Mama Maven: Reviews from The Delaney Diaries

The Wheels on the Bus: Mango's Big Dog Parade

I promised myself that the reviews I write would be as honest as possible. With that in mind I have to say that I'm not crazy about "The Wheels on the Bus: Mango's Big Dog Parade" DVD. But, in keeping with the honesty policy, I must also admit that I'm not crazy about most of the programming aimed at my daughter's preschool demographic. I'm no fan of the Doodlebops, the Wiggles, Dora or even Diego (charming as he may be what with all that animal saving he does). This, of course, bothers my daughter not one little bit. She loves all of those shows and she really, really loves "The Wheels on the Bus: Mango's Big Dog Parade." Once it arrived from the Parent Bloggers it became regular and frequent viewing fare at our house and I couldn't get her to watch much else. And really, why should I mind? The songs are catchy, the lessons taught in the DVD are good and appropriate ones for her age (taking turns and getting along) and she loves singing and dancing along with the kids in the video.

Delaney was already familiar with the song, "The Wheels on the Bus," so the video won her over from the beginning because she could sing along. She also loves the animal characters present throughout the show and especially loves pointing out to me the ones she sees on the bus: "Look, mommy, there's a bunny on the bus!" One of her favorite parts of the DVD is when a dog and his mother sing a song about how the dog procrastinates whenever they try to leave the house--this being one of Delaney's own personal stalling tactics. Apparently she appreciates this characteristic in others as well.

So, it really shouldn't matter that I'm not digging the bus driver, Argon the Dragon (whose voice is The Who's Roger Daltry). It shouldn't matter that the mime on the bus seems a bit strange to me (Delaney adores him). And it shouldn't matter that the kids in the video appear to be lip-synching through the whole production. What matters is that Delaney enjoys this show and she gets to sing and dance and learn something while watching it. Which is more than I can say for some of the preschool fare out there (Wow, Wow Wubzy, I'm talking to you!).

Want to win a copy of this DVD for your child? The Parent Bloggers are giving away a free copy of this DVD on their site. All you need to do is leave a comment in their post stating why you need a new kid's DVD and you'll be entered to win the copy. Winners will be announced on the final round-up on their site.

Safe and clean peace of mind for the germaphobes among us

Let's face it: I'm a germaphobe. And becoming a parent has only intensified this embarrassing condition. After spending a miserable week or more cooped up in the house with a poor, sick child, almost any mom will tell you the great lengths she'll go to to keep illness at bay. That's me who's always armed with my hand sanitizer and antibacterial soaps and who cringes any time my daughter steps near a playground or heads off to preschool. It's not something I'm proud of but there it is--my obsessive compulsion with avoiding germs.

Luckily there are companies out there who are not only working to help crazed mothers like me keep their kids healthy but who want to go about it the safe way. CleanWell provides hand soaps and hand sanitizers that use plant oils to kill 99.9% of the germs with which we come into contact. Their products are 100% alcohol- and tricolsan-free which is something any mom (or dad) can get behind. One of my fears of using the traditional ant-bac stuff is that my daughter could accidentally get a hold of the alcohol-based ones I use and ingest some of it which could lead to life-threatening alcohol poisoning. And Triclosan is the stuff that, while it's great at ridding our environments of germs, may possibly allow harmful bacteria to become antibiotic resistant. Yikes. What's a neurotic, germ-conscious mom to do?

With a newborn and a preschooler in the house I was excited to accept The Parent Bloggers offer to try CleanWell's new line of antibacterial hand soaps. The result? I'm impressed. The natural, plant-derived ingredients are milder on my skin than other anti-bac products I've tried before. The scents are lovely because they're not artificial (Orange/Vanilla is my personal favorite!). The packaging is simple and sleek (the labels are easily removed for your aesthetic enjoyment). In fact, the only thing I can complain about regarding CleanWell's new line of hand soaps are the pumps. Two of the three bottles I received didn't pump easily (once I pumped the soap I expected the pump to bounce back, ready for it's next use but instead the pump stuck in place and I had to unstick it again before each use). This complaint is not a show stopper or anything that would prevent me from purchasing the soaps in the future, but I did find it to be a tiny bit annoying nonetheless.

CleanWell's hand soaps are now available at Target and although the price per bottle is a little more than I was spending on traditional anti-bac soaps, I won't mind spending a little more for the peace of mind that CleanWell's all-natural and safe antibacterial soaps can buy this obsessive compulsive germaphobe mother.