Why is everyone so obsessed with glowing items? Show me someone out there who doesn’t think glow sticks are cool and I’ll show you a liar. Seriously, if it glows it’s gotta be awesome. Let’s look at the evidence: Lite-Brite? Awesome. Glo-Worm? Awesome. Rudolph’s nose? Super awesome. It doesn’t look like the novelty is wearing off anytime soon.
The Glo Nightlight with Portable Balls (Amazon, $56.21) is a great example of practical glowing technology. On the surface, it looks like a generic nightlight – funky design, but with your basic monster-banishing principles. What sets this light apart is that you can remove each of the balls from the base and they will continue to glow, no batteries required. Ok, so no batteries must mean you have to charge them up before each use, right? Nope, these babies are ready to go at a moment’s notice. Each ball is powered by a low energy LED (won’t be hot to the touch) and will fade to dark after 30 minutes of glow time (no shutoff needed). The balls will light up and change colors, but only when on the base. When removed, the balls simply glow a white-green light.
Whatever happened to Glo-Worm? Somebody needs to investigate that, right quick!
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Multi color nightlight
-No charging required
-Fades to dark after 30 minutes
-Color selection lever
-Select one color or color changing
-Low energy LED base
-9 volt power adapter included
-BPA free, Phthalate free, and PVC free
A lot of people like to romanticize starting a family, but let’s get real here – it’s not all fun and games. Perhaps the most serious impact children will have on your life is a severe lack of sleep. It’s not their fault; they need constant attention and they can’t tell time. If you’re waiting for your child’s attention seeking to wane, then you’ll be waiting forever. At least you can do something about their knowledge of time telling.
While your baby girl might not know exactly which predawn hour it is, the Multimedia Photo Clock (SkyMall, $89.99) will at least let her know that it’s too early to wake Mommy and Daddy. The key here is a clock that displays both the digital time as well as a photo representation of day or night. Using this combination, you can teach your children when it is time to get up and when it is time to go to bed simply by looking at the picture next to their bed. If you’re not down with the pre-programmed sun and night images, you can always upload your own teaching images. The clock itself is not only a fully functional alarm clock and digital photo frame, but also a music/audiobook/video player.
This still doesn’t mean you’ll get to sleep in – that’s a luxury of the past.
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 5.5″ x 6″ x 1″
-Teach children when to get up/go to bed
-Pre programmed awake/sleep images
-Can also be photo personalized
-Alarm clock
-Music/audiobook/video player
-Digital photo frame
-Available in Blue Peace, Green Numbers, Pink Peace, Pink Stars, or White
-Ages 2 to 8
-2011 Award Winner from Parent Tested Parent Approved
It’s hard to believe it, but winter is actually almost over. A lot of you out there are jumping for joy, but I’m a little bit sad. I mean, you could barely even call these past few weeks winter when it was in fact like a breezy fall day most of the time. Seriously, 60 degree weather yesterday at the end of February – that’s insanity! At any rate, it looks as though it might be time to pack up what little is left of your winter garb and trade it in for some lighter fare.
You know what really blows about it getting warmer? You can’t wear your HoodieBuddie in the middle of summer unless you want to melt into a puddle. Luckily, there’s an easy solution to that problem and it’s called the Hoodie Buddie Red Flannel Print Shirt (Convenient Gadgets & Gifts, $25.95). Very similar to the winter product you can’t live without, this hoodie is really a button-down shirt with an attached hood. Lightweight enough to pair with your favorite t-shirt yet study enough to wear on its own, this hoodie sheds the bulk while still retaining its most awesome component: integrated earbuds. That’s right, you can listen to your iPod simply by plugging into the jack found in the front pocket and putting the hoodie’s pullstrings (aka your new earbuds) into your ears. Affordable, stylish, and techno savvy? These are a few of my favorite things…
I just wore this on a recent trip and it was totes awesome – one less thing to remember to pack!
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Hoodie shirt with integrated earbuds
-Works with most mp3 players/mobile phones
-Earbuds embedded in hoodie drawstrings
-Headphone jack ends in front pocket
-Dynamic sound
-Available in small, medium, or large
-Machine washable (even earbuds)
I love tea – have I mentioned that? I think so, but it bears repeating. Tea is super good for you, pretty much regardless of its type it has a plethora of healing properties. I was reading an article on arthritis remedies the other day (yes, I am apparently geriatric now) and green tea was listed as a health aid. I mean, it’s not like I’m shocked or anything because green tea is basically the king of teas but it did give me a reason to drink more of it on a regular basis.
If you’re serious about your tea like I am, then you need a serious brewer. Skip the tea bags (they’re amateur hour) and stock up on as many varieties of loose leaf tea as you can stand. Then scale it back a bit so you can afford the Breville One Touch Tea Maker (Amazon, $249.00) – it’s a bit expensive but one hell of a machine. What makes it so great? You can brew any type of tea in here and it will come out prefect every time. The secret here is that you specify which type of tea (green, white, black, etc.) and the machine automatically knows what temperature to brew at and how long to let the tea steep. The brewing basket instinctively knows when to lower the tea basket into the hot water and when to raise it at the end of each brewing cycle. Heck, the brewer even agitates the tea leaves to give you a more precise brew! If you like to customize your brew, there’s also a setting for that as well as the ability to brew just hot water. The brewer will keep you tea warm for 60 minutes after brewing and even keep track of how long it has been since you last brewed so you don’t end up drinking a stale cup of tea.
Tea time has never been so chic.
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 9″ x 7″ x 11.8″
-Fully programmable for all tea types, water temperatures, and steep times
-Tea basket cycle auto lowers and lifts
-Agitates tea leaves for precise infusion
-60 minute Keep Warm feature
-Variable temperature control
-Time Since Brew monitors freshness
-Auto start
-Kettle made of Schott glass
Do you know how many germs are in your mouth right now? I’ll give you a hint: a lot. Seriously, think about what you eat in any given day and then how well you brush your teeth every night – did you get every nook and cranny? You did? Great! So now that we’ve established that your mouth is sparkling clean, what about your toothbrush? All that bacteria has to go somewhere and it doesn’t magically disappear just because it comes in contact with some toothpaste and water. That’s like thinking your feet get clean in the shower because you’re standing in water the whole time. It doesn’t really work that way.
The only way to be sure that you aren’t simply rubbing old germs and bacteria over your chompers twice a day is to be proactive with a gadget like the UV Toothbrush Sanitizer and Holder (Convenient Gadgets & Gifts, $29.95). Instead of using harsh chemicals or solvents to clean your toothbrush, this sanitizer utilizes the power of UV-C light. How powerful are we talking? For just seven minutes a day, this sanitizing lamp will kill up to 99.9 percent of bacteria, fungi, and viruses from your toothbrush.
By day it’s just a regular toothbrush holder; by night it vanquishes its many enemies, including those pesky micro-organisms!
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Toothbrush sanitizer and holder
-Holds 4 toothbrushes (not included)
-UV C sterilizing lamp kills 99.9% of bacteria
-Process takes 7 minutes
-Uses 2 AA batteries (not included)
