Description:
The LEGO® toy brand comes to life in an all-new feature-length DVD movie released on 2/23 entitled LEGO®: The Adventures of Clutch Powers. Meet Clutch Powers, the best builder and explorer in the LEGO universe as he heads off on his most dangerous mission yet. Join Clutch and his team of LEGO experts as their adventure leads them from LEGO City to the Space Police prison planet to the medieval world of Ashlar where they must help the rightful heir to the King’s throne find the courage to regain the kingdom from the evil wizard Mallock the Malign. Their brick-building skills will be put to the ultimate test as they face off against Mallock’s skeleton army. Get ready for an action-packed adventure like nothing you have ever seen before, The Adventures of Clutch Powers!
See a Clip:
My Review:
I hope this DVD is just the first of a new franchise for LEGO! Watching this DVD refreshed our love of LEGOS and all the cool things you can build with them. My boys grumbled when I said “hey, come watch this DVD with me!”, but they both watched it all the way through and at the end, admitted it was “pretty cool”, which is high praise coming from 11 and 13 year old boys It didn’t hold my 4 year old daughter’s attention for very long, but I bet if LEGO came out with a Princess movie, she would definitely watch it!
For fans of LEGO, The Adventures of Clutch Powers is an entertaining, family-friendly DVD. Don’t be surprised if your kids ask to get some new LEGOS after you watch it!
Mark it on your calendars - NOW - and make sure your local Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop is a participating location and head that way on March 23rd for a free cone!
They are scooping up that delicious ice cream from 12PM to 8PM as a way to say ‘THANKS!’
Mother’s Day is March 14th, time to start thinking about a terrific gift! This year, surprise your wife or mom with one of her favorite photos on canvas from Point 101. Imagine her surprise at unwrapping a beautiful, ready to hang canvas print of her favorite photo! Created by photographers, Point 101 provides the highest quality printing at affordable prices, guaranteed!
About the company:
Point101 has established itself as the UK’s leading canvas printing service. We are able to combine superior high definition canvas prints with excellent customer service and a pioneering virtual upload system. We believe canvas prints are an affordable way to showcase art, photography and commercial images in large format. Our canvas printing service is used by professional photographers, interior designers, businesses and individuals alike.
Point 101 uses fade-free, archival inks printed in 1440 dpi, on bright white canvas, hand stretched over artist-grade pine stretcher bars, to produce canvas prints that will look stunning in any room of the house. What a perfect way to display a family portrait or a candid photo that captures a special family moment!
You can choose from a wide variety of sizes and shapes to fit any area. Choose from standard, square, or panoramic for your photo shape, then decide if you want your canvas printing to be Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, or King Size! Because Point 101 is a U.K. company, the sizes are in centimeters, so make sure to calculate your size accordingly.
What I like best about the site is how easy they’ve made it to create your order. You upload your image, choose your size and layout, preview what the final print will look like, make any changes if necessary, then you are done! Pretty darn easy.
Don’t delay, get your order in now for a canvas print from Point 101! If you live in the U.K., shipping is free. Otherwise, check their Shipping page for prices and shipping estimates. It’s a terrific Mother’s Day (or any day!) gift for someone you love!
CHERRY HILL, NJ – Flying Fish Brewing Company (1940 Olney Avenue, 856-489-0061 856-489-0061), is excited to announce the debut of their new Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA, the latest entry in their “Exit Series” of big-bottle beers honoring their home state of New Jersey. Exit 16 bottles will be available by mid-March and will also on be on draft in limited quantities throughout the region.
“Exit 16 is a fun, flavorful tribute to one of the Meadowlands’ indigenous food sources: wild rice,” says Flying Fish founder Gene Muller. “Even though the area is better known these days as home to pipelines, landfills, and some so-called ‘New York’ sports teams, we see the beauty in the marsh landscape and wanted to celebrate its past and express our hope that it will be restored and preserved in the future.”
On Monday, March 8 from 6 to 8 pm, Flying Fish will hold an Exit 16 launch event in center city Philadelphia at McGillian’s Olde Ale House (310 Drury Street), on the second floor, with Muller and Head Brewer Casey Hughes tapping the first keg. Event will be pay-as-you-go.
Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA is named for the exit that leads travelers across the salt-marsh of the Meadowlands to the Sportsplex and Lincoln Tunnel. The beer was brewed with over 1,200 pounds of wild, organic brown and white rice, which helps the beer ferment dry to better showcase the five varieties of hops that are brewed in. It is later dry-hopped with generous additions of Chinook and Citra hops, creating a complex nose with hints of tangerine, mango, papaya and pine. The Exit 16 label includes a Web site, www.hackensackriverkeepers.org, with more information on preservation and restoration projects in the Meadowlands.
The Exit Series will continue with three or four beers a year to eventually encompass all turnpike exits; other entries have included Exit 4 American Trippel, Exit 11 Hoppy American Wheat and Exit 1 Bayshore Oyster Stout. Recently, in response to the overwhelming popularity of series starter Exit 4, the brewery re-released it in six-packs.
Flying Fish was the world’s first ‘virtual’ microbrewery, establishing an Internet presence as early as 1995. That presence helped to generate press interest and woo investors to the fledgling brewery, which would not open for business until late 1996. Today, Muller and his team oversee four full-time styles, as well as a variety of seasonal beers. Their brews have been featured at the Great British Beer Festival, Oregon Brewers Festival and Canada’s Biere de Mondial Festival. They have won medals at the Great American Beer Festival, Real Ale Festival and the World Beer Championships, and are the only New Jersey brewery featured in Best American Beers. Flying Fish was also named “Local Hero: Beverage Artisan of 2009” by Edible Jersey magazine.
For more information about Fish Fish, Exit 16 or any upcoming launch events, please visit them online at www.flyingfish.com and www.exitseries.com, or call (856) 489-0061 (856) 489-0061.
Wizard101 is an online multiplayer game that’s both fun for kids and super safe! Your character is a new student at a school of wizardry, and you play a school adventure game with collectible card magic, wizard duels, and far off worlds! The game allows players to create a student Wizard in an attempt to save Wizard City and explore many different worlds.and you complete quests for the teachers and play fun minigames in a safe, kid-friendly environment.
Teachers and other characters in the game assign your character a “Quest”, such as opening cages to release trapped fairies, and defeating a pesky infestation of imps. Gameplay is nonviolent and involves choosing a spell from a deck of cards and then playing that spell on the bad buy you are trying to defeat. The more times a player takes on a challenge, the more powerful they get and the better their spell cards are.
Wizard101 is free to play, but only to a certain level of the game. After that, there are two options – purchase a monthly subscription for all access, or pay to get access only to a certain area of the game. Having played the game, I can see why it would be worth it to buy the monthly subscription (currently $6.95 per person). Once you get the hang of the quests and the challenges, you want to keep going and explore new areas of the game.
What I like best about Wizard101 is that it’s very safe for kids. The chat feature has to be approved by a parent, and even then, players have to pick from a predetermined list of approved words and phrases. Kids are not allowed to use numbers in their chats, to prevent them from giving out their age or address. All characters are fully clothed, and there is no virtual drinking or smoking.
For kids who are fans of Harry Potter and other wizard stories/movies, this is a fun way to play an online game without parents worrying about kids being exposed to something inappropriate. Visit www.wizard101.com to see the game for yourself. I bet you enjoy playing it as much as your kids do!
The Box Tops for Education program has raised over $300 million for our kids’ schools. The simple act of clipping the Box Top printed on products like Cheerios, Hamburger Helper, and Kleenex and turning it in to your school earns the school $.10 for each Box Top, and that can really add up fast! Now it’s even easier to earn money for your school through the Bonus Box Tops offer. All you have to do is register at www.RewardYourSchool.com and select the personalized offers that you would like to receive.
Once you register, you will automatically receive 5 Bonus Box Tops just for signing up! You will also receive custom offers for bonus box tops for purchasing participating General Mills products. The offers you select will then load onto your Kroger Shopper Card to be redeemed once you purchase the items. The great part is there’s no clipping! The Bonus Box Tops will automatically go straight to your chosen school. Just remember to scan your card when purchasing the participating items.
Here are the details of the offer:
Get 3,4, or 5 Bonus Box Tops when you buy the corresponding amount of participating General Mills Cereals
Participating cereals include Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, , Cookie Crisp Sprinkles, Trix, Reese’s Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Golden Grahams, Kix, Fruity Cheerios, Dora the Explorer, Honey Kix, and all varieties of Cascadian Farm
Get 3, 4, or 5 Bonus Box Tops when you buy the corresponding amount of participating Yoplait Kid products
Participating products include Yoplait Kids Yogurt Drink, Yoplait Go-GURT, Yoplait Kids Lowfat Yogurt, and Yoplait Trix Lowfat Yogurt
Get 3, 4, or 5 Bonus Box Tops when you buy the corresponding amount of participating Pillsbury products
Participating products include 8 ct. packages of all varieties of Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits, Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls, Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, Pillsbury Flaky Twists, and Pillsbury Sweet Rolls
WIN IT: The winner of this giveaway will receive a $25 gift card to the Kroger Family of Stores, thanks to General Mills and MyBlogSpark! For your main entry, leave a comment on this post telling me what you know about the Box Tops for Education program. Enter by Friday, March 5th at 9:00 AM EST. Open to U.S. only.
BONUS ENTRIES: Leave a separate comment, after your main entry, for each of the following that you do or have done:
Facebook – NEW! Become a Fan of MomReviews on Facebook! Click the Fan Badge in the sidebar and leave a comment.
Tweet the giveaway link, you can tweet once per day and leave a separate comment for each. Follow me on Twitter, I’m @MomReviews.
Blog about the giveaway with a link back to this post. Leave a comment with the URL.
Link to MomReviews on your sidebar or grab my button and post it on your blog. Leave a comment with the URL.
Stumble the post, submit to Digg, delicious, Mixx, Reddit, Propellor, or other social bookmarking sites. Leave the URL in your comment.
Subscribe to the MomReviews feed in a reader or by email, leave a comment telling me which way you subscribed.
Let me tell you about “Kelly’s Cake Off For a Cause”, the most recent campaign in which Kelly Ripa and Electrolux have come together to support ovarian cancer research. And yes, it’s a very important cause (ovarian research is indeed), but too because it deals with…..CAKE.
Have you ever watched TLC’s show ‘Cake Boss’? If so, do you know who master baker and cake decorator Buddy Valastro is? Well he joined Kelly for this fun event in which cakes are baked and lavishly decorated just to support The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). Five teams of bakers were invited to take part in the Cake Off and used their knowledge, that Kelly and the Cake Boss taught them, to decorate their own cakes.
And here’s where you come in: while you can’t sample these cakes, or even see them with your own two eyes, you can view them virtually and cast your vote on which you find to be your favorite. Visit Kelly Confidential now, and vote!
And just when you thought that took the cake? It gets better!
For every vote cast, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF as part of its $500,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer! And if you want, you can decorate your own cake and send it to someone special - you know, virtually. For every cake sent, Electrolux will donate another $1 to OCRF. Make sure you check out Buddy’s cake decorating tips, for inspiration. Oh, and everyone who logs onto “Kelly’s Cake Off For A Cause” and sends a virtual cake will be automatically entered for a chance to win a stylish new Induction Range from Electrolux.
How does that sound?
So go, enter today. Wouldn’t it just be the sweetest thing if YOU won!?
Back in 2000, I was suffering with heartburn so severe it would keep me up at night. I also always felt like I needed to burp (I know, weird), so I took a little visit to my doctor to see what he could do.
I was diagnosed with mild heartburn (and if mine was mild, I would hate to see what severe was like!!), and given Prilosec.
What a relief! I felt better immediately. Since then, I have only had recurring heart burn when I was pregnant and after certain foods. And I still turn to Prilosec OTC for help.
And now,Prilosecis doing some cool - a campaign titled: Official Sponsor of Everything You Do Without Heartburn.
What do I do without heartburn? What am I passionate about?
I run. I finished my first half marathon last November, and I am signed up for two more half marathons in March and May of this year. Is there a full marathon in my future at some point? Probably.
Check out the campaign here. Add your story, your pursuit of passion. And be sure to check out all the stories already posted as you can vote for the next Official Sponsor of Everything You Do Without Heartburn.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Prilosec OTC. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Here is a review of the The BUDDY Tablet Caddy ……….
Like many first generation products, The BUDDY Tablet Caddy misses the mark completely. In fact, the BUDDY Tablet Caddy doesn’t even provide a functional replacement for the $5 pill boxes that are sold in every drug store around the country.
Most of these pill boxes which are what the The BUDDY is are targeted for the older generation. If you’re a long haired beach bum like the Muscleflex CEO who is featured in some of The BUDDY commercials and you need a pill box, then you probably have more serious problems than those that can be addressed with a pill box. Many older people are on regimented medical programs but are still competent enough to administer their own medication. However, in most cases someone or yourself would set up the pill box on a weekly basis. Therefore, it would make sense that the pill box is designed with 7 columns and 3 rows or 7 days a week, 3 times a day.
The BUDDY Tablet Caddy has only 3 compartments. For an older person who takes more than 3 prescriptions per day in which compliance to their prescription regimen may be a matter of life and death, the BUDDY becomes a useless pill box for all but a young few who want to be hip and carry around a pill box with an alarm.
The positive is that it’s well designed and looks cool. As a 44 year old man, I have a wallet in one pocket and a cell phone in another. Sorry, but I don’t need a round plastic device in another pocket.
I’ll pass on the BUDDY, buddy !!!!
Notice:
“Muscle Flex” is a Registered Trademark of Muscle Flex Inc. “The BUDDY Tablet Caddy” is a Trademark of Muscle Flex Inc.
My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas It’s Christmas Eve in Ponyville and the ponies are decorating the town Christmas tree. The most important ornament on the tree is the “Here Come Christmas Candy Cane”, a glowing beacon which leads Santa Claus to Ponyville. Minty thinks the Candy Cane is slightly crooked so she tries to adjust it but it falls to the ground and shatters. She tries to tell Pinkie Pie what happened, but she can’t bring herself to admit what she did. And worst of all, now Santa won’t be able to find his way to Ponyville! Minty takes one of the Ponyville hot-air balloons and heads for the North Pole, where she hopes to guide Santa to Ponyville herself.
For fans of My Little Pony, this is a super-cute addition to their collection. It’s great for watching any time of the year! Released last year, I saw this DVD at Best Buy last weekend. Look for copies that come with a bonus mini My Little Pony for an extra-special gift! Run time: 66 minutes Amazon Price: $13.99
On Tuesday, December 8th, something very exciting is happening! On my blog Table for Five, I’m giving away a $250.00 gift card, courtesy of Bill Me Later! The campaign is called Toy Tuesday, and I was thrilled and honored to be invited to join a group of awesome bloggers in spreading the word about how Bill Me Later can help shoppers easily buy the toys and games for the holidays. On Toy Tuesday, Bill Me Later is partnering with leading online retailers to offer big savings!
Not only was I invited to participate, but I was chosen as THE Toy Tuesday blogger, which is such an honor! I hope all of my MomReviews readers will come on over to Table for Five next Tuesday to enter my $250 gift card giveaway and learn more about how to use Bill Me Later for easy, safe, convenient online shopping!
PinkProductWorld.com™ is the e-store dedicated to sales of interesting “pink” products and supporting breast cancer research at the same time. Every sale of every product results in PinkProductWorld making a cash contribution to breast cancer research. Some products have pink ribbons, most do not. Our focus is on practical products that look “Pretty in Pink” with or without ribbons. But pink ribbon or not, every product sale generates a contribution to the cause. Some products are even designated as Double Pink™, meaning the manufacturer makes a contribution when the site buys the item from them and the site makes a contribution when you buy the item from them!g
To help you with your holiday shopping, PinkProductWorld.com is offering MomReviews readers 10% off any order over $25 (before shipping charges). The coupon is good from now until December 31 at 11:59 p.m. (pacific time). Use Coupon name: Pink Product World Christmas and Coupon number: 1257386616 . These are some of my favorite picks from the site for fans of the color pink!
$10.00 AND UNDER:
The Rose Candle Tin-beautiful rose fragrance in a decorator tin that can be reused once the candle burns down. Sale Price $4.95
Two Tone Black/Pink Ceramic Mug-eleven ounce black mug with pink liner, easy grip handle. Fill it with a friend’s favorite tea bags or a hot cocoa packet and a bag of mini marshmallows! Price: $7.95
$25.00 AND UNDER:
Round Cut Pink Ice Solitaire Earrings-round cut pink ice cubic zirconia studs, 7mm in diameter and mounted in a beautiful white gold rhodium frame. Price: $14.95
iSound Foldable Speakers-folds into a small cube for travel, works with iPod, iPod Nano, MP3 players, portable CD players, and PCs. Requires 4 AAA batteries, wall transformer or USB cable (not included). Sale Price: $14.95
DOUBLE PINK ITEMS (donation was made to breast cancer research by manufacturer, plus another donation made with purchase):
Four Piece Garden Tool Set with Tote-A useful combination of tools that includes a bypass pruner, a set of pruning shears, an aluminum trowel, an aluminum cultivator and a great utility gardening bag. A member of the “Garden for the Cause®” pink garden tool set from Bond Manufacturing, one of the world’s largest suppliers of quality garden tools. Sale Price: $29.95
If someone on your gift list loves the color pink, please consider buying their gift from PinkProductWorld.com! This is not a sponsored or compensated post, this is just me spreading the word about a great site. Don’t forget to use the Coupon Name: Pink Product World Christmas and Coupon Number: 1257386616 to save 10% off your purchase!
Well, it was only a matter of time before Mattel took advantage of the Twilight craze and came out with dolls. I saw the Twilight Barbie Bella Doll and the Twilight Edward Doll at Target over the weekend. What’s interesting to me is that while the Edward doll at least sort of looks like Edward, the Bella doll just looks like any other Barbie. I would have thought they would have tried to make it a little more, well, Bella-looking.
Twilight Barbie Bella comes dressed in a blue-grey jacket with four pockets on the front and a gold zipper, dark wash jeans, and silvery tennis shoes with white soles. She has long dark hair. Twilight Edward is wearing a blue button-down shirt, a grey wool peacoat, dark wash jeans, and black lace up shoes. He has brown hair that stands up on the top and the doll’s skin is a lighter color than the Bella doll. You can buy each doll separately or together in a two-pack. Check SHOP.com to compare prices from different retailers carrying the dolls. These are great gift ideas for Barbie collectors and for fans of the Twilight movies! Price: around $25.00
Ebeanstalk is a website dedicated to selecting great, safe kids toys using a team of child experts and the feedback of bloggers and Moms all over the country. I’m proud to be one of ebeanstalk’s “Moms”, and I’m THRILLED to be announcing this terrific contest! Enter ebeanstalk’s Cutest Kid-Playing-With-A-Toy Contest, where 10 bloggers and 10 blog readers win a $50 gift certificate! So, not only could YOU win a $50.00 gift certificate to ebeanstalk, but *I* win one too!!
Other toy sites make recommendations for toys based on age, ebeanstalk takes it even further. For example, click on the link for toys for a 3 year old, and on that page you’ll see four colored squares. Click one and a new window pops up, with toy suggestions for 3 year old, 3 1/4 year olds, 3 1/2 year olds, and 3 3/4 year olds! Talk about specifically aimed at a certain stage of development!
Kaitlyn just turned four which means I’m no longer shopping for toddler toys (*sniff* where did my BABY go?), but thanks to ebeanstalk, I found terrific gift suggestions for a 4 year old girl-I have my eye on the Abby & Emma magnetic dress up dolls, and the Pinkalicious book. Ebeanstalk has suggestions for girls and boys up to age 7, and satisfaction is GUARANTEED! If you aren’t satisifed with your purchase, you can return it within 30 days for a full refund!
SAVE!: All MomReviews readers will receive a 10% discount at ebeanstalk of any purchase. Enter the code ebeanstalk100 at the cart!
WIN IT: So, want to enter to win a $50.00 gift certificate to ebeanstalk? Of course you do! Here’s all you have to do- Take a picture of your little one playing with a toy, and email the picture to emily@ebeanstalk.com. It’s just that easy. Be 1 of 10 lucky winners to win a $50 gift certificate at ebeanstalk this holiday. Entries will be chosen on their cuteness-level. Privacy ensured! Entrants will not be spammed. Do not send your address for privacy purposes – just email and the FIRST name of your child.
I know my MomReviews readers have adorable kids, so send your absolutely cutest photo to emily@ebeanstalk.com ! Leave me a comment on this post when you do!!
Yankee Candle sent me the Clean Cotton® Scented Children’s Tea Party Puzzle from their new line of Apparel & Games. I’ve been doing puzzles since around the 5th grade, but I hadn’t done one in probably five years, so it was a joy to clear off the kitchen table and get to work assembling the pieces.
What made this puzzle from Yankee Candle unique was two things – 1., it has several unique jar-shaped pieces, the same shape as their jar candles, and 2., the pieces are scented! So each time I would spend a few minutes fitting pieces together, when I got up from the table, my hands smelled like clean laundry!
A Yankee Candle Scented Puzzle is a great gift idea for someone who enjoys puzzles. At only $9.99, buy several and you can cross a few names off of your gift list!
Until I’d tried Fabulous Flats Sandwich Flats, it is quite possible that I’d never eaten a preservative-free bread. That idea was enough to chew on for awhile, whether I had food in my mouth or not. What else do I let enter my body, having no idea what it is, or where it came from? I’ll never be the kind of person to agonize over things like that, but it is food for thought.
Back to the Sandwich Flats, they were ‘different’ looking than what I’ve been accustomed to eating all of my life. They were not bleached white, were not ‘loaf’ shaped, and had no ‘crusts’ for me to pull off. They rather resembled a very large cracker. I was a bit nervous at first, but they smelled particularly yummy, and I recognized (and could even pronounce!) all of the ingredients, so I knew it couldn’t be too bad.
My favorite combination I tried was making a sandwich of peppered roast beef, and a spicy mustard. My sandwich tastes are simple, and I don’t appreciate a bunch of greens or juice-oozing extras. The Fabulous Flats were just right; not too chewy, and flavorful enough to compliment everything else, not over power it. That’s the way it should be.
At the end of the day, it is bread. But it’s good bread! How important that is to you will depend on your appreciation of all things baked. I say ‘Win!’ Should I see these floating around my grocer, I’m sure I’ll re-sample from time to time. Check the official site for some interesting information on how everything is made!
A lot of kids these days are doing some sort of extra-curricular activity, whether it be music lessons, swim lessons, pee-wee football or hockey, it’s healthy and fun and valuable to their growth. I mean that’s at least how I look at it. I participated in lots of activities when I was a kid and I hope my kids have the desire to do the same, and enjoy it.
But how can they with the current state of the economy? I see it happening all around me; budget are cut, volunteers are harder and harder to find and even worse, the space required to host these various activities can no longer do it. It’s a sad truth to admit but unfortunately extra-curricular activities are the first to suffer.
But wait, there is something positive to look forward to. Clorox Clean-Up, the only all purpose cleaner powered by Clorox Bleach will be teaming up with The Clorox Clean-Up team and will award five grants of $10,000 each to applicable kids programs in the hopes of enriching kids’ lives across the country. Does that sound like something you are interested in? If so all you have to do is nominate programs for a chance to win a Power A Bright Future grant by submitting a photo and a short essay about the project for consideration. You have until November 29, 2009 and you can do so at the Clorox Clean-up Facebook page.
A panel of influential children’s advocates will select finalists based on impact of the program on kids, the quality of the entry sent in, and most promise for the grant to help the program grow. Then, the public will have the chance to vote on Facebook between December 7th and January 17th, 2010. If you vote? You will receive a Clorox Clean-Up coupon as a thank-you.
Become a fan today and participate. You’ll be helping out our youth in the process.
When I was a little girl I remember my sister had a red ribbon tied to the antenna of her car. It was for MADD; Mother’s Against Drunk Driving. The mission of MADD is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.
Did you know that underage drinking has emerged as the number one youth drug problem? You can help however by being an informed, caring parent. Your voice as a parent can strongly impact your teens decisions regarding alcohol, and underage drinking. Facts show that 74% of kids will turn to their parents for guidance on drinking, and research shows that as moms we are the number one influencers in dealing with this issue. For teens, alcohol is an illegal drug, and a zero tolerance policy is the best policy to have as a parent.
On October 27th, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) will be launching The Power of Parents: It’s Your Influence. This program has been designed to help provide us as parents with key tips, information, and tools to help us at home reach our teens and communicate the real life danger of underage alcohol use.
Use your available resources and learn more about MADD. Visit their blog, follow them on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook. Or maybe you’d like to take a safety quiz or a survey.
Do your part as a parent today and educate your kids. Remember, The Power of Parents is key.
:: :: ::
I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of MADD. A donation was made to MADD in my name to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
We have tacos about once every two weeks, it’s such an easy meal to make and everyone can customize theirs just the way they like. I like to buy the taco kits that have the shells, seasoning and sauce, and one of my favorites is definitely Old El Paso. So when MyBlogSpark was looking for bloggers to do a review for Old El Paso, I eagerly signed up!
Tacos, yum!! In addition to reviewing Old El Paso products, I learned that we would also be reviewing El Tacodor, the world’s first Family Taco Night Game. Here’s how the El Tacodor website describes it:
For a fun and easy way to keep the family at the table, play El Tacodor, the world’s only Family Taco Night Game. Challenge family members to quickfire trivia, wordplay and pantomime, and share a laughter-filled night at home. Best of all, it’s FREE! Just click, print and you’re ready to play.
Through MyBlogSpark, we received two coupons for free Old El Paso products, a $10.00 gift card to buy additional ingredients, plus the El Tacodor game rules, laminated game questions and 2 score cards. The El Tacodor Starter Pack has five categories of games for Family Taco Night Game fun, like making up a poem about your taco, or picking a partner and naming five foods that start with “W”. I couldn’t think of an original poem about tacos, so I sang this song instead:
I love my taco, oh yes I do-ooo,
I love my taco, and I’ll be true.
When it’s not near me, I’m blue,
Oh taco, I love you!
Okay, so I won’t be winning any awards with that, but it cracked everybody up! I applaud Old El Paso for coming up with a game that keeps family members at the dinner table together just a little bit longer, while laughing and playing together.
WIN IT: Thanks to Old El Paso and MyBlogSpark, I have a great giveaway for MomCooks readers! One winner will receive two coupons to purchase Old El Paso dinner kits and a $10 gift card to purchase any additional meal needs (i.e. meat, cheese, lettuce, etc). To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me whether you prefer hard shell or soft shell tacos. Open to U.S. only, enter by November 19th at 12:00 PM EST. Winner will be chosen at random and emailed for their mailing address. Shipping will be handled by MyBlogSpark.
BONUS ENTRIES: Earn a bonus entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each-
Subscribe the the MomReviews feed in a reader or by email, leave a comment telling me which way you subscribed.
Grab the MomReviews original or holiday gift guide button from the sidebar and post it on your blog. Leave a comment with the URL.
Stumble the post, submit to Digg, delicious, Mixx, Reddit, Propellor, or other social bookmarking sites. Leave the URL in your comment.
Blog about the giveaway with a link back to this post. Leave a comment with the URL.
Facebook-Friend me on Facebook and post the link to the giveaway on your Facebook wall. Leave a comment with the URL.
FollowMomReviews on Twitter and tweet the link to the giveaway, you can use this: Win 2 free Old El Paso coupons & $10 gift card from @MomReviews, enter by 11/19 http://bit.ly/1Vqc66
You can also enter the Old El Paso El Tacodor Sweepstakes for a chance to win $5,000 just for having fun with your family. Other prizes include monthly giveaways of $300 cash cards, and weekly giveaways of gift certificates for Old El Paso products for the next five months. When you visit El Tacodor you will also find a link to coupons, a calendar to schedule your next taco night, topping choice chart and more!
If you are looking for a HIGH QUALITY game for ages 3 and up that will get played with long after the holidays are over, I’ve got the game for you! From Blue Orange Games, seller of HOT TOYS for a cool planet, comes Zimbbo’s Elephantastic Pyramids, the balancing game that is tons of fun! My friend Ken from Oh! Toys sent it from his online store for us to review, and Kaitlyn LOOOOVES it.
Zimbbo’s comes with 10 wooden elephants, 5 wooden “jokers”, 3 wooden balancing bars, and 1 wooden die. Each player rolls the die to determine how many bears they have to balance on the pyramid, rolling the star means choosing between placing a joker (clown, bear, gorilla or a lion) or a balancing bar. The winner is the person who gets elephant #10 balanced on the top of the pyramid without it toppling over.
When I unpacked the game, Kaitlyn could hardly wait to get her hands on the ADORABLE wooden elephants and animals. The pieces are smooth to the touch with rounded edges, and nice and chunky. Once I showed her how to stack the pieces on the balancing bars, she sat and played with it by herself for a good hour. The next day, she “introduced” the elephants and animals to some of her other toys and they all had a grand adventure. so, not only is Zimmbo’s Elephantastic Pyramids a fun and educational game, it’s pieces are toys by themselves! That’s just awesome.
In Little Skink’s Tail written by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein, a little skink is attacked by a crow and in order to get away, snaps off her tail! Little Skink is happy she got away, but she misses her bright blue tail, so she daydreams of having a tail like the other animals in the forest. None of the tails seem right though, one is too fluffy, another too stinky! Then, Little Skink gets a surprise…and doesn’t have to daydream anymore.
This book has terrific illustrations and teaches a wonderful lesson about the importance of being happy with who you are. At 32 pages, it’s recommended for ages 4-8 and is published by Sylvan Dell publishing. Little Skink’s Tail was chosen as one of the three Best Children’s Books of 2009 by the Mom’s Choice Awards, as well as receiving Gold awards in the Educators’ Choice and Animal Kingdom categories. The book also won the 2009 Teacher’s Choice Award from Learning Magazine and was named Best Picture Book and Best Overall Book for 2008 by the Florida Publishers Association. Suggested retail price: hardcover- $15.95, paperback $8.95.
Thank you to Sylvan Dell publishing for sending us a copy of Little Skink’s Tail for review!
My husband told me I needed to write one more post about how much we love our Frigidaire refrigerator! Last weekend, he emptied it out to wash all the shelves. The shelves and bins are easy to remove, and washed right up with a little warm water and dish soap. The adjustable hooks on the back of the shelves make it easy to raise or lower to accomodate different size containers, and the bright interior and light mean we have yet to discover “mystery food” hiding in the back.
We all love the ice and water dispenser, the shelf that’s deep enough to hold three gallons of milk at once, the rack on the door for pop cans or small bottles, and the wine (or two-liter pop bottle) holder. Without any hesitation, I can say with all confidence that if you are in the market for a new refrigerator, the Frigidaire Gallery series is worth the price.
Little Heroes is a collection of children’s books that you personalize, with your child as the hero. What sets Little Heroes books apart from other personalized books is the ability to choose hair, skin, and facial features to more closely match the look of the hero to your child.
Choose from “The Christmas Pirates”, “The Obnoxious Dragon”, “The Homerun Cookie”, “The Birthday Blob”, or “Planet Crouton” for your adventure. Little Heroes sent me a sample book of “The Obnoxious Dragon”, with the hero named for and customized to look like actress Lucy Liu. They also gave me a promo code to create an eBook, which was emailed to me in a PDF file. I picked “Planet Crouton”, a story about an astronaut and her friends who land on a strange planet made from a crouton! It’s a cute story about accepting the differences of others. Here’s one of the pages:
Depending on the book you choose, a hardcover book has 26-38 pages and costs $23.99-$24.99. All eBooks are $8.99. Little Heroes books are aimed at children ages 4-8.
BUY IT: Little Heroes is offering MomReviews readers 10% off all books purchased by Dec. 31st, 2009! Use code MOMR1209.. They suggest you order no later than Dec. 14th to ensure shipping for Christmas. Not sure which book to buy? You can purchase a gift certificate and either email it to the recipient or print it out to enclose in a card. Makes a wonderful gift!
The Power of Two Friendship Stones are natural, variegated Tiger’s Eye semiprecious gemstones. Each stone undergoes an intense six week process whereby the stones undergo a natural stone-on-stone tumbling process. The shape and luminosity of the stones are created by the other stones it touches, much like the people that touch our lives shape us.
The Power of Two Friendship Stone kit contains two beautiful stones, each in it’s own drawstring bag. By keeping the stone in their pocket, backpack, purse, or anywhere else, the people who share the stones stay connected to each other no matter where they are. This is the PERFECT gift for two best friends, parent and sibling, godparent and godchild, grandparent and grandchild, siblings- any two people who want to always remember they have a special bond.
And here’s something really special- The Power of Two is a strategic partner with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. By buying the Power of Two, you are directly giving to Big Brothers Big Sisters. 20% of all sales go back to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America! The Power of Two Friendship Stones are the ultimate way for all the Bigs and the Littles in this world to stay connected with each other – especially when busy daily lives may keep them physically apart.
BUY IT: The Power of Two gift pack includes two hand-selected stones with pouches in two different colors, one blank gift card and a brochure explaining the meaning and origins of the stones. Very affordably priced at only $24.95. Use the special Big Brothers Big Sisters/Power of Two ORDERING PAGE to ensure your purchase helps BBBS!
WIN IT: Thanks to Shari at My Stone Company, I have a Power of Two gift pack to give to one lucky MomReviews reader! To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me who you will give the stones to if you win. This must be done for your entry to be valid. Enter by Tuesday Nov. 24 at 12:00 PM EST.
ENTRY RULES: Open to U.S. mailing addresses only – international readers may enter if they have someone who can receive the package for them in the U.S. Winners will be announced on this post, on Prizey, and by email. Winners must reply with their full name, mailing address, and phone number within 72 hours or a new winner will be chosen.
BONUS ENTRIES: Earn a bonus entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each-
Subscribe to the MomReviews feed in a reader or by email, leave a comment telling me which way you subscribed.
Grab the MomReviews original or holiday gift guide button from the sidebar and post it on your blog. Leave a comment with the URL.
Stumble the post, submit to Digg, delicious, Mixx, Reddit, Propellor, or other social bookmarking sites. Leave the URL in your comment.
Blog about the giveaway with a link back to this post. Leave a comment with the URL.
Facebook-Friend me on Facebook and post the link to the giveaway on your Facebook wall. Leave a comment with the URL.
FollowMomReviews on Twitter and tweet the link to the giveaway, you can use this: Win a Power of Two Friendship Stone gift pack from @MomReviews. Enter by 11/24 http://bit.ly/u0ioR
Every store I shop in sells reusable bags, usually a thin canvas or cotton tote with the store logo on it. I try to remember to return them back to my trunk after I unload the groceries, but when I forget, I end up having to use the store’s plastic bags. We always use our plastic bags one more time, as wastebasket liners, trash bags, and to take out the kitty litter. The problem is, plastic bags still end up in landfills where they take forever to break down. So, we should use reusable bags, but do you really want to use a big red Target bag as a purse or diaper bag? What if you could have a reusable bag that was fashionable, useful, easy to carry when not in use, made by an earth-conscious company? Sounds pretty good, right?!
In 2004, ChicoBag President Andy Keller went to his local landfill after doing some backyard landscaping, and was shocked by the number of plastic bags he saw. On the way home, he noticed plastic bags caught in trees, stuck in fences, blowing along on the ground. He vowed that day to stop using plastic bags, and using a second hand sewing machine, began working on what would become the first ChicoBag.
ChicoBags are made from recycled materials including pop bottles into bags that are both functional and stylish. ChicoBag sent me their Messenger rePETe bag, and at first when I opened the box, I was surprised that it was this tiny pouch. Then I started pulling the bag itself out of the pouch…and pulling, and pulling. I couldn’t believe how huge the bag was that came out of the pouch! The pouch itself stays attached to the inside, and there’s a carabiner clip so you can clip the pouch to a backpack or purse. The only part of this bag NOT made from 100% recycled materials is the carabiner, which is 97% recycled aluminum. Inside the bag are two separate zipper pockets, flexible lycra bottle pockets, an adjustable strap, and a sleek magnetized closure system.
Please stop by ChicoBag to read more about all of their functional, stylish, and eco-conscious bags. The Messenger rePETe bag is $17.99.
Disclaimer:
Product Reviews Blog is owned by 1800blogger which is a (for) profit organization. We are not a charity. If you send any money through this button, please understand that the money is being used for working capital for Product Reviews Blog and 1800blogger. Please check with your accountant to see if this is a tax-deductible contribution.
It didn’t hold my 4 year old daughter’s attention for very long, but I bet if LEGO came out with a Princess movie, she would definitely watch it!
On Tuesday, December 8th, something very exciting is happening! On my blog 
Until I’d tried Fabulous Flats Sandwich Flats, it is quite possible that I’d never eaten a preservative-free bread. That idea was enough to chew on for awhile, whether I had food in my mouth or not. What else do I let enter my body, having no idea what it is, or where it came from? I’ll never be the kind of person to agonize over things like that, but it is food for thought.
In 
