Toys R Us and Babies R Us Expand to Include Full Infant Care Line

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

Toys R Us has long been a resource for parents, extended family and friends of parents to retreat to as their own, personal toy haven where the perfect toy for any child (or immature adult) could be found. Babies R Us has long been known as the place for all of your infant and toddler needs from nursery furniture and decor to health, cleansers and clothing. Regardless of which one of these stores you and your family frequent, both stores have expanded their inventory to include an entire line of infant and baby care essentials.

Now the next time you’re cruising down the aisles of Toys R Us, trying to find your husband who has Ooohed and Aaahed in the direction of some totally awesome toys, you can also pick up anything you may need for the littlest family members without having to stop at another store or two on your way home, which will definitely end up saving you some time.

The decision for Toys R Us and Babies R Us to stock a line of Babies R Us-branded infant care line in its stores was formally announced this past week. The products of this line include powdered infant formula, diapers, baby wipes, laundry detergent and purified water–all of the basic essentials needed at home, at all times. Better yet, the Babies R Us branded line of products are said to be up to 50% less than other brands of the same products.

For a brand already synonymous with being a leading, heavy-hitter in the infant and baby market and whose customers know as an establishment where they will receive quality products to expand their line in this fashion is an outstanding move. Not only will stocking a line of infant and baby essentials save busy parents some time by not having to go store-to-store looking for diapers and formula, but this will boost Babies R Us, specifically, in the registry department. Expectant mothers flock to Babies R Us to complete their baby shower gift registries and now, they will also be able to add diapers, baby wipes, formula, purified water and laundry detergent onto that registry; all very in-demand products any parent cannot possibly have enough of–So be sure to keep Toys R Us and Babies R Us in mind for those essentials you need at the highest quality you can find and for the most affordable price.

The Babies R Us brand infant care items are currently on shelves at Babies R Us and Toys R Us now!

Introducing New Siblings to Young Children Meets Children’s Play

Explaining to your young child that a new sibling will be joining the family can be a pretty difficult task; Beleduc, a company that prides itself on helping children to learn during their play, have created 5-layer puzzles that make it easy to teach children about the human body while putting together a fun puzzle.

One of the puzzles teaches boys and girls about their bodies, from the skull and outward to what they see when they look in the mirror, and more interestingly, a mother’s body puzzle ($22.50) that makes it easy to teach small children about their mother’s new pregnancy, showing them the various stages of their new sibling’s development. The puzzle is directed towards children ages 4 and up, but I would think could be used for children as young as 3. It contains 29 wooden pieces in all and made of birch plywood, German water-based paint and lacquer.

I think this puzzle is a great idea; it’s always a good idea to back up any close-to serious conversation you need to have with your small child with some fun games and toys and it can definitely be a tremendous feat to portray exactly what is going on that they should be aware of during a pregnancy and an impending new sibling. However, of course concepts like this are novelty items that aren’t always “in season” when it comes to the various toys children accumulate, so this puzzle is a bit on the pricier side.

Would you use a puzzle like this to help explain pregnancy and a new sibling entering the household to your child or is it a waste of money?

Pamela Anderson Tells Kids About Sex Tape

Pamela Anderson’s two kids begged and pleaded with her to see Borat. All of their friends had seen it, were talking about it and they were not letting up; they had the see this movie. It was then that Pamela Anderson realized she would have to tell her 10 and 12 year old children about her infamous sex tape.

She says, “I explained to them… ‘Mom and daddy run about naked all the time and we taped some things… and someone stole the tape.’ They really wanted to see Borat and I finally had a breakdown and let them because all their friends had (seen it) and I said: ‘There are a few things we have to talk about before you see Borat.’ So I did sit down with them and watch Borat. I kind of went ‘La la la’ over the parts I didn’t want them to hear… I tried to muddle through that.”

Hopefully other celebrities realize that sex tapes are not always a good idea to take part in. Limit yourselves, people! While it may seem like fun and games now, because you are a celebrity, it will most likely get leaked and then you’ll have to tell your kids about how “you and [insert person's name/relationship here] didn’t always make the best decisions.” Learning experiences, right?

Meet Vivienne & Knox Jolie-Pitt

Pictures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s new twins have finally arrives–and for upwards of $14 million. People and Hello! Magazine both scored intimate interviews with the couple and pictures of the whole, six-child family.

The interviews took place at the couple’s home in Château Miraval in Provence, France. The twins, Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline, are just 3 weeks old and Angelina says “It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time,” and Brad adds “[It's] still a cuckoo’s nest.” Brad also adds, on the twins, “Viv is proving to resemble Ange in spirit, attitude and physicality… And Knox, he’s a bit of me.” And there you are world, the newest celebrity baby pictures. Go pick up basically any celebrity magazine in existence for full stories and tons of pictures.

The Parents’ Guide to the Best Kids Toys

Parents seem to constantly be battling their children over what toys they absolutely need to have. After several attempts on their child’s part that likely go to the tune of “But Mommmmmmm! I need [insert toy here]! So-and-so’s mom let them have it and I need it, too. Neeeeeeed!!!” A lot of parents cave in, go out and buy this really awesome toy that without, their child would surely drop dead at the dinner table upon hearing that it would not soon be theirs.

Another problem parents deal with quite frequently, especially when their children start to get older, is thinking a video game their child can’t live without this week is simply just a video game or that a toy or item their children wants is just a toy. In reality, Some toys and even more so, video games that have been coming out recently that children just have to have are getting obscene reviews from even adults, so thinking about what kind of effect these means for entertainment could have on your child are frightening to even think about. It is becoming increasingly difficult for parents to keep up and shield their children from what the mainstream media is trying to tell and sell to their kids. Because of this, more and more parents are opting to join online parenting groups and websites to share tips and tricks on how to shield their children from the big, scary media monster. With more and more resources becoming available to parents, it is now easier than ever to make sure you know exactly what your children are being subject to when they are playing with a toy or video game.

Because of the lifestyles and schedules we lead today, for parents who don’t have time to sift through the archives of parenting groups, communities and websites, wouldn’t it be ideal to be able to go to a website that is specifically for children’s toys alone?

The Best Toys Guide is a website dedicated specifically for children’s toys and what toys are ideal for children to have and play with. This site has done all of the work for you and is ideal to consult the next time your child is screaming about a toy that they have to have or right before holiday or birthday present shopping. The website is split into categories making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. As a new site, they specialize in best toys 2008, giving parents a resource to consult for all of the best toys over the entire year. They have also compiled a list of the absolute best online toy stores. Because of our hectic schedules, it isn’t always a possibility to make a trip to the mall or the nearest toy stores and online shopping has gained so much attention for its accessibility and your ability to shop when you have the time to, all from the convenience of your own home.

The Best Toys Guide is definitely a handy resource to have at your fingertips when toy shopping for any child in your life.

Never Lose Another Magazine Article Again

I used to be a big magazine junkie. I used to work at Borders Books & Music and would find myself constantly grabbing magazines, buying the ones that looked interesting through my extensive task of putting all the magazines people took off the racks and left wherever they felt like it at the end of the day and for the entire time I worked there, I just found more and more magazines that I had to read. The only problem with having so many magazines with so many fabulous articles that I just had to read was that I wound up with a stack of magazines and any time that I had thought back to the articles that I wanted to re-read or needed for research for an article, I had to sift through several different issues of several magazines. Another problem I had continuously ran into was the fact that my stack of magazines were starting to fall apart after a while and in some cases, the articles I had been cherishing in those magazines, were also starting to fall apart.

Apparently quite a few other people were running into these same problems when it came to the magazines they love and because of the flimsiness of magazines and the impossible task of keeping them all cataloged and in good shape, Scanalog was born.

Scanalog is a magazine cataloging system that runs on your computer. The process is extremely simple and if you are a magazine lover, you are going to wonder what you did without it. The program is beautiful, first of all, its interface is self-explanatory and so easy that someone who knows very little about computers to begin with will be able to use it hassle-free. By simply scanning your magazine articles and cataloging them using the Scanalog program, you will have every magazine article that you had been saving whole magazines for at your fingertips. You will never find yourself searching through the stack of magazines that are taking over your book shelf or desk or having to say in the middle of a conversation “I remember reading an article about that in a magazine, but I can’t show it to you because I completely forget where I put that magazine.”

The system comes with 11 master categories as well as stickers for each category that you can use to organize your magazine articles before you scan them. Scanalog also supports retrieving your articles from your hard drive or digital camera. At the present moment, Scanalog covers a wide range of women’s interests such as parenting, home decoration, gardening and traveling, but since Scanalog has been so widely accepted, they are currently working on other systems tailor made for those with different interests.

Scanalog is not only a lifesaver when it comes to all the magazines you may have laying around, but it’s a fun project finding all the articles you have saved, scanning and cataloging them. It would also make a great gift for anyone you know who buys and saves magazines or other media sources.

To order your own Scanalog, visit the website or call 1-866-849-SCAN for more information.

Family, Our Other New Category

When starting this site, I did not want to be a blog. I have never been a “I woke up this morning and ate a bowl of Cheerios.” blogger and did not want to become one, but upon reviewing this site the other night, I realized that I did want to be a little more personal here. I by no means lead a boring life, especially when it comes to my “family issues,” and that is exactly what I have decided to start writing about here!

By family, I do not mean parents, sisters, grandparents or what you would mostly think of when thinking about family. I am also not talking about husbands or children–At least not my children.

For those who have read a bit of this site, I talk about my partner quite a bit. We have been together for two years and seven months, although he will tell you “two years and something,” and in those two years and something, we have been through quite a number of ups, downs and sideways! Oh, and did I mention that he when we met, he was married and had two kids? And that happens to be a big part of our downs. I have went through a variety of stages when it comes to his marriage, his divorce, ex-wife and most of all, the fact that he has two kids.

Through our years together, after we hit about a year and a half we started to really talk about marriage, buying a house, having kids and doing the whole family thing and since then, nothing has changed except for the fact that we talk about it more and more and we have already decided that not only are we happy together, but we are seemingly perfect for each other and that our “happily ever after” plans are going to happen.

So what does a 21 year old woman do when her 30 year old soon-to-be husband is divorced, has two kids and she has the “Evil Stepmother” title looming over her head? Well you’ll soon find out because the new category, family, will contain all of my thoughts, stress, obstacles and hopefully the triumph of becoming a good and happy stepmother.

Stay tuned…

A Little Mother’s Day History

With Mother’s Day coming up, I thought some people may be a little interested in the history of Mother’s Day and how we all came to rush around and sign cards, buy flowers and jewelry and give mothers tokens of appreciation for raising us into the people we have become.

So where did this holiday originate from? How do people from other cultures and places of origin go about telling their mothers how much they are appreciated?

In the year 1906, a woman by the name of Anna Jarvis began campaigning to start a day where all Americans would celebrate their mothers. She began spreading her idea to other people through church meetings and letters to representatives in government as well as businessmen. Within 3 years, 46 states were celebrating Mother’s Day and in the year 1914, it was regarded as a national holiday.

Through the years, Americans have fallen into the old routine of commercializing and not only going above and beyond with this holiday, but using it purely for promotional and commercial purposes, which is the same thing that Christmas has also evolved into. Because of this, through the years, Jarvis has spent her years trying to de-commercialize Mother’s Day, feeling that the original meaning of the day she worked so hard to get Americans to celebrate, had lost its original meaning.

In Jarvis’ own words, Mother’s Day is “To let (mothers) know we appreciate them, though we do not show it as often as we ought.”

Here are ways other cultures celebrate Mother’s Day:

In ancient Greece, which accounts for the earliest Mother’s Day celebration, people paid tribute to the mother of the gods, Rhea, with with honey cakes, fine drinks and flowers at dawn.

In Serbia, Mother’s Day, known as Materice in Serbia, is celebrated on the second Sunday before Christmas. This is perhaps the funniest way of celebrating Mother’s Day I have ever heard. On this day, children sneak into their mother’s rooms and tie her feet with either ribbon or string. If that wasn’t funny enough, in order for the mothers to be released, they must negotiate with their children, presenting them with small gifts. I believe that in Serbia they got it a little mixed up, maybe it should be called Children’s Day.

During the Middle Ages in Britain, the wealthy people gave their servants the day off so they could travel, usually far away, to see their mothers.

So there’s some history on Mother’s Day for everyone. So tell me now, what are you planning for your mother?