reviews

Back To School with Dinosaur Train

- brandy3 1 Comment

We are preparing For Kindergarten again this year, as my middle child will now be entering Kindergarten.  I am a little nervous since my daughter has never been to preschool or anything, and she is very shy.

Dinosaur Train and Henson has passed along some tips to help get ready for Kindergarten.

  • Practice Reading and Speaking- go over the alphabet with your child, letter sounds and more.
  • Learn about Color- teach about primary colors and what colors make when you mix them together.
  • Develop Fine Motor Skills- work with your child on cutting, buttoning zipping, and more to prepare them for being on their own in school.
  • Practice Gross Motor Skills- running,  jumping will help get them ready for play, and throwing the ball can help with getting ready for physical education.

Dinosaur Train is introducing lots of products  to get your child excited about school like books, color wonder sets, Megabloks, and my favorite Dinosaur Train outfits.

We received a Dinosaur Train outfit to review. It was so adorable on my son. The outfit comes with shorts and a short sleeve top featuring Buddy. It also came with a buttoned up shirt, for those casual affairs. LOL! Unfortunately my son hates button down shirts, i am not sure why but every time I put them on him, he rips them off. He agreed to wear the Dinosaur Train shirt for a little while though.

I actually really like the regular outfit with no button down shirt, It makes him look like an outdoors man.

You can find these outfits at Kohls and Kmart this August and September.

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, products were provided by the company. All thoughts are my own.

Back To School with Zebra pens

- brandy3

Zebra Pen Corporation offers an extensive line of writing instruments including ball point pens, highlighters, mechanical pencils, gel rollers, and rollerballs.

The Erase Away pen  features:

  • Technically advanced ink in a retractable design
  • Sleek designed barrel with textured rubber grip
  • Erase and rewrite without any damage to the document
  • Erase mistakes with ease.

*****These pens are very good for little hands, when a child makes a mistake they can erase it.   The ink is very light though, and only seems to work well on paper. I tried to write on  glossy card and the ink turned up splotchy. The eraser works very well at erasing though. See the video below.

 

You can find the Zebra Erase Away pen at retailers nationwide or on Amazon for $2.79

Celebrate Back To School with Victorious

- brandy3 3 Comments

Victorious is a sitcom about a girl named Tori Vega, who navigates life at an elite Hollywood performing arts high school.

One of my favorite shows on Nickelodeon is Victorious. Even though it has only been on for a little over a year, It’s the one show that my children and I sit down and enjoy together. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be on a lot.   One thing my daughter requested for back to school was a Victorious t-shirt or school supply. I couldn’t find any though.

Then recently Wal-Mart and Nickelodeon announced that they would sell a Victorious line of clothing and back to school supplies. My daughters were so thrilled, we immediately went out to look, but all we found was a Victorious folder.   We are still waiting to see Victorious clothes in our local store.

Luckily Nickelodeon sent me a Victorious folder and pencil-case for my back to school gift guide. They also sent me a Spongebob plush and band-aids.  These products are so cute and a must for any back to school list.

***The folder features Victoria Justice with  microphone on one side and the whole cast on the other side. The inside has 2 pockets with a name label and Make It Shine logo.  The pencil-case features the cast on both sides, but seems kind of small. Pencils still fit in the case though which is good. These would be great additions to any girls back to school list.   The Spongebob plush is so cute and cuddly, my son loves it. Spongebob wears sunglasses and a tux, his glasses lift to reveal him making a cool look on his face.

The Spongebob band-aids make getting hurt fun.  My kids think Band-aids are bad, when they get hurt they refuse to get a band-aid. Since we started buying character band-aids, that has all changed. My kids are now saying everything is a “boo boo” to get a Spongebob band-aid!

You can get the Victorious collection at www.walmart.com. Prices vary from $1.99-19.99.

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, products were provided by Nickelodeon for my review. All opinions are my own.

Take the Finish Challenge review

- brandy3 1 Comment

As a mom of three a dishwasher is an absolute must for me, I have absolutely no time to do loads of dishes by hand.  Even finding time to pre rinse and wash, so I have no stuck on food still in the dishwasher in the morning can be a challenge. Luckily I discovered Finish Quantum!

Now the brand I usually use always leaves spots on my dishes and they are never really dry in the morning. It does get the job done if I pre rinse, but there have been times where I still find food stuck on my dishes.

This is my Tupperware after my wash has been done, using my usual “brand”, as you can see there are water spots and it’s still not that dry.

then I tried Finish Quantum tablets with Jet Dry.  This is how my Tupperware looked after Finish.

No water spots and it was a completely dry.  I was very impressed with how great it worked! Plus no mess of liquid detergent or measuring. I think I have found a new brand for my dishwasher.

To learn more visit www.finishdishwashing.com

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, a product was received for my review. All thoughts are my own.

Back To School:dENiZEN from Levi’s Jeans

- brandy3 1 Comment

dENiZEN is a new brand of Jeans by trusted and loved company Levis. These jeans are exclusively available at Target Stores and online at Target.   With a wide variety of styles for men, women, and kids, dENiZEN jeans are the perfect fit for fashion and value-concious consumers.

****I received a pair of dENiZEN Jeans for my daughter to try for back to school. I really liked them! My daughter usually can’t wear jeans,because she seems to be a halfway size, either they are to big or to small.  She tried on the dENiZEN and they fit perfectly, they were just a little to long which is fine. According to my daughter they are very pretty and comfy. I wish I would have chose these for myself.

She can move around in them very easily and they are not to tight on her body, which is great for wearing at school or on the playground.

Right now if you like dENiZEN on Facebook you can win a rebate ($3), a free pair of Jeans, or a gift card.  I think most people have won a rebate.

You can find dENiZEN jeans at Target ranging from $17.99-$29.99

Disclosure: No compensation was received, a product was received from dENiZEN through Team Mom.

Disney Vinylmation Robots

- brandy3

 

Disney Store has introduced a line of Vinylmation Robots available at Disney Stores nationwide and www.disneystore.com . The Design is featured based on 1950’s wind up robot toys.

The Vinylmation Robots include 12 three-inch vinyl figures representing a different robot persona, including Radio-Bot, Tesla-Bot and Love-Bot, to name a few.  Also available are three nine-inch limited edition Robots characters — Silly-Bot, Salvage-Bot and Reflector-Bot ($39.95 each).

They even had a special edition the Pop! Vinyls, which feature Metallic and Disney characters like Buzz Lightyear, Mike Wazowski, Mickey and more. They were first unveiled and available at Comic Con, but They are now available at www.disneystore.com

*** I received a Vinylmation robot to review. The minute I opened it my kids are like yay a new toy, I had to explain that it is a collectible and not  a toy.   It’s a little heavy for a 3 inch figure, but the designs are cute. There are 11 designs plus a mystery chaser, but you don’t know what you are getting.  The Vinylmation Robot I received looks like a spaceman with Mickey Ears. He is blue with orange designs. He is the Audio Sonic Bot designed by Enrique Pita.

I also just saw online that they have holiday collections available like Santa oh and my absolute favorite, They have The Nightmare Before Christmas Vinylmations.

You can visit Any Disney Store or www.disneystore.com and pick up your own Vinylmtion Robot for $9.99

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, Product was provided by Disney Store.

Top 100 Pasta Dishes: Easy Recipes Kids Will Love Review

- brandy3


Filled with color photos, simple instructions, and clear notes on cooking and preparation times, plus symbols throughout to show which recipes are suitable for babies and younger children, and which recipes are suitable for freezing, this is the ultimate pasta cookbook for families everywhere. With Annabel’s help, dinnertime can finally be fuss free!

**** This book contains recipes designed for baby, toddlers and young children. It is devided into different sections, saying what recipes are best for what age. To be hnest though majority of the recipes my kids wouldn’t touch or eat. My kids are very picky though.

Retail: $18.99 but you can find on Amazon for $12.11

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, a product as provided by the company.

Rio DVD Review and Giveaway Closed

- brandy3 199 Comments

Captured as a young bird from the wild, Blu is a domesticated Spix Macaw living thousands of miles away from his homeland, Brazil. When his human owner Linda discovers that he is the last male of his kind, they head south to Rio de Janeiro to meet the only other female. But it’s far from love at first sight between the socially-awkward, flight-challenged Blu and the fiercely independent, high-flying female, Jewel. Shortly after Blu’s arrival, the two rare birds are captured by greedy animal smugglers and find themselves lost in the Brazilian rainforest. Unexpectedly thrown together, they embark on a hilarious and clumsy adventure where they learn about friendship, love, courage and spreading one’s wings to fly.

Special Features:

Explore the world of Rio

  • Beach
  • Jungle
  • City
  • Stadium

Blu shows the way (introduction)

Boom Boom Tish Tish, the sounds of Rio

The making of Hot Wings

Saving the species: One voice at a time

The real Rio

Welcome to Rio music video

Deleted scene: Fruit Stand

Carnival Dance O Rama:

  • Intro
  • Blu
  • Jewel
  • Luiz
  • Monkeys
  • Nico and Pedro
  • Raphael
  • Samba line

Rio De Jam-eiro Jukebox

Taio Cruz: Telling The World music video

Angry Birds Rio trailer

Angry Birds Rio-Nigel mash up

Angry Birds Rio-instructional video

**** My kids and I absolutely love this movie, it is hilarious.  We have watched it like six times in the past few days. The movie is set in Rio and of course everything is colorful and musical.   Blu os captured as a baby and raised by a human, he and a female bird in captivity in Rio are the last blue Macaws on Earth. They are trying to mate the birds, but they are stolen they end up escaping into the wild.  It’s a fun journey that of course has a happy ending! Of favorite characters are Nico and Pedro, we love the drop it low song.

Release date: August 2, 2011

Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Retail:

I have 1 copy of Rio on dvd to giveaway to US and Canada

To enter: Tell me what kind of bird Blu is? (Hint: read the synopsis above)

Extra entries:

Subscribe to my feed-8 entries

Blog about this-7 entries

Grab my button-6 entries

Follow me on twitter-5 entries

Leave a comment on any non-giveaway post-4 entries

Tweet about this-2 entries (can be done daily)

Post this giveaway on facebook-1 entry (can be done daily)

Contest closes: 8/21

Disclosure: No formal compensation was received for this post, I received a screener copy for review.

 

Aquadoodle Floor Mat and Penguin

- brandy3 2 Comments

Creativity has never been this clean! Kids everywhere are having mess free fun because of Aquadoodle! The no mess, chemical free drawing toy that never runs out! Just add water and doodle over and over again. Watch the designs disappear in minutes for a clean doodle surface.

New for Fall, kids have an all new way to express their creativity- with color! With 4 new exciting colors to choose from you can Aquadoodle in red, blue, green and purple. With all new fabric boards for soft play, you can let your child’s imagination run free with the never ending, no mess Aquadoodle!

Choose a bear, dog or penguin and bring these lovable characters to life. Just add water and doodle over and over again, as the colorful designs disappear in minutes for a clean doodle surface. Aquadoodle is a mess free, creative and fun experience for your pre-schooler!

****Both of these Aquadoodle products are so much fun. My kids love to draw, but they waste so much paper and I run out of places to put their drawings. The Aquadoodle classic mat and penguin were the perfect solution, my kids can draw and draw. No wasting paper, no mess and they have so much fun doing it. The Aquadoodle mat has been out for a while, but this new mat lets you draw in 4 different colors, Blue, purple, green, and red. You can only have that color in a certain square though, the mat is dived up by 4 colors, where the purple border is you can color purple etc.    My daughter loves the doodle buddy (Penguin), she cuddles up with it at night and draws on it during the day. The only downside with the doodle buddies, is when you draw, it doesn’t dry very well. There is still a faint picture.

Retail: Mat is $21.99 and Doodle buddy is $9.99

Available in August 2011, visit www.aquadoodle.com for more information..

Disclosure:  No compensation was received for this post, Products were provided by the company. All opinions are my own.

Cards are the best memories we have

- brandy3 1 Comment

I love saving cards from family and friends. My husband calls me a hoarder, but it’s the best way to keep the memories alive.   My Mil passed away a couple of years back and  the Christmas cards that I saved were able to preserve memories for my children since they are so young. They added them to our memory book and will cherish them forever.

I live thousands of miles away from everyone in my family, so I receive a lot of online Christmas cards. It’s always fun to show them to the kids when they are animated and move around.  I also print them out and we always have them hanging on the wall by the Christmas tree for the kids to enjoy and to bring in some holiday cheer.   One of my favorite sites to find cards is Storkie.com, they have a wide variety of Christmas cards and even have photo Christmas cards (my favorite).  I love photo cards because they actually give the recipient a true feel of who is sending the card, from the picture.  I know everyone in my family loves them. My mom has all the photo cards I have sent hanging on the wall.

Christmas is still over 5 months away but it never hurts to get in the mood early. Christmas in July!  Thinking of Christmas one of my favorite Christmas card memories was when I was 6 or 7, I had written a letter to Santa. I was  a little skeptical, but a few days before Christmas I received a card back from Santa and it has a little recordable message when it opens. It says: Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas Brandy! I know you’ve been good this year so I’ll make sure your on my special list. Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!  I was so shocked that Santa sent me a card and it actually had my name in it. I still have that card too, and it still plays.

Visit www.storkie.com to find a Christmas in July celebration.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post from Storkie.com through Global Influence.

 

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