What's mine is mine: We're talking kidecals

I have six siblings. I also have three daughters.

Because of those two facts, I fully understand the importance of labeling one's stuff.

I have two grandsons. They like to label their stuff. Toys, trikes, fancy-schmancy water bottles they don't want their brother to steal sip out of.

I recently received labels for my grandsons to try out. They're called kidecals, and they're the kind of label designed for kids to mark their gear for summer camp, school supplies and more.

My grandsons like to mark what is theirs.

Now, the boys are actually pretty good at sharing their belongings. They do prefer to know who is the rightful owner of things, though, so the Mini Sets of kidecals I received for free for each one to review, were ideal for marking what belongs to whom.

Now, because I don't use the real names of my grandsons here on Grandma's Briefs, I can't really show you close-ups of their personalized decals. Instead, I'll share the graphic from the kidecals website for each of the mini-sets I got the boys.

Bubby received this:

 

Mac received this:

 

With their real names on them, first and last.

Once Gramma handed out the appropriately personalized decals, the kids went to town.

They claimed their bikes...

 

Their outdoor toys...

 

Their indoor toys...

 

Even the shared easel (claiming sides, of course)...

 

And their games — which they would technically share, if only Mac were old enough to play...

 

My grandsons appreciated the opportunity to say mine! ... mine! ... mine! without getting in trouble by Mom for not sharing with one another.

The decal sets — an everyday set which included 12 two-inch labels and 24 one-inch labels for Bubby's set and a mini set of 66 one-inch labels for Mac's (there's also a mega set option) — were more than enough for the boys to mark their territory.

There are many positive points about kidecals, including the fact there is always free shipping to anywhere in the U.S. (though there is state tax, so keep that in mind). The decals are durable and intended to withstand all kinds of washings — they're waterproof and stand up to dishwashers and laundry machines. They also arrived lickety-split.

Those are some of the positive aspects of my kidecals experience.

There were a few minor negative aspects, too, such as the letters used for the personalization are not what young kids are used to seeing. That may not really matter all that much unless the recipient is learning to read or write, as Bubby is. Some of the letters are in cursive and/or in fonts that don't look like the fonts early readers used to. The letters E and A, in particular, kind of tripped him up. Of course, the kid does know his name regardless of how it looks on a decal, but it's something manufacturers of kid products should keep in mind.

Another thing that proved challenging for me was finding a design that complemented my grandsons' personalities because the options for graphics were limited, then the options for personalizing (adding or removing elements) was even more limited.

Overall, though, the kidecals were a hit with the kids. And in the end, isn't that really all that matters — in addition to knowing what belongs to whom, of course.

For more information, visit the kidecals website, like them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.

Disclosure: I received this product free for review (though I did pay that sales tax!). Opinions are my own.

Baby Brezza: Baby-food maker and so much more

If you're a grandma, chances are you figure you can get along just fine without any sort of special equipment for making baby food. I'm a grandma, and I thought the very same thing. Until, that is, I received free for review a Baby Brezza, "the one step baby food maker."

When contacted by PR folks suggesting it for review, I thought, "Heck, I'll review it for all those grandmas raising their grandkids and all those who provide care for the little ones on a regular basis. Then I'll just give it to my daughter to make goodies for Bubby and Mac and any yet-to-be-born additions to the family."

But...there's no way am I giving up my Baby Brezza now that I've tried it. This thing is so cool. And it does so much more than make baby food.

Baby food making is its primary function, of course, and it does that with flying colors, thanks to the Baby Brezza's ability to steam and blend food. Or just steam. Or just blend. Peas are one of a baby's first foods, so I decided to first try out the little appliance making peas, which would require both the steaming and the blending functions.

Following the included instructions, I added water to the steam tank:

 

Added my ingredients (two cups of frozen peas):

 

Then pressed the steam + blend option and chose the correct steam time according to the instructions (20 minutes for two cups of frozen peas). Then I pressed the start button.

Soon the peas were steaming, just as they were supposed to.

When the 20 minutes were up, the blend function ran for 30 seconds. That wasn't quite enough, so I pressed and held the blend button to blend a bit more.

That was a fair consistency for, maybe, the second step in introducing foods to baby. So I hit blend for a wee bit longer to squish it all up as smooth as could be for a first food.

 

I must admit, I tasted the peas. They were hot. And pretty darn good, actually. (Though my husband wasn't willing to try, of course, but that's just because he doesn't like peas, squished or non-squished.) I think any baby would be pleased with their peas from the Baby Brezza, despite PawDad's aversion.

It was clear the Baby Brezza would be an awesome little appliance for any mother or grandmother who wanted to provide cost-effective and healthy homemade foods for her little ones. I used to do a similar thing years and years ago with a blender, freezing the foods in an ice cube tray to pop out for my youngest. Let me tell ya, the Baby Brezza is far, far simpler and quicker. One of the big bonuses is that it not only blends but it heats the food at the same time. So simple to make food for baby.

But what about making food for older kids? Or for adults? With a retail price of $99, I thought it would be great if the Baby Brezza could be used long after baby is done with the pureed goods.

Turns out the Baby Brezza does indeed work well—fantastic, in fact—for creating foods for older kids as well as adults. I watched two videos on the Baby Brezza website that gave ideas for healthy foods for older kids and quick homemade goodies for all ages. Than I came up with an idea of my own.

I decided to make a smoothie. Using spinach, mango, and a big ol' dollop of honey—a concoction of ingredients I had on hand and one that would require only the blend function of the Baby Brezza.

I added one cup of baby spinach leaves to the bowl of the Baby Brezza. along with one whole mango, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces (as recommended for all foods made in the Baby Brezza):

 

I added the honey:

 

Put on the lid and pressed blend a few times until my smoothie was as smooth as I desired.

 

Viola! A delicious and nutritious smoothie similar to those expensive little food pouches kids enjoy with a straw—for far less than the cost of those, to be sure.

 

I'm already considering the many things I could mix up in my Baby Brezza. Guacamole is definitely next!

What I love about the Baby Brezza: As a grandma, I have no doubt the baby-food maker will come in handy for making smoothies for Bubby and Mac and homemade first-foods for little ones to come. Plus, when the boys are visiting, the steam function will be a super way to make veggies for meals. Heck, it'll be a great way to make veggies for my husband and me when there aren't any kids around. One of the videos I watched even said it's great for steaming fish fillets, so I'll be trying that, too.

I love the small profile of the Baby Brezza. It takes up only minimal space on my counter top and is within easy reach of my cook top for blending up items to add to recipes. I'm thinking pesto or spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes (which can be steamed before blending) to top pasta, for starters. It's the perfect size for two—my husband and me—or for just one person, making it a great gadget for most any grandparent household. It can be used daily for the grown-up residents, then will be ready to blend, steam or both when the grandkids visit.

Brezza apparently means breeze in Italian, and there's no doubt this little appliance makes blending and steaming foods for babies and more a true breeze.

What I didn't like so much: The only complaint I have about the Baby Brezza—and this is a very small complaint, just because I felt obligated to come up with one—was that the instructions that accompany the gadget mention in a few places to add 160ml of water to the water tank (for steaming) and to use the marking on the bowl for easy guidance in filling that tank with 160ml. Well, the marking on the bowl is for 180ml. I filled to that line, though, and it worked just fine, so I'm figuring that 160ml mention is simply a typo in the instructions. No biggie.

The Baby Brezza would make an ideal gift for moms-to-be. Better yet, it's an ideal gift for grandmoms-to-be. Or both, really, as both moms and grandmas will get plenty of use from the Baby Brezza.

Visit Baby Brezza online for more information and to order. You can also find the Baby Brezza at BabiesRUs, Target, Amazon.com, Williams-Sonoma and several other retailers (listed on the website).

Disclosure: I received this product free for review. Opinions are my own.

Review: Orb Factory craft kits

When I visit with my grandsons, I try to have a craft activity planned for each day we're together. Mac isn't quite ready for crafts, but Bubby, at four years old, certainly is.

Not long before their most recent visit, I received free for review a My First Sticky Mosaics kit from the Orb Factory. It's suggested for ages three and up so it was ideal for Bubby. It even seemed easy enough for Mac to take a stab at it, with me nearby, of course.

The kit we received was the Team Rescue kit, with four different rescue vehicles to decorate with the included pre-cut sticky foam pieces and and jewels. The pieces were big enough to be fairly easy for Bubby to pull away from the backing on his own (most times) and apply where indicated on his chosen first project, the fire truck. The jewels were his favorite pieces, though, and I had to stop him a couple times from covering the entire fire truck with jewels (even in the spots indicated for gray squares or black triangles) so he'd have enough to put on the other projects—the helicopter, ambulance, and police car.

Bubby was a good brother and shared with Mac, giving him the helicopter to cover with the pieces. Mac just recently turned one year old so I had no illusions about his ability to actually finish the project or do it as he was supposed to. But he enjoyed trying to keep up with his brother.

What we loved about the project: Like I said, Bubby loved the jewels most of all. I loved the fact all the pieces were cut and sticky, so no scissors or glue were required, making for a very non-messy activity. Also, it was great each precut project (the helicopter, etc) were clearly marked so kids can see what shape and color goes where to complete the project and use the included plastic hanger for displaying.

What we didn't love so much: With 600 pieces in the kit, even when divided among the four projects, that makes for a lot of pieces per project for a preschooler. Bubby lost interest before his fire truck was done and planned to finish it later. The good thing about all those pieces, though, is that it did provide him projects for later, which I'm sure he'll enjoy doing until all the projects are done and hanging on his wall for Mommy and Daddy to ooh and aah over.

The Sticky Mosaics Team Rescue craft kit retails for $9.99 and is just one of the many craft kits available from Orb Factory designed to help kids of all ages master hand-eye coordination, pattern recognition and more.

Disclosure: I received this product free for review. Opinions are my own.

Review: Neat Zori Orthotic Sandal

For a variety of reasons, I have a difficult time finding comfortable shoes. I'd rather go barefoot, but that's not really an option the majority of the time.

I recently received a free pair of Neat Zori Orthotic Sandals to review. The package text promised "You'll never want to take them off!" Despite my preference for wearing no shoes at all, I really did find myself never wanting to take them off.

That was after getting used to the basic flip-flop feature of a thong between my big toe and second toe. I don't typically wear flip-flops, as the thong thingee has never been comfy to me. The Zori, though, has a nylon toe piece that didn't take long to adjust to. From there, the "orthotic" features of the ergonomically designed Zori were responsible for me wanting to wear them everywhere.

The Neat Zori, based on traditional Japanese footwear, offers stabilizing insoles with a high arch designed to relieve foot fatigue. My feet and legs always get tired, fast, thanks to some health issues. The high arch of the Zori not only kept my feet from getting pooped, it made them feel good. Like a mini-massage in the arch of my foot. And I did every activity I could think of that would test that. I wore them on my recent visit to the desert to hang with my grandsons. The Neat Zoris kept my feet going and going and going. I wore them on walks, at the park, to the mall, on the hot sidewalk in the back yard, during our visit to the Children's Museum, and for my flight home. Not once did I feel like kicking off the Zoris and going barefoot (and not just because the ground is so freakin' hot in the desert).

When I returned home to the mountains, I wore my Zoris when grocery shopping, gardening and more. Again, never did I wish I had on different shoes or none at all.

What I loved about the Zoris: The sandals are lightweight but well constructed. The sole is soft and padded and so darn comfortable, and the straps are padded. Despite being so comfortable, the sandals are more attractive than the typical flip-flop sandals. Plus, as I did gardening in them, they got rather dirty but washed up easily to look good as new.

Neat Zori™ Orthotic Sandals come in red or tan (I received the tan/black ones like in the photo), and are available for women and men in sizes 6 to 12 at Duane Reade, Navarro and Raley’s stores and online for $49.95-$55.

Review: 'Woody' child costume

Bubby loves the Toy Story movies. So when I was offered the opportunity to review for free any costume of my choosing from CostumeSuperCenter.com, of course I chose their "Woody Quality Child Toddler Costume" ($24.97) for Bubby to try out.

I included the free Woody costume with a couple other costume pieces (a fireman hat and a policeman hat) in the big-brother gift I presented Bubby when recently visiting him and his brand-new baby brother. I think the photos tell you better than I could what he thought of the selection from the online costume store's Toy Story Costumes offerings:

He likes it, he really likes it!

Of course, Gramma, PawDad, Mom and his aunties thought he was absolutely adorable. (It's not that Preston disagreed; he just wasn't there when Bubby first tried it on.)

What I love about the Woody costume: The soft, one-piece costume fit Bubby comfortably and wasn't too hot for the desert climate in which he lives. The colors were vibrant and the replication of the Woody character's outfit was accurate. It went perfectly with Bubby's stick horse (as would any of the other cowboy costumes available).

What I didn't love so much: Cowboys run and ride horses and sling guns like a master, all of which require extensive movement that caused Bubby's cowboy hat to fall off again and again. I commented that a string on it would have been helpful, but as Megan pointed out, that would likely be considered a choking hazard on a child's costume. Maybe a way to tighten the hat to fit a child's head would be preferable. Whatever the solution, a way to keep one's hat on would have been appreciated by the wee cowboy.

Bottom line: Bubby enjoyed the costume, regardless of the hat issue. Not only would it be an awesome Halloween costume, it's a great addition to a dress-up-and-pretend collection.

Review: Name Bubbles

I love labels. I told you so right here. So the offer to review Name Bubbles labels was one I couldn't refuse.

Name Bubbles, "For names that stick," are personalized waterproof labels. They're not only waterproof, though, they're microwave safe, and they stay put through dish washings (yes, even in the dishwasher) and laundry washings.

Name Bubbles are meant for anything and everything one might want to mark as theirs. With the free sample pack provided by Name Bubbles — the "Sports Pack" of 75 total of mini, fun, square, bitty, and bubble toes press and stick stickers, marked with with his full real name (which is why you won't see close-up photos of the labels here) — Bubby decided to mark as his the following.

His bike:

 

His trucks:

His water bottles:

And more.

He loved them. And because the sample pack was plentiful, he has plenty more for using later. And for mom to use later to personalize his shoes and clothes when preschool starts up again this fall.

What I love about Name Bubbles: The sample pack included a variety of sizes and shapes of the durable vinyl stickers. Also, they really stick ... well.

What I didn't love so much: The sample pack came in rather boring black-and-white colors. Fortunately for those who pay for their Name Bubbles, there's a plethora of happy color palettes from which to choose.

Bottom line: Name Bubbles (with varying prices, depending on pack purchased) are a great option for personalizing a child's items, whether just for fun or to ensure items return to their proper owner at the end of outings and functions.

Review: Riding Dump Truck from HearthSong

Bubby loves trucks. And because GiGi, his paternal great-grandmother who babysits him each Friday, takes Bubby outside or to the window to watch the garbage men collect his trash each week, Bubby especially loves garbage trucks.

So when I approached HearthSong -- a company I've loved and patronized since Bubby's mom was Bubby's age -- to ask if I could review some of their products and they offered up the Riding Dump Truck, I jumped all over that.

HearthSong sent me the oversized truck, which I then sent to Bubby. And here, in photos, is his review:

Bubby posing with the Riding Dump Truck.Checking out the capacity of the mini dumpster.

The mini dumpster is the perfect size for Matchbox cars.Doing a Vanna White display of the rear cargo hold -- the spot Bubby puts Mom's large (size 10!) shoes for hauling around the home.Hopping on for a ride.Mastering the parallel parking skills ... and keeping it safe between rounds of riding.He loves it! He has a little trouble using his feet to push himself along because the width of the truck is a bit wider than Bubby's stance, but the truck is made for kids 3 and up and my Bubby is only coming up on the 2-year mark. So I'm sure his riding skills will improve. In the meantime, a little push from Mom or Dad is all he needs.

One thing that was a bit confusing -- for Bubby, his mom and me when I checked out the truck before shipping -- was figuring out how to make the lift work for the large dumpster on the back of the truck and the smaller one on the side. We couldn't figure out how to make the buckets lift and dump as you'd think they were meant to do. And there were no instructions included, on or in the box. Although, as Megan pointed out, the product is German made, so unless one of us could read German, it would have made no sense anyway.

Overall, Bubby loved the truck. He can't ride it well by himself yet, but that'll come as he gets closer to the age 3 recommendation on the box (age 4 on the website). In the meantime, he uses it to haul all his Matchbox trucks and cars and helicopters ... and his mom's shoes, too.

I was especially pleased with the fact that the truck was made of a heavy-duty plastic. It's tough and sturdy for all the play to come -- especially considering that it holds up to 100 pounds and it's gonna take Bubby a long time to reach that weight! -- but it was light, so shipping costs weren't exorbitant. Of course, grandmas looking to purchase one for a grandchild could always choose to have it shipped directly from HearthSong to the lucky recipient.

Visit HearthSong -- where their tagline is "Toys You'll Feel Good About Giving" -- for more information on the Riding Dump Truck ($59.98) and other nifty, creative toys.