If the truth it told, then the truth is – there are so many car seats on the market it can easily drive the most patient parent over the edge. And let’s not forget how designer has to be (has anyone else noticed this trend lately? Let us all remember: pretty does not equal effective and safe.)

I was sent the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 car seat and tried it out. The “3-in-1” means it acts as a forward facing car seat for children 1+ who weigh between 20 and 65 lbs, 3+ as a booster with back for children 30 – 100 lbs, and 4+ as a backless booster, 40 – 100 lbs.

Whether or not you like this car seat is TOTALLY dependent on its features and design.

Some basics:

Steel-reinforced seat

5-point harness for use on children between 20 and 65 lbs.

Easy height-adjustable head rest

Soft; energy-absorbing foam (EPS)

Can only be used in forward facing position

Pros:

• Sturdy – steel and EPS make this car seat feel safe
• 5-point harness makes toddler secure (and difficult for child to undo!)
• Grows with the child
• Good manual walkthrough

Cons:

• Can take a bit of work to get installed
• Slightly heavy for moving between cars
• Forward facing only

In the end, again, it is all up to what you like and are looking for in a car seat. If you’re looking for the Fort Knox of Sturdiness, look no further! On the other hand, if it is going to be moved from car to car to car, then maybe look elsewhere.

The one feature I did NOT like was the fact that it was forward facing ONLY. While this is good for children who are 2+ years old, my 1 year old will continue to use his rear-facing car seat. His pediatrician was happy to hear he will continue to use that as well and recommended we keep him in there as long as he will fit.

Oh, who didn’t have a kid’s toolbox growing up? Then you could walk around and be just like dad (or mom). Who didn’t? I didn’t. Not for lack of wanting one, mind you, but because Santa thought I’d rather have some other little doodad. I’m sure I enjoyed whatever was in the toolboxes place, but that didn’t stop me from wanting a kid toolbox of my own. So, instead, many, many years later, I get to review one.

WJ Fantasy created a Grade-A toolbox for youngsters. Inside a sturdy cardboard toolbox with wooden carrying handle are a hammer, a screwdriver, a saw, some pliers, tool belt, and 4 books (one for each tool).

Pros:

• Durable construction of toolbox, tools, board books, and belt.
• Informative books which are interesting to the little ones
• Realistic design

Cons:

• None

Being a simple toy is not a bad thing – it’s a good thing. By learning early, this kit teaches what they are useful for, respect for tools and their upkeep (putting away, keeping clean), and that work doesn’t have to be just “work,” but can be fun for all ages too.

The only thing about this kit and myself is that now I have to let my kids play with it some more. They’re all about wanting it back. Drats.

“Felt? What kid wants to play with felt?” was my initial reaction. And I stood by it – what kind of gift is the gift of felt? But, importantly, I kept an open mind and I played with the kids and 3 of the Felt Tales boards: Busy Day on the Farm, Heroes to the Rescue (Fire and Police officers), and Pirates at Shipwreck Cove.

I have to admit, it’s rather fun. In fact, in an age of colorful, everything-is-moving-quickly, electronic toys, the Felt Tales were a breath of fresh air. Interestingly enough, my kids taught me a lesson about them, as well: if you have 3 boards and many characters and objects – why not mix and match? A police woman could be on a pirate ship that houses animals. The possibilities are endless.

Pros:

• Well constructed and sturdy boards and figures
• Many figures to choose from on each board (each board declaring “Over 20 pieces!”)
• A nice step away from digital-everything
• Good for the imagination
• Truly entertaining

Cons:

• Getting the kids interested at first. We named all the characters first in order to draw them in.
• Storage – all those little felt pieces can easily go missing if you’re not careful

All in all I’m happy with the 3 Felt Tales boards. They brought together the family – they’re good for a one on one story, creating stories, or just telling them. I think the kids enjoy them too – they get to spend time with family and it’s not blasting noise at them or flashing. Plus, they get to make up any part of the story they want. Who knows? Maybe on day a piggy might actually be made to walk the plank by Brownbeard!

I don’t know about other dads, but I get tired of carrying things: blankets, diaper bag, diapers, snacks – everything that a kid will need for an extended outing. Well, my hands are full enough with everything else and I can’t carry everything! The Kids Original Canopy Chair solves part of that problem (now if they could only create a robot like Rosie on The Jetsons, I’d be all set).

The Canopy Chair by Kelsyus made day trips out to the park or picnicking a little simpler and, most importantly, safer too. The concept behind the idea is a folding canopy chair for children that’s easy to put together and easy to carry (for them, not for da-da!). I’m not quite sure how I grew up without one of these, but I literally called my parents and thanked them from lugging everything around by hand. Remember those lounge-style lawn chairs that tri-fold? Yeah, no one tells you you’ll carry those around forever and a day for little kids because sometimes they don’t want to sit on the ground. Now, problem solved.

Pros:

• Waterproof – which I’ve found out essentially means stain-proof as well!
• Canopy provides excellent coverage and shade from the sun
• It is easy to set up and take down with the canopy becoming the bag
• No tools are required right out of the box
• Two shoulder harnesses assure even weight on the back
• Only weighs 6.6 lbs
• Holds up to 125 lbs
• Sturdy frame

Cons:

• With shorter children, the folded up chair on the back and seem a little long and can sometimes him them in the back of the knees. This would only be a minor irritation.

I’m glad someone came up with something the children themselves can carry – it takes a small load off of me! But most importantly, it’s easy from their to carry, easy to set up, easy to take down, and a nicely built piece of outside furniture they can call their own.

Sometimes things pop up in the toy world unexpectedly. When I was growing up, the idea of a pool toy was a quarter you threw around and retrieved (and I’m only in my late 20’s!). But times evolve and you get new toys popping up all over the place.

Submergency is an exciting pool game that would be fun for kids or adults. Frankly, I probably had more fun with it than my kiddo did! And it’s easy to play, which is a big bonus with little kids and adult friends – you can dive right into the game without lengthy explanations.

All you have to do is set the timer for 15 – 90 seconds, set the depth range (bottom, mid-level, or floating) and toss. Now you listen for the signals that you can hear underwater (I mean, I could never hear my quarter, so that alone is pretty impressive). The first person to disarm it before it goes off is the winner.

Pros:

• Innovative
• Fun
• Great exercise
• Gives a sense of urgency and excitement, especially to children
• Ability to set sinking level – from floating to mid-level to sunk
• Bright LED countdown clock
• Made of solid material that is meant to last

Cons:

• None that have come up so far

Please note: the Submergency can sink to the bottom of deep pools. Please explain the toy to your children and always keep an eye on them while they play – or better yet, play with them!

The last thing I needed was more children’s videos. As it is, I am deluged with PBS’ Sprout on a constant basis. I must admit, though, some cartoons I like – even though I am a full grown adult – because sometimes they teach and entertain.

Leap Frog has come out with a new DVD – “Let’s Go to School” which illustrates and allays the anxiety that a lot of children feel toward their first day of school. With a calmer child that understands a little better, it seems to lessen the parent’s anxiety as well. Although it should be noted that this DVD will not stop a parent from getting misty-eyed the first time they send their wee one off to their very first day of school – there isn’t anything on Earth that could do that!

Pros:

• Close-captioned, unlike most other children’s DVDs
• Takes the viewer on a tour through the classroom, making the environment friendly and familiar
• Entertaining and lively
• Interactive alphabet book
• Sing along songs

Cons:

• 35 minutes
• Single “episode”

The best part of the DVD for me was the classroom tour – I’ve never seen another program really show a child what a classroom is all about. While the other material is not revolutionary, it is still a break from the typical shows seen on television and holds the child’s attention.

This is a rather simple review; if you are familiar with booster seats, then the Safety First “Nature Next” Bamboo Booster Seat is nothing too radically new. It works as most booster seats do, with a selling point that it is made from the renewable resource bamboo.

Pros:

• Chair is made from a renewable resource
• Simple to put together
• Easy and intuitive to use
• Locks tightly onto chair it is situated on
• Harness holds baby well

Cons:

• When the box was opened, it smelled distinctly of industrial chemicals
• Sold exclusively at WalMart (sued repeatedly for pollution violations)
• Made in China (one of the world’s most polluted countries)

When all is said and done, I compared this booster to others – every one I looked at was made in China – so that is a pretty moot point. While I’m not over the moon about it being sold exclusively at WalMart, I am still impressed with the use of bamboo.

Photoshop – that single word can invoke a lot of feelings – fear (I have no idea how to Photoshop to save my life!), doubt (that’s been Photoshopped to death!), and curiosity (I wonder what I could do with Photoshop and a little time…). It’s the curiosity that will get to you and eventually you’ll move beyond pictures into video.

Adobe Premiere Elements 7 is all about video. And not just home movies meets a boring evening – but rather a way to quickly take video footage and turn it into something great, well frankly, turn it into anything you want.

Pros:

• Ease of Use – when using the software, using individual commands is simple (but see Cons below for more)
• Software runs smoothly – I’ve used some editors that hog up all the CPU power and move slow to boot. This is not one of them, thankfully!
• Tagging your videos is easy and saves a lot of time if you work with a lot of videos.
• Green screen – you are able to take any object from a solid background (use of green screen is common) and then you can set it in another scene. A LOT of flying scenes will emerge – and all in fun!
• Online backup with 2GB of storage space!

Cons:

• So many options! While it may be easy to use, when you first start it up – take it slow; there is a LOT to play with at first.
• Some processes take awhile to learn with a couple extra steps than I believe is necessary.

So, what should you do with all your time? Well, if you’re a Dad, you don’t have that much time to be wasting in the first place! Long story short, Adobe Premiere Elements 7 is a powerful tool that ends up being a lot of fun – plus, you get excellent results with little work. Just remember: you don’t need to do it all in one day!

You have a million photos taking up space on your hard drive, various CDs, and, heaven forbid, floppies. And, yes, you look through them – but what are you going to do with them? Like me, you will do nothing in particular with them other than keep them where they are and trot them out every so often to take a peek by yourself or with others.

Then I received a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements. And, like all laypeople, I was terrified, because frankly, I’m adept at using a computer, but Photoshopping pictures seemed way out of my league.

Needless to say, I tried the program…and used it and used it and used it. I’ve used it now for a few months; I really wanted to get a feel for the program before I wrote my review. And after I felt comfortable enough, I sat down and made a list of what I liked about it and what I didn’t.

Pros:

• User-Friendliness – navigation and functionality is simple and intuitive.
• A guided editor for new users – this made using the program much less intimidating
• Ability to create Photo Books – these cost a fortune elsewhere and is one of my favorite features
• Drag and Drop Photos – Organizing has never been easier for photographs!
• 3 Ways to Edit – Guided, Quick, and Full – something for absolutely everyone.

Cons:

• Quick to learn, but sometimes hard to figure out exactly what can be done with the picture
• The Organizer was a little slow to load (an inconvenience, but not too bad)
• Until you learn how to use the guided editor, frustration may be an issue if you’re new to Photoshop

All in all, a great program that I’ve had a lot of fun with. If you’re looking for a photo organizer or editor, I think this one is a good bet – even for the beginner. I might not yet belong to the leagues of people who can Photoshop as fast as the speed of light, but I’m confident that I can edit my photos with excellent results.

In general, I like toys that teach – stationary toys that don’t do anything quickly become one-hit-wonders in my household. Instead, I reach for toys that educate in some way – they needn’t be fancy, only captivating.

The Cloud b Twilight Ladybug is anything but a one-hit-wonder. Honestly – it is the one toy that I was thrilled that I had bought and has yet to disappoint. Let’s look at the all around picture of the Cloud b Twilight Ladybug.

Pros:

• Has yet to let me down – entertains, provokes questions, helps illustrate during stories
• Construction – plastic shell is rugged, while the body is soft and excellently built
• Color Selection – 3 colors means 3 levels of brightness and illumination

Cons

• Red Color – the red color selection is almost impossible to see, even in the darkest room
• Star Placement – I cannot find most of the constellations in the mini-guide – it may need to be placed at an exact spot within the room, but I haven’t been able to find it.

In the end, it is up to you to pick out the toys for your child – and for my family, the Cloud b Twilight Ladybug is top choice. From its tough (and soft where it matters!) exterior to the way it lights up the room (and a child’s eyes), I have yet to find another toy that elicits such wonder from children and parents alike.