Kid Friendly...Mommy Approves

Crazy for Bargains - Kids Footed Pajamas - GIVEAWAY!

2011-09-12T08:14:00.005-07:00

This past weekend in the Phoenix area a storm blew in and brought down our ridiculous oven-like heat. It actually felt good to be outside. This time of year for Phoenicians is such relief and it always gets me thinking of Fall and Winter...and cooler weather!! My little girl absolutley LOVES winter pj's. So much in fact, the last few nights she has been choosing them to sleep in. Even though I warn her she is going to get hot at night, she loves the coziness of them. I mean, who doesn't love to snuggle in warm fleece on a cold night?

Recently, Crazy for Bargains contacted me to inform me that they are now carrying larger size warm, footed winter pajamas. My daughter LOVES footed pajamas for kids, but let's face it as she approaches the size 7 range, footed pajamas are not made for her size. I was thrilled when I learned there was still an option for my girl to enjoy her cozy footed pajamas still. And it was like Christmas for my daughter when the package arrived for us to try out their super soft footie pajamas. We tried the following-

Kitty and Monkey Pink Footed Pajamas
Retails for $16.99
Item #81472
*100% Polyester Fleece Fabric
*Flame Resistant
*Comes in sizes up to 10/12

The pajamas are super soft and made from a high quality fabric. They feel great! They washed up perfectly and my daughter loved the design. I will note that they do run a little large. In general, I've found that pajamas tend to run a bit on the smaller size. Not the case with these pj's. We received the size 7-8 and there will be at least 2 years worth of room to grow for her. So take that into consideration when ordering. Some things I really like about Crazy for Bargains is they have a wide selection of products. If you are looking for it, they have it. The quality is great and prices are very fair. Also their shipping cost is very good - $5 flat fee up to $40.00 and Free shipping over $40.00. Not many retailers offer you that!

Want to know what else is great about Crazy for Bargains? They have generously offered a giveaway of (1) child's footed pajamas to get you ready for winter. One lucky winner will get to choose their kids footed pajama.

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter:
In order to win, you must visit the Crazy for Bargains Footed Pajama page on their website and look at all of their great pajamas. Pick the footed pajama you would order and leave the name of it in the comment section of this blog posting. It's that simple!

Contest will end on Sunday, September 18th at 6:00 p.m. (AZ time). The winner will be randomly chosen on www.random.org. Giveaways are open to U.S. residents only. In order to be contacted, your email address must be associated with your user name or left in the comment section.

Thank you Crazy for Bargains for allowing KFMA to host such a great giveaway!!

Kids Formal

2011-08-25T09:16:00.008-07:00

RATING

Kids - 5

Mom - 5

I love to dress my babies. My son -I can put him in whatever I want. He could care less. He wears what I lay out for him. I LOVE that. My daughter is becoming quite the fashionista and getting to the point where she really wants to pick out her outfits. She's taking an interest in picking out what we buy. It's kind of fun now because she has an opinion and we have been having some fun talking clothes.

When holidays or special occasions roll around, finding the perfect dress or outfit is always a high priority for me. For Christmas, Easter, Weddings - there are a lot of options out there as to where to shop. I always struggle with wanting high quality for a low cost.

Recently, I was contacted by Kids Formal, an online store that offers the perfect selection of Flower Girl dresses, Special Occasion dresses, Pageant attire, Christening Gowns, First Communion, Boys Suits, Tuxedos, Shoes and Accessories. I love to shop online, but had never heard of this site. I was so glad they reached out because their merchandise is great! This site is now one of my favorites.

I had the opportunity to review the following 2 products:

Sleeveless Taffeta Dress with Hand-Rolled Flower Cummerbund
Item # 3047swk

Red- Comes in a variety of colors

Retails: $59.95

Boys 5 Piece Suit, Shirt, Tie and Vest

Item #: 204kfg
Black - comes in a variety of colors

Retails: $64.95

Both items are incredible! Flat out - gorgeous. I LOVE the quality -top knotch! For the price, both items are a fabulous deal. We had to buy our son's first suit last year and I did a lot of searching online and in stores and I can tell you - this suit is gorgeous and the price is phenomenal! The red taffeta dress is truly gorgeous and will make a perfect Christmas dress. The quality of this dress, I would expect to pay far more than what it retails at Kids Formal.

Want to know what else is great about this site? Their shipping is FREE! No minimums, no codes - no hassle. The company makes shopping so easy and nothing beats free! Not only is the quality high, the prices great, but it won't even cost you a penny to ship!

If you are in need of a special occasion outfit for either your little prince or princess, you must check out Kids Formal. They have a wide variety, wide color choices.

Fijit Friends

2011-08-24T13:02:00.007-07:00

Christmas is just around the corner and I have a feeling a hot item on children's Wish List this year will be Mattel's newest toy - Fijit Friends. These interactive, dancing, talking robot toys are a fun addition to our playroom!

Recently, we had the great pleasure of hosting a Fijit Friend's dance party where we had the opportunity to try out the just released Fijit Friends. There are 4 Fijits - trendsetting Willa (purple), adventrous Sage (green), sweet Seraphina (pink) and sporty Logan (blue). Mattel's motto is that the Fijits are powered by friendship and their interaction is just that..from their giggles, to their questions and to their dance move, these sweet dancing robots will win your children's hearts. If your kiddos are anything like mine, they will love to have their new friend boogey down with them to music. These fiesty robots have some killer dance moves and are a ton of fun.

Fijit Friends are on store shelves now and available at all major retailers - Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, Kmart and Amazon for around $50.00.

Here is a cheat sheet on what/how you can talk to your friend.

If your kiddo like to dance this is the toy for them! Mattel has taken toys to the next level with this one.

Thank you to Mattel and to Mom Central for the opportunity to try out this great new toy.

North Pole Experience WINNERS!!!!!

2011-08-12T21:28:00.002-07:00

A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in the KFMA North Pole Experience Giveaway. I absolutely loved reading all of your Christmas traditions. I am excited to announce the lucky 4 winners of the ticket giveaway........

Karen B.

Sandra C.

Phil

Sara L.

An email has been sent to the 4 winners. They have until Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. to claim their prize. If I do not receive an email confirmation back, I will select another winner. Thank you again for reading the blog and participating. Keep watching for more giveaways on the KFMA blog and be sure to check out the NPX website to plan your trip to Santa's Workshop.

Thank you again to the NPX for this AMAZING giveaway and congratulations again to the winners.

Win 4 Tickets to the North Pole Experience - Greer, Arizona

2011-07-21T21:30:00.001-07:00

For the last two Decembers, we've had the incredible pleasure of making some pretty terrific Christmas memories. As I've posted here several times before, the North Pole Experience in Greer, Arizona is a truly magical Christmas experience that will leave your whole family with memories that will last a lifetime.

This December, for the 3rd year, the North Pole Experience will throw open the doors to Santa's secret workshop and welcome families to a behind the scenes tour of Santa's hard working elves. But only those who hold the special Golden Ticket will get the chance learn the secret knock that opens the door to the workshop and the opportunity to meet Santa's head elf. Do your kiddos want to work side-by-side with the elves this year building toys?

Of course they do! And what better way to do that than by winning tickets to the NPX! By the generousity of the amazing team at the North Pole Experience, Kid Friendly...Mommy Approves is happy to announce that your family has a chance to WIN a set of 4 Golden Tickets that will allow you the opportunity to see Arizona's best Christmas experience! Christmas is 5 months away, but it's never too soon to start planning!

Giveaway

The North Pole Experience is giving away to (4) lucky KFMA readers - 4 complimentary Golden Tickets to the the NPX in Greer, Arizona. Please note that lodging and meals are NOT included. The (4) winners will be responsible for arranging transportation, accommodations and meals during your stay. This prize is experience tickets only. Estimated value of the North Pole Experience ticket giveaway is $208.00.

The value of the NPX tickets are:
Adults $55.00

Children $49.00

Infants 17 months and Younger - Free

How To Win??
Leave a comment under this post...but not just ANY comment. Tell me one Christmas tradition you do each year with your family OR one Christmas tradition that you loved the most growing up as a child. Your comment does not need to be detailed or lengthy, but must contain a a general tradition in order to be entered to win.

This contest will end on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. (Arizona time). The winners will be randomly chosen through Random.org. You cannot enter if you do not leave a comment on this post. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Winners will be notified by Saturday, August 13th via email. Will you have until Monday, August 15th to respond or you will lose your winning tickets. Please note that if your blog profile does not contain your email address, you will either need to leave your email address in your comment post OR send me a message on Facebook with your contact information.

Thank you to the North Pole Experience for your generousity and for this incredible giveaway!!!

Follow the North Pole Experience on Facebook
Follow Kid Friendly...Mommy Approves on Facebook

Crazy for Bargains - Fun Sleepwear

2011-07-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5
Mom - 5

My kiddos love pajamas!! The Easter Bunny put a pair in each Easter basket this year and you would have thought they won the lottery. Santa always brings PJ's each year too. They have their favorites and always love when a new pair end up in their drawer. So when Crazy for Bargains contacted me to ask if I would consider reviewing their products, of course I jumped at the chance. I had never heard of the site before and after spending (a lot) of time on it, I fell in love with their selection, pricing and low shipping charge. If you are looking for cute, quality pajamas for the whole family, this is your site! Crazy for Bargains sells items for men, women, boys and girls (infant and toddlers too). You will find a wide selection of pajamas, robes, slippers, even bras/underwear.

Batman Pajamas with Hood and Cape for Toddlers and Boys

$18.99

Turn your boy into a super hero after bath time. This 3 piece boys pajama set will add bedtime excitement to your Batman lover. The pajamas are made out of 100% polyester, washes great with no wrinkels, flame resistant and is a great comfy loose fit. The hood/cape velcro's for an easy on/off. The cape has an attached hood with ears, just like the real Batman suit. My son who is 7 loved, loved, loved these pajamas. And asked me daily to wash them so he could wear them again the next night. The quality is excellent for sure has added some night time super hero fun to his bedtime routine!

Lara Dare Dalmation Pink Poofy Nightgown for Toddlers and Girls

$34.99

If your little girl is all girl, this nightgown is for you! The poofy tulle skirt is perfect for twirling, which my little girl does much of when she wears it! The material is polyester and washes up perfectly! It is made with high quality and is a very cute nightgown. I sometimes find my daughter in the middle of the day changed out of her clothes, sitting in this nightgown, she loves it that much!

Here is another super cute pajama nightgown I found on their site. Just darling for your little prima ballerina. Ballerina Nightgown retails for $14.99.

Black and White Paisley Cotton Capri Women Pajamas

$22.50
Don't just think this site is for the kiddos. Mom's and Dads will be treated to comfort too! I had the luxury of getting to review their Black and White Paisley Cotton Capri women pajama set. I can honestly say it is now my new favorite set of pajamas. The light weight cotton is perfect for hot Arizona summer nights, but also great for lounging in the evening. These are my go to pajamas now and I love how they feel. Not to mention, I think they are super cute.

I love the selection of choices on this site. Many of your children's favorite characters can be found in all forms of pajamas here. Everything from Dora, to Disney Princesses, Curious George, Scooby Doo, Spongebob, High School Musical, Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Transformers. Their pajamas are so cute and made from great quality. I'm a big fan of Crazy for Bargains now!

The site also has a sale/clearance page where you can score great items for as low as $4.99. Crazy for Bargains also has a great return policy that is very fair. They want you to be 100% happy. If you are on the look out for good quality, cute pajamas, make sure you check out Crazy for Bargains. I think you'll love the selection!

North Pole Experience - Greer...Still Standing!

2011-07-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

Our great state of Arizona recently saw it's largest wildfire ever. Early June, I was on vacation with my family in Texas and watched the national news cover the truly devastating fire. I had a pit in my stomach for the beautiful land that was burning. Many cities and towns were threatened and destroyed - all very sad. But there was one town in particular that had our family sick with worry. Greer, Arizona. If you haven't experienced, you wouldn't understand. It's unlike any other area in our state and it holds a fond place in our family's hearts. We've enjoyed a few snowfalls there. We've also retreated from the summer heat in the middle of July to enjoy the beautiful pines and cool weather. It's a small town, down one small road, nestled between gorgeous mountains full of massive trees. As we learned of the growing fire, we also heard Greer was being threatened. One road in, one road out. We knew the firemen would do all they could to keep Greer green, but at some point they would have to retreat and give up. They had to do just that. It was a sad day when I read on Facebook that they were evacuating the entire town. We were sickened. We imagined the worst, but prayed for the best. Our prayers were answered a few days later when we learned that 92% of Greer came thru untouched. It was remarkable news that many in our state celebrated.

As I've posted on this blog before the North Pole Experience is in Greer and honestly, I don't know what I was more concerned about. The beautiful landscape of Greer, the cabins, the trees being destroyed OR the NPX. A wonderful "magical" place for children to experience. The owners had put so much into it, that the thought of it being destroyed so soon after it's inception was so deeply sad.

I'm happy to report that the NPX is still standing strong. Santa and the Elves are most definitely celebrating Christmas in July this summer as they prepare for the Christmas season. Reservations are being taken now for what I think is the best Christmas experience in Arizona and no doubt with all the buzz about how truly great the NPX is, dates are going to fill up fast. Packages range in price and the experience is open from November 18 thru December 30th (with a few blackout dates). If you have done the Polar Express, trust me when I say, the North Pole Experience blows it out of the water and is an absolute must see for families.

We have made the most wonderful memories in Greer, snuggled in a cozy cabin and at the NPX. I hope you get to the opportunity to experience the magic of Greer too! If you'd like to read about just how great one of our experiences at the NPX was, please click here. Also, if you are on Facebook, you can "Like" the NPX Facebook page to learn more about what they have to offer. Alibaster Snowflake, Santa's head Elf is even known to give a few tickets away now and again, so don't miss your chance at it.

The Straw-lution

2011-07-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

RATING
Mom -5
Kids -5

Yogurt, applesauce, pudding, baby food....all kinds of food your toddler or child loves, but my goodness, if you have to spill one more thing of dumped yogurt again, you are going to scream!! Or perhaps your baby is fiercly independent and screams if she can't feed herself, but you know you are just not up for the mess it will bring?? Let me tell you about The Straw-lution. A kid-proof, BPA free, dishwasher safe, reusable, no mess/no fuss solution to snack or meal time...also known as a possible answer to Mommy prayers!

The nothing like it Straw-lution straw converts a variety of cups and food containers into portable and less mess option for snack, meal times and drinks. The new concept works by pushing the straw into the top of the container (works in children's cups with lids, juice/milk boxes and pouches or anything drinkable with a plastic or foil lid). The straw goes in, but it doesn't come out! Toddlers, children and even the elderly can enjoy their favorite snacks in a less messy way. I think this is genius!! The straws are completely reusable and really do the job!
I'm a big fan of these and think it will solve a huge problem of messy snacks for parents!

You can purchase a 12-pack online for $4.99 in a variety of colors and give yourself a break from cleaning yogurt smeared on high chairs, dropped on the floor and all over the toddler! You'll be thrilled with this great product!

FTC DISCLOSURE: This product was given t0 me as a sample for my family's personal use. Please note that I only give favorable reviews to product that I find meet our standards.

Payless Piper Ruffle Flip Flop

2011-06-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

My little (almost) 6 year old Mini-Me is so into checking out my jewelry, spritzing herself with my perfume and enjoys trying on my shoes. She asks often if when she is older if she can wear my things. She is all girl! When my Mom found these darling flip flops at Payless she knew they were a must for us. Piper Ruffle Flip Flops in bright pink in both Mommy and Daughter sizes! And the fact that Payless currently has a Buy 1 Get 1 Half off is an even better reason to treat yourself and your daughter to a pair of matching flip flops.

The same Woman's shoe also comes in a variety of other colors including black, turquoise and yellow. However, for little girls, it just comes in pink. These shoes can be purchased in the store or online (see direct links below). The shoes are perfect for summer and really cute! My daughter will love them!

Piper Ruffle Sandal
by Smartfit
Retail: $19.99 - after B1G1 1/2 off: $9.99

Piper Ruffle Flip Flop
by Montego Bay Club
$24.99

Securachild.com

2011-06-15T13:40:00.004-07:00

My worst nightmare is that my children go missing. Point blank, I can't think of anything worst. I take all necessary measures to prevent it from ever happening and pray daily for their safety. But the what if's drive me crazy. We've all heard the horror stories and also the celebration stories of safe returns. We all pray for the celebrations. As a parent, what would I do? I would want immediate action, a plan to spread the news far and wide so my babies would return safely as soon as possible. We thankfully live in in the day of fast/wide spread communication, but in your state of panic, would you know how to act on it?

When I recently learned of SecuraChild.com it sparked a definite interest. Securachild.com's mission is to help parents find their missing children faster. They say that seconds after parents upload a missing child report, SecuraChild.com notifies a vast network of social media sites to aid in the search. The missing children statistics are astounding. Did you know that every 40 seconds somene's son or daughter are reported missing. That is 2,160 missing children A DAY or approximately 800,000 children in the US a year. SecuraChild.com offers the latest advancement in combining the powerful forces of social media networks with emails and texts.

SecureaChild.com offers free accounts that can be created ahead of time with minimum identifying information given. The site is safe and secure and fully encrypted and each account is assured secured information. If a child ever goes missing, a parent can quickly log on and provide basic information as to the missing child's attire, etc. Securachild.com then quickly broadcasts the information to thousands. In addition, once a child is reported missing, Secureachild.com will immediately email out to the parents a PDF package that parents can insantly provide to law enforcement to expedite the process.

If God forbid the unthinkable happens, it would be nearly impossible to remain calm and think rationally. It's nice to think that something can be created ahead of time, prepared and ready to roll out if the need arises. I would encourage all parents to review this site. I'm all about being prepared and I think this site might offer some good assistance should the worst occur.

Cosmelan by Mesoestetic USA

2011-03-27T21:27:00.001-07:00

Mommy - 5+++++++++ I've made mention a few times on this blog about my battle with melasma (or also known as Pregnancy Mask). It developed for me toward the end of my first pregnancy and only got worst post delivery and nursing. Because I was nursing, I couldn't be aggressive with any prescriptions and then 10.5 months later was pregnant again. And then nursing for another full year. It was a while before I could tackle my problemed complexion. By the time I rolled around to it, my dermatologist was useless. "Oh we could try this or that" is all I really got. They would write me a prescription for something and it wouldn't work. So we'd try something else and my face would go bonkers with acne. I'd go back for the acne after doing my research and say, "This prescription can cause breakouts and isn't helping the melasma." They didn't know it could cause breakouts. So they'd recommend microdermabrasions (all while awsome for the skin, couldn't touch the melasma as it was deep!) Then they'd recommend laser. I bought an expensive 6 treatment laser package at a Medspa and it couldn't touch it either. I gave up. Threw in the towel. Still completed disgusted with my face that was worsening. I had tried everything. Docs who said it was nearly impossible to get rid of and who cared less to really help and all sorts of expensive products (there were A LOT of them) to treatments. Nothing worked. I gave up and grimaced every time I looked at photos of myself with my dark spots beaming through my make up. And got ticked off each morning when my make up wouldn't cover the spots any longer. I talked myself into thinking it wasn't that bad and ignored it...or tried to. Then a very good friend (Thank you Lori M!!!) who had a similiar problem, nothing like my issues, but still bothered had been working with her MUCH MORE competent dermatologist and had come up with entire regime of how to tackel it. And it was working. And then told Lori about a new product available that was suppose to work wonders for dark, stubborn melasma spots. Cosmelan. It works similiar to a chemical mask which is left on all day and afterwards washed off, the skin peels for a week. Lori tried it and raved to be about it. At the time, it really wasn't offered in too many offices around the valley and if I could find someone in my neck of the woods, it was pricey. Lori did me the best favor, something I am internally grateful to her forever. While her derm wasn't taking on new patients, she told her about my battle and her doctor agreed to take me on. Bless that woman's heart. I didn't care about the 45 minute drive across town I had to make to see her. I couldn't wait to meet the woman who worked magic. This doc's schedule was packed for months, but she agreed to come in early and open the office at 7am if I was willing to meet her then. I happily complied, drove across town and couldn't wait to plop into her chair. In 6+ years, she was the first dermatologist that I had met with that actually cared. She knew the problem was bad and she was determined to help my issue. I was all set to have her throw on the Cosmelan mask right then and there...hit me with it doc is all I could think. After an exam, she asked me if I was willing to give her 5-6 weeks to prep my skin to make sure that the Cosmelan could be more effective. I had waited 6 years to get rid of this crud, why not wait another 6 weeks. In one appointment, this lady did more for me than 3+ derms had done at my previous dermatology office. She got me set up on a whole routine of facial wash, a great new daily sunscreen, a special compounded prescription that she wrote up, Retin A and a nightly moisturizer. She told me to be diligent and come back in 6 weeks for the procedure. Within 2 weeks my spots lightened and my skin looked and felt great. People noticed and commented. I was delighted with the results. When it was time for my Cosmelan by Mesoestetic appointment, I went back raving to her. I told her I was thrilled at how much she was able to get the spots to lighten. She was very pleased with the results and told me it was going to get better. And it did. She applied the Cosmelan mask and I kept it on all day - 10 hours. I looked like I had a mixture of baby diarrhea and peanut butter spread all over my face. She warned me that after a few hours it might feel hot or burn or itch, but the longer I kept it on the better. I personally felt nothing all day. I wasn't bothered by it at all. I scared my husband and my kids and didn't leave the house, but I did as instructed. At night I washed it off to discover I had a very red face that looked I had baked myself silly in the sun. A few days later the peeling began. Under strict orders "not to peel off the skin" because it could cause scaring, I walked around with flakes of skin literally dangling off my face for 5-6 days. I didn't care, my skin was GLOWING and looked and felt amazing. Fresh, new beautiful skin without dark spots. Whoo hoo! Dr. Sarah gave me a gift in helping me fix my issue. If I could afford it, I'd have this procedure done every few months. The way my skin looked felt for weeks afterwards was amazing. This procedure fixed my problem! The doctor still has me on a maintenance routine to keep the spots from coming back and while she inspects and tells me there are a few problem spots, I shrug my shoulders and say, make up covers it and I barely know it's there. Compared to the before pictures, the results have been amazing. I've gotten so many comments on how great my skin looks from people who wouldn't otherwise make comments, so I know it worked! If you are battling this very tough issue, I strongly encourage you to get with a dermatologist who can offer you this solution. I do not recommend trying this out at a Med Spa, but with a trained doctor who can make sure it's done right. I will warn you this procedure is not cheap. Having spent a lot on prescriptions not covered by insurance, over the counter products that sales gals told me would absolutley work (ha!) to the very expensive laser treatments...having done all this...Cosmelan is by far superior and I'd recommend you go this route before you waste your time and money with other measures. It's a tough issue to solve, but I'm thrilled with my results of Cosmelan and am so thrilled that I was able to have the procedure done.

Rapunzel - "Tuck Ins"

2011-03-18T20:40:00.001-07:00

PLEASE NOTE: I have not experienced this yet. I have it scheduled. I'm just providing the information out to Mom's in case you reside in Arizona and are interested in scheduling Rapunzel to visit your house in April.

The movie Tangled is coming out soon and of course we will buy it - we loved the movie. But then a friend at dance told me about an amazing, fun opportunity that I knew we had to try out. Something I think that will leave a lasting memory for my daughter.

My friend has a friend of a friend (did you follow that) who works at DisneyWorld in Florida. She is a real life, honest to goodness Princess straight from the magic Kindgom and every so often she travels to Phoenix and while she's here does "Tuck Ins" where she comes to your house dressed as a Princess and reads your daughter a Disney story and tucks her into bed. How cute is that?? In conjunction with the highly favorable move Tangled, this April Rapunzel will be making her visits and bringing with her the Blu-Ray movie to leave as a present. The minute I received the coordinators information, I called and scheduled our Tuck In. I can hardly wait to have Brooke all ready for bed and have our surprise guest arrive. She is going to flip. Since I know many Mommy's who might be interested in scheduling this sweet surprise themselves, I thought I'd share the information with you. Considering the cost of the Tuck In includes a Blu-Ray, I think it's pretty good deal...I mean really what is the price of making a lasting memory and seeing the beaming smile on her face...it's Priceless! Below is the information:

TUCK INS INFORMATION

For those of you who have experienced or heard about our "Princess Tuck Ins" get ready for the next big thing!

Rapunzel is currently in production to be finished just in time to deliver the movie Tangeledupon its release!

Because we loved the movie so much, we knew it would be a great idea, but the response have been completedly overwhelming! Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest! It's such a compliment to us and we hope that we can share just a little bit more magic with you.

We have pre-selected 2 days in which we will be making deliveries. April 4th and April 5th in Phoenix, Arizona.

Here are just a few details for those who may not be familiar with this process and also a few notes and changes for this special occasion, along with some answers to frequently asked qestions.

Our "Tuck Ins" were created to give a magical experience with a princess where she comes to tuck your child in for bedtime. After working at Disney we had many requests from close friends and family for "visits" and particularly birthday parties. We found birthday parties to be difficult, time consuming, and costly for both parties. Tuck Ins gave us the chance to visit many people within a single night, gave us the opportunity to have one on one time, and avoided the hassles that generally come with larger groups. They have been highly successful and enjoyable.

Because Rapunzel will be delivering a movie, we have pushed the time slots up to earlier in the day to accommodate those who will surely want to watch the movie after she's left.

In the past, we've had visits with families who have chosen to make this special by inviting a few friends or cousins or maybe had an idea for a special tea party or something of that nature. This would be fine if you choose to do so.

She has had exact replica costumes made (with wigs). These costumes and wigs are Disney quality and are completely the same as meeting a princess in the park.

The cost for this specific experience will be $55. This price includes the Blu-ray/DVD combo version of Tangled. IF you would like the upgraded 4 Disc Combo which includes 1) 3D Blu-ray 2) Standard Blu-ray 3) DVD 4) Digital File coy, the cost will be $65 and you must let your coordinator know by Sunday, March 27th. If you have further questions about the moves, I will address some of those below or you can email.

A few notes:

Rapunzel will always have a coordinator or a "friend" with her. The friend will driver her to each home. You will receive a phone call to let you know if we are arriving ahead of or behind schedule. The coordinator will help with any questions upon arrivla. Some parents prefer that we "sneak" in to a specific place in the house and for this occasion, we would also be happy to just ring the doorbell. You can let us know as we arrive.

Please don't let your children watch us come or go. As you may know, we arrive by car. This takes away a little bit from the perception of magic.

Each visit will last approximately 15 minutes. Though it doesn't sound like much, children get more curius or more bored the longer a character sticks around. Based on our experience, this is just the right amount of time to make it sweet and magical.

These types of visits seem to work best when they are a surprise! It's great to prepare your children in any way you see fit, but letting the arrival of the princess be a surprise seems to work best.

Please pay the coordinator upon arrival.

We highly encourage princess pj's or in this case dress ups as well. Anything to make it more festive is always encouraged.

As I mentioned before, groups are fine. We do however, ask that you keep them fairly small. Six children is a reasonable amount, but can vary slightly. Keep in mind that one one time is harder to obtain in larger groups, and just takes away slightly from the experience.

Everything we do is REAL. We are very serious about preserving the magic for your child. Please do your best to support us.

Rapunzel will be delivering movies in a gift bag.

If you are interested, please email the following people as soon as possible with your location, names and ages of participating children nd any requests or questions:

Becky - ubrugby414@hotmail.com
Raschell - raschell@hotmail.com

Once you decide you'd like us to come we will start arranging schedules and let you know as soon as possible what time you can expect Rapunzel.

Florida's Natural - Nuggets

2011-03-04T09:02:00.003-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5
Mom- 5

A big thanks to one of my best friends who told me of a great all-natural snackie-poo for my kiddos! Florida's Natural brand Natural Fruit Snacks - Nuggets are now a huge hit in our home! My kids love the fruit gummies snacks but I try not to buy them because they are loaded with all kinds of artificial junk and sugar. When Leslie found this brand at Target and told me her kids love them, I thought it would be worth a try. The pocket-to-go fruit snacks are full of vitamins, minerals and contains real fruit and fruit juices. They are gluten-free and are made from American-grown fruit. The packs come in the following assorted flavors: orange, strawberry and blueberry. These packets are perfect for throwing them in your purse for on the go or even school lunches. The multi-pack retails for $2.69 and we have both only found the brand at Target. The snack itself is very tiny in comparison to your typical fruit gummy snack, but really packs a punch with flavor.

My kids can't get enough and gobble up their entire pack at a time. They love that they once again our pantry stocked with a "gummy" snack and I love that they are all natural and healthy!!

Sophias Style

2011-01-19T09:00:00.004-07:00

Right after Christmas, I start thinking about our Arizona gorgeous spring weather and what we have to look forward to. I love Easter almost as much as I love Christmas time. Watching my kiddos frolick after Easter eggs, attend an awesome church service and of course dine on a delicious brunch at the club means one thing - Easter attire! I drool over the Spring colllection in Chasing Fireflies and then usually settle for something cute at either Janie and Jack or Gymboree. But this year, I bring to you a site that I just recently discovered and am excited about!

Sophia's Style is packed full of children's clothing attire at good prices. When I started looking specifically for Easter dresses I came across several that look to be high quality and just darling. The following four are my absolutle favorite and no doubt one will be my little girls! Prices of these four dress range from $39-52.00. Compared to Chasing Fireflies in which similiar gorgeous dresses can be up to $195.00, I think this site has great prices! Having not placed an order yet, I cannot speak for quality, but their is wide variety of merchandise that also includes adorable birthday dresses and dance attire. The site offers 15% off orders and free shipping over $99.00. I think I'm Sophia's Style's newest biggest fan! Happy Shopping Mommies!

My girl loves pink...which one is my favorite???

I think this one is it!

Kidorable Ballet Line

2011-01-18T14:06:00.007-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5
Mom - 5

Kidorable's new ballerina line is now dancing into little ballerina's lives. The Ballerina line includes a raincoat, rainboots, umbrella, bookbag, and hanger set. Prices range from $13.50 to $36.00. The line comes in sweet pinks and purples with a ballerinas dancing their way across each piece. The umbrella has ruffles and sparkles on it making it very special for your little dancer. The backpack is very unique in that ballerinas dance around a 3-D stage that girls can play with. The boots are absolutely darling with raised ribbons, just like real pointe shoes. And don't get me started on the raincoat! The raincoat has a tutu hem and roses on the hood. This screams prima ballerina for your little doll and I love this new line. As I have had the pleasure of reviewing previous products from this line, the quality is superb, lasts long and has vivid color and designs.

If you think this product line is as adorable as I do and you simply must have it for your tiny dancer, you can visit Kidorable to place your order. If you order the week of January 16-23rd only and use coupon code DANCE5, you can receive a FREE Ballerina Umbrella with your order of over $20. Please make sure you add the ballerina umbrella to your cart first.

GIVEAWAY
Would you like win a your prima ballerina her very own Ballerina Umbrella? Of course you do!!

How to Enter:
In order to enter this fantastic giveaway, you MUST become a Friend on Kidorable's Facebook page. I will check and if your name is not listed, the next winner will be selected. Leave a comment and post your name confirming you are in fact a Facebook friend now.

Contest will end on Friday, January 28th at 7:00 p.m. Arizona time. The winner will randomly be chose through www.random.org. Giveaways are open to U.S. residents only. Thank you Kidorable for this adorable giveaway!!

Make Up Forever - HD (High Definition)

2011-01-04T13:29:00.004-07:00

RATING
Mom - 5!!

I'm such a girl - I love make up! Several years ago when my complexion decided to go haywire and pregnancies brought out nasty brown spots, I desperately tried every brand I could get my hands on. I was a sales gal dream...in the department store every few weeks trying to find something that would be my answer to coverage. Trust me, I tried them all. Every single, ridiculously expensive brand out there. With each professional telling me how "this would be the one!" It wasn't. I finally settled on mineral make up and proclaimed that I would never, ever wear liquid foundation again. That was until I learned about Make Up Forever HD High Definition Foundation. With my dermatologist getting my Melasma under control now, this make up looks and feels amazing on!! I am in love with this foundation not just because it looks and wears great, but that it truly lasts! My make up looks almost as good at night as it does when I first apply it in the morning. And I truly don't feel like I have foundation on my face.

I hate to admit as to where I learned about this foundation. I don't think much of the Kardashian crazy girls, but I will say they have mastered their make up application. I was reading an article with Kourtney Kardashian and she was asked what type of make up she wore. She raved all about this foundation and said in fact when she goes on shoots, she brings this foundation with her and asks the make up artist to use it. She said that afterwards, most of the people who do her make up tell her they are switching to this brand. The foundation runs around $30 and can be purchased at Sephora. If you are thinking of making a switch, I highly recommend this foundation. I've turned my mom on to it and we both agree that this is a keeper!

Our North Pole Experience 2010

2011-01-03T13:29:00.004-07:00

While the stockings are no longer hung by our chimney and the Christmas season is over, I'd like to remind you that it is never too late to start planning your Christmas memories for 2011! We had the great pleasure of once again returning to the quaint, gorgeous little town of Greer and had a front row seat to seeing our children's delight as they entered Santa's Workshop. There is no better way than to kick off your holiday season by escaping to the cool pines, nestled in the tall beaming forest in a cozy cabin. This year, just as last, our family made some pretty spectacular memories at the North Pole Experience.

Tickets are already on sale for November-December 2011 with many of the dates already at a 25-30% occupancy. I know it's a little hard to plan so far in advance, but the NPX offers 100% refunds if cancelled before October 1st and they have a special layaway plan to spreadout the monthly payments over a few months.

Our family has truly fallen in love with the gorgeous town of Greer and have enjoyed several trips there in the last year. Don't just think that Christmas time is the only time of year to visit. Greer offers so much more to families. Right now, some of the State's best snowing is happening just 10 minutes from Greer. If you or your family are avid skiers, you simply must plan a trip and stay in one of the great cabins through the Historic Molly Butler's Lodge. Molly Buter was voted one of the best places to dine in Arizona. Choose from one of the 40 private cabins that are fully stocked with everything you will need.

And when you've had enough of the blazing triple digit heat in the valley, a simple 4.5 hour drive north east to Greer is exactly what you need. The evenings are cool and the days are perfect! Hiking, fishing, bike riding,horseback riding and relaxing.....it's all waiting in Greer.

You can read about our NPX visit last year here or our fun experience this year here. If you are considering a trip, and have some questions, leave a comment and I'll happily respond.

Toy Story 3 Action Links

2010-11-21T14:36:00.009-07:00

RATINGS
Kids - 4.5

Mom - 4

We recently hosted a Toy Story 3 party at our house and I'd like to share with you our experience with the new set of toys that Mattel has on the market now. The Toy Story 3 Action Links allows you to design the adventures from hit movie! Each set of attachable toy is straight from the the various parts of the movie. Your kiddos can re-enact "The Claw" or watch as Jessie get swept away by'The Conveyer Belt." Action Links™ are different themes of linkable sets that snap simply together to create a one of a kind interactive adventure, straight out of the Toy Story world. The Action Links™ have the same concept of dominoes that with a push of a button triggers the fun chain reaction of events where the beloved characters fly through the air, race across a railroad track and zip line to safety and defend against the evil toys!

This set has five different stunts. You can choose your combination of the Action Links™ to get a different chain reaction every time. Small Toy Story 3 figurines come with each set.

Sunnyside Breakout Retails for $24.99
Evil Dr. Porkchop Attacks Stunt Set Retails for $14.99

Jessie to the Rescue Retails for $14.99

Buzz Saves the Train Retails for $14.99

Action Links Junkyard Escape Retails Retails for$39.99

From the minute I had the entire set assembled and laid out, my kiddos had a ball with the chain reaction type of toy. My children's ages are almost 7 and 5 and half. They are the perfect age for this type of toy as their coordination was perfect for setting the toy back up to start again. I would not recommend this type of toy to a younger age as it can be a little touchy and if you just barely bump one set, it will trigger the entire chain reaction, resulting in starting to set everything up again. This might be frusterating to a little one who isn't quite coordinated to re-set everything up. No joke, this toy kept my children't interest for hours on Saturday and on Sunday they couldn't wait to get downstairs, change up the layout and start again. All of the children we had over had a good time watching the chain reaction of toys and starting it all over again. It was quite funny because parents started really getting into watching the chain reaction and the first time my daughter and I did it, we cheered when it was completed.

I think this is a super fun toy for children, however, I insantly started thinking to myself, where in the world are we going to store all of this stuff. Leaving it out on the living floor is not an option. My thought is I could get a large plastic box with a sealable lid and the kids can just get it out when they want to play with it. But in my mind it's sort of like the Zu Zu Pets contraption. It takes up a lot of ground room and most people don't want it up all the time. Other than that, this is a very well made toy that does exactly as it says it does. If your little one is a huge fan of the Toy Story series (I mean WHO IS NOT!?!?!) this toy will be a hit. It is fun for them to watch their favorite characters come to life.

Along with the Toy Story 3 fun, we made tasty Smores and had Toy Story 3 plates and napkins

And of course we needed some Green Alien juice to go along with the aliens in the movie

La Roche - Posay Anthelios XL with Mexoryl Sunscreen

2010-11-09T08:17:00.006-07:00

Rating
Mom - 5!!!!

There are so many things that I look back and said, "If I knew then, what I knew now, I'd change..." Protecting my face with sunscreen, every single day would be one of those things. I admit, I was a "fake baker" through college. I love being tan and rarely, hardly ever put on sunscreen. I tan naturally and felt I didn't need it. Fast forward 10 years, 2 babies and I ended up with terrible Melasma. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of experiencing Melasma...it's a tough to to get rid of, live with it for the rest of your life - brown spots on your face. Initially brought on by hormones during pregnancy, but also helped along with sun exposure. I live in Arizona...enough said! By my 2nd baby and my lack of listening to the experts to use sunscreen every day, my once clear complexion was riddled with brown spots - all over! Thankfully, I've finally found an AMAZING dermatologist who unlike the last practice could have cared less and let me go on for 6+ years doing nothing about my condition....I have finally almost knocked it and my face looks so much better than it has in the last few years. I'm finally listening to this great professional and wearing sunscreen every day and not just any sunscreen. For my situation, I need serious protection so I can keep the melasma from coming back. My amazing dermatologist highly recommends La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL with Mexoryl 50+. La Roche-Posay is the only brand that offers the filtering Mexoryl component which offers a high protection from UVA and UVB rays. They say the liberal and regular use of this product over the years may help reduce the chance of premature aging of the skin. But most importantly the bad rays of sunlight won't be penetrating my complexion which brings out the dark spots. I have used this sunscreen for nearly 5 months now and I LOVE it. I love the way it goes on and feels on my skin. My makeup applies great over it and it has worked great. I have not broken out from it and it's not a heavy, yucky feeling. The other bonus is that it does not smell like a typical sunscreen which I really like. This product is sold overseas, but there is one website in the states that sells it. West Coast Skin carries it for $25.00. It ships out of their UK pharmacy, but shipping is only $5.00. If you "Like"West Coast Skin on Facebook, they offer deals and specials all the time for ordering. $25.00 may sound a lot for sunscreen, but I was using another brand bought at a facial salon and it was just as expensive and when my derm looked at the ingredients she told me it wasn't protecting my skin enough. And this bottle goes a long way. I bought my first bottle in July and just now in November am starting a new bottle and I used it every day.

I'm at the age now where I need to get serious about protecting my face in terms of aging and all the research I have done points to the face that if you protect your face, you will age much more graceful! I'm on my way with this suncreen!

Frecklebox Site Words

2010-10-24T16:36:00.002-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5
Mom - 5

As I've mentioned before we are in full "Learning How To Read" swing with our Kindergartner. It was just last year that she was along the ride, watching her brother learn to read and she is eagerly, willing, able and ready to learn to read herself now. She's doing a great job and is hungry to learn site words. I can't seem to introduce site words to her fast enough. Her school only introduces one word a week and she seems to be ready for more than that. So we are not holding her back. When I was given the opportunity to review a great, great, great product from Frecklebox I couldn't wait to for it to arrive in my mailbox. Literally looked for it everyday! Frecklebox is one really cool site that has a a wide range of personalized gifts for children. I love their books, chore charts, placemats and lunch boxes, but I just recently learned about a wonderful product that really helps Kindergarteners learn!

Frecklebox Site Word Pads are a wonderful resource that helps introduce children to the basic Kindergarten site words in a fun and educational way. Frecklebox now offers 3 different personalized pads that feature the choice word. There is two lines worth of spacing for the child to practice writing the site word. There is also spacing that allows the child to write, after the example their own name. This is great because while Brooke obviously knows how to write her name, she is still sort of stuck in the preschool of writing it where she will do all caps or mix and max lowercase/uppercase. It's one thing she needs to work on and it's just the added perfect practice that she needs. There is also sentence that the child can trace that uses the site word. A perfect practice to prepare the for first grade writing. Below the sentence, there is a seek and find section where the site words is used throughout the puzzle and the child must circle the the word each time they find it. Lastly, there is also a fun coloring section. After Brooke's daily homework, we also have her work on one page a day and she has really enjoyed the extra learning.

The Frecklebox Site Word Pads are fantastic! Its an incredible added resource in the learning process. The site word pads retail for $24.95. Ordering is easy and delivery is fast. I love this product!

Angelia Ballerina - The Nutcracker Sweet

2010-10-10T19:24:00.004-07:00

RATING
Kids - 4
Mom - 4

Phoenix FINALLY has cooler weather and it's just starting to feel like Fall and we absolutely love it! Fall means one thing......Christmas is just around the corner. I love making the holidays a special time for our family and my kiddos enjoy watching holiday themed shows to put us in the mood. Not only are the old traditional stories fun to watch again and again, but having the opportunity to see new Christmas themed movies is also a treat.

Do you have a pint-sized Prima Ballerina that loves to spin, twirl and plie? Then she will adore the lastest Angelina Ballerina DVD that will leave your ballerina dreaming of candyc anes and Sugar Plum Fairies in this delightful musical movie. Not only is this a sweet story, but the important lesson that sharing with friends is rewarding is great. This Angelina Ballerina is a sweet holiday treat that your daughters will really enjoy

This DVD retails for under $10.00 at Walmart or on Amazon.

Rock N' Learn - Money and Making Change DVD

2010-10-10T19:11:00.003-07:00

RATING

Kids - 5

Mom - 5

One very important lesson both my husband and I hope to instill in our children is the importance of financial sense, saving, investing and also giving. For a couple of years now, we'vebeen working with both of our children on this and they are now old enough to start to really start getting the concept of counting money, the values of each coin, etc. We hope to be ahead of the lesson plans at school so our children have the concept when it's introduced in school. Our Kindergarten daughter still thinks that every coin she is given or finds is a "quarter" and is in for a real shock when I tell her the penny she found in the dryer is not going to get her very far. But recently, we had the opportunity to watch and review Rock N' Learn - Money and Making Change DVD. I've reviewed many of their other DVD's and this one ranks right up there with the others. I love this learning tool and have nothing but great things to say about it. It's a fun and educational way to help children learn about money and making change. Both of our children sit glued to it, singing the catchy songs and most importantly - LEARNING! I know it's working because just recently our son found a dime laying on the ground and he shouted, "Mom, it's a dime - it's worth $.10!" I know this DVD is in fact reinforcing the learning process.

I highly recommend the Rock N' Learn Money and Making Change DVD. I actually recommend their entire product line. They are a great and fun way for children to learn. Every video we have watched has not disappointed!! If you'd like to check out any of the Rock N' Learn DVD's, visit their site and place your order. Receive a 25% discount with the following discount code: JQ7711. The Rock N' Learn DVD's do not disappoint...parents or children!

Rock N Learn - Phonics Volume 1 & Phonics Volume 2

2010-09-19T20:22:00.015-07:00

RATINGS
Kids -5
Mom - 5

We have a Kindergartner and a 1st Grader so we are in full "Learn to Read" mode. Each and every night, we are reading, working with flash cards, letter sounds and practicing spelling and site words. Our 1st Grader is just taking off and doing so well with his reading and spelling. It's been so fun to see him develop over the last year. I love how he can actually read to us now! Our Kindergartener has been along for the ride as we help teach our son to read. She is also pretty competitive and wants to do it too. She is doing phenomenal and already reading and spelling several words. She is eager and ready to learn how to read.

Any and every educational tool that I can get my hands on, that will serve as a great resource to assist us in their learning process I'm thrilled about. About a year ago, I discovered the Rock N' Learn DVD series and I was hooked. I still am! I've reviewed several of their wonderful education DVD's and each and every one serves a wonderful purpose and in my opinion is a great tool to assist in the learning process. Both of our little ones are so eager to watch the Rock N' Learn DVD's and I love knowing that they are both not just being entertained, but actually learning important reading skills. This week we reviewed two of the Rock N' Learn DVD's - Phonics Volume 1 and Phonics Volume 2.

Phonics Volume 1 is for ages 6 and up (although my 5 year old is full engaged and learning from this DVD...never hurts to introduce it early!) It retails for $19.99 and covers the following: short vowels, consonants, blends & digraphs, word families, silent e and read along stories. It is not only entertaining but a great program to assist in the learning process.

Phonics Volument 2 is for ages 6 and up as well and retails for $19.99. Or you can purchase both Phonics Volume 1 & 2 for $34.99. Volume 2 covers long vowels, vowel combinations, syllables, ening sounds, silent consonants and read-along stories.

I cannot tell you how fun it is to watch and listen to both of my kiddos eagerly hollar out the answers or respond to the teachings. The sound of learning is very cool and it's done in such a fun way that the kids really enjoy it.

Rock N Learn is extending a generous discount to KFMA readers. Place your order of any Rock N' Learn products on their website and use code: JQ7711 and receive 25% off. (Continental USA only.)

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter:

Don't just take my word for it...win one for yourself and give it a try! Rock N' Learn has a wide range of wonderful educational topics. Everything from shapes to reading to math, to history to the human boyd. All ages and subjects are covered and it really is a great resource to use to make learning fun! Rock N' Learn has generously offered a giveaway of one DVD or CD! All you have to do is visit the Rock N' Learn and take a look at all of their extensive educational tools. Then come back to the blog and leave a comment as to which Rock N' Learn DVD or CD you would choose and why. (Please leave your email address if your profile is not accessible!)

Extra Entries:
1) Post this giveaway on YOUR blog, making sure to link back to this site. You must leave an extra comment that you have a blog mention and please include the link to your site in the comment section.
2) Follow me on Facebook and leave an extra comment.
3) Follow me on Twitter (link is in the right column) and leave a comment.
*Please note if you already follow me on Facebook or Twitter-leave a comment - that counts!
4) Follow Rock N' Learn on Facebook and leave an extra comment.
5) Make the decision to Follow this Blog and of course leave a comment that you do!

The contest will end Friday, October 1, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. (Arizona time). I will notify the winner by Saturday, October 2nd via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you Rock N' Learn for this incredible giveaway!

Barbie - A Fashion Fairytale DVD

2010-09-12T12:29:00.004-07:00

RATINGS

Mom - 4

Kids - 5

If you have daughters and if those daughters love Barbie...mark your calendar for Tuesday, September 14th as Barbie is glimmering, shimmering and shining in a new DVD - "Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale."

We own many of the Barbie DVD's and this soon-to-be released DVD doesn't disappoint. Barbie takes an unexpected trip to Paris to visit her beloved Aunt and discovers the importance of friendship, family, fun and of course fashion! Watch a sneak peek here!

Of all the Barbie DVD's I've seen, I have to say I think this one is my favorite. My five year old daughter agrees as well. We've watched it 3 times in 3 days! This movie is packed full of beautiful fashion, sparkles, the great underlying message of hard work and determination and that good always prevails over evil. Your little princesses will love it!

Watch for Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale on store shelves on Tuesday, September 14th. It retails for $19.98 and it can be ordered on Amazon as well. I for see a few of the Fashion Fairtyale Barbie themed items under our Christmas tree this year!

City Center of CityNorth Farmers Market

2010-09-07T12:44:00.006-07:00

I love love love love love love love love the Fall! I love pulling out all of our Fall decor, the cooler weather, football, the festivals, events and activities, the start of the holiday season and mostly being able to be OUTSIDE. We've paid our Arizona dues and when October hits we can head outside once again!! I literally jam pack our the calendar in the Fall full of events that we can do as a family and I just learned about a new place to check out that is perfect for families!

CITYCENTER OF CITYNORTH® WELCOMES

LOCAL FAMILIES WITH

FARMERS MARKET AND FALL FESTIVITIES

Related Urban, the mixed-use division of Related Co., announces the creation of a family-friendly Farmers Market to launch this fall at CityCenter of CityNorth. The market will occur the third Sunday of the month on High Street and feature a variety of produce and events to delight attendees of all ages.

The event, which is the only one of its kind in the area, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature a different theme and coordinating activities every month. Each will involve CityNorth retailers and local vendors to entertain attendees with delicious produce and other offerings that include face painting and a “Play Factory” for the children, a pumpkin patch and pony rides, musical entertainment and carolers, restaurant food specials, plant sales and much more. The first three markets are set to launch on October 17, November 21 and December 19 with additional dates to follow.

October 17 – Harvest and Halloween
In October, families can enjoy traditional farmers market products and produce, root beer floats, a plant sale, pumpkin patch and hay bales, train and pony rides, restaurant food specials, wreath sale, free face painting, balloon animals and more.

November 21 – Give Thanks
Along with many of the previous month’s activities including restaurant specials and train and pony rides, the November event features free cookie decorating for the kids and a charitable food drive with the Salvation Army.

December 19 – Winter Holly Days
The December market has even more to offer for attendees. Along with many of the activities from October and November, this month’s event will include an international holiday show, Dickens Carolers and other festive entertainment and a special appearance from Santa himself.
Families interested in learning more about this exciting new Farmer’s Market and other CityNorth events are encouraged to visit CityCenter of City North or become a fan on Facebook.

We have a Winner!

2010-08-28T08:21:00.002-07:00

Thank you all for posting your comments on the North Pole Experience Giveaway! I loved reading your comments on What Christmas means to you. I hope you all have a chance to take part in their truly magical Christmas experience.

And our special winner is....#30 - Ginny!

GINNY SAID...

Christmas is such a special time of year for our family. What a wonderful experience this would be for all.Greer is a beautiful part of our state, especially in the winter. Would truly like to partake in The North Pole Experience and see the joy and spirit of Christmas come alive in the eyes of my grandchildren -the true meaning of Christmas.

Ginny - Congratulations! I will send you an email and you have until Monday to respond and confirm that you in fact want the tickets.

Thank you again all! And a very special Thank you to the North Pole Experience for allowing me to host this terrific giveaway!

Labor Day - Wet 'n' Wild (Arizona)

2010-08-26T19:51:00.005-07:00

We are almost there Phoenicians....October is just around the corner. But we still have a few more weeks of blazing, ridiculous heat. I just learned of a fun family local cool down that you may want to enjoy. Below are the details:

Valley Families Celebrate Labor Day Locally at Spectacular Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix Fireworks and BBQ

Valley residents can save money and beat the summer heat Labor Day weekend by joining Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix. The newly, fantastically renovacted water park, located in North Phoenix, will be open for extended hours from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, September 4 and 5. A delicious BBQ kicks off at 7 p.m., followed by stunning fireworks shows at 9:30 p.m. each evening.

Water park patrons can enjoy the all-you-can-eat BBQ dinner by purchasing meal tickets online. A limited number of meal tickets will also be available for purchase at the park each event day. To enhance savings, families may purchase End of Summer Discount Admission Tickets online for just $19.99 (plus tax). Although Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer, this tremendous savings on general admission will be available for all remaining operating days of the 2010 season including Monday, September 6, when the park is open for additional holiday hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

September 4 and September 5
BBQ Dinner: 7 – 9:00 p.m.
(at the Red Rock Ravine Events Plaza)
Fireworks Display: 9:30 p.m.

4243 W. Pinnacle Peak
Glendale, AZ 85310

CeraVe & Vital C by Image

2010-08-23T12:36:00.009-07:00

I had nearly a nearly perfect facial complexion...until I get pregnant. The hormones sent my skin into a tail spin. I spent many years of a wide variety of products, prescriptions and useless doctors trying to tackel a wide variety of melasma and acne. Then in mid July I found the answers I had been looking for 7 years for! A great friend got me in with her dermatologist and from the minute I met her, she was unlike every doctor in the dermatology practice I had been seeing for the last 9 years. She put a great plan together for me and within 2 weeks I noticed drastic changes and it's only getting better. I return to her next week to do a procedure called Cosmelan that should make things even better than they already are. I can hardly wait! In the meantime, I wanted to share with other Mom's who may be struggling with complexion issues some of the brands she had me start using. There are two prescriptions that I use morning and night that I won't share with you, so if you want dramatic results, you'll have to see a doctor. Or if you too are battling the ugly curse of Melasma (Pregnancy Mask) and want to know the solution that finally worked for me, post a comment and and leave me your email address and I'll let you know. I've had dramatic results with with whole regime. What I do want to share with you is the cleanser and PM moisturizer that I think rock!

CeraVe

Don't fret, you can find this little beauty secret solution at Walgreens, so it won't break your check book. CeraVe is clinically proven to increase skin hydration and is dermatologist recommended. As I've gone through the process to rid my face of dark pigmenation, my skin has been very dry and flaking off, but this PM moisturizer has made all the difference and has left my skin feeling great! As you sleep it replenishes your skin and I wake in the morning feeling like my face is so completely hydrated and soft. This has become a staple in my nightly routine and I've thrown all of my other night creams away! I cannot say enough good about this moisturizer and am planing to try their body lotion soon as I'm sure it produces an equally great result. Again, you can find this at Walgreen and it sells for under $12.00. The bottle is a good size and will last a nice long time.

Vital C by Image

I've been using a daily cleanser by Philosophy for a while and when I met with my new derm she asked me how I felt about it, trying to get a feel if I was up for a switch. I told her I'm up for whatever she thinks is best at tackling my issue. She had a great option. So my morning and nightly routine begin by cleansing with Vital C by Image. Sadly, this great product cannot be found at the local drugstore, but typically in salons, medspa's, doctors offices and facial spa's. I luckily found a nearby salon that carried it and it cost $26.00. A lot more than what I'm use to spending given the fact that I have a ton of cleanser in my cabinet just waiting to be used, but I was on a mission to fix my problem and it definitely packs a punch. I use the Vital C cleanser in the morning with my Clairisonic, going over my face for two minutes. My skin feels fresh and invigorated. And then again at night, just with a washcloth this round. The details on the bottle say this product is to be used for post-surgical and/or people with roseacea, but the Vitamin C component has a wonderful lightening and tightening effect on skin and clearly it's been working great for me.

P.S.

I've been told by more than one professional that every woman over the age of 30 needs to add Retin A to their skin care routine. It helps sluff off the old/drying skin on a regular basis and helps with fine lines and over all beauty of your skin long term. This in and of itself solved my acne issue a few months ago and I will forever keep Retin A in my routine. Just a little tip that you might want to check out and look into.

North Pole Experience Giveaway

2010-08-05T20:56:00.019-07:00

Christmas is still over 4 months away, but no doubt it will be here before we know it. I love the Christmas season and do everything I can to make it a special time for our children. You may have read my review I wrote last December on the North Pole Experience in Greer, Arizona. Since December 2009, I have nearly told everyone I can about the NPX and what a truly amazing experience we had. We had not one disappointment from start to finish with this amazing event. The staff were all friendly and wonderful. The food (both dinner and breakfast) absolutely delicious. Our cabin - so quaint, clean and comfortable. Then there was the actual encounter with Santa and his elves. What child would not absolutely be overjoyed to actually enter into Santa's workshop. Build toys right alongside the elves. Have hot chocolate and fresh cookies near the area where they wrap all the toys. Go to Elf Training School. See where the Elves sleep and where Santa makes his Nice and Naughty List? And then to top it off meet the Jolly old man himself. But the fun doesn't end there. After all of that, you are whisked away back to Molly Butler's Lodge where the kids have story time with Mrs. Claus. It truly is an one of a kind experience that compares to nothing else for children!

Let me briefly explain what I think the general difference is between The North Pole Experience in Greer and the Polar Express Train ride that we have taken part in for two years. I truly feel that the Polar Express is a great experience. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way saying that it’s terrible and you should never ever think of taking your children. Our family loved it. It was a fun family tradition. But having done the NPX now, wow I can tell you, there is a huge difference and the NPX is alternative option and in my opinion, NPX is the superior option.

NPX’s main goal, purpose and passion is to make their experience authentic. Their vision is to give your child the gift of believing they are in Santa’s Workshop. The detail that they have put into the entire experience is amazing. The groups are small and intimate, not a massive crowd everywhere you go. You get one-on-one hands on with the elves. NPX compares to no other. NPX puts a limit on the reservation numbers so they can preserve this special moment for your family. There is no crowd fighting of waiting in line for dinner or to board. It’s an enjoyable, relaxed experience.They have thought of everything from your comfy cabin, to the absolutely delicious dining (I can tell you first hand the meals at Molly Butler’s were amazing…the alternative is like eating in a cafeteria). Truthfully, what would you rather experience…The Polar Express where I think it was recorded they had around 110,000 riders during the Christmas Season or the North Pole Experience where they limit the nightly reservations, making your experience authentic, intimate and family focused. Their focus and goal is to maintain the magic for families and that is a beautiful thing!

The NPX understands that this type of experience needs to be special and memorable and not just for the children, but really for the parents as well. Of course the parents get the great pleasure of experiencing this with their children, but they really have taken it to the next level. When you enter Santa’s Workshop, it is filled with Santa’s Toy Hall of Fame. It was incredible walking into this room and seeing all the glorious toys that I played with as a child. And even my Mother got a kick out of seeing toys she enjoyed as a child. It really takes you down a path of memory lane. Plus Molly Butler’s famous historical Lodge is a great place for the family to hang out before or after you take the Candy Cane Express Train to the Workshop. They have inside and outside fireplaces to sit around where parents can relax while their children are enjoying story time with Mrs. Claus or even sit together as a family around the fireplace roasting smores. I can’t express enough just how different the two options are and how the NPX really made a memory with our family.

We actually loved it so very much that we made plans to return this year. We fell in love with Greer when we were there and just knew that we needed to get one more visit in before, well, before our children started to process of no longer believing. Imagine my surprise when I was contacted by the NPX and was offered to give away, to one of my lucky readers (4) North Pole Experience tickets and Dinner!! If you live in Arizona or nearby or even if you are up for travel time to NE Arizona, it is so incredibly worth it! Greer is like a picture perfect winter wonderland.You will love every single moment of this trip. Once again, you can read my review from last year here. Or if you have any questions about the North Pole Experience, leave me a comment. I'd love to tell you just how wonderful I think it is! I'll remind you, we've done the Polar Express twice and while I think it's a neat experience, it compares nothing to the NPX!

So on to the big, fantastic contest giveaway!

GIVEAWAY

The North Pole Experience has generously offered to one lucky KFMA reader, 4 complimenary tickets to the North Pole Experience in Greer, Arizona. And dinner for 4 at the world famous Molly Butler's Lodge. Please note that accommodations are not provided. One winner will be selected. Please leave your email address if your profile is not accessible.

How to Enter:
Leave a comment...but not just any comment! Tell me what Christmas means to you!

2) Follow me on Facebook and leave an extra comment.

3) Follow me on Twitter (link is in the right column) and leave a comment. *Please note if you already follow me on Facebook or Twitter-leave a comment - that counts!

4) Follow the North Pole Experience on Facebook and leave an extra comment.

5) Make the decision to Follow this Blog and of course leave a comment that you do!

The contest will end Friday, August 27, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. (Arizona time). I will notify the winner by Saturday, August 28th via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you North Pole Experience for this incredible giveaway and giving another family the opportunity to step inside and experience Santa's Workshop!

Lindo - Twist-N-Roll Tweezers

2010-07-26T09:59:00.011-07:00

Rating
Mom - 4

I'm sort of on this mission to rid my body of all unwanted hair. In the last few months, I've waxed, I've lasered and just yesterday I gave Lindo's Twist-N-Roll Tweezers. I've never tried hair threading but have always sort of wanted to give it at try. The Twist-N-Roll Tweezers are like having your own personal hair threading device at home for only $14.99. And I have to say it works pretty good! The Twist-N-Roll Tweezers are recommended for all type of hair, but I have found it works much better on finer hair and should never be used on eyebrows. When I opened the package, the instructions were very straight forward and simple. After a first try, I realized that this little device works better than I ever imagined. Here is a video of how to use it.

HOW TO USE:

1. Bend Lindo twist-n-roll tweezers into an upside down U shape and place the coil firmly against the skin.

2. Twist the handles outward (roll the thumbs in).

3. While twisting the handles the coil should roll upwards against your skin and remove any unwanted hair in the process. Always keep the tweezers bent in the upside down U shape.
To clean: wipe with a dry cloth.To disinfect: spray alcohol on a cloth or paper towel and use it to wipe the coils.

To reduce sensitivity: Place a hot towel on upper lip area for 2 minutes before hair removal. After a few times of usage, your skin will get used to it and you won't need the hot towel any more.

I have to say, the actress in the video must be really good at acting because her face doesn't show an ounce of pain. I wouldn't exactly say that The Twist-N-Roll is unbearable or painful. I think anytime you rip hair out of your body, you are going to have a small amount of discomfort, but I definitey think it's something you can easily get use to, much like tweezing. And it really depends on how much hair is grabbed. I noticed that sometimes I had no discomfort and others I was a bit more uncomfortable. Overall, I think the Lindo Twist-N-Roll works superb for ridding your face of those fine hairs above your lip, near your hairline/ears. I've become a bit obsessed with using it and am on a mission to see just how good of a job it can do. I've never waxed my upper lip but now I'm quite glad to be rid of their fine hair. Thanks Twist-N-Roll!

If you are interstd in giving the Lindo Twist-N-Roll Tweezers a try, you can order it here. Overall, I like this product and I'm glad to have added it to my beauty product drawer and regime.

ERGO Baby Carrier

2010-06-30T07:56:00.004-07:00

When I had my babies, way back in the day (6.5 years) there was really only one body baby carrier. Over the years, I've watched many brands come to market and I have to say I'm a bit sad I never had the opportunity to tote my little ones around in an ERGO Baby Carrier because I can tell life would have been really great if I had one! The one I owned was hard to get the babies in and really pulled on my back. But recently, I was asked to give the ERGO Baby Carrier a try and since there was no way I was fitting my 5 year old in it, I asked a very good friend of mine and author of The Barron Bunch blog, to give it a try. She was beyond excited and happily agreed to write a guest post for me. Introducing Leslie....

I had the great opportunity of reviewing the ERGO baby carrier. I had heard through the grapevine how wonderful these were, but was anxious to see for myself. I loved that the instructions were very simple, condensed, and not an intimidating 50 page book. I quickly had the carrier on and ready for use. My kiddos are 18 months and 4 yrs old and both were excited to get their chance to try it out! I LOVE that this carrier goes to 40 pounds. My daughter loves piggyback rides and we all know how 'tiring' it is after a while. With this carrier, the weight is evenly distributed and makes the piggyback ride effortless. Both my kids seemed comfortable in it. Although, I felt more comfortable with a 2nd set of hands helping me get the kids on my back, I can easily see how after a while of using the carrier, it can be a one man job! I did try my little guy out on the front and he was comfortable and happy. The only position I have yet to figure out is the hip.... I can't quite work that one out. I have used a baby bjorn in the past and feel like this carrier is even more sturdy and easy to use. For the newborns, it has a special hood you can place over to secure the baby and keep them hidden from those ever invading and nosy people that want to touch your baby :o) It can be put in the washing machine which is a great feature when dealing with kids. I highly recomment this carrier to anyone with newborns and infants.....although pricey, it's weight limit is double from most baby carriers.

You can also get an infant insert which is $25 (sale) regular $45 (newborn to 5 months) The carriers are sale priced $105 (regular up to $150) , organic carriers sale priced $135.

Miraculous Push Up Bra & Swimsuit

2010-05-29T13:45:00.013-07:00

RATING

Mom - 5!!!!!!!!!

If you know me, chances are you've heard me complain about my post-nursing chest! My babies sucked everything out of me! Nursing two babies back-t0-back for two years did a number on me. I was always the type of person that never understood why anyone would ever have a breast augmentation. Now I get why!! Over the last few years, I've toyed with the idea of having the surgery done myself, but for more reasons than one, I've held off on having it done. But I've found something that solves my issue! Victoria Secrets just introduced their new Miraculous Push Up Bra. You may have seen the advertisements - "Hello Bombshell!" Their ads say it ads 2 cup sizes and I have to say they are right! I tried out the new bra recently and the result is truly a miracle!!

When I first put it on, I was a little taken back. It had been a long time since my chest was that lifted and I thought it was a little too much! But the more I've worn it, I've gotten use to it. There is a night and day difference between my regular bra and the Victoria's Secret Miraculous bra. The padding is thick, but completely comfortable...more comfortable than my every day bras. It is very well made and comes in a wide variety of colors and even comes in smooth satin or lace. The bra retails between $49.50-54.00 depending on the style you choose. I think the price seems high at first, but if you've priced bras at a department store, I think it's in the range of a typical well made bra. And as I told my husband -- it's either a $50.00 bra or an $8,000 surgery! :-) Think of all the money you'll save!

After wearing the bra, I thought Victoria's Secret NEEDS to make this in a bathing suit and low and behold a week later, I received an email that they were now introducing their Miraculous Swimsuit! I ordered mine in under 5 minutes! It arrived in on Friday and Saturday I gave it a try! The bathing suit comes in 4 colors - Coral, Peacock Blue, Wine (deep purple) and Black. The halter push up bathing suit top is $48.00. The side tie scoop bottom is $34.00. The bathing suit is very comfortable and beside the push up effect, I think it's very modest.

Overall, I think Victoria Secrets has done a great job with this bra. So many of their push up bras in the past have been so incredibly uncomfortable. If you are in need of a little push up help, I highly recommend you give this bra a try! I will be planning to pick up many more color in this style! I'm a big fan!

Snow Leopard Print - $54.00
Print Panty - $12.50

*Such a sassy little set - love it!

Deep Turquoise - $49.50

Party Pink Metallic in Lace - $58.00

Peacock Blue - $82.00 for the set

Me trying out my new bikini. I really like it!

*Please note that I purchased all products listed in this review. In no way did Victoria's Secret provide me with the product in exchange for a review.

Playtex Bra Makeover

2010-05-18T13:21:00.005-07:00

7 out of 10 women walk around daily, wearing the wrong bra size. I'm fairly certain I am one of those women! After nursing two babies - I'm in a sad, sad state in the cleavage department. My once 34 perky full B's are barely an A and I don't fill my bra. My straps are wrong and by the end of the day I can hardly wait to rip off my bra!

Playtex Bra recognizes that women are not receiving enough support or their ill fitting bra is wrecking their outfit and/or causing bruising or digging or shoulder pain are deserving of an update! And they are hoping to do something about that.

Playtex has a contest and has recently launched Playtex Bra Makeover a site where women can go to apply for a bra makeover or nominate a friend. If chosen, the winner will be flown to New York to receive a Bra Makeover with style expert Alison Deyette. Hello-you had me at a FREE TRIP TO NEW YORK! But in all honesty bra expert Deyette is a fashion and expert who has been featured on Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker and TLC's Ten Years Younger, in addition to print publications including Good Housekeeping, The Washington Post, and O Magazine.

I encourage you all to apply for your chance to win a Playtex Bra Makeover today. The last day to apply is Friday, May 21st, 2010. The 10 winners selected for a Bra Makeover will also star in their very own webisode wherein a makeover candidate will receive a fitting with Deyette and walk away with the perfect Playtex products.

By posting this information, I am entered into a contest to win a free bra from Playtex. I did not receive any compensation for this post and thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Smelly Washer

2010-05-14T13:53:00.012-07:00

RATINGS
Mom & even Dad - 5!

I'm kind of embarrased to admit our recent problem but am SOOO glad I found a solution and if you to experience the same problem, I highly recommend you give Smelly Washer a try! I think you'll be very happy that you did!

When we moved into our new home nearly 4 years ago, we bought a new front loading washer and dryer. I love it! But over the last couple of weeks, an awful, foul smell has been coming from our washer. And what was worst, it was making our towels smell terrible. I finally had enough and started researching online what the cause of the smell could be! I learned a lot!

Front loaders evidentally have an issue with developing foul smells from mold. LOVELY! This makes me sick. I couldn't see any mold, but up in the little crevices around the rubber part in the door, sure enough. I about threw up! The one thing I kept reading over and over was there were several products available to help with the issue, but nothing, not one of them work as good as Smelly Washer. Time and time again I read that it fixed the problem immediately. I knew I had to try it! Smelly Washer can be purchased online and retails for $16.99 or can be purchased a variety of stores. 24 treatments are in one bottle. They recommend using a capful every other week - so one bottle will last one year.

The day Smelly Washer arrived in my mailbox, I was like a kid who couldn't wait to open up a present. Upon ripping open the envelope, I walked immediately upstairs and started the very simple process of cleaning our washer. By simply adding 1 level cap to the detergent dispenser and agitatating in a hot setting, the washer/solution cleaned itself!

Smelly Washer:

Removes Washer Odor (it's seriously gross!)
Our Towels smell fantastic again!
It's all Natural (Yah!)
Super easy to use
Does the job!

After a good scrub down to make sure our washer was spotless, I enjoyed the fresh smell! I am looking forward to a weekend of washing everyone's sheets and I know they will come out smelling great because Smelly Washer has fixed our problem! If you are experiencing the same problem or would like to learn more about Smelly Washer, I strongly encourage you to view the video posted below. I highly, highly, highly recommend this problem if you have stinky washing machine issues and if you do not, I encourage you to pick up this product anyway and use it because it works great at keeping your machine clean!

GIVEAWAY
Smelly Wash is offering one lucky reader a chance to win their very own bottle!! This is a great opportunity to give this great product a try. For a chance to win, you must:

1. Leave a Comment on this blog posting.

BONUS ENTRIES
1. If you also become a follower of this blog, I will give you an extra entry! Just make sure you make a mention in the comment section as well!

2. Become a Facebok Fan of Kid Friendly..Mommy Approves and earn an extra entry for this giveaway...just post a comment. Contest will end on Friday, May 21st at 5:00 p.m.. The winner will be notified via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you Smelly Wash for this great giveaway!

Kiddie Kaboose - Taylor Bow

2010-05-04T09:30:00.003-07:00

On April 18, 2010, my sorority sister Katie and her husband Mark lost their beautiful baby girl Taylor Paige tragically. Taylor was 5 months old and was loved by all. All proceeds of the "Taylor' bow will go directly to her family to help during this very difficult time. Kiddie Kaboose (owned by a sorority sister of mine) has created The Taylor Bow in honor of Baby Taylor. All proceeds from the sale of this bow will go directly to her family during this very difficult time in their life. I encourage you to visit Kiddie Kaboose and place an order for the Taylor bow.

Marble Racers

2010-05-01T19:33:00.005-07:00

RATINGS

Kids - 5
Mom - 4

Before our son was even one year old, he loved cars. His car collection has grown to to a ridiculous size and after 6 years he is still a bit obsessed with them. He's obviously all boy! I was recently asked to review a new toy car concept called Marble Racers made by Krazy Kids. I had never heard of this brand, nor had I ever seen them on the store shelves. I always like to find new and exciting toys for my kiddos and I knew my son would enjoy giving them a test run and as soon as I opened the delivery box, I was right. From the minute he built his cars, he hasn't put them down. As I type, he's watching a movie next to me, holding on to two cars. He loves them!

What boy wouldn't love to essentially design their very own race car that lights up with fun, flashing lights that can run on a Hot Wheels track? Marble Racers have six car chassis to choose from:

Catseye
Corfetti
Cyclone
Volcano
Police Chief
Fire Chief

Each car comes with racing decals that your child designs. Once the decals are in place, your little one can shake it up and watch the light up action.

Overall, the concept of allowing the child to design their car is fantastic. Both my son and daughter got a huge kick out of the process and was very proud of the final outcome. After the design process, they had a lot of fun racing their cars and really enjoyed the light up feature on their cars.

You can purchase your Marble Racers at CVS or online for $7.99. Summer is just around the corner and this is a perfect, inexpensive gift to treat that special boy (or girl) for excellent grades or to add to your box of goodies to keep the kiddos entertained this summer. My two sure are big fans of Marble Racers now!

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter:
Marble Racers is generously offering a giveaway of one complete set of 6 Light Up Marble Racers! In order to be entered into this giveaway, you must leave a comment on this blog posting.

BONUS ENTRIES
1. If you also become a follower of this blog, I will give you an extra entry! Just make sure you make a mention in the comment section as well!

2. Become a Facebok Fan of Kid Friendly..Mommy Approves and earn an extra entry for this giveaway...just post a comment.

Contest will end on Friday, May 7th at 5:00 p.m.. The winner will be notified via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you Marble Racers for this great giveaway!

Comeback Student Athlete of the Year

2010-03-22T06:00:00.001-07:00

A friend from High School has a daughter who is up Comebak Student Athlete of the Year and I'm asking for your help in the voting process!

Starting today, Monday, March 22nd through April 9th, please vote for Brooke as the Comeback Student Athlete of the Year. You can vote one time, once a day, so please log on each day to place your vote for Brooke!

Click here to Vote!

Brooke has a remarkable story and deserves this! She is a brave, strong cancer survivor and when she was told that post cancer treatement she could never play football, softball or soccer again, she didn't let cancer stop her love of athletics! Brooke decided the one sport she could play was golf, so she gave it a try. Having never played before, she tried out for her school Golf team and made it! She played 2nd seed most of the season and even qualified for State! Her mom describes her as a bionic woman with a titanium leg and she never lets anything get her down or set her back. She is a hero and an inspiration to many and deserves this! If Brooke wins, she will be awarded scholarship money and on top of that, her golf program at Sunrise Mountain HS will receive $1000! Please, please, please take a moment to Vote for Brooke Alden - it just takes 2 second! And please remember to visit the site each day to place your vote! Thank you!

Simply Spice

2010-03-19T08:16:00.003-07:00

What Mom doesn't get stuck in the dinner planning rut? Mom's are busy and sometimes making dinner is such a struggle! I sometimes find myself making the same ol things time and time again. I get excited when I learn of tasty, simple recipes that are healthy for my family. I was thrilled when a friend from college recently announced she was starting a blog that focused on simple, delicious recipes. I encourage you to check out her blog Simple Spice. Her first recipe sounds absolutely delicious and looks easy to make. I have plans to purchase the ingredients this weekend and it will be on our family dinner table by Sunday night! Thanks Allison - I am really looking forward to learning some great recipes! And my family will thank you too!

Butter Bell Crock

2010-03-18T08:49:00.005-07:00

RATINGS
Mom & even Dad - 5!

This may be a very random review, but as a Mom who loves finding new products that makes life easier, I enjoy sharing what I find with others. I just may be the very last person around who had never heard of The Butter Bell Crock, maybe not. In case I'm not the last person, just recently my Father in Law on a recent visit asked us if we had ever heard of the Butter Bell. We had not.

Here is the description from the Butter Bell's website:

Keeps Butter Soft, Delicious and Spreadable for up to 30 Days Without
Refrigeration…. Guaranteed!

Through the study of traditional and historical butter storage methods and hours of product development, L. Tremain, Inc. has created a line of butter crocks that are a tribute to the original French butter crock or “beurrier”
(pronounced bur-e-ay). Made from durable stoneware or dolomite clays, the Butter Bell® crocks will safely keep butter fresh and spreadable without refrigeration, odors or spoilage. The Butter Bell’s unique design enhances butter’s delicate flavor, while providing a practical and decorative solution for serving and storing butter.

I absolutley cannot stand to spread cold, hard butter on warm toast. So when I learned of this product I was intrigued, but I'll admit sort of grossed out. Leaving your butter, out day and night for days on end? How could that possibly be ok? My Father in Law assured me it worked great and the combination of water and thecontainer keeps the butter fresh. He bought us our Butter Bell the next day and I have to say I love our new kitchen gadget! We have to make sure we keep the water up to the right level each day, but making breakfast and grilled cheeses for lunch is a whole new experience. It's fantastic to have perfectly soft, smooth butter that easily spreads. If you are like me and cannot cold butter that is impossible to spread, I encourage you to look into the Butter Bell. They come in a variety of styles and colors. They can be ordered online or you can do a search for a store in your area that carries them. We found a kitchen store carried them and had the exact color we wanted. I'm a huge fan of the Butter Bell!

Rock N Learn: Human Body

2010-02-21T14:11:00.004-07:00

RATINGS
Kids -4
Mom - 4

I have the opportunity to review a few of the Rock N Learn DVD's and for may Mom's out there, you may have older children in which the early learning DVD's don't apply to your children. I can honestly say, that no matter what age your child is or what extra assistance they need help in, Rock N Learn has a DVD for you.

This afternoon, I reviewed Rock N Learn's Human Body. This DVD is geared for 4th-8th graders, but our 6 year old watched it with me and I used the opportunity to talk to him about the importance of eating healthy and he could grasp many basic functions of the human body. I think this DVD breaks down the many intricate workings of the human body at a perfect level for children. The graphics, descriptions and the characters have a great flow in the educational process and I know this will make a great supportive learning tool in our children's process of learning the human body.

This DVD is the iParenting Award Winner and The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. Rock N Learn is extending a generous discount to KFMA readers. Place your order of any Rock N Learn products on their website and use code: JQ7711 and receive 25% off. (Continental USA only.)

Rock N Learn - Addition & Subtraction Rap

2010-02-20T20:22:00.004-07:00

RATING

Kids - 4

Mom - 4

"Cool Music & Videos for Fun Learning" is the motto of Rock N Learn and their DVD's are just that! I love any type of teaching tool that is eye catching and attention grabbing and I have really found that all of their DVD's are well produced and serve as excellent tools to the lessons our children need.

This week, we had the opportunity to review one of the math Rock N Learn DVD's - Addition & Subtraction Rap. This DVD is recommended for 6 years and up and allows your children to jive to the music along with fun characters as they practice adding and subtracting. Our 6 year old was able to stay up with the problems and on more than 5 occasions, our 4 year old was answering the mathmatical problems - correctly! So I'm a firm believer that starting your little ones off early with these DVD is not a bad idea!

Addition & Subtraction Rap was winner of Parents' Choice Award and Dr. Toy 10 Best Education Products 2009. It features a total of 498 facts and is great for not only home, but in the classroom. There re 16 sections of math problems that go up to + and - up to 18. This is one DVD that I will keep in my children's library, because I think it really helps in the learning process.

Rock N Learn is extending a generous discount to KFMA readers. Place your order of any Rock N Learn products on their website and use code: JQ7711 and receive 25% off. (Continental USA only)

Halo Heaven

2010-02-18T14:41:00.004-07:00

A very good friend of mine (Thanks Leslie!) discovered a website and I'm so glad she shared it with me! Halo Heaven is a dream for any mother with a little girl! And truly, the prices cannot be beat by anyone!

Does the Princess in your life love tutu's, hair accessores, feather boas, angel wings, purses and tiaras? Well then you've got a one stop shopping place that will not break your bank account! I just received my order and I was thrilled with everything I ordered. I will say when I first placed my order, I was very concerned with the quality because the price is so low, but I'm happy to report the merchandise is well worth the low price! Where else will you be able to find cute, decorative tutus for $2.00-$5.00? They have a huge selection of lots of goodies that your little girl will love.

My daughter wants to have a Rock Star birthday party theme and I have found a ton of things on this site that will be perfect for good bags. This site is also great for your gift need! I'm totally impressed and thrilled to have found ths site! Go right now to their site - I know you'll be impresed!!

Rainbow Brite

2010-02-04T09:12:00.008-07:00

RATING
Kids - 4
Mom - 4

As child, I had many favorite toys and children's tv shows and I'm getting such a kick out of some of my past favorites that are coming back around and watching my children enjoy the same love that I did. If you were a little girl growing up in the 80's, Rainbow Brite was most defiitely a favorite of yours! And now as a Mom, you can enjoy sharing the wholesome doll with your own daughter - Rainbow Brite is back!

Starting now, the Rainbow Brite fashion doll collection is available at Target and at Toys R Us. You can share the rainbow fun with your children by going online to view four new Rainbow Brite animated mini episodes. Your daughters will love to join Rainbow Brite, her two friends Moonglow and Tickled Pink and of course their great companions Starlite, Shimmer and Sunriser as they go out on their adventure through Rainbow Land.

GIVEAWAY
But the fun does not stop there! From our friends at MomSelect ad Hallmark, I have the opportunity to share with 6 mom's a Rainbow Brite cd containing games, puzzles, the theme song and more! I will mail a cd to the first 6 people who post a comment about why they are excited to introduce their daughter to Rainbow Brite! Make sure you include your email address so I can contact you.

Groundhog Day Celebration

2010-01-27T20:38:00.007-07:00

We have many fun holidays and celebrations in our country, don't we? We celebrate a rabbit, a flying man with a cupid, good ol' St. Nick and even magical an Irish Leprechaun! But did you know there is a special day set aside for rodents? I bet you did! Of course it is Groundhounds Day! February 2nd is not just my wonderful Father in Laws birthday, but it is also the one day of the year when many gather (up to 40,000 usually!) to see if the cute iconic rodent, Punxsutawney Phil comes out of hiding to tell the world if there will be six more weeks of winter. Groundhogs Day is a day for all rodents – whether mice, chipmunks, or rats – to step up and celebrate. Why not? Phil may be the star of the show on the 2nd of February, but there are in fact many other rodents that we have grown to love.

Why not make Groundhound Day another fun opportunity for families, all around our great country - not just in Pennsylvania! To celebrate the day of rodents, there are in fact many fun, exciting and educational things that families can do together. Here are a few: After watching Phil peek for his shadow, families can tune in to see the world’s most famous rodent - who else but Mickey Mouse, on the Disney Channel. Then of course you can't miss the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray or the great Pixar’s movie Rattatoullie. But don't just sit your day away - get up and play Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel video game. Alvin and his brothers are obviously a fun loving group of rodents to have some fun with!

We had the opportunity to give the wii version of Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel a try and it is a lot of fun. The kids had a great time singing and dancing along with their favorite chipmunks! This great game can be found at all of the gaming retail locations and retails for $39.99. Our kiddos loved it!

Kelly's Kids

2010-01-23T13:07:00.007-07:00

RATING

Mommy - 5!

I need to start this post by saying I have yet to place an order from Kelly's Kids, so I cannot speak for the quality of the clothing, but I sure am impressed with their catalog that I just received.

I love shopping for my children and dressing them in cute, stylish clothes. I have several brands that I adore and most definitely Kelly's Kids has been added to that list. I just received their Spring 2010 catalog in the mail and I am crazy for their clothing. Not only are the outfits amazingly cute for little girls, but the little guy stuff is adorable as well! I love their use of color combinations and their bright fun colors. I swear I want 5 things on each page! The coordination of outfits and accessories is perfect. They come in a variety of styles and sizes for all ages and even have family coordinated pieces. Their swimwear is adorable and many items you can get monogrammed if you'd like.

Down below make sure you peak at their Bow'd Flip Flop. The catalog shows them in a variety of different colored bows - they are SO cute!

While their site is laid out nicely, I don't think they have all of their pieces online as they do in the catalog. I strongly encourage you to order a catalog to see exactly what I'm talking about! If you Facebook, you can become a fan to watch for specials. I cannot wait to place my first order! Let me know if you've ever ordered from Kelly's Kids and how you like them!

This small sampling of their products does not do the line justice....order a catalog and look online. I'm loving it for my kiddos!

Clarisonic

2010-01-12T13:21:00.005-07:00

RATING

Mommy - 5

I have fallen in love with a new gadget! And I must share the news. Thru my teenage and college years, I relatively had no issues with skin problems. Of course there was the occasional breakout, but nothing major. However, pregnancy hormones was a whole other chapter! Baby #1 rocked this Momma's world and I spent most of the 9 months with awful breakouts. Of course I couldn't use many products or medications due to the pregnancy, so I suffered and dealt with the bad skin. THEN I experienced (and am still experiencing to this day) what some call "Pregnancy Mask!" It came on strong at the end of my pregnancy and has lasted 6 years! Nice - huh! You see I nursed for a year and then immediatley got pregnant again and then nursed for another year. Raging hormones must equal lovely permanent dark spots on my face!

Over the last 6 years I've done everything possible to rid my face of them....facials, microderms, light laser treatments (very costly!), all sorts of prescription creams from my derm (that actually caused my complexion to go bonkers), over the counter spa creams that all sorts of aestheticians swear by....nothing has worked all that great and I've resulted to sucking it up and dealing with it until the next best thing is invented to rid me of my horrible brown war wounds!

BUT Santa put a little something under my tree this past Christmas that is helping with my complexion and I must share it with you Mommy's. I'm sure most of you have heard of Clarisonic, but if you haven't it's a fantastic way to clean your skin each night. From the first time I used mine, my face felt invigorated. I seriously felt like I had just had a facial...in my own bathroom! Over the last few weeks, I've really noticed a difference in oil build up and clogged pores. My face feels cleaner and in the trouble t-zone, I'm noticing less build up of black heads.

Is it a pain to have one more bedtime routine? A little bit. It's so much easier to just use the regular ol' wash cloth, but the result is oh so much better and making the effort is proving to be worth it to me.

The Clarisonic does not come cheap. I have the Classic and it costs in the range of $195, but I know for a fact you can get a better deal on QVC's website. I've been using a few of the cleansers that came with it and they are nice and refreshing. If you are having issues with your skin, I recommend you give the Clarisonic a try. I'm loving mine!

MOMMY REVIEWER

The North Pole Experience - Greer, Arizona

2009-12-14T21:06:00.008-07:00

RATING

Kids - 5!!!

Mom - 5!!!

In the month of December, I try to make the magic of the Christmas come alive for our children. I have so many fond memories of my childhood Christmas' and I want the same for my children. When I learned of the inaugural year of a new experience in Greer, Arizona, I was intrigued. We have done the Polar Express in Williams, but after reading online about what the children get to experience in Santa's Workshop at NPX, I was truly impressed.

Nestled approximately 4 hours north of Phoenix, in the breathtaking beautiful mountains of Northern Arizona, near the Sunrise ski area, Greer is officially now home to something I think will be the most popular Christmas experience destination! In the past the hot ticket in town was booking your "other" Christmas experience" a full year in advance, but truthfully, that ticket is nothing compared to what Greer now has to offer.

The North Pole Experience was designed to give children, a never before, behind the scene peak into Santa's workshop. The NPX gives families an experience unlike anything they have ever experienced. If your little ones still believe in the magic of Christmas and Santa Claus, this is a trip you must take.

From start to finish, our experience with NPX and Molly Butler's Lodge was perfection. We have nothing but incredibly great things to say about everything from our lodging, to the meals, and the friendly people. But Santa's Workshop was the icing on the cake. The adventure that the elves take the families on is so much fun. I'm all about making memories for my children and as we were experiencing this together, all I could think of was, this is something that will stick with them for their life. Even as they grow older and they look back at their childhood memories, I know this one will hold a special place. I honestly cannot wait to have a conversation with them when they are adults to hear in their own detail about what this trip meant to them. I know it will be special.

The detail and thought that has gone into the planning is perfect. From the very minute when you walk inside and see all of the toys on display to Santa's mail bags and decorations - it's darling. But when the Elves give the secret knock and let all of the enthusiastic children inside to see the actual workshop, it will blow you away. We walked into a room filled with amazing decor, a raging - wonderful fireplace and a smell like nothing we had ever smelled before. I don't know how quite to describe it but if I could have stayed there all night and just smelled the aroma, I would have! Its exactly as I would have expected Santa's North Pole to smell like!

Here is a snap shot of our trip and what I thought was so fantastic:

At check in you are given a high quality packet, with a personal invite from Santa

A letter from Santa and the details of our lodging and meals. The NPX offers many great packages. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the packages that include the meals at Molly Butler's. I've learned that this lodge is one of the top 25 places to eat in Arizona and everything we ate was delicious. Both of our dinner and breakfast was fantastic. The staff and chefs were incredibly friendly. I hate to keep comparing this experience to the Williams event, but for those of you that have done it, know the food there is nothing to brag about. The NPX actually is!

Back of packet

Not many children are ever allowed in Santa's Worshop and these are the Golden Key's to grant you access! They are Souvenir Admission tickets.

There are many wonderful places to stay in the Greer area, but we had the opportunity to experience a Molly Butler cabin. Check in was a breeze as they had everything awaiting our arrival. We stayed in the Weber Cabin, nestled in the mountains. The driveway had been cleared of snow for our arrival and the cabin was perfect. Completely set up with everything and anything we would need. It was very clean and was an absolutely perfect experience!

We had a lot of beautiful land and views all around us. The privacy was great. The drive to Molly Butler's was about 5 minutes. Having the all inclusive package plan was wonderful. We didn't have to worry about dinner or breakfast plans.

At the lodge ready for dinner.

Trying hard to pick a dessert, they all looked fabulous!

Our Elf Sprinkles and 3 very excited kids. Everyone was incredibly friendly! Even the chefs would walk by and ask the kids if they were excited to meet Santa.

We are finally on our way on the Candy Cane Express!

We sang a few Christmas songs, said the magic words to get through the tunnel to the North Pole, saw many large Elk. It was a great ride!

Sparkle the Elf

One Excited Boy

Hard to see in this photo - but we went right by where the reindeer sleep and there was a red light coming from Rudolph and Dasher's area! All of the kids on board were full of excitement when they saw this!

THE DOOR! The door that they had to do the magic knock that allowed Santa's new Elves into the workshop!

Sprinkles telling them all about what waited for them inside.

After we went through the museum of toys, we were met by one of the head elf's Alabaster who told us all about Santa's favorite word. Can you guess what it is? Enthusiasm! The kids had to have a lot of enthusiasm to help all the elves make toys for Santa's big night!

Santa's personal work station

Cute workshop decor

The work shop with busy elves!

Seriously 11 days? Wow, the big day will be here before we know it!

When we walked into the workshop it was toasty warm thanks to this amazing fireplace. It also smelled like nothing I have ever experienced. Freshly baked cookies, gingerbread, cinnamon and fresh pine trees - it's so hard to describe - it was amazing and just how you would imagine Santa's workshop to smell. Seriously I could have stayed there all night taking in that smell!

The workshop

The kids working hard to build toys with the Elves. All of the toys that the kids make are actually donated. Wow!

The workshop was decorated with perfection! Every detail had been thought out.

This was the wrapping corner and it was darling.

Santa's bakery! The kids loved getting their cookies from here.

After the Teddy Bears were made, the main elf came over to inspect them. The kids loved the idea that they were helping Santa get ready for Christmas.

Dressing his bear

Great job kids!

Gingerbread girl

Hard work of making toys done, time for a yummy cookie and "Snowman Soup" (Hot Chocolate!)

The kids could hardly wait to get his cookies iced and sprinkled!

Enjoying the snack

He did too!

And what should before my wondering eyes should appear....Santa make a quick appearance to tell the kids Hello!

Finishing the yummies

After snack time, it was school time. We went into the Elves classroom to learn how to be a good elf. It was really cute!

The detail that each room had was darling. The old fashion school desks and chairs with the books. We loved looking around noticing all the touches!

Right outside the school room was Santa's desk. He had lots of maps for planning his big night's trip!

And his To Do list too!

After class, it was off to the Elves playroom.

And then meeting the big man himself. I learned after taking this photo that no personal photography was allowed. Whoops! But they took great, quality photos and will be emailing them to us soon. The elf taking the photos was very nice, patient and took several, making sure the photos were good. The cost for photos was $10.00 - if you've been the germy mall Santa you will know that this is a really good price. The process to see Santa was done great. Only one family was allowed in at a time, so you had Santa all to yourself, in a very quiet, quaint and cute atmosphere!

Almost time to head back to Molly Butler's Lodge - Some photos with the Elves

Horrible photo, but as we loaded up to leave on the Candy Cane Express, Santa came out and waved goodbye to us. He threw kisses, etc. The kids loved it! Such a fun touch!

Back at the Lodge, Mrs. Claus was waiting with a warm fireplace going and lots of books for storytime!

This was the most amazing "Night Before Christmas" pop up book.

Mrs. Claus showing the kids the train that Santa gave her.

After story time, the kids got to color pictures for Santa

Good bye hugs for Mrs. Claus

Mrs. Claus was great.

Our beautiful view as we drove to the lodge for breakfast

Delicious food and really great service!

Breakfast time!

Filling up his tummy!

We had a wonderful experience!

Before I finish writing about our experience, I am compelled to share something that we witnessed during our trip. I'm the type of person that when I see someone go over and beyond or if we receive really great service, I always make an effort to call the establishment back and speak to the manager, letting them know about a particular employee or experience. I feel like managers only hear about the negative and the bad occurrences and more often than not these days, I feel customer service lacks in many industries. But what we experienced sitting in Molly Butler's Lodge while we waited for our dinner hour needs to be noted. You, reading this blog, as potential customers of NPX and of Molly Butler's Lodge, you should be aware that excellent customer awaits you.

As we sat near the fireplace in the lobby, unbeknownst to us, one of the owners, Allan Johnson came over and started putting more wood in the fireplace, getting the fire going. We ended up starting a conversation with him and learned that we happen to live in the same neighborhood back in town. He told us that he was on his way out of town, back to his home, when he came across a family of 6 who had lost control of their car about 45 minutes outside of Greer and was stranded. He had a long drive home ahead of him, but took the time to stop, load them all and their 3 large dogs in his car and drive him back to Molly Butler's Lodge. He called them a tow truck, tied the dogs up on the porch, got the dogs water and told the staff to take care of whatever they needed. He was prepping the fire and was just about ready to head back out of town, now in the dark snowy night. But before he could leave, an elderly person traveling with the family had a major medical issue. We saw first hand his compassion for this family as he saw to it that they got what they needed. After everything had settled down for the family, he invited them all into eat and treated them all to dinner. All while chasing down one of their dogs who had gotten loose. A good samaritan, who could have easily kept traveling home to his family, stopped and helped out a family who so tremendously needed help. He again could have left them with someone at the lodge and leave, but he did not. He saw to it that they were well cared for. It resulted in causing him to head home the following day. You do not see this every day in the business world and being a little fly on the wall watching it all play out, we were very impressed with not only how he helped the family, but he did it with true compassion.

Coupled with that type of service and add a little bit of Santa's magic, The North Pole Experience is truly something that you should consider. It will be a wonderful family memory. There are currently many openings for this year and if you at all have the chance to make it to Greer before we ring in 2010, I highly recommend it. If this is something that intrigues you for next December, I have a sneaking suspicion that once the word gets out about how great this experience is for families that they will fill up rather quickly for 2010, so make sure you look into it soon.

On a side note, if you head to Greer for the NPX, make sure you take in other activities in the area. Sunrise is just down the way if you love to ski and we had the most wonderful experience with our first Sleigh Ride. Everywhere you looked it was blanketed with snow and we just so happened to take our ride when it was snowing. It doesn't get much better than that. This trip most definitely got us in the Christmas Spirit. Merry Christmas!

Lovable Labels

2009-12-11T10:52:00.006-07:00

RATING
Mom - 5

As a mom, one of your responsiblities is to keep track of everything and anything your child carries outside of the house. It's a big job somedays! Jackets, sippy cups, toys, lunch box and even shoes! When my children started preschool, I felt like I lost a little bit of control. They were out of my presence for a chunk of the day and I do my best to huddle it all together and make it to the car and pack mule it back into the house for the day, but inevitably, something gets left behind. We've done the whole Sharpi marker on tags and bags and there are two problems with that. 1) Usually on lunch accessories, the dishwasher, it usually wears off over time. Looking faded and pathetic. 2) If you chose to mark up a jacket tag or something similiar, when you donate it or try to consign the item later on, the person now has you child's name on the item. Not so great for the new owner. I recently came across a simple and cute solution to my name branding issue! Lovable Labels comes in a large variety of sizes, shapes, colors and serves a wide purpose! Their slogan says it all: "Don't lose it -label it!"

I'm very impressed with the variety of styles and shapes. But more importantly, the quality is what I truly noticed once I received my order. They are not like your typical sticker. These labels are not going anywhere and will last over time. Instantly, I could think of many uses for them! Here are a few:

Multi-Purpose Labels - are great for sippy cups, school accessories, shoes and even books!

Clothing Labels - They offer two types of labels for your clothing. Press n' Stick Dots and Iron-On Labels, which are perfect for scarves, hats, smaller items that don't typically have a tag to place the label on.

Allergy Alert Labels - They even offer a personalized, allergy warning label, perfect for those children whose diets must be monitored closely.

I could go on and on with all that Lovable Labels has to offer. Now that it's cold and jackets are on and off during the school day, I have labeled up my children's coats and they stay on great! They are also working perfect for lunch boxes, back packs and school water bottles! If you have been looking for a similar solution, I strongly encourage you to visit the Lovable Labels site to see all that they have to offer.

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter:
Lovable Labels is generously offering a giveaway of one Santa Sampler Stocking Stuffer! In order to be entered into this giveaway, all entrants MUST become a Lovable Labels Facebook Fan. Just click here to be added as their Friend.

If you are on Twitter, you can receive a second entry by following Lovable Labels on Twitter too!

To be considered in this contest, after you have become their Facebook Friend and Twitter follower, please post a comment to this blog posting that you have completed those two things.

BONUS - AND if you also become a follower of this blog - I will give you an extra entry! Just make sure you make a mention in the comment section as well!

Contest will end on Thursday, December 17th at Noon. The winner will be notified via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you Lovable Labels for this great giveaway!

The Family Christmas Book

2009-12-07T09:32:00.008-07:00

RATINGS

Kids - 5...Even at their young age, they enjoy looking at the book each year with me - seeing how much they have grown over the years!
Mom - 5!!!

I try my best to preserve as many memories for my children as possible. And like many families, we send out our an annual family Christmas card. For years, I've saved a card from each year, bundled up and shoved into the Christmas decor boxes. But a couple of years ago, a friend let me know of a wonderful way to keep our family cards, in a nice organized way so that years from now, we can look back and take a walk down memory lane as we remember our past celebrations!

Traditions Press prints a book called The Family Christmas Book, which allows you to store 25 years of treasured memories! Each year there is a place for a photo from your Christmas celebration and also an area for you to place the card that you sent that year. There is also a few areas where you can write in notes as to your special Christmas memories from that year, who you spent the holidays with and also a section for you to detal out special highlights from that particular year.

The book is hardbound, a great quality and costs $19.95. You can personalize the book for an extra $4.00, which is $23.95.

I now have 7 years saved and each year, I love getting the book out and seeing how our family has changed throughout the years. I know that this is something that I will look back 15-20 years from now and be so thankful that I took the time to document and store these items!

Disney's Family - Personalized Video Message from Santa

2009-12-02T15:20:00.006-07:00

This time of year is so much fun. I love to see Christmas through the eyes of my children. I try to spend the entire month surprisingly them with a variety of Christmas fun! I just recently learned of a site that automatically generates a personalized video message from Santa complete with your child's photo and name! All you need to do is either register or log in and the process is quick and simple to complete. Within a couple of minutes, a video messages is generated for your children to view. My children got a huge kick out of seeing their photo on Santa's very own computer! And when Santa opens up his NICE book - to see their name clearly listed there, that was some serious fun! The video message is free -so go log in and watch your children's eyes light up!

Art House - Volume 1: Basic Shapes and Animals

2009-10-25T19:28:00.008-07:00

RATINGS
Kids - 4
Mom - 4

Our children absolutely love arts and crafts, coloring, painting, cutting, gluing, etc. In the last year, our son has improved so tremendously in his art skills. I truly think he can color better than I can. He focuses and does such a great job staying in the lines. I love seeing his creations and all the great work that comes home from school. I don't think a day goes by that he doesn't create something at home and he proudly mails them off to friends, Grandparents or runs his works of art down to a neighbor. When I was asked to watch and review a new children's DVD that makes learning to draw easy and fun, I knew we had our two would be perfect reviewers.

Art House Volume I: Basic Shapes and Animals is produced by Art House and is recommended for ages 3 and up. This fun DVD helps teach children the basics of drawing. Starting with the basic shapes of squares, circles, triangles, etc. the DVD shows children the base to all illustrations. Teacher Emily in Volume 1 walks children through the simple process of learning how to draw fish, dogs, monkeys, birds, dinosaurs and more. Through animation and simple step-by-step drawing processs, our children had a wonderful time learning how to free-hand draw some of their favorite animals. I was amazed at how great our children's creations turned out!

If you have a young child who is artistic, you might want to consider buying this DVD to help stimulate their ability and interest. Art House Volume 1 will be available on DVD on November 17th through purchase on the Art House website or through Amazon. Volume 2 and 3 will be released in 2010.

Faces of Urban Kidz - Please Vote!!!

2009-10-23T09:15:00.005-07:00

Both of our children Bradley and Brooke and our good buddy Baby Logan have been selected as Semi-Finalist in the Faces of Urban Kidz contest! Urban Kidz is a great children's boutique in Scottsdale that carries some unqiue clothing lines. They are looking for models or their advertising campaign this year and we are thrilled that our little ones are in the final round! We really need your help! Voting is open from Friday, October 23-Saturday October 31st, so you just have 1 week to get your vote in! Voting is very simple, just click on this link and make the following selection:

Infant Boys - Logan B

Boys 4-7: Bradley Mc

Girls 4-6: Brooke McTo make it easy to find, our 3 are the first photos listed in each of the categories. Why not check out all of the categories and place your vote for some other cuties too! Thank you and feel free to send this information to friends...we need the votes!

*All of the great photos were taken by Heather Dillon Photography

HIT Entertainment: Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express

2009-10-21T13:10:00.007-07:00

RATING
Kids - 4
Mom - 4

Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express
HIT Entertainment and Lionsgate has generously provided another fun DVD to review. My children hopped on board for another Thomas adventure. Just in time for the holidays, Thomas is full of fun in this new-to-DVD episodes and an exclusive holiday toy train. This new DVD will be traveling into stores on November 3rd and will retail for $16.98 and is packed full of timeless tales and important life lessons such as friendship, cooperation, teamwork and discovery.

Join Thomas and all of his friends for a trainload of fun in six episodes:

"Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure"
"Snow Engine"
"Henry's Lucky Day"
"Don't Tell Thomas"
"Thomas, Emily and the Snow Plough"
"Thomas' Frosty Friend"

Special Games: "Sodor Sounds" & "Cargo Challenge"

If your child is a Thomas fan, this is a fun DVD that will keep your preschooler in the fun, holiday season.

HIT Entertainment: Barney, Bob the Builder & Thomas & Friends

2009-10-20T12:58:00.006-07:00

RATING
KIDS - 4.5
Mom - 4

With only 38 days until Black Friday (a true holiday for the serious shoppers!) and just 65 days until Christmas, the holidays are creeping up on us! If you have, know or need to shop for a preschooler, I have three fun suggestions that they may just love!

From the creators of Barney, Thomas & Friends and Bob the Builder - Lionsgate & HIT Entertainment have released just in time for shopping season three new DVD gift sets. Lionsgate provided me with a copy of each to review. The volumes are available for sale now online or at your local Target or Walmart. You can also order through Amazon.com.

Barney Tee-Riffic Holiday Collection My daugther LOVES to sing and this series of DVD's is now some of her favorite with the fun seasonal songs! This 3 DVD collection includes: Winter Wonderland, Can You Sing That Song? and Night Before Christmas - The Movie. Your preschool caroler will enjoy singing along to all the seasonal favorites during this wintery collection. The set retails for $19.98.

Bob the Builder: Building Crew Holiday Collection

Our two children, just had the opportunity to meet Bob the Builder at Legoland 2 days ago and boy was that exciting!! So when they had the chance to sit down and watch this box set, they couldn't wait to see their new buddy! This DVD boxed set includes the following DVD's: Digging for Treasure, Snowed Under the Bobbles and Bob's White Christmas. In this series of holiday-themed volumes, Bob the Builder builds log cabins, rescues a friend from a storm, makes an ice rink and hunts for buried treasure. This 3 disc volume retails for $19.98 and is sure to please your preschooler if they are a Bob fan!

Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection Your preschooler will have the holiday spirit through the latest heartwarming Thomas & Friends holiday collection volume. This volume set of 3 includes: Races, Rescues and Runaways, Thomas and the Toy Workshop and Thomas' Snowy Surprise. Thomas most does not disappoint in this set of DVD's. This volume set retails for $19.98.

Funky Monkey

2009-10-13T09:58:00.006-07:00

RATINGS
Kids - 4
Mom - 4.5

Do your kids love fruit? Do you sometimes need a healthy snack when you are on the go? I am always on the look out for new, tasty, fun snacks that we can have readily available at the house or are easy to go with us to soccer games or on a day of running errands. I just recently learned of a great new, healty snack option. Funky Monkey Snacks just recently provided me with a variety of samples to try. Our family sampled Carnaval Mix, Purple Funk, JiveALime and Bananamon.

The snack is unlike anything I've seen on store shelves. It's unique freeze-drying process that keeps the natural flavors and nutrients but gives the tasty snack a crunchy taste is fun for kids! Funky Monkey is:

-100% Real Fruit
-No Sugar Added
-All Natural
-3 Servings of Fruit in Every Ounce

Flavors include:
Applemon
Bananamon
Carnaval Mix
JiveALime
MangOJ
PinkPineapple
Purple Funk

Funky Monkey can be found at a variety of locations....Super Target, Whole Foods, Kroger and a variety of other locations. You can even order it online. Click here for locations where to find Funky Monkey. If you need to find a way to sneak in some healthy nutrients in a relatively mess-free snack, this is a great way to do it!

Kidorable - GIVEAWAY

2009-10-08T13:30:00.002-07:00

RATING

Kids - 5

Mom - 5

We don't get a whole lot of rain in Arizona, but when we do, my two LOVE to break out their fun umbrellas! They've even enjoyed some rainy day playtime outside in their raincoats, boots and umbrellas. But have you ever noticed how some umbrella's can be sort of dangerous? The closing mechanism can most definitely pinch fingers and cause boo boo's. I remember as a child I was a bit paranoid everytime I closed my umbrella. And as my mom would say, "they just don't make things like they use to." We have gone through several umbrellas because the quality lacks severely! It's so sad when I tell them their beloved Princess or Cars umbrella is broken and must be tossed. However, this week, we learned of a new company that makes adorably cute, quality umbrellas. I had the chance to test out their Lotus umbrella and raincoat from Kidorable. The name of the company says it all! Their entire product line is completely adorable and perfect for kids! I love, love, love Kidorable products!

What I like most about this company's products is the quality. It's well made and I think will last longer than our other umbrella's. I am also much more impressed with the closing mechanism on this umbrella than on what we've had in the past. The variety of styles is also great. They touch on every possible child's interest and are eye catching! Your children will have fun walking in the rain under their umbrellas and in their rain coats in these fun themes!

If you are looking brighten your child's rainy day, you must check out Kidorable! Here are links to their products.

Umbrellas

Rain Coats

Rain Boots

Other Adorable Products

She loves this umbrella!

Just a little big for my gal, but the neck line and arm treatment is so super cute!

A cute little bee and flower on the back.

Sunshiny smile for Kidorable

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter: Kidorable has generously offered a giveaway of one umbrella of the winner's choice! All you have to do is visit the Kidorable website and take a look at all of their completely adorable umbrella's Then come back to the blog and leave a comment as to which Kidorable Umbrella you would choose.(Please leave your email address if your profile is not accessible!)

Extra Entries:
1) Post this giveaway on your blog linking back to this site! You must leave a comment that you mentioned it on your blog.
2) Follow me on Facebook (link in the right column) and leave a comment.
3) Follow me on Twitter (link in the right column) and leave a comment.
4) Follow this blog! **If you do extra entries, be sure to leave comments as to what all you've done! Contest will end on Wednesday, October 14th at Noon. The winner will be notified via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you Kidorable for this great giveaway!

Hair Shots

2009-10-08T10:33:00.006-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5
Mom - 5

Our daughter loves Sweet and Sassy. It's her favorite place to get her haircut and an occasion pedicure! It was at Sweet adn Sassy where we discovered Hairshots. A bottle full of wonderful, perfume quality hair fragrance. Little ones love having their hair special of wonderful, fragrant delight and helps teens eliminate hair odor from athletic activity, etc.

Hairshots come in a variety of fragrances: Coconut Mango, Cotton Candy, Cupcake, Strawberry and Watermelon. We own and frequently use Strawberry and have had the great opportunity to test out Cupcake. My daughter giggles in delight when she gets a shot of Hairshots on her hair and it truly is delightful! On a complete side note - it also works great on stinky dogs! ;-) We have one stinky Scottish Terrier and there are some days that I cannot stand it, so he sometimes gets a shot and runs around the house smelling like delightful strawberries! Now if only they could come up with a line for boys! I have a feeling we are going to need it in the coming years!

Check here to see where you can purchase Hairshots. Or you can place an order online. Both Brooke and I really like this product! She cannot wait to purchase more fragrances to try out from the collection.

Woobie Wear

2009-10-05T11:04:00.006-07:00

RATING:

Kids - 4.5
Mom- 5

I love dolling my doll with accessories and when I came across Woobie Wear I just knew she needed one! There is nothing more sweet and feminine than a flower in your hair and Woobie Wear has a great selection of little girls hair accessories in their collection. What I love most about this product line is that you get 3 completely different looks. One beautiful flower, goes a long way! The flower is a barrett, so it clips on easily to the beautiful crochet hat or the headband.

Sweet and Sassy attached to a Hat:

Spunky on a Headband:

Beautiful pinned up in the Hair:

The great thing about this line is you can design your own look! The possibilities are endless! You can order Woobie Wear online or shop at a variety of retail locations. If you are looking for a great gift idea or you need to add to your daughter's accessory collection -this is a great option!

HIT Entertainment: Frosty Friends

2009-09-29T20:48:00.004-07:00

Fall flys fast, so it's never to early to start thinking about your children's favorite holiday stories and friends!

On October 6th, Frosty Friends will flurry onto the shelves with a great collection of Wintery Tales. Join Barney, Bob the Builder, Pingu, Thomas & Friends and Kipper as they frolick in the snow. Barney will teach the true meaning of Christmas. Bob will build a snowman and have fun watchin Kipper go sledding. Thomas whistles down the tracks and silly Pingu plays tricks on his friends.

Frosty Friends include:
Thomas & Friends - "Percy's New Whistle"
Barney - "Gift of the Dinos"
Bob the Builder - "Snowman Scoop"
Pingu - "Pingu and the Hose"
Kipper - "The Big Freeze"
There is a bonus episode of Fifi and the Flowertots.

My children really enjoyed the variety of stories and their favorite characters in this composition. This DVD runs approximately 50 minutes and is for 2-5 year olds. Frosty Friends retails for $14.98.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters by General Mills

2009-09-29T20:29:00.008-07:00

RATING
Kids - 4
Mom - 4

I love finding natural, healthy snacks that my children love and today we added a new one to our pantry. General Mills has just released the new Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters. Nut Clusters is 100% natural, wholesome and a delicious snack that is great anytime of the day. The convenient, resealable packaging even makes it easy to throw it in your bag or car and go. Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are bite sized and include nuts, granola and honey. The perfect combination of salty and sweet! This item can be found in the snack bar aisle in your local grocery store and coming four flavors: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew and Honey Roasted Peanut.

This mom thinks this snack is a must try for your family!

Rada Pro - Nail Station

2009-09-18T13:35:00.008-07:00

RATING-
Kids - 4.5
Mom - 4.5

I religiously get a pedicure every few weeks. Its one of those things I just can't do without! But I don't always splurge on very many manicures. And sadly, I don't have all that much time to focus on my nails in my everyday life. I've gone to just keeping a clear polish on them usually because I cannot stand the look of chipped nail polish. But caring for 2 very busy kids, working, keeping the house clean, etc. my nails are the least of my worries. For nights now I keeping hoping to fit in a home-manicure, but something else always take precedent. This week, in my mailbox arrived a Rada Pro Nail Station and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was desperate! I was long overdue and I could not wait to give the Rada Pro Nail Station a try!

When I sit down to do my nails, it's a bit of a process. I usually do them while sitting in front of the television downstairs and I keep all of my manicure supplies upstairs in the bathroom. I lug all of it down and then before bed, lug it all back upstairs. I usually find a hard book and an old magazine to paint my nails on and wallllah my make shift manicuring system is in place. Pathetic, I know and it's not perfect, but the Rada Pro Nail Station is fantastic! I'm beyond thrilled it is now in my life!!! Not only is a great tool to use when doing your own nails, but my daughter is as equally as excited as I am for it. She loves to go to the salon and get her nails done and with the Rada Pro Nail Station, she feels like Mommy is giving her that same pampering!! The tilting platform is perfect to doing someone else's nails or toes. This system is wonderful for painting your own toes as well.

Radapro Nail Station includes hand/foot support stand, polish holder, accessory tray, pump bottle for polish remover and washable 100% cotton slip covers (2). I LOVE the pump bottle. I don't have to worry about getting nail polish remover all over the place or the bottle spilling on the carpet or furniture. I feel like a real professional with the easy pumping mechanism in the bottle! It's very convenient and holds the bottle perfecting without any risk of it falling over and spilling! The hand/foot support cover is a great size for painting time and is washable.

And the entire station serves as great storage. It all sort of folds in and I can keep everything together and when it's manicure time for myself or my daughter I can just grab the entire thing. No more hunting and pecking around, making sure I get everything out of the drawer. I can't tell you how many times I've had to go back upstairs for something I've forgotten. It's great. I highly recommend this system if you do your own nails frequently and have been looking for the perfect all in one station. It retails for $24.99 and can be ordered online. This company has plans to release a Ergonomic Pedicure File soon and that too looks like a great tool too!

The Strawberry Shortcake Movie: Sky's the Limit

2009-09-17T10:06:00.012-07:00

RATING
Kids - 4
Mom - 4

The Strawberry Shortcake Movie: Sky's the Limit
Available now in stores
$19.98
72 minutes in length

I grew up on Strawberry Shortcake. I loved playing with the dolls and I loved how good they smelled! My daughter is just like her Mommy. She adores playing with her Strawberry Shortcake dolls and really enjoys watching the same shows I do. But you may have heard. Sweet little Strawberry has recently gotten a makeover. Strawberry Shortcake has a brand new look in this all new CGI feature-length movie. Through Century Fox Home Entertainment and American Greetings Corporation, Strawberry and her fun friends are girls that share a positive can do attitude to overcome obstacles. A great lessons that all little girls should have!

Synopsis
A storm leaves Berry Bitty City with a gigantic problem. Strawberry Shortcake and her berry good friends have to move their entire town unless they find a way to safely remove a large boulder that threatens everything they love. The storyteller Mr. Longface Caterpillar believes he has an easy solution. Strawberry reluctantly agrees to follow him in an adventure-filled journey in search of his fabled Geyser Stone. When that journey ends in failure, Strawberry loses faith in herself. Can her friends restore her "Sky's the Limit" attitude to help lead them to save the town? Together they can fix the problem!

The DVD includes a bonus extras of a brand new music video “Café Cabaret Sing-A-Long” featuring the spunky Strawberry Shortcake and her berry special friends and printable coloring pages.

If you have a little girl, she will love this cute movie. It's now one of my daughter's favorite and the CGI is wonderful clarity.

Rock 'N Learn - Letter Sounds & Telling Time DVD's

2009-09-03T10:03:00.009-07:00

RATINGS
Kids - 5

Mom - 5

School is in full swing and our son is working hard to learn how to read. And Mom and Dad are doing all that we can to help facilitate the learning process. I have reviewed the Rock 'N Learn DVD's before and I must say both of my children ask on a regular basis to watch these learning DVD's. I'm always thrilled to put them in for viewing because not only is it fun entertainment for them, but the are learning!! I recently had the opportunity to review two more of the Rock 'N Learn DVD's and I must say I'm equally as impressed.

Letter Sounds
Length of Run: 55 Minutes
Ages: 4-7 Years
DVD Price: $19.99

Awards:
•National Parenting Publications Honor
•Parent's Guide to Children's Media
•Dr. Toy 10 Best Video Products

Content:
• The New Alphabet Song

• Learn the Sounds

• Letter Sounds Quiz

• Name That Letter!

• Reading Words

• Words With Consonant Combinations

• Memory Words

• Reading Sentences

• New Alphabet Song Review

Combining fun music and great games help your child along the path of learning how to read Letter Sounds. In this DVD, the content covers the most common sound that each letter makes. Toward the end of the program, students are combining letters to read words and even simple sentences. When I put the DVD in with our children, my son was glued to the screen, sounding out the letters and playing the learning games right along with the announcer. Letter Sounds kept his full attention. This is a great aid and resource to help your child learn how to read.

Telling Time

Length of Run: 46 Minutes
Ages: 6 & Up Years
DVD Price: $19.99

Awards:
• Parents' Choice Award
• Parent's Guide to Children's Media

Content
• Learning Time Today

• Parts of an Analog Clock

• Telling Time to the Hour

• AM and PM

• Telling Time to the Half Hour

• Telling Time to the Quarter Hour

• Practice Counting By Fives

• Telling Time to Five Minutes

• Review and Practice

• Telling Time to the Exact Minute

• Digital Clocks

• Bonus: Calendars, Days of the Week, Months of the Year

Telling Time takes children on an adventure to learn how to tell time. Timothy Time is most definitely a clock that rocks and he will keep your child entertained, all while learning at the same time. In this day of technology, I think learning to tell time is more of a challenge, but an important one to instill. This DVD is a great solution for teachng your young child the basics of how to tell time. Our son is almost 6 years old and he is the perfect age to start this process. Our daughter who is just 4, sort of lost interest, but I think she's a little too young, but we'll stay on it because I think it's a great resource to time learning process. Great video!

Zhu Zhu Pets

2009-08-31T19:53:00.008-07:00

RATING

Kids - 5!!!!
Moms - 5!

A few months ago, my children started seeing Go Go Pets advertisements on the television. They would stop whatever they were doing and become mesmorized by the toy on the screen and as soon as the ad was over, they would both start begging me to buy them! Recently, we had the great opportunity to host several friends and give the recently renamed Zhu Zhu Pets a try! I must say this mom is very impressed!

Hamster Roll Call
There are four different Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters. Each hamster has its own unique personality and fun sounds: Mr. Squiggles (Tan) / Num Nums (Gray) / Chunk (White) / Pipsqueak (Yellow)

The have 4 different modes:
Loving Mode: Pet them, love them, hear them squeak and chatter
Explore Mode: Let them scoot, scamper, bump & boogie across the floor or through their Hamster Habitat
Off: I strongly encourage you to have your children to turn off their hamsters and put them up and away from dogs. I can imagine certain family pets might want to do harm to these cute little guys when no one is looking!

Right out-of-the-box you can hear it "chatter" and make its own silly noises when you press its nose...If your Hamster is already "exploring" and running around, when it bumps it's nose it will make a startled noise, and back-up out of the way, and then run off to explore some more! All of the kids loved the sounds the hamsters make! There is quite a variety.

When you want to cuddle with or "reward" your hamster, pet it on the head (right behind the ears... they like that a lot) Your hamster will chirp and purr and coo contentedly. These little furballs love it when you pet them... and they'll keep "talking" until they get bored and go to sleep.

To let your hamster know it's OK to run around and explore its environment, press it on its back and watch them go! Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters love to run around and explore. If you want to calm them down, you can pat it on the head button to cuddle (and it will stop running) or you can press it on its back and you will hear your Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster yawn and then go to sleep

Zhu Zhu Pets Accessories

Hamster Funhouse

The hamsters will move in and out of the Funhouse through the designated tunnels. It is neat to watch as they know how to reverse and go right through the tunnels opening.

Hamster Wheel

This is one cute part of the toy! My children as well as the other 9 kids testing out the Pets were so impressed how their Zhu Zhu Pets would head down the tunnel and get himself in the wheel. The hamster walks in the wheel for a few seconds, stops and then knows exactly how to get itself out of the wheel and proceed back down the tunnel. This is a must if you get the add on's!

Hamster Car/Garage

This is another add on that is a lot of fun! There is a tunnel that leads to the garage. In the garage, there is a Zhu Zhu car waiting for the hamsters. The Pet drives right into the car and out the garage door. This was a huge hit with the kids, as well as the Mom's. I will say though, that after I put together the garage portion of the toy. The top and doors of the garage does not stay on very well! That was a little disappointing but of this entire toy set, this was the only piece that didn't snap together all that well and was the only section that kept falling a part. I finally gave up. I hope the manufacturer works to fix this problem area out because it's a super cute part of the toy.

Hamster Spiral Slide

What child doesn't love a good spiral slide? And hamsters love them too of course! All of the kids had a great time watching their Zhu Zhu Pets slide down the spiral slide. Once the pieces are put together, the entire slide stays together nice and tight. I was impressed that this didn't fall a part at all! It is made solid!

Hamster Adventure Ball

I didn't get a chance to review the Adventure Ball. I received the box, but inside was an extra sleep dome. But it looked like it worked much like a real life hamster ball. When this product hits the market, I will most definitely pick this piece up because it looks like a lot of fun.

Hamster Surfboard/Hut

Watch as your Pets surf across your floor in this fancy pet sized surfboard! We just snapped the pets in place and we watched the go!

Hamster Skateboard/U-Turn

Just like the surfboard, the Skateboard with the U-Turn ramps were a lot of fun!

Sleepdome

When it's nighty night time for your Pet, he will head to his sleep dome and turn off for a little siesta! But have no fear, if your kids are still in the mood, he wakes right up for more fun!

Instructions/Installation/Assembly
I first must stress the importance of reading the directions! I am a self-proclaimed non-direction reader and I learned the hardway. These little hamsters move and as I was leaning over putting together one of the tracks, with the help of my daughter, one of the little hamsters moved right up my back and into my hair. Rather quickly I learned that they keep moving even if there is a lot of hair getting tightly wound up. When you unwrap your Zhu Zhu Pet, please learn how to turn it off, because that took us a few minutes! But after a lesson from my son, we were able to get the hamster turned off and my husband had to spend a few minutes unwinding my hair. He eventually had to cut a small amout off, but had I READ the directions, I would have known to be careful around hair and would have instructed my daughter to keep the pets away from her hair and other people's hair. Lesson learned! Don't be like me and make sure you read the instructions!

After my own little mishap, the installation was rather easy. Once we figured out how to snap the coordinating U-shape pieces in, the assembly was a snap. If I can figure out how to install it, you know it's easy because as I mentioned earlier, I don't like to read directions! The hamsters are ready to roll the minute they come out of the box! This is a nice treat. I can't tell you how often I open up a box after a birthday or Christmas and don't have the right batteries or enough! Thank you Zhu Zhu Pets for including batteries! Each hamster takes 3 AAA batteries for future replacements.

On the Zhu Zhu Pets Blog there are several fun games for your children to play. If they love their Zhu Zhu pets, they'll love the interactive games online!

Overall, this is one very cool toy that will give your children many hours of fun! The kids had fun watching their hamsters move all over the place and all of the mom's were pretty amazed at just how smart these little guys are! They know how to back up and position themselves perfectly! They are really cute and so much better than the alternative as a real life, stinky hamster! ;-) Every child that attended the party loved Zhu Zhu Pets and many moms wee so impressed they were making big plans to pick up the various Zhu Zhu accessories because their children had so much fun playing! Zhu Zhu pets will be available for sale on September 1st at Toys R Us, Walmart and Amazon.

Starfall

2009-08-31T14:36:00.004-07:00

RATING
Kids - 4.5

Mom 4.5

Have you heard of Starfall? If your group of friends is anything like mine, the word has already traveled amoung you all, but in the case that you have not heard about this educational site, you must go visit it! This site is perfect for Preschoolers and Kindergartners who are learning letter sounds and how to read. My son loves playing on the site and I love that he's having fun while learning! The holiday section of interactive learning fun is also great. This is a great, free alternative to expensive computer software learning programs.

Their website says:

Teachers around the world use Starfall.com and Starfall high-quality
educational products as an inexpensive way to make the classroom more fun and inspire a love of reading and writing. Parents use Starfall to prepare their children for school, and to support them once they are there. Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children. Primarily designed for first grade, Starfall is also useful for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and second grade. Starfall is perfect for home schooling. Be sure to visit The Starfall Store for low-cost writing journals and books that parallel this website.

HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate Presents- Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails The Movie & Barney:Jungle Friends

2009-08-27T10:21:00.009-07:00

In September, HIT Entertainment will release two all-new DVD movies! Here is a sneak peek before they hit the stores.

Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails The Movie

In the biggest Thomas & Friends event of the year, Hero of the Rails is an all-new movie that will be in stores on September 8, 2009. If your children are Thomas fanatics, this is a must! This movie features new friends, new destinations and new fun voices when Thomas and his friends embark on their greatest adventure yet! See and hear Thomas, Percy, James, Gordon and all the great other engines as never before in this new CGI-animated movie. This DVD marks the debut of individual character voices for the engines! In this action-packed adventure, friendship, determination and teamwork will prevail as Thomas discovers an abandoned and broken down engine in a far away land. The engine pals will work together to help their new friend!

DVD Special Features

Thomas & Spencer Racing Game
Guess Which Train Game
Thomas & Friends Bedroom Makeover

This movie is perfect for children ages 2-5 and runs approximately 60 minutes. Watch for the release in stores on September 8th. This DVD will retail for $19.98.

Barney: Jungle Friends
Barney has done it again! It's a jungle of fun learning with Barney and his friends in an all-new DVD movie being released on September 15, 2009. In this DVD and Music CD set, come along with Barney and his buddies for rainforest discoveries and fun animal adventures. Through Barney's sharing, caring, dancing, imagining and learning - your children can grab their safari hat and get ready for a musical jungle adventure. You will learn about amazing plants, animals and insects that live in the rainforest. Play with monkeys, collect butterflies and search for the Higgledy Piggledy Pear tree! My two children loved this DVD and had a lot of fun watching it and singing along to the Barney tunes.

DVD Special Features

Barney's Animated Safari Match Game
Earth-Friendy Fun Activities: Let's Make Animal Puppets & Grow Your Own Garden

This DVD runs approximately 50 minutes and is recommended for children ages 2-5. Watch for it to hit stores on September 15th and will retail for $16.98

Rand McNally Boredom Breaker Car Games

2009-08-19T13:28:00.016-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5
Mom - 5

"Are we there yet?" That is one phrase my husband and I never want to hear again. Afer 1o minutes into our road trip, with still a full 1 and half to go, it made us a little nutty this past June. If you have a long road trip with young children, you know what I mean! The car DVD player, snacks and music only lasts for so long! I must say our children are very good little travelers, but they have their moments. The question I have is: Where were these great car games back in June?!?!? I know where they will be NOW and for all future roadtrips! If you are planning any upcoming trips in the car or even if plan to spend a day running errands around town with your little ones, you must look into Rand McNally's Boredom Breaker car games. I recently had the opportunity to test three of their products and I must say, I'm equally impressed with each one of them. And our children had a great time with each one! They both now ask for the fun car games! These products will keep both you and your children happy and truly entertained,which helps turn car time into family time!

Boredom Breakers: Story Starters
You can now have storytime in the car! Engage all passengers in telling stories! The Rand McNally's Story Starters offer a different style of audio enteratinment with 72 minutes of funny stories, mysteries and games. Story Starters is an interactive CD that combines the classic radio-style drama and audio effects to engage families in telling stories together. The stories are hilarious and contain sound effects and music and will entertain both children and parents! Retails for $14.99. This game is perfect for ages 3 and up.

Boredom Breakers: Car Karaoke

I've never done Karaoke. Not sure if I ever will in my lifetime, maybe, but until then, I'm not afraid to rock out in the car with my kiddos. We do it quite often and I must say the Boredom Breakers- Car Karaoke is a fun way that this Mom can sing lead and have my kids join me as my back-up vocals. The CD's contain 12 classic rock, pop, and kid favorite songs and includes everything to rock out together in the car. From an inflatable microphone, rating cards, and three lyric books, we are our very own rock band cruising the streets.

12 Road Trip Tunes to see along with:
I'm a Believer
Twist and Shout
Stand By Me
RESPECT
Take Me Home Country Roads
Build Me Up Buttercup
America the Beatiful
Ants Go Marching
Camptown Races
She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain
Yankee Doodle
I've Been Working on the Railroad

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in the car before! This is one great game to kill time and enjoy riding in a car together! Our children absolutley loved singing into the inflatable microphone and really enjoyed getting to rank each others vocal ability! Boredom Breakers - Car Karaoke retails for $14.99. This game is recommended ages 3 and up.

Boredom Breakers: Travel Card Games

Turn the DVD player off and get everyone talking! Unlike most card games, Travel Card Games does not require a flat surface and are perfect for any road trip and all ages. The game set includes three decks of cards with the following games:

Deck #1: 30 Second Interview features rapid fire questions to get families talking and learning about each other. (30 cards)

Deck #2: I Saw it First includes pictures you might see out the window on a trip, and the twist is they have point values. The rarer the item, the more points it is worth. Keep a tally to see who the lucky winner is! (30 cards)

Deck #3: Tough Choice is the game that gets kids and grown ups thinking, reasoning and laughing TOGETHER. Each card has a “Tough Choice” question to ponder and explain. (30 cards) For example:

Boredom Breakers: Travel Card Games retails for $9.99 and is recommended for ages 5 to 105!

HIT Entertainment: Barney, Trick or Treat Tales, Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horros

2009-08-18T13:25:00.012-07:00

Halloween is just around the corner and HIT Entertainment is gearing up to entertain your little ones with some spook-tacular fun!

Only on DVD, HIT Entertainment will release a new Barney DVD on September 1st. In Barney - Halloween Party, this holiday themed, never seen before on TV is filled with jack-o-laterns, the colors of fall and Barney and friends putting the finishing touches on their costumes as they get ready for some trick-or-treating fun. Once night falls and the party and candy seeking begins, BJ comes up empty-handed, but quickly learns that the best treats of Halloween are good friends when everyone shares all of their goodies with BJ! A great lesson in sharing lesson is a great theme of this new DVD. This DVD runs approximately 51 minutes and is for 1-5 year olds. Barney: Halloween Party retails for $14.98.

Ghouls and boys get ready for a not-so-spooky tale of adventures! Your children's favorite preschool pals Thoma & Friends, Barney, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, Fifi and Flowertots and Fireman Sam will lead your litlte ones through friendship and learning fun in HIT Favorites: Trick or Treat Tales. This Halloween-themed DVD will hit the stores on September 1st.

Synopsis:
Thomas & Friends start off in a ghostly adventure in "Flour Power!"
Angelina Ballerina sneaks into a fun costume ball in "The Costume Ball."
Bob the Builder and Spud set out to protect a giant pumpkin pie from very hungry crows in "Trix's Pumpkin Pie."
Barney and Fifi learn there is more to a costume than just dressing up in "Guess Who?"
And in true Fireman Sam fashion, he saves a furry friend from a truly chilling experience "Cat Magic."

This DVD will retail for $14.98 and runs approximately 58 minutes. The recommended age is for 1-5 year olds.

From the Academy Award Winning Creators of Wallace & Gromit, arriving on store shelves on Sepember 1st, Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors will surely delight your preschooler! Currently, 5-minute shorts run in the U.S. on the Disney Channel, but fans can only find full length episodes on DVDs. Tiptoe along with Shaun the Sheep and his flock as they sneak around in this kooky and spooky episodes. This International hit and the winner of the Emmy Award for Children and Young People, Shaun the Sheep is sure to delight. The DVD features two games and six episodes:

Little Sheep of Horrors
Abracadabra
Things That Go Bump
Heavy Metal Shaun
Troublesome Tractor
Sheepwalking

This DVD will retail for $14.98 and runs approximately 40 minutes. Fans of all ages from 2-60 years!

I See Me! Personalized Children's Gifts -GIVEAWAY

2009-08-17T11:37:00.014-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5
Mom - 5

My children LOVE books and I really enjoy sitting down with them and having that special reading time with them each day. All too soon, our little Kindergartner will be reading to me and I can't wait for the day, but until then, I really enjoy taking their little minds on new adventures. Both of our children get a huge kick out of personalized gifts. Just recently, I had the great opportunity to review the book "My Very Own Fairy Tale" personalized storybook by I See Me! This great story allows for your child's first and last name to be made a part of the story. A custom dedication can even be printed in the front of the book. Through the use of beautiful fairies, the I See Me story shows your child just how unique and special she is. The illustration is beautiful with fairies on each page, spelling each letter of the name. Each letter describes character traits associated with that letter. The books is hardcover and is award-winning and honestly make a very special gift for any little girl!

I was very impressed with this story. It is a high-end hard bound book, has a wonderful story message and is beautifully done. It's now officially one of my daughter's favorite books ! She absolutely loves that not only is her first name spells out but her last name as well. She is 4 years old and is able to recognize, spell and write her first name really well, but she is still working on her last name. I feel that this book will help her associate the letters in her last name and she will easily learn how to spell her last name through the reading of this book. Not only is it a great story to read, but can help to reinforce learning the spelling of their full name.

My Very Own Fairy Tale retails for $29.95. But the great gifts don't just stop there! I See Me carries a whole line of great personalized gifts including other stories, floor puzzles, canvas wall art, and plate sets. If you are looking for a truly unique, inspiring gift for that special little person in your life, I encourage you to check out the I See Me website. Their products are high quality and are very unique!

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter:
I See Me has generously offered a giveaway of one personalized book to one lucky reader. All you have to do is visit the I See Me website and take a look at all of their personalized gift options. Then come back to the blog and leave a comment as to which book you would choose.(Please leave your email address if your profile is not accessible!)

Extra Entries:
1) Post this giveaway on your blog linking back to this site! You must leave a comment that you mentioned it on your blog.
2) Follow me on Facebook (link in the right column) and leave a comment.
3) Follow me on Twitter (link in the right column) and leave a comment.
4) Follow this blog!

**If you do extra entries, be sure to leave comments as to what all you've done! Contest will end on Tuesday, August 25th. The winner will be notified via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you I See Me for this great giveaway!

Rock 'N Learn - Getting Ready for Kindergarten DVD & Phonics DVD - GIVEAWAY

2009-08-13T12:23:00.015-07:00

RATING
Kids - 4.5
Mom - 5

In honor of back to school time, I had the pleasure of reviewing two learning DVD's from Rock 'N Learn. So many people will say that children should not watch television. While I whole heartedly agree that children should not be sat in front of the TV all day as a form of entertainment/childcare, I do think that children benefit greatly from appropriate television shows and DVD's that enforce learning. Children love to learn in fun ways and animation is a great tool to assist children with important basic learning. Rock 'N Learn has quite an impressive extensive library of music and videos that all enforce fun learning.

Getting Ready for Kindergarten
Length of Run: 45 Minutes
Ages: 3-5 Years
DVD Price: $19.99
Awards: Parents' Choice Award & Dr. Toy 10 Best Video Products
Content: Getting Ready for Kindergarten includes:• Getting Dressed• Tying My Shoes• Making My Bed• Cleaning My Room• Breakfast Time• Using the Rest Room• Drawing Myself• Story Time• The Letter Song• Writing My Name• Cutting and Pasting• Playing With Blocks• Writing Numbers• Learning Left and Right

REVIEW:
My son is 5 and half and heading to Kindergarten in days. My daughter is 4 years old and in her second year of Preschool. This DVD was great for both of them! The entire DVD kept their attention throughout the entire DVD and covered a good amount of information. After we watched it, they wanted to watch it again. I think this DVD is a good comprehensive coverage of all things that are covered in Kindergarten and I believe it helps in their learning process. Drring one part, there a step by step process on how to tie a shoe. Recently we've been working with ur son on how to do this and for him to see it reinforced on the DVD, he quickly grabbed his learning shoe and followed along and was able to tie the shoe all by himself! He was very proud of himself afterwards.

Phonics - Volume I and II
Length of Run: 92 Minutes
Ages: 6 Years and Up
DVD Price: $29.99
Awards: Parents' Choice Award & Dr. Toy 10 Best Products
Content:
Phonics Volume I covers: short vowel sounds • beginning consonants • practice with beginning consonants • special sounds of c, g, qu, x • consonant-vowel-consonant words • words ending in ll, ss, ff • plural s and ending s • ending consonant blends • practice with ending consonant blends • beginning consonant blends • three-letter blends • consonant digraphs and trigraphs • silent e introduction • silent e makes the long vowel sound • silent e practice • fun phonics quiz

Phonics Volume II covers: introduction to long a • practice with long a • introduction to long e • practice with long e • introduction to long I • practice with long I • introduction to long o • practice with long o • introduction to long u and oo • practice with Long u and oo • r-controlled vowels: ar • r-controlled vowels: er, ir, ur • r-controlled vowel: or • r-controlled vowels: ire, are, air • diphthongs: oi, oy, ou, ow • au, aw, all, al • Break It Down (syllables) • the schwa sound • ending sounds: ing, ink, ank, ang, ong, ung, dge • ending sounds: y, le • rule breakers • ph and gh • common sight words • silent consonants: c, k, w, gh, g

REVIEW:
Beside some workbooks, Rock 'N Learn Phonics DVD was our first experience Phonics based learning. This DVD is quite extensive and covers a lot. My 4 year old had a sparked interest in the beginning but after a short time was no longer interested in it. I believe she is still a little young for it, but I plan to introduce it to her from time to time because I think the exposure will be good for her learning to read. My son who is almost 6 yeas old was very interested and really followed through the entire DVD. Through the use of songs, fun animation and easy to follow learning steps it has a great program andl ayout for young readers. I know this DVD will assist him greatly during his learning to read process.

Here are the variety of other DVD's that Rock 'N Learn offer:

DVD's By Age
Preschool & Kindergarten
Phonics & Reading
Math
Other Languages
Sciene & Social Studies
Test Taking Strategies

Overall, I am very impressed with both DVD's that I had the opportunity to review and I would be very inclined to order many of their other DVD's as our children grow and need the extra assistance in the learning process. Rock 'N Learn has generously offered my readers a discount on any of their online products. To receive the 25% discount use code: JQ7711 at Rock 'N Learn. In addition, Rock 'N Learn host a great, free website to help with phonics. I most definitely plan to put this site to good use as we assist our son in the learning how to read process.

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter: Rock 'N Learn has generously offered a giveaway to one lucky reader of one of the above listed DVD's - your pick All you have to do is visit the Rock 'N Learn website and take a look at all of their fantastic learning DVD's. Then come back to the blog and leave a comment as to which DVD would be best for you child. (Please leave your email address if your profile is not accessible!)

Extra Entries:
1) Post this giveaway on your blog linking back to this site! You must leave a comment that you mentioned it on your blog.
2) Follow me on Facebook (link in the right column) and leave a comment.
3) Follow me on Twitter (link in the right column) and leave a comment.

4) Follow this blog!

**If you do extra entries, be sure to leave comments as to what all you've done! Contest will end on Thursday, August 20th at 8:00 p.m. The winner will be notified via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only. Thank you Rock 'N Learn for this great giveaway!

Snack Caddy - GIVEAWAY

2009-08-11T13:44:00.012-07:00

RATING
Mom - 4.5

Do you like to camp? Picnic? Fish? Hit the beach? Love to Tailgate? Do you regularly provide a snack at your child's games? If you answered yes to any of those questions, the Snack Caddy is exactly what you need! The Snack Caddy allows you to have a portable snack bar wherever you are! Not only does the Snack Caddy keep the food up off of the ground, but it has 17 different pockets that can hold anything from drinks, utensils, napkins, containers, bags of food to condiments. It's a one stop shop to your outdoor eating needs!

Set up is as easy as 1 -2 -3 and stores nicely. The original Snack Caddy retails for $36.99 and comes with a nylon carry bag. You can order online or find this resourceful product at Dick's Sporting Goods, Sports Authority or Modell's Sporting Goods among other retailers. The Snack Caddy is made of great quality and looks like it is built to last.

I really like the many pockets available in a variety of sizes. It holds a lot. This product is perfect for any outdoor activity and can be a great tool for an active family! I forsee putting our Snack Caddy to good use!

GIVEAWAY

How to Enter:
The Snack Caddy has generously offered a giveaway to one lucky reader. All you have to do is visit The Snack Caddy website and take a look the other fantastic products. Then come back to the blog and leave a comment as to what you would use your Snack Caddy for. (Please leave your email address if your profile is not accessible!)

Extra Entries:
1) Post this giveaway on your blog linking back to this site! You must leave a comment that you mentioned it on your blog.
2) Follow me on Facebook (link in the right column)
3) Follow me on Twitter (link in the right column)
4) Follow this blog!

**If you do extra entries, be sure to leave comments as to what all you've done! Contest will end on Tuesday, August 18th at 8:00 p.m. The winner will be notified via email. The winner will be randomly chosen through Random.org. Giveaways are open to residents of the United States only.

Parent Previews

2009-08-07T13:59:00.005-07:00

As our children grow older, I'm finding that they are watching less and less of Noggin and the Disney channels and more and more older movies and shows. I recently had the opportunity to review a soon-to-be released children's movie and on paper it sounded great. The cast line up was impressive and the storyline seemed to be one that would captivate little ones. From very early on into the movie, I was deeply regretting that I allowed my children to sit in on the initial viewing as I reviewed the movie. It was horribly graffic (I compare it to an animated version of the end battle scene of Braveheart!) As it hadn't been released yet, so there was no rating or information regarding the movie and at that moment I realized now that our children are getting older, have a higher level of awareness and more and more like little sponges, I must make sure I know what they are being exposed to in the world of TV, Movies and DVD's!

I recently learned about a website that helps parents know what to expect in entertainment. Parent Previews strives to provide information that will be helpful with any family’s viewing choices. The site is quite extensive and allows you to search movie titles. I think this is a fantastic resource for parents wanting an unbiased opinion on movies that meet parenting standards. The site not only includes current movies in the theaters but movies that are available on DVD.

Parents can even sign up for free to receive their weekly newsletter that keeps you informed on the latest movies. Parent Previews has been added to my favorites list!

Lionsgate/Hit Entertainment - Barney, Bob the Builder & Fireman Sam

2009-08-05T10:20:00.014-07:00

On August 11th a new Barney DVD will hit store shelves. One life lesson that parents try to instill in their children at a very early age is sharing! In the new Barney: Sharing is Caring, a toy drive inspires Barney and friends through storytelling, sing-alongs and surprises to donate their old toys. Barney helps others learn that generosity not only brings a smile to others but will warm your heart. Learn that friendship and sharing go hand-in hand in this latest DVD.

My children loved the typical Barney fun sing-along tunes. This DVD runs approximately 51 minutes and is for 2-5 year olds. Also included on this DVD is "The World's Greatest Toy of All" game and "BJ's Batting Cage" counting game. If your child adores Barney and is struggling with the concept of sharing, this is a must! Barney: Sharing is Caring retails for $14.98.

Fireman Sam saves the day in an all new animated DVD hitting the store shelves on August 25, 2009. With a fresh new look, resourcesful Fireman Sam tackles problems big and small in Fireman Sam: Help is Here! Fireman Sam teaches about fire safety, rescues those in need of help and demonstrates the importance of fire prevention! An absolute must for every child.

In this 45 minute DVD, watch as Fireman Sam along with Norman, Mandy and Radar make courageous rescues throughout the town. The supermarket will be saved, with the help of rescue dogs, missing people are found, daring helicopter rescues occur in a forest fire and most importantly, safety tips will be shared.

Episodes included are:

Paper Plane Down
Hot & Cold Running Sniffer Dog
Hearts on Fire
Perilous Path
The New Hero Next Door

My children loved the fun rescue adventures and I loved the important fire tips! The suggested age range for this DVD series is 2 - 5 years old. Fireman Sam: Help is Here retails for $14.98.

What little boy doesn't love Bob the Builder! It's almost time to dig up some fun with a new Bob the Builder DVD! Bob the Builder: Call in the Crew! is arriving in stores on August 25, 2009 and not only features a 46 minute DVD, but also includes a bonus collectible toy vehicle!

Featuring never-before-seen episodies, Bob the Builder: Call in the Crew and his Can Do crew that friends always work together to get the job done! This DVD is packed full of teamwork, positive thinking and problem-solving messages that help all understand that a can-do attitude can get the job done!

In Bob the Builder: Call in the Crew, there are 5 action packed epidodes that include:

Massive Muck
Roley's Moleys
Scoop Slips Up
Scrambler's Seaweed Delivery
Muck's Convoy

And also included are 2 special features: "Lofty the Painter" game and "Skip's Chute Rescue" game. In addition, Bob the Builder: Call in the Crew includes one free child's admission to LEGOLAND Park where there is a Bob the Builder's brand new 4-D movie (LEGOLAND California & LEGOLAND Chicago). This DVD is recommended for children 2-5 years old. While my children are almost too old for the Bob the Builder series, this one still kept their attention!

If the World Were a Village - DVD

2009-08-05T09:58:00.010-07:00

RATING
Mom - 4

If you teach children 6 years and up or if you homeschool, the recently released "If the World Were a Village" is the DVD for you! On September 8, 2009 Master Communications will release the new imaginative DVD that explores the idea of the world's entire population living in one small community. Based on David J. Smith's best-selling, award-winning book, "If the World Were a Village," this DVD teaches that the world is a big place with so many cultures and difference. But if we took a look at the world's populatin of over 6 billion and united it into a community of 100, what would it look like? This insightful DVD inspires children to learn about the differences between the different nations. The stat are broken down into an easy to follow format and help young children explore the global statitics about age, language, economics, educational status, food, culture and faith.

I reviewed the DVD without my children because I wasn't sure if they were old enough. At ages 5 1/2 and 4 years old, I think they may be ready to watch this DVD. I think it would be a great educational tool for them to learn about the world's population.

The DVD runs 25 minutes in length and is available in English, Spanish and French for $29.95. To order a copy, call 1-800-765-5885 or visit Master Communications. Teachers can also take advantage of a complete lesson plan to follow the DVD - PDF Teaching Lesson.

Baby to Bee.com

2009-08-04T13:13:00.006-07:00

Are you expecting a little bundle of love? Babies are expensive and saving where you can is important. Baby to Bee is a great resource website for parents-t0-be to not only access all types of product research information but also allows you to sign up to receive free product samples from top advertisers! Registering is quick and easy and then all you have to do is sit back and wait for for the free goodies to roll in! To learn more and to register, click on the photo below.

Disclaimer: I'm not Mom-to-Be and because of that, I have not signed up to receive the free product. But I came across the site and thought it might be helpful to parents who are expecting or have recently had a baby!

Curlformers

2009-08-02T19:58:00.026-07:00

RATING
Kids - 5! - She loved not having to use a hot styling tool
Mom - 4.5

I spend a lot of time styling my daughter's hair. I've used every possible hair styling tool and while my daughter is very patient with me and on most days willing to allow me to take the time for hair styling, sometimes she expresses hesitation with using the hot curling irons. But my concern in styling her hair is that I always worry that the excessive heat that I use may lead to damaging her hair. So when I recently learned of a new way to curl hair without using any heat, I was anxious to give it a try!

Curlformers is a relatively new hair curling revolution. The Curlformers come in a variety of sizes to achieve the perfect result!

Curlformers are now available for sale in the USA and Canada. They can be purchased only at Sally's Beauty Stores. Check your local Sally's Beauty Store or you can order online.

Take a minute to watch the Curlformer application video:

Here are a few photos of my first time giving Curlformers a try:

Hair Prep- to achieve maximum results, it is suggested that the hair be wet. The smaller the section, the tighter the curls. Make sure the hair is brushed out.

Slip a Curlformer on the styling hook and starting from the nape of the neck upwards, take a section of hair about 2.5cm wide, about 10cm from the scalp and give it a twist. The wider the section of hair the wider the curl. Then lay the section into the hook, bringing the hook up from underneath. Raise the back end of the hook handle to stop the hair section falling out. Let go of the section of hair.

The Curlformers are soft and do not hurt - a great bonus in this 4 year-old's world!

After I had covered her head with the Curlformers, I waited a while for her hair to air dry. As we were approaching the bedtime hour, I used a blowdryer on cool to finish up the drying process.

She waits to see her beautiful curls!

Please note that I needed to get her into bed and I did not allow for her entire head to dry. Some curls were not as curly as others because it was still damp. But the curls that were dry were beautiful. I'm anxious to try again because I know the result will be beautiful!

Pretty curls!

You can make your hair as wavy or curly as you would like with these tools.

My daughter woke up the next morning still with curls.

Do not take my photos as the actual results...it was my first time and her hair wasn't fully dry. Overall, I was very impressed with the ease of use and the more importantly the end result. I absolutely love, love, love knowing there is no heavy heat being used that can possibly damage her beautiful hair! And once I got the hang of how to apply the Curlformer to the hair, it was very easy. Curlformers produce a beautiful curl. If you are looking for a new way to get those beautiful salon curls - you must give Curlformers a try. To see more results visit Curlformer Gallery Photos.

Kideo

2009-08-02T14:16:00.009-07:00

RATING

Kids - 5

Mom - 5

My children are like most kids and love personalized books and toys. We have several products (puzzles, CD's, books, etc.) that they think are just the coolest. They love that their name or photo is incorporated. At the end of last year, my mom found a fantastic company online that specializes in putting your child's photo throughout a fun, themed DVD. Last December, we were planning a Spiderman party for my son's 5th Birthday and when I learned that they had a Spiderman video - my mom and I couldn't place the order fast enough! Kideo is fantastic and it will honestly knock the socks off your children. The kids love watching themselves star in their own DVD! My son still gets giddy to see himself as Spiderman in the DVD.

Kideo offers a wide variety of themed DVD's including:

Spiderman

Barney

Dora the Explorer

Arthur

Baby Genius

Care Bears

Gregory and Me!

The cost to order a custom DVD movie is $29.95 or if you upload the photo as opposed to mailing in a photo the price is $28.45. When I placed the order, I ordered online and it was very simple. The customer service was good and we received the DVD in a timely manner.

We have the Spiderman movie and the Care Bears Adventure. My kids watch their movies frequently and enjoy it every time. The way they incorporate your child's photo and name is very clever and cute. It really is a very special gift option for your child. Kideo is offering a special if you are interested in placing an order.

First Day of School Fairy

2009-08-02T10:25:00.006-07:00

RATING

Kids - 5, they just don't know it yet, but I know they'll think it's great!

Mom - 5

I love doing things up big and making fun memories for my kids. When I heard about a company in Arizona that specializes in celebrating the first day of school, I was giddy! First Day of School Fairy helps you celebrate the start of school in a magical way! The site offers a whole line of products to make the morning start off special, but what I love are the place mats.

Our son starts Kindergarten in a few short weeks and I can't wait to surprise him in the morning with a decorated table and a healthy breakfast to kick off his day right. He'll love the extra celebration! Place mats are $6.50, ranging from Preschool to the 8th Grade. FDOSF also has a package that includes the balloons, confetti, banner and tablecloth for $25.00.

If you are looking for a way to brighten the first day of school for your little one, this is a fun, very inexpensive way to do it!

Adovia Mineral Skin Care - Acai Berry Dead Sea Bath Salts

2009-07-31T08:31:00.015-07:00

RATINGS
Mommy - 4

A girl needs a little pampering every now and then! As I try to be a Recessionista these days, my visits to the spa seem to be few and far between! But that doesn't mean I have to stop the self-pampering. After a long day, a little rejuvenation in a warm bath sometimes is the perfect remedy. I just recently had the opportunity to review a great product from Adovia Mineral Skin Care.

Adovia products is the first skin care line to combine minerals with herbal extracts to create a delicious concoction for your skin. Adovia is a unique skin care line, that is full of vital nutrients, anti-oxidants and minerals that are gathered at the place closest to the soul of Mother Earth - The Dead Sea. For hundreds of years, people have traveled to The Dead Sea to bathe in and experience the rich salt waters of The Dead Sea. Adovia Mineral Skin Care says that their bath salts will soothe, moisturize your body and relax your muscles like nothing else. The results are known to:

Stimulate circulation through body as wells as skin
Relieve joint/muscle aches and pain
Soothe and soften your skin
Warm and relax the muscles
Helps relieve lower back pain
Relieves pain due to over exertion
Effective at relieving Eczema, acne, Psoriasis, muscle aches and pains

I had the great pleasure of trying their Acai Berry Dead Sea Bath Salts. Prior to this prouct, I have never used anything with Acai Berry. I read that the pulp of Acai Berry have been used by natives of Brazil for centuries because of their nutritional and healing properties. The Acai Berry is loaded with Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9, B1, B1, B3 and C minerals. As well as Phosphorus, Calcium nad Potassium. This truly is a yummy healthy component! When I poured the Acai Berry Dead Sea Bath Salts into the bath, the salts dissolved quickly. I immediately noticed a pleasant fragrance. Because the Acai Berry has no scent, Adovia has added 100% Natural Bergamot Essential Oil to the product. The result is nourishing. As someone who lathers down with lotion with every bath or shower, I noticed my skin felt moist and I skipped the lotion. As I soaked, both of my children wandered into the bathroom and both made a comment on the smell - they thought it smelled good...and so did I!

Overall, these bath salts were very nice. I enjoyed my soak and the product immensley. Adovia has a huge product line that wil nourish your face, body and treat anything from acne, wrinkles, eczema or psoriasis. The Dead Sea Bath Salt with Acai Berry Oil comes in a 15oz bag for $11.99. If you are interested in receiving emails on product information and to register for a chance to win a $200.00 gift basket, make sure you sign up at the bottom of this page.