Hot Spot Mama

Spiked MohawkWhen I was a kid, no one wore bicycle helmets. You were probably risking a butt whooping if you wore one. Today, our kids have to wear bicycle helmets (at least where I live). But they aren't the cooliest thing in the world to be seen in.
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Tide To GoOver the long holiday weekend, I decided on new category for my blogs. Must Haves. Those are the things that make life significantly easier for me and absolutely must have it.

So my first must have is Tide to Go Instant Stain Remover Sticks.

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ISwiss Strolli 1 was looking on the internet when I came this stroller accessory. Essentially, it is an attachable tricycle. You can attach the tricycle to the stoller (stroller is not included). Just wanted to restate it because it took me by surprise the first time I saw it. Let me describe the product to you and then I’ll let you know my opinion.

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I received this email from my girlfriend and it was titled “Raising Boys”. Its been going around for a while now. This is not stuff I would typically post but it gave me such a good laugh. Then I realized I have two boys - 3 years and 5 years. Hmmm. Enjoy.
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king tutAll little girls (at least the ones I know) love playing dress up. There are tons of costumes for them especially princess costumes. There aren't as many for boys ... at least I hadn't found them.

One day, we (me and my two boys) went to a birthday party that was at a children's store. At the party, they had tons of dress up hats for kids. The good news was they actually had hats for boys (other than the typical fireman's hat).

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Play & FreezeIce cream anyone? Kind of a confusing question if you are just looking at a picture of a blue ball. Actually, its a manual ice cream maker - The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker by UCO. That's right - no electricity. Good thing UCO was kind enough to create it into the shape of a ball. So instead of mixing it by hand, you just roll it along.
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Frienzoo LCD MonitorBased on my research, these adorable animal LCD monitors have been selling in Japan for two years now. They are supposingly finally making their way to the US.

I wish I had seen them when I was doing my 6/1/06 article on TVs and humidifiers that came in animal shapes. More...

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KidutilityvehicleTwo years ago we were looking for alternatives to a double stroller. We've always loved to go for walks but neither my three year old nor my 1 1/2 year old (at the time) liked being strapped into a stroller.

There weren't that many choices out there at the time since we wanted something that we could easily put in our car.

We came across (and ended up buying) the Step 2 Direct Wagon for Two. It was one of the best purchases we made. But our Wagon for Two had room for a couple of improvements (for example, I wish it had better wheels). More..

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Is anyone else amazed by the toys that are out there? Sometimes I look at the toys and ask myself, is this really for kids?

When I had my first child, I saw the mini motorized cars for kids. I immediately wanted one. To tell the truth, sometimes my children end up with certain toys because I want it so badly (yes, my sons have a mini motorized fire truck). Is this wrong? I don’t think so. What’s the point of having kids if you can’t relive your childhood a little bit (just more responsibly).

Well, here are some toys that I know daddies all over the world would love to play with. More...

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Dreaming about flying to an exotic new place? Thinking about vacations made me think about the difficulties of traveling on airplanes with children.

Ever try to lug the usual baby/toddler stroller along with your suitcases in your travels to say Florida? The Bahamas? Italy? How about across the planet to say Tokyo or Australia? Let's face it, strollers are a travel pain in the you know what.

Here's how I see it. Vacations - they really are a love hate relationship especially when you have kids. You love getting away from your everyday life. Getting to your destination is the true problem.
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Last summer, I wanted to redecorate my son’s room. I just assumed that I would paint the room. Maybe stencil it if I had enough courage. While I was searching for bedroom furniture, I came across wall murals for kids rooms. You put it up just like you would wall paper. What a great alternative to just painting. I thought that was pretty much the coolest thing I had seen. Until I came across self-adhesive wall decals made by Blik.
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Whirpool Brand (the appliance maker) is having the 2006 Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grant. It provides moms with the necessary business resources, such as seed money and expert advice, helping to make business dreams a reality. At the end of the contest, any ideas submitted will remain solely owned by the contestant. Whirpool will not own any part of the ideas.

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I was never a neat person before I had kids but for some reason now I am obsessed with it. Not that you could tell if you walk in my house. But that's not my fault. I blame my two boys. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. That's what I do. I can have a room completely clean and they could destroy it in less than 10 minutes. I guess you could say they have a gift.

Does anyone else have a child that just loves arts and crafts? I just can not keep up with my older son’s demand for it. I also can not keep up with the clean up. I have red acrylic paint stuck in the grout of my kitchen floor.

I recently started buying disposible plastic tablecloths (I know its not environmentally friendly) to cover the
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Attention, all parents, grandparents, proud aunts, uncles, and friends!

Martha Stewart is looking for some amazingly talented kid inventors--of all ages--who would like to exhibit their creations on her show. If you know the perfect child, please email the inventor's story and contact information. They will try to respond to all emails.

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Here's an opportunity for all you female inventors that want to be a guest on the Martha Show. I think it will be a great opportunity.

Here's the deal:

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ABC's website describes episode 4: "America's next big invention continues with open casting calls in our nation's capital, Washington DC, and in San Francisco and Los Angeles."

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