Growing My Kids Reviews

Valentine's Day Contest from Chuao Chocolate

2012-01-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

I received some information today about a delicious-sounding contest being run by Chuao Chocolate. One person who enters the contest at Chuao's Facebook page will win a trip for two to San Diego where they will spend two nights at the glamorous La Jolla Shores Hotel, enjoy dinner at the beachfront THE SHORES restaurant, and attend a private wine and chocolate pairing event with Master Chef Michael Antonorsi of Chuao Chocolatier. Chuao is also giving away 14 Limited Edition Sweetheart Boxes filled with 22 signature Chuao Chocolatier bonbons featuring delectable, aphrodisiac ingredients. Yum!

Seattle-area people- Winnie The Pooh party at Northgate Mall this Saturday!

2012-01-26T14:09:00.001-08:00

I received some information that I wanted to pass on to those of you in the Seattle area. It sounds like fun!

WINNIE THE POOH'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AT NORTHGATE MALL

Celebrate Winnie the Pooh's birthday with crafts, activities, and snacks

SEATTLE, WA, January 23, 2012 — Northgate Mall invites Seattle-area kids and parents to celebrate the birthday of Winnie the Pooh creator, A. A. Milne with the Simon Kidgits Club® on Saturday, January 28, from 1pm-3pm in the Ben Bridge Court.

Kids will be making “hunny” sacks, decorating their own “hunny” pots, enjoying a coloring activity and a sweet birthday treat. Plus, parents can put their Winnie the Pooh knowledge to the test for a chance to win a special prize!

The Simon Kidgits Club is a fun and informative program that focuses on health, wellness, education, safety and entertainment for children ages 3-8. Since 2003, the Simon Kidgits Club has kept children and parents alike amused with various events and activities while providing incentives for club members such as special offers, rewards and games. For more information about the Simon Kidgits Club, visit http://www.simon.com/kidgits or call Northgate Mall at 206-362-4778.

Book review and giveaway: Cougar Cub Tales- The Sneezy Wheezy Day

2012-01-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

We've been fighting germs here in our home this week (silly winter colds!), so it was particularly good timing for us also to be reviewing a new book called The Sneezy Wheezy Day. Here's a bit about this book, from a press release that I received:

Written by nurse and mom of three, Sharon Cramer, The Sneezy Wheezy Day, is the third installment of the Cougar Cub Tales - an award winning children’s picture book series that follows the adventures of a brother and sister cougar cub.

In The Sneezy Wheezy Day, brother cub isn’t feeling well. As he and sister cub seek help for his cold, they encounter many well-intentioned forest friends who offer silly home remedies. One friend even tells brother cub, “Tickle your nose with the tail of a goose and do it before the next blue moon rise!” Although the recommendations help, the final remedy is a sibling’s love.

The kids and I all agreed that this was a sweet book with great illustrations. We liked reading all the funny recommendations that the animals had for making Brother Cub feel better. The book is written in rhyme, which makes for a smooth read. The kids loved the pictures, and I loved the story of siblings taking care of each other. All in all, a great addition to our home library!

The e-book version of The Sneezy Wheezy Day is available for free download at Amazon through January 29th. Visit this link to get it for yourself. And, if you don't have an e-reader, you can enter my giveaway for a hard copy of this book! Open to US mailing addresses, enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Finding Nemo 3D- coming this Fall to a theatre near you!

2012-01-24T12:34:00.001-08:00

Finding Nemo is coming out in 3D this September- until then- here's a newly released trailer!

Giveaway Tuesday Linky!

2012-01-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Here's this week's linky- please take a minute, list your giveaways and enter the others listed here.

Review and giveaway: Breakfast cereals from General Mills (Whole Grain First!)

2012-01-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

We're big fans of cereal in this home. In my opinion, it's one of the most perfect things to eat, pretty much any time of day! And, since we eat so much cereal, I usually try to buy ones that have something to offer nutrition-wise. So I was happy to get to participate in a review from MyBlogSpark- a review of General Mills cereals, all with more whole grain than any other ingredient! Here's some information about these products and the importance of whole grain:

According to Dr. Travis Stork, emergency room physician and host of “The Doctors,” identifying whole grain products can be challenging. Shoppers can look for nutritional cues on the front of the box, but they need to read the ingredient list to know if they are getting enough whole grain. Ingredient lists detail ingredients in order of prevalence, and if the words “whole grain” are followed by a grain like wheat or oats, it means the food contains more whole grain than any other single ingredient. Here’s how to determine if your cereals have whole grain as a first ingredient:

With all the health messages facing grocery store shoppers, it can be confusing to translate what appears on food labels into nutritional needs, and hard to determine which foods have a meaningful amount of whole grain. Dr. Stork has some additional recommendations to help you include whole grain easily into your diet. They include:
Start Early! The Dietary Guidelines recommend people get at least 48 grams of whole grain in their daily diets. Get a jump-start on the day’s nutrition by incorporating whole grain into your morning routine. For instance, when choosing cereal make sure whole grain is listed as the first ingredient. One easy choice is cereal with the white check, which have more whole grain than any other single ingredient.
Make Simple Swaps. Choose whole grain versions of the foods you love. Great options include whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread or even whole grain crackers. Also, try different types of whole grain. Use brown rice instead of white rice as a side dish at dinner or popcorn, which is a whole grain, for a snack.
Don’t Judge a Food by Its Cover. The front of food packages provide good nutritional cues, but don’t forget to read the ingredients and check the nutrition label and side labels for additional health information. Cereals with the white check even include the amount of whole grain per serving on packaging.

To help with choosing products with whole grain, General Mills developed “Fast Lane for Whole Grain,” an online educational game. Consumers can navigate virtual grocery store aisles and identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient, with the option to enter a sweepstakes to win one of each of the 50 cereals with the white check.

Make a commitment to add more whole grain to your diet by simply pouring a bowl of cereal with the white check including Cheerios^®, Lucky Charms^®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch^®, Honey Nut Cheerios^® and Total^®.

For more information on the importance of whole grain and a chance to enter the “Fast Lane for Whole Grain” sweepstakes, visit www.WholeGrainNation.com.

My family has been eating Cheerios (regular and Honey Nut), Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Total- all with the white check on the box, and all delicious! I love this easy way of getting more whole grain into our diets.

And I have good news! One of you will win the same package I reviewed- one box each of Cheerios^®, Lucky Charms^®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch^®, Honey Nut Cheerios^® and Total^®. Open to US mailing addresses only, please. Enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: The prize pack, information and giveaway have been provided by General Mills, through MyBlogSpark. All opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Book review: Bittersweet Surrender

2012-01-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was stuck waiting in a long line, and was getting a little antsy, when I remembered that being stuck and having to wait was a good thing, as I had a good book to finish! The book in question is a new one from Thomas Nelson Publishers, written by Diann Hunt, called Bittersweet Surrender. Here's a bit about the book, from the publisher's website:

Carly Westlake is living the dream. She spends her days at a spa (okay, so she owns the place), she's dating a hunk, and she's surrounded by chocolate—milk chocolate, her favorite—that she uses for the chocolate facials that made her spa famous.
But when long buried secrets threaten Carly's business and her friendship with business-partner Scott, she fights like crazy to keep the dream—and the illusions—afloat.
It takes a miracle of grace to get Carly to finally make that bittersweet surrender to love and real life.

Bittersweet Surrender is a good book about starting over and second chances, as the main character, Carly deals with life after divorce and cancer, while supported by her best friend Scott, who is going through some major life transitions of his own. These two are surrounded by a whole host of secondary characters who are all dealing with issues as well including life after the loss of a spouse, addictions, infertility and more. Although the topics in the book are definitely not light ones, I thought the book was funny, thought-provoking, included discussions of faith and trust, and (as the title implies) was bittersweet as well. And, of course, I enjoyed the love story. All in all, I thought Bittersweet Surrender was well-written with nicely fleshed-out characters. It made for a very enjoyable read.

Disclosure: I received this e-book to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

CD review and giveaway: The Good Ms. Padgett Sings The Little Red Hen

2012-01-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

Recently I received a kids' CD from an artist that I was unfamiliar with, The Good Ms. Padgett. As soon as we listened to the CD, I was so glad to have learned about her, she's terrific! Here's a bit about The Good Ms. Padgett, from her website:

The Good Ms. Padgett is the name given Anna Padgett by her Brooklyn, New York preschool music students. The Good Ms. Padgett sings songs and stories that are wise, joyful, and never condescending, enjoyed by children and parents alike.
The Good Ms. Padgett began when preschool teacher and songwriter Anna Padgett first became a mom. Originally a collaboration with musicians from Padgett’s band The Naysayer (www.thenaysayer.com) – Ruth Keating and Matt Sutton (the Malarkies, Ida) and James Baluyut (+/-, Versus) – The Good Ms. Padgett’s self-titled first release (2009) presented 18 original songs that were: “sweet, soothing, and… fun to sing along with.” (theopinionatedparent.com)

The CD that we received is called The Good Ms. Padgett Sings The Little Red Hen. It's a fabulous combination of storytelling and singing, with The Good Ms. Padgett telling four classic children's stories- "The Little Red Hen", "Henny Penny", "Goldilocks", and "The Billy Goats Gruff".

This artist has a lovely voice, and she really brings the stories to life in a fun and musical way. The CD definitely kept my kids' attention and mine as well! This CD will be released on March 20, 2012, so keep your eyes open for it then!

I have great news for you guys- The Good Ms. Padgett has offered to let me give away a copy of this CD. Giveaway is open to Us and Canadian mailing addresses. Enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of this CD to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Book and CD review: Bad Kitty

2012-01-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

Seattle decided to have "real winter" this week, and since most of us in Seattle are not equipped for actual accumulations of snow, that meant lots of time inside. Thankfully, I had recently received a number of items to review, so we stayed fairly busy at home while we were snowbound. One of the things that kept us entertained was a book called Bad Kitty, and the CD that came along with it. In case you've not heard of Bad Kitty, here's a bit about it:

From the creator of The New York Times bestseller Boing! comes the riotous story of a cat gone berserk -- four times over and in alphabetical order each time. Kitty is not happy when she's told that her favorite foods are all gone and all that's left are Asparagus, Beets, Cauliflower, Dill...and 22 other equally unappealing vegetables. So she: Ate my homework, Bit grandma, Clawed the curtains, Damaged the dishes, and so on, through Z. Only when tastier things arrive (An Assortment of Anchovies, Buffalo Burritos, Chicken Cheesecake...) does she Apologize to Grandma.

The CD that comes along with this book has several tracks- the book being read beautifully by Vanessa Williams, another track of her reading with sounds indicating when to turn the page (very handy for the non-readers!) and one track of the author reading Bad Kitty to a group of kids. My kids wanted to listen to them all, and laughed along with the book and its fabulous illustrations and silly story each time.

If you're looking for something to keep your kids entertained this winter, definitely check out this book and CD set!

Disclosure: I received this book and CD set to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Check out Hasbro's Annual Fun & Game Event!

2012-01-19T18:00:00.000-08:00

I received some information today and wanted to pass it on to you guys!

Check out Hasbro's Annual Fun and Game Event going on now! You (U.S. only) can register today at this link to print over $125 in coupons (quantities are limited) and get access to incredible daily deals. All daily deals include free shipping!

Kids, ages 6 - 13, can also get in on the action by playing games for a chance to win hourly prizes from their favorite brands, such as My Little Pony, FurReal Friends, Littlest Pet Shop, Beyblade, Nerf, Transformers, Connect 4, Bop It! and Simon Flash.

Disclosure: I received no product and no compensation for this post- just passing on some information!

Review: Violight Zapi UV Toothbrush Sanitizer and SLIM Sonic Toothbrush

2012-01-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

Normally I don't get too excited about toothbrushes and assorted accessories. That changed this week when I got a package containing some great products from Violight. I received the Zapi UV Toothbrush Sanitizer and the SLIM Sonic Toothbrush. Here's a bit about these two products, from the Violight website:

Zapi UV Toothbrush Sanitizer:

Zapi uses germicidal ultraviolet light to kill 99.9% of germs on your toothbrush in just minutes.

Zapi comes in two hot new colors, purple and pink, plus white, and blue to match your personal style.

All of them come with a free toothbrush, but they also work with your favorite manual brush or electric head.

Simply insert your favorite toothbrush, press the button, and Zapi goes to work, turning off automatically.

Your toothbrush is germ free and safely stored inside Zapi ready for the next time you brush.

SLIM Sonic Toothbrush:

-- Brush head fits in ALL Violight UV Toothbrush Sanitizers

-- Vibrates at 22,000 brush strokes per minute

-- Sleek, compact, and discreet

-- Replaceable toothbrush head (extra head included FREE!)

-- Uses 1 AAA battery (included FREE!)

-- Lightweight! Only 2.5 oz.

-- Compact! Just 6-1/2" long

The description of the Zapi that I quoted above mentions the colored options for the toothbrush sanitizers, but they also come in some adorable animal styles as well. Since my daughter, Vivian, is majorly obsessed with pandas, the nice people sent us the Panda toothbrush sanitizer. Look at how cute this is!


With Vivian's panda toothbrush inside

You can also get the toothbrush sanitizer in a rainbow pattern, an owl, or a ninja! We found the toothbrush sanitizer really easy to use, and I've been happy to know that our toothbrushes now have many fewer germs living on them! And seriously, doesn't that panda just make you smile? I love seeing it sitting on the counter.

I'm also really happy with the SLIM sonic toothbrush. I received the toothbrush in purple, and it's a lovely color. The toothbrush itself works really well- not quite up to the level of my expensive, fancy sonic toothbrush, but definitely much better than the manual toothbrushes that I usually travel with. I'm happy to have this pretty little toothbrush in my travel case. And at only $14.95 for the base plus two brush-heads, I think it's a great deal!

So, if you're looking for a new travel toothbrush or are interested in cleaning your toothbrushes, definitely check out what Violight has to offer!

Disclosure: I received these two products to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Immediate giveaway: Yufit- "Gym in a Cloud!

2012-01-17T15:41:00.000-08:00

I own a lot of exercise DVDs. And I occasionally even workout at home to some of them. But many I get bored with and never use again. Which is why I was interested by the idea of Yufit, the "Gym in a Cloud". Here's a bit about it, from the Yufit site:

What is Yufit?
It's your gym, in the cloud!
We currently offer 10 different (soon to be 13) fitness classes streamed on-demand in high definition, to wherever you have an Internet connection. Each of our class workouts is brand new twice a week (Monday and Thursday nights). Our social platform is available for you to get motivation from instructors and your friends.

How Is Yufit Different Than the Gym?
The gym is great for those who want the heavy machinery, have time and a plan, and can stay motivated on their own.
At Yufit, members are happy to stream workouts when and where they want. Yufit travels with you, schedules around you, and provides you with new classes twice a week. All you have to do is show up. We made it easy for you!

What Classes Do You Offer?
We offer classes ranging from dance and cardio to yoga and kickboxing. To view all our classes or if you need help choosing which class is for you, click here. We're continually adding to the selection, so if there is another type of class you want, let us know!

Classes are 30 or 60 minutes long, and each shows just one instructor, doing the workout. You can watch and exercise any time, so no worries about making it to a class at the gym at a certain time! And on the Yufit site, you can actually interact with the instructors through comments on the workout videos.

I checked out a few of the workouts and they look great. I'm going to try one out tomorrow morning!

And I have good news- if you use the code GBABY, you can get a free 60-day membership. I have 50 of those to giveaway, so first-come-first-served!

Disclosure: I received a membership to this site for myself, as well as the ability to give away 60-day memberships. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Happy Giveaway Tuesday!

2012-01-16T23:34:00.001-08:00

I'm a little late getting this linky up- I blame the snow that we're having in Seattle! We don't get snow very often, so it really confuses us when it appears! Regardless, my linky is up and ready for all your great giveaways. Happy Tuesday!

DVD review and giveaway: A Mile in His Shoes

2012-01-16T09:29:00.001-08:00

This Saturday night we had family movie night here at our home. The movie that we watched was a new one- A Mile in His Shoes. Here's a bit about this movie, from a press release that I received:

From the director of "Angels In the Outfield" comes an inspiring story about a special boy with an amazing gift, and the coach who believed. Dean Cain and Luke Schroder star in the gmc movie based on the book "The Legend of Mickey Tussler".

A Mile in His Shoes is based on a novel, The Legend of Mickey Tussler, about a young autistic boy with who also happens to be a very talented pitcher. My husband commented at one point that this was definitely a made-for-TV movie, but at the end, we all agreed that we enjoyed it and that it was a good family-friendly movie with a very uplifting story. There are good storylines about friendship, accepting each other's differences, perseverance, parents trusting God to take care of their children, faith, and of course- baseball! Our 4-year-old son particularly liked all the baseball in the movie and has been asking to watch the baseball movie again.

All in all, we really liked watching A Mile in His Shoes, and I'm sure we will be watching it again in the future! For information on how to purchase this DVD, visit this link. And I have good news! One of you will win a copy of A Mile in His Shoes for yourself. Open to US mailing addresses only, enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Finally Home to Family

2012-01-11T20:38:00.001-08:00

I live in Seattle, close to many bases for various branches of the armed services, so the return of military from overseas postings is often on our news and in our thoughts. We're all so glad to see the joyful reunions- there's nothing that makes me cry more! Unfortunately, due to the stress and the separations, military divorces have increased 42% since 2001. If you're a military family, or if you're just looking for ways to improve your own marriage (aren't we all!) check out the widget below!Disclosure: I will receive compensation as thanks for my time in writing this post. All opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Bath and Beauty products that I am currently dreaming about buying!

2012-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

I am a very "girly" girl and am a big fan of all things fluffy and pink and sparkly. I also adore makeup and fancy bath products, and have what my husband probably considers to be too many of both. I refuse to admit there is such a thing as too many fancy bath and beauty products, and am always happy to learn about new ones.

Today I got an email from my contact at EdenFantasys (note- while there is nothing explicit at that link, I would recommend not clicking on the home page link if you are in public/at work/have little ones in view. The beauty and body section link below is more work/public-appropriate) letting me know that they now have even more options for makeup, bath products and fragrances. Fun! I had a great time looking through all that the site has to offer in its beauty and body section. Here are a few things that I am very tempted to purchase and that I think will probably make their way into my home soon :)

The Terme Trio Hair Care Set (how pretty and pink is that!)

The Amore Salt Buff

This plane-friendly travel kit (I am going to Iceland next month and may need this for my trip!)

And isn't this eyeshadow palette just darling?

As with everything else on the EdenFantasys site, the body and beauty products have detailed ingredient information and reviews on their pages, so you'll know exactly what you're buying. And, if you decide to add something from another part of the EdenFantasys site to your shopping cart (Valentine's Day is coming up!), billing and shipping are discreet, so no one but you will know where you're shopping.

Happy shopping!

Disclosure: I will be receiving a gift certificate as thanks for my time in posting. All opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Audiobook review: Paths of Glory

2012-01-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I was excited to see that one of my favorite authors, Jeffrey Archer, had released a new book called Paths of Glory. Lord Archer is a gift storyteller, and I always enjoy his books, so it's a good day when I have a new one in my hands. Here's a bit about Paths of Glory, from its audiobook website:

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. But what if one man had such a dream…and once he’d fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his ambition?
This is the story of such a man: George Mallory. He once told an American reporter that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest “because it’s there.” On his third attempt in 1924, at age thirty-seven, he was last seen six hundred feet from the top. His body was found in 1999. And it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit.

To get right to the point- I love this book. It's a wonderful story of a real life person, George Mallory, brought to life in a fictionalized account. The story contains adventure and romance and ends with a mystery that has still not been solved. It has a little bit of something for everyone! I'm not an outdoors person, and I've never had any interest in reading about mountaineering before, but when I was reading Paths of Glory, I felt like I was climbing alongside Mallory and his friends. It's a story that has stuck with me and has made me want to live with the sense of enthusiasm and adventure that characterized George Mallory's life, and that comes across in such a beautiful way in this book.

As much as I loved the book in a print form, I enjoyed the audiobook version even more. The person reading the book has a lovely voice, and he does a wonderful job of reading Paths of Glory with emotion and energy. The unabridged audiobook is an 11-hour book on 9 CDs, but it's worth the investment of your time.

Happy reading and listening!

Disclosure: I received this audiobook to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway Tuesday Linky

2012-01-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Here is this week's linky- please link up your fabulous giveaways and check out what everyone else has going on as well. And Happy Tuesday!

Review and giveaway: Purex Crystals and Jockey Sports Bra

2012-01-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Back in December of 2010, I wrote a post about a new product from Purex, Purex Crystals fabric softener. I can tell you that we are still using and loving Purex Crystals here- they are a great addition to my laundry routine! In case you missed the first post about this product, here's the scoop.

Liquid fabric softeners contain softening oils, which is why you shouldn't use them on certain types of laundry. But Purex crystals do not contain oil, so they can be used on all laundry including athletic wear, towels, children's sleepwear and everything else you need to wash! They're easy to use and they produce a nice, subtle fragrance on your laundry.

As I just mentioned, Purex Crystals can be used on athletic wear, without damage to moisture wicking fabrics. Purex and Jockey let me test this out for myself, by sending me a new Jockey Tech Terry sports bra (featuring moisture-wicking technology) and a bottle of Purex Crystals. I was really impressed by this bra- it's really well made and very supportive. In addition to the moisture-wicking fabric, this bra features a key pocket, a reflective logo at the back, breathable mesh panels and a soft bottom band for support. And thanks to the Purex Crystals, it smells nice too!

If you visit this link, you can get a 20% Jockey Coupon Code, good on activewear.

And I have good news for you- one of you will win the same products that I received- a Jockey Tech Terry Sports Bra and a bottle of Purex Crystals. Enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.
a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclosure: I received the two products discussed above, thanks to Jockey and Purex. All opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: Mr. Chewy

2012-01-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

I talk a lot about my husband and kids on this blog, but the two furry members of my family don't get as much blog time. When Daniel and I got engaged, we got a shelter cat, Jenny, who is our sweet little furbaby. A year later, we added our other cat to the family, the totally neurotic but still entertaining Gracie. Our cats are pretty low-maintenance, but they do require (of course) lots of food, litter and treats. And since we're a city family and I do most of my grocery shopping on foot, getting food and litter back to our condo is sometimes problematic.

Which is why I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review a site that brings all the cats' supplies right to my door! The site is called Mr. Chewy, and it's a supplier of all the things you need to take care of your dogs and cats.

I found the Mr. Chewy website to be very easy to navigate, and it only took me a few minutes to locate the exact cat food, treats and litter that I was looking for and add them to my cart. As compared to the big stores where I often drive and buy the cats' supplies, prices were a little higher, but they were similar to what I find in my city grocery store. And with an order of $49 or above, shipping is free.

My order took just over a week to arrive, but I placed the order just before the New Year's holiday, so I'm sure that factors into the delivery time. It was so nice to have a giant box of cat supplies just waiting at my front door when I got home- no lugging big boxes of cat litter and big bags of cat food from my car to the hallway and up to my home.

All in all, I found this site very convenient and easy to use. If you're looking for a simple way to get the pet supplies you need, definitely check out Mr. Chewy!

Disclosure: I received a credit to this site to place an order and review the site for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

A sneak peek at Tangled Ever After

2012-01-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

If you loved Tangled, you'll be happy to hear that there's going to be a short called Tangled Ever After playing in front of Beauty and the Beast 3D (opening January 13th)! Here's a clip!

Review: Yum Yum Bowl

2012-01-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

Like a lot of people, I've started out 2012 with a resolution to start eating healthier. In my family we eat fairly healthy for our meals- lots of whole grains, veggies and fish and not much meat. My main area of struggle is actually not my meals, and I'm not even tempted that much by desserts. But wave a bag of goldfish crackers near my nose and I'm absolutely doomed. Portion control and logical thinking go out the window! Which is why I'm really happy to have a new product that's designed to keep my snack portions at a reasonable level- the Yum Yum Bowl! Here's a bit about this product and its creator:

Tracy Adler created Yum Yum Dishes™ to help kids and grown-ups manage their snacking habits in a healthy way. Instead of eliminating all your favorite treats – enjoy them in moderation, in a Yum Yum Dish™!

Tracy is a former restaurateur and mother of two. Her Yum Yum Dishes™ are a great way to teach little ones about correct portions size and help to keep snack size in check for grown-ups, too!

Yum Yum Dishes come in two sizes- the 9 inch plates for meals (with markings for portion sizes of veggies, carbs and proteins) and the 4 ounce bowls (with lids) for snacks. All the dishes are made out of a nice, solid ceramic and come in four different colors. I received the red Yum Yum Bowl for snacks and think it's such a great idea! I was definitely eating way too large of a serving of my snacks, and before it was easy to just keep eating out of the bag or refilling my bowl without thinking. Now, I have the Yum Yum Bowl that reminds me that snack time is over when I get to the bottom.

So, if you're like me and you could use some help keeping your portion sizes under control, check out the Yum Yum Dishes!

Disclosure: I received this product to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

DVD review: Happiness Is...Peanuts: Friends Forever

2012-01-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

While we receive and review lots of great DVDs for the whole family, I'm always particularly happy when a new Peanuts' DVD arrives on my front door. I know I'm assured of a good time, watching the antics of the Peanuts gang! The newest Peanuts DVD just came out on December 27th, and I recently had the chance to review it. It's called Happiness Is... Peanuts: Friends Forever. Here's a bit about it, from a press release that I received.

Charlie Brown’s hilarious and heartbreaking attempts to meet his beloved Little Red-Haired Girl and other endearing adventures are featured on Happiness is…Peanuts™: Friends Forever, the latest Peanuts DVD release from Warner Home Video (WHV). Available in stores December 27, 2011, Friends Forever is the newest installment of the Happiness is…Peanuts™ collection, a series of favorite Peanuts television programs compiled together on DVD. Happiness is…Peanuts™: Friends Forever, pairs TV special You’re in Love, Charlie Brown, with an episode from The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show on one disc. This title will retail for $14.97 SRP.

What can you say about Peanuts DVDs other than they are always wonderful and fun to watch. This collection was no different- it made me smile and laugh and happy to be watching with my kids. All together, this DVD is 50 minutes long, with one main story (You're in Love, Charlie Brown) and a collection of shorter episodes that make up one episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show. It's a nice collection and would be a great addition to any Peanuts fan's collection.

Disclosure: I received this DVD to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway Tuesday Linky

2012-01-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone's return to the real world after the holidays is going well. Today was a nice final day of vacation for my son and husband, now it's time to get back into our routine! And part of that routine, of course, is the giveaway Tuesday linky! Can't wait to see what giveaways you all have going on- thanks for dropping by and linking up.

Review and giveaway: FunBites

2012-01-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

My son Ethan is pretty much a non-eater, so much so that he had to have a permanent feeding tube placed a few months ago. While he gets most of his calories through feeds in his feeding tube, we're still working hard to get him to accept the idea of food and eat like a normal child. We're always looking for ways to make mealtime more fun and less stressful, so when I heard about FunBites, I eagerly accepted the opportunity to do a review. Here's a bit about this new product, from a press release that I received:

IntroducingFunBites^TM -the first and only kitchen tool that goes beyond bread and sandwich cutters tocreate bite-sized meals in less than 10 seconds. FunBites^TM makes mealtimesimple, stress-free and exciting, and helps encourage kids to try newfoods. It’s the perfect way to get thewhole family involved in new and healthy eating habits.

PatentedFunBites^TM isthe quintessential kitchen tool for anyone feeding finicky young foodcritics. Made of Delrin, the bridgebetween plastic and metal, FunBites^TM isstrong, sharp and durable. But mostimportantly, FunBites^TM quick-cutting curved blades transform everyday mealsinto an exciting experience in an INSTANT!

FunBites^TM was invented by a momand her kids. It works on anykid-friendly food from pancakes, cheeses, quesadillas, and french toast, tofruit, turkey burgers, deli sandwiches, and more. Dishwasher-safe and BPA-free, FunBites^TM helps to create bite-sized mealtime magic!

Daniel and I both love this product- it's really easy to use and makes fast work of cutting up the kids' food into fun shapes. Vivian's thrilled with the heart shapes that the pink Luv It! FunBites makes, and the little squares of the green Cube It! really appealed to Ethan. Ethan likes the little squares so much that he ate an entire small sandwich for lunch today- something he has NEVER done before. We will definitely be using the FunBites a lot more in the future!

French toast- cut up with the FunBites and ready to eat!


Vivian and her french toast!

For more information on FunBites or to order one or more for yourself, visit the FunBites website.

And I have good news- one of you will win your choice of FunBites! Open to US mailing addresses only, please. Enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I received the product discussed above to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Book review: Not For Tourists Guide to Seattle

2012-01-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to review a very interesting guidebook- the Not For Tourists Guide to Seattle. Since I'm a city-dweller here in Seattle, I was interested to see what the book had to say about my city! Here's a bit about the Not For Tourists guides:

Not For Tourists is the ultimate guide for the savvy city-dweller. Our philosophy is simple: Whether you've lived in your neighborhood for 55 years or 55 minutes, NFT will help you navigate and explore the city like a local. Written and designed by in-the-know city slickers themselves, NFT is mobile-oriented, cartographically-inclined, and to-the-point.
For over a decade, our cabal of mapmakers, writers, editors, graphic designers, and urban adventurers have scoured the streets, read the writings, and lived the credos of practical, esoteric city travel. Within the matte black covers of our guides and throughout the interminable, electronic pages of our website, discover secret city spots you never knew existed-from dive bars and extravagant restaurants to local hardware stores and abandoned buildings (we don't judge).

There is definitely a lot of information in this book! I thought it was really nicely laid out, with a map of the city on the inner cover, which clearly shows where to find the maps for each area of the city. The maps at the front of the book are the "essentials" maps, which show things like banks, coffee shops, gas stations, parking, landmarks, supermarkets and restaurants, to name a few. There were some businesses listed in my old neighborhood that have moved or closed in the past few years. Cities change quickly, though, so that's not a surprise to me.

After the neighborhood maps, there is a nice section on parks and places, with very detailed information about the parks, their activities, and how to get there. This section is followed by a sport section, which shows you where to participate in your favorite sports or where to watch the professionals play. There is also a section on transit, a general calendar of events, information on hotels, hospitals, landmarks, WiFi and other useful things. Next is the arts & entertainment section, with information on restaurants, theaters, nightlife, shopping and more. The book closes with a street map of downtown Seattle and a highway map.

Overall I think this is a really useful, educational guide. However, as with any guidebook, you might want to double check information, since things change often. In browsing the book, I noticed a few errors- as I mentioned earlier, a number of the businesses listed have closed/moved, the information on hotels in my neighborhood was incorrect for one hotel and doesn't list another that opened a couple of years ago. The guidebook also notes that WiFi is not free at Starbucks (true a couple of years ago, but not now). And the guidebook assures readers that no locals use the monorail for public transportation, which is completely untrue for me (although I do admit to being in the minority for that).

I think this is a handy resource, and I'm going to put it in our car for use when we're out and about and don't have access to the internet, but still need to find something. Not For Tourists guides exist for a number of cities around the world, and there is also a website to visit at notfortourists.com and an iPhone app at nftiphone.com. Happy travels!

Disclosure: I received this book to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: GoalForIt

2011-12-31T15:29:00.000-08:00

I'm normally not a big fan of making New Year's resolutions, but lately there have been a lot of things that Daniel and I have been talking about doing- both ourselves and with the kids. Things like exercising more and reading our Bibles more and helping the kids start to take more responsibility for things around the house. So when I heard about a website called GoalForIt, I was excited to have the chance to review it. Here's a little bit about the site:

I created Goalforit as a "passion-project" to try and help people of all ages bring more focus and personal success into everyday life by recognizing, developing and capitalizing on their own unique strengths & abilities.

We are so excited about GoalForIt and have been really liking it. First off, we like it because it's a free site. Secondly, it's really easy to use. I created a chore chart for each kid, and it was really easy. You just name your chart, then go through the different categories to pick which goals you want to include. Categories include chores & responsibilities, behavior goals, and healthy habits. You can also customize your own tiles if there's something that isn't included in the pre-existing list. For the younger set (ages 1-13), goals include things like "listen", "get dressed", "brush your teeth", and "no whining" (to name a few that are on my kids' charts). For the teens/tweens charts, categories include health, traits, fulfillment and household. I found that many of the goals that can be included on the teens/tweens are actually really relevant to me (like "think positive" and "clean bathroom" and "nuture faith"), and I made myself a chart to help keep on top of the things I need to accomplish every day. You can either print out your charts or just keep track of what you've accomplished online.

The kids take a break from playing and review their daily goals

You can also use GoalForIt to make and keep track of a to-do list or to set goals for yourself. I just set myself a goal for next year to run 365 miles in 2012- hopefully this site will help me to stick to it! For the goals, to-do lists and charts, you can set it up so that GoalForIt sends you email reminders to help you stay on track. Very handy!

I'm really impressed with this site and I can already see a difference in my kids' attitude toward being asked to do things. Now, instead of it just being Mommy or Daddy trying to get them to do something, there's a chart with stickers to earn! Even though they can't read, I keep finding them over by the charts, looking at the pictures and muttering things to themselves about not fighting or picking up their toys. Hopefully I'll respond as well to my chart!

So, if you're making New Year's resolutions for 2012, or just want to stay more on top of things around your house, definitely check out GoalForIt and all that this great site has to offer!

Disclosure: This is a compensated post, written on behalf of GoalForIt. However, I was under no obligation to write a positive review, and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: Carapelli Olive Oil

2011-12-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

One day during the week before Christmas, I was sitting at my computer thinking that I probably should do my research on recipes for Christmas. I had my green bean casserole recipe ready, but wanted some other side dishes as well. And in a bit of wonderful timing, I got an email from a PR rep asking if I wanted to review some Carapelli olive oil. And along with her offer, she sent recipes that could be made with the olive oil! Win! I wasn't familiar with the Carapelli brand- here's some information about Carapelli, in case you aren't familiar with it either:

Uncompromising commitment to innovation and stringent standards
Throughout its history, Carapelli has been unwavering in its commitment to innovative ideas and outstanding quality. In the 1970s, Carapelli was the first to promote bottled extra virgin olive oil. Carapelli's state-of-the-art headquarters in southern Florence combines old world craftsmanship and new world standards. And in 2001, Carapelli instituted an internal quality certification program-a voluntary observance of 22 quality parameters that are stricter than those required by law. The reason for this is simple: to provide customers with the clearest information and every reassurance about the quality of Carapelli olive oils.

The leader in extra virgin olive oil and Italy's best known brand
Given all this, it's hardly surprising that Carapelli Olive Oil is Italy's market leader in extra virgin olive oil and the best known brand of olive oil in general. One taste and you'll understand why generations of Italians have made Carapelli Olive Oil a part of their lives, and how deliciously easy it is to make it part of yours.

I decided to make the herbed mashed potato recipe that I received (to see the other recipes, visit this link), because I really love mashed potatoes. And the mashed potatoes were a big hit! I really liked the idea of using olive oil in them in place of butter or margarine, and the herbs were another great touch. The mashed potatoes were the first thing to disappear from our Christmas dinner table, so apparently the entire family agreed with me that they were really yummy! Overall, I really like the Carapelli olive oil that I received to review and I will definitely continue cooking with it in the future.

Here's the recipe that I made for Christmas dinner (although I did not use the heavy cream, since we don't eat much dairy). The herbs and olive oil really are a nice touch to a classic side dish!

Olive Oil & Herb Mashed Potatoes

Serving Size: 12
Categories: Side Dish

Ingredients

1/2 cup Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 russet potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1/2 cup Tuscan herb paste (see recipe below)
8 fluid ounces heavy cream, warmed
3/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt

Directions

Boil potatoes in salted water. When cooked tender, mash potatoes.
Mix salt and pepper with Tuscan herb paste, Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil and warm heavy cream. Fold into potatoes.

Nutritional Facts Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 69 Calories; 7g Fat (94.2% calories from fat); trace Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 27mg Cholesterol; 712mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat.

Tuscan Herb Paste

Ingredients
¾ cup Carapelli Extra Light in Taste Olive Oil
1 cup Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ ounce (1 tablespoon) fresh basil
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh rosemary
½ packed cup fresh Italian parsley
½ ounce (1 tablespoon) fresh thyme
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh sage
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions

Blend herbs and crushed red pepper with Carapelli Extra Light in Taste Olive Oil using a blender or food processor.
Stir in Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Disclosure: I received some samples of Carapelli Olive Oil to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

CD review: Kidz Bop 21

2011-12-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was driving somewhere with the kids in the car, and ended up listening to the local pop music radio station. Ethan heartily endorsed this decision, as he gets tired of listening to NPR all the time. Soon he was bouncing in his car seat... and then I realized what the song's lyrics were saying and had to quickly switch the station. Ethan was not happy with this decision and kept begging me to turn it back. Given that he has recently started trying to sing along with all the songs he hears, I didn't think it was a good idea to give in and turn the station back.

Which is why we were all really happy when I got a copy of the newest Kidz Bop CD, Kidz Bop 21. Kidz Bop features the big hit songs of the day, sung for kids, by kids, with inappropriate lyrics replaced with ones that parents don't need to worry about.

We have been fortunate enough to review a lot of truly great kids' music over the past couple of years, but it was nice to have a bit of a change. From the moment I pressed play on the CD player, the kids were dancing and running around the living room. Dance party in my living room! I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of music and singing and honestly couldn't tell much difference from how the songs sound on the radio (minus the questionable lyrics). Songs covered on this CD include Party Rock Anthem, You Make Me Feel..., Someone Like You, Moves Like Jagger, and many more. All in all, this is a fun CD to listen to and dance to, and I know it's going to help get us through these long winter days!

If you'd like to get a sampling of what this CD sounds like, visit this link. Kidz Bop 21 will be available on January 17, 2012.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this CD to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Book review: The Magic Room

2011-12-29T08:45:00.000-08:00

Even though my own wedding is in the distant past, I admit that I have a bit of a thing for those TV shows where brides and their friends and family go through the drama of choosing the perfect wedding dress. So I was really excited when I got the chance to review a new book, called The Magic Room. Here's a bit about this book, from the author's website:

Up a short flight of stairs, inside a former bank in a small rural town 100 miles northwest of Detroit – there is a room. It is a special place, rich in history, and 100,000 brides-to-be from across the Midwest have made pilgrimages to find it. Just 10 foot by 8 foot, it has floor-to-ceiling mirrors on every wall, carrying the brides’ images to infinity. It is called the “Magic Room,” and for good reason.

The Magic Room is set in a bridal shop called Becker's Bridal. When I first read the description of the book, I expected this book to be a fluffy, reality show-style book about about wedding planning and brides, but it is so very much more. It's more a like a documentary, with very intimate, in-depth stories of brides and their families. The author, Jeffrey Zaslow, details their hopes and dreams, their failures and their sadnesses, their successes and loves. There are stories of young brides with stars in their eyes, of their mothers and grandmothers, of marriages successful and marriages lost. The Magic Room also tells the story of the family who owns and runs Becker's, a family dealing with their own challenges in life, all while smiling and helping make the brides' dreams come true.

I very much enjoyed reading this beautifully-written book. To see what other book reviewers thought and to join in the discussion about The Magic Room, visit its BlogHer Book Club page.

Disclosure: This is a compensated review, posted as part of the BlogHer Book Club. I was under no obligation to leave a positive review and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway Tuesday Linky

2011-12-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

I just happened to glance at the calendar and realized it's Tuesday- these holidays are confusing me! So that means it's time for my Tuesday giveaway linky! Thanks for dropping by and linking up!

Kikkoman Panko Bread Crumbs and my Christmas dinner (with giveaway!)

2011-12-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I cooked Christmas dinner for only the second time in my life! Fortunately for me, some of the pressure over making dinner perfect was taken away by the fact that I was cooking for my husband's family, who are all first-generation immigrants from Hong Kong, and who really have no idea of what a "traditional US Christmas dinner" should look or taste like.

This year, Kikkoman offered to help me out with my cooking by sending me an assortment of products and recipes. After looking through all the yummy recipes (which you can and should! browse here), I decided to make the Green Bean Casserole with Panko Bread Crumbs.

I am, admittedly, not a fabulous cook, so I appreciated the simplicity of this recipe. After just a few simple steps, I was pulling a savory, crunchy, green bean-filled casserole out of the oven. And it was a big hit with the whole family! I really liked the crunch that the panko topping gave to this casserole. I'm definitely keeping this recipe around to use again in the future.

In addition to the Panko Bread Crumbs, Kikkoman sent me a number of other products including Ponzu Sauce and Teriyaki Sauce (all are delicious!) and a product that we had not tried before, the new Kikkoman Kara-Age Soy-Ginger Seasoning.

This was a HUGE hit with Daniel and I and the kids. It's really simple to use- I just cut up some chicken, threw the seasoning and the chicken in a bag, shook everything up and pan fried the chicken. After just a few minutes, we had nice crispy, seasoned chicken for dinner. So delicious and so easy!

Kikkoman wanted me to let you all know that there's a buy-one-get-one-free coupon available here that you can use if you want to stock up on some Kikkoman products. And Kikkoman is also letting me host a giveaway- one lucky reader (US only, please) will win two full-sized Kikkoman products! Enter at the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a number of Kikkoman products to review for myself, as well as the opportunity to host a giveaway. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T13:12:00.001-08:00

I'll be back after Christmas with loads of new reviews and giveaways. Until then- I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

2012 Disney Movies!

2011-12-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

Disney has released a lot of good movies in 2011, and it looks like 2012 is going to be another great year! Look at all the fun we have to look forward to!

Beauty and the Beast 3D January 13, 2012
The Secret World of Arrietty February 17, 2012
John Carter March 9, 2012
Chimpanzee April 20, 2012
Marvel’s The Avengers May 4, 2012
Brave June 22, 2012
The Odd Life of Timothy Green August 15, 2012
Finding Nemo 3D September 14, 2012
Frankenweenie October 5, 2012
Wreck-it Ralph November 2, 2012

Review: Zomsters Clothing and Collections

2011-12-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

I'm all for cute things when it comes to dressing my kids and decorating their room, but sometimes you want something a little different- something that every other child isn't wearing or looking at in their room. Enter Zomsters, a line of kid-friendly clothing and collections. Here's a bit about the company, from its website:

Zomsters is a small, mother-owned children's company located in Snoqualmie, Washington. We make kid-friendly clothing and collections that have been carefully selected from earth-friendly materials such as organic cottons, azo-free dyes, non-toxic printing, and recycled and reusable materials.

Each Zomsters design and product has a unique touch of individuality, just like the little Zomsters wearing them! Not only do we design to make you smile, Zomsters is also designed to help create awareness...by making small changes in our lives we can make big differences in helping our planet.

The lovely people at Zomsters sent us two products to review. One was an organic cotton onesie featuring Dewey the Zomster. Here's a peek at Dewey!

This is a really nice, soft onesie, with a quality and fun design on it. The colors on the onesie and on the design are all really bright and vibrant. Since my kids are post-onesie age, I'm going to have to hold on to this for a baby shower gift in the future, and I know the lucky mom will love it as much as I do.

We also received an art block, featuring the Zomster named Samuel. Here's a glimpse of Samuel and a bit about the art blocks:

Samuel is printed on Fine Art Canvas with archival pigment inks rated lightfast for more than 100 years. The canvas is mounted onto a museum-quality gallery panel with a 1-5/8 inch cradled birch plywood frame, and coated for UV and water resistance. Our Zomsters Art Blocks come in four sizes and look great hung on a wall or stacked in groups on a shelf.

I put Samuel on a table in the kids' room, and they are obsessed by it. I keep finding it in different places in our home, as the kids both like to pick him up and carry him around. The art block is really sturdy and well-made, and I have no worries about the kids damaging it as they play with it.

There are lots of Zomsters other than Samuel and Dewey, and they appear on onesies, knot hats, toddler tees, art blocks and prints, water bottles and collectibles. I like this company's creativity and commitment to quality, and I love that it's a local Pacific Northwest company and is mother-owned. Those are all my favorite things, all in one company!

If you're looking for something fun and a little different for your kids, be sure to check out all the fun that Zomsters has to offer.

Disclosure: I received the onesie and art block discussed above to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Our favorite things of 2011

2011-12-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

We've been so fortunate to get to work with many, many great companies during 2011 and have tried out a lot of great products. But I wanted to revisit our favorites, so this week have been thinking it over. This morning I asked my husband what his favorite items are that we've reviewed in 2011, and he immediately named two of the three things that were also on my list. So I knew I was on the right track!

1. We madly love our Jabra products. This year we received the Clipper, the Sport and the Freeway. My ears are too small (I have seriously tiny ears) to support the Jabra Sport Bluetooth headset, so Daniel got to keep that one and he uses it often. He likes the wireless headset a lot, finds it easy to use and thinks that the sound is great. I use the Jabra Clipper daily around the house. I really like this, because when I'm listening to my iPod, I'm also usually moving around the house. The fact that I'm not tethered to my iPod by headphones keeps me from getting the headphone tangled up in things (which I used to do all the time). Again, the Clipper is easy to use, and the sound is great.

Clipper

Jabra Clipper

Jabra Sport

We use the Jabra Freeway in our car and really like it. I particularly like that the Freeway turns itself on and off automatically when it senses someone getting in to the car, and also automatically connects to my Bluetooth devices. It has a lot of other great features as well, and if you're in the market for a handsfree device for your car, I highly recommend this one.


The Jabra Freeway

2. My kids' favorite product of the year is definitely their LeapFrog LeapPad. Judging from the stories I've been hearing lately, everyone else thinks this device looks great too- I know there's a great shortage of them for purchase these days! If you can find one though, you'll love it. The kids find it easy to use, love all the apps and e-books and games and videos that we've added to it, and ask to play it often. Ethan likes to take pictures with the built-in camera, and I'm always amused by the scenes he's captured.

The only thing that we don't love about the LeapPad is that it runs on AA batteries, and burns through them pretty quickly. However, this often offers us a good excuse to make the kids stop playing with it for a while, so it's not a total negative. We've invested in some rechargeable batteries for it now, so we're not throwing away so many batteries all the time. Other than that, this is a device that we've been using for some time now and absolutely adore. Even Daniel and I have been known to play the games on it from time to time after the kids have gone to bed :)

3. The only thing that wasn't on both my favorite things list and Daniel's is my Miche purse. I have been lucky enough to bookend 2011 with wins of Miche purses, one from a giveaway on another blog and one from Miche's Facebook giveaway. (Which is still going on- go enter!)

Miche bags are so cool- they consist of a base bag and shells that snap on and off. You can change your look without having to dump everything out of your purse and switch it to another one.

The Miche bag that I've been using all through 2011 is the Prima base bag with several different beautiful shells. I never fail to get comments on it when I'm using the bag, and when I show people how easily the shell comes off for a super-fast change in my bag's appearance, they are always excited and amazed. The Prima bag is a nice, large bag, which is handy for toting around all the things that the kids and I need. I have another shell for this bag waiting for me under our Christmas tree, and I can't wait to put it on my bag!

Disclosure: We received the Jabra products and the LeapPad to review for ourselves, as stated on previous posts about these products. I won the Miche bag in a blog giveaway. I received no additional compensation for this post.

Giveaway Tuesday Linky!

2011-12-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday! Here's this week's linky. I can't wait to see all the great giveaways that you guys have going on!!

Kids apps from Callaway Digital Arts on sale now!

2011-12-19T16:13:00.001-08:00

Callaway Digital Arts is having a sale on some of their most popular kids' apps. Details below!

Starting today, we have a special, limited-time 99¢ HOLIDAY SALE through New Year's Day for these apps which all reached #1 in Books in the App Store:

The Monster at the End of This Book...Starring Grover!
Download here: http://ow.ly/8412X

Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails
Download here: http://ow.ly/841oi

Another Monster at the End of This Book...Starring Grover & Elmo!
Download here: http://ow.ly/841iW

Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue
Download here: http://ow.ly/841qv

Miss Spider's Bedtime Story
Download here: http://ow.ly/841BA

Angelina Ballerina's New Ballet Teacher
Download here: http://ow.ly/841zd

Sale on iPod/iPad/iPhone apps!

2011-12-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

If you're thinking about adding some new apps to your iWhatever to keep your kids entertained on upcoming holiday travel- or just to keep them busy while you get ready for the holidays, I have some good news for you! The entire library at iStorytime (that's over 130 books!) is on sale for just $0.99 per app. I think the sale ends today though, so hurry and download! More information is below:

Merry Christmas! Over 130 iStoryTime Children's Books Now on Holiday Sale for $.99

Santa Barbara, Calif. / Frankfurt - Zuuka is ringing the bells of joy early this year with a pre-Christmas sale of its entire 130-plus library of iStoryTime mobile children's book. Originally priced between $2.99 and $8.99, all storybooks are now just $.99. Merry Christmas! This includes nine No. 1 hits from 2011 as well as other popular storybooks for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, including:

Puss In Boots Movie Storybook
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puss-in-boots-movie-storybook/id473100476?mt=8
Following the original plot of the Puss In Boots feature film, the storybook unveils the backstory of Puss before he met Shrek. The storyline starts when the suave and furry feline hero goes on a swashbuckling ride and teams with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty Softpaws to steal the famed Golden Goose that that lays the Golden Eggs.

Biscuit Gives a Gift
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/biscuit-gives-a-gift/id479096615?mt=8
This story brings Author Alyssa Satin Capucilli's wonderful and popular book to life. The book is about the little yellow puppy Biscuit, who goes on an adventure to find the perfect gift for everyone he loves. More importantly, he finds out the true meaning of sharing.

The Smurfs Movie Storybook
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-smurfs-movie-storybook/id449796732?mt=8
Follow the magical little creatures Papa Smurf, Grouchy, Brainy, Clumsy, Gutsy, and Smurfette on their exciting and unimaginable journey to a faraway land called New York City. Fleeing the Evil Wizard Gargamel and his sneaky cat Azrael, the six Smurf friends end up in the apartment of a young couple that is equally surprised by their arrival. With their special humor and a great heart, the Smurfs turn their world upside down and bring fun and action to their everyday routine.

Mika's Adventure
http://itunes.apple.com/de/app/mikas-abenteuer/id396348876?mt=8
A dream is about to come true for Mika: For the first time in his life, he sets out to accompany his granny on one of her expeditions. On the day of their first joint exploration, the two have discovered a forest no one knew about to date. They anchor their airship- the Albatross - in the top branches of the highest trees and make their slow descent into the emerald green thick brush.

Kung Fu Panda 2
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kung-fu-panda-2-storybook/id436082346?mt=8
Follow Po living his dream as the Dragon Warrior protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five - Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po's new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu.

iStoryTime brings the joy of a kids' book to the convenience of the iPhone, iPad and iPod® touch, NOOK Color and Kindle Fire. iStoryTime books are illustrated and narrated, so children can enjoy the book even when parents are busy. Best of all, the storybooks are simple to use because they are designed for kids two-years and up.

Disclosure: I received no product and no compensation for this post- just passing on some information that I received.

Giveaway: $25 Amazon gift card

2011-12-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

I recently crossed a couple of milestones- both 2000 and 2100 Google Friend followers accomplished this past month! I'm excited to have so many great new readers. I appreciate you all coming by and seeing what I have to say. To celebrate this milestone, I'm giving away a $25 Amazon gift card. Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclosure: I received no product and no compensation for this post- just passing on some blog love to one lucky reader.

App review: Strawberry Shortcake Digital Comic

2011-12-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been trying out a lot of new apps on my iPod lately. Another one that we've recently tried out is the new Strawberry Shortcake Digital Comic. Here's a bit about it, from a press release that I received:

For more than three decades Strawberry Shortcake has been a favorite with moms and daughters for teaching wholesome values, going on fantasy adventures and proving that little girls can do big things. Developed by Ape Entertainment's digital partner iVerse Media, the Strawberry Shortcake digital comic app is free to download and features a preview of the first issue at no additional cost and offers the first three issues for $1.99 each. Each issue contains three stories, including one 16-page story, and two four-page stories.

I thought this was a really cute little digital comic, and I think it would be great for any fan of Strawberry Shortcake. The comic is nicely drawn and very colorful. The stories are sweet and I had a good time reading them to Vivian. We look forward to seeing what adventures Strawberry Shortcake and friends get up to next!

Disclosure: I received these app to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

App review: Thomas & Friends Engine Activities

2011-12-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I'm having an awful time keeping a hold of my iPod lately, since I keep getting great new apps to review and my kids know there is lots of fun waiting for them on Mommy's iPod! One new app that I've recently added to my iPod is Thomas & Friends Engine Activities. Here's a bit about it:

Tap into the fun of Thomas & Friends with this all-new interactive activity app! Little engineers will be entertained for hours as they play with come-alive puzzles, creativity-boosting coloring pages, and brain-building matching games. Extend the play even further by purchasing additional packs with new puzzles, coloring pages, and collectible match cards. With so much to do, Thomas & Friends: Engine Activities guarantees an endless supply of fun and adventure!

This app includes:

• 3 coloring sheets, 3 animated puzzles, and 3 collectible engine cards inspired by Pop Goes Thomas
• 3 coloring sheets, 3 animated puzzles, and 3 collectible engine cards inspired by Creaky Cranky
• A matching game that draws from your child’s card collection and helps develop memory skills and hand-eye coordination

Additional activity packs include fan favorites Wobbly Wheels & Whistles, Merry Winter Wish, and Rescue on the Rails—each with even more puzzles, coloring pages, and match cards based on these beloved DVDs and characters. Watch for new activity packs available for in-app purchase.

My kids are a big fan of these apps that have puzzles and coloring sheets, and they've been having a great time with it. I have lots of colorfully colored pictures of trains saved on my iPod now! We look forward to adding more activity packs to our collection in the future.

Disclosure: I received this app to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: Alexia Foods

2011-12-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

We discovered Alexia Foods a few years back at at local vegetarian festival, and since then we've been big fans of all the Alexia products that we've tried. We love that they are all natural and are made with quality ingredients- and they're delicious! Earlier this month we had the chance to review two Alexia products that we'd not tried before, the Sweet Potato Puffs and the Focaccia. Here's a bit about these two products:

Crispy outside. Soft inside. Sweet all around. It’s the next deliciously logical step for the great sweet potato.

Asiago, parmesan and romano cheeses are combined with extra virgin olive oil and basil to bring you rolls typically found at specialty bakeries.

Vivian and I particularly liked the Sweet Potato Puffs. They're like little tiny tater tots, made of sweet potatoes. I loved the taste and the texture and the small size. Daniel wasn't as crazy about them- he said they were good, but he still prefers the sweet potato fries. More for me!

We all agreed that the Focaccia was really delicious. It was easy to warm up and made a really nice addition to our dinner. For the first dinner when we tried these, I made just enough for Daniel and I. Big mistake- the kids kept asking for bigger and bigger pieces. Eventually I had to get up and make more so that we all got as much as we wanted. We will definitely be purchasing these rolls again.

If you haven't tried Alexia Foods before, I highly recommend that you try something soon. Alexia offers a nice assortment of breads, potatoes and sweet potatoes, to name a few. To find these and other Alexia products at a store near you, visit this link.

Disclosure: I received these two products to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: Kids 'N' Pets Stain & Odor Remover

2011-12-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

We have two kids and two cats in our home, and some days I think they're all involved in some sort of contest to see who can make the biggest mess. I almost never have a day when I'm not cleaning someone's pee or vomit off the carpet. Yes, it's a glamorous life :) Fortunately, I recently received a product to review that's designed to help with this exact issue! It's called Kids 'N' Pets, and here's a bit about this product, from its website:

KIDS 'N' PETS Instant All Purpose Stain & Odor Remover was specifically designed for cleaning up all those wet, messy and smelly “accidents” from kids and pets! You can safely use KIDS 'N' PETS throughout your home to completely eliminate ANY biodegradable stain and odor from carpets, upholstery, mattresses, auto upholstery and any other water safe surface!
KIDS 'N' PETS Instant All Purpose Stain & Odor Remover is your #1 choice against pet urine stains and odors. Stains and odors are completely eliminated with no cover-up scents or perfumes. This will aid in housebreaking new pets, potty training, bedwetting accidents and in cleaning up after older incontinent pets as well.
KIDS 'N' PETS Instant All Purpose Stain & Odor Remover is Non-Toxic, Biodegradable and Cruelty-Free.

I've been really impressed by Kids 'N' Pets- it does just what it says it does, it gets rid of stains and odors! I've used KNP on our carpets and it did a nice job of cleaning up the stains. I also tried it out on the most disgusting thing in our house, the litter boxes, and it cleaned and deodorized really well! Another plus is that KNP is non-toxic and can be used on any water-safe surface. This includes carpets, clothing, furniture, mattresses, auto upholstery, pet cages, litter boxes... so many uses!

For information on where to buy Kids 'N' Pets, visit this link. Happy cleaning!

Disclosure: I received this product to try for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: Photo Christmas Ornaments

2011-12-13T13:33:00.001-08:00

I have no trouble figuring out what to buy my kids for Christmas. Unfortunately, everyone else on the list is more complicated. Mostly because they all have everything that they need. Thankfully an answer came to me in the form of a product that I received for review- Photo Christmas Ornaments from photojewelrymaking.com.

Along with the ornament hooks and the ornaments themselves, the kit came with EZ Photo Resizer Software. This was simple to install and use- the biggest challenge was picking my two favorite pictures! You just use regular printer paper for these ornaments, no special paper required! The ornaments themselves are made of a nice quality metal.

I'm really impressed by how my first ornament turned out, and I'm going to be making more ornaments with pictures of the kids on them as gifts for the relatives that will be visiting here for Christmas.

In addition to being a nice tree ornament, I think that these small square ornaments that I received would make a fabulous pendant for a necklace. And since you're just using regular printer paper, you could change out the picture on the pendant as often as you like!

Photojewelrymaking.com also has a huge assortment of other kits, so if making your own photo jewelry or decor sounds fun, definitely check out all that the site has to offer!

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I received the kit discussed above to review for myself, but was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

DVD giveaway: Thomas & the Runaway Kite

2011-12-13T12:54:00.001-08:00

Recently I ended up with two copies of a new Thomas & Friends movie, Thomas & the Runaway Kite, so I decided I should pass one of the copies along to a blog reader! Here's a bit about this DVD:

There’s a kite on the loose and Thomas must catch it before the wind blows it from Sodor! With Gordon, Charlie and Toby by his side, Thomas learns that a helping hand keeps him right on track when it comes to rescuing kites, saving a swarm of bees, and preventing railway disasters from taking flight! Hop on board for a high-flying ride with Thomas & Friends in these all-new, never-before-seen train adventures.

This is a cute collection of Thomas & Friends stories, all done in the new style of Thomas & Friends, with CGI animation. The episodes together are 44 minutes long, and there are a couple bonus games to play as well.

If this sounds like a DVD that you'd like to add to your collection, enter at the Rafflecopter widget below! Open to US mailing addresses only, please.
a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclosure: I received a copy of this DVD to review, and another as part of a House Party party pack. I was not compensated in any other way for this giveaway and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway: Chick-Fil-A Cow Watches and Plush Cows!

2011-12-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I miss about living in the South is the abundance of Chick-Fil-A restaurants. They were all over the place and I always loved eating in them. Today I'm giving away a fun Chick-Fil-A prize pack that includes 5 cow watches and 2 plush cows! Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Tuesday Linky!

2011-12-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I don't know about you, but I'm glad to see the last of Monday! Here's this week's linky- take a minute, list your giveaways and enter the others listed. And be sure to check out my giveaways, listed on the right side of the page. I have some new ones up this week, including a $50 GameStop gift card giveaway!

GameStop Jingle in Your Pocket (with $50 GameStop giveaway!)

2011-12-10T19:41:00.001-08:00

It seems like our electronic devices are out of date almost as fast as we get them out of their packaging these days- there's always something fancier and newer out there! If this describes you- bring in your old iPod, iPhone and iPad to GameStop and put some more jingle in your pocket this holiday! No packing, shipping or hassle- a store associate will tell you the value of your trade items and give you cash or store credit on the spot. To find a GameStop store near you, visit this link.

Current Trade Values:
Get store credit or cash for your old iPod, iPhone or iPad:

iPod Nano- Up to $70
iPod- Up to $150
iPhone- Up to $180
iPad- Up to $300

That's a lot of money that you can use to buy gifts this holiday season!

I have good news- to celebrate GameStop's Jingle in Your Pocket program, I'm giving away a $50 gift certificate to GameStop! Open to US mailing addresses only, enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

And if that's not exciting enough- Mom Spark is giving away a $1000 GameStop gift card! Just share a photo of yourself trading in your iPod, iPhone or iPad at GameStop in the comments of this post over at Mom Spark, and you'll be entered to win the $1000 GameStop gift card. Good luck!

Disclosure: This promotional sponsored post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign. Thanks to GameStop for providing me with a gift card to giveaway. All prizing for MSM giveaways is handled by a third party unless otherwise noted. For this reason prize fulfillment can take up to 90 days after the winners information is received.

Review and giveaway: Sister Schubert Soft Pretzel Rolls and Mini Baguettes

2011-12-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

I know I've said it many times here before, but there's little in life that's as fun as opening my front door and finding food waiting for me on the other side. Pretty much the fastest way to cheer me up on a gloomy winter day! The food products that were waiting for me this time were two great breads from Sister Schubert's, Soft Pretzel Rolls and Mini Baguettes. Here's a bit about these two products:

Sister Schubert’s^® Homemade Rolls is bringing two long-time restaurant favorites home with the introduction of NEW Soft Pretzel Rolls and Mini Baguettes. Now you can bring the delicious flavor of soft pretzels or the bakery-fresh taste of artisan bread straight to your kitchen table! Ready in a little as 7 minutes, these rolls are a convenient addition to any meal. Plus they contain only the finest ingredients with no preservatives, artificial flavors and 0 grams trans fat.

Soft Pretzel Rolls
Sister Schubert’s NEW Soft Pretzel Rolls have a thin, slightly crisp outside and a soft, warm center. Whether it’s a delicious snack, a soft roll for your favorite slider or a complement to dinner, Sister Schubert’s Soft Pretzel Rolls are a versatile way to enjoy restaurant-quality taste at home.

Mini Baguettes
Sister Schubert’s NEW Mini Baguettes bring the bakery-fresh taste of artisan bread straight to your kitchen with a golden, crispy crust and a soft, airy center. Ready in as little as seven minutes, simply slice Sister Schubert’s Mini Baguettes and fill with your favorite sandwich ingredients to create a delicious meal, or enjoy a tasty appetizer by dipping the warm artisan baguette in olive oil.

I can pretty much sum up my entire opinion about these with one word- yum! We'd never experienced pretzel rolls before, but now we're hooked. They are so yummy! The perfect snack or addition to dinner. The mini baguettes are also delicious. Both the rolls and the baguettes were easy to cook and were ready after just a few minutes in the over. And both are breads that I want to definitely keep on hand in my freezer. If you're looking for a nice bread for your holiday parties, you should check out Sister Schubert's!

And I have good news! I'm giving away one coupon good for any Sister Schubert's product to two lucky readers. You might want to check and make sure you can get these products at a store near you before entering, as they are not available everywhere. Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below.

Disclosure: I was one of the bloggers selected by T. Marzetti Company and Family Review Network to host a Sister Schubert’s Homemade Rolls giveaway. They provided me with product to test myself as well as prizes for my readers. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

Review: Stamina 38" Folding Trampoline

2011-12-09T13:43:00.001-08:00

We have a new addition to our living room decor- a new mini trampoline! It's been great fun for the whole family- none of us can walk past it without jumping on it for some quick bounces!

We received this trampoline from Wayfair, as thanks for my time in writing an earlier post about them. If you missed that post, let me just say that Wayfair is your one-stop online shop for pretty much everything. Wayfair has home decor, toys, kitchen items, things for babies, furniture... the list goes on and on. We'd been thinking about getting a trampoline for a while, so I knew that was what I wanted to get. Wayfair carries a number of different trampolines, big and small. Thankfully, Wayfair also has a nice search system, where you can narrow down your choices easily based on what you're specifically looking for.

Since we have a small home, I chose the Stamina 38" 4-Way Folding Trampoline so that we could put it away when it's not in use. It took my husband and I a few minutes to figure out how to fold it up, but once we got the hang of it, it was easy, and folded up really small.

Ethan poses with the folded trampoline

If you're shopping for a trampoline, or pretty much anything else, check out Wayfair!

Disclosure: I received this item as thanks for my time in writing an earlier post. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

App review: I Learn with Transportation

2011-12-09T12:54:00.001-08:00

Like most little boys, my son, Ethan, is obsessed with all things that go. So when I found out about a new app for iPhone and iPad called "I Learn with Transportation", I suspected it would be a bit hit with my kids. And I was right! Here's a bit about this app, from the company's website:

By land, sea, air... and space! DADA Company introduces the most fun and exciting way to learn and explore your little one’s interest in cars, motorbikes, ships, rockets, and more. This app is a mix of book, animated illustration, and videogame for iPhone and iPad.

I Learn with Transportation introduces the child to six knowledge areas: sounds, words, colors, shapes, numbers, and environments. And it is designed specifically to fulfill the developmental needs of children.

Plus, the book offers a brand new experience each time it launches. The combination of pages changes endlessly, so that each time a new reading starts it entails a new challenge, and a new entertaining adventure.

This is a really fun and educational app. My kids loved touching the vehicles and making them make noise or move around the screen or say a number or color. I like that they were learning while they play, and that this app changes, so they learn something new every time they play. The graphics are great, the music is fun, and it's all really easy for the little ones to manage. The app can be played in either English or Spanish, for even more learning. To download this app, visit this link.

Disclosure: I received a code to download this app to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Cuties go national!

2011-12-07T12:49:00.001-08:00

Vivian recently discovered and became obsessed with clementines, and I keep finding her climbing on our kitchen counter trying to get to the fruit bowl to get another one. Do your kids love clementines as well? Here in Seattle we've been eating Cuties California Clementines and Mandarins for ages, and now they're going to be available on the East Coast too! To celebrate this, Cuties has a contest for kids going on- read the press release below for the details!

COAST TO COAST: CUTIES^® CALIFORNIA CLEMENTINES

AND MANDARINS GO NATIONAL

Cuties^® Kicks off National Launch And Online Channel – CutiesKids.com – Dedicated to Cute Kids

Los Angeles, Calif. (December 7, 2011) – The kid-friendly California citrus that West Coast shoppers have grown to love is bringing a bit of sunshine to the East Coast. Beginning this month, Cuties^® California Clementines and Mandarins are available coast-to-coast for the first time ever.

In support of the national launch the brand will introduce a $20 million national television and print advertising campaign that is among the most significant in the fresh fruit, vegetable or salad category.

“We know how much parents love sharing Cuties^® Clementines with their kids on the West Coast and we are excited to now offer this popular fruit to families across the country,” said Marc Seguin, senior marketing director for Paramount Farms North America.

In conjunction with the national launch, Cuties^® has also introduced a new, interactive website created especially for kids and proud parents to celebrate the cute things kids do. The site (www.CutiesKids.com) will showcase parent-uploaded videos and pictures, featuring kids doing what they do best: having fun, acting silly and of course, being oh-so adorably cute. Bragging rights aren’t the only prizes parents can win by uploading images of their kids: Cuties^® is giving away a college scholarship worth $150,000 to the star of the cutest kid video.

Cuties^® is teaming up with DonorsChoose.org, a not-for-profit organization that lets contributors across the country fund classroom projects posted by public school teachers on the DonorsChoose.org website. For every video uploaded, users will receive a $10 DonorsChoose.org gift card to use towards any classroom project of their choice. Weekly winners will receive a $500 DonorsChoose.org gift card and the winner of the grand prize will receive a $5,000 card. Cuties^® is committed to kids and education and will continue the charity gift card giveaway up to $100,000 in addition to the individual college scholarship prize.

“The CutiesKids.com site is another way for us to reward parents for something they already love to do – show off their kids,” said Seguin. “What better way to do that than winning a free college education for your little cutie.”

In addition to school contributions, Cuties^® will award daily and weekly prizes for the first 18 weeks, leading up to one grand prize winner. Participants will be able to share their videos using their social network platforms, and the winners will be determined by the number of online votes.

• Daily Prizing: Forty-one video contestants per day will each have a chance to win a Cuties^® T-shirt, beanie, lunch box, tumbler or plush toy.

• Weekly Prizing: One video contestant per week will win a $500 DonorsChoose.org gift card to use to fund a project of their choice in addition to an active game console.

• Grand Prize: One grand prize winner will be awarded a college scholarship worth $150,000, a $5,000 DonorsChoose.org gift card to use to fund a project of their choice and a season’s supply of Cuties^®.

To submit a video of your kid, or to watch some seriously cute videos, log on to CutiesKids.com.

About Cuties^® Brand

Thanks to their small size, sweet flavor and easy peelability, Cuties^® are naturally kid-friendly. And with their high nutritional content, they’re a big hit with parents, too. Available from November through May, Cuties^® offer a variety of nutrients per serving including: fiber, potassium, protein, calcium, vitamin C and folate. Cuties^® is a joint venture between Paramount Citrus, Sun Pacific and Fowler Packing. For more information, visit www.Cutieskids.com.

About DonorsChoose.org

Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org (www.donorschoose.org) is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers post requests, and then individuals can browse and fund projects that speak to them. After completing a project, the donor hears back from the classroom they supported in the form of photographs and teacher thank-you letters. To date, 184,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to secure funding for $85 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn. Through DonorsChoose.org, individuals from all walks of life have helped 5.1 million students.

Audiobook review: Love in a Nutshell

2011-12-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

This past weekend my family made the drive down to Portland and back, to visit some of my family members who live down there. Usually, the soundtrack of our trip is whatever kids' music Ethan and Vivian want to listen to, or whatever NPR station we can manage to get in on our radio. This time though, we had an audiobook to keep us entertained- Love in a Nutshell, by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. Here's a bit about this book, from its website:

Kate Appleton needs a job. Her husband has left her, she’s been fired from her position as a magazine editor, and the only place she wants to go is to her parents’ summer house, The Nutshell, in Keene’s Harbor, Michigan. Kate’s plan is to turn The Nutshell into a Bed and Breakfast. Problem is, she needs cash, and the only job she can land is less than savory.
Matt Culhane wants Kate to spy on his brewery employees. Someone has been sabotaging his company, and Kate is just new enough in town that she can insert herself into Culhane’s business and snoop around for him. If Kate finds the culprit, Matt will pay her a $20,000 bonus. Needless to say, Kate is highly motivated. But several problems present themselves. Kate despises beer. No one seems to trust her. And she is falling hard for her boss.
Can these two smoke out a saboteur, save Kate’s family home, and keep a killer from closing in…all while resisting their undeniable attraction to one another? Filled with humor, heart, and loveable characters, Love in a Nutshell is delicious fun.

Being a typical guy, my husband does not read romance novels, so this was his first experience with one. It turned out to be a good introduction to the genre for him, since Love in a Nutshell is really funny, with a good mystery. Daniel did make a few comments about the book like "wait, they've still only known each other for a week?" and rolled his eyes a bit at the descriptions of the makeout scenes, but he said that overall he enjoyed the book, especially the mystery that is the main element in the story.

I thought Love in a Nutshell was very well-written and entertaining, and I will definitely be seeking out other books by these authors. We both appreciated that there was nothing explicit in the book and that the romance scenes didn't go beyond some making out, since we had kids in the car with us who may or may not have been paying attention. As for the audiobook itself, the narrator was fabulous, and did a good job with all the voices of the different characters. Impressive! All together, this was a wonderful way to spend 6 1/2 hours.

Love in a Nutshell will be available in various formats on January 3, 2012. Visit this site for more information.

Disclosure: I received this audiobook to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway: $55 EdenFantasys gift certificate

2011-12-06T14:25:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I wrote a post letting you all know that EdenFantasys now is selling bath and beauty products- and today I'm back with a giveaway. One lucky person will win a $55 gift certificate to use over at the site! (Again, while not showing anything explicit, it's probably not a website you want to open at work/on a public computer/with little ones in visual distance of your computer). Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received this gift certificate as thanks for my time in posting about the site, and I'm passing it on to one of you!

Giveaway Tuesday Linky

2011-12-05T19:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Here's this week's linky- take a minute, link up your giveaways and enter the others listed here!

Review and giveaway: Greased Lightning Multi-Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser

2011-12-05T16:34:00.001-08:00

I admit it, I like to clean. It's a good thing that I like to clean, because my family seems to like nothing more than making a mess. And, since my home is very small, messes really can't be avoided. So I'm always happy to try new cleaning products, and recently we received one that I've been using a lot. It's called Greased Lightning, and here's a bit about it, from its website:

The original Greased Lightning formula is time-tested for superior cleaning and stain-fighting power. Greased Lightning conquers the toughest stains and can be used throughout the home.

Suggested Uses:
Cut through grime on stove vents, ovens and microwaves.
Remove red wine, pet stains and dirt from everyday traffic on carpets.
Use as a laundry pretreat for tough stains including grease, grass and ink.
Tackle soap scum and mildew stains in the shower.
Revitalize patio furniture by removing dirt and outdoor debris.

My favorite thing about this cleaning product is that I can use it on almost everything. I spent some time going around my house the other day and cleaning random things. I used Greased Lightning on some old carpet stains, the counters, the glass table, the outside of the fridge and dishwasher and garbage can, and to clean my bathroom sinks. I love being able to clean so many things without switching products. And the Greased Lightning worked really well on everything. I was particularly happy with how well it worked on the carpet stains- got the stains out without discoloration of my carpet.

The only thing that I didn't like about Greased Lightning is that it is not a "natural" product, and I've been trying to use more of those in my home, since I do have little people around, and since our home is small, it's hard to get away from cleaning fumes. Still, I will continue to use Greased Lightning on my dirty surfaces when it's possible to have my windows open and/or ventilation fan on to deal with the fumes, since it's a really useful product.

And I have good news, one of you will win a coupon good for a free bottle of Greased Lightning! Open to US mailing addresses only, enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

Disclosure: I received a bottle of Greased Lightning to try for myself, as well as a coupon to give away to one of you. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

EdenFantasys now carries bath and beauty products!

2011-12-05T12:26:00.001-08:00

I've written about EdenFantasys here on the blog a number of times (and stay tuned for a giveaway in a few days!). It's a great site for all the things you might need to spice up your marriage, like candles, massage oils, games, music, lingerie and all the other items that you might expect from a site called EdenFantasys ;) This being a family-friendly blog, I won't mention those here. (Word of warning, while not showing anything explicit, the site is probably not one you want to be visiting on a public/work computer or when little ones can see your computer.)

Recently I found out that EdenFantasys now carries bath and beauty products as well! I visited the site today and was impressed by the selection. They carry all sorts of things- lip gloss, moisturizers, shaving cream, body wash, eye shadow and much more. Here are a few of the new products:


Booty Parlor Lip Lovely Set: Sugar Kisses Lip Scrub & Rescue Me Peppermint Lip Treatment (set of 2)

Add caption

12 Days of Christmas Lip Balm Set (set of 12)

Cake Beauty Vanilla Snow Woman Glistening Bath and Shower Gel (set of 3)

As with all the other products on the EdenFantasys site, there is a lot of information on the products including reviews from other users, ratings, ingredient information, photos and more. I've always really appreciated this about EdenFantasys- they make it easy to make an informed purchase. And all purchases from EdenFantasys are billed and shipped discreetly.

So, if you're looking for a romantic Christmas gift for your spouse or if you'd like to pamper yourself with a new moisturizer or lip gloss, definitely check out all that EdenFantasys has to offer!

Disclosure: EdenFantasys, an online retailer of sex toys (and much, much more!), provided me with a gift card in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

Book review: Smitten

2011-12-05T11:00:00.001-08:00

On Friday night, I went to bed fairly early. And then I wasn't completely tired, so I picked up my iPod, planning to read just a chapter or two of my newest e-book, Smitten. An hour and a half later, I finally made myself put it down and go to sleep. Saturday night, I again thought I could read just one or two chapters, but ended up staying up and finishing the entire book. It was just too much fun to put down! Here's a bit about this book, from the publisher's website:

Four friends devise a plan to turn Smitten, Vermont, into the country's premier romantic getaway-and each finds her own true love along the way.
With Smitten Lumber closing, residents wonder if their town can stay afloat. Then four friends and local business owners-Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese--decide the town is worth saving. How will they do it? They'll turn Smitten into a honeymoon destination!
As Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese work to save the town, each discovers romance in her own life. Meanwhile, the faith of a little child reminds the whole town what it means to have real faith in the God who is the always and forever Love.
Discover a novel written by four of Christian fiction's most popular romance novelists- friends in real life who've drawn an amazing story of four friends! Includes a Reading Group Guide as well as "Conversation over Coffee with the Authors".

There are four main characters in this book, with each one having her story told by a different author. I thought the stories were tied together very well, and I wouldn't have guessed that the book was written by four different people if I hadn't know it already. I really enjoyed getting to know all four of the characters. That was one of the things that made the book hard to put down- as I read one woman's story and was briefly introduced to her friends, I then wanted to continue reading to see what happened to her friends! All four stories, as well as telling about the individual women, together tell the story of their adventures as they try to save their town, Smitten.

This is a fun read, and I hope that the authors combine forces again in the future for more Smitten books!

Disclosure: I received an electronic copy of this book to review for myself, thanks to Booksneeze. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Are you planning to do any cookie baking this month?

2011-12-01T13:46:00.001-08:00

I know a lot of us will be baking cookies in preparation for Christmas, and I found out about a good resource today and wanted to share it with you all. I was particularly excited to learn about FavoriteCookies.com, since I'm always looking for new cookie recipes. Read on for all the details!

Hershey’s and Betty Crocker Team Up to Sponsor
Cookie Exchange Parties for 1,000 Lucky Consumers
HERSHEY, Pa., November 9, 2011 – With the holidays quickly approaching, baking and entertaining preparations are in full swing! Whether it’s a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, everyone needs a little help to ensure their holiday treats turn out just right. Hershey^®’s is here to help with the launch of Hershey’s Cookie Headquarters, an online resource full of recipes and tips, and access to a team of experts to answer consumers’ baking questions during the busy holiday baking season through consumer posts on HersheysKitchens.com, Hershey’s Kisses^® Brand Chocolates and Hershey’s Kitchens Facebook pages and the @HersheysKisses Twitter handle. Consumers who visit the site will also have the chance to enter to host their own cookie exchange party sponsored by Hershey’s and Betty Crocker^®.
“When it comes to baking, timing is everything,” said Hershey’s Kitchens baking expert Linda Stahl. “For the first time ever, Hershey’s is inviting consumers to connect and get customized tips and advice – directly from the experts and each other - to help bakers in the kitchen this holiday season.”
Hershey’s Cookie Headquarters
Hershey’s Cookie Headquarters at HersheysKitchens.com is the ultimate one-stop destination for holiday bakers. The site will feature a live Twitter feed of current conversations from the @HersheysKisses Twitter handle and visitors can submit questions to Hershey’s baking experts and receive timely and personalized responses. Beginning today, a team of experts will be on-hand on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. EST and weekends from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST to help consumers with all of their baking needs. Consumers are encouraged to visit the site often to submit questions, share comments and join in on the latest baking conversations with fellow baking enthusiasts. Experts from Hershey’s Kitchens or Hershey’s Kisses Brand Chocolates will also play host to weekly Twitter chats focused on a variety of holiday topics as another way for bakers to interact with one another and share their own tips and advice with participants.
Hershey’s and Betty Crocker Cookie Exchange Parties
To help get into the holiday baking spirit, Hershey’s is teaming up with Betty Crocker to offer consumers a sweet opportunity to host one of 1,000 cookie exchange parties sponsored by the baking powerhouses. Consumers can visit HersheysKitchens.com or FavoriteCookies.com from November 7 - 20 to apply for the chance to host a cookie exchange. If chosen, participants will receive a party pack complete with all of the necessary items to host the ultimate cookie exchange including Hershey’s and Betty Crocker baking products, party favors, and recipe booklets to share with guests.
Hershey’s and Betty Crocker want to help consumers plan the perfect party this holiday season so Stahl is teaming up with Kristen Olson, a baking expert from Betty Crocker Kitchens to share their advice in a blog inspired by their more than 40 years of collective baking and hosting experience. In addition to the weekly blog posts, recipes and cookie exchange tips, FavoriteCookies.com provides holiday hosts the opportunity to share their own favorite recipes and photos with each other. The powerful combination of Hershey’s and Betty Crocker’s plethora of baking knowledge and the extensive consumer experience available makes the site the ultimate destination for cookie exchange enthusiasts nationwide.
In preparation for a cookie exchange, bakers can turn to FavoriteCookies.com to find favorite holiday cookie classics like Peanut Butter Blossoms – the rich peanut butter cookie topped with a single Hershey’s Kisses Brand Milk Chocolate and made with Betty Crocker^® Peanut Butter Cookie Mix. The site features must-make seasonal cookie recipes featuring essential holiday baking ingredients including: Betty Crocker cookie mixes, Gold Medal^® all-purpose flour, Hershey’s Kisses Brand Chocolates, Hershey’s Cocoa, and Hershey’s Baking Chips.
For more information on Hershey’s Cookie Headquarters, easy recipes and baking tips, or to apply to host a cookie exchange party, please visit HersheysKitchens.com.

Disclosure: I received no product and no compensation for this post- just passing on some information!

Review and giveaway: Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta

2011-12-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned here on the blog before, I have one major issue with dinnertime- I keep forgetting that it exists. I don't actually mind cooking, but I seem to be completely incapable of remembering that my family needs to eat dinner until 5:30 has already arrived. Generally I can figure out a main course, but it's always a little more challenging to come up with a good vegetable or side dish. Which is why I absolutely adore Green Giant frozen vegetables and have fed them to my family many, many times. And now Green Giant has another wonderful product- the Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta. Here's a bit about this new product:

Making meal time easier than ever, Green Giant has introduced vegetables with pasta and savory sauces to their already convenient and tasty line-up of Valley Fresh Steamers frozen mixes.

New Valley Fresh Steamers Vegetables with Pasta varieties include:
Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Broccoli - classic elbow pasta and broccoli in a mouth watering cheese sauce

Pasta and Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce – delicious corkscrew pasta with carrots and broccoli in a savory Alfredo sauce

I was hoping to try the Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Broccoli, since I adore mac & cheese, but my local grocery store only carried the Pasta and Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce. I got it home, microwaved the whole package for 4 minutes and opened it up. And it was delicious! Everything was cooked perfectly- the pasta was tender and the veggies were well-cooked but still crunchy and not at all soggy. I thought the sauce was really delicious too. All in all, a big hit for our mealtime and a product that will be purchased again.

I have some good news- one of you will win the same Green Giant prize pack that I received- it will contain 2 Green Giant placemats, a broccoli stress reliever, a 32 oz serving bowl, a surprise face serving spoon and a coupon for a free Valley Fresh Steamer with Pasta! Open to US mailing addresses only, enter at the Rafflecopter widget below.

Disclosure: Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta, information and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. All opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

App review: Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook

2011-12-01T11:01:00.001-08:00

We've recently added another fun app to our iPods- the Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook! Here's a bit about this, from a press release that I received:

iStoryTime Launches Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook for iPhone and iPad

Santa Barbara, Calif. / Frankfurt - November 30, 2011 - StoryTime, the largest library of mobile children's book apps, today announced that the Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook is now available for iPhone and iPad for $3.99. The storybook app features several in-story activities that allow the reader to be immersed in the magic of the Arthur Christmas story as well as to discover exclusive content from the feature film. The app is based on the new 3D, CG-animated movie Arthur Christmas from Aardman for Sony Pictures Animation, in theaters November 23.

Arthur Christmas is an interactive storybook app that at last reveals the incredible, never-before-seen answer to every child's question: "So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?" The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the heart of the film is a story with the ingredients of a Christmas classic - a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero: Santa's youngest son, Arthur. When this amazing operation misses one child out of hundreds of millions, Arthur, the least capable Claus, embarks on a hilarious, exciting rogue mission against the clock with his politically incorrect grandfather Grandsanta and a giftwrapping-obsessed elf named Bryony, to deliver the last present before Christmas morning dawns.

Available in the Apple App Store for $3.99, the storybook features original content from the feature film, including images and character voices and parents and their children can experience the adventure before or after seeing the movie in the box office. In-story activities include:

Make Arthur Look Like Santa: Apply digital beard stickers to Arthur's face for a hilarious Santa-like snow costume
Countdown to Christmas Meter: Digitally track down to the second just how close you're getting to the big day
Lull the Lions to Sleep: Swipe back and forth on the screen to help Arthur distract the hungry lions so he can finish his quest to deliver the lost present

Gift Wrapping: Help the elves wrap a bike
Narration Options: Read to Me, Read to Myself and Auto Play

The Arthur Christmas Movie Storybook app brings it all to life in a convenient, mobile format.

Device Requirements:

* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

* Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later

We haven't seen the Arthur Christmas movie yet, but still really enjoyed reading along with the story on the iPod. The graphics and sound are great, and the story kept my attention and Ethan's attention nicely. Ethan and I both laughed at many places in the story- it's very cute. I really like that there are three different options for the narration- autoplay, read to me and read it myself. That makes it accessible for pretty much all ages and reading levels. I wasn't crazy about the extra games, since they were fairly pointless, but they might appeal to a younger audience.

All in all, my family enjoyed this storybook, and if you're looking for a good Christmas story for your iPhone/iPad, this is a good one to check out.

Disclosure: I received this storybook app to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Seattle-area people- Storytime with Mrs. Claus at Northgate Mall!

2011-12-01T11:00:00.001-08:00

I just got a press release and wanted to share the info with my local readers. Tomorrow (December 2nd) and Friday, December 16th, Mrs. Claus will be reading stories from 10:30-11:30 at the Santa Set by Ben Bridge at the Northgate Mall. There will also be carol singing and cookie eating! This sounds like a really fun free event, so be sure to check it out!

App review: Another Monster at the End of This Book

2011-11-29T14:53:00.001-08:00

Last night I caught my husband playing with one of the kids' apps on his iPod- Another Monster at the End of This Book. I told him it was an app for the kids, but he insisted on finishing the book any way :) Here's a bit about this app, which has captured the attention of everyone in my family:

This is the sequel to the chart-topping app, The Monster at the End of This Book, which reached #1 in Books in the App Store.

This time, Grover is still fearful of what awaits him at the end of the story -- and finds comical new ways to prevent readers from turning pages. But the ever-curious Elmo slips past him every time -- with the user's help.

Features include word highlighting, hilarious animation with both Grover and Elmo, bookplate personalization so a child can add his name, and research-informed tips to help parents and children explore the story's themes on a deeper level.

This is a cute little app, and my kids (and my husband and I) have enjoyed reading through it. There are lots of interactive features, as you have to help Elmo get past Grover's attempts to not get to the end of the book and the monster that awaits. On my iPod, the app has crashed midway through the book most times that we've read it, but on my husband's iPod there was no issue. You can skip to certain pages in the book, which was helpful to me when restarting the app after it crashed. The pages load a bit slowly, which was a little frustrating to the kids (who do not suffer from an excess of patience), but the graphics, animation and voices of Grover and Elmo are great and make up for the slow loading. It's not a long book, but it's a fun one and if there's a Sesame Street fan in your house, I think they'll love this app.

Disclosure: I received this app to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

CD review: The Froggy Hop

2011-11-29T14:34:00.001-08:00

My kids are dancing to a new CD this week- it's called The Froggy Hop, and its from a Parent's Choice award-winning group called The Chickadees. The Chickadees are an environmental children's music quartet that is fronted by Americana singer/songwriter Mary Karlzen.

The Froggy Hop is a CD that's meant to teach kids science to kids in their first few years of school, in a way that's fun and entertaining. There are eleven songs on this album, all that teach different ideas. You'll learn about the life cycle of a frog in the song "Tadpole Wiggle and the Froggy Hop", you'll learn how to sing like a cardinal in "The Cardinal Song", and how to make maple syrup in "Maple Syrup Time", and you'll be inspired to have a greener life with the song "Reduce, Recycle & Reuse".

I have to admit, a couple of songs on the album were a bit more "country" than I typically like, but I still learned a lot from them! All the other songs on the album were a lot of fun to listen to and to sing along with, and I enjoyed the variety of topics that they covered. Very educational! And my kids had a great time listening and sometimes dancing- they had no idea they were learning, they just thought they were having fun.

For more information on this CD, you can visit The Chickadees website.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this CD to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway Tuesday Linky!

2011-11-28T19:04:00.001-08:00

We're finally starting to get back to normal here after a great Thanksgiving weekend. I hope all my American readers had a nice Thanksgiving as well! Now it's time for this week's linky. Please, take a minute, link up your giveaways and enter the others listed here. And thanks for dropping by!

Book review and giveaway: Cooper & Me and the Winter Adventure

2011-11-28T18:49:00.001-08:00

Back in October I posted a review of a cute new kids' book called Cooper & Me. We all enjoyed this book, so when we had the opportunity to review another Cooper book, we were really excited! The new book is called Cooper & Me and the Winter Adventure. Here's a bit about this book, from a press release that I received:

Cooper and Bella can’t wait to go sledding, but what happens when they wander a little too far from home and a snowstorm makes it difficult to find their way back? Cooper & Me Winter Adventure provides a wonderful opportunity to teach children the importance of making good decisions and the gentle lesson of how to be prepared in case they get lost.

The Cooper & Me books are written by Monique and Alexa Peters, an 11-year-old girl and her mother, who love to tell stories inspired by their own family dog. This new book is just as cute as the first one, with a fun story told in rhyme and accompanied by sweet drawings of the dogs on an adventure. Ethan and Vivian are big fans of dogs of all types, so they really enjoyed looking at all of the pictures while I read them the story.

The book also includes some teaching tools, such as a lesson about being prepared and safe in case you get lost and questions about the story. All together, it's a really nice little book with a good message and fun for everyone.

And I have good news! I'm giving away a copy of this book to one of you. Open to US mailing addresses only, please. Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below.

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or

services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it

on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally

and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance

with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This week's Life Well Lived question

2011-11-28T16:21:00.001-08:00

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, we're all trying to juggle regular life along with the extra stresses that the holidays can bring. This week's BlogHer Life Well Lived question deals with that topic:

Life Well Lived Getting Happy question. We would love for you to write a blog post featuring this question:

What are some of your best tips for surviving the season of parties, celebrations and family get-togethers?

For me, it's all about keeping things simple. My husband and I try to limit the number of presents that our kids get, and give each other only one gift. Also, we usually tell each other exactly what we'd like, which definitely simplifies the process! I also try to keep my expectations reasonable. Yes, Christmas dinner is probably going to have at least one dish that I burn or undercook, but the important thing is that we're together to eat it! And, when we feel like the family is getting too overscheduled or tired, we make it a point to play hooky from whatever we can easily skip, so that we have time to get some rest.

How do you help your family not get too stressed during the holiday season? Join me over at the Life Well Lived Blog Post and leave a comment with your ideas! in sharing their answers in the comment section of the Life Well Lived Blog Post. And don't forget to enter the current $250 sweepstakes as well! http://www.blogher.com/life-well-lived-moments-sweepstakes-4.

Review: Infantino's HappiTaps Beary Happi

2011-11-28T12:04:00.000-08:00

I miss my iPod. It's recently been stolen by a couple of cute small people that live in my house. The reason for this theft? A really adorable and fun app and toy combo from Infantino, called HappiTaps Beary Happi. Here's a bit about the app and toy, from a press release that I received:

We’ve mixed a classic teddy toy with a new technology twist that will give your little one a snuggly buddy full of interactive fun. Start by purchasing a HappiTaps cover online, then download the free HappiTaps™ App from the App Store. Put the cover on your iPhone or
iPod touch (with booster for a snug fit) and watch your new pal come to life with interaction, games and activities.

Toddler Mode
It cycles through the activities automatically. Think of it as “auto pilot” for the youngest kids who can’t yet handle the app menu.

Expressions
Beary Happi is quite veratile. He can chat, share fun facts, teach kids to count to 10, tell jokes, wink, laugh, whisle and sniff about.

Sing Along *
Beary Happi loves to sing! Join him as he sings along with his friend Angie children’s favorite clssic songs.

Peek-a-Boo!
Beary loves to hide behind different things! Join him for some old fashioned Peek-a-Boo fun. “Where are you?” Peek-aBoo!

Sleeping
Beari Happi loves to play, but just like kids he also gets tired. Lay him flat, facing up and he will fall asleep. He does snore a little...

Feeding Time
Let’s feed the bear! This nurturing game is so much fun. Kids are so happy to feed their friend while they learn about food. Mmmhh, honey!

Story Time *
Beary is an accomplished story teller. He will narrate classic childrens’ stories with a lttle bear flair.

Rattle & Fun *
Kids love making noises and Beary has just what the doctor ordered! A real rattle so they can shake up a storm

Nighty Night *
A comprehensive kid night time routine complete with a bedtime story, a lullaby and sheep for counting. G’night!

* Some activities may require additional in-app purchases

This is a seriously cute app/toy combo. I should note that you do not have to have the cover to play this app, and the app itself is a free download. And when your iPhone/iPod isn't in the bear case, it's just a cute little bear toy. But when they're put together, your child has a soft little bear that comes alive and plays with him or her with over 20 different interactive (and insanely cute) features. Also, the cover covers up the home button, which keeps your kids from closing the program and getting into other apps on your iPod/iPhone, and protects the iPod/iPhone while your kids are holding it.

Vivian and Ethan both really love this app/toy. Vivian is especially fond of playing peek-a-boo with the bear, and both kids love the sing along songs and stories that the bear tells. The app comes with one song and one story, and you can download 2 more songs or 2 more stories for $0.99 each. You can also do other fun activities such as feeding the bear, playing with the rattle, or more. It's all really interactive, and the bear responds to things like your child touching the screen or tilting the device. This app, with and without the case, has kept my kids entertained for many hours now, and the kids both ask constantly to play with the bear.

This is probably the easiest-to-use, most interactive, and fun app that my kids have on my iPod, so it's no wonder that they're always asking to play with it. If there's a little one in your life who loves to play with your iPod/iPhone, definitely check out this app and toy! To download the app, visit this link and to buy the HappiTaps bear case, visit this link.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Infantino HappiTaps and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

Decorate and furnish your nursery with Wayfair!

2011-11-26T18:51:00.001-08:00

Everyone said it when I was pregnant with Ethan- "Enjoy it all, it goes by so fast." And I tried to believe them and take the advice seriously, but somehow I blinked and my tiny baby boy is now almost 4 1/2 years old. He attends school and has friends and wants to start taking soccer lessons. I'm not sure how he got to be such a big boy so fast. It seems like just yesterday that Daniel and I were trying to figure out how to fit another person into our small home, looking at nursery furniture, and making decisions about decor.

It would have been handy to know about Wayfair stores back then, because they have a really nice selection of nursery furniture options. Since our home is so small, it would have been especially nice to know about the mini cribs that Wayfair sells. They have a great selection and the mini cribs are a great price-

I love this DaVinci Alpha Mini Rocking Crib in white- so pretty! And only $99!

And this DaVinci Emily Mini 2-in-1 Convertible Crib in Espresso is just gorgeous- and only $129!

Wayfair sells everything else you need for your baby and kid too, like changing tables, bookshelves, gliders, moses baskets, toddler beds, decor, diaper bags, toys, costumes, safety gear.. and so very much more. Be sure to check it out!

Disclosure: I will be receiving a product as thanks for my time in posting. All opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Book review: Brave Irene

2011-11-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm thrilled that my kids both have inherited my love of books. We have shelves full of kids' books and Ethan and Vivian are always bringing armloads out to the living room for me to read to them. Which I am generally very happy to do, but occasionally I do have other things that have to get done around the house (like laundry or cooking). And since neither kid knows how to read yet on their own, my departure from the reading area never ends well. Which is why I was really happy when a new children's book arrived at our home- a children's book accompanied by a CD of Meryl Streep reading the book!

The book is called Brave Irene and here's a bit about it, from a press release that I received:

Brave Irene is Irene Bobbin, the dressmaker’s daughter. Her mother, Mrs. Bobbin, isn’t feeling so well and can’t possibly deliver the beautiful ball gown she’s made for the duchess to wear that very evening. So plucky Irene volunteers to get the gown to the palace in time, in spite of the fierce snowstorm that’s brewing – quite an errand for a little girl!

But where there’s a will, there’s a way, as Irene proves in the danger-fraught adventure that follows. She must defy the wiles of the wicket wind, her most formidable opponent, and overcome many obstacles before she completes her mission. Surely, this winning heroine will inspire every child to cheer her on.

Narrated by the iconic Meryl Streep, this Book & CD Set charms with vivid illustrations, an exciting storyline, and the perfect voice to bring it all together. Also including a read-along track, Brave Irene is the kind of book that children will grow up listening to, and then excitedly read to themselves!

I thought the illustrations in this book were beautiful, and Meryl Streep (of course) does an amazing job reading the book. She puts so much energy into reading this book and really brings it to life. My kids loved sitting with me and listening to her read while we looked at the pictures. A great time was had by all!

Disclosure: I received this book and CD to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review: Glow Crazy Glow to Go

2011-11-25T11:15:00.001-08:00

It's dark a lot of the time here in Seattle during the winter. But the kids and I have some new toys from Glow Crazy to help us have fun, even when it's dark. We recently received the Glow Crazy Glow to Go, and the Bonus Pack. Here's a bit about the Glow Crazy Glow to Go:

Glow Crazy Glow to Go-

From the Manufacturer
For car trips, sleepovers or just after lights out. 4 Amazing glow colors to draw and write on in portable Binder.
Product Description
Now you can Glow Crazy anywhere! The Glow Crazy Glow to Go has four crazy glow pads, and easy-to-grab handle and a Lightwand attached by a string (so it's hard to lose). There's even a handy pocket to keep the cool stencils in, as well as anything else you may want to take with you. If your room is really dark or you're in a car at night, you can draw and write with light!

The Bonus Pack, which we also received contained some reusable glow paper for the wall, a second lightwand, and some stencils. I'm mostly grateful that we now have two lightwands, because both kids really like the Glow Crazy and are always wanting to draw with it. We've been having fun, both with the Glow Crazy Glow to Go, and drawing on the paper that we stuck to the walls next to the kids' beds.


(Using the night setting on my camera- it actually was dark in the room for this picture)

Having fun with the Glow to Go

I think the Glow Crazy toys would be great for any kid who loves to draw. And if you have any car trips or overnight trips to family coming up in the future, these Glow Crazy toys would be really fun for that. They're easy to use, reusable and encourage creativity!

Disclosure: I received these products to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Franz Bakery's Let's Help Your Neighbors Promotion

2011-11-25T11:07:00.001-08:00

Pacific Northwest readers- listen up, this post is for you! I recently received information on a holiday promotion that's being done by Franz Bakery and wanted to share it with you all, as it sounds like a great idea. Read on for all the details!

This holiday, Franz is giving $500 worth of help to 10 deserving people, families or organizations in need in the Northwest. (All winners will be selected from the Franz distribution area; Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Western Montana and Northern California).

There’s no better feeling than helping out a neighbor in need. . . and right now, YOU have the opportunity to help Franz do just that! Share with them the well-deserving people, families or organizations that have touched your life over the years. Franz will choose ten lucky winners and make their lives a little more special this holiday season.
PLUS: If your nominee is selected, you’ll receive a free 1-year supply of Franz Bread!
Here’s all that you need to do:
·   Go to www.FranzBakery.com
·   Nominate a person, family or organization by completely filling out the entry form here which includes a 100 word or less essay telling us why we should choose your nominee
·   Submit your entries between November 17 and December 9, 2011.

What a great way to help give to someone in need this holiday season!

Disclosure: I will be receiving Franz Bakery products as thanks for my time in writing this post. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review and giveaway: Drano Snake Plus

2011-11-25T10:47:00.001-08:00

I have to admit, some review opportunities are definitely more glamorous than others. This thought kept running through my mind earlier this week as I was getting ready to test out a new product for our home, the Drano Snake Plus. Glamorous or not though, this review opportunity ended up making me very, very happy! Before I get too far into my personal experience with Drano Snake Plus, here's a bit about it, from the Drano website:

Drano® Snake Plus combines an 18-inch flexible tool with our most powerful gel to clear clogs for the first time—guaranteed!*

Our two-step solution for your toughest clogs:
First the snake loosens the clog; then the powerful gel clears it away!

Easy to use:
Simply feed the 18-inch tool down the drain, remove and discard. Then pour the entire bottle of gel down the drain to clear the clog away.

Safe to use on all pipes and plumbing configurations:
The flexible tool bends safely through your pipes, and the thick clog-busting formula has a special ingredient to protect pipes from corrosion. Safe for plastic, PVC, metal pipes, garbage disposals and septic systems.

Perfect for standing-water clogs:
Really tough clogs require more than one step, so we’ve engineered the most powerful combination to penetrate even standing-water blockages—effectively and efficiently.

Okay, to sum up everything else that I'm going to say here- Drano Snake Plus worked just as advertised! I used Drano Snake Plus on our bathroom sink, which has been REALLY slow to drain for a long, long time now and has been getting worse over time. We have tried other drain clog-removal products before with minor success, but nothing ever really worked as well as we hoped. So I was really hopeful for Drano Snake Plus, as I'm tired of waiting ages for my sink to drain!

It was simple to use the snake to loosen the clog in the drain, and to pull some of the clog up out of the drain. Once I had finished with the snake and disposed of it (as instructed) I poured in the liquid and waited. And 30 minutes later my drain was working great and there was no more slow draining or backup. Simple and easy! Drano offers a money-back guarantee on this product, so if you think you'd like to give it a try on your sink or shower/tub, I highly recommend it!

And I have great news! One of you will win a Drano Snake Plus kit to use on your stubborn drain! Open to US mailing addresses only. Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below. And good luck!

Disclosure: I received this product to review for myself, thanks to Drano and the Family Review Network. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Behind the scenes at Seattle's Macy's Holiday Parade

2011-11-23T17:04:00.001-08:00

Today the kids and I braved the truly awful weather and headed down to a hotel in downtown Seattle for a sneak peek at the costumes for the Macy's Holiday Parade. It was quite the sight- a huge room full of racks and racks of carefully organized costumes and accessories. Enough costumes for all 650 participants in the parade! All of the performers in the parade volunteer their time to participate, and Macy's makes a donation to their choice of non-profit organizations to thank them. Macy's also donates to the high school bands that come and play, to help offset the costs of getting everyone to the event.

This year's parade it going to feature both inflatable floats and regular floats, over 50 of them in total. In addition to floats that have been a part of the parade before, there are some new floats, including a new rocking horse inflatable float from last year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. The floats will be ridden by princesses and cupcakes, cowboys and princes, giant crayons and Christmas trees, clowns (120 of them!) and Santa on his sleigh!

Poinsettia Costume

Ethan checks out the Christmas Tree costume- it weighs a lot!

Ethan's favorite of the costumes

Rows of costumes, ready for some performers!

It was fun to get to look around and see everything up close. This is an event that requires year-round planning and preparation, and I can't wait to see the results of everyone's hard work! Now we're even more excited about the parade on Friday! The Seattle Macy's Holiday Parade starts at 9AM on Friday and will last approximately one hour. It begins at 7th and Pine, travels down parts of 5th and 4th Avenues and ends up at the downtown Macy's store. Hope to see you there!

Disclosure: I received no product and no compensation for this post- just passing on some fun information that I learned today!

We're going to the Macy's Holiday Parade in Seattle!

2011-11-22T15:07:00.001-08:00

I grew up watching the NYC Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV every Thanksgiving, and it is a tradition that Daniel and I have continued in our family. This year we're going to be getting up close and personal with a Macy's parade- the one here in Seattle! We're really excited to attend. And tomorrow the kids and I are going to go and get a sneak peek at the costumes and floats. I can't wait!

If you're in the area, here's the scoop on the parade and all of the Macy's holiday activities that are starting on Friday.

MACY’S HOLIDAY PARADE AND STAR LIGHTING TO KICK OFF HOLIDAY SEASON

SEATTLE, WA – October 12, 2011 – In celebration of the 2011 holiday season, Macy’s is proud to announce that its annual My Macy’s Holiday Parade will take place on Friday, November 25, 2011 in downtown Seattle. The parade steps off promptly at 9 a.m. and lasts approximately one hour. The Holiday Parade route will begin at 7^th and Pine, then travel west down Pine St. to 5^th Avenue, south on 5^th Avenue to University Street, west on University to 4^th, and then north on 4^th to Macy’s doorstep.

The Seattle Times and Warm 106.9 FM radio are the media partners for the Parade this year. Macy's signature inflatable floats will make their annual appearance in this Seattle tradition. This year's Parade will include two new train cars for the candy cane express inflatable float and a new rocking horse inflatable float and costumes from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. The parade will feature more than 20 inflatable floats, local high school marching bands, over 500 costumed characters, professional sports teams and community drill teams.

The parade will conclude shortly after Santa dashes in his new sleigh past Macy’s, heading directly from the North Pole to his Seattle holiday post in Macy’s Santaland, which opens at 11:00 AM.

MACY’S STAR LIGHTING & FIREWORK SHOW

That same evening, Macy’s will continue the tradition of the Holiday Star Lighting Ceremony in conjunction with the annual Seattle Westlake Center tree lighting. The famous 161-foot high, 3,600-bulb Holiday Star is a Seattle favorite. This event begins at 5 p.m. and will include an incredible fireworks display (weather permitting).

SANTALAND AND SANTA DIGITAL PHOTOS

The tradition of visiting Santaland and having family portraits taken with the Old St. Nick continues at the downtown Macy’s store on the 6th floor. Macy’s will once again offer a wide assortment of digital photography packages. Santa photos will be available every day from Friday, November 25 through Friday, December 24. For more information visit www.macys.com/believe.

HOLIDAY “BELIEVE” CAMPAIGN TO BENEFIT MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION

Beginning November 6, believers of all ages are invited to drop off letters – stamped and addresses to Santa at the North Pole – at any Santa Mail letterbox at your local Macy’s store. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $1 million, to grant wishes to local children with life-threatening medical conditions. For more information, visit www.macys.com/believe.

Thomas the Tank Engine Pillow Pet

2011-11-22T14:01:00.001-08:00

As mentioned here several times, my kids are big fans of Thomas the Tank Engine and friends. Actually, Ethan is a fan of Thomas and Vivian is madly in love with Percy. They're really funny with their favorites and are always excited to see them on screen or play with their Thomas and Percy toys. And when a box arrived at our front door that contained something special for Ethan, he was beyond thrilled when he saw what was inside. It was a Thomas Pillow Pet!

Ethan loves his new friend

Trying out Thomas as a pillow

Since Ethan received this pillow, it's never too far away from him. He's constantly asking me to make Thomas into a pillow or to refasten the strap that turns him back into Thomas. I'm impressed by the quality of this pillow. It's a nice size, it's got wonderful, soft fabric, and everything is sturdy and well made. It's definitely a pillow that's meant to be played with and loved!

These Pillow Pets are available in two sizes and can be found at lots of stores. I think these would make a great holiday gift for the little one in your life! We've seen them at Target and Fred Meyer. If you have a Percy fan, like I do, there is also a Percy Pillow Pet. I've promised to buy Vivian one if she ever cooperates with potty training!

Disclosure: I received this pillow pet to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Giveaway Tuesday Linky!

2011-11-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone! We're busy here getting ready for Thanksgiving- looking forward to having some yummy food with family on Thursday. I hope all of my American readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, and I hope those of you in other countries have a great week as well!

Now it's time for the linky- take a minute, link up your giveaways and enter the others listed here as well. And be sure to check out my giveaways. I have some new ones, like a $50 gift certificate to MyPublisher, which you can use for cards, photo books and more, and a copy of Moshi Monsters Moshling Zoo for Nintendo DS.

App review: EASe app for autism spectrum children and those with sensory issues

2011-11-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

As I think I've mentioned here before, my 4-year-old son, Ethan is living with something called Sensory Processing Disorder. In his case, it manifests in a refusal to eat, some developmental delays, and a hypersensitivity to noise and other stimuli. Which is why I was really interested to learn about a program designed for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and other related issues, called EASe. Here's a bit about it, from the EASe website:

The purpose of all Electronic Auditory Stimulation effect (EASe) products is to stimulate, challenge, and promote sensory processing in children on the autism spectrum and others experiencing difficulty with sensory processing and organization.
EASe products are inspired by principles of sensory integration and neurological organization taught by Jean Ayres and Glenn Doman. EASe music is encoded according to the principles of Auditory Integration Training from Guy Berard. Sheila Frick's work to connect auditory and vestibular integration inspires the visual/vestibular link, now present in the EASe Games series.
EASe products deliver short, intense bursts of sensory experiences to stimulate but not over-stimulate a child experiencing difficulty with sensory processing and organization. This virtual sensory diet creates a palette of experiences to help a child cope with typical environmental conditions.

In addition to having EASe on CDs, you now can purchase an app for iPods, iPhones or iPads. Here's a bit about this app:

Vision Play, LLC, in cooperation with Vision Audio Inc. is pleased to announce our latest and most sophisticated tool to empower parents and therapists to help children challenged with Sensory Processing Disorder learn to cope with noise.
The EASe app is designed to stimulate, challenge, and promote sensory processing in children on the autism spectrum and others experiencing difficulty with sensory processing and organization.
EASe for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad delivers short, intense bursts of sensory experiences to stimulate but not over-stimulate a child experiencing difficulty with sensory processing and organization. This virtual sensory diet creates a palette of experiences to help a child cope with typical environmental conditions.

I really appreciated the detailed information that comes along with this app regarding how to use the EASe system and app. I'm new to this form of therapy, so I needed all the education and information that the app contains. I've been having Ethan listen to it several times per day, and he seems to like it, and it actually seems to calm him down when he listens. I'm really glad to have this app to help him with his noise processing issues, and I look forward to continuing to use it with him in the future.

If you'd like to try out the EASe app, there is a lite version available for download so that you can give it a try before committing to the full version.

Disclosure: I received this app to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Seattle Children's Theatre presents A Year with Frog and Toad

2011-11-21T12:51:00.001-08:00

On Friday night, my family had the great privilege of attending another opening night performance at the Seattle Children's Theatre. This time we were there to see A Year with Frog and Toad. Here's a bit about this play, from the SCT website:

A Broadway Musical for the Whole Family!

Eternally optimistic Frog and perpetually conservative Toad adventure through the seasons in this Broadway musical. The friends plant flowers, swim, enjoy Christmas Eve and simply celebrate the little things in life. Ordinary events become delightfully humorous escapades as a sled ride instills the range of emotions from trepidation to comic terror and a snail trudges through snow with the most elongated mail delivery. This friendship triumphs through challenges and sends a heart-warming holiday message to whole family.

Play Synopsis

A Note from Artistic Director Linda Hartzell:
These are important themes for young children: how to empathize with others, practice random acts of kindness, face our fears and celebrate the diversity in personalities. But it feels like the furthest thing from a moral lesson with this toe-tapping, laugh aloud celebration.

I grew up reading and enjoying the Frog and Toad books, and I was really excited to introduce my kids to these two great characters. And what an introduction it was! This play is really, really well done. The acting is superb, the music is great, the songs are fun, and there's lots to laugh about. My entire family had a great time watching this musical- several times during the performance I looked over and saw both my husband and my son laughing hysterically at the same thing. When a play can entertain a 44-year-old and a 4-year-old equally well, that's a great show! Even my cranky 2 1/2-year-old who hadn't napped and was up past her bedtime sat and watched the whole play and laughed and smiled. On our walk home we had a great time talking about our favorite scenes and characters, and all four of us agreed that we'd had a wonderful time.

A Year with Frog and Toad will be showing at the Seattle Children's Theatre now through January 15th. If you're in the Seattle-area, I highly recommend that you check it out.

Disclosure: I received tickets for my family to attend this show. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Review and giveaway: Holiday cards from MyPublisher

2011-11-18T14:07:00.001-08:00

It's unusually cold here in Seattle this week, so I'm having an easier time accepting the idea that Christmas is right around the corner! Another thing also helped me feel more Christmas-y... the arrival of our holiday cards from MyPublisher! Before I agreed to do this review, I visited the MyPublisher website to check things out, and was intrigued by what I saw there. MyPublisher says that they offer more paper choices, better envelopes, free shipping (to US addresses), and free envelope liners. After I read that, I was definitely in for the review!

For the winter holidays, MyPublisher offers Christmas, New Year, Hanukkah and Holiday cards. For any of the card designs, you can include up to 4 photos. That makes it easier when you can't decide what picture you like best! On the MyPublisher site, you can view your choices by Best Seller, Most Recent, or by price (either low to high or high to low). You can narrow down the options by color or by designer. I wish that there were a few more options to narrow down the choices, as the number of designs to choose from was a little overwhelming, and I didn't really have an opinion about what color my card was or what designer to choose.

In the end, I chose the French Holiday card and selected the card type (flat or folded), the design color, the paper color, and the paper finish. Then I added our photo and our message to the card. And here's the beautiful final product!

I'm very pleased with our cards. The paper really is a nice quality, and I love the added touch of the envelope liners. I thought the process of designing my card was simple, and the cards arrived just 10 days after I placed the order. I received a gift certificate to pay for my cards, but when looking at the prices on the site, they are very reasonable, especially for such a high quality product. And don't forget about the free shipping and the free envelope liners!

MyPublisher also makes photo books, other stationery, photo calendars and scrapbook pages. Visit the site to see all the pretty things you can make!

I have good news! I'm giving away a $50 gift certificate to MyPublisher! Open to everyone, but there are shipping fees for addresses outside the US. Visit this page for those details. Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below.

Disclosure: I received a gift certificate to select cards to review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Game review: Morphology

2011-11-17T14:11:00.001-08:00

When I was growing up, my family played quite a few board games together. One that we seemed to play a lot, especially when we had friends over, was Pictionary. I know it was a great game for encouraging creativity and thinking, but I had one big problem- I cannot draw. I have so little artistic ability that I am pretty sure I cause people around me to lose their artistic ability. So drawing pictures that my teammates could identify was always challenging. Another "creative" game that my friends liked to play was Charades, which just terrified me. Get up in front of a crowd and act things out? No thank you!

So when I heard about a board game that requires players to be creative but does not involve drawing or acting, I was totally excited and happy to do a review. The game is called Morphology, and here's a bit about it:

Morphology is a fun board game requiring players to dip into a goody bag full of string, wooden sticks, glass beads and colored cubes to create a designated object chosen from a deck of cards. Correctly guess the words your teammates build to be the first team to reach the Final Lily Pad. For more of a challenge (and a possible Facebook photo op!), you may be asked to flex your creative muscles by closing your eyes, using your weaker hand, or only pick 5 objects to use while conjuring your given word. Each game includes 480 cards, 50 pieces of material, a timer, a die and team pieces.

First off, I was happy when I opened the box and saw how nice and organized all the pieces are, all in their own little spaces. Organization is very important to me :) The rules of the game were simple to understand, with the important information also printed on the game board for quick reference. The game isn't fancy or complicated, it's just all about being creative and getting your teammate (or teammates) to guess the word that you have. To help you represent the word, the game includes things like string, glass beads, little plastic cubes, rings, and more. There are both hard and easy words on the cards, which is also nice.

The game board and creativity supplies

Can you tell what my word was? It was "witch"

I thought this was a really fun, creative game, and I look forward to sharing it with more friends in the future! If you're looking for a new game for your family's game closet, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Disclosure: I received this game to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Need a Christmas gift idea? Check out World Vision's Gift Catalog

2011-11-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

Giving money to charity is very important to my husband and I, and we currently give to a number of different organizations. One of the ones that we've been working with the longest though, is World Vision. I've had sponsored kids through World Vision for over 10 years now, and it's been a pleasure watching the kids that we help grow up. In addition to sponsoring kids through World Vision, my family always makes it a point to go through the World Vision Gift Catalog each year and choose a few things to donate money too. The World Vision gift catalog is full of so many great ways you can help- here's a bit about it, from a press release that I received:

Unwrap a Better Tomorrow with Meaningful, Charitable Gifts
World Vision’s Gift Catalog offers items that change lives around the world

SEATTLE (November 07, 2011) –Most people think holiday gifts are meant to be wrapped with a bow, but the truth is that more than 800,000 people around the world were impacted by gifts last year through World Vision’s Gift Catalog that didn’t come with decorative paper or ribbon.

“The holiday season provides the perfect opportunity to honor a loved one and give a gift that has real-life implications on a family in need,” said Traci Coker, World Vision Gift Catalog national director. “As little as $16 can feed a family in the US for a day or put a smile on the face of a young child by replacing their makeshift banana leaf ball for a real soccer ball.”

The catalog offers more than 250 gifts online and in the print version ranging in price from $16 to $39,000. These gifts can be purchased in the name of a family member, teacher, co-worker or child, including many affordable items under $50. Gifts available include, but are not limited to:

·         Goats ($75): One of the most popular gift items because its milk provides protein for children and the surplus can be sold. More than 20,000 goats were purchased last year.
·         Feed a family in the US for a day ($16): Here in the United States, 1 in 5 children lives in poverty. Gift givers can help restore hope to families that have been struck by disaster, homelessness or job loss.
·         A child’s education ($32): Supplying school fees, textbooks, paper and pencils will help a child reach their full potential.
·         Beehive ($150): Beekeeping is a sustainable, year-round way to generate income and is a great source of nutritious, medicinal honey and beeswax.
·         Traditional water well ($13,700): A well can provide more than 2,800 gallons of fresh water every day – enough for up to 300 people – for years to come.

The best part about these gifts is that they are self-sustainable. For example, goats given to communities in Africa are purchased in Africa. This allows transformational community development within the most poverty-stricken villages. The gifts can also sometimes double or even triple, as shown in the box below on the right (The World Vision Difference).

World Vision has also designed a way for donors to see these self-sustainable gifts in action in real time through “The True Spirit of Christmas Tour.” For the third consecutive year, World Vision staff will be traveling across the world this December to see the impact that goats, sheep and other gifts have on families and children. Donors can follow “The True Spirit of Christmas” on Facebook at www.facebook.com/truespiritofchristmas.

Since the Gift Catalog was introduced in 1996, its popularity as a gift-giving medium has grown with more than $32 million in purchases made last year. World Vision hopes to reach $34 million this year. After purchasing a Gift Catalog item, the person whose name the gift was given in receives a special card describing the gift and its impact. Donors can also receive free handmade gifts such as ornaments from Nairobi and jewelry from Thailand with a cash contribution to the Maximum Impact Fund.

To order from World Vision’s Gift Catalog, visit www.worldvisiongifts.org. To order by phone or to request a print catalog, call toll-free at (888) 511-6511.

About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. We serve the world’s poor, regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, visit www.worldvision.org.

Sometimes it's hard to choose which need to help meet, since there are so many wonderful choices in this gift guide. This year my family used the method that we started using a few years ago- we chose causes that relate to what we are experiencing in our life. Since my son is in school now, we donated causes related to education. And since Ethan loves soccer, we also chose to give to the fund that buys soccer balls for schools. In past years, when I was pregnant we donated to maternal health care, and when we had babies, to feeding infants. Just an idea!

Although many of the donations in the gift guide are just that, for donations to the Maximum Impact Fund you can choose to receive a free gift to keep or give to someone else. There are several to choose from, things like hand-woven Thai purses, silk scarves, Christmas ornaments, plush toys and more. As thanks for my time in writing this post, I received this absolutely gorgeous artisan beaded necklace that was handmade in Thailand.

The necklace is great- it's a long necklace that can be worn long, or doubled up as a shorter necklace or even worn as a bracelet. When it arrived, I was wearing a simple white shirt and cardigan, and just by putting on the simple but colorful necklace, my whole outfit was transformed!

Pretty necklace!

And now it's a pretty bracelet!

The World Vision gift catalog is a great way to help take care of others and give gifts with real, lasting meaning. If you're looking for a special way to donate to those in need this holiday season, definitely check it out!

Disclosure: I did receive the necklace discussed above as thanks for my time in writing this post. However, I have a longstanding relationship with World Vision and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Book review: Super Sneaky Uses For Everyday Things

2011-11-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

During the dark, rainy months of a Seattle winter (also known as November-June), the kids and I end up spending a lot of time inside. And, to keep from going insane, I have to have lots of activities planned for us. I’m always looking for fun new ideas, and I got a lot of them from a new book- Super Sneaky Uses For Everyday Things. Here’s a bit about this book and its author, from a press release that I received:

Inventor Cy Tymony can show people how to turn everyday objects and discarded leftover objects from around the house into valuable tools, toys, and devices that can save replace the need for new products, can save people money and reduce and even avoid needless expense.

Cy is a modern-day, real-life MacGyver – someone that people might liken to Mr. Gadget, Maxwell Smart, a mad scientist or a modern day scientific wizard -- only he’s the real thing.

In grade school, he defended himself against school bullies with the help of a spring loaded shocker hidden up his sleeve.

As an adult, he teaches and dazzles people of all ages everywhere with the remarkable demonstrations of ingenuity, imagination and creativity.

His new book, Super Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things contains 30 new, never-before-seen, do-it-yourself inventions and activities.

He breaks new ground in the world of fashion with designs and instructions for the Sneaky Light-Up Nail, Sneaky Animated Nails, Invisible Nail Art, Sneaky Bangle and Sneaky Bangle Bag, Sneaky Headband, Sneaky Belt, Sneaky Action T-Shirt, Sneaky 3D Party T-Shirt .
That’s not all. There are many, many more to choose from:

Sneaky Toys and Games (Digital Picture Frame Applications, Sneaky Vibra-Cup, Sneakier Vibra-Cup Add-Ons, Vibrating Football Game, Sneaky Portable Alarm , Sneaky Foosball Game, Mini-Foosball Game, Sneaky Invisible Signaler…).

This is a fun book that presents project ideas in a really simple and easy-to-follow way. The author clearly lays out exactly what is needed for projects, then has detailed, step-by-step figures showing how to make the project. I especially appreciated the introduction at the front of the book, which discussed the basic ideas that would be involved in many of the projects.

I decided to start out with a simple project and used some of the many paper clips that are lying around my house to make a mini-foosball game. And it turned out so well! I'm going to use the instructions in the book to make a small air cannon next- I know my kids are going to love that one!

My mini-foosball table!

If you’re interested in making creative projects with objects you already have around the house, check out this fun book! There are also a number of other titles in the Sneaky Uses line of books, and you can see the full list here.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Moshi Monsters giveaway fixed

2011-11-16T15:36:00.001-08:00

I've been multi-tasking too much lately and keep messing up my giveaway entry forms! Apologies for that, I'm going to be sure to be more careful in the future. I did just fix the giveaway for the Moshi Monsters Nintendo DS game, so that's open for entries now!

Giveaway: Moshi Monsters Moshling Zoo (for Nintendo DS)

2011-11-16T13:37:00.001-08:00

Last week Vivian and I had the opportunity to leave the condo for a while and attend a great blogger lunch put on by Activision, the Activision Games for Girls event. We entered a ballroom at one of the hotels downtown and were met by the sight of lots of video games and accessories- all geared toward girls! During the luncheon, the bloggers in attendance learned both about some new Activision games that are available now, as well as the benefits of gaming (in moderation, of course). It was a really interesting and educational event, and I wanted to share some of what I learned with you all here. And keep reading for a great giveaway!

There was a lot of information presented to us about gaming and its effects on gamers. And all of the information was great, but I'm just going to include some of the things that stuck out the most to me:

NPD study: https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/pressreleases/pr_111011

Over 90 percent of kids ages 2-17 (population of approximately 64 million) are gaming in the U.S., an increase of 9 points when compared to 2009.

“Reality is Broken,” By Jane McGonigal of the University of California @ Berkley’s Institute for the Future, published January 2011 Penguin Press

http://realityisbroken.org/

· Games provide us with the 4 ingredients that make for a happy meaningful life

o Satisfying work

o Real hope for success

o Strong social connections

o A chance to become a part of something bigger than ourselves

· Games create a positive mindset and making them more resilient in the face of failure

o Gamers spend 80% of their time failing

· We like and trust someone after we’ve played a game with them

· More likely to help someone in real life after we’ve helped them in an online game

o 40% of time on Facebook is spent playing social games

The cognitive neuroscience of video games, 2004

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.118.6363&rep=rep1&type=pdf

· Faster reaction times

· Increased hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity

· Increased spatial skills

· Ability to divide and switch attention, pay attention to more than one object/person

Brigham Young University's School of Family Life study (Feb 2011): girls who play video games with a parent enjoyed a number of advantages.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110201083341.htm

· behave better

· feel more connected to their families

· have stronger mental health

Of course, it's vitally important to keep another statistic in mind- the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics that kids 2 and above have a screen limit of no more than 1-2 hours daily.

As I mentioned, the event was put on by Activision, and we had the opportunity to check out six new games that are out now. The games we saw were ZhuZhu Babies, Squinkies 2, Moshi Monsters Moshling Zoo, WappyDog, Zoobles, and Lalaloopsy. I had the chance to play a couple of the games briefly, as well as see demonstrations of them, and they are all really cute and look like a lot of fun. Vivian (who is 2 1/2) especially loved the ZhuZhu Babies game. In fact, Vivian and I loved the games that we saw so much, that we are asking Daniel to buy us a Nintendo DS for Christmas on which to play the games that Activision gave us to take home.

Vivian and the WappyDog

Vivian playing ZhuZhu Babies

Several of these games are more geared toward girls (Squinkies 2, Lalaloopsy and Zoobles) but the ZhuZhu Babies game, the Moshi Monsters game and the WappyDog would definitely appeal to young boys as well.

And I have good news! I'm giving away a copy of Moshi Monsters Moshling Zoo here on my blog! Here's a bit about this game, from a press release that I received:

The world’s fastest growing online game for children presents Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo on Nintendo DS. Boasting over 50 million players across over 150 countries worldwide Moshi Monsters is one of the largest and most loved online games for children. Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo is set to become one of the most sought after presents for children this Christmas!
Features
• Find ‘Em, Keep ‘Em: Explore the Wooly Wilderness in search for ULTRA RARE Moshlings to add to your Moshling zoo!
• Play Cool Mini-Games: Play exclusive Moshi mini-games to help boost your Moshling’s level, mood, health and happiness.
• Explore the World: Explore all new areas of Monstro City including Buster’s Baby Care, the Glormatorium and Raaghly’s Stararcade.
• Unlock Moshi Rewards: Unlock ULTRA RARE Moshi Monsters rewards including achievements, trophies and super secret items to be unlocked within MoshiMonsters.com.

This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only, please. Enter with the Rafflecopter widget below.

Disclosure: I attended an event sponsored by Activision, where I received lunch and a number of games and toys that go along with them. I was under no obligation to write about this event, and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Wii game review: Puss in Boots

2011-11-16T13:08:00.001-08:00

When we got home from visiting Daniel's parents in Canada last weekend, there was one package waiting by our mailbox that I was particularly excited to see- our new Puss in Boots game for the Wii! This game is also available for XBox 360 Kinect, PS3 and the DS. As soon as I got us unpacked and started the first load of laundry, I popped the game into the Wii and started to play. Before I describe my experience with it, here's a bit about this game, from a press release that I received:

Puss in Boots
Step into the legendary boots and take up the trusty sword of Puss In Boots in this all-new adventure. In the Puss In Boots video game, set out on a swashbuckling adventure into the thrilling origin story of the feline hero himself. On this daring journey, players must utilize Puss In Boots’ feline sneaking abilities, explore highly-interactive environments and engage in real-time swordplay against an array of fiendish foes. With the game’s motion-based sword fighting element, players must swing, kick, block and unleash special attacks such as Puss In Boots’ “Claw Frenzy.” True to his nature, though, Puss will always find the time to serenade a señorita or two with his guitar. So sharpen those claws and get ready – it’s the adventure of nine lifetimes!

When I started playing, I soon realized that it was a game that suited my video game playing skills perfectly. The moves that Puss makes are simple and generally the screen shows you exactly what buttons you need to push or what you need to do with the remote/nunchuck. Puss pretty much only does a few things that require player input- balances on surfaces, sword fights with bandits, climbs along high surfaces or woos girl cats with his guitar playing, as well as the occasional sneaking or posing like a statue. When not doing one of those activities, the game directs itself. This is not a game where you can go the wrong direction or end up getting confused. Which I really like, since I am too old and uncoordinated to figure out complicated games. Another feature that I liked was that, when I did mess up, my character didn't die or have to go back to the start, he just lost points.

Each level does have a goal to meet, with coins to be collected and won along the way. So if you want to try and beat your score, you can go back and replay a level. The graphics were good on the game, other than a few of the introduction screens where the text was hard to read (but it wasn't anything important. All in all, I really enjoyed the game and had a fun, relaxing time playing it, but I was really suprised and kind of annoyed when I finished the whole game after just playing it for a short period of time on three consecutive nights. And, since it's a story-based game, there's not too much motivation (other than beating my scores or maybe trying to beat Daniel's scores) to go back and replay it. Kids may feel differently about that though.

So, my overall opinions is that this is a fun, family-friendly game that's easy to play and is enjoyable, but that is over way too soon. It's rated E10, and I think it would be best suited to the older child/casual (and perhaps not very good) adult gamer.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this game to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

DVD and book review: Parenting Children with Health Issues and Special Needs

2011-11-16T12:48:00.001-08:00

Last month I wrote a post about my interview with Lisa Greene, co-author of Parenting Children with Health Issues and Special Needs. In just a brief phone conversation, she gave me a number of ideas and tips that have greatly helped reduce the stress here in my house and that have made my interactions with my son, Ethan, much better. So I was really looking forward to learning more about the resources that Lisa has been involved with, especially the Parenting Children with Health Issues and Special Needs (condensed version) book, and the Parenting Children with Special Medical Needs DVD. Here's a bit about these two resources, from the Parenting Children with Health Issues website:

Special parenting skills are needed to raise kids
with special needs.

Whether your child has ADD, allergies, asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, Down syndrome, developmental delays, an eating disorder, hemophilia or any other special need, you'll find essential parenting skills to help your child cope well with challenges, comply with medical requirements and live a hope-filled life.

Our resources will give you practical and compassionate answers as you learn effective ways to communicate with children of all ages.

Love and Logic ® for Children with Special Healthcare Needs

Foster W. Cline, MD is a well known child psychiatrist and co-creator of the popular Love and Logic parenting approach. Lisa C. Greene is the mother of two children with cystic fibrosis and a parenting educator.
Together, they have adapted Love and Logic's powerful- yet simple- parenting tools to the special challenges of raising children with chronic illness, medical conditions and other special needs. Resources include an award-winning book, audio, video, live and web-based support. Their message is "You can do it!"

You'll discover how to:

- Motivate children to make wise choices about food and medication.
- Promote responsibility without nagging, lecturing or bribing.
- Answer your child's tough questions about their special needs.
- Empower your child to make wise self-care decisions.
- Avoid power struggles and other common parenting traps.
- Handle refusal to take medication and do medical treatments.
- Avoid the dangers of over-protection or helicopter parenting.
- Prepare your child for the transition to independence.
- Navigate sibling, family and couple relationship challenges.

Although the condensed version of the book (of course) does not contain all of the information presented in the full Parenting Children with Health Issues book, I felt like I really learned a lot and when I finished reading it, I was more equipped to deal with the situations that I deal with with Ethan. Depending on the situation/health concern that you are dealing with in your family, some aspects of the book may be more relevant than others, but in general it presents situations and ideas meant to help families dealing with diabetes, cystic fibrosis, allergies, autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, mental illness and learning difficulties (to name a few).

I thought the Parenting Children with Special Medical Needs DVD was also really informative and helpful. A lot of the information was the same as in the book, but it was nice to see it on screen and hear the experts talk about different situations. Again, different parts of the DVD were more relevant to me than others, given the specifics of our situation and the age of my son, but everything was educational and very interesting.

The Parenting Children with Health Issues website is a great resource if you're facing any sort of chronic health issue with your child. At the site you can purchase the books and DVD that I've mentioned here, but you can also find a lot of free information for both parents and professionals. I've found the information that I've gotten from Parenting Children with Health Issues to be a huge encouragement and support to me, and I know I will be returning to this website and these resources often in the future.

Disclosure: I received the booklet and DVD discussed in this post to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.