Five more products I really like

1. Combination corer and melon baller. I hate one use kitchen gadgets. I really do. But my kids like strawberries and they only like them without the green part. I bought this on a whim and it's the next best thing to a personal chef to do it for me. And it does melon balls! Not that I've ever balled melons in my life, but in my head I like to think I'll someday throw a fancy party that requires an equally fancy fruit display and now I'm totally ready.

2. Blackout drapery liner for curtains. We finally ripped down the vertical blinds covering the sliding glass doors in our bedroom that we inherited from the previous owners of our house. I've hated them since we bought the house but never more so than when our giant pony/puppy decided he liked laying in them. Every time he moved in the middle of the night he moved the blinds. Every time he moved the blinds, it woke me up and made me want to kill him. I replaced the blinds with curtains and added blackout liner. Not only do the liners not wake me up in the night, they also block light better than the blinds did. My life is practically complete.

3. Color Wonders I've been aware of Color Wonders and tried them out with the kids before. We tend to stick with old school washable crayons and markers at home though. No particular reason. What I really, really liked was storing a package of Color Wonders for each kid in my backpack and then whipping them out in the middle of a three hour car ride during our summer vacation when I could tell we were on the brink of all hell breaking loose in our backseat. The crisis was averted and it was followed by 45 minutes of peace and quiet. Sometimes 45 minutes of peace and quiet is all you need to keep a good day on track. My daughter even tried out the glitter kind. I wouldn't want her to use that kind in my house where the glitter could potentially get into every nook and cranny but when it's a rental car I say do it up right.

4. My laptop. Best. Purchase. Ever. Laying in bed while I surf the net has taken my innate laziness to all new levels.

5. Travel bingo. Our 3 year old spent more time doodling on it and discussing the pictures than actually playing. So he was probably a little young for it. But he liked being involved and the 5 year old was all in. Thumbs way up. I packed it away for out next trip and I'm even thinking about making my own cards with more specific stuff. Like they listed "restaurant" and I'm thinking an entire card of assorted fast food restaurants might be fun to try to fill up. Or maybe different gas stations. These are the idiotic projects I like to clog up my already hectic life with. But I still think it would be fun.

Other installments of products I really like:
The first five