What I learned this week...

I am joining Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife for her new carnival.

So what did I lean this week? I learned to always check the dollar section at Target. The preferred method would be without kids because you can only have so many Strawberry Shortcake note pads or or black felt art sets. Last week I added a new small hamper for K's room and a handheld duster to my list of "things to get".

Now that I have the new washer and dryer (aren't they pretty) I can actually do laundry in a reasonable amount of time. K's hamper was taking up too much room for the little laundry that it was being used for. I also noticed that the pretty metallic grey that I picked for the washer/dryer collects alot of dust and it's annoying.

So I am browsing through the dollar section and what did I find a hamper and a hand held duster both for $1 each. WOW! I also found some great picture frames that will make great Valentine's gifts for the Grandparents. They were $1 too.

Check out the dollar section! Let me know what you find.

Learn more at What I Learned This Week

You're going to thank me for this

Monday, January 26 is the first day of one of my favorite times of the year. It's time for -

There will be hundreds no wait probably thousands of giveaways all list on one page. Each link in Mr. Linky on the Bloggy Giveaway website will take you to another giveaway. This is so much fun and totally addictive. Check every day because new giveaway are posted all the time. And guess what... I be hosting my very first giveaway next week. Don't forget to enter. Have fun, good luck and don't forget to share.

Kids Central Kitchen

Next up Mom Fuse arranged for us to try some baking mixes from Kids Central Kitchen.

From their website Kids Central Kitchen-

We offer natural, whole grain baking mixes for today’s active kids and their families! Also enjoy a fun and colorful selection of children’s cooking utensils, baking pans, mixing bowls, cookie cutters, sprinkles, chef hats, aprons, party favors, baking gift sets and other fun baking supplies.Our mixes are easy to make! NO trans fats, NO hydrogenated oils, NO high fructose corn syrup and NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Even low fat, low cholesterol and vegan recipes are available. Simple ingredients make simply delicious wholesome snacks for your family!

Our baking mixes are carefully prepared and packaged in the U.S.A.

There is a lot about that paragraph that I like. Did you see how healthy these mixes are? We received Snow Angel Sugar Cookie, Swinging Monkey Banana Bread, Flip Flop Flapjacks Pancake Mix and a kid’s chef hat – so cute! This weekend Nana was here so K decided that she wanted to make Nana breakfast. I was surprised at how simple these were to make. All we needed was water, milk, non fat plain yogurt and the mix.
I let K mix everything herself and she had so much fun playing chef.

Mom took over when it was time to cook the pancakes. They look delicious!
The box said it would make 21 small pancakes but I was able to make 14 medium size pancakes. Plenty for us. They were REALLY good. My daughter asked for more, my 2 year old ate 4 yes 4 pancakes… he is a growing boy. Nana even had seconds. They were a huge hit. My only recommendation is that you read the directions as soon as you get this mixes. I found that the pancake mix wasn’t something I could just make the day after I got them because plain non fat yogurt is not something I keep in my frig so I had to wait until the next time I went to the store.

I can’t wait to try their cookie mixes, they look amazing. The thing I like best about this line of products is that it is something I don’t have to think twice about giving my kids. I could pronounce every ingredient on the back, they are healthy AND they taste good.

If you go out to the website check out their baking kits – what a great idea!

Thank you Kids Central Kitchen and Mom Fuse.

Parking Pal

This is one of those things that I should have thought of and that I would have loved to have had a couple years ago when my son was 1st born.

Since my daughter was old enough to walk we have always had a saying, “One hand on Rocket”. Rocket is our car. She was going through her Little Einstein’s phase when she named our beloved SUV. One hand on rocket meant that she would stand next to me by the car and always have one hand on the car, always touching Rocket. This was especially helpful when her brother was born and getting in and out of the car became a huge ordeal.

The Parking Pal is similar to those magnetic ribbons that you see on the back of cars. It is circle with a fun design and a hand print showing exactly where the kids should keep their hands. The Parking Pal makes “One hand on Rocket” fun for my kids. From their website the Parking Pal is described as:

HOW IT WORKS: Place the Parking Pal on the side of your vehicle, where it will remain safely attached at all times. It was specifically designed with bright colors, playful illustrations, and a small palm children love to place their hands on. After a couple learning sessions, your child will discover that the Parking Pal is their safe spot, and they will know where to go the second they are outside the car. It also helps teach them that parking lots are no place to play.

The first time I put the Parking Pal on the car my daughter asked why I didn’t buy one of these before. The first thing they do when they are out of the car is put on hand on the Parking Pal. I think it would make a great gift especially if you know someone who is having a new baby with an older sibling.

This is a great idea and a great product! Thank you Parking Pal and Mom Fuse.

SingStar Vol 2

Those of you who know me in real life know that K, my 5 year old daughter, has a goal in life to be the next American Idol. Since she started talking she was singing. At her Pre-School graduation she was voted most likely to become an American Idol. We are all about music around here which means we love karaoke style games. We have a PlayStation 3 and we have High School Musical, American Idol, and Rock Band 2 singing games.

When we were asked if we would be willing to review SingStar vol 2 my first thought was A PLAYSTATION GAME? You really want to send me a PlayStation game to review? HECK YEAH!

We played SingStar the first night we got it and just about every night since. I LOVE THIS GAME! Oh wait it was supposed to be for K wasn't it?

So here is what I like:

• The game came with 2 microphones which means Mommy can sing too! It also means no failing and more points so K doesn't think she did that bad. The one thing I really don't like about the other singing games we have is that my perfectionist daughter always feels like a failure when Simon tells her how horrible she is. Maybe at 16 she can handle that but she is 5. We love doing the duets and even Daddy gets to play.
• The videos! With every song you get to watch the actual video from the song.
• The parental control. There are a few videos that can be inappropriate for 5 year olds and this game provides you with a means to block them. Love that option.
• The songs! Most of the songs are recent with some golden oldies that like Pretty Fly for a White Guy, Funky Cold Medina and California Dreaming. I didn't say how old.
• Download options - I love that you can go online and download more songs. You do have to pay but we can pick songs the kids know which makes it even more fun for the family.
  

I am really impressed with SingStar vol 2. We have had so much fun playing night after night. And I'll brag a little about my score of over 6,000 points on Beverly Hills. So who's coming over to play??

You can buy SingStar vol 2 here. You better start practicing if you want to beat me.

Thank you Sony and Mom Fuse!

Zookies

When I went to the Zookies website I knew this was going to be a company I would enjoy. Their website is so bright, organized and looks like so much fun. We had the opportunity to review an apron from their Play and Learn line. The child size apron came with 2 spatulas, measuring spoons, an assortment of cookie cutters and a box of chalk. My 5 year old daughter was so excited. She is just getting into baking and helping Mommy cook dinner.

The apron is the perfect size to grow into. A little big which mean we will get lots of use out of it. K's favorite part is the small chalkboard on the front of the apron. She loves to pick her title for the day. On this day she was "Mom's Helper".

The Zookies website is filled with chalkboard items; hats, shirts, lunch boxes, and my favorite place mats. This site is filled with great gift ideas and they all provide an opportunity for the kids to get creative. There is even a section for custom items!

K now looks for excuses to wear her apron and pick her title. It's very easy to erase the board and add something new. You have to be a little careful because the chalk does rub off if you come in contact with something else, like Mommy's arm but then we have fun picking a new title in a new color.

We love our Zookies apron! Thank you Zookies and Mom Fuse!

Yes, I am one of them

I never thought it would happen to me. I am a Mom, I am old; well not that old but old enough to know better. I work full time, I don't have time for things like this. Really I don't. Most of the time I can't find enough time in the day to work, cook, clean and get the kids to school. Then the company I work for decided that the holidays would be a great time to give us two weeks vacations. Two weeks during which you are not expected to check voice mail, don't even think about logging into e-mail and DO NOT think about work. I thought about all the things I could do... clean the house, bake, hang out with the kids and maybe just maybe read A book. Just one. I could do it. I had two weeks and during one of those weeks I would be in Lake Tahoe with no house to clean, nothing to be done but relax.

One of my friends mention this amazing series she was reading. She was obsessed. No one heard from her in days. She knew I would love it. So I did it. I borrowed "Twilight" from my Mom and I started reading it on Dec 23rd and I also got the flu. I read as much as I could between running to the bathroom. I was hooked. I had to know what happened next. The next two days my quiet time was limited with 20 people in the house but a interesting thing happened. Two more books in the series showed up under the tree.

I left for Tahoe on the 26th with books 1,2 and 3 determined to read them all. Did I mention that each book was at least 500 pages... at least. When I got to our destination I realized I really had books 1,2 and 4. What in the world was I going to do. I finished book 1 and started book 2 and knew I could not make it through the week without finding book 3. And this is where it got a little crazy... just ask my husband. I took K out for a drive through two states and 10 stores to find Eclipse. It was no where to be found. I was going crazy. The next day I begged Hubby to drive 30 minutes to a town that actually had a Target and a Borders. I HAD to find the book. Thank goodness the hubby loves me and knows how much I would have nagged if I didn't find the book.

I spent the rest of the week finishing all 4 books. Yes I read 4 books in a little over a week. I couldn't put them down. I had to know if Edward came back, I had to know what happened to Bella, I wanted Alice to be my BFF and yes I am now on a first name basis with the characters.

I am now what they call a

My goal is to convince everyone I know to join me and don't think I don't have selfish reasons. I need someone to go see the movie with me. I need to talk about the book and the movies. I can't get enough! This is so unlike me. I am even going to re-read the books. Seriously I have never done that before.

The bottom line is:

Hotslings for Kids

I have to admit the KidSling was one of those products that made me think, is this really something a kid is going to use? I got my answer in the first 5 minutes after opening the product.

The concept is simple. It's similar to a sling you would carry a baby in but it's for kids to carry their dolls or stuffed animals. We received the Quinn Kid Sling. I love the brown and blue colors. My daughter didn't quiet get it until I put in on and showed her where she could hold her favorite stuff animal. "THIS IS SO COOL MOM" K carried her stuffed Teddy Bear April around all day. She loved that she could have April next to her while still being able to use her hands. She didn't want to take the Kidsling off. The first thing she asked for in the morning was her baby sling to carry April around.

I wish this was something I had for K when her brother was born 2 years ago. I really think she would have loved being able to carry her bear while Mommy was carrying her brother. I think this would make a great Big Sister gift.

We went on vacation the day after Christmas. While packing K got to pick a few toys to bring with her. Her main priority was making sure that April's carrier - her Kidsling was packed so April could go everywhere with us.

Another product that my daughter loved! Thank you Hotslings and Mom Fuse!

Helpful Hallies - Mighty Miracle Mist

A product that I recently reviewed was Helpful Hallies Mighty Miracle Mist. A description from their website:

"Mighty Miracle Mist is a tool
that helps positively redirect young children to behave appropriately. It is a
4-pack of unscented, water-based sprays that includes: Cooperation &
Sharing, Kind Voice & Good Manners, Good Thinking & Pay Attention and
Good Night.

It works much like the concept of "Santa is
watching"... with the power of suggestion. When a child exhibits
inappropriate behavior, choose the corresponding bottle and mist the room.
Let child know the room is now sprayed for "Cooperation" or whichever behavior
you are trying to redirect. It's so much fun for kids that they want to
behave just so they can use it".

I introduced it to both of my kids but knew right away the 2 year wasn't going to understand but he wants to do everything his sister does so I made sure to keep him involved. The concept is great. This coming from a Mom who tells her kids that yes, smoke alarms are really Santa's cameras and when then are blinking that means he is watching.

The first night we tried the mists I squirted them in the air and the kids ran through. My 5 year old, K said "I feel like I have good manners now!" The first day seemed to work really well. The second day we tried the Paying Attention spray and she said she didn't think that one works on her. That night she reminded me that she needed a little help going to sleep so we sprayed the Good Night spray.

I was very consistent in using the product for five days and to be honest it had it's moments. There were times when K just knew the Miracle Mist was working and their when times when she wasn't buying it at all.

I wish that the sprays had a little more to it. Maybe a scent to go with it that lingered in the room to remind her that is had been sprayed and that the positive attitude vibes were soaking in. Like any Future American Idol she was disappointed that the glitter didn't stay on her.

Overall the one that has worked best for us in the Good Night spray. When it's been a rough day and K needs that little push to stay in bed I pull out the Might Miracle Mist and it's just that little extra comfort she needs.