Review: Disneyland Postcards

I recently had the chance to review a fun new thing a Disneyland postcard from Disneyland Postcards! It's a simple idea- you choose one of four Walt Disney World postcards available that month, then you choose who you want to send the postcard to, enter your address and your 165 character (max) message. After that, the people at Disneyland Postcards take the card to Disney World and get it finished off with actual Disney character autographs.

My kids got the holiday card complete with a special Mickey Mouse autograph! Since they're still young, I think I was more excited about this than they were :) But I thought it was awfully fun to get a nice card from Mickey Mouse in the mail. The card came in an envelope, so the message and autograph didn't get messed up by any of the things that sometimes mess up postcards.  And it came addressed to my kids- I know when I was young I absolutely loved to get mail.  Can you imagine how exciting it would be for your son or daughter to not only get mail addressed to them, but to see that the message inside is from Cinderella or Mickey Mouse or their favorite Disney character?

I think this would be the perfect idea for a special personalized gift for the Disney lover in your life. Go check it out!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review, but I was sent a personalized postcard to review for myself. All opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway: The Survivors Club- The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life- (giveaway closed)

A few months ago I first heard about a book that sounds really interesting, called The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life.

From the book's website:

In tough times, who bounces back and who doesn’t? After losing a job, who finds a new one and who gives up? After a devastating medical diagnosis, who beats the odds and who doesn’t? And perhaps most important: What do survivors and thrivers know that we don’t?
The fascinating and surprising answers to these questions can be found in The Survivors Club by award winning journalist and bestselling author Ben Sherwood.

As a mom, I love the idea behind this book. Anytime I can arm myself with information that could help my family, I'm glad to do so!

5 of you are going to get copies of The Survivors Club! US/Canadian mailing addresses only, please!

Mandatory entry:
To enter, let me know why you want to read this book.

Extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow my blog
2. Put my button on your blog- let me know where to find it.
3. Subscribe to my blog via email
4. Visit LuvnLife and enter one or more of her giveaways! Leave a separate comment for each one that you enter.

Entries will be accepted until 9 PM on January 28, 2010.  I'll chose a winner with random.org and will email the winner who will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this blog post and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway: Baby's First Phone Call! (giveaway closed)

I have a friend of mine lined up to test out this service for me (no more babies for my family, so I can't test it out personally!), but I wanted to go ahead and get the giveaway posted. This is for a great new service, called Baby's First Phone Call!

From their website:

Baby's First Phone Call is an automated call tree that allows you to notify all of your friends and family of the arrival of your bundle of joy without the hassle of making dozens of individual phone calls, or leaving some friends and family to find out second- or third-hand.

With Baby's First Phone Call, you set up an account before your baby is born—when you still have a moment of time to yourself—and enter the names and phone numbers of all the people you want to notify when the baby arrives. Then, after the baby is born, you make a single phone call and leave a personal voice-mail message of any length with all the details you want to share.

Not only can you tell your friends and family when your little bundle arrived, you can share information such as the hospital and room number you're in and whether and when you'd like to receive visitors.

Our system places calls to each of the phone numbers in your account. If the person answers the phone they hear your happy message. If they don't answer, the message is left on their voicemail or answering machine. In either case, there is an option for them to leave you a return message that you can pick up at your convenience.

I love this idea! We ended up telling most of our friends and family about our first child via having friends call each other (no internet in that hospital) and about our second by Facebook. In both cases, I was recovering from surgery and was pretty out of it, and I wanted my husband nearby, not busy making lots of phone calls. So I think this a great service!

I have 4 $50 gift certificates to give away- it would be easy to give this to a friend if you don't need it for yourself, so enter for someone else even if you don't need it! Currently the service only works in the US, so please only enter if you're in the US or if you have a US friend you'd like to pass this on to.  There are a number of different packages you can get with your gift certificate, and you can even order a onesie if you'd like!

To enter:
Visit Baby's First Phone Call and let me know what you like best about this idea!

Extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow my blog
2. Put my button on your blog- let me know where to find it.
3. Subscribe to my blog via email
4. Visit LuvnLife and enter one or more of her giveaways! Leave a separate comment for each one that you enter.

Entries will be accepted until 9 PM on January 28, 2010.  I'll chose a winner with random.org and will email the winner who will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this blog post and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review and giveaway: PatientStyle!- Giveaway closed

Congrats to my winner- Sarah Osborne 
Thanks to my involvement over at the Product Review Place, I recently found out about a great website called PatientStyle, and I also had the chance to test out one of their products!

I've been blessed to become a mother twice in the last 2 1/2 years, but both pregnancies and births involved a little (okay, a lot) more time in the hospital than I really cared to spend.  Which meant lots of time in hideous hospital gowns and ugly slippers.  I was always happy to have people visit me during my hospital stays, but I also was always worried about how I looked in the gowns and whether I'd be looking terrible in the pictures of my babies that would be passed down to future generations. Maybe a little shallow, but so much was out of my control with everything that was going on, so I wanted to try to control what I could and still look my best!

I wish I'd known about PatientStyle before I went to the hospital all those times! PatientStyle carries everything that a patient would need to feel pretty and better about themselves.

Cute maternity gown

I love this gown, and it's made for maternity or non/maternity patients alike! 

PatientStyle also has lots of other items besides gowns, good for use in and out of the hospital. They have adorable baby outfits and blankets and slings. They have antimicrobial pillows and pillow covers and socks. And they have some beautiful gift baskets as well.

 

My husband and I both had the opportunity to test out antimicrobial slipper socks.  I am not usually a big fan of wearing socks, I just don't like things on my feet. And I worry about wearing socks and slipping on the floor while carrying the baby. But these socks from PatientStyle are nice slipper socks with good gripping power on the bottom. The socks are chenille and are so soft. I told Daniel that it was like walking on a fluffy cloud :)

I would seriously suggest putting this website on your "check this out" list if you have anyone in your life who is going through an extended hospital stay or has a birth or other procedure coming up in the future. Being in the hospital is tiring and scary and robs you of a lot of your dignity and ability to feel good about yourself. Feeling good physically through a pair of nice fluffy socks or by wearing a pretty hospital gown instead of some wornout hospital-issue garment would be a wonderful thing.

One of you will have a chance to win a pair of either pink or blue slipper socks. US mailing addresses only, please.

To enter (must be done for extra entries to count):
Visit the PatientStyle website and let me know what your favorite product is.

Extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow my blog
2. Put my button on your blog- let me know where to find it.
3. Subscribe to my blog via email
4. Visit LuvnLife and enter one or more of her giveaways! Leave a separate comment for each one that you enter.

Entries will be accepted until 9 PM on January 27, 2010.  I'll chose a winner with random.org and will email the winner who will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I received two pairs of these socks to check out for myself for this review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Merry Christmas!

I'm going to be busy celebrating Christmas and New Year's with friends and family for the next week, so won't be on the computer much. I'll return with lots more reviews and giveaways soon. Until then, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Review: Babysense V

Since it's Christmas Eve, and that's all about a little baby, I thought this was a good time to write a review of the Babysense V monitor.

The Babysense V is a movement monitor that is placed under your baby's mattress and is hooked to a (very loud) alarm. From their website:

BabySense – Life-saving Features

• Constant monitoring of your baby's motion and breathing.
• Auditory and Visual (red light) alarm is activated if breathing ceases for more than 20 seconds or if breath rate slows to less than 10 breaths per minute.
• A safe and integrated system:  Monitoring unit is connected to sensor pads placed between mattress and crib or bed base.  The highly sensitive sensors are not in direct contact with the baby.  Infant movement is in no way limited or obstructed.
• The passive sensors are totally safe and emit no radiation of any kind. BabySense is neither seen nor felt by the baby, yet it senses every breath and movement the baby makes.

I won this monitor in a blog giveaway a few months before Vivian was born. So it's another one of those things that we've gotten to enjoy using with our second child and wonder how we lived without it with our first!  We were impressed at how easy it was to set up this monitor. It's battery-powered, so we just put in the batteries, plugged the sensor panel into the alarm and it was ready to go. Vivian was originally sleeping in a portable bassinet, and the area that supported her mattress on this was a little flimsy, so we put something under the monitor for it to be sitting on a flatter surface. If you are using a pack n play or some other portable place for your baby to sleep in, I'd suggest getting a board or something flat and hard for the monitor to rest on.  This wouldn't be a problem in a normal crib, of course.

We've been using this for almost 7 months now, and I'm a believer. Even though Vivian has been sleeping in our room since she was born, it's tough to see into her bed from where I sleep. And we all know how hard it is to see babies breathing sometime. Even though I still got up to check on Vivian, especially when she was a newborn, I know that being able to look over and see the green light flashing on the monitor gave me a lot of peace of mind and cut down on the "get up and put your hand on the baby to make sure she's still breathing" events enormously.

We've never experienced any issues with false alarms with this monitor.  We did use it in a room with a ceiling fan, and that didn't seem to affect the monitor. Some people have reported this as an issue, but it wasn't one for us. The alarm has never gone off on it's own, but we do forget to turn it off every week or so, and it definitely does go off after 20 seconds! I'm amazed at the tiny little movements that the monitor can detect. There have been many times when I can't visibly see Vivian's breathing, but the monitor senses her tiny movements. 

This is a wonderful monitor for the peace of mind that it brings parents. Anything that keeps mom in bed and lets her sleep is a great thing, and a worthy investment! You can buy this product on Amazon or at your usual baby stores.

I was not compensated for this review in any way, and all opinions here are mine and mine alone. 

Take a minute and go vote for Little Miss Heirlooms!

Have you discovered the Little Miss Heirlooms blog? It's without a doubt one of the most dangerous blogs I read- she features decor for kids' rooms and it's always gorgeous. I rarely make it through a post without wanting to go shop!

She's up for favorite blog and needs our help. It's a multi-step process, but really quick.

1. Go to this site: http://homies.apartmenttherapy.com/2009/category/kids-at-home and register for an account
2. Verify your account and log-in
3. Put this blog address in the space for your favorite! littlemissheirlooms.blogspot.com

Think of it as your Christmas Eve eve good deed :) A well-deserved one, this blog is great.

Review and giveaway: Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion- (giveaway closed)

My countertop is starting to look like a pharmacy counter- I have all my skin care products, my husband's skin care products and a whole bunch of products for my baby daughter's dry skin.  So I was a little unsure about adding another bottle to my collection, but I'm so glad that I did!

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion is different from your typical lotion. It doesn't just moisturize your skin, but it hydrates it while also blocking your skin from irritants that your skin is exposed to all day.  According to the Skin MD website, the proprietary ingredient in the shielding lotion has a moisturizing factor that is at least 6 times greater than glycerin, the standard against which all products that promote rentention of moisture are measured against.

I tested this product out on three of the four members of my household. I tend to have slightly oily skin on my face and have problems with dryness on my feet and my hands.  I liked the fact that this shielding lotion went on smoothly and didn't feel heavy on my face at all. I tend to not use creams and lotions on my face as often as I should, because I don't like the way they feel, but this one didn't bother me at all. It left my face feeling smooth and moisturized but not heavy. I also used it on my feet and hands and was very impressed at how fast it took care of the ongoing dryness that's been bothering me. I only had to apply it once or twice per day for soft skin, instead of every hour as I had been doing with the lotion I was using before.

My husband and my daughter both suffer from fairly serious skin dryness. In fact, my daughter's eczema has gotten so bad this winter that our doctor had us using hydrocortisone on her skin several times per day. I used the Skin MD on her and it worked just as well as the hydrocortisone to clear up the dry areas.  And I didn't have to apply it as often as I did the hydrocortisone, which is a great thing for my busy schedule! My husband also really liked this shielding lotion and said that it worked well on his dry skin.

The thing I liked best about this shielding lotion is that it can replace all the piles of skin products that my family has been using. Anything that simplifies my life is a great thing.   And it uses natural products, so it's safe for use on everyone, which is wonderful. You can also get Skin MD Shielding Lotion with SPF 15, which I, as an incredibly pale person, need to put on my shopping list!

You can buy Skin MD online for $18 for a 4 ounce bottle. This is definitely more expensive than a lot of the skin care products in my bathroom, but given the number of things that it can replace and how well it works, I think it's definitely worth the cost. Also, you only use a tiny amount of this lotion at a time, so a 4 ounce bottle will last quite a while!

One of you is going to have the opportunity to win a full-sized bottle of Skin MD Shielding Lotion! Open to worldwide mailing addresses.

To enter (must be done for extra entries to count):
Visit the Skin MD website and let me know something about the shielding lotion that I didn't mention here.

Extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow my blog
2. Put my button on your blog- let me know where to find it.
3. Subscribe to my blog via email
4. Visit LuvnLife and enter one or more of her giveaways! Leave a separate comment for each one that you enter.

Entries will be accepted until 9 PM on January 22, 2010.  I'll chose a winner with random.org and will email the winner who will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I received a bottle of this lotion to use for myself for this review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Dole's Share the Goodness contest!

Do you know about Dole's Share the Goodness contest? This is a really cool idea. From now until December 31, 2009, you can visit the Share the Goodness website and submit your favorite photos of holiday memories. These photos and the ones from everyone else who submits pictures will all be used to make a interactive mosaic poster.  You can enter up to 20 photos (5 per day), and with each one you will be entered to win $5000 for yourself and $5000 for your local food bank!

So, go find your favorite pictures and visit the website and enter to win!

Keep our families safe- have your teen take the pledge to not text and drive

In general, I don't drive very often. But when I do, I'm frequently terrified by the things I see going on in cars around me. It's amazing what people think of as good things to do while driving down the road at 70 miles per hour. One of the scariest things to see is someone texting while driving. Teenagers in particular are known to text and drive- and a recent study by Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute showed that texting while driving can increase the risk of an accident 23 times. That's a horrifying statistic.

If you are one who texts while driving, or if you have a teen in your life, go to this website: www.causes.com/thumbsup  and take the pledge to stop this risky behavior. For every person who takes the pledge, Allstate will donate $1 to the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) – a collaborative network of national organizations and federal agencies that serve youth and focus on youth safety and health – for safe teen driving programs. You can also download the pledge here and also get more resources for talking to your teenager about safe driving. 

A fun contest for babies born in December 2009!

I just found out about a really fun contest going on for babies born this month, December 2009. TurboTax is conducting their 3rd annual search for America's Cutest Last Minute Tax Deduction!

So, if you have a baby that was born this December, and your baby is a cutie (aren't they all!) submit your photo here by January 7, 2010. 10 finalists will be selected by judges, and then America will pick the winner. The winning baby will get a $5000 grand prize. That would go a long way to paying for diapers for the new baby! Contest is open to babies born December 1-31, 2009.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post, but I was entered into a gift card drawing.

PlanToys featured on the Today Show gift guide!

I've written before here and here about my love of PlanToys. We have the wonderful airport and a rocking horse, and both are such wonderful toys- the perfect combination of fun to play with and strong enough to stand up to our incredibly destructive two-year-old.

Today a product from PlanToys, the Green Dollhouse, was featured on the Today Show gift guide. A well-deserved honor! This looks like a great product- another in a long line of wonderful products. If you're still trying to figure out what to get your kids for Christmas, go directly to your neighborhood toy store and pick up something from PlanToys!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. I just love Plan Toys and felt like writing about them again!

Review: Dinosaurs for Kids

As I write this blog post, my son is watching one of his favorite TV shows- Dinosaur Train. This is a wonderful PBS show and we love watching it to learn about dinosaurs and see the fun activities that Buddy gets up to.  Ethan also loves to visit the animatronic dinosaurs at the local science museum. He thinks they're very fun to wave at and talk to! 

Since we love dinosaurs so much, I was excited to have the chance to review a new kids' book: Dinosaurs for Kids, by Ken Ham.  I like this book a lot, and so does Ethan.  The book is a nice, hardcover book, with lots of very cool full page color illustrations of many different types of dinosaurs. The text of the book presents a lot of information about the dinosaurs themselves, including facts about names, sizes, what the dinosaurs ate and where the dinosaur fossils have been found, to name just a few things.  Along with the dinosaur facts, Mr. Ham presents dinosaur history from a biblical perspective. He talks about how and when God created dinosaurs, and shows that dinosaurs actually are mentioned in the Bible.  The layout of the story follows a seven age progression- formed, fearless, fallen, flood, faded, found and fiction- and discusses what happened with the dinosaurs in each age. 

The book is hardcover, 64 pages long, and is geared towards the 5-11 age set. But my 2-year-old loves looking at the pictures and seeing all the dinosaurs, so it would definitely appeal to the younger dinosaur lovers in your family as well. If you're looking for a fun dinosaur book that also is an encouragement to your child's faith in God, definitely get this one!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book to review for myself. I was not compensated in any way for this post and all opinions presented here are mine. 

Review: Jesus Lives (devotional book)

Recently I received a copy of Jesus Lives, a devotional book by Sarah Young, available from Thomas Nelson.

This is a really pretty little book, with a nice, padded cover and a ribbon marker for keeping your place. The book begins with a topical guide to the themes in the book. So if you're going through a certain situation or have a particular topic that you want to read about that day, it's easy to find just what you're looking for.  The topical sections are not all gathered right together in the book, so if you decide to read the book through from beginning to end, you're not going to get overwhelmed by reading page after page of devotions on the same topic. Topics include hope, grace, prayer, protection, faith, His forgiveness, heaven, sorrow, striving, trust, worry and worship, to name just a few.

The individual devotions are short, just the length of a small page. On the page after each devotion there is a list of three or four bible passages on the same topic.  This book contains 180 devotions in all, so there will be material here for you to read for a long, long time to come!

Each page in the book is on a pretty light brown background, with a beautiful picture of a cross at the top. But beyond all the prettiness of the book, the actual content of the devotions are what makes this book truly spectacular. I love this book because the devotions are presented as if they were a message written straight from God, for you.  I really like this; it helps me remember that God does love me and thinks about me all the time and has things to say directly to me.

If you're looking for an encouraging devotional book that will also challenge you in your faith, I'd really suggest taking a look at this one. And it would be a wonderful gift for someone in your life!

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book by Thomas Nelson so that I could read it and review it for myself. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Win a bathroom remodel from 2000 Flushes!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 2000 Flushes. All opinions are 100% mine.

As much as I hate to admit it, my life as a stay-at-home mom mainly involves two things- keeping the kids fed and entertained, and cleaning the house. One of my least favorite chores is definitely cleaning the bathroom. I'm pretty sure that there are gremlins that sneak in and mess things up again all the time- it just never stays nice and sparkling clean! I don't know why I keep forgetting to buy 2000 Flushes when I'm shopping- I've used it in the past and know it's a great way to keep my toilet clean and sanitary. I need to put it on my shopping list for this week- I need all the help I can get to make life easier for myself before the holidays!

Speaking of toilets, I learned an interesting fact today. Did you know that Super Bowl Sunday is one of the busiest days of the year for toilets? According to 2000 Flushes, 90 million toilets will be flushed during halftime! That's a lot of flushing!


2000 Flushes is running a contest to help you make sure your bathroom is at it's best after all that Super Bowl flushing. If you go to this site, you can Enter to Win a $10,000 bathroom makeover! 2000 Flushes is also giving away 99 coupons per week for a free 2000 Flushes Antibacterial product. The grand prize winner will be chosen on March 15, 2010, and weekly winners are announced each week between now and March 5, 2010. You can also download a $1 off coupon at the sweepstakes site.

What are you waiting for? Go Enter to Win!

Distribution of products by 2000 Flushes, a WD-40 Company, to Participating Parties (media, bloggers, or other third parties or individuals) for the purpose of review and/or endorsement are done so in faith that the Participating Parties will be in compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and other related regulations, applicable statutes, regulations, or requirements of any government authority as they relate to subsequent posts or promotional material featuring 2000 Flushes or any of its products resulting from distribution by 2000 Flushes.

Giveaway Sundays- Link up your giveaways here!

Take a minute and link up your giveaways and enter the other giveaways listed here!

Review and giveaway: Chicken Soup for the Soul- Devotional Stories for Women-Giveaway closed

I recently was really blessed by having the opportunity to receive a copy of  Chicken Soup for the Soul- Devotional Stories for Women. Like most people, I've read many Chicken Soup books in the past and have laughed and cried along with the stories. They're always heartwarming and thought-provoking.  This new book is no exception.

The stories are organized into 11 categories including faith, marriage, motherhood, self-esteem, illness and life lessons, to name a few. Each story is very brief, just over a page in length. And each story is introduced by a bible verse and is followed by a short prayer to follow up on the idea presented in the story.

I really enjoyed this book, and I know I will continue to use it in my devotions in the future. There are so many great stories in here- I appreciate the honesty and wisdom that the authors used in their writing. One story in particular really spoke to me- entitled "Everyday Mundane Things."  This story spoke to me in the place where I'm at right now, knee-deep in housework and trying to keep my kids fed and entertained.  I was reminded that this, while not a catastrophic life event, is still a challenge, and one that I need to remember to be asking God for help with!  I lose sight of that some times, so really appreciated this reminder.

This is a great book, and one I recommend as a great addition to your library. And if this book doesn't appeal to you- check out the list of options on the Chicken Soup site. They have something for EVERYONE. Seriously, the list of topics is staggering. 

One of you is going to receive a copy of this book! US/Canadian mailing addresses only, please.

To enter (must be done for extra entries to count):
Let me know why you'd love to have this book!

Extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow my blog
2. Put my button on your blog- let me know where to find it.
3. Visit LuvnLife and enter one or more of her giveaways! Leave a comment for each one that you enter.

Entries will be accepted until 9 PM on January 21, 2010.  I'll chose a winner with random.org and will email the winner who will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book to read for myself. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Any other bloggers interested in joining forces?

If there are any other review/giveaway bloggers out there who would like to join forces and do extra entries on giveaways for entering giveaways on each other's blogs or things like that... please, send me an email! I'd love to work with you!

Friday Giveaway Blog Hop!

There was a great post on Thursday about entering blog giveaways- it's so true! Go read it here, and then come back and browse these giveaways! And come back here on Sunday and link up with my giveaway list. Good luck to you all!

Review and giveaway: The Activators!

As someone who has struggled with weight issues most of her life, I know the importance of staying active and trying to be physically fit.  Now that I'm a mom, I'm trying to figure out how to pass that message on to my children.  So I'm glad to know about programs like The Activators, which I found out about through my involvement at the Product Review Place. The Activators is a fun new exercise show, brought to us by the My Gym Children's Fitness Center.

Ethan and I had the chance to watch some video clips of The Activators in action on their website. Go here to watch the video clips for yourself. The Activators are a group of My Gym teachers who sing and dance to music, while being silly and entertaining your kids- and getting them up and moving all at the same time! The press release that I received described The Activators as an interactive comedy show for preschoolers- focused solely on physical fitness. And it definitely is that! We watched the clips, and Ethan (he's 2 years old) would pretty quickly start to rock his head along with the singing and move to copy the exercise moves. The Activators are geared to the 2-8 year old age range, and I think that's pretty accurate. Ethan's still a little (okay, a lot) uncoordinated, so some of the moves are beyond him, but he enjoyed the music and the general idea of the activities, so I think even the young ones could get something out of watching The Activators. We're anxious to see longer videos!

The Activators are going to be appearing on TV programs and touring across the US.  Until you catch them in person or online, go visit their website to watch the video clips, shop for products, and find fun printable activities. You can even sign your child up to be an Activator- taking a pledge to stay active and physically fit. And you can print out a membership card, so your child knows he/she is an official Activator.

One of the products available for purchase on The Activators site is a new CD by Aaron Nigel Smith, featuring the Activators. We got a copy of this CD to listen to and really enjoyed it. It features lots of songs that your child will know, like Itsy Bitsy Spider and Grand Old Duke of York.  They're all songs that Ethan learned in his toddler classes and at daycare, but ones that I can never remember all the words to, so I was glad to get the CD! The music is upbeat and fun to listen to, and you'll find yourself and your kids singing along- and hopefully dancing along as well!

Two of you are going to get to win copies of this CD (US/Canadian mailing addresses):

Mandatory entry:
Let me know what you like best about The Activators, or what you do to get the child in your life up and moving!

Extra entries:
1. Follow my blog
2. Subscribe to my emails (sign up over on the right side of this page)
3. Put my button on your blog- let me know where I can find it!

Giveaway will close at 9 PM on January 14, 2010. I'll choose the winners by random.org and will send them an email- they'll have 48 hours to respond to me with their mailing addresses. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was sent a CD to listen to for this review and was told about The Activators website. I was not compensated for the review and all opinions presented here are mine and mine alone.

Winners!: Dove products and workbooks

I chose my three winners for the Dove giveaway.

For the robe and Dove products, random.org picked 41. Comment #41 was:

Belinda M said... 41

I follow your blog bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com

December 16, 2009 4:59 PM

For the self-esteem workbooks, random.org picked 30 and 33. Comments #30 and #33 were:
 abby said... 30

I follow.

December 12, 2009 6:01 PM

zachsgran said... 33

I follow via google zachsgran1 at yahoo dot com

December 13, 2009 12:00 PM

Congrats winners, I've emailed you all and you have 48 hours to respond!

Help out Toys for Tots

1-800-Flowers and Facebook have teamed up to help out Toys for Tots! And they need your help. Just log on to your Facebook account and then go visit the 1-800-Flowers Secret Santa application. Use it to send a friend a Secret Santa message. Your friend will receive a warm fuzzy message, and you'll remain a secret sender until December 21.  The message also comes along with at 15% off discount coupon for both the sender and recipient at 1-800 Flowers. And, if that's not fun enough, if the Secret Santa message is sent 10,000 times, 1-800-Flowers will donate $5,000 to Toys for Tots! So go take a minute and help out Toys for Tots!


Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post, but was entered into a prize drawing for a holiday arrangement from 1-800-Flowers. 

Review: Citracal Calcium plus Heart Health

Recently, I saw a post on the Product Review Place, asking for reviewers of a new Citracal product, Citracal Calcium plus Heart Health. I was immediately interested, because I come from a family with a strong history of heart problems on one side, and osteoporosis on the other side.  So both bone health and heart health are big areas of concern for me. 

According to the literature that I received from Citracal, more than 8 million American women have osteoporosis, which will lead to one of every two women having a osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime.  In addition to those scary statistics, more than 50 million women have blood cholesterol levels that are high enough to pose a risk for heart disease.  Also, an article by the American Heart Association shows that there may be an association between high blood cholesterol and osteoporosis.


In addition to testing out the supplement for myself (they're nice, coated, easy-to-swallow pills!), I had the chance to talk with a dietician, Julie Upton about the issue of bone and heart health. She told me that a diet containing the recommended amount of plant sterols has been linked with a lowering of harmful cholesterol or LDL. These plant sterols are found in fruits and vegetables, but the average American diet (mine included!) doesn't contain enough of these sterols.  This new Citracal contains 400 mg of phytosterols per serving, so when taking the recommended two servings per day, a person will get 800 mg phytosterols.  That's a big improvement over the average 250-300 mg that we get in our diets. In addition to the phytosterols, the Citracal Calcium plus Heart Health contains 1,260 mg calcium per daily dose, more than any other leading brand, and also contains vitamin D to support calcium absorption.

As scary as the statistics about heart disease and osteoporosis are, the truth is that these diseases are usually preventable and treatable, and it's never too late to make changes.  Eat a diet that's mainly plant-based, get three servings of dairy per day, get physical activity into your routine, do strength-training exercises, lose weight and stop smoking, and you'll be on the way to better heart and bone health.  And to fill in the gaps where your diet doesn't cover all the nutrients that you need to be getting, take a supplement like Citracal Calcium plus Heart Health to help your bones and your heart.  I plan to add these to my daily routine and will also be suggesting that my mom and my mother-in-law start taking them.  Take a minute and visit the website for lots more information on these supplements (and all the other supplements Citracal has to offer) and consider picking a bottle up the next time you're at the store.


Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of the Citracal Calcium plus Heart Health for this review. I was not compensated for this post in any way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: Shining Stars Boutique

I don't enter many giveaways anymore, since I spend most of my computer time writing reviews or playing on Facebook, and do have to occasionally turn it off to spend time with my kids or keep up with the housework :) But I did enter a giveaway a few weeks ago over at my friend Erin's blog "Just a day in the life of this mommy". Her kids are totally adorable, go check it out!   And I won the giveaway!

The prize for this giveaway was a set of the most darling hair clips from Shining Stars Boutique. These hairclips are just so adorable- in perfect colors of red and green and white. They're going to look great in Vivian's hair for Christmas!

I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but in the middle of the flowers, there's little beading around the center circles. Such attention to detail! And don't you just love the card that they come on. It makes me smile.

Shining Stars Boutique has a ton of other cute hair accessories too. I love these for Valentine's Day.

 

And I think these interchangable headbands are brilliant- I love mix and match items! You just buy the nylon band and then add whatever clippies you want to buy or that you already have at home- instant new look!

 

So, if you're looking for some hair accessories for the little girl in your life, go visit Shining Stars Boutique!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for this post. I just received these as a giveaway prize on another blog and love them, so wanted to share the site with you!

Why you SHOULD eat seafood during pregnancy

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of HealthyTuna.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

In my life before I became a full-time mom (and part-time blogger!), I worked as a toxicologist. And as a toxicologist i know that the world is full of lots of things that can be detrimental to our health, but sometimes avoiding those things completely is not the answer. Then I got pregnant and got to see that principle in action. When you're pregnant you get lots of advice, from other pregnant people and older women (and a few men, but I ignored them). Lots of advice :) One of the things that I heard way too often was "avoid seafood". I heard a lot that eating seafood would lead to my baby being brain-damaged or having other health problems. The sad thing is, these people could not have been more wrong- pregnant moms should not avoid seafood, they should just eat the right types of seafood and do so in moderation.

While it is true that some types of seafood do contain high levels of mercury and should be avoided by pregnant women, other types of seafood are really great for the pregnant woman and her baby. Over at healthy tuna, there is an entire section devoted to scientific studies showing the benefits of eating seafood during pregnancy and discussing the possible negative effects of avoiding it completely. One new study in the July 2009 issue of Epidemiology reported that pregnant women who ate no seafood were nearly 50% more likely to have symptoms of depression than women who ate seafood three times per week (12 or more ounces per week). Another study showed that, in a group of women who ate fish during pregnancy, the women with the highest fish intake (as compared with the group with the lowest fish intake) had children who were 25% more likely to have higher developmental scores at 6 months and almost 30% more likely to have higher scores at 18 months.

After the first trimester of my pregnancies (when there was no way I was allowing anything smelling remotely like a fish- or anything else! near my home), I made it a point to eat seafood, generally salmon or some other low-mercury fish, at least twice per week, and I also took a salmon oil supplement. I'm not sure if this contributed to my lack of depression during pregnancy, but I did eat fish and didn't end up with depression! If you're pregnant, discuss this with your doctor and see what he or she has to say and be sure you know which types of seafood you should and should not be eating. Eating seafood during pregnancy is an easy way to do something healthy for yourself and for your baby! 

Sale on See Kai Run shoes!

See Kai Run is a company that my family loves, and one of the first companies to work with me when I started this review blog. Go here to see my review.

Right now you can get some great deals on See Kai Run shoes as well as Smaller and Eleven shoes. Really really good deals. Check them out!

Review and giveaway: Jewelry from $hop 7

Thanks to my involvement at the Product Review Place, I recently received a beautiful necklace to review from $hop 7.

The necklace that I received from $hop 7 is a beautiful flower pendant on a silver chain. I really like this necklace- the pendant is full of beautiful colors and matches a great deal of my wardrobe. And the necklace has held up well to Vivian's attempts to rip it off my neck, which is always a bonus when buying jewelry!  It's made of jasper stone and sealed in resin. I like the size and look of this pendant- it really makes my boring outfits look much more pulled together. Best of all, this necklace, and all the other jewelry on $hop7 is only $7.

My beautiful necklace

Another great product from the $hop 7 website- pretty earrings!

I have a coupon code for you to use!

If you purchase any 3 items at Shop7, you can get the 4th for free! Coupon code: REVIEW. Exp. 6/30/10

And I have a giveaway. One lucky reader will get to win a piece of jewelry from Shop7! Open to worldwide mailing addresses.

Mandatory entry (two parts):

Visit $hop 7 and take a look at the jewelry and pick what you like best. Then follow $hop 7 on twitter: http://twitter.com/sevendollarsale and come back here and let me know your twitter name in the comment along with your favorite piece of jewelry (other than the ones I mentioned above)

Extra entries (leave a separate entry for each one you do, please!):

1. Follow my blog

2. Put my button up on your blog- let me know where to find it!

3. 5 extra entries- Purchase something from $hop 7. Let me know what email address you used for the purchase so I can verify (and if you remember, put Growing a Baby Reviews in the comments box at checkout, so they know I sent you!).

Giveaway will close at 9 PM on January 14, 2010. I'll choose a winner with random.org and will email that person, who will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was sent a necklace to try out for myself so I could write a personal review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions here are mine and mine alone.

Review and giveaway: Jewelry from Our Handmade Gifts

Thanks to my involvement over at the Product Review Place, I recently had the opportunity to review a beautiful necklace from Our Handmade Gifts.

The necklace that I got to review was a custom pendant from Our Handmade Gifts. This is the type of jewelry that is going to be a family heirloom. And it's one that I have gotten SO many compliments on when I wear it. Everyone thinks it's just beautiful. The pendant is my picture, put on a polymer clay pendant.  It's a lightweight pendant- I forget I'm wearing it sometimes, until someone makes a comment on it. It's a nice size too, big enough that the photograph is visible, but not so big that it is bothersome.  These pendants are a little more expensive, due to the amount of work that goes into making them, selling for $49.97. But they're gorgeous and something you will wear for many years.

Since the photo on my necklace is of Vivian and I, I had to let her be in the review picture :)

You can also get other really pretty jewelry at Our Homemade Gifts. Like this pendant for only $5.

Or this cool ring for $32.

I have a coupon code for you to use to get your own jewelry!

25% off your order. Code: REVIEW. Exp 6/30/10

And, I've got a giveaway for you! One lucky person will get to win something from the Deals and Specials category at Our Handmade Gifts! Open to worldwide mailing addresses!

Mandatory entry: Visit the  site and

Mandatory entry (two parts):

Visit Our Handmade Gifts and take a look at the jewelry and pick what you like best. Then follow Our Handmade Gifts on twitter: http://twitter.com/handmadegifts and come back here and let me know your twitter name in the comment along with your favorite piece of jewelry (other than the ones I mentioned above)

Extra entries (leave a separate entry for each one you do, please!):

1. Follow my blog

2. Put my button up on your blog- let me know where to find it!

3. 5 extra entries- Purchase something from Our Handmade Gifts. Let me know what email address you used for the purchase so I can verify (and if you remember, put Growing a Baby Reviews in the comments box at checkout, so they know I sent you!).

Giveaway will close at 9 PM on January 14, 2010. I'll choose a winner with random.org and will email that person, who will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was sent a necklace to try out for myself so I could write a personal review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions here are mine and mine alone.

Help a mom win a computer!

I got an email this morning from WyomingMom- she's in the running for a HP Touchsmart Computer at HighTechDad Blog. I got over my jealousy and voted for her :) Will you take a minute and do the same? It's super fast and easy and you don't have to register or anything.  Vote at the bottom of this page. Just look for "WyomingMom" and click there! Voting ends Thursday at noon (Pacific time), so go vote now!

Have you thought about visiting Branson?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

Before my husband and I had kids, we took typical "couple" vacations. Trips to Hawaii, to Napa for wine tasting, long drives to restaurants where we would sit and enjoy peaceful dining and beautiful views. And then we had two kids in less than two years, and our requirements for vacations changed a bit. Now we are always trying to figure out an affordable, kid-friendly place to visit, something that would be fun for Daniel and I as well as our kids. 

I wish we lived closer to Branson, Missouri, because it looks like a really fun place to go with the family. I've only been to Missouri briefly, and that was when I was younger, but I've heard great things from friends who have been to Branson. It really looks like a good time for everyone. I'd love to go visit the Silver Dollar City theme park- to look at the crafts and eat the food while my husband and daredevil toddler enjoy the rides. And in the heart of Branson, there's a shopping center called Branson Landing which looks like something we'd really enjoy as well. I married the one man on the planet who loves to shop, so we'd definitely end up there on a trip to Branson! 

During the holidays, Branson has a lot to offer beyond the shopping and the regular activities at the theme park. You can see Santa Claus at the Town Square, see all the great holiday light displays, and participate in all the Branson Ozark Mountain Christmas has to offer.

For visitors to Branson, there are two great hotels in the city that you should consider staying at. These are the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. Both hotels are located at Branson Landing, right in the heart of all the city excitement. I've stayed at lots of Hilton family hotels in the past, and they've always been clean and nicely decorated and staffed with friendly people. I looked at the pictures for these two hotels, and they look gorgeous!
 

Both hotels, Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel , are offering some wonderful packages for your family visit to Branson. You can choose from the It's a Wonderful Life package, which offers a hotel stay, spa treatment and full breakfast for two, or the Santa Claus is coming package, which includes a hotel stay, two children's gifts, a full breakfast for four, a picture with Santa, and milk and cookies! The hotels also have some nice packages if you want to stay over New Year's Eve. The holiday package prices are good through December 31, 2009 and start at just $209 per night. If you come after the holidays, they have some great specials for next year as well, so check it out!