Holiday season is right around the corner, and I love watching sentimental, sweet movies during the holidays. Some of my favorites are ABC Family movies, so I really looked forward to watching these three new to DVD movies featuring some famous faces.
The first movie, Holiday in Handcuffs, stars Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez. When a single woman’s holiday doesn’t go the way she planned, she decides to kidnap a guy to take home as her boyfriend. It’s light and fun - perfect for the holidays!
The next movie is Snow, starring one of my favorite actors, Tom Cavannaugh, from Ed, and Ashley Williams. When Nick Claus’ reindeer is unable to fly and disappears, Nick travels to San Diego to bring him back to the North Pole. Freeing the reindeer from the San Diego Zoo takes more time than he originally planned, so he decides to board at a local apartment complex. Ashley stars as a zoo employee where the reindeer is being displayed. This is a heartwarming new classic — great for the whole family.
Finally, Snowglobe starts Christina Milian as Angela, a woman who lives in her family’s apartment complex and longs for a more traditional Christmas with her family. When a mysterious package arrives with a snowglobe inside, she learns that she can visit the Christmas wonderland within the snowglobe. After some magical visits, she starts to appreciate her own life at home.
We are so excited to have 5 sets of these 3 DVDs to giveaway to 5 separate winners. Please leave a comment below to enter. The giveaway will end Nov 20th at 11:59p.m. EST. US residents only please.
As I admitted this week on The Mindful Moms, I think way too much…and when I think too much, I stress too much too. It’s just inevitable. I’m always looking for new ways to manage my home and my work, my personal wants and the needs of my family. It’s all about balance and although I know that I need to be less stressed to work efficiently and effectively, sometimes I need a kick or a reminder. That’s where The De-Stress Diva’s Guide to Life has come in.
I am really loving this book. It’s all about little things you can do everyday to help manage through all of those daily tasks, like paying bills, interacting with co-workers, and managing goals at work. Whether it’s meditating, using aromatherapy, or rethinking how you see your life’s stumbling blocks, the De-Stress Diva, Ruth Klein, gives you practical advice and encouragement to manage life with less stress. You can pick and choose which problems and which solutions apply to you. You may choose to make some changes to your diet or simply be aware of how your breathing affects the way you feel.
Sign up for the De-Stress Diva’s e-zine for de-stressing tips here or visit Amazon.com to purchase The De-Stress Diva’s Guide to Life.
The Wiggles are a big hit with my two children, and their music is constantly playing in our home. Their brand-new release, Sing a Song of Wiggles, is the first Wiggles CD that we’ve owned featuring the new yellow Wiggle, Sam Moran, and it’s been playing almost constantly in our home since we received it.
Sing a Song of Wiggles includes more than thirty beloved traditional nursery rhymes, including “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”, “Jack Be Nimble”, and “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, sung in the Wiggles style. They are catchy, and my kids love listening to it over and over again. It’s fun to introduce traditional nursery rhymes to my kids in a way that they will enjoy and relate to!
Do you want to win your own copy of the Sing a Song of Wiggles CD? We have five to giveaway Mom’s Favorite Stuff readers - please leave a comment below by 11:59pm, on November 19th. US Residents only!
There’s nothing I like more than a stylish shoe, and one that can express my personality and is easy to slip on is even better! My daughter is the exact same as me, so we will thrilled when our matching pairs of Cape Clogs arrived.
Cape Clogs, which are made in the Swedish tradition, are available in stores and online, with Cape Clogs as the exclusive distributor. They are traditional wooden clogs, with the most colorful, adorable patterns. My favorites are the Cherry Blossoms (brown with pink flowers), the Floral Garden, and the Kozmic, and no matter what your style is, you will find one that works for you! The children’s shoes are equally adorable, and my daughter cannot get enough of hers.
I find that Cape Clogs work well as a slightly dressy shoe, as well as a casual slip-on, both for me and my daughter. They look great with capris and jeans, and my daughter wears hers with dresses. Visit the website online at http://www.capeclogs.com.
Are you from Boston? If so, we have a really fun giveaway for you! If you aren’t from Boston, please come back in the next few days for more giveaways of other items!
So, back to this giveaway — win a family 4-pack for Video Games Live on 11/21 at The Citi Performing Arts Center! Video Games Live™ is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time. Top orchestras & choirs perform along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment experience! Video Games Live™ is not just a concert, but a celebration of the entire video game industry that people of all ages will adore.
Come Early!
As part of the experience, special festival events surround the show for those who want to come early where guests will enjoy interactive game demos, a costume contest, prize give-a-ways, game competitions and the very popular meet-and-greet with top game composers and designers.
To Learn More - check out the video below, or visit the website.
To win, just leave a comment below, by November 17th, at 11:59 EST. We’ll randomly choose a winner the 18th, and will need your information by the 19th.
If you don’t win, you can still get a 25% discount if you purchase tickets through this link -
My kids love playing with their playhouse and play kitchen, and of course, they need play food to complete the game. They’ve had a variety of different types of play foods, from those impossible-to-keep-nice cardboard boxes to questionable plastic, but their favorite set so far has been the Rose Petal Cottage Stew ‘n Simmer Veggie Set by Playskool.
The Rose Petal Cottage Stew ‘n Simmer Veggie Set is meant to go with the Rose Petal Cottage, but it is also a great stand-alone gift. It includes a fabric tomato, peapod, and carrot, as well as a wooden ladle, a simmer pot with lid, and a kitchen “timer”. My daughter loves to stir up the “veggies” while “cooking” them on her pretend stovetop.
The Stew ‘n Simmer veggie set is a great holiday gift, and is in the perfect price range for one of the ubiquitous preschool birthday parties! You can find it in local toy stores, or online at Amazon.com.
This week’s holiday gift pick is a toy my daughter called “the best toy ever!”. My kids love playing with Play-Doh, but they are often at a loss with what to create. The Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe is perfect for them! With it, they’ve had endless hours of fun making ice cream cones and bowls, with sprinkles and toppings.
The Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe is very easy to put together - just a few clicks, and we were ready to go. Creating the ice cream is loads of fun. Simply load up the ice cream maker with your choice of “flavor”, click the cup or cone into the base, and press down the lever (even my 2-year old could do this step). There are lots of different shapes and toppings to choose from, making for a huge assortment of different combinations!
The Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe can be found just about anywhere you buy Play-Doh!
I wanted to take a moment to congratulate our editor and my sister, Jodi, for a huge achievement. Jodi was recently asked to join 14 other moms and 1 father on the 2009 Walt Disney World Moms Panel. After almost three months and three rounds, including essays and a phone interview, Jodi was accepted last week.
Jodi and I have many wonderful memories from our childhood visiting the parks with our parents. Whether we traveled on a plane or rode down on the train, we were definitely in for a grand adventure. As a mom, Jodi has also visited the parks with her son and daughter. I know that Jodi looks forward to helping other parents plan their perfect vacations to the parks, as much as she enjoys planning her own family vacations. You can visit the current Moms Panel at http://www.disneyworldmoms.com.
When I had my first baby, I thought that all baby skin was sensitive. It wasn’t until I had my younger son that I realized what truly sensitive skin is like. It’s the kind that irritates for the smallest cause. My son’s skin is just like that. He’s allergic to one popular brand of diapers, his skins gets irritated with one little brush from daddy’s stubble, and the diaper rash was almost constant for months. Don’t even get me started on what bug bites do to his soft, pale skin. After changing his diet, we’ve discovered that some things just haven’t changed. He has very sensitive skin.
Mustela has created a new line of skin care products for these hypersensitive babies. Each product in the line is hypoallergenic and free of fragrance, colorants, parabens, and preservatives. Stelaprotect consists of four products: face cream, body milk, cleansing foam, and no-rinse cleanser. We love that the cleansing foam cleanses without over drying baby’s skin. The no-rinse cleanser is perfect for really messy diapers when you’re unable to put baby in a bath immediately. Any moms, with temperamental skin like mine, may just want to try out the face cream and body milk for themselves, too.
You can find the Stelaprotect line of products at Amazon.com.
Here’s an item I really, really wish I had two years ago - the Belly Bandit. The baby nurse that stayed with us for a few days after the birth of my son really believed in abdominal wrapping, and while I was intrigued, I didn’t have the right materials to do it right. I’d heard that women for years in other cultures have used abdominal binding with great success, but until now, it really hasn’t been widely used in the U.S.
The Belly Bandit is available in a variety of sizes from extra-small to extra-large. While sizing can be difficult during those pregnancy/post-pregnancy weeks, there is a good amount of guidance available on the website. Whether you prefer traditional, couture, or bamboo materials, you will definitely find something to fit your personal style.
The Belly Bandit is worn around the abdomen, secures with velcro, and fits under clothing. Check our their website at http://www.bellybandit.com to learn more about abdominal compression wrapping or to purchase. With the coupon code MFS08, you can get 10% off!
Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series Collection - Anyone who remembers the series from their childhood will just need to get this. If you aren’t familiar with the series, it’s a fun, witty, and funny series showcasing Jim Henson’s puppets. For years, we’ve sung the theme song to my son. I love that he finally has the actual show to identify with the song. This collection is very nicely put together. The set comes with a binder that keeps all 20 DVDs of the entire four seasons, along with the Bonus DVD. Bonus materials include different featurettes on the making of and evolution of the series. You’ll also find a map of the Fraggle world that Fraggle-addicts may just have to frame. You can find this boxed set on Amazon.com.
The Christmas Toy - Another masterpiece from Jim Henson, The Christmas Toy is a live action movie with puppets. It takes place on Christmas Eve when the toys in a family’s playroom come to life and worry over the new toy arrivals that night. Since the toys will be frozen for life if they are caught, they have to sneak through the house and it really gives you the sense that you’re taking a peak at the secret life of toys. It has my oldest son wondering if Tippy the turtle (his favorite stuffed animal) wakes up every night, too. You can find The Christmas Toy here.
Pingu’s South Pole Adventures - Available on November 11, this DVD includes 8 episodes following the penguin, Pingu, as he hangs out on the South Pole. My sons love the when Pingu befriends the Abominable Snowman in “Pingu and the Abominable Snowman” and dances in “Pingu Boogaloo.” You can preorder the DVD on Amazon.com.
Snow Days - If you’re a frequent reader of our DVD reviews, then you must have noticed what fans we are of the Hit Favorites. These DVDs contain episodes from some of our favorite preschool shows. Snow Days is no different and has episodes from Barney, Thomas and Friends, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam, and Pingu. You’ll also find a bonus episode from Fifi and the Flowertots. We always use these DVDs to start our lessons on seasons. You can order Snow Days from Amazon.com.
Of all of the baby products we owned for our two children, I have to say that our highchair was my least favorite. While it was certainly functional, it was large and clunky, didn’t fit in well in my kitchen, and almost impossible to clean fully. Most of the other highchairs I’ve seen that aren’t large or hard to clean aren’t appropriate for infants. However, I just learned about the bloom nano highchair, and I think it’s the perfect solution!
The bloom nano highchair is available in seven super-fashionable colors, including rock red and paradise blue. It is lightweight, and appropriate for children aged six months to three years old. With its minimalist, stylish design, it will definitely fit in with your kitchen decor, and easily folds flat for easy storage. It’s also so easy to clean — the leatherette seat upholstry is comfortable, but also wipes clean. There are no hidden crevices for food to hide out, so when you clean it, it really will be clean! Another great features is that it can be used without the tray, pulled directly up to the kitchen table (a good way to help transition your child out of the high chair).
The bloom nano highchair is perfect for an urban location or small kitchen, and is definitely super-stylish and comfy. Check out all of the colors available, as well as other great bloom products, on their website, http://www.bloombaby.com.
I know that some moms out there seem to have luck with teaching their children to use the potty, but I am not one of them. Teaching my daughter was difficult, every time we got close, something came up to make her take a step back. So, this time around, in teaching my son, I’m thrilled to have the Potty Tots system available to us! Anything that I can do to help educate and motivate him will definitely help!
The Potty Tots system is available for both boys and girls, which is fabulous, since so many books and DVDs aren’t (and there is a very obvious difference when it comes to potty training). It features a story for children they can definitely relate to — little Enrique is about to go to preschool and is comforted by his older brother when he doesn’t know how to potty.
The system includes a story/guidebook, an animated DVD with original songs, an illustrated potty chart, and a wipe-clean progress/reward game (with clingies that can be removed). All of the products are captivating and vibrant, and definitely help with potty training. Visit them online at http://www.pottytots.com to learn more and purchase!
We have quite a few new DVDs for you to see this month. Since there are so many great new arrivals, we’ll be separating them across a few different posts in the upcoming days. They are a wide variety of entertainment for you and your little ones, whether they love some of our all time favorites, some blasts from our own pasts, or learning about new things.
Meet the Sight Words series- This DVD really gave me a big surprise. Made up of some fun sound effects with words that come to life, Meet the Sight Words helps your child to learn the basic words they need to help read smoothly. Words like “it,” “the,” “play,” and “you” are animated into iguanas, balls, signs, and other objects. My son loves the first DVD in the series. He loves picking out the letters and has now begun to memorize several of the words and spots them in other places. For any child between the ages of 2 and 6, the whole “Sight Words” series will help develop important pre-reading skills. You can find the first DVD here on Amazon.com.
Strawberry Shortcake Holiday Dreams Collection - I have boys and as such, I really haven’t been able to enjoy some of my favorite shows from childhood and that includes Strawberry Shortcake. I’m lucky enough to be able to pass some of my ‘girly’ favorites on to a very ‘girly’ niece. The Holiday Dreams Collection includes three DVDs: “Berry Merry Christmas,” “Let’s Dance,” and “Big Country Fun.” You can find this collection at Amazon.com.
Care Bears Flurries of Fun - Another favorite from our own childhoods, there’s just something about the Care Bears that sure to cure any ill. This boxed set includes “Care Bears Oopsy Does It,” “Grizzle-ly Adventures,” and “Care Bears Ups and Downs.” I love that every episode asserts the importance of friendship and ‘nice’ behavior. Care Bears Flurries of Fun can be found at Amazon.com.
The move from a 5-point harness car seat to a booster seat is a big one for a child, and a parent. Some parents find that even with proper booster seat installation, there is still some slack in the three-point seatbelt that most cars have (the three-point seat belt is the shoulder/lap belt that cars now have, as opposed to the lap only belt that cars used to have). That slack can allow your child to move around, and can possibly cause injury.
A product is available to help reduce the slack, and make the seatbelt more adjustable. Called SeatSnug, it snaps into the factory installed seatbelt, and allows the seatbelt to be lightly tightened around the child’s lap. I don’t have a booster-seat sized child yet, so this is a product I couldn’t test in a real-life situation, so I can’t speak directly to its effectiveness (or the safety of the product). However, it does snap into the seatbelt easily, and has a button to disable it if someone who isn’t familiar with it drives your car.
Holiday season is right around the corner, and I love watching sentimental, sweet movies during the holidays. Some of my favorites are ABC Family movies, so I really looked forward to watching these three new to DVD movies featuring some famous faces.
The next movie is Snow, starring one of my favorite actors, Tom Cavannaugh, from Ed, and Ashley Williams. When Nick Claus’ reindeer is unable to fly and disappears, Nick travels to San Diego to bring him back to the North Pole. Freeing the reindeer from the San Diego Zoo takes more time than he originally planned, so he decides to board at a local apartment complex. Ashley stars as a zoo employee where the reindeer is being displayed. This is a heartwarming new classic — great for the whole family.
Finally, Snowglobe starts Christina Milian as Angela, a woman who lives in her family’s apartment complex and longs for a more traditional Christmas with her family. When a mysterious package arrives with a snowglobe inside, she learns that she can visit the Christmas wonderland within the snowglobe. After some magical visits, she starts to appreciate her own life at home.
to purchase The De-Stress Diva’s Guide to Life.
My kids love playing with their playhouse and play kitchen, and of course, they need play food to complete the game. They’ve had a variety of different types of play foods, from those impossible-to-keep-nice cardboard boxes to questionable plastic, but their favorite set so far has been the Rose Petal Cottage Stew ‘n Simmer Veggie Set by Playskool.
