Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Review: Graco Imonitor Digital Baby Monitor

This monitor works really well.  We have had no interference, and the sound quality is crystal clear.  Where other monitors have failed to bridge the distance between our baby’s room and ours, this monitor is up to the challenge.  Our version is said to have a 1500-foot range, but I think the newer models say 2000 ft.  If you’re looking for a monitor that will give you great sound quality across a large house, this one will do the trick.

My only complaint about this monitor is that it works TOO well.  I currently have a double-layer of painter’s tape over the speaker because even at the lowest volume setting, I can still hear every move my son makes in the night.  And that’s with the transmitter on the other side of the room from his crib.

I don’t need to be woken up because he rolls over, or yawns, or BREATHES.  I only want to know when he CRIES.  I have been known to put the receiver under a pillow to lessen the effect of it’s great sound quality. 

I also wish it had the ability to be silenced, but still remain ON, so that I could occasionally monitor my son with the light movement rather than the sound.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Review: A Bad Case of the Stripes

From time to time I like to do product reviews of things we use in our household that I’ve been particularly pleased or displeased with.  I haven’t done one in a while, at least not on this website, but I will probably get to a few over the next several days (fingers crossed).

It seems that picking out stories for my 3.5-year-old is a hit-or-miss experience.  Lately, it’s been more “miss” than “hit” but we happened upon this book a few days ago and have been reading it every night since.

A Bad Case of the Stripes is a very cute story, suitable for ages 3+, about a little girl who loves lima beans but refuses to eat them because she’s too concerned about what other people think.  It’s a lesson about being true to yourself, wrapped up in a fanciful story about a rather unusual illness that gets really out of hand.

It has more words per page than most of Kaelin’s books, and is probably meant for older children.  But it holds her attention better than most other stories, so she doesn’t seem to notice.  The brightly-colored, full-page illustrations help a lot too.  She loves the silly creativity of the story, and I love the way it’s an actual STORY, better constructed than many examples in children’s literature these days.