PetCakes {Review & Giveaway}

I get quite a few packages each day and our UPS man but he normally doesn’t come until later in the afternoon so when he showed up at 10am we were pleasantly surprised. My daughter instantly wanted to know what was in the package. I peeked inside and then tossed all of the PetCakes out of the box at once at her- she was ecstatic! I then spent some time showing them to her reading off all their names, then I left her to play for a few minutes. The next thing I knew she was standing next to me with her arms full of PetCakes! She was trying to carry all four of them and just kept saying, “Happy Day! Happy Day!”

They are the cutest little cupcake dogs that are soft enough to cuddle with yet fun enough to play with for kids that are a little older. My five and six year old daughters also were thrilled to see them when they got home from school. I wasn’t excited about the prospect of having to pry them out of my 2 1/2 year olds hands but luckily we were sent a set of 4 so the 2 1/2 year old kept two of them an the other two girls each got one and everyone was happy. They instantly sat down and started playing “Pet Shop” with them and I loved that they recognized that the cupcake wrapper the dogs had come in could double as a dog bed.

These would make a great birthday present or stocking stuffer!

From the Company:

Well Made™ Toy Manufacturing Corporation, introduces PetCakes™, a new collectible plush pet line that will be a sweet treat for children ages 3 & up. Each PetCakes animal features a "frosting" hat, comes nestled in its own cupcake wrapper and has its own whimsical backstory. At first look, children will see a delicious cupcake but will then be surprised by the pet they find snuggled inside! Combining sweet faces and cuddly plush with a clever cupcake theme, PetCakes are collectible and provide hours of open-ended imaginative play. PetCakes make perfect gifts for a special friend and for pet lovers. They are ideal for birthday party favors, stocking stuffers and as rewards for good grades. Most of all, PetCakes deliver the kind of fun kids eat up!

Buy It: Series 1 (the Dogs) of PetCakes are now available online at www.toysrus.com and etoys.com for $13.99.

Win It: Well Made Toys has offered one of my readers the opportunity to win two of these great PetCakes!

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Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Ends November 10th at 11:59 PM (PDT). A winner will be chosen using random.org and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond after contacted by email. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of PetCakes and Well Made Toys. I was sent product free of charge to review but was not compensated monetarily.

Rock ‘n Learn {Review & Giveaway}

My six year old who’s in first grade this year was reading before she even stepped foot in a public classroom and we didn’t have much to do with that so we didn’t have to work on trying to help her learn how to read, however my five year who’s in kindergarten this year is doing a great job but we’ve had to work a little harder with her. Most of the time we find her sister reading books to her and helping her sound out the letters and Kindergarten has also done a fabulous job of helping her learn new skills towards reading but I was looking for some fun new ideas and found Rock ‘n Learn.

From the Website:

Rock 'N Learn, Inc. began as an idea that would help children learn by putting educational material to music with a current sound-the kind of music that kids enjoy and find motivating. Rock 'N Learn programs help students learn math, phonics, reading, early childhood, social studies, Spanish, test-taking strategies, writing, and science. Our DVDs incorporate cool music with exciting, colorful imagery.

For this review I decided on the Read Along Stories DVD from Rock ‘n Learn. I wanted to get something that both of my girls could enjoy and at the same time something that would help my daughter increase in her reading skills. I love that the Read Along Stories DVD contains four well known stories which made it easier for my daughter to follow along. I loved that my daughters were able to follow along with the story right on the screen with the “bouncing ball” concept (there wasn’t actually a ball but the words were highlighted in yellow). I actually watched the DVD while my kids were at school with my two year old and read along with the stories and found her trying to copy the words I was saying. One of my two year olds favorite parts of the DVD was of course the songs! I like how the DVD has many different menu options so you don’t have to watch the entire thing but you can pick the individual story you’d like to read/watch or pick the song you’d like. After one story and one song my two year old wanted more songs! She was up and dancing on the coffee table. I really liked how the song wasn’t just a song but basically retold the entire story in a simplified song format that was catchy and upbeat.

Rock ‘n Learn also included some of their new ruler backed bookmarks in our package which my six year old loved! She has started reading chapter books and loves bookmarks so that definitely made her day!

Buy It: You can purchase DVD’s from Rock ‘n Learn for only $19.99 but they also sell Book and CD combos for only $12.99 and replacement books for $3.00 (this is a nice feature in case your book gets worn out or lost).

Do you a discount? Of course you do! Use this coupon code JQ7711 (continental U.S. residents only) and you will receive 25% off your entire purchase!

Win It: Rock ‘n Learn has offered one of my readers their choice of DVD or Book and CD combo!

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Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of Rock ‘n Learn. I was sent product free of charge to review but was not compensated monetarily.

Little One Books {Review & Giveaway}

Little One Books has a wonderful variety of books,music and video for children from birth through age five! I love that their site is broken up into age sections. This feature makes purchasing a gift someone really easy! I generally have a pretty hard time to trying to figure out what books should go with what age range because my oldest daughter is reading about two grade levels ahead of what is normal.

Thanks to Little One Books my daughters received the Eloise Collection (Volume One) on DVD. They have quite a few books so I decided on the DVD set. The DVD set came with three individual DVD’s in their own cases, Me, Eloise, Eloise in Hollywood, and Eloise in Springtime. (The girls have actually seen Eloise in Hollywood before because we borrowed it from the library so I knew they’d loved the rest!) Retail Value $24.98- great bundle price since the DVD’s separately sell for $14.8 each.

From the Website:

Eloise comes to animated life in this delightful and hilarious adventure of The Plaza's most famous six-year old. It's Eloise's sixth birthday and she's planning the most special party ever! Everything is going just right until a new girl - a young Japanese violin prodigy named Yuko shows up and steals all of the attention. Eloise decides it is her job to show Yuko just how fun the Plaza can be. The two new friends take off on a "rawther" extraordinary adventure that takes a surprising turn and they almost miss the big day! Imagination runs wild and being bored is never allowed in this adventure featuring the talented voices of Lynn Redgrave as Nanny and Tim Curry as Mr. Salamone!

Winter is over in New York City and Nanny is going on a much-needed vacation. Eloise's temporary nanny - the young, hip and beautiful Nicole shows Eloise an exciting, artsy side of New York City she knew nothing about. They have a lot of fun together until Nicole starts spending too much time with Bill, Eloise’s favorite Plaza employee. She must overcome her jealousy and learn an important lesson about love and friendship. Featuring Mary Matilyn Mouser as Eloise and Lynn Redgrave as the Nanny.

A big time movie producer invites Eloise and Nanny to Hollywood, and the Plaza Hotel's most famous six-year-old is instantly overcome by visions of overnight stardom and red-carpet premieres. When Eloise arrives in Tinseltown only to be asked to audition for a role in a major studio film, she thinks her glamorous dreams may actually be coming true. It's an adventure full of famous actors, crazy directors and behind the scenes fun. But Eloise soon discovers making a movie isn't always as exciting as it seems. Will she be able to pull off her secret plan to stop from becoming a huge Hollywood star and go back to being just plain fabulous Eloise? Imagination runs wild and being bored is never allowed in this fun-filled animated adventure featuring the talented voices of Lynn Redgrave, Tim Curry, Cynthia Nixon, Lacey Chabert and more!

Little One Books has a team of professionals that have personally reviewed and selected each and every item in the store and you can even read as to why they chose each particular product in the “Why We Chose” section on each product page. Each product is matched to what they feel is the youngest appropriate age group so while the Eloise Collection of videos was marked in the 4 year old category that doesn’t mean that my 5 and 6 year old won’t love them!

Little One Books is your one stop shop for your upcoming holiday shopping! I believe that books, music and videos can make some of the best gifts and they’ve taken most of the hard work out of the selection process for you so head on over to Little One Books and take a look at all their great products without even having to step foot in a bookstore.

Buy It: You can buy the Eloise Collection (Volume One) on DVD and many other great products from Little One Books.

Do you want a discount? Little One Books is offering FREE shipping on all orders through November 15th!

Win It: Little One Books has offered one of my readers a $25 gift certificate!!

You must be a Google follower of my blog to enter.

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Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Ends November 6th at 11:59 PM (CST). A winner will be chosen using random.org and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond after contacted by email. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of Little One Books. I was sent product free of charge to review but was not compensated monetarily.

All Things Girly {Review & Giveaway}

All Things Girly is a shop I found on Etsy that I would refer to as a hidden gem! The majority of their products are hair bows but they also have a couple of really cute tutus. The thing I love is that you can also request that All Things Girly make you a custom item and with the talent of the products listed you can expect a high quality bow!

I have three little girls who are all very girly and love all hair bows and accessories. Katie at All Things Girly so kindly sent me the adorable Ladybug Baby Clip and a large Ladybug Bow. My two year old who loves all bugs was ecstatic to see the little ladybug clip, but she won’t let me put it in her hair because she wants to just carry it around looking at it. My six year old came home from school and I noticed she was wearing a red shirt so the larger bow fit her outfit perfectly! I’ve seen quite a few bow shops on Etsy but think the quality of items from All Things Girly and the great price makes this a shop you won’t want to pass by!

Buy It: You can find these cute bows at All Things Girly. (The Ladybug Baby Clip is only $2)

Win It: All Things Girly has offered one of my readers their White & Black Bat Hairbow- perfect for Halloween!

You must be a follower of my blog to enter this giveaway.

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Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Ends November 4th at 11:59 PM (PDT). A winner will be chosen using random.org and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond after contacted by email. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of All Things Girly. I was sent product free of charge to review but was not compensated monetarily.

Pink Princess {Review & Giveaway} CLOSED

I’m a mom of three little girls and grew up as the oldest of 6 girls and only 1 boy and I love to dress my little girls up in all kinds of girly things with matching accessories and yes I’m that mom who will be caught with kids in matching outfits, especially when it comes to dresses.

When I was offered a review opportunity from Pink Princess I had a really hard time deciding what to get. We had just purchased the girl’s holiday dresses and while I fully believe that little girls can never have too many dresses I had a hard time choosing which one of my girls would be the recipient of something beautiful from Pink Princess, not to mention Pink Princess has about a million different items in their store so that made it even harder.

My five year old had the time of her life looking through all the beautiful Holiday Dresses but I think her favorites were the Flower Girl Dresses- she just loved all the really formal looking ones. I finally ended up getting the Black Fleece Swing Holiday Coat for my six year old because it’s starting to get a little cooler and she’s the only one of my girls who’s grown out of everything and never has anything nice to wear to church to keep her warm.

I had kept the coat a surprise for my daughter so when it arrived she was ecstatic! I have a black coat that I wear each Sunday to church that’s similar looking and she thought it was very cool to have a coat just like mom’s. She loved how soft and fuzzy it was and I loved that the material felt like top quality that would last- but my favorite part- it’s machine washable!!! Those of you with little kids will know how very important it is to have machine washable clothes and it’s especially hard to come by in dress clothes.

About Pink Princess:

“Our company has been in the children’s clothing business for over three decades, spanning the entire spectrum of kids’ apparel, from casual play wear to black tie formal wear. In the early nineties, in response to very high customer demand for formal wear, we shifted our focus to the special occasions market. A decade later, we are now an industry leader in both girl dresses and boy’s formal wear, with flower girl and pageant dresses amongst our biggest sellers. Naturally, with the establishment of Web commerce, we took our business online, where we now share our beautiful little girl dresses and little boy suits with the entire world.”

And for those of you with little boys in your life they have some of the most charming suits, Boys Formal items and accessories.

Pink Princess offers FREE Shipping and FREE Returns on all apparel.

Ships Same Day when you order by 4pm EST.

You can also use this code TENOFF125 to receive 10% off any order over $125.

Buy It: You can purchase the Black Fleece Swing Holiday Coat that my daughter received for $41.99.

Win It: Pink Princess has offered one of my readers a $15 Gift Certificate!

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Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Ends November 1st at 11:59 PM (PDT). A winner will be chosen using random.org and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond after contacted by email. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of Pink Princess. I was sent product free of charge to review but was not compensated monetarily.

Go! Go! Sports Girls {Review & Giveaway} CLOSED

My three little girls have so many dolls but you can never have too many dolls! We received a gymnastics doll from Go! Go! Sports Girls to review and as soon as I pulled it out of the box my five year old and two year old daughter started fighting over it.

My five year old has been asking us if she can take gymnastics classes so she was really excited to learn that this was a gymnastics doll and when she realized her sister had a leotard from dance classes that matched the doll she ran and put it on.

In addition to the doll we received, the company also offers an assortment of different dolls with a variety of sports themes. So you can get your child a doll matching the sport that they participate in. I only wish they had a cheerleader one, however I did notice that they had a few new ones though so maybe sometime in the future they’ll have that one.

You can also see some really great healthy eating and exercise tips on Go! Go! Sports Girls website under Healthy Living.

Buy It: You can find these cute dolls at Amazon.com, Target.com or Sears.com the MSRP is $19.99

Win It: Go! Go! Sports Girls has offered one of my readers one doll of their choice!

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Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Ends October 28th at 11:59 PM (PDT). A winner will be chosen using random.org and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond after contacted by email. If winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: This review is based on my own honest unbiased opinion of Go! Go! Sports Girls. I was sent product free of charge to review but was not compensated monetarily.

Phineas & Ferb {A Very Perry Christmas - DVD}

We LOVE Phineas & Ferb in our house you can often catch my husband and I sitting on the couch watching it while the kids are off somewhere else playing :). I can’t tell you how many times we watched the Christmas episode last year so I am excited to say that it is coming out on DVD this Tuesday, October 5th! To celebrate it’s release here are some fun printable coloring/activity pages to download, enjoy!

CLICK HERE to download Activity Sheet #1

CLICK HERE to download Activity Sheet #2

LDS General Conference- Activities for Kids

LDS General Conference is this weekend and I always get excited but sometimes it's hard to really pay attention when you have little ones so I'm posting a site that has some really great activities and packets for kids to follow along. My kids love them and ever since they found out conference was this weekend they've been asking for the packets. So go check out Sugar Doodle for some great ideas.