As yes, the final week of summer vacation.

With the help of my kids, who were taking as much credit for the arrival of the box as a pack of Woolly Mammoth hunters would be for bringing down a furry elephant, we hauled it inside, and ripped open the seal.

See, I knew that I would be doing a review of the new M&M's Premiums chocolate candies for BlogHer, but I figured that I'd be getting a small sample, or a few coupons or something. I assumed this had to be something else.

As soon as I cracked the seal on the box and got a look, I started laughing. I had a giant box of 35 pounds of super-deluxe candies, nested in a shiny silver liner to keep them cool. I swear to you that as soon as the first flap was lifted, a chorus of angels sang and a sunbeam struck the silver liner, rendering the kids awestruck. I seized this moment of temporarily spellbound children to grab one of the end flaps on the box and started dragging that thing towards my bedroom as fast as I could go.

The kids instinctively knew that there was some high quality stuff in that box. I tried to convince them that it was rocks. Then, when they got the whiff of chocolate, I told them that it was special grown-up Lady Chocolate and not for kids.

LadyCandy. Aw yeah.

I handed each kid a random box and shooed them away. Faced with 57 remaining boxes of gorgeously colored chocolate, my mind began to work. Should I empty the boxes into a giant pile and play pirate's treasure? Should I wait until my husband came home from work and leave a trail of M&M's Premiums down the hall and into the bedroom, where I would be waiting on a bed covered with pretty little candies? Shaking the vision of doing M&Ms angels in a snowdrift of candy, I wisely decided to hold off on any drastic action.

I called my co-workers and taunted them about my giant box of candy instead. They loved that, as you can imagine, and advised me not to eat them all myself, because they were afraid the resulting sugar buzz and giggling fits could cause the earth to fall off its axis.

I really love the packaging - they have an elegant, hour-glass shape to the box, and the inner wrapper is resealable - which, as Chris noted, is so adorable. Actually, my nine-year-old is using a few of the boxes as storage for some of her little trinkets and collections of tiny things. At a generously sized 6 oz each, you can really get your snack on - and still be able to share with a friend.

One of the really distinctive things about these candies is the lack of the candy shell. I'm a girl who chews up my cough drops, and can't be bothered to let things melt in my mouth, but hand to the heavens, with the rich flavors and creamy consistency of the chocolate on these new M&Ms, I was moved to put one candy in my mouth at a time and just let it happen. And it was gooooood.

The five flavors are:

Triple Chocolate - "truly tempting layers of milk chocolate, white chocolate & dark chocolate"

Mint Chocolate - "sinfully good white chocolate mint wrapped in dark chocolate"

Raspberry Almond - "berry blissful raspberry flavored white chocolate & almond wrapped in dark chocolate"

Mocha - "simply tantalizing mocha flavored milk chocolate"

Chocolate Almond - "delightfully delicious freshly roasted whole almond wrapped in milk chocolate"

As you can see, there is something for everyone to love here. I'm partial to the mint and triple-chocolate myself.

Last Wednesday was the first day of school for all three of my kids - for the first time ever. After I returned home from dropping the kids off and settled down at my desk with a cup of coffee, it felt anti-climactic. Where was the party?

Right here. Here's a little party for ya.

I've been gleefully sharing my bounty with my family and friends - and the reactions have all been pretty dramatic - everyone is blown away by the great new flavors and beautiful gem-like colors.

You have GOT to try them.

Don't want to take my word for it? Head over to the roundup page and see what my fellow reviewers had to say!

Remember this?

Rocking Out to Choo Choo Soul from BigSliceJenny on Vimeo.

Here we are, a few years later, and FINALLY! We have the CD in our hands. No more pausing TiVo and rewinding thirty million times!

I've been a huge fan of Choo Choo Soul since the very first video hit the airwaves, and more importantly, so have my kids. Genevieve and DC have put together a fantastic collection of songs for kids that ARE NOT CHEESY. I hear that the discs will be available August 22.

We also received They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s. Filled with the wit and bouncy alt-rock vibe they are known for, we all love this album as much as the earlier No! - and that's A LOT. Nothing gets my kids moshing around the living room, cracking up and dancing like fools like TMBG.

Ralph's World's The Rhyming Circus take a sweeping approach to genres - there's a little something from everywhere in these songs, and it is so fun to watch the kids change their movements and their attitudes as the music shifts from rock to country to oompah and back again.

The kids were excited to see Juice Box Heroes from Imagination Movers in the stack of CDs, too. This one didn't get as much airtime as the others so far, but I've got to say, I'm impressed with the catchy hooks and funny lyrics.

The final disc we received is the Disney Music Block Party - featuring classic songs from the Disney movies performed by popular artists and characters from the Playhouse Disney crowd. I was more excited about this one than the kids - they haven't seen many of the films that these songs are from, but I was really pleased with the fresh takes on some of my old favorites.

Thank you, Disney and MomCentral! If you'd like more information on this great new catalog of albums, visit Disney Music Block Party.

For more reviews, check out the round up post at MomCentral.

The box arrived and I put it in my office, ready to unveil it on the weekend. And then I forgot about it for a couple of weeks. With 6 weeks, left until my review date - I suddenly remembered (woke up from a dead sleep in a panic, in fact) and tore it from its packaging.

We did the basic set up in less than five minutes - the instructions were clear and easily followed. I appreciate that, especially now that my kids are old enough to want to do it all themselves. After spending a good 10 minutes happily raking the growing medium into zen garden-like patterns with the miniature green rake and then patting it smooth with the miniature green shovel, we headed out to the local garden center to buy seeds for the kit.

I urged my kids to select some herbs seeds, and I wandered around selecting some other goodies for the yard. When we got home, the kids planted their seeds, and we placed the greenhouse on the counter.

Flash forward one week - we've got a few little seedlings popping up, and we followed the instructions and changed out the water.

Week two - lots of little seedlings now - we switch the water again.

Week three - the seedlings are thick now, and we weed a bunch of them out. The little sprouts are starting to reach toward the window now. We switch out the water.

Week four - wow - the plants are really starting to take off. We've got lots of leafy goodness going on.

Week five - what. the. heck. happened? The plastic greenhouse top has been knocked asunder and the sides and swiped a bunch of the little plants out of the growing medium. We replant them as best as we can, and move the greenhouse up higher. My five-year-old disavows any knowledge of the plant mayhem.

Week six - miraculously, some of the plants have survived. The morning my review is due, I grab the camera, and wander out into the kitchen to snap a photo of our little victory garden.

Catastrophe. Literally. Our little garden lay on its side, with my cat crouching over it, looking drunk. It seems that we planted catnip, instead of the oregano seeds I had help the kids select.

Um, whoops!

I opted to clean up the growing medium and throw the cat outside, rather than take a photo of the mess.

The Hydro Greenhouse was a fun, easy project for the kids - as an all-around black-thumbed gardener, I appreciated the easy set-up, and the continuously fed watering system. The growing medium was really pretty cool, and the seedlings seemed to thrive in their little plastic house.

We're going to give the Hydro Greenhouse another shot - and this time? We're sticking with oregano.

To read what my fellow Parent Blogger reviewers had to say - check out the roundup.

This fun adventure starts off when you select your pet - you can either choose to be a cat or a dog - or if you're not sure, the game will help match you with your perfect pet with a fun questionnaire. Right after I helped my five-year-old start up the game, she mastered the simple navigation, and grabbed her older sister for a two-heads-are-better-than-one play session. They were having a blast navigating the island and "buying" toys and outfits for their new pet, and I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet.

Later in the week, I took a spin around Vacation Island, although I did it on a different DS (we have several) and the date was off by a day or two for some reason. I was scolded by a rock in the game for reasons unclear to me - seriously, a rock. I made it sad. I am so not even close to understanding all of THAT.

So, while Go Pets: Vacation Island wasn't as engaging for me, my kids all loved it. With my assistance, they learned how to connect to the wifi and went global - briefly. They really enjoyed all the mini games that are part of the play, and enjoyed learning how to befriend other pets.

This is a really fun addition to our little arsenal of DS games, and unlike other titles, the kids are really still enjoying it. Thanks MomCentral!

When we bought our home in 2000, the plan was to update everything as we had the time and budget.

And then we didn't. Whoops!

So we've got this, um, vintage situation going on. It's sort of grody, actually.

Mom, avert your eyes. No matter what I try, that mildewy nastiness just keeps coming back... and any sealant from years past is long gone. It has been time to recaulk this sink for 10 years. And we totally were gonna, I swear. TOTALLY. And I do so clean my sink. It just keeps coming back. It's not my fault!

You can't argue with the excellence that is this jewel-like faucet. Ba-da-bling!

Now, that is high class. They don't make 'em like that any more. Or, um, if they do? They probably should knock it off.

So! Onward. I grabbed the little package and despite the super-reflective packaging, managed to get a shot. Behold!

I peeled the directions off the back of the package, to find that pages one and two were comically sealed to each other, allowing me to view only pages three and four. After a few moments of panic, I finally managed to unstick the other two pages:

Clean the surface. (I TOTALLY DID, MOM!)
Remove any old caulk.

Oh, um... wait. How do you do that?

Razor blade...rusted. (Wail that like Cindy Wilson in "Love Shack")

Scrape scrape scrape....

This obviously could have ended badly. I was prepared (heeeey random shout out to Johnson and Johnson) for the mishap that didn't happen. Prepared to be cute, even!

Once I got the stuff scraped off and sucked up with the shop vac, I was presumably ready to go with step three - applying a smooth bead of caulk.

True confessions time - I was feeling kind of cocky (caulky?) about this project, because I'm a pretty good cake decorator. I'm able to make flowers and stuff with icing, so, like, I should be able to make a straight, even line with this thing, right?

Yeah, not so much. I had a cup of real coffee AKA jitter-juice which may have contributed to my bravado about this whole project, but my hand was shaking really bad. Despite the neat, easy to open, smooth squeezing packaging, I smeared a line of the stuff on the edge, and then, using my wet finger, tried to make it do that thing it is supposed to do.

And then I used a bunch of paper towels and smeared it around. And then I got mad and wiped it all off, and started over. The GE Caulk Singles have more than enough for three around the sink applications of the world's fattest, most messy bead. Ask me how I know! Go on!

In the end, though? I got it mostly right. And look:

It's like a brand new sink! Now, if I can just do something about the faux-wood cabinetry and chipped mirror...

This is my entry for the Spruce Up Your Space contest from GE Caulk Singles and BlogHer - for a $1000 Visa Gift card.

I've been a big fan of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes since they first came on the market. I don't use them for all my cleaning jobs, but especially in the bathroom and kitchen, it is so handy to have a container of wipes ready to go.

When the gals at Mom Central offered me the chance to try out the new and improved Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, I couldn't wait. I mean, these things are already awesome and convenient as all get-out. What more could they do?

When my sample pack arrived, I ripped it open in glee. You guys... they made the wipes thicker and stronger and! My favorite part! They smell pretty!

Lavender is supposed to be a soothing scent, so I marched into the kids' rooms and wiped off their nightstands. Sleep tight! This is like a germ killer and sleep-aid all rolled up into one!

Then I marched out to the living room and spotted my new Wii Fit board. Bare feet and sweat and my not exactly pristine floors? Aw yeah.

Perfect spot to test out the wipes, baby. Two quick swipes of the board, and the faint dirty foot prints were wiped away from the Wii Fit board. Fitness equipment, light switches, door knobs, even the sticky mystery mess left on the bathroom counter by one of my kids who refuses to step forward.

I've been having a blast wiping stuff. And to a reluctant housekeeper like me? That's golden.

Thanks, Mom Central and Clorox!

Via Random.org's Random Integer Generator - the winning comment number is: 7

And... our 7th comment is from Kim, who doesn't have a blog to link. Congratulations!

I received an email from a PR agent last week, offering me the chance to give away a Wii, courtesy of Nestle Crunch. What's the catch? No catch! Nestle just wants to know what YOU do to stay young at heart and celebrate your inner kid.

Eating Nestle Crunch bars apparently is good for the kid in you. I know this, because they sent me a pinata filled with mini-Crunch bars, and my kids are currently engaged in trying to tear the thing limb from limb in a frenzy for the goodies. Before I go and throw myself into the fray, I thought I'd share the ways that I maintain my youth. Besides hair dye and wrinkle cream. And teeth bleach. And Spanx.

Ahem.

Anyone who has been reading my sites for any length of time knows I'm a huge cornball. I love to joke around and spend much of my time laughing. Even when I'm bleaching and dying and squeezing myself into spandex body armor! It's true!

One of my favorite regression techniques? Playing like a kid.

Witness:

This Could Go Really Great, Or Really, Really Bad from BigSliceJenny on Vimeo.

Wanna see that trick from another angle?

See Me Roll from mizzjenny on Vimeo.

My friend and I took our preschoolers to the inflatable jumpy place to "let them play" and we ended up taking over the place and scaring the other children and parents for life. It was so much fun to leap around, yelling and laughing and going down giant slides that gave us wedgies-

and boxing with giant gloves -

and in general acting like four year olds -

I have no doubt we totally made a spectacle of ourselves. And I've been itching to go back and do it again. Acting like a rampaging dork is one of my favorite ways to cut loose and take care of Little Jenny.

(Big Jenny is ready press her advantage and steal most of the fun-size Crunch bars from the scrum under the pinata.)

So now - it's your turn! Tell me what you do for the kid in you?

• Head over to your blog, and share how you celebrate The Kid In You.
• Please link back to this entry and mention that you are entering to win a Wii from Three Kid Circus and Nestle Crunch.
• Then come on back here and leave a comment with a link to your entry.
• Don't have a blog? It's okay! Leave a comment here with your story or fun tips for keeping it immature.
• Tell your friends - everyone is eligible!

I'll keep the entries open until Wednesday, May 28th at midnight. I'll choose the winner through a random drawing, and announce it here on Thursday, May 29th.

Need some inspiration? Check out the Nestle Crunch site for lessons on Pig Latin and other funny time-passers.

Unlike this last summer's Mother-Daughter Sorority Extravaganza - this one was for the mamas only. And let me tell you...this was the PERFECT way to kick off Mother's Day.

The party was to be held at my house, but given the size and general decrepitude of my humble abode, I almost passed on the opportunity. When lamenting this sad state of affairs, one of my friends volunteered another friend to host the party at her lovely and spacious home.

A few phone calls later, and we were in full party-planning mode.

By which "we" means the lovely ladies of the Nintendo Party Brigade. I just made a couple of phone calls. Sent some emails. That sort of thing. They even made custom invites for the party.

On the day of the party, I figured that in the interest of being fit and active-appearing, I would ride my bike the four blocks to the party location. You know, it was really weird being the "hostess" and just showing up merrily, la la la... I could totally get used to that.

When I arrived, I parked my bike and greeted the lovely and gracious Holly who was actually hosting - and moments later, the television delivery guy arrived. And hot on his heels, it was the Wii Fit Party Squad.

TV delivery you say? Why yes! Armed with three flat-screen tvs, seven hundred boxes and several suitcases, the Nintendo team kicked into high gear, and transformed the house into a fitness-party wonderland. Not only did we have the game setups, but we also had lovely fruits and juices all fancied up, and bottles of water on ice stationed conveniently about the party area, and Wii Fit experts standing by to help us get our moves on.

After the initial setup was done, and before the party guests arrived, Holly and I took our turns getting on the balance board and going through the BMI and weight part of the program. Holly's husband kindly stepped out of the room before we calculated my totals - aaaaaand I'm obese. No suprise there. In fact, the little Wii FIt voice was rather cheerful about it, and the little character looked stunned to notice that she was on the ginormous side of things. It is what it is. For now. More on that in a minute.

With that out of the way, we quickly switched back to the characters created by the gorgeous women who had been training themselves silly for the last week, in order to unlock all the possible games and exercises.

Once the guests started to arrive, we quickly got into the groove. The Wii Fit women walked us through the basics, and then turned us loose. All three game setups were going simultaneously. It was really funny - one group would be doing the hula hoop game, and then we'd notice the group in the kitchen was doing yoga, so we'd all go over there and watch for a minute.

Then someone else would start boxing, or being a penguin, or ski-jumping, and we'd wander into the other room to ooh and ahh. And taunt. We did a lot of taunting.

Midway through the party, Catherine and the rest of the Nintendo team laid out a magnificent, healthy spread including dolmas, baba ganoush, hummus, pita, olives and feta cheese, tabouleh and orzo salads and seriously yummy shish-kabobs. We also enjoyed the most delicious white wine version of Sangria - I have to get the recipe for that!

Reactions from the rest of the party guests were a lot of fun to overhear. One friend who is a physical therapist for children, was very impressed, and eager to get her hands on a copy of Wii Fit for her clients. Another friend was not interested in the cartoon-style games - she wanted to dig into the more 'adult' exercises. Both the yoga and the strength training modules impressed her - but what really won her over? The tightrope walking game.

Incidentally, I suck at tightrope.

And the bubble down the river game.
I should have titled this one "Pop!"

But I'm a hula hooping wunderkind, and I'm loud and proud about it.

Who knew you didn't even need a hoop? This was moments before I really let loose and shook what my mama gave me on my way to a super-high score. You're glad we didn't capture that.

It functions as a scale, sure, but it is also pressure sensitive to a very high degree, and even the slightest shifts in balance trigger a response on the games.

This made for a frustrating, challenging and ultimately addictive play experience. Everyone wants to try just one. more. time. before quitting - because you know that you can master it if you just practice a little bit more. That's the best kind of motivation, if you ask me.

I love that the games start off short, but as you gain skill you can add minutes or difficulty to the activities. I also love that there is no prescribed workout order, or must-do activities to be successful. You work on what you want to work on, and for however long.

As the party wound down (actually, when the Wii Fit ladies started giving the party guests some thank you gifts and presented me with my own copy of Wii Fit (!) and then started packing things up,) everyone quickly started playing their favorite games one more time. We had some ski jumping going in the kitchen. We had some last minute penguin action going in the living room. And Mary and Kim decided to have a running race.

I think I lost two pounds from laughing. Clutching the Wii Remotes and jogging in place, Kim and Mary ran and ran and ran. Mary stuck with it, but Kim started cheating and just shook the remote with her hand.

At the last minute, Kim's on-screen character tripped and fell. Mary's character stopped to see what happened, and Kim's character leaped up and ran across the finish line for a win.

We finally relinquished the balance boards and turned over the remotes, and one by one, the guests headed home. After a final pack-up, and a spit-polish of the kitchen, the Wii Team left, too, and I mounted by bike for home.

Since riding home slightly tipsy with the Wii Fit box crammed in my bike basket and setting it up at 11pm, I've played daily. Actually, that is why it has taken me so long to post this entry... my poor arms were all sore from whacking the crap out of the punching bag in that boxing game. (Not really. But ow! It makes me sore!)

I'm not the only one either - everyone from my five year old, seven year old and nine year old kids to my husband has set themselves up and has played for at least a few minutes daily. I love the quick burst of energy I can get from a couple silly games - it makes for a great break from work. And I'm noticing muscles hurting that I forgot I had... this is always a good sign.

I think I'm going to set up a Wii Fit page on Three Kid Circus to keep track of my progress publicly. Believe me, I know that merely playing Wii Fit isn't going to get me down out of the obese category, but it's a start - and a damn fun one at that. Thank you, Nintendo!

Want to win a Wii console and a Wii Fit of your very own? Check out my contest at Three Kid Circus.
(A number of Wii Ambassadors and several other lucky bloggers will be giving away Wii Fit as well - I'll link to their contests once they are up!)

I'm still a proud mama, but I'm not as good about sending photos to the extended family as I once was. Digital cameras are awesome, and I use Flickr to share my latest shots with my online-savvy family and friends. But for the other members of my family, including my mother-in-law? She doesn't use a computer - and I am lazy about getting the prints made and mailed. The last candids she has of my kids are a couple of years old now...and I'm a horrible daughter-in-law.

Another challenge about using Flickr with the online family is that not every shot I post online is fit for Grandma's eyes. I mean, I'm not posting Moms Gone Wild photos - often...

So anyway, the lovely ladies at Parent Bloggers offered me the chance to test out the online service for families - Kinzin - and I jumped at it.

Kinzin.com is a fun, free and easy and secure way to keep your loved ones up on the latest from your kids. Once you've logged in, you can set up a quick profile for each of your kids, and include a quick "what he/she is doing right now" blurb ala Facebook status or Twitter message. Each child has a dedicated "Kidstream" with a place for journaling, photos and more.
You can see what my page looks like here!

Hands down, though, the best feature of Kinzin is the photo shipping. Check this out...

You can upload photos directly to Kinzin, or you can suck them in from Facebook, Flickr and a few other services - Kinzin will select the most recent 10 photos (or you can select your own assortment) and at the end of each month, Kinzin will print and ship these 10 photos and a custom message to the folks that you've signed up for this service. At $2.99 per address, you cannot go wrong. That's less than a latte, and you'll be keeping Grandma happy - automatically.

Even better, I guess they are doing a promotion right now where if you buy 2 addresses, you get one free. They will automatically send up to 10 pictures ONE time per month to the addresses you have listed. That's like $6, for 10 photos plus a custom message to THREE people who would love to see the latest photos of the kids.

My order just arrived, and the finishing is lovely, and the colors are great. I love that the photos are matte finished, and have the photo name printed on the front of the photo. (I didn't realize that this would be the case, so in future batches, I'll rename the photos to something more descriptive than park_001)

For the delivery service alone, Kinzin is going to make me look like a rock star. But the online hub for interested family and friends is really cool, too - and keeps all those "Mommy Weekends" safely segregated.

To get started, visit the Kinzin.com homepage. To see what my fellow Parent Bloggers reviewers had to say, check out the roundup.

But right now? I'm going to share another not-so-secret: I love the Nintendo DS just as much as the Wii.

While I've become totally addicted to Brain Age and Brain Age 2, and I have been steadily improving my Flash Focus... my family owns three DS units, and I'm perfectly delighted to throw down a little Mario Party with the kids. This is great with my kids who are in elementary school - but my preschooler struggles a bit with the mini-games on Mario Party, and her Brain Age? Is like 102. I've always said she has an old soul, but frankly, her math knowledge and sudoku skills suck.

These simple and charming games are basically the same, although the boy version of one game is whacking monsters on the head ala whack-a-mole, and the girl version is feeding hamsters. For moms who are really anti-stereotyping, the pink vs. blue approach of these games might be a little much to take.

That said, from the simple puzzles to the chance to pack a bento lunch, my four-year-old found the games easy to play, the use of the stylus intuitive and the activities fun and rewarding. She enjoyed both the boy and girl versions (as did my six year old.)

Will these games springboard your child to greatness? Probably not. Will they keep your kid quiet for 10 minutes in the waiting room at the dentist? Aw yeah.

Once they've packed a few bentos and whacked a few monsters, you can start in with the Sudoku.

I don't know how I got on that invite list, but I'm really looking forward to it.

The last few weeks have been busy, and I haven't had a chance to do much planning or anticipating for this whole Camp Baby weekend. The kids had field trips, I had to work, there were a couple of holidays and birthdays in there... and then I looked up at my calendar and realized that on this coming Wednesday morning, "a car" will be picking me up and whisking me away for a whirlwind adventure.

A car! A car not driven by me! If it is a limo I might piddle. Because that? Would be hilarious. I might not be able to restrain myself from doing the Mary Katherine Gallagher "SUPA-STAH" upon arrival at the airport.

I might do that anyway. I'm just like that.

I'm also giddy with anticipation about being able to fly with my buddy Jenifer - we've even got seats together, which means that no harmless strangers will be talked to death on this flight!

J&J recently sent out the itinerary for the trip, which is making me all kinds of intrigued. First of all - I hope the flight lands in time for me to freshen up at the hotel before the Welcome Social because airplane travel makes me look like a greasy, drowned rat. No really! Photos to come! You're welcome!

No, see, I need to make myself look nice, because OMG Ted Allen leading a wine tasting. I need to work on not sloshing my glass. Bad things happen when I'm drinking and gesturing. Trust me.

And then the next day looks packed with great activities, too.

Two sessions that are already getting a lot of speculation are the "What's Happening Down There? and the "Braiding At Its Best" sessions.

Will there be an Australian celebrity telling us the latest news from Down Under? OMG, J&J is bringing Nicole Kidman to Camp Baby!

As far as the braiding goes, I'm not sure what they have in mind - will it be lanyards? Xtreme friendship bracelets? Will we be braiding each other's hair? Man, if it involves beads too? That will be awesome.

Next up? Figuring out what exactly to wear. Because man, do I have issues with clothes.

cross-posted at the J&J Camp Baby blog that I just set up.

You want to know what makes these wee hours bearable?

You see that big steamy, frothy cup of coffee coming out of that spigot? The photo doesn't do it justice.

That, right there, is a good cup of coffee.

I've been a big fan of the Senseo system since I purchased my first one in September 2004. I even played around with the coffee/water ratio. And despite my initial doubts that something called a "pod" could yield anything other than an alien life-form, what I found then, and is still true now:

Senseo Coffee Pods make a damn good cup of coffee. In like, a minute.

A month or so ago, I was offered the chance to review the newest model of the Senseo. Yeah, I didn't even hesitate for a minute. My trusty "Ole Blue" was still blowing coffee out her spout on demand, but my neglect of the de-scaling process has made her a little, um, crusty.

When the shiny new model arrived - we'll call her Midnight - I ran it through the rinse cycle and fired that baby up. Within a minute, I was wrapping my lips around the rim of my mug and sporting a foam mustache.

You wanna piece of this action? I have five special coupons worth $20 off a Senseo coffee maker. First five commenters - I'll send the coupon on down to you. You want a chance to receive your very own Senseo? Check it out here!

Or, wait. Maybe if your armpits were on fire, you should try to smother them by putting your arm down.

Whatevs. Let's get back to the review at hand.

So! Relish! is a new website that offers the chance to have Good Food. Everyday. How is this possible? Are they magic? Do they come to your house and make it happen?

Well, no. But that would be cool.

What Relish! offers is this:

Quick and Easy Dinners. Every Night.

We dish out everything you need to prepare distinct, creative dinners, every night, with ease. Relish! serves up affordable meal planning and we supply all of the essentials from easy-to-follow grocery shopping lists to customized menu selections.

Dude. You have no idea how awesome this is until you try it. I've been a long time fan of anything that makes dinner planning easy. I've read all sorts of books, magazine articles, subscribed to mailing lists and made wild attempts at planning my own menus.

Where they have all failed me have been in the grocery store. I hate constructing a grocery list with a fiery passion. If I have to produce a grocery list, even if it is partially done for me, I want to blow things up. Enter Relish! It took me a grand total of five minutes to select from their weekly menu of delicious entrees, click click click and I was sitting there looking at a beautifully organized grocery list for the week's dinners.

*insert me doing the cabbage patch in my desk chair*

Then! I cut and pasted the list into my local online grocery's shopping list function - and click click click did my weekly shopping.

I really like the fact that the recipes are whole, natural foods, quick to prepare and clearly marked so that you can quickly and easily choose the recipes most likely to be a hit with your family. The ability to select the number of eaters in your family, plus the really great variety of options makes Relish! a super-cool resource for those of us who like to cook, but hate to plan.

To check out what other Parent Bloggers had to say, see the roundup here.

To get your own account, check out the Relish! site.

When the Parent Bloggers Network offered the chance for me to review one of Discovery Kids' hot toys for Christmas, I knew it was going to be a hit at our house. When I ripped open the carton and saw the Spark Talking Microscope in the box, I did a little end-zone dance.

I'll admit, one of the major problems I have with "science toys" is the mess. Chemistry sets and electronic kits are a little advanced for my kids, and frankly, I can't even keep track of the legos - the thought of dealing with traditional microscopes with their glass slides and sensitive lenses gives me hives. I want my kids to love science, and I love to encourage their exploration, but I don't want to have to constantly admonish and correct. The Spark Talking Microscope is a perfect option for families of younger kids who are hungry for a magnified view, with parents who don't want to micromanage the learning experience.

First of all, it is designed in one solid piece, lightweight enough for kids to handle confidently. The controls are easily manipulated by small hands, and intuitive. Each "slide" features a detailed image of an creepy crawly, and by entering a simple three digit code, kids can access trivia or a quiz about each slide. The slides snap easily in and out of the stage clip, and allow kids to move at their own pace.

I really liked the parent's guide - this handy "lab assistant guide" provides a great framework to help you help your child explore. This is a child-led activity, and I've got to say, all three of my kids were enthralled by the process of viewing the slides, learning the facts and then taking the quizzes. I've been regaled with factoids about bugs for the last two weeks, people. All in all, at least I have a fighting chance in an insect-trivia contest, unlike the Pokemon pop quizzes my kids love to throw at me.

Want one? Go get it!

Want to hear what other bloggers had to say? Check out the roundup over at the Parent Bloggers Network.

When The Parent Bloggers Network offered us the chance to review the new JumpStart World - 2nd Grade program, I was thrilled. My son is a newly minted second-grader, and I was eager to see how the learning activities matched up with his school studies so far.

My review for this was due on Wednesday - and honestly, it is late because I couldn't get my kid to stop playing this game long enough for me to review it! He absolutely loves it, and as always, I'm impressed with the savvy approach that JumpStart uses to keep kids engaged.

Like earlier JumpStart titles, JumpStart World is easy for kids to navigate, and help is always available during any activity. The animation and music is not jarring, and the character voices don't have that cartoonish quality that grates on me.

The game begins with basic skills and builds on at your child's pace, seamlessly adding variations on skills and using clever games to introduce new concepts. I particularly appreciate the positive reinforcement at all levels of the game. Mastery is rewarded, and mistakes are greeted with a verbal reminder about the concept that is being explored.

Both my son and I really liked the variety of games, and the multiple ways information is presented. Numeric equations, bar graphs and written words are all part of my son's math curriculum at school, and they are all featured here as well, in a fun and pressure-free environment.

JumpStart World is great for kids who are information snackers - rather than forcing kids to stay on a particular subject, jumping around to different activities is fun and easy.

As with the other JumpStart products we've tried, the parent reports are a great way to track your child's progress, and to see what concepts they've already mastered. I was impressed with the comprehensive information, and look forward to seeing how he progresses.

One of the other really novel ideas about JumpStart World is how it can grow with your child. The game comes with two Adventure Packs, and you can subscribe to the JumpStartWorld site, and you'll receive a new Adventure Pack with more games and skills each month - for a total of 12 Adventure Packs per grade. Unlike typical educational software that is quickly mastered and outgrown, this allows the product to stay current with your child's development.

You can read more from the other reviewers at Parent Bloggers Network - and you can visit the JumpStartWorld Website to learn more about the game.