The Little Looster is a plastic stool that surrounds your toilet.  It is designed to help little ones climb up on the potty, and because of its unique wraparound shape, gives them a place to rest their legs while sitting.  Ingenious!

The stool is made out of sturdy plastic and was able to easily support my weight.  It is wide in the front and narrower along the sides, providing a nice fit along the toilet base.  And it’s slim enough not to interfere when adults use the toilet.

It arrived in a big shipping box, with bubble wrap, which was enough to get Thing 3’s curiosity way up.  I was hoping the excitement would be enough to get him to actually sit on the potty.  But he still refused, and I know enough not to push it with him.  Luckily, Thing 2 was more than happy to demonstrate how it works.

You can find out more about The Little Looster  at littlelooster.com.

I recently found a new website where you can do just that. ThredUP Kids is the way busy families conveniently exchange kids clothing online. ThredUP already lets you exchange adult clothing and the kids service is launching soon. You can sign up now.

Note: I did not receive any incentives to post this. I just think it’s a great idea.

KneeBouncers gives babies and toddlers the opportunity to play on the internet, without the use of a mouse. Loaded with games, little kids can make magic happen on the screen with any tap on the keyboard. All the keys do the same thing, so they can’t mess it up. Brilliant!

I especially like that the site was started by two dads. Reading their story, I know exactly where they are coming from. A third child that tries to keep up with their older siblings, gets frustrated, and causes trouble for everyone? Sounds a little familiar.

I will be trying KneeBouncers this weekend with Thing 3.  We’ll see how it goes.

We have found the perfect outlet for their energy in a $35 trampoline. Just add some friendly sibling competition, “Who can jump the most times without stopping?”, and you’ve got yourself 30 minutes of peace.

Talking Buzz Lightyear? check. Toy Story DVD? check. Toy Story book and pajamas? Check and check.

This picture is right after he woke up. He slept with all these items in his crib. And he will carry them around with him all day.

I applaud them for what they are trying to do. Packaged in colorful bags with silly names, Funky Monkey is attacking the age old problem of making healthy food appealing to kids. So, how did they stand up to the kid review panel of Thing 1 and Thing 2?

The packaging and marketing part worked. They couldn’t wait to try them. Even Thing 1, who won’t eat most fruits, tried the pineapple and mango. Even after I told him it was pineapple and mango fruits.

But the excitement faded after they had eaten a few. It’s no knock on Funky Monkey, but it’s just not easy to make freeze dried fruit taste as good as chocolate teddy bears or artificial fruit snacks.

Bottom line: The packaging is great so you might get a kid who won’t eat fruit to try some. But don’t expect miracles.

I still like my method to get kids to eat healthy food. Cover it with whipped cream.

Here is Thing 2’s work. First he took some pictures of himself. Then, after taking the one of me from the back, he tells Thing 1 he took a picture of daddy’s butt. They both break into laughter.

Thing 2 will definitely be that guy one day who sits on the copier to photocopy his butt.

Crumbs For A Cause makes it easy. Their motto is treat yourself and someone else. When you buy desserts from Crumbs, 50% of profits goes to Birthday Blessings which provides birthday parties to homeless children. How can you feel guilty about helping homeless kids?

Disclosure: I happen to know the owner of Crumbs For A Cause, but I have received no compensation for this post in the form of money or desserts. I just really, really love their cookies and know you will, too!

And, this weekend, we found out this kid is also a natural when it comes to swimming.  He is utterly fearless in the pool, which is both good and bad.  I’m happy he isn’t afraid but a little fear is actually a good thing.  It is what prevents him from running headfirst into a body of water.

At just two years old, Thing 3 has managed to figure out all by himself how to hold his breath and float on his belly.  Sure, he swallowed some water a few times.  But he just came up laughing and wanted to do it again.

This kid loves water.

There are some really great games for kids.  Thing 1 likes to play Checkers.  Thing 2 likes Sound Box, where you press a button to hear a “whiney dog” or a “cuckoo clock” sound.  I won’t let Thing 3 touch my iPhone because, well, that will be the last time it works.  Best of all, most of these basic games are free or almost free.

Today I had Thing 1 and Thing 2 try Color Now.  Color Now is a unique application that takes coloring books to the digital era.  Kids and kids-at-heart will be able to add color to artistic images using a vibrant palate of paints.  Once they’re finished, they can save their finished masterpiece and use it as wallpaper on their iPhone, print it or send it to friends via email.  There are 12 images to choose from.   The image here is one example.

The concept is good enough. But I have to say it didn’t translate well to the small iPhone screen and would probably work better as a full desktop application.  Thing 2 had trouble selecting the colors and shapes on the screen.  At 4 years old, he can’t quite get the hang of the iPhone reverse pinch zoom.  Thing 1 was able to manuever better but he said it wasn’t a game “because there was no winner at the end.”  He’s very competitive.