s]toring food with the Handi-Vac System helps to preserve the texture and appearance of fresh foods by virtually eliminating freezer burn." I haven't had my pancakes in the freezer for very long, but I can tell from the lack of air in the bag and past experience that there will be less freezer burn than there would have been otherwise.

But would I actually recommend that you buy this product? It depends. For one thing, you probably don't need yet another gadget in your kitchen (I certainly didn't). And for another thing, the bags aren't cheap. Plus, unlike traditional vacuum sealers, you only have the choice of quart-size or gallon-size bags (from my understanding of traditional vacuum sealers, as gathered by watching a few infomercials over the years, you can customize the length of your bag). A box of 14 quart-size bags was $2.84 or 20.3 cents per bag (a box of 10 gallon-size bags was the same price). I can buy 40 Target brand quart-size freezer bags for $2.17, or 5.4 cents per bag. And use a straw to suck the air out of the bag - this has worked reasonably well for me in the past.

I freely admit, though, that the straw method isn't quite as effective as the Handi-Vac. And if you have a lot of trouble with freezer burn, then I think you might easily make up the cost of the bags in the amount of food you don't end up throwing out. Also, Reynolds recommends against re-using bags because of cross-contamination, but I think you could re-use bags if nothing's leaked. For example, my frozen pancakes are individually wrapped in plastic and I see no reason why I couldn't re-use the bag once all of the pancakes are gone. I have no idea if the bags are washable or if that would damage the seal, but I'll let you know if I remember to experiment (I re-use bags all the time, but I've never been converted to the Tightwad Gazettewashing crowd).

Another nice thing about the Handi-Vac compared to traditional vacuum sealers is that you can take out a portion of what's in the bag, suck the air out, and throw the remainder back into the freezer again. This works beautifully with my individually wrapped pancakes.

The bottom line: If you've been wishing for a vacuum sealer and the limited bag sizes won't be a problem for you, this is a good option. The Handi-Vac starter set, which comes with three quart-size bags, is $9.49 at my local Target.

Review: Cascade Complete Gel

I loved my dishwasher even before Alex was born, but ever since he arrived, I have really loved my dishwasher. I use it every day. I have even been known to run it when it's not full. I feel somewhat bad about this, but one reason I use my dishwasher constantly is that the super hot water sterilizes all the baby and toddler-related items. (However, I never use the drying cycle, which saves tremendously on electricity.) Because I have such a strong bond with my dishwasher, I was happy to receive bottles of Cascade Complete Gel and Electrasol Advanced Gel to compare. I really wanted to be able to say that the Cascade worked a zillion times better, since it was their PR firm that sent me the bottles. But I honestly didn't notice that much of a difference at first.

Then I read at An Island Review that Kailani also didn't notice much difference until she put the dishes in without rinsing them off. Cascade got all of the food off, while the other brand left tiny bits. So I gave it a try and noticed the same thing. Cascade gel consistently got dishes with leftover bits on them clean while Electrasol and even Cascade Complete Powder (which is what I normally use) didn't.

Another difference between the detergents is smell. The Cascade gel is a little perfume-y, but the Electrasol is downright unpleasant. It's bad when it's coming from the bottle, but much worse when it hits you as you open the dishwasher.

One important note: All detergents performed best when the cups were only half-full. The directions all say to fill all cups completely, but I have found that with filling them all the way leaves a filmy residue. Filling them halfway works perfectly.

Cascade Complete Gel is $5.34 for a 75-ounce bottle at my local Target. I use about 2.5 ounces per load, so that's 30 loads per bottle, which works out to 17.8 cents per load.

Cascade Complete Powder is also $5.34 for a 75-ounce box, and I use about 1.5 ounces per load, which gives me 50 loads per box. That works out to 10.7 cents per load.

Electrasol Advanced Gel is $2.99 for a 75-ounce bottle at Target. I use about 2.5 ounces per load, so that's 30 loads per bottle, which works out to 10 cents per load.

As you can see, the Electrasol is cheapest. So I think my new strategy will be to use Cascade Powder when I rinse all of the dishes and don't have any dried food bits (I frequently have 25-cent Cascade coupons and I will pay a little extra to avoid the Electrasol smell). But I now plan on keeping Cascade Complete Gel on hand for those times when I don't thoroughly rinse all of my dishes.

Review: Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch

I was pretty happy when a PR firm I just started working with asked me to review a couple of boxes of Nature Valley's new product, Roasted Nut Crunch bars, in peanut and almond varieties. I buy and eat Nature Valley Oats 'n Honey granola barsall the time, but I don't like nuts that much so I wouldn't have bought these without having tried them first but I was definitely curious. Guess what? They're good!

They're definitely on the salty side, so part of me wishes they included chocolate chips or better yet, were dipped in chocolate. But that would obviously have a negative impact on the nutritional information, which is pretty good for a tasty snack. Each peanut bar has 190 calories, 12 grams of fat (1.5 grams saturated, 0.5 grams polyunsaturated, and 10 grams monounsaturated), 180 mg of sodium, 2 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein. The ingredient list is pleasantly short: peanuts, sunflower seeds, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and almond flour. No trans fats in sight - but Marc didn't like the stickiness that I assume is a result of the corn syrup.

If you prefer larger snacks, I would recommend eating an apple or other fruit or having a glass of milk with the bar, since it's not big. But if you take your time eating, which is easy to do since there are large pieces of nuts, I think you'll find that this is a satisfying snack by itself. I particularly like that it's the kind of snack that will keep well in my diaper bag and in the car, so it's great for when I'm out and about. The suggested retail price is $3.39 for a box of six bars, but I'm betting you can find it for less at discount stores like Target.

Review: Kozy Carrier Mei Tai (& Special Offer!)

As I've mentioned previously, I'm very happy with my BabyHawk and Mei Tai Baby mei tais, but I was very happy to acquire a third mei tai from Kozy Carrier. Even before I got my Kozy, I knew that I would love it because everyone who has one is crazy about theirs. One of the things I like best is that the larger panel and sturdy materials allow a Kozy to be used for longer than a BabyHawk or Mei Tai Baby - in fact, unlike the others, the Kozy doesn't have a weight limit.

I have to admit the larger panel size threw me for a loop at first. The first time I put Tyler on my back, he was so far down, he couldn't see over the top of the fabric! But I rolled the bottom a couple of times to make the panel smaller and that's helped a lot.

The Kozy's wide straps also took some getting used to, and are a little awkward to tie compared to the other mei tais, but the advantage is that they don't slip as much, especially when I bend down while wearing Tyler in the front. There's also a nifty little pouch sewn into one of the ends, which I didn't even realize until I read the online FAQ. I did have some trouble flattening one of the shoulder straps after I washed the Kozy, since the sewing was a little bit off. This also prevents the straps from rolling up completely flat (to tote my mei tais around, I fold the body into quarters, then gather all of the straps at one corner and wrap them around the folded fabric). Like my other mei tais, the Kozy comes with some padding at the shoulder for comfort.

I really like the built-in headrest for the extra support and privacy that it gives Tyler. My Kozy is the widest of my mei tais at the bottom, so I'm not sure how comfortable Tyler would have been when he was smaller - though Tyler is at the smaller end of the spectrum for his age, so this may not be a problem for most babies, especially if, unlike Tyler, they don't mind having their legs "froggied" when they're little. The Kozy fabric seems to be the thickest of all three mei tais, but it is not the warmest one I have (that would be the BabyHawk, since it has the minkee lining). The Kozy is made of a very strong canvas that should last for years, and hopefully will get a lot of use even after Tyler starts walking.

I love each of my mei tais for different reasons, and I encourage you to try at least one because they are a fantastic way to wear your baby. In fact, to promote babywearing, I'm excited to announce that Kelley and Kristi over at Kozy Carrier have agreed to give CFO readers a 10% discount. Just put the code CHIEF FAMILY OFFICER into the "Notes" field when you place your order, and you will receive a 10% credit when your order is processed. The discount excludes tax and shipping, and the code expires 30 days from today (on October 17, 2007).

iPod Accessories for Parents, or How to get a full nap

My brother-in-law generously gave us an iPod last year, and we've gotten great use out of it with Alex. We've greatly expanded our children's music selection in the car (no more Wiggles! - at least not a daily basis). We regularly expose Alex to our kind of music (usually we strike a deal: Mommy and Daddy's music on the way to our destination, Alex's music on the way home). And, thanks to our latest acquisition, Alex can also watch videos in the car without a DVD player now.

What does all of this have to do with naptime?

One of our biggest weekend challenges is to get the family out of the house for morning activities and yet make it home before Alex falls asleep on the way (since both our children would go bonkers if we simply stayed home - they don't care that it's football season now). Tyler is still too young to keep awake in the car (he's still rear-facing, too), but Alex will stay up if properly entertained. This is absolutely crucial because if he falls asleep, he will wake up when we get home and not go back to sleep, no matter how short his nap. And then we're in for a long afternoon because he'll be cranky but refuse to sleep, and by the time he's willing to take a nap, it's too close to bedtime.

Given how imperative it is to keep Alex awake on the car ride home, we are always looking for ways to make that happen. We have used snacks with great success, doling out individual pieces of pretzels or cut-up grapes on the drive back from the beach, for example. But sometimes food just doesn't cut it, like if we've gone to visit a friend and eaten at her house.

Enter the iPod. Unlike a portable DVD player, it doesn't just sit there for Alex to stare at until his eyes start droop. For one thing, it's a novel, usually forbidden electronic device, and the thought of being able to actually hold it and touch it is incredibly exciting to a toddler. But, being a bright and clever child, holding the darn thing just isn't enough for Alex. So we've added a few accessories that make it child-friendly (and buy us 30 minutes for the drive home).

• First things first: If a child is going to handle this, it definitely needs a good case. After some research, Marc settled on this case. It looks okay and protects the iPod pretty well, although the clear plastic face bears some scratches despite its claim to be "scratch-resistant."
• For video viewing, you'll need a speaker. We just acquired this one, whicht turns the iPod into a mini-video player. We've loaded our iPod with free Nick Jr. downloads and other kid-friendly content. Many of the videos are short, but that actually works to our advantage because it keeps Alex alert. He tells us when the video has ended and hands the iPod back for a new one.
• For music listening, we have an adapter that works with our car's cigarette lighter. We tried out a couple of other adapters before finding this one, which works quite well. The first adapter we got was almost twice the cost and interfered with the gear shift. The other adapter was a cassette adapter for our older car that doesn't work well at all. One caveat regarding adapters: always unplug them or they may kill your car battery (yes, I'm speaking from personal experience).

Not surprisingly, Alex gets a kick out of pressing the buttons, and he actually seems to have more skill with the scroll wheel than I do. We should be able to use the iPod in this manner until Alex outgrows his nap, which will probably be in a year or so - at which point we'll give him a Gameboy. :)

Review: Fisher-Price Rainforest Peek-A-Boo Leaves Musical Mobile vs. Tiny Love Symphony in Motion Mobile

Before Alex was born, I did my research and registered for the Tiny Love Symphony in Motion mobile, which was highly recommended by Baby Bargains. We received it as a gift from kind friends, and indeed, there was a sticker on the box indicating the mobile had won some kind of award. There was an exciting moment when Alex was a few weeks old when Marc turned to me and said, "He's actually looking at it!"

When it came time to set up a mobile in Tyler's crib, we put the Symphony in Motion mobile up and Marc pushed the button to make sure it worked. He listened to the first five notes of Beethoven, turned it off, and turned to me, ashen.

Me: "What's wrong?"

Marc: "We can't have this!"

Me: "Why not?"

Marc: "It reminds me of when Alex was born."

You see, when Alex was first born, life was miserable for us. I was having such a hard time breastfeeding and trying to cope with postpartum depression. Alex was always hungry, cried all the time, and didn't sleep from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. on a daily basis (I can still tell you the TV schedule for those hours). Marc did most of the childcare, since I was either pumping or crying, often both. It wasn't until Alex was about six weeks old that I started taking More Milk Special Blend, my milk supply finally met demand, we put Alex on a two-hour feeding schedule, and things started to look up.

All of this flashed through my mind as I watched the color slowly return to Marc's cheeks. "Okay, honey, let's go get a different mobile."

So off we went to Target, in search of a mobile that had the option of working without music. We couldn't find that option, but we found the Fisher-Price Rainforest Peek-A-Boo Leaves Musical Mobile, which had a "rainforest sounds" option. We took it home, installed it, and Marc let out a huge sigh of relief when he turned it on and heard leaves rustling and birds chirping instead of tinny, melancholy musical notes.

We had to take the mobile down a couple of months ago, since Tyler started pulling himself up, but we loved this mobile while we used it. It is easy to install, and has two volume options and three music options in addition to the rainforest sounds (though we rarely used those). The animals rotating around the mobile are cuter than the Symphony in Motion creatures (there was one monkey on Alex's mobile that had what can only be described as lobster claws for arms). It comes with a remote control that we never used, but which did turn the mobile on and off from a distance.

I think that perhaps the Symphony in Motion might be better for visual stimulation, with its bright colors and black and white contrast. The scraping sound of the plastic pieces that slide along the arms was grating to Marc and me, but it didn't seem to bother Alex (though who could tell), and perhaps its rhythm is intended to be soothing for baby.

I can't say that one mobile or the other was loved by the child that used it, although Alex frequently asked us to turn on Tyler's mobile. If I were to do it all over again, I would just start with the Fisher-Price rainforest mobile for the rainforest sounds option. You'll have plenty of toys that play awful music all too soon anyway.

Must Have Product: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Instant Nail Hardener

I have a nail that's completely messed up right now (long story) and I recently began to worry that it was just going to break in half. I happened to have an old bottle of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails and had been putting that on the nail, which seemed to help. But I left the bottle at work over the weekend, only to have the polish start peeling off on Saturday. Fearful that the nail would snap, I picked up a bottle of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Instant Hardener. I love this stuff! My nail feels as strong as my other ones now. I think every household should have it for any kind of broken nail. I know we'll never be without it.


Note: I got my bottle at Target for $4.89 plus tax.

Update to my Review of the Combi City Savvy

A year and a half ago, when I posted my review of the Combi City Savvy, I had only been using the stroller for a couple of months. So I thought it was time to update my review to say I've come to hate it.

The positive attributes remain the same, but the negative ones have become magnified over the course of time. I hate the twisted straps - not to mention the fact that the connectors have slipped apart so that there were a few times when Alex wasn't strapped in at all. I hate the tiny little basket, which is essentially useless. And I hate the short canopy, which is also almost useless in our hot Southern California weather. I dread the thought of using the Combi even more than the thought of using the Graco Quattro when Tyler outgrows his infant car seat.

Yet I know I'm going to want a decent compact stroller for brief trips. The Metrolite takes up a decent amount of room in our sedan's trunk, so I'm really torn. I've heard good things about Maclarens but don't want to spend over $100, which also rules out Peg Peregos, another brand my friends rave about. I might just continue using the Combi, but I won't be happy about it!

Product Review: Fisher-Price Sound 'N Lights Monitor

Before Alex was born, my research into baby products made me concerned that any baby monitor we bought, particularly a less expensive model, wouldn't work in our house due to interference from our neighbors' homes. But I took the advice in Baby Bargains and started with a relatively cheap monitor, figuring that if necessary, we could always exchange it for the more expensive Philips monitor with multiple channels.

It turns out that we've been very happy with the Fisher-Price Sound 'N Lights monitor. Even with only two channels, it worked quite well with both Alex and Tyler. I liked that the receivers operate on both batteries and adapters, so I could plug it most of the time but let it run on batteries if I wanted to carry it with me around the house. The visual cues on the receiver are helpful if you're doing something that might prevent you from realizing that baby is crying. For example, with Alex, I used to get on the treadmill and leave the receiver where I could see it. I wouldn't be able to hear Alex cry while I was running, but I could see the red lights flare up. The transmitter and receivers are pretty hardy and have survived quite a few falls in our house (though we do have carpet) and the flexible antennas have really held up.

My biggest complaint is the horrible high-pitched sound the receivers make if they're on when the transmitter is turned off. That might happen with every other monitor, but I don't know since this is the only one we've had. My other major complaint is that the cord on the transmitter is quite short. I realize that this is for safety reasons, but it makes it difficult to plug it in to a low outlet and then rest the monitor on a higher surface. Since the cord was so short, we had to put the transmitter on the edge of the bookcase in Alex's room, and I kept knocking it off - but maybe they've lengthened the cord a bit since the version depicted in the picture looks different from ours, which was purchased in 2005.

Overall, I give this monitor a big thumbs up. It works well and is very affordable.

Product Review: Snack N' Play Travel Tray

When the folks over at Family Travel Gear asked me to review the Snack N' Play Travel Tray, I was delighted because I'd been looking for a product like this for Alex ever since we turned his car seat forward-facing. The concept is simple: a tray that can hold your child's books, toys and snacks to keep him from driving you nuts - er, I mean entertained - during car and stroller rides.

The Snack N' Play Travel Tray is basically a rimmed tray made out of heavy fabric with a buckle that goes around your child to keep it in place. I found that it made the car seat straps a little difficult to tighten since I had to strap the tray on first. (This wasn't an issue with a three-point harness stroller.) It's nice to have a buckle on each side of the tray so that it doesn't matter which side of the car the car seat is on. It appears the tray can be used with just about any car seat or stroller. A friend who tried the tray at my request said that her son didn't like having the strap around him so she used it without the strap at times, but I haven't had this problem with Alex, who sometimes asks for the tray even on short car trips.

My friend and I both found that toys tended to slide backwards toward our sons and end up on the seat next to them. I also discovered that Alex (at age two) can't maneuver a cup out of the side storage pocket. However, that might not be an issue with an older child. Because the tray is made of fabric, it can be folded for storage and actually comes in a fairly compact zipper bag (similar to the kind that comforters come in).

My biggest concern with this tray was safety, so I asked for more details about the claim that the tray had been "crash tested by a federally recognized laboratory" and "No concerns [were] noted." I was informed that the laboratory receives federal funding to conduct safety tests and can't be identified for contractual reasons, but that the test was conducted with a new car seat and a dummy. Additionally, the tray's inventor told me that the tray complies with ASTM safety standards and that several car seat technicians examined the tray and had no safety concerns. My personal, unprofessional conclusion is that the tray itself probably doesn't add any significant threat, but as the police officer who installed my first car seat pointed out, any object in the car can become a projectile in an accident and pose a serious danger. Therefore, I should remove all loose hard objects from my car, particularly those in the backseat. But I just can't bring myself to refuse Alex his diggers, forklifts, and garbage trucks.

The bottom line: The Snack N' Play Travel Tray is nice to have but by no means necessary. It probably would be most useful during extended car trips, when the need for entertainment is greatest.

Family Travel Gear sells the Snack N' Play Travel Tray for $19.99 (shipping costs vary by location).

Product Review: Fisher-Price Royal Potty & Fisher-Price Royal Potty Step Stool

In just the last few weeks, potty training has really taken off in our house. We are now the proud owners of not one, but two potties. We started off with the Fisher-Price Royal Potty. That has been in the boys' bathroom for about six months now. It's supposed to give off a fanfare to reward proper use but that's never worked properly. I think the light sensor just isn't sensitive enough. The only time we seem to get fanfare is when we bump into the potty. I like this potty, however, because it's very easy to clean - the bowl just slides right out. It's also a good size for Alex.

Because we're using the potty so much, we acquired a second one for the downstairs bathroom. I would have gotten the exact same one but they didn't have any at the Target nearest our house and I want to check out another store or wait for shipping. So I picked up the Fisher-Price Royal Potty Step Stool, which turned out to be more different than I expected. For one thing, the shield that keeps urine in the bowl when used by boys can be folded down - something Alex enjoys doing while we sit there. Instead of sliding the bowl out, you have to lift up the seat and then lift up the bowl, so it's not quite as easy to clean. But on the other hand, there's no risk of Alex pulling the bowl out while he's sitting on the potty. The step stool version has the added benefit of a built-in trainer seat for the big toilet and, like the name implies, it folds up to be a step stool. Finally, the sensor on this version is a little different and produces fanfare at appropriate times; however, it also produces fanfare even when nothing happened and so is a little misleading.

The final verdict: I like both potties but if I could only have one, I think I'd go with the step stool version because of the versatility.

Britax Marathon vs. Britax Roundabout vs. Graco ComfortSport

I'm happily using Tyler's infant carseat still, but since Alex switched over to the Britax Marathon at 6 months, I've begun thinking about what carseat I'll get for Tyler.

For starters, I love the cushiness of the Marathon. It's nice and wide and Alex seems to fit in it really well. I also like the neck pads that come with the carseat - they're minimal but keep the straps from cutting into Alex's neck. It's pretty easy to strap him in, especially because the velcro on the lower part of the straps keep them out of the way so he doesn't sit on them when he first gets in the chair. And then there are the two primary reasons I bought the Marathon: the 65-pound weight limit and its high safety rating. The negatives about the Marathon are the price, the size (it seems comfortable but it is quite big), and most importantly, the fact that Alex has undone the belt once while the car was in motion.

We've installed a Britax Roundabout in my in laws' car, so I've had a good chance to compare it to the Marathon. The Roundabout is a little smaller and although it's nicely padded, seems less cushy - and by that, I think what I'm really trying to say is that it seems less deep. The Roundabout doesn't come with neck pads, which adds to the impression that it's less cushy. And although I think it's a little harder to tighten the straps on the Roundabout, it's still pretty easy to use. The major plus compared to the Marathon is that the release is a button, not a buckle, and I don't think Alex could loosen the straps on the Roundabout. Also, the Roundabout, while not cheap, costs $40 to $50 less.

High on the list of positive attributes of both Britax carseats is the ease of installation. I bring that up because we got a Graco ComfortSport for traveling that we absolutely hated. I was concerned that the Marathon wouldn't fit in an airplane seat (we didn't have the Roundabout at the time) so I picked the ComfortSport based on the recommendation in Baby Bargains. The book recommended the ComfortSport pretty highly so maybe we just got a lemon. But the bottom line is that it was extremely difficult to install with a seatbelt (we couldn't use LATCH in some of the cars we rode in) and almost impossible to tighten. I never felt that Alex was strapped in tightly enough and so we ended up getting rid of the ComfortSport and buying the Roundabout, a choice we've never regretted one bit. The one positive of the ComfortSport is its portability compared to the Marathon, but that was meaningless in light of its near uselessness.

What I will likely do with Tyler is buy a Britax Regent, which is a non-convertible carseat with a weight limit of 80 pounds, and move Alex into it. Then Tyler can go into the Marathon, which we'll turn rear-facing again. This won't save us any money (the Regent and Marathon both cost $269.99 at Babies R Us), but it should keep the boys in a carseat for the longest time possible, maximizing their safety. And that, of course, is the most important thing.

Graco Metrolite vs. Graco Snugrider vs. Babytrend Snap-n-Go

As I've mentioned previously, I am the not-so-proud owner of a Graco Metrolite stroller. It does work well with the Graco SafeSeat , and I would have been content to use it as our only stroller for the infant carseat. But we have two cars, and living in Los Angeles, we pretty much drive everywhere. So after the second time we forgot to switch the Metrolite to the car we were driving and arrived at our destination without a stroller, we decided to get another stroller. I suppose we could have used the Graco Quattro we already own, but if you've read my post about the Quattro versus the Metrolite, you know that I loathe its weight and size. Not only would Marc and I dread taking the Quattro out of the trunk, we wouldn't be able to fit much else in there.

Enter the Graco Snugrider. Since Graco didn't make a stroller frame when Alex was born, I had used the Babytrend Snap-n-Go with his infant carseat. So, keeping in mind that my reference point is a Snap-n-Go purchased in 2005 (and that some changes have probably been made to it since), here is a comparison of the Metrolite, Snugrider, and Snap-n-Go.

First, the Metrolite. Unlike the Snugrider and Snap-n-Go, this is a "regular" stroller, i.e., it's not limited to use with infant carseats. My favorite part about it is the double-canopy effect with the infant carseat. I can never see Tyler through the little plastic window due to glare or bad lighting, but I love that I can block out almost all light and discourage nosy strangers. Plus he seems to sleep really well in this stroller. The basket is reasonably accessible when the infant carseat is in place, though you have to lower the top part. The ride seems smooth and the stroller is relatively easy to load and unload from my car. My complaints about the Metrolite are: (1) the need to lock the front wheels before folding (I actually have managed to fold it without locking the wheels but it doesn't always work); (2) the way the seatback bar can get caught under the basket bar when you open the stroller; (3) the lack of a storage compartment on the handlebar; and (4) that the netting on the end of the canopy isn't removable. My single biggest complaint about the Metrolite is that the seat buckle is ridiculously difficult to put together - it's a five-point harness but the shoulder straps detach from the side straps so you need both hands free in order to do the buckle. But this obviously isn't a problem when you're using the stroller just for the infant carseat.

Second, the Snugrider. This stroller frame is about half the price of the Metrolite, lightweight, and easy to use. Most importantly, the infant carseat fits securely. I have mixed feelings about the automatic locking mechanism - I like that the stroller doesn't fall open on its own, but I find unlocking it very awkward. I miss the double canopy but it's easier to look at Tyler without it (if he's sleeping, I use a blanket to block out his surroundings - but getting the blanket to stay when it's windy is difficult). The basket is easily accessible, but I couldn't get a paper grocery bag in there when I was at the market. There is one cup holder and one small tray but no storage compartment. All in all, I like this stroller but it could use a few improvements.

Lastly, the Snap-n-Go. The Snap-n-Go's pros are similar to the Snugrider: relatively inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to use. If I recall correctly, the Snap-n-Go's basket was not only easily accessible, it held a lot. And I think the gap between the carseat and the top of the basket was bigger than on the Snugrider, so a paper grocery bag probably would have fit. As with the Snugrider, I used a blanket if Alex was sleeping, but again, getting it to stay in place was tricky. If the infant carseat fit as securely in the Snap-n-Go as it does in the Snugrider, I would have gotten another Snap-n-Go without hesitation. But I was always a bit uneasy about having to secure the carseat with a buckle.

To sum up: If money is a major issue, go with the Metrolite (or another regular stroller) since you can use it with the infant carseat and as a regular stroller when your child outgrows the carseat. However, the Snugrider and Snap-n-Go are handy and worth it if you want a second stroller for your infant. The Snap-n-Go is $10 cheaper than the Snugrider, so if you're comfortable with security of the buckle, go for it. The Snap-n-Go would also be a better buy if you think you might use it with non-Graco carseats since it accommodates other brands.

Note: I no longer had the Snap-n-Go when Tyler was born. If I had, I would have happily used it and not gotten the Snugrider.

Graco Quattro vs. Graco Metrolite

I think I've failed to mention here that I regret buying my Graco Quattro stroller, primarily because it's so darn heavy. I can live with its other faults, like the short canopy and even the space it takes up in the trunk, but the weight is what makes me not want to use it. I bought the stroller on an impulse, when Alex had outgrown his infant car seat and the Snap-n-Go, and for some reason I can no longer recall, the Combi Savvy we already had didn't fit the bill. After the first couple times that I used the Quattro, though, I wished that I had properly researched it before going out to buy it.

You'd think that I would have learned from that experience. But no, when I was pregnant with Tyler, I decided without any research that a Graco Metrolite would fit my needs just fine. After all, it would be like having a lighter Quattro. (I didn't consider other stroller brands because I was buying the Graco SafeSeat and wanted to ensure that the infant carseat was compatible with the stroller.) So I didn't realize until the first time we used the Metrolite with Alex that it has a five point harness with an awkward buckle; this isn't an issue at the moment because Alex hardly ever rides in the stroller and Tyler is still in his carseat. But when Tyler is older, I'm going to kick myself every time I have to buckle him into the Metrolite. The buckle is my biggest complaint. More minor faults are the lack of a storage compartment (the Quattro has two small ones built into the handle bar), the w