reviews

Holiday Gift Guide: Cars 2 Blu-ray combo pack review

- brandy3 1 Comment

Star racecar Lightning McQueen and the incomparable tow truck Mater take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2” when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car.  But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.  Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile and the stunning rookie field spy Holley Shiftwell.  Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world.  The fast-paced fun includes a colorful new all-car cast, complete with menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Special Features:

  • Cars Toon: Air mater
  • Toy Story Toon: Hawaiian Vacation
  • Director John Lasser Commentary
****My son is a big fan of Cars, any kind of car actually. So we have been anticipating the release of Cars 2 on dvd, since we missed it in the theaters. The minute my son saw the movie he screamed with excitement.
This movie is really packed full of action and thrills. The first movie was all about Lightning McQueen, well this movie seems to be more about Mater. When Lightning gets challenged to a race by italian car Franchesco, he accepts and takes his team including Mater with him around the world. After their first stop in Japan, mater becomes to much of a distraction and embarrassment to Lightning to keep around. Lightning loses the race and ends his friendship with Mater. Meanwhile Mater gets mistaken for a secret agent and see out on a spy mission and ends up saving the day.   I don’t want to giveaway the whole movie, so you have to go see it yourself. This is a must have holiday treat for any little Cars lover.
The Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation short, is hilarious. i thought it was very cute and had my kids laughing so hard. Air Mater is of course another one of Maters, tales of imagination that he could fly. They are always funny.
Getting Behind The Wheel

Japan Fast Dirt

Get a $5 off Coupon for the 5 disc combo pack here
Retail: $39.99 but you can buy on Amazon for $24.99

Release date: November 1, 2011

Running Time:106 minutes

Disclosure: no compensation was received for this post, a product was provided for my review. All opinions are my own.

Holiday Gift Guide: Strawberry Shortcake Twirling Flower Fashion Doll

- brandy3 2 Comments

Strawberry Shortcake - Twirling Flower Fashions Doll

 

 

Create fashion “magic” with your sweet-smelling Strawberry Shortcake figure! Put your stylish red-haired friend on her flower stage and start the spinning action. While she’s twirling, spray water from her flower spritzer and a design will “magically” appear on her skirt! Are you two ready to create a new look? Put on her other color-change skirt or just wait for the first one to dry and then use your flower spritzer to create another new design!

****My daughter absolutely loves Strawberry Shortcake, she even kind of looks like her. LOL! This doll makes playing with strawberry so much fun, just fill up the rose with water and spray Strawberry’s dress and watch it change colors. The flower was a little hard to get off and on the stem. It seemed that when i finally got it back o most of the water had dripped out. My daughter still had fun with this toy.

Retail: 19.99 at Hasbro Toy Shop

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. A product was provided for my review. All opinions are my own.

Holiday Gift Guide: Victorious Season 1 Volume 2 DVD Review

- brandy3 1 Comment

Hit the stage with Tori Vega and the students at Hollywood Arts High School in Victorious: Season One, Volume Two. The all-new two-disc set includes the last nine episodes of the series’ first season, including the hour-long special “Freak the Freak Out” and the hit TV event “iParty with Victorious,” which is included on the special features disc. Guest stars include Perez Hilton in “Wi-Fi in the Sky” and as well as Kenan Thompson and the cast of iCarly in the star-studded crossover special, “iParty with Victorious.” Plus, go behind-the-scenes for the making of the “iParty with Victorious” musical mash-up performance and the music video for Victorious star Victoria Justice’s single, “Best Friend’s Brother. 

Episode Guide:

  • The Diddly-Bops
  • Cat’s New Boyfriend
  • Sleepover at Sikowitz’s
  • The Wood
  • The Great Ping Pong Scam
  • DISC 2
  • Wok Star
  • Survival of the hottest
  • Wi-Fi in the Sky
  • Freak the Freak Out
  • Special Features
  • iParty with Victorious
  • Behind the Scenes:iParty with Victorious Mash up performance
  • Music Video: Best Friends Brother
****We absolutely love Victorious, it’s one of our favorite shows on Nickelodeon.  This dvd features some of our favorite episodes like Sleepover at Sikowitz’s where each of the kids has to improvise without breaking character. Tori dresses up as a cop who wears way to much red lipstick and is obsessed with raisin Bran. It is so hilarious.  This dvd also features our favorite Victorious movie: Freak the Freak Out.  where Tori, Cat and Jade trick two snobby girls into think Tori is a hideous girl, to win a singing competition.  If you have volume 1, you definitely need to add this volume to your collection.
Retail: $19.99 but you can find on Amazon for $13.99
Running Time: 240 minutes
Release date: November 1, 2011
Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, a product was provided by Nickelodeon for my review. All opinions are my own.

Silk Cereal Bowl Review and GiveawayClosed

- brandy3 80 Comments

We love Silk Soy Milk, My husband and son are lactose intolerant, so we always have it in the house.

Every morning we sit down for cereal and milk, including Silk soy milk.

The benefits of choosing Silk over regular milk are….

  • Silk has 50% more calcium than regular milk
  • Silk also has an extra boost of nutrition for your mornings
  • Silk soy milk comes in 3 varieties and 17 choices.
****Since my son and husband are lactose intolerant, we have tried so many varieties of Silk, from regular to almond and almond chocolate. OUr favorite for putting into cereal is the Silk Vanilla, It kind of tastes like chocolate milk.
Silk wants you to put away your milk and try Silk Soy milk in your cereal. They are even gave me the bowl to do it in. LOL! This bowl is actually really cool it has a container for cereal, another for milk, even with a little spout, and there is a spoon attached to the bottom. Perfect way to have cereal on the go, if you’re in a rush.
I have a Silk cereal bowl, chico bag, and product coupons to giveaway to one lucky US reader.
To enter: Just tell me your favorite Silk variety?
Extra entries:
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Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, products were provided for review and giveaway.

Kids have all the fun with Leapfrog

- brandy3 1 Comment

I was recently able to have a little party with some neighbors, and show off some of the newest and greatest Leapfrog products.

While only half of the people showed up on my guest list (To be expected since Pediculus humans capitis has hit our school). We still had a blast though.

The first product I featured and couldn’t wait to get too.
Tag Reader

I love the tag reader, now that my daughter is in Kindergarten and learning how to read, It’s so helpful. The tag reader is not only reads you the story, It helps with sounds and you can play games with it.

Now the That Reader can also be used with the interactive map.


The Interactive map helps with Learning about the world. The kids knew instantly where we lived by identifying the big picture of the Statue Of Liberty.

Next we talked a little about different books that were available, including books with your favorite characters. I also passed out booklets with coloring sheets and $5 coupons for Leapster games (very rare coupon).

The big reveal of the Leap Pad was exciting for everyone. A lot of the parents complained that their kids loved to use their I Pads and smartphones to play games. This is a great alternative for kids and a lot cheaper than a I pad.

The App the kids most got a kick out of was the Funny Face app. Take a picture, the expand the nose, or forehead. All the kids were just cracking up over that.

A big thank you to Mom Select and Leapfrog for allowing me to show my neighbors all about these exciting products. I think I have enticed some parents to go out and get these products themselves.

visit www.leapfrog.com for more information nd to view the products.

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, products were provided for the party.

Make Your Pumpkin Awesome This Year With Pumpkin Masters

- brandy3

 

All in One Carving Kit

 

Kids can create dozens of pumpkin designs with this kids crafting kit! Includes 12 patterns with instructions, 12 foam stickers, 8 eye and teeth inserts, 1 kid-friendly DuraSaw, 1 Scraper Scoop, 1 Poker, 1 battery operated light, and 1 crayon.

Every year I let my kids decorate a pumpkin for Halloween, It’s part of our craft time. This year we received a Pumpkin Masters carving kit, Pumpkin Masters Light and reflective stickers.

**My kids decided to make the bugaboo pattern. They left the cleaning the pumpkin out to me though.

The pattern was a bit difficult to carve out, and considering last year I went through 3 carving knifes; We let dad step in a finish the design.  The kit worked out good, and their are so many designs to choose from that, we will be using this kit again next year.  The poker did end up snapping while I was trying to remove the lid though.

The light makes it look so cool at night, it lights up the pumpkin and even blinks.

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, products were provided by the company.


Applesauce for on the go and it’s so good

- brandy3

Mott’s introduced some of their new products at a event I attended a few months ago and I also got to try some of the product with my children.  We tried out the new Mott’s Medleys and Mott’s snack and go applesauce pouches.

  •  Convenient cap ensures less mess, even when your on the go.
  • 40 calories per pouch (Less than any other competitor)
  • No sugar added
  • Excellent source of vitamin C
  • True applesauce flavor and consistency

 

photo
Mott’s medley snacks are
  • Inspired by household favorite Mott’s Medleys juice
  • Convenient packages for lunch boxes or an after school snack
  • 1 fruit and veggie serving per container
  • No sugar added
  • Excellent source of vitamin C
  • Looks and tastes like the applesauce kids love
****I love the new applesauce, it’s easy, convenient, and mess free. I’m always looking for healthy things to pack in my kids lunches, the snack and go pouches are just perfect for that. You don’t have to worry about messes or spilled applesauce from any left over at lunch.  Plus you don’t need to pack any spoons!  My kids loved the Strawberry applesauce, but were not to fond of the natural applesauce.
The medleys are great for snacking, and these are even convenient for school lunches. My kids went gaga for both flavors Peach Apple and Cherry Berry.
These products have limited availability right now, but will be available nationwide starting January 2012 at a price of $2.69-2.99.
Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, products were provided by Motts.


Chloraseptic for those sick days

- brandy3

Someone is always sick at my house, and it usually always starts with a sore throat.  So I always turn to Chloraseptic.

#1 Pharmacist recommended.

Provides fast-acting relief of sore throat and mouth pain.

Soothing liquid center – relieves pain and cools nasal passages

Cannot buy anything stronger without a prescription

Chloraseptic for kids is aspirin free, sugar free and alcohol free, and offers fast

relief for children.

**** I love having these on hand, you never know when you are going to need them. It seems like my kids come home once a month with something they caught from school.  Plus it’s been really hot and dry, which can lead to dry mouth and a sore throat.  My kids love the grape taste of the chloraseptic spray and the relief that comes with it. It needs to be applied every hour though.   I really like the lozenges, they are a great flavor and give relief. Although I seemed to have to go through about 2 before I had any relief.

You can find chloraseptic at retailers nationwide, or find more information at www.chloraseptic.com

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. Products were provided by the company.

Celebrate Halloween With Costume Supercenter

- brandy3 1 Comment

Halloween is a little over a month away, I am so excited it is my favorite holiday..

I am a little to old to trick or treat (Snicker), but I love being able to dress up my kids and take them around. Every year I let my kids choose their own costumes, and this year my daughter chose a costume from Costume Supercenter. They have a huge variety of kids costumes to choose from.

Their new characters this year are Monster High, Hello Kitty, Disney Newest Princess Rapunzel, and so much more.

My daughter chose Rapunzel!

This costume is so adorable, and perfectly matches Rapunzel’s character. The dress is purple with pink trim, sheer sleeves and a bow with Rapunzel’s picture. The dress also comes with a petticoat and a crown.  The crown is all fabric, but fits heads better as it is more of a head band. The sleeves were a little tight and left bands on her arm, but she didn’t mind. Rapunzel will be celebrating in London in a few days, she is officially becoming a Disney Princess. My daughter will be wearing her costume while she watches.

This costume retails for $46.99

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, a product was provided for my review.

Quest For Zhu DVD Review and Giveaway Closed

- brandy3 48 Comments

 

The heartwarming tale of four lively young teens (who just happen to be hamsters) on a quest to find the Palace of Zhu, where they believe all their dreams will come true. Join the feisty and lovable Pipsqueak as she gets swept away to the other side of the Zhuniverse. On her adventure, she befriends Chunk, Num Nums and Mr. Squiggles, and when they arrive at the Palace of Zhu, they realize it is just the beginning of their remarkable journey. A mean-spirited and controlling reptilian creature, Mezhula, tries to stand in the way of making all of their dreams come true but, by working together, our true Zhu heroes save the day! Pipsqueak realizes she already had everything she ever dreamed of and all she really wants is to find a way back home.

**** Quest for Zhu was a bit different of a movie than I was expecting. I was expecting a movie that would go along with the Zhu Zhu playlets and such, even though I don’t know where that would go.  After Pipsqueak runs away from her owner she meets up with all the other Zhu Zhu and they head for palace of Zhu. When they arrive they find the palace has been taken over and have a bigger adventure to come and save the palace.

My kids loved this movie and even acted out the parts with their own little Zhu Zhu action figures.

Release date: September 27, 2011

I have 1 copy of Quest For Zhu to giveaway to a lucky US reader

To enter: Tell me your favorite Zhu Zhu Pet?

Extra entries

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Giveaway ends 10/20
Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, a product was provided by Mom Select who is also providing the giveaway.

 

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