You might remember the old Jarts with the steel tip that was allegedly going to impale your teammates if you didn’t throw it properly?

Well they took them off the market and they disappeared from my psyche until suddenly I saw them again. And I HAD to have them. With a new safety tip that will not impale your friends and neighbors, the new JARTS are just as much fun as the old ones.

I took my oldest into the backyard one night while we cooked out and set the circle targets out on the ground and taught him the art of the underhanded Jarts Throw. After several throws he turned to me and said “Watch and learn, Mom. Watch and learn.”

Jarts are a great outdoor family activity to get everyone outdoor and away from the TV or computer games. A huge prop goes to the return of this fun game!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

So when we got the MY FIRST UNO deck from Fundex Games I was pretty excited. It’s a smaller deck with bigger cards which are perfect for little hands. He’s a little big for the Yo Gabba Gabba characters (can we get some Power Rangers?) but still, he is familiar with the characters and it wasn’t boring to him.

The rules are slightly altered for little guys as well. Only five cards in your hand vs. seven and a couple of other very minor alterations that keep the game moving and keep things simple for the wee ones.

Fundex Games makes a large line of great family games including some oldies but goodies that I thought were gone forever – GNIP GNOP anyone? They also carry a large assortment of Yo Gabba Gabba merchandise if you have any big DJ Lance fans in your house.

We had a great time and he picked up on the rules and how to play within the first hand. I’m giving this fun, family time activity a huge prop!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

There are two rather distinct halves to Boogie SuperStar. The singing is the easiest for competitors to grasp and you sing the words in time with the lyrics being shown on screen. That is not complex, but the dancing is much more difficult to master. There are various moves you must perform such as the hand bike (what exactly is that move?).

You can play with many players and mix up singing and dancing. I was at a major disadvantage playing it because there was only one song I had heard, but that’s because I am a loser. I know that many of these songs are very popular to girls who still read Teeny Bopper magazine (remember the days?). I still had a lot of fun playing it, and the husband even busted out a few dance moves and songs. We had a great time with it, and now I’m going to pass it on to a little girl I know who I’m sure will have an even better time with it. Especially if she has a slumber party.

It’s a prop from me, and a BIG prop if you have pre-teen/teenage girls.

Written by Andi, who teaches local high school students about abstaining from sex. She has also had two kids in 16 months. Andi’s husband thinks she needs to practice what she preaches. You can read about her adventures (or misadventures) in motherhood at her personal blog, Parenting 101.

It all started back in 2000 with the Music Genome Project. It is the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. Their team of 50 musician analysts listened to song after song, studying every detail and collecting information. What they did with that is create the website Pandora where you can explore til your heart is content.

All you do is drop the name of your favorite song or band into Pandora and the Genome Project takes over. It will quickly scan the entire world of music and find songs with musical similarities to your choice. You sit back while it creates a listening experience tailored to your likes and dislikes. If it plays a song you don’t care for all you do is click the thumbs down button and it will take that song (and any like it) off your play-list. You can even create up to unique music 100 stations. I use this at work and love that I can delete the Backstreet Boys with one click!

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 7 year old son. Last year they moved to the country to live on a rock road. Emily was stuck with dial-up internet for 13 months and kissed the installation guy who recently put in high speed at their house. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

3D ROLLERCOASTER RUSH
3D Rollercoaster Rush comes with 40 different rollercoaster tracks set in the Wild West, each with a Challenge Race Mode where you can play against the designer of the game! The game leverages the accelerometer feature on the iPhone and iPod touch by allowing players to easily accelerate and brake by tilting the device to make the carts go faster and slower.

CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH
California Gold Rush allows players to explore up to 30 mines and features a compelling story with a colorful cast of characters. Your objective is to help Mandy dig for gold, artifacts and gems below the depths of the earth as you avoid collapses, cave bats and other dangers! The game leverages the innovative Multi-Touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch, allowing players to move Mandy and start digging with the touch of their fingers. California Gold Rush provides depth and long lasting gameplay that will keep players digging for hours.

PYRAMID BLOXX
Set in Egypt, Pyramid Bloxx allows you to put your puzzle and strategy skills to the test.  There are two unique game modes including Quick Game and Empire Modes that offers high replay value. In Quick Game, players are challenged to create the tallest pyramid possible while facing disastrous elements such as Sand Storms and Earthquakes. In Empire Mode, there are two distinctive parts. First, players need to carefully navigate blocks up from the mines while picking up power-ups and meeting fun characters along the way. The second phase requires gamers to strategically place the stone block on the pyramid grid to achieve the maximum score.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 7 year old son. Last year they moved to the country to live on a rock road. Emily was stuck with dial-up internet for 13 months and kissed the installation guy who recently put in high speed at their house. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

My children were recently given a selection of puzzles from the Great American Puzzle Factory, which is part of Fundex Games. Imagine our delight when we opened the boxes of the Make’em Move puzzles to find that they have wheels that turn as well as other pieces of each scene that move. On the race car puzzle the driver’s scarf flows in the wind and the checkered flag waves in the winner.

The fire truck’s ladder moves so you can pretend you’re climbing up and down and the bell moves. You can find something for every child’s interest. The great thing about these is that after your make your puzzle, you have something to play pretend with!

All of their puzzles have nice, large pieces which lock together easily for little hands. This makes putting them together fun and not frustrating for little ones who are just learning.

And I noticed at the Fundex Games website that they have brought back JARTS! JARTS! I am so buying some Jarts this summer! I’ll introduce my family to some real fun. All the puzzles are great and I give them props!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

Travel Essentials to Keep Kids Entertained and Well Fed
Whether your travel plans include planes, trains or automobiles this summer, I’m sure you are busy assembling things to keep your children entertained. In our house we’re preparing for a cross country flight with a toddler and preschooler. Here are some of the essentials that I’m bringing along to keep my 2 children entertained and well-fed during our travels.

I always bring along some favorite paperback picture books, mini Magna Doodles, crayons, new stickers, blank paper and an iPod loaded with audio books from AudibleKids. Oh, and stacks of DVDs. We aren’t a huge TV watching family so watching favorite movies and shows on the plane is always a treat. These days the whole family loves Elmo! The new Elmo’s World: Summer Vacation is currently our favorite since we are right smack in the middle of summer. Our 2 year old son and 4 ½ year old daughter can actually agree on watching Elmo explore beaches, skin and cameras in his newest DVD. This means that while they are entertained my husband and I can actually kick back, relax and read something other than children’s books during at least 51 minutes of our upcoming cross country flight. Thanks Elmo! Elmo’s World: Summer Vacation is currently selling for $11.99 from Amazon.

Since airplane food is non-existent and was never good in the first place, I continue to pack food as if I were going to end up on an episode of Lost. Even when driving, you never know when the kids are going to get hungry and it could be miles until the next rest stop. Along with the requisite Goldfish, Chex, M&M’s and lollipops for popping little ear drums, this year I’m adding Brothers All Natural Fruit Crisps to our snack collection. Since trying them a couple months ago, they have since become one of my favorite healthy snacks. The single serving packs contain 100% freeze dried fruit. The fruit is crisp, delicious and a super healthy way to provide a 1/3 serving of fruit on the go without it getting squished en route. I’m partial to the Fuji Apple and White & Yellow Peach fruit crisps, but there are 5 other delicious flavors to choose from including: Asian Pear, Banana, Pineapple, Strawberry and Strawberry-Banana. Brother’s also makes an all natural line Potato Crisps, but I think the Fruit Crisps are a far healthier option for my kids. Brother’s All Natural produrcts are currently available at Costco and from the Brother’s All Natural website.

While it isn’t quite portable enough to take on the plane, Tutor Rummy is a great game that allows children 8 and older to practice United States geography before taking a cross country road trip. Played Rummy style, Tutor Rummy allows children to learn state capitals, rivers, lakes, mountains, oceans, neighboring countries, national parks, Indian tribes and natural resources using 2 decks of poker-like cards. The directions that come with Tutor Rummy are easy enough for even a non-Rummy player like myself to understand and there are instructions for a more cooperative game and more challenging play. Even if you aren’t taking a cross-country road trip, Tutor Rummy is a good game to help your child keep up with geography skills this summer. Tutor Rummy retails for $19.99 and is available on the company’s website.

Written by Leticia, a part time working multitasking mama who loves spending time with her husband and two children, exotic vacations, and cooking great meals. Leticia writes about technology products and technology issues affecting children through her blog, Tech Savvy Mama.

Visit My Pedz for other great gift ideas!

Wild Planet Hyper Dash
Hyper Dash is an award-winning fast-paced race course game from Wild Planet that encourages kids to be active and think on their feet. Designed to improve listening, coordination and math skills, this exciting game is easy to set up and is an ideal way to help kids aged six and above to practice addition and subtraction while exercising and having fun. It’s four games in one and costs around $25.

Visit Wild Planet for other great gift ideas!

Crayola Glow Board
With the Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board, kids can take their creations to a whole new level of fun. The glow board comes with six vibrant neon markers, which can be used to draw on either of the board’s two drawing surfaces. Once their drawing is complete, kids can illuminate the colored inks with the touch of a button, as the board’s lights give the ink an intense glow.

Visit Crayola for other great gift ideas!

EyeClops Bionic Eye
See your world as never before with the EyeClops Bionic Eye! With this fun and easy-to-use electric magnifier, kids six and up can view everyday objects at up to 400 times their regular size. The simple, hand-held bionic “eye” displays magnified images on any TV, providing hours of fun entertainment for the entire family. The hand-held EyeClops magnifying “eye” is made of brightly-colored, lightweight, durable plastic and features an ergonomically shaped handle that fits comfortably into small and large hands alike.

Visit Jakks for other great gift ideas!

Mozart Magic Cube
A true breakthrough in music education, the Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube will be music to your baby’s ears. Providing hours of interactive play for budding young composers of all ages, this award-winning toy is the perfect musical foundation for little ones. Fun, creative, and inspiring, the Magic Cube teaches how sounds combine to create eight Mozart masterpieces.

Visit Munchkin for other great gift ideas!

Wii Music
When it comes to music and rhythm games, Wii Music stands in a class of its own. Unlike other music games, which penalize players if they don’t play perfectly, Wii Music is a musical playground where there are no mistakes. Here anyone can pick up and master the huge array of instruments available, through simple motions like strumming and drumming. Musicians in your band jam by simply playing their instruments to the beat of a song or by improvising to their heart’s content. Play faster. Play slower. Skip a beat, or throw in 10 more. No matter what you do, Wii Music automatically transforms your improv stylings into great music.

Visit Wii for other great gift ideas!

Disney Wheel of Fortune
Disney Wheel of Fortune includes such classics as Cinderella, The Lion King, Snow White, Ratatouille, Monsters Inc. and Toy Story. It is a combination of two all-time family favorites. Combine the puzzle-solving fun of Wheel of Fortune with the magic of Disney-Pixar movies and you get a game that’s entertaining for the whole family. Spin the Mickey Mouse wheel, and then ask for a letter to the puzzle. Categories include: Heroes and Heroines, Villains, Movie Titles, Song Titles and more. All this family fun for under $25.

Visit Pressman for other great gift ideas!

Zero Gravity Air Hogs
The ultimate in indoor RC racing! Zero Gravity Micro is a full function RC car that drives on the floor, up wall, sand, even upside-down. Outstanding scale speed performance on any smooth surface. Working headlights also act as charge level indicators. 2 power settings – floor mode with venturi fan off, and suction mode for vertical and upside-down action! (Prices vary by models.)

Visit Spin Master for other great gift ideas!

You’ve Been Slimed!

Now kids at home can take part in the in the fun with the introduction of Nickelodeon’s first line of SLIME products! These safe, non-toxic, washable and water-soluble toys will be one of the hottest toys in 2009 and you can give them this Christmas and be a bigger hit. Some of the new products include: the Super Slimer that shoots 25 feet, the Slime Ball that hits a wall and oozes down, cans of Slime in six different colors and a Slime Bucket of course to hold all the gross stuff.

Visit Nickelodeon for other great gift ideas!

Goldilocks & the 3 Bears Show DVD

Get ready for a very good time as Unstable Fables presents The Goldilocks & the 3 Bears Show. When Goldilocks, a sassy reality TV star decides to film her next show at the humble home of the Bears, she gives them a taste of the celebrity sweet life they’ve never had before. But the bears will teach her something even more important: what it’s like to be part of a family. Tune in for all the fairytale action in this funny, heartwarming movie, featuring the voice talents of Tom Arnold, Brooke Shields and Jamie Lynn Spears. It’s just right for a night of family fun!

Visit Disney for other great gift ideas!

When Bob Became a Builder
Bob the Builder and his Can-Do Crew can build just about anything! Like any great builder, he had to start with a dream, the right tools, and the right team! Join Benny and Scrambler and be there are they learn about When Bob Became a Builder! See Bob’s first building job with his Dad and Robert and see when he became partners with Wendy! Travel back to Bob’s early years as he meets Scoop, Muck, Dizzy, Lofty, and Roley and watch as he starts a building yard of his own! From his very first brick to his latest plan, it’s the story of Bob from boy to builder! Running time is approximately 50 minutes.

Scoop’s Favorite Adventures
This DVD contains four episodes and a special feature: “Scoop Saves the Day” (The crew has to clean-up after a bad storm.), “Scoop’s In Charge” (Scoop is in charge while Bob is at an awards ceremony, but the responsibility goes to his head.), “Mr. Ellis’s Art Exhibition” (never seen before episode), “Scoop Has Some Fun” (Spud persuades Scoop to play tricks on the team that create more work for everybody.), and “Clean Up Fun with Bob” game. Running time is approximately 40 minutes (including special feature).

Teamwork
Bob the Builder gets the job done with help from the entire team, including Wendy, the machines, and even the pets! Although Scoop is so busy helping others that he misses the town’s snowman-building contest, the whole town teams up to make him a winner. Dizzy rounds up the crew to finish building Farmer Pickles’ barn, and Wendy gives Dizzy and Trix a hand with bricklaying. Even Pilchard proves to be a team player. Bob and his team work together to get the job done. Now that’s a constructive crew! Running time: 45 minutes.

“Teamwork” is, hands down, our favorite of these DVDs. We’ve watched it 10 or 12 or 50 times (or does it just seem that way?!). Your kids won’t learn the alphabet or how to count from these videos, but there are good messages of sharing, caring, and helping (in addition to lots of entertainment value). The day after we first watched the video, I walked by my son’s room as he and his 4-year-old brother were cleaning up and I heard “Can we do it? Yes, we can!” Nice.

A couple of things that this Mommy picked up on: (1) The action in these videos moves a little faster than I would like. The characters sometimes seem a little jerky. (2) The toy that came in the package (ours was Scoop) is plastic and is made in a country that has recently been in the news quite a bit for using dangerous ingredients in their products.

The bottom line is that, while I wouldn’t have thought to buy these videos myself, I’m glad we had the chance to review them and I’m sure that we’ll be viewing them for a long time to come.

Written by Christine, who is mom to two wild-and-crazy little guys and wife to one pretty spectacular dude. When she isn’t reading the same books over and over and over, playing cars, having a snack or blowing bubbles, she is trying to make her house and the products her family uses a little more people- and Earth-friendly.

I have found a cracker that is beyond sensational, it is zesty and spicy and light all in one. I’ve had the regular Triscuit crackers before but quite honestly found them bland and dull. When I think of a whole wheat and grain cracker I think of dry and brittle.  My mom introduced me to a new flavor series by Triscuit that includes olive oil in each cracker which definitely softens the taste.

Maybe you’ve seen these on the store shelf, but Triscuit has introduced three new flavors that will arouse your senses. I’ve only tried the Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil, but the two others (Fire Roasted Tomato and Olive Oil and Rosemary and Olive Oil) are on my shopping list.

These crackers are unique and although a little bold, they will make a great snack or you could dress them with garnishes for an upcoming party. Look online at Nabisco’s website and you will find a great variety of reciepe’s.

by Emily

Does your child love trains? My son is very much into trains and he’s bringing my daughter right along with him. What better way to bring trains into your child’s life than Thomas & Friends? Thomas & Friends is a classic show that offers easygoing stories without having to worry about your child watching something inappropriate.

Thomas & Friends Whistle Express Collection offers 3 DVD’s and a train whistle that is sure to knock your child’s socks off. I will admit it’s a bit annoying as they are running around the house blowing this wooden whistle, but it brings so much joy I’m not about to break it up. This Collection is 189 minutes of continuous Thomas & Friends adventures. Unlike your television shows, having the DVD’s you are able to stop, pause or play whenever you need some entertainment. If your child or you know a train lover, Thomas & Friends Whistle Express Collection is a great way to go. This is a must have in our DVD collection.

by Andrea