Quick Giveaway-Foster Farm Corn Dog & Nintendo Scribblenauts giveaway!

Are you ready for a great holiday giveaway? Right now you have a great chance to win delicious foster farms corn dogs (one of our personal quick family favorites) and Nintendo Scribblenauts game!

About Foster Farms

Family-owned and operated, Foster Farms continues its legacy of excellence and commitment to quality
established by its founders, Max and Verda Foster. Foster Farms Corn Dogs can be found in the following varieties: Honey Crunchy Corn Dogs, Mini Honey Crunchy Corn Dogs, Jumbo Honey Crunchy Corn Dogs, Chili Cheese Corn Dogs and Family Fun Pack. Foster Farms also produces a new Lower-Sodium, 100% Whole Grain Chicken Corn Dog for foodservice that was awarded the Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA) Winner’s Seal of Approval in 2012. Foster Farms offers delicious fresh, pre-marinated, ready-to-cook and fully cooked poultry products that meet the quality and convenience needs of today's home cooks, retailers, warehouse clubs and
foodservice customers. Visit www.fosterfarms.com to learn more.



Another great rebate offer-anyone who purchases specially marked boxes of Foster Farms Corn Dogs and the new Scribblenauts Unlimited game are eligible for a $5 cash rebate.

Hoppin' For the Holidays Giveaway Event

Welcome to the Hoppin’ For The Holidays Giveaway Hop hosted by MamaNYC! Christmas is fast approaching and we’re all starting to think about holiday gifts, decorating, and snuggling up under the mistletoe. We’ve all gathered together to bring our readers some amazing prizes that would surely make fantastic holiday gifts this year, so start hopping down the linky below!  This event will run from December 13-29th, which means you will have plenty of time to enter all of our giveaways. Good Luck & Happy Holidays!

Enter to win 1 of 6 amazing prize packs using the rafflecopter form below! 

1. $25 Giftcard to FunSlurp

2. Small Monkeez Character of Choice

3. Speckled Frogs on Log 

4.  Wits Party Game

5.20x30 print from collagedotcom

Will you be traveling this holidy season?

While I love going away with my family I find traveling to be a bit stressful. Here is when I began to dread hotels....my daughter was 10 months old and just starting to crawl. We went to Connecticut and quickly set up the pack and play and began to get ready for our trip to the zoo. Somehow the person cleaning the room missed this weird metal cap or coin thing in the corner and little miss crawled right over and in her mouth it went. After that I began obsessing-what about the cords, light sockets, door knobs? At home we had baby proofing things our but here we were not prepared for our crawling little angel. Well years have gone by and I still stress every time we travel-that is until we met the Travel Tot company in Louisville. So what is Travel Tot? It is a childproofing kit that quickly travels with you wherever you go. We actually keep ours in our diaper bag so it is with us at all times....after all you never know when you need a bandage!

Travel Tot has been featured on the Today Show and I am excited about more exposure for the company. Think of all the times you may have had a close call while traveling-how nice would it of been to quickly pull out a small kit and have piece of mind. I think this is a must have for anyone traveling this holiday season and would be a great baby gift!
You can purchase your Travel Tot kit online here-happy and safe travels this holiday season!

California Wine Club-still time to order for the holidays!

Can you believe that we are a short few weeks from the holidays! I know the next couple weeks will become frantic as everyone searches for that perfect gift. I know I mentioned it before but the California Wine Club really is a great gift idea! I received my second shipment and am in love with the white wine. It is something from a small vineyard that I would of never had the chance to try on my own because it is not sold in my state. My wine even came in holiday wrap which was a pleasant festive touch. I love how the wine is shipped and arrives in one piece thanks to the great styrofoam shipping container. I also love the fact that you never know what will arrive....I mean it is like a fun present each month. What will be in the package this month? So far every wine has been spot and I loved the light taste of this months wine. Be sure to get your order in soon and begin a great holiday tradition!

Shipping Alert!  Ground Shipping Deadline is December 12^th.  Any orders placed after Dec 12 incur expedited air charges for Christmas deliveries.

This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. I received a 2 month Membership to the California Wine Club for the purpose of this review.

Win Prima Princessa for your Princess!

Did you ever go to the Nutcracker as a child? It was one of my ultimate holiday memories with my mom and I am hoping to pass on the tradition to my daughter. She has been in ballet for a few months and loves everything pink and sparkly so I knew the Prima Princessa presents the Nutcracker would be a huge hit! As soon as I turned on the dvd it was perfect. The story is narrated so you can easily understand the plot of the story. Little miss loves that you get to take "lessons" from the ballet lady on the screen. The steps are very simple and really make the dvd a great interactive show instead of one of those just sit there and try to follow along. The Nutcracker will be sure to get you into the holiday spirit and is being aired this holiday season on PBS across the county and is available for purchase on Amazon. Want to make sure you get to see the show? Enter to win using our rafflecopter form below!

For ballerina coloring pages, on-line ballerina games and more visit PrimaPrincessa.com. Information courtesy of Prima Princessa. 

Gift Guide Highlight Kwid Kids Learning Watch

Is your child at that age when they are determined to be completely self sufficient? I know our new obsession is watches. My husband wears a watch, I wear a watch, and my daughter wants to wear a watch. The frustrating part is that the kids watches available are either digital or the face of a clock and she wants to feel "grown up" but still be able to understand time. Luckily I stumbled across the Kwid Learning Watch! It shows both the face of the clock and the digital time-such an amazing idea! My daughter has grown in leaps in bounds with her new watch because she can easily check her "answer" and find if she is correct.

The watch is also the perfect solution for so many other things then learning time. Just look at all the great things the watch can help your child learn:

Our other favorite feature is learning to organize your time. I like that my daughter can see how much time is left in a certain task and when the time is over it is over. This has caused us to really change how we parent and encourage our daughter to take more responsibility. How many times have we fought over how much 5 minutes is when leaving the playground! No more thanks to the Learning Watch...when time is up we both know that it is time to go! The Kids Learning Watch is the perfect stocking stuffer and available here on amazon!
Watch the watch in action:

Holiday Gift Guide Spotlight-Wise Alec Junior

Looking for a great game that your kids can play together? Griddly Games has a great new game called Wise Alec Junior. The game is actually four games in one which means you can play a different game each night and the kids won't be bored of the same game day after day.

The games focus on building memory, matching and action. It has also been approved by teachers and has a great storage center including a magnetic closure that makes things easy for cleanup. So what did we think of Wise Alec Junior? My daughters ultimate favorite game was the story telling game. You pick different tiles and create your own story. I love how my daughters imagination goes to work and each time we play she comes up with a new fantastic story. We also enjoy the memory game which has helped her number recognition and helped count. Before she would count the people on the card and usually add a few extra people...since we have been playing the game and not drilling her with counting little miss has improved beyond my wildest dream. I absolutely love games that help with learning!

Here are a just a few of the great things that Wise Alec Junior can do:

Holiday Gift Guide Squaredy Cats-Enter to Win!

Have you ever been just a little nervous to try something new? I know my daughter can be a bit nervous when it is time to perform in front of any kind of audience. What better way to encourage my daughter then with a fun loving Squaredy Cat. We have Dazzle who is not "squared" of the spotlight.

Each and every cat is unique and comes with a great message. Little miss loves to "practice" her dancing in front of her cat before trying it in front of us. The cat is super soft and we love the unique square shape. Little miss says the cats are perfect for stacking and wants to build a whole "kitty city" tower. I think that the Squaredy Cats make great gifts for any occasion or for any cat lover.

They are available online and at select retailers including build-a-bear and toys 'r' us. Be sure to visit the site and find all the great cats available. Want to win your very own? Enter using the rafflecopter form below! 

Holiday Gift Guide Highlight- Life on the Farm

So are you looking for something a little different to give the person that has everything? I know each year we end up drawing my cousin's name and he always wants "a game". The problem is all of the games he either has or is not super appropriate...his mom does not like the "make the dog poop game" or "let's pick our nose" games. So when I went to the Chitag Game & Toy fair I knew I would find the perfect something.
So imagine a game that develops business skills, money management (yes with actual toy money and not fake credit cards!), and critical thinking skills, all while doing something a little different. Life on the Farm is just the award winning board game you are looking for! The goal game is about running a small business  and being the first to "retire".

The game has won numerous awards including first place at the Brainerd Inventors Fair, the 2012 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, and Tillywig Toy Awards Best Family Fun. WE loved moving along the path and going to cattle auctions and incurring farm expenses. The game is perfect for  family game night and ages eight and up.

So as you know I have kids of various ages. So what about our little preschooler that always wants to be included? They have Life of the Farm Preschool Edition! I love this version because no reading is required and the graphics are so bright and kid friendly. The game is a puzzle combination where kids play the game and get a matching animal puzzle piece. The first to fill their "barn" with seven animals wins. The game is the perfect playing length without getting board and was a great mix for everyone to play together-not completed for the little one but kept the big kids engaged.
So where can you buy Life on the Farm? It is available online and at toys 'r' us. A perfect something different for the game lover on your list!

Make a difference when you shop this holiday season

Have you ever heard about Monkeez Makes a Difference? It is a great program that empowers children to help others. The company turns giving to others into a game that is innovative and interactive. Once you purchase a genuine Monkeez or Monkeez friends you can online to play games, participate in real life do good challenges and make a special donation on your child's behalf to one of three nationally renowned charities of your child's choice. Each friend comes with a unique code on their tag and are available and many independent retailers across the country. Just look at how adorable the Monkeez & Friends are:

There are more than 90 plush designs to choose from-we have a kangaroo & joey and a hedgehog. I love that there is large range of price points and tons of animals to choose from! You can find the large variety of friends available here:

So how did Monkeez & Friends change our lives? Before we brought our two new friends home my husband & I were not sure how to make our preschooler aware of those less fortunate. As the holidays were approaching we wanted to have her help someone in need but did not know a great way to bring up giving back in a way that she could understand. The Monkeez friends were the perfect way to explore online and teach her about all the organizations available to help children less fortunate. So what was little misses favorite part of her new friends? Hands down the magnetic hands and the fact that the kangaroo had a removable joey. She loves to have her new friends "help" around the house by carrying different things in their paws. The Monkeez Friends really are something unique that will bring a smile to your child's face.You can find all of the Monkeeze Friends here plus other great products for everyone on your list!

Gift Guide Highlight Sili Squeeze

Are your kids into the squeezers? That is what we call them at least and at $1.49 a piece I am always a little reluctant to buy them-I know its fruit and great for you but the price gives me a bit of sticker shock. Now my daughter has to have these ones because you guessed it Tangled is on the package:

While I love the fact that she is eating more fruit/vegetable combinations I was still a bit concerned about the content and the harm of the packaging as well as price. So I decided I was going to create my own fruit puree which was a huge hit. My daughter loves to help make her snacks and feels like she is really part of the process but it was not the same eating the puree out of a cup. Lucky me I found my life saving, go to snack device-the sili squeeze!

The sili squeeze is available in two sizes 4 oz and 6 oz and made for a wide range of ages. The patent pending spill proof spout is a real life savor-ever had your preschooler jump down on her half eaten squeezer pouch? We have she jumped right out of the seat and onto the package with caused a huge sticky, smelly mess. The sili squeeze is perfect for those of us concerned with the crazy amount of trash produced each year as well-no more throwing out three pouches each day that will take forever to decompose in a landfill. When you child is done with their snack either wash by hand or in the dishwasher-so simple! My favorite part of the sili squeeze is that the cap is attached and I do not have to hunt for it to close up whatever my remain in the bottle. If you have an older preschool child like my squeezer loving daughter you will want the Sili Squeeze with Eeeze. It is the second-generation of reusable squeeze pouches from The Sili Company. The difference in the Sili Squeeze with Eeze is that the resistance free nipple spout is no longer spill proof which my daughter loves! She likes to feel like a big girl and not a baby-because we no longer use sippy cups she things anything you really need to manipulate with your mouth is for babies. Sili Squeeze offers tons of great recipe ideas here. Not really into making your own snacks? Think of how great it will be to buy in bulk and portion our appropriate snack sizes of yogurt or to be able to buy a large tub of vanilla and easily change the flavor by adding whichever fruit for the day. The sili squeeze is really a great baby shower gift idea or snack idea for your favorite preschooler! Be sure to follow sili squeeze on Facebook, twitter, pinterest. 

Alma's Design-Five Green & Speckled Frogs

Ever heard the song Five Green & Speckled Frogs? It is one of my daughter's favorite songs and we love to act out all the motions. While walking around the ABC Expo I came across Alma's Designs and look what I found:

It is the Five Green and Speckled Frogs on their log! This makes reading and singing our favorite story so much more than I could every imagine. My daughter can easily manipulate the frogs and the log each time we read the story and it really brings it to life. My favorite part of the frogs is the help with number recognition. Each is labeled with a number and I like to challenge her to put them in number order and name each number on the frog when she puts them back (also great for counting!). Alma's Designs also offers Storytelling Activity Sets for other classic stories including 5 Little Monkeys on Bed, Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Caterpillar Doll and so much more! 

Along with the great Storytelling Activity Sets Alma Designs offers Cloth Activity Books, Reversible Storytelling Dolls, Imaginative Play, and my other favorite Learning Wall Charts. 

What a great addition to any holiday list to have toys that allow our children to be creative and unplug from all the electronics. Our speckled frogs have become so much more than an interactive tool for a story book....we use them for counting and creating our own frog stories. I challenge each of you to find a toy this holiday season that encourages interactive play and imagination without electronics. I am very excited to continue our journey with the help of Alma's Design and find more ways to bring my daughter's books and imagination to life! Be sure to keep up to date on Alma's Design by checking their facebook & twitter pages!