Category Archives: Ages 10-13

Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Food and Drink

I try to buy all organic, whole wheat pasta as much as possible but Sebastian doesn’t like the ‘texture’ of some of the whole wheat pasta we’ve tried.  I agree that some whole wheat pasta can be ‘grainy’. 

Ronzoni’s Smart Taste pasta is a great alternative to graRonzonismarttastepasta iny whole wheat pasta’s and our kid testers loved the taste and texture of the pasta.  Little did they know they were getting about 25% of their DV of fiber and as much calcium as they would get in an 8 oz. glass of milk. 

Smart Taste is available in several varities including penne, spaghetti, thin spaghetti, elbows, and rotini so you can make all of your favorite pasta dishes with Smart Taste pasta’s.

I recently found out that I have high bad cholesterol and low good cholesterol so it is important that I eat foods that are cholesterol free. Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta is a cholesterol free food so I can induldge in an occasional pasta dish without feeling guilty.  The Ronzoni Smart Taste website has a lot of recipes to get you started with your Smart Taste meals. You can buy Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta at your local grocery store.

I have ten boxes of Ronzoni Smart Taste penne pasta to giveaway!  This giveaway will be held from March 3rd 2008 until March 10th 2008.  Click here to enter to win.  I will contact the winners by email and will request the winners mailing addresses then.

Icon_website2 Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta

Honey Buns Boutique: bringing simple back

Age 0-1 year, Age 1-3, Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Baby & Kids Clothing, Clothes - mom & dad, Diaper Bags, Fun stuff for parents

Honey Buns Boutique is truly an exceptional shop.  Stepping away from frilly dresses (not that we don’t like frilly) and high prices, Honey Buns Boutique brings simple, and affordable, back.   The designs were created by a mom with a super handsome 6 month old son so you can rest assure that she knows what moms want in both style and durability.

You will find a variety of cute and sassy shirts, onesies, and accessories for mommies, babies, toddlers, and children up to size 16 at Honey Buns Boutique and best of all, Honey Buns clothes are exclusive – you won’t find their designs anywhere else! How cool is that? 

I love the Bubbles mommy tees and the Sugar & Spice tote bag. The simplicity of these designs is refreshing.

Icon_website2_2 Honey Buns Boutique: clothes & accessories for mommies, babies, and toddlers.

Q-BA-MAZE construction toy + giveaway!

Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Fun stuff for parents, Games

Qf009q50towerWe received several Q-BA-MAZE kits to review back in December and
the feedback from parents and kids alike has been aMAZing!

When Sebastian gets out his Q-BA-MAZE construction toy I know I won’t see him for a while.   Like most  children, Sebastian loves to build things then take them apart.  If he could he would try it on my car.  When I received Q-BA-MAZE to review, I knew right away that this is a toy to play with when Madelyn (almost 2) is not around.  With small marbles and pieces that stack, the combination is a sure disaster. She would have Sebastian’s project scattered on the floor in no time.

Q-BA-MAZE is unlike any toy I’ve ever seen. Not only is this a construction toy but it is also a marble maze.  Structures can be designed and built using the included architecture plans, your child’s imagination, or from architecture plans found on the Q-BA-MAZE website. 
The fun isn’t over when you’ve used all of the construction pieces.  When you are finished building a structure, drop the included marbles in and see where they come out!   What I love about this toy is that there are so many design possibilities and little inventors can spend hours making their own buildings, bridges, or other structures and then watch the marbles roll down and out!  The structure above is one of the simpler designs. Visit the website to see the design possibilities for each set.

Q-BA-MAZE packs come with 20 or 50 very durable pieces and include several marbles.  We have three 50 piece Q-BA-MAZES to giveaway and will do so in March.  Sign up for our newsletter using the "Get our newsletter" form to the right to be notified when we run the giveaway contest.

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Q-BA-MAZE construction toy

Spy Video Car: $79+

Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Electronics, Gadgets, Toys

Spycar All children wish they could spy on their sibling at some point or another. While I don’t condone spying, I will tell you that the Spy Video Car is a great spy tool because it is surprisingly quiet and drives very smooth on both carpet and hardwood floors.  Our testers, ages 8-9, agreed that the Spy Car is ‘perfect in every way’.  We found that as long as there are no obstructions in the path of the car the video reception is good up to 75 feet.  When the driver was in a closet or tried to steer the car through a few rooms further and further away, the video reception would be good up to about 60 feet which is fine for most homes. 
The components are well made and were put to the test with several ‘accidental’ falls down stairs, the antennas were tugged on, and unfortunately the Spy Car had the opportunity to ‘drink’ some juice at least once.

The Spy Video Car includes a headset, screen and hand-held controller.  The Spy Video Car requires 12 AA batteries so I recommend purchasing a battery charger and rechargeable batteries.

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Wild Planet or Amazon.com

LONPOS Pyramid and Rectangle Games

Ages 10-13, Games, Travel

LonposLONPOS is a brainteaser game that at first challenged my patience and concentration skills but after a few games, I was concentrating like a pro and forgot that I have ever lost my patience. 
All of our testers played at least 5 LONPOS games at one sitting. Once a player starts the game, they don’t want to stop.

How do you play?
To play LONPOS’ 2D games, you take out the 12 game pieces, all of which are different colors, from the box and put them on the tray. Then, from the
booklet, locate a problem that you would
like to try to solve and place
the pieces on the game board in accordance with the illustration. Once
you have done that, the challenge is to fit the remaining pieces into
the spaces remaining.  At first I thought that the games would be simple so I jumped to level 5. Oops, I was wrong! I decided it was best to start at level one where only one piece is missing and I got that level done in no time. 

The LONPOS 101 and the LONPOS 303 Pyramid and Rectangle games are
pocket/ purse sized making them perfect travel games or for working on
while waiting in a doctor’ s office, etc. and each of these LONPOS models has 360,984 2-dimensional rectangles and 2,582 3-Dimensional
pyramids that can be completed. This game is like the Energizer Bunny.. it keeps going and going and going and going.  Play as many or as few games and levels as you like.

Get your older children away from the TV and video games and have them stimulate their minds with LONPOS.

Great for ages 8+ including older adults,  LONPOS makes a wonderful gift for any occasion.

LONPOS is available for $16.99 here.