A Year of Reviews - In Review...

It's been more than a year since I started doing product reviews on Acting Balanced, but I thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane and list a few of my top picks from this year's reviews:

Top Mommy On the Go Product: 



Contigo No Spill Travel Mug - Read the Review        Buy It
Since reviewing this product on my blog last May, I have bought four more Contigo No Spill Travel Mugs!  I use them for hot beverages even at home, because Erik is a curious little monkey and nearly got scalded this Fall when he pulled his grandfather's coffee mug off the table onto himself.   When he makes a grab for my Contigo No Spill Mug, I know it's safe for him to touch because it really is NO SPILL and cool to the touch, no matter how hot my tea inside is!


Top Baby On the Go Product:
Bottle Snugglers Read the Review    Buy It
Although Erik is past the stage where he uses a bottle, his bottle snuggler was great for being a Never-Stay-At-Home baby because it helped him hold his own bottle while in his stroller or just wanting to be Mr. Independent!




Top Special Needs Product:
Ark Therepeutic Y-Chews and Grabbers  Read the Review     Buy It

can't say enough about how invaluable these products are to my family and if speech, feeding or oral sensory issues are something you are battling at home or you work with special needs kids, you understand what I mean... it's so important to be able to repeat the exercises regularly and having a range of choices for Liam to pick from as his tool has been helping us make strides with his exercises.



Top DVD for Kids:
Dinosaur Train T.rex Tales  Read the Review   Buy It
Out of all of the DVDs I've reviewed this year, this one is my favorite because it really does teach my kids about dinosaurs and about science! We've only had it a little over a month, but both boys are eager to choose it as the DVD to watch and even watching it over and over again, I don't seem to mind it...
I also like that the episodes themselves are fairly short in duration, which makes this a great in the Car DVD when we're out running errands.





Top Toy:
Zoobies Blanket Pets and Slumber Pets  
Read the Blanket Pet Review   Read the Slumber Pet Review    Buy it
Once again, I found myself shopping for another Zoobies Pet to add to our home after reviewing both a blanket pet and a slumber pet - we added the now retired golden retriever Slumber pet to our collection because Robyn fell in love with it!   Another thing that has endured is that Erik has taken to napping in the Butterfly sleeping bag that came with Liam's Very Hungry Caterpillar Slumber pet... although Liam won't let Erik near the Caterpillar itself...


Top Read:
If you've seen my giveaway for the Best Read of 2011 (ends today at 11:59 PM), you know that I'm going to say that my favorite reads were two books in the same series by Dale Mayer - Tuesday's Child and Hide'n Go Seek


Top Jewelry:
Joseph Allen Hand Stamped Jewelry    Read the Review    Buy It 
I've probably gotten more compliments on my necklace than any other product I've reviewed. I love that I had a hand in designing it and that the design speaks volumes about our family!  
Joseph Allen Hand Stamped Jewelry was great to work with and I know that I will continue to love this piece forever!
Top DVD for Adults:
Snow Flower and The Secret Fan  
Read the Review      Buy It
This was a fabulous book and a beautiful movie!  It's one I can watch again and again, which makes it a DVD worth buying rather than renting!  It's not really hubby's cup of tea, but it's a great way to curl up with a cup of hot tea and a blanket on a cold day when he's taken the kids to the park.


What were your favorite things that I reviewed this year?  What would you like me to review in the future?


2011 was a fabulous year and I hope that 2012 will be even better!