My Review of Imaginarium 2010 Classic Train Table with Roundhouse Wooden Train Set

Originally submitted at Toys R Us

Encourage endless hours of creative play with this interactive Imaginarium Classic Train Table with Roundhouse Wooden Train set, a Toys 'R' Us exclusive. Scratch-resistant and easy to clean, the large train table fits the included double-sided playboard, which features graphics on one side ...

Imaginarium 2010 Classic Train Table with Roundhouse Wooden Train Set

Great item - with one con..

By Mom to crazy toddler! from San Antonio, TX on 6/30/2010

 

4out of 5

Pros: Attractive Design, Fun, Durable, Easy To Operate, Quality Construction

Cons: Time consuming assembly

Best Uses: Young Children, Entertainment, Imaginative Play, Older Children

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent, Education Oriented, Stay At Home Parent

My two year old daughter LOVES this set! And the great thing is that it works with Thomas stuff at a fraction of the price so she doesn't know the difference. It is a rather large table and my short two year old cannot reach some of the pieces on the inside of the table, but the drawers are AWESOME and can easily be used by a toddler to stow extra trains or pieces because this set comes with LOTS of pieces! You definitely get your moneys worth with this set!

However my one con is that replacement pieces are difficult to find. She took it apart and now has lost one of the riser pieces for the raised track portion. It is impossible to find a replacement piece! So I guess for her birthday we will buy her one of the additional sets to change it up some, but there is no chance of her getting bored anytime soon!

(legalese)

Bissell Lift Off MultiCyclonic Pet Vacuum

So my house consists of two short haired pups (a jack ratt terrier and a beagle) and a two year old who must think sitting at the table and eating is bad for her digestion. My little white jack ratt terrier shakes and it looks like he just made snow on his back, the cloud of white hair just poofs - and let me tell you this dog shakes, rattles and rolls all over the carpet. And my beagle, oh my beagle.. you can absolutely tell every single place this dog has laid. And then there is the two year old daughter, who seems to think it is her God given gift to scale counters and grab cookies and run through the house teasing those sweet shedding puppies... while the cookie crumbles with ever step she takes.

Needless to say - we vacuum..... ALOT!

We had a Hoover EmPower, but as all vacuums find with the test of time, it decided it was time to go. It got that.. smell. You know the one I am talking about. So after three years of faithful service, we decided to get a new vacuum. We had recently purchased another of Bissell's pet cleaning machines, so we decided to stick with the brand. Were we ever right!

So I made my way up to Lowes after doing some comparison shopping online, and had every intention on purchasing the Bissell Pet Eraser ($149.00) which in all rights looks like a great machine. But after looking at the MultiCyclonic Pet Vacuum ($179.00) in person - WOW!

First let me say, in comparison, the only real difference between these machines according to the specifications is that the Multicyclonic has a detachable canister designed for stair cleaning or if you have couches that you allow pets on, I assume it would work wonders there as well. We have since moved on and no longer allow pets on furniture for that very reason, but I chose this machine to get corners, chairs and pet beds with ease.

We have this beautiful rug that has high pile and with the Hoover, we could only get it to where it looked less dirty, but after five passes it still never really was clean. With one pass of the MultiCyclonic - it looked amazingly clean! The rest of the carpet was incredible!

The only con with this machine is that the canister is small, but when you have dogs you are used to constantly emptying the canister anyway because there is so much hair, so I would not use that as a con to dissuade me from purchasing this.

It is an amazing machine and if you are looking for a heavy duty vacuum at a light duty price, this is definitely your machine!

For more information on this machine please Click here to visit Bissell's site and compare for yourself!

Aveeno's Nourish + Moisturize Shampoo and Conditioner

I recently received a sample of Aveeno's new Nourish+Moisturize line in the mail, so I decided to take it for a spin. So that you know where my opinions are coming from, I have absolutely thick hair and its pretty dry, seems no matter what I try my hair is still somewhat frizzy and dry.

So the search for the perfect hair product continues...

I jumped in the shower and might I suggest opening sample packets while your hands are dry.. although comical, its not always effective. But once I got the packet opened, I was wowed by this amazing smell! Its a little fruity, but with an undertone of a wheat like earthy smell, I am not really sure how to explain it but it definitely had a very "natural" smell. It was intoxicating!

I began to rub the shampoo into my  thick hair (which is cut short) and the one thing I noticed right off is that the shampoo is a little more runny than I normally like. Also there is never enough in one of those little packets! For my super thick hair I usually need a double dose of a thick shampoo, and this one is fairly runny. But I got it into my hair. If you are looking for the luxurious frothing of shampoo on your head - I am not sure this is the shampoo for you. I couldn't get the bubbles to suds up the way the thicker shampoos do, and when I washed it out it felt clean but not any softer at all.

Then came the conditioner. After a little more packet fumbling, the conditioner has a super creamy consistency - completely the opposite of the shampoo - and when I put it on my hair I didn't get that automatically soft like most conditioners give you. At this point I am thinking 'what a waste´ - and then I rinsed. It was like silk all of a sudden! When I had lost all hope, the conditioner saved the day!

I did not blowdry my hair post use, since any cooling I can get in the 95+ Texas heat is welcomed - so no blowdryer tests were done, but after drying and using a smoothing serum (different brand) on top
 my hair did dry without any curls so that is a bonus for Aveeno!

Husband's touch test : PASSED - he loves how silky it feels

Went outside in the heat and played with my daughter for about 2 hours, lots of sweat and ponytail (albeit a small one) came in and took hair down - still silky soft.

This shampoo and conditioner seem to hold up to a very active lifestyle, I do wish it was a little more anti-frizz however I don't think it matters that much I would still add this to my haircare regimen.


Want to take my word for it and buy it for yourself? Click here to get a coupon for either $1 or $1.50 off your next purchase of Aveeno  - or you can try it for yourself with your own free sample!

Disclaimer: This is available at the time of posting - hurry because once its gone its gone!