Busy Mom Reviews

Brain training games are very popular these days, and Lord knows my brain needs all the help it can get.

I received Brighter Minds Brainiversity software game in the mail and it has been a lot of fun.

It has a practice mode and daily exams that let you unlock new games as you progress. There are 16 different activities covering Language, Memory, Math and Analysis.

You can earn stamps with positive affirmations like, "Nice Work!" The graphics are nice, but not elaborate. I like Edison, the cute little talking light bulb that guides you through it.

I'm 43 and I don't find the games dull or repetitive. They're intuitive enough that you can jump right into them and play without having to get your "bearings" first, but they are challenging enough that you are really exercising your brain.

My older kids (junior high, high school) used it and proclaimed it "cool", so I suppose that's the best endorsement I can give it and we even play together, sometimes.

I have no idea if I'm really smarter, but I've really enjoyed playing and that's fine by me!

Marshall's Family Clothing introduces "The Cube", an in-store boutique with younger, contemporary fashions and accessories at low prices.

Register to win $100 from My CUBE Styles:

The first 200 registrants will have a chance to win $100. In addition, each registrant increases the ticket value. When the ticker hits $500, a grand prize winner will be drawn from the list of registrants.

Also, the Shoe Megashop is available in selects Marshall's and is full of the latest in women's, men's and kids' shoes styles.

Play The Great Shoe Find for a chance to win a $250 shopping spree:

I have a teenage girl and a new Marshall's down the street from me, so I'm all about The Cube and some shoes.

See if there's a Marshall's near you and good luck playing!

Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea is back...

The Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to raising awareness about the economic importance and essential uses of diesel engines.

Founded in 2000, the DTF highlights the improvements in diesel fuel efficiency and emissions reductions, and progress to reduce the environmental impact of existing diesel engines, and future developments in clean diesel technology.

The DTF website has a number of interesting items such as a diesel calculator that helps you calculate the potential savings of using diesel fuel.

The Energy Information Administration has more about the current prices of diesel and gasoline and fueleconomcy.gov has a lot of information about vehicle mileage.

If you're not familiar with diesel technology, you can learn more here, or if you want to learn about the diesel vehicles for sale in the US, the DTF website has a list.

Also, the Diesel Technology Forum has an upcoming webinar, Clean Diesel – Driving America’s Energy Solutions, on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 10:30 am ET where you can learn more about the impact of diesel fuel technology.

I was the lucky recipient of a Nintendo Wii and I am in love.

I've been a Nintendo fan for a long, long time, but until just a few weeks ago at BlogHer? I had never played Wii, ever, and it had me at the Wii Fit hula hoop.

Now that I have my own Wii (OK, I let the kids play sometimes) I am all about Wii Sports, especially Wii tennis. Strange, since I'm not a tennis player, normally.

I can't tell you how much we've enjoyed this thing.

I know this sounds cheesy, but when we opened it and put it together and started playing, that was the first time in a long time we had done something fun as a family at home. It's hard with kids of different ages and with different schedules.

Even though the graphics aren't as "sophisticated" (a common criticism) as some other game systems, it's just a lot of fun, and you don't really need all that.

It was really easy to set up and get going right out of the box, even with our older TV (that concerned me a bit) and the kids can play by themselves.

The controller is pretty cool and we've managed not to throw it through the TV yet.

It took me a few tries to get it to connect to the Internet, but we've not used it to play online yet and we haven't used the features such as photo channel, but I'm looking forward to checking out some of the features such as this and shopping for some "old skool" NES games when I can wrestle it away from the kids.

I don't mean to "gush", but we are thrilled to have the Wii and we are really enjoying it nearly every day.

I was very sick a few weeks ago, but dragged myself up to play Wii tennis, and while the Wii didn't cure me, it did get me up off my death bed and that was the best I'd felt in a long time. It's a great way to get some exercise and I look forward to getting serious about using it that way.

Aside from the Wii Sports that it comes with, we got Endless Ocean (Rated E) and Mario Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Endless Ocean is a beautiful and relaxing underwater exploration game that places you in the role of a scuba diver exploring the Manoa Lai Sea with a guide named Catherine. You search for marine life and explore old shipwrecks or relax on the diving boat.

Since you can explore at your own pace, it's not really a game with challenges, so it's not for someone looking for high intensity competition, but there's lots of new things to check out at every turn.

Endless Ocean has Nintendo wifi play so you can explore with another diver, and we're looking forward to trying it out soon.

Mario Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a fighting game (Rated T - cartoon violence, nothing terrible), so it's for older kids.

It's a lot of fun and features Nintendo characters from all different games, there's 35 in all and some of them are hidden and must be unlocked. Each character has its own strengths and weaknesses and you learn how to use them as you fight on the different "stages".

It can be played with a single player, but it's much more fun with multiple players. It's easy to learn, the kids picked it up right away and they love it.

Mario Super Smash Bros. Brawl has Nintendo W-Fi so you can play with others who have a connection and the game.

My Nintendo treasures included some DS games: Crosswords DS and Nintendogs - Dalmations and Friends.

Crosswords DS is a great. Not only does it have crossword puzzles for all ages, there's word search and anagrams as well. It's easy to just pick up and play, I keep it in my purse to pass the time and it got a workout when I recently found myself in the emergency room not once, but twice a few weeks ago.

NintendogsDalmatian and Friends for DS (has sound) is a cute little game where you pick your puppy and care for and train him using the touch screen and mic on the DS.

There's lots of fun supplies such as clothes and toys, and, after proper training, your puppy can compete in agility trials and Frisbee competitions.

The graphics are great, it's really a cute game that we've all enjoyed and it may be hanging out in my purse with my DS, I'll never tell.

So, this is really a long, fluffy way to say how much our whole family truly LOVES Nintendo and we big, big fans.

MLB Power Pros 2008 (has sound) for Wii (also available for PS2) is a great baseball game featuring the fun animated, bobble-headed characters you know from MLB Power Pros.

Every MLB team and ballpark is represented in the game with up to date (as possible) rosters for 2008. In addition to those teams, you can even design your own dream roster or import up to 10 Miis (characters you create in Wii games)

It's got something for everyone. Casual gamers enjoy easy to use controls and can play right away, while serious baseball nuts enjoy more serious game play modes and statistics.

Some of the ten different play modes include:

* Success Mode: In Success mode, fans can participate in a story-based career of rising players in the Double-A Minor League system trying to improve their baseball skills and make an impression on baseball scouts while also having to balance various situations in their personal lives. Through a variety of amusing training and game challenges, players who complete Success mode will also be able to take their created player files into MLB Life as well, or also play as either an existing Major League Baseball® player in Dream Mode, or start as a rookie in Major League Career mode.

* MLB Life: MLB Life allows fans the possibility to simulate the exciting life and experience of being a Major League Baseball player over the course of a 20-year career. While continuing to play in games through the regular baseball season, players will also participate in a number of realistic situations such as signing contracts, purchasing houses and cars, making charitable donations, building up relationships with friends and teammates, picking up hobbies and much more.

* Season Mode: Fans can lead their favorite team to the World Series, and control all aspects of the season from signing players to running practices and playing games.

This is really a cool game, I'm amazed at how many different things you can do with it. Anyone can pick it up and start playing, but there's so much more to it if you are looking for something deeper and are really into baseball.

There's even a Nintendo DS version slated for Fall, 2008!