The Instructions, Packaging and Installation:

The area rug arrived in a simple box , easy to open and contained detailed instructions for installation. There are helpful arrows on the back of each carpet square ’tile’ to assist you with lining them up correctly. A simple small sticky square is placed at the corners where the squares meet (in other words, each carpet tile has a non-skid backing and to connect each square to the next, you place a slightly sticky square at the edge of the carpet tile so that the tile are snuggly situated beside one another and so that the squares stay put!

This is a very simplistic way of connecting the carpet tiles – I had expected that each carpet tile would have a sticky backing so as to adhere to the surface beneath it (which in my case is tile) While walking on the carpet tiles does not cause any separation, a running dog or child would easily separate the carpet tiles from one another as the small sticky square that connects each carpet tile to the other is not up to that task. In my situation, where running animals and children are a rarity, this is not a hassle, but I would note that if those situations apply to you! (Note that the carpet instruction booklet notes that the sticky squares “get stickier for a better hold after installation”) – that being said, any strong horizontal force will separate the carpet tiles from one another – which is quite convenient when moving/re-designing the area rug’s shape or location.

The Color and Fabric:

My choices for color and fabric were limited for the purposes of this review and I selected the Power Nap – Truffle color (a darker brown chocolate color). The texture is similar to a very tight carpet (think very tightly wound berber carpet) It is not rough on the bare feet and I found it to be quite comfortable to stand upon.

The appearance is decent. No one will mistake this for an expensive rug option, but rather as an economical interesting area rug option. The appearance of the carpet tiles may not be a valid option for a formal living or dining area and may be better suited for a casual location such as a bathroom doorway rug or children’s play area/room rug option.

The color seems to be holding up quite nicely and footprints etc, do show lightly.

Final Thoughts:

This is a very practical area rug option for a couple of reasons:

1. The ease of replacing individual portions of the ‘rug’ – whether for cleaning, damage etc… this is a definite perk not to have to toss the whole rug, but rather the affected section only and it is easily replaced by another carpet tile.

2. The relatively lower cost compared to larger area rugs for a smaller area – the cost grows rather pricey as the better quality fabrics are selected.

3. The convenience of re-designing the ‘rug’ to fit any area – L shapes, intermixing different colors etc… the color options available are vast and mixing different textures could create quite a nice look.

I would recommend carefully pricing out the quality vs.cost of this option versus the quality vs.cost of a comparably priced area rug to see if the potential tradeoff in appearance is worth the convenience of customizing, ease of cleaning and fun mix and matching of colors is worth it to you. This would be an excellent option in a children’s area (think ease of cleaning up playdough, paints etc…)

The flavor and the moistness of their hams is beyond comparison to any other brands we have tried. Their side dishes are always tasty when they have samples in the store when I pick up either our Easter ham or the Thanksgiving turkey.

Here is a special coupon for you from the Honey Baked Ham – enjoy and have a special Easter celebration!

For the special Bride and Groom to be we will be giving away a My Publisher’s Hardcover Photo Book! Three stories will be chosen by us here at Lil Duck Duck so our readers will then vote for their favorite story.

We have a sample here in our hands and this is truly bookstore-quality printing – and we are not easily impressed as we hold a high standard when it comes to photo printing . Think what a special memories book this will be for your photos from your dates, to highlight your wedding preparation photos, ring shopping or use it for your honeymoon photos!

MyPublisher is a leading photo book company who offers high quality printing of your customized photos and text at a surprisingly low price – hardcover photo books start at just $29.80 – which makes them affordable for your wedding photo keepsakes.

Not just for wedding, engagement or honeymoon memories, customizing a photo book is a wonderful gift for family keepsakes and delightful for a new mom for a baby gift! Easy to complete online with fast download and with creative layouts (over 250 layouts and customizable fonts) that will highlight your photos, you will be pleased with this special photo book to hold your memories for years to come.

So, we want to hear from the engaged couple …post your Engagement Story or Marriage Proposal Story below in the comments section (don’t make it too lengthy ). Tell us how your groom proposed to you recently. Your stories will be accepted until midnight on the 31st of March. Then we will choose three of your stories for our readers to vote (for the next week) as to who will win the MyPublisher hardcover Photo Book giveaway!

If you are the Maid of Honor, Matron of Honor, Best Man, Groomsmen or Flower Girl or Ring Bearer for the coming wedding, tell the special couple to tell us their engagement story and they just might be the winner of this keepsake photo book! Be sure to also check out our Photo Save The Date Cards & Photo Engagement Announcements.

The program is only available for Windows XP and VISTA at this time. Sorry my fellow Mac faithful, but we have been overlooked yet again unless you have a full version of XP/VISTA and can run it on BootCamp. It will run on pretty much any setup and the game is not by any means a system resource hog, so you should have no problem running this game on your home computer.

The graphics are pretty consistent with flash games you see on the web and has a cute aesthetic to it. There is a total of 5 areas that your child can play in within the game with varying levels of difficulty. Starting from Home Sweet Home, you can go Camping, to a Country Farm, go on a Space Adventure and finally traverse a Haunted House.

You progress through the game by completing a series of mini-games such as building a house with a door and windows, cooking, etc. You have to draw each element to the mini-games which is actually pretty fun. Most of the time you can draw whatever you want and the game will take it, but other times it will not let you complete what you are drawing and you will need to do it over again. Here is where the game’s chief fault comes through.

There is little or no direction to the player on what they are supposed to do. Apart from the first example on how to build a house, there is no example given for any of the other things you need to make. In the Home Sweet Home level  you are asked to draw a chimney, a paint brush, a hole in the ground, etc. Not everyone has a chimney so an example would be ideal.

The other major complaint is the voice direction and the audio programming. The kid’s voices in the game lack any diction what so ever and sound like they are mumbling their lines while eating food. There is no inflection in their voice either which make it hard to understand the one set of directions they did give while drawing. Also, buttons that would normally say “Yes” or “No” are given a green check mark and a red x respectively. When you mouse over them the child’s voice says, “uh-uh” and “mmhmm” For a game that is supposed to be strengthening reading, it seems contradictory to leave out simple polite words in place of mumblings. Also, when the kids eat the food they cook, they burp. While I find that somewhat amusing, I am sure there are mothers out there that will be mortified.

The final note is that while it does let your child draw crazy things on the screen, the reading part of it seems to take a back seat. My child is 4 1/2 and can read pretty well for his age, but he had a hard time figuring out how to get the game to read to him as there is virtually no tutorial or examples given. To get the game to read to you, you simply put the mouse over the words on screen. This sounds easy enough, but to a child who wants to draw things and is entranced by the cool graphics, they will not slowly take the mouse over the little dialogue balloons to figure out what the mumbling kid is saying.
So prepare to spend some quality time with your child on figuring out the game.

The price for entry on the ItzaBitza website is $20 for the download and a bit steep. A $15 price seems more reasonable for this game as the quality is all given to the graphics and cool drawing technology, but the benefit of helping your child read better seemed to take a back seat during production. Amazon’s current price of 17.99 for a physical copy of the game is the best we have found so far!

There is a new Oral-B Triumph Smart Guide toothbrush that every member of the family will like. Why is this new Braun toothbrush better than the other models?

Children will like the wireless display that times them with the reward of the happy face after the two minutes. They can watch the time count down as it flashes and even pulses in their mouth .

There are also different brush heads to use so the child can have a choice (don’t they just love to think they are in control . For added interest, one of the buttons on the toothbrush changes the mode of brushing – one is a pulsating massage that feels funny .

Parents, you will like the Pressure Alert symbol on the display so you know they are not pushing too hard on their little teeth. There is also a Sensitive brush head and brushing mode for extra care.

Why would the rest of the family like this new electric toothbrush? This new model has corrected all of my pet peeves and I love the clean teeth! Much better than my old electic toothbrush in cleaning between the teeth and different brush heads for varying needs.

The charging indicator is so handy and I don’t have to leave the charger plugged in all the time, just recharge when it gets low and the charge last about 2 weeks for one person’s usage – very nice!

The cleaning is excellent without being harsh. The sleek design is nice to view on the counter and easy to keep clean. The holders and the travel container are well designed and a nice addition to the product.

I am very happy with the cleaning ability without being harsh – I recommend the Oral-B Triumph Smart Guide toothbrush. Please consult your dentist before changing your child’s toothbrush, as always.

The Oral-B Triumph with SmartGuide is the first and only power toothbrush that uses a wireless digital display to help improve your brushing habits. It also has sensor to tell you if you’re brushing too hard and alerts you when it’s time to change the brush head!

You can see more information here:
http://www.oralb.com/en-US/products/power/triumphsmartguide/

Click on the Special Offers tab and you can print the $15 mail-in rebate offer thru December 31st. I am going to find the best price at the store today and then send in my rebate for a thoughtful gift for a family member. Don’t you love this kind of good deal?

Susan and Lynn have designed a cute presentation to these quality products. The sweet baby items are designed from top to bottom using only the best ingredients including a dash of happiness, a pinch of love, lots of sprinkles of sweet baby wishes and the secret ingredient of Binkeez™ and Burpeez™. The Binkeez™ are handmade, 100% cotton flannel, machine washable blankets that are 44″ x 44″, which makes them a wonderful size for swaddling the little one.

Lil Duck loved to be swaddled and was always “breaking free” if the blanket wasn’t large enough, wish we had a Binkeez then!

The Burpeez™ are handmade, 100% cotton flannel, machine washable burp clothes that are 18″ x 10″. Burpeez ™ also have a triple layer design for absorption but at the same time also provide a baby with a super soft resting place while they await that burp.

We could have used the extra size and absorption for Lil Duck also…

You can request custom embroidery and select from their wonderful “flavors” (pink, blue, neutral pastels or honey colored 100% organic). An additional “ingredients” list you can choose from are numerous, including the most adorable fluffy animals .

You will be most pleased with the cake style presentation – I am not even going to wrap the one I am ordering for an upcoming baby shower, it is too cute (see it wrapped here)! Well, you just have to see them for yourself at Bel Scriba’s Bakery!

We absolutely enjoy working with Susan and Lynn here at Lil Duck and we know you will not be disappointed with them or their product . Be sure to also check out our customizable invitations for your baby shower & see more WFMW tips here!

Cozi can help make your move from summer to fall a snap. Here are some ideas:

• Coordinate new fall schedules all in one place. Multiple school calendars are no challenge for Cozi. No matter how many school schedules, after-school activities, and carpools you have to coordinate, Cozi’s color-coded calendar helps you keep everything straight.
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• Capture your back-to-school memories in your family journal. Take a picture of your kids as they head off to school. When the year ends, you won’t believe how much they’ve grown.

With Cozi, you don’t have to get those back-to-school jitters—and you might even get $500 to spend at Target.

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What areas are you wanting to improve in the later part of this year? We typically like the Dummies series on various topics and they usually list classic, time tested book titles, authors and web sites on the subject – making this a great place to start on your self-improvement project.

Education is one of the greatest investments – for a lifetime.