I can’t say enough about how wonderful Nintendo is.  This company has found a way to improve nearly every facet of my life.  From my 60 pound weight loss using the Wii Fit to expanding my repertoire in the kitchen with the help from Personal Trainer: Cooking.

Now they’re taking it one step further and have introduced Personal Trainer: Math, new software for the Nintendo DS^â„¢ that provides a fun and rewarding way for people to improve their basic math abilities.

“Personal Trainer: Math provides a fun antidote for math anxiety,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “People can keep their math skills sharp while tracking their progress every day to see how they improve.”

When I first got this, I thought it’d be perfect for my almost 4 year old to help him learn the basics of Math.  He’s still a little too young to do this on his own, but since receiving Personal Trainer: Math, both my husband and I have worked with Jacob to teach him the basics of addition and subtraction through playing this game on our Nintendo DS.

I decided to try this game for myself, since I’m absolutely terrible at Math and hear that activities like these keep the mind sharp as a person ages.  Since I’m about to hit the ripe old age of 32, I thought I’d better get cracking and stimulate the parts of my brain I just don’t use on a daily basis (mainly, 2/3 of it he he he).

I played Personal Trainer: Math for over an hour and had to force myself to put it down so I could go to bed!  I started with the basic tests and worked my way up.  Let me tell you this, folks, this game can be used for kids just starting to learn Math (with help from their parents) all the way to the graduate students looking to test themselves on elaborate multiplication tables and calculation ladders.

According to Nintendo, a new survey, conducted by Wakefield Research for Nintendo, confirms that math anxiety is alive and well among U.S. kids. In fact, of 400 children surveyed, one in five believe that they are more likely to grow up to become a professional athlete, actor or singer than they are to get A’s and B’s in math next year. Other results of the survey conducted Dec. 12-23, 2008, include:

• More than one-third of kids surveyed say that math is their most difficult subject.
• Nearly one-third of kids have very negative feelings about math: 18 percent called it “boring,” while 13 percent actually called it “torture.”
• 86 percent of parents surveyed say that math is important to their careers, even though more than half of them admitted they thought they’d never need the math they learned in school.

Personal Trainer: Math includes 40 fast-paced exercises, from basic addition and multiplication to more extensive multiplication tables and calculation ladders. Daily math drills keep skills sharp, while attendance records provide ways for users to see how they improve week to week and month to month. The Nintendo DS touch screen interface allows users to input their answers quickly and easily. Using wireless DS Download Play, up to 16 players can compete to finish their problems with the fastest time, even if only one player has a game card.

Today is the last day for the Tide To Go Mini Superbowl Giveaway over at the Cool Mom Guide! Contest ends 1/29/09 at 8PM EST and prize will be mailed Friday!

Have you ever been out to a nice family dinner when all of the sudden your kid takes a bite of that burger and drips ketchup all over his shirt?  Well, of course you have.  We all have been somewhere and someone has dumped something on themselves.  That’s why Tide created the Tide To Go Mini Instant Stain Remover .

This is the coolest thing ever. Gone are the days of ruined shirts and club soda fixes.  With this compact pen, small enough to fit it a purse or pocket, you simply apply the Tide To Go Mini Instant Stain Remover to the toughest fresh food and drink stains and *poof*, it’s gone!

This isn’t a product for use in existing stains, it works on the fresh spills so don’t leave this sitting in your kitchen drawer or laundry room, because it won’t do you any good there.   Keep one in the car or in your diaper bag and you’ll always be ready for those unavoidable accidents.

If you’d like to win 10 Tide To Go Mini’s for yourself, complete with a Martha Stweart Recipe box and some recipe’s for the Superbowl game, head on over to the Cool Mom Guide for the Tide To Go Mini Superbowl Giveaway.  It’s been running all week and today is the last day, so get your entries in over there now!

How the Tide To Go Mini Instant Stain Remover works

1. Remove excess residue from the stain.
2. Press the tip onto the stain several times to release some stain remover solution onto the stain.
3. Rub tip gently across the stain to remove it. When necessary, add more liquid and continue rubbing gently.
4. Important: If treated area will be exposed to direct sunlight, wipe with a damp cloth or napkin to remove excess solution left on fabric.

For tough stains, place a paper towel under the stain while treating or wipe excess liquid or residue away with a damp paper towel, or reapply as necessary

Today I’m going to focus on Baby Banz sunglasses. Don’t forget to check out the Cool Mom Guide Goes Green Giveaway, sponsored by ecostore USA! One lucky winner will receive the entire Baby Care line, including Baby Wash, Massage Oil, Moisturizer, Nappy Balm, Shampoo, Sleepytime Bath and Soap! (more…)

For my second review in my Cool Mom Guide Goes Green Review series and giveaway, I’ll be taking a look at the ecostore USA Baby Sleepytime Aromatherapy for the Bath water.

A few days ago, the kids were running wild. We had play-dates and games and by the time bedtime came around, they were both too wound up to relax for bed. When it came time for their bath, I decided to give the ecostore USA Aromatherapy Sleepytime Bath a try. (more…)