2009-11-29

Monday, December 7, 2009

Leapfrog Learning DVD Set

I love having a few DVDs on hand to distract the kids while I'm performing tasks I don't need help with such as loading the dishwasher or getting ready in the morning. I like it even better when these DVDs come with an educational format.

And, leave to the people at Leapfrog to make a set of movies fitting that bill. My twins and I had the chance over the course of the past few weeks to checkout this 3 DVD set featuring Leap, Lily and Tad as they go on fun learning adventures.

In the Letter Factory DVD, Leap, Lily and Tad learn about letter names and sounds as Professor Quigley gives them a tour of a factory where Js jump on trampolines and Ks do karate kicks. In Talking Words Factory, the three siblings watch as amazing machines like the Word Whammer and the Sticky-Ick-O-Rama combine letters to form words. And in Let's Go to School, Tad and Lily are nervous about their first day of school, but their magical firefly pal, Edison, shows them there's a lot of fun to explore with counting, phonics skills and more!

I thought this set I was provided for review was nicely done and would be a great introduction or addition to the Leapfrog characters featured on their many educational toys.

Stocking Stuffer that will make everyone smile: Arm & Hammer Spinbrush Kids Toothbrush

I wonder if Santa knows that research shows that kids brush 38% longer with Spinbrush^® than when using an ordinary manual brush?

If he did, he might be putting these themed Arm & Hammer Spinbrush Kids Toothbrushes in our kids stockings this year. However, he'll first have to decide between several fun and exciting designs including Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Astronaut, Soccer Ball, Dolphin, Ice Cream Cone, Pikachu, Skateboard and Butterfly.

I was sent a couple of these for review and at under $7 I think they are a wonderful health promoting addition to a child's Christmas Stockings. In a rare turn of events, my kids were actually excited to run up stairs and brush their teeth.

What's next Arm & Hammer? Could you motivate Cordelia to eat her veggies?

Organic Warmth: Thermal Tees from Apericots.com {Review & Giveaway}

It's snowing in Chicago today and that means it is time to pull out some warm clothing for the twins to keep toasty in this drafty old house of ours. We picked these fun thermal tees by Apericots.com to do the trick. Cormac is sporting a long sleeve iceyberg hued shirt with a cassette tapes theme while Declan is sporting a long sleeve robot shirt in the aptly named color peasoup. Both designs are an excellent representation of Apericots overall unique and hip feel.

While you can likely see from the pictures that these are adorable looking shirts, you can't readily see that in fact Apericots.com has used eco-friendly inks and organic cotton. Apericots has declared a commitment to give babies and toddlers the very best and it is evident in their fabrication choices.

Additionally, the clothes are practical. Shirts and Onesies are easy on and off with their use of lap style necks. Durability is not an issue either since these shirts are made with interlocking seams.

Wouldn't these be a great gift for a fashionable little one?

Enter to Win: Apericots.com is offering a shirt or onesie to one lucky reader. Simply visit Apericots.com to select your favorite shirt or onesie and return here to comment with your selection below.

Optional Additional Entries for:

1 extra entry for becoming a fan of Apericots on facebook.

1 extra entry if you follow this blog or subscribe to this blog's feed.
1 extra entry if you tweet about this contest and include @andtwinsmake5.
1 extra entry if you blog about this contest and link back to it.

Rules:
An email address is required to enter. Please leave it in your comment, or make sure one is visible for me to find in your blogger profile. If you qualify for additional entries please comment separately telling us which options you have used. A winner will be chosen via random.org. The winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen. This contest is open to USA only.

Ends on 1/7/10 @ 11:59PM CST.

Thanks for Entering and Good luck to everyone!

Thank you to Apericots.com for providing these shirts for our review and for providing the prize in our giveaway.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Last Call: Giveaways Ending Soon

Perfect Gift for a Busy Family: Cuisinart Rice Plus™ Multi-Cooker with Fuzzy Logic Technology

I dread making dinner some nights. First I have to decide what to make, then I have to make sure I actually have everything I need to make it. This is followed by my quest to figure out when everyone will actually be home to eat it. Then, I have to try to make it with the constant help of my twin toddlers.

Not sounding that daunting? Did I mention that when dinner time arrives, we have seven to serve including 2 adults, a 15 year old high school football and track athlete, an 11 year old flag football and basketball player, a 9 year old competition hip-hop dancer, and 18 month old twin boys. In other words, it needs to be a nutrious and satisfying meal with wide appeal. This is further complicated by the fact that my oldest son is allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts, and fish.

With this in mind, I tend to stick with basic items we can agree on like rice. Thus rice has always been served as part of the meal multiple times a week around our home. However, until now I can’t say it was always to everyone’s satisfaction. Admittedly it’s been overcooked and it’s been under cooked, in years past the poor rice has been a frequent victim of our schedule.

We have a very busy home with kids coming and going from their various activities. At times, coordinating our weekly schedule is comparable to working air traffic control at O’Hare Airport. Our meals are almost always either being rushed to the table or being kept warm for eons.

I’m trying my best not to sound like a television preacher, but the reality is our rice has been saved. A place of honor has been designated for mommy’s new kitchen gadget, the Cuisinart Rice Plus Multi-Cooker with Fuzzy Logic Technology.

This thing is awesome! Fuzzy Logic seems to equate to having Chef Ramsay (that guy from Hell’s Kitchen that is always screaming about the condition of the risotto) right inside the machine with my rice. The Cuisinart Rice Plus Multi Cooker automatically adjusts the heat and the timing to insure my rice comes out perfect every time and if that isn’t enough, it can finish my rice at the time I set and even keep things warm when a delay in my schedule occurs. Plus, it has a Quick Cook function when you need it done fast.

It cooks white rice, wild rice, brown rice, sushi rice, risotto, and even goes beyond rice to make things like oatmeal, soup, or even steam things like vegetables, chicken, or even fish.

One of the times I used it, I made basic white rice (using low sodium chicken stock instead of water and adding a touch of corn). And in typical fashion for our household, it ultimately had to be held for about 45 minutes due to a basketball practice delay. After it was done cooking, I used the “keep warm setting” and placed my chicken on top of the finished rice to see how it did at keeping that warm too. The meal turned out great. The rice dish was perfect and the chicken was kept moist and warm by being held inside the cooker with the rice. It makes a yummy batch of oatmeal too!

I think the Cuisinart Rice Plus Multi Cooker would be a wonderful gift for a busy household such as mine and I’ve added it to our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide. My thanks to Cuisinart for sending this item for my review.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

A Quiet Dinner Out or at Home? Hello Hanna Placemats

Hello Hanna brings a little peace and fun to mealtime just in time for all those holiday gatherings. We put my daughter Cordelia in charge of entertaining herself and the twins with these clever placemats sent to us for review by Hello Hanna.

A set includes 8 placemats and 8 sticker sheets that can be used to set your entire table with or reserved for use here or there. You can take them to Grandma's house, a restaurant, or use them at your next kiddie party.

These placemats are printed on heavyweight uncoated paper stock and the stickers are printed on uncoated resealable sticker stock. Their is even an activity area on the placemat backs to further expand the entertainment.

Cordelia had a great time decorating her placemat and one for each of the twins. What a clever idea for the little ones. Someone should tell Santa Hello Hanna Get Set Placemats would make a great stocking stuffer!

39 Clues: The Board Game {Review}

My son has been reading the Best-Selling Series Of Books called 39 Clues, however he had no idea that there was now a game to go along with it. Hayden is 11 and he was quite excited when he heard we were being sent the 39 Clues Board Game for review. He's read all the books available in the series thus far and was quite anxious to play a game based on them.

The Game pits teams of players against each other in a race throughout the world. To win, a team must visit four mysterious locations and gather enough clues to unlock the secret chamber. Hayden tells me that this is much like the overall themes of the books he has read.

I think this would be a fun gift for any current 39 Clues fan or give it with the books to a child new to the series. What a great way to add extra motivation to a slightly hesitant reader. And for the record, I've never read the books, but was still able to enjoy game play with my son.

A Healthy Home for the Holidays (and Beyond): Germ Guardian Air Purifier

Some of my readers may recall that a few weeks back we had all 5 kids come down with the swine flu, not a fun thing at all. Fortunately, everyone is all better now and I can be thankful that our ordeal with the swine flu is behind us. I'm also quite relieved that it did not occur during all the holiday festivities.

In a hint of irony, I was offered the opportunity to review the Germ Guardian Air Purifier right as the kids were all recovering. After those past few weeks, I was willing to try almost anything that might reduce the chances of me playing doctor mom for a while, so the answer was yes.

I want to start by saying that we've had air purifiers before. Two of my children suffer from asthma and we all have some allergies. Air purifers were suggested by our pediatrician as a good idea. However, the pricey units we owned in the past were ultimately tossed in the garbage. My complaints with those units included the noise, the constant need to wash the filter, and the smell.

The Germ Guardian Air Purifier has been running non-stop in our home for several weeks and I'm very pleased. It was placed in our Master Bedroom so I would be around it frequently. I was thrilled to discover that it lived up to it's promise not to emit ozone. Gone was that nasty smell I had experienced with other brands. Even better, this unit seemed to actually remove bad smells from the room. The hint of nail polish remover I had used seemed to vanish in half the time. Perhaps I should have put this in the boy's room?

I was also very pleasantly surprised to discover that I did not have to wash the filter every couple days. Instead it has a filter you simply replace it every 6 months, no washing. It even came with an extra filter.

About the noise, my past experience with air filters included a crackling bug zapping noise each time a minute dust particle flitted by the unit. It was incredibly annoying and was the ultimate reason we tossed the thing out. The Germ Guardian Air Purifier does not make that noise. In fact, it has multiple settings and you can't hear much of a purr until you get to the highest one. The Germ Guardian passed my quiet test with flying colors.

Clearly the Germ Guardian is the most pleasing Air Purifier I have experienced. You hardly notice it is even there at all. However, I felt it was important to make sure that it did as much as the other brands in terms of actually cleaning the air. I popped over to thehealthyhomechallenge.com to get the scoop and it appears to do even more. According to their website, it has five powerful levels of air cleaning. It captures allergens, uses UV-C light to kill common germs and viruses, kills airborne mold spores and fights unwanted odors.

Better still, the Germ Guardian Air Purifier is considerably less expensive then other brands and currently is being offering at a 33% discount until Dec. 7th. Thank you to Germ Guardian for providing this product for my review.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Powermat: A Holiday Gift Idea for the Lover of Gadgets or Hater of Clutter

My husband is the big gadget guy in our house. He always is reading about what Apple and Sony are coming out with next, what new technology is being added to cars, the next big break through in televisions and of course he has to tell me all about it. With this in mind, imagine my surprise when I was the one telling him about what has to be one of the coolest gadgets of 2009, the Powermat.

I like gadgets, but I hate their cords and all the clutter and confusion they create. I always have. I hate trying to remember which cord goes with which thing and where it is I even am suppose to stick the cord into. I hate remembering to even use the silly cord. I hate cords even more now that I have twin 18 month olds running about trying to grab at them. Toddlers love cords.

And oh my do we have stuff that needs cords! Our household of 7 has 2 iPhones, 3 iPods, 2 Nintendo DS systems, 2 PSP systems, and 2 cell phones that all need special cords to keep them charged. The cords are constantly getting in the way, getting lost, getting tangled, getting left behind, ugh!

For years I’ve thought there has to be an easier way, a universal solution to all this cord chaos and clearly Powermat thought so too. As I see it, Powermat is basically the Switzerland of the electronic charging world. They’ve created a neutral ground where electronics can come together to charge with no strings attached (literally).

No, they haven’t talked every gadget maker in the whole wide world into making the charge connector thingie the same, I said they are like Switzerland not Mother Theresa. They have instead made a charging mat device that allows you to just toss your item on it when it is wearing it’s special case and it charges. No fuss, no cord, no tangles, and no remembering where the maker hid the darn hole the cord goes inside; you just plop your thing down and voila! Ok, well there is one cord, the powermat itself needs a plug.

Another thing worth noting about the Powermat, it makes a cute little sound and lights up when you set your phone or your son’s DS on it. I love it when manufactures make it crystal clear that something is working properly. No charging mysteries have been left, the light even goes off when charging is done.

What do you do when you travel? Good news, you don’t need to dig out the cords when you are leaving town. Powermat makes a travel model that works equally well. The difference being, it can be folded in 3 and then tucked inside it’s own included travel case. This is already on my “don’t forget to pack” list for the holidays.

So what did my husband think? He’s been pouring over the YouTube Videos and other info on their site. He tells me they are working on putting this technology inside kitchen countertops, desks, and even walls. Pretty Cool Stuff, I'll admit.

You can find these all over suddenly. I saw a Powermat display in Target yesterday and they are sold online in various places too, including directly from their website here. You can also find a long list of the devices that currently work with it.

* My thanks to Powermat for supplying me with their innovative products for my review and allowing me to finally find a cool gadget before my husband did. We've added the Powermat to our Holiday Gift Guide.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Did you win?

The winner of the Pink Together Giveaway is #4 mamawj.

The 5 winners of the KidKnows Outdoor Thermometers Giveaway are #22 ~*~lilshuga2001~*~, #18 Michal, #49 Linda, #57 "Miss" Anita, & #88 giggling kids.

Additionally, Don't miss these Current Giveaways:

You'll also want to be sure to check out our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide complete with linked reviews, exclusive promotional codes, and other coupon savings.

Darda Cars {Review & Gift Guide Giveaway #4}

What is it with Boys and Cars?

This raceway by Darda Cars has cruised it's way on to our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide by being fun for the whole lot of us.

Just in time for the holiday season, Darda is introducing a new NASCAR® branded play set, Victory Lane. This play set features two NASCAR heroes, Jeff Gordon® and Jimmie Johnson®, in their trademark DuPont and Lowe’s branded cars. This set was a perfect fit for us. We live in a town that is home to real Nascar races in the summer making it virtually impossible for any little boy (and girl) around not to know a thing or two about racers such as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Set up was simple, my 11 year old son was able to set up the 60+ piece Victory Lane track on his own. His only difficulty was keeping our twin toddler sons away from it while he worked. We resolved that issue and kept them away until it was ready for them to watch the races. I loved that this track allowed for two people to race each other using the two Darda NASCAR cars. This feature keeps you coming back to race again time after time.

The twins and I acted as the race fans. We watched as each car raced through twists and turns at what I am told was a scale speed of 600 mph! As cars round the final curve onto the Victory Lane straightaway, a checkered flag is even set up and ready to signal the winner.

If you are wondering what makes Darda Cars different, here's the scoop. Unlike typical motorized toy cars that you pull back a few times to “charge” then release and they putter forward a few feet, Darda® toy cars go the distance and they do it quickly.

Their unique, German-designed motor contains a special clutch preventing the motor from being over-wound. Simply roll the Darda car with a back and forth motion while lightly pressing down on the car. The clicking sounds tell you the motor is winding; when the clicks get louder, you know it’s fully wound and ready to go. Release the car and watch it shoot forward at up to 30 mph- with no batteries or electricity needed.

Ready to race? Enter to win a Darda set of your own. You can win either the Victory Lane Set I reviewed which is priced at $64.99, or the Power Loop Pyramid which has a retail value of $69.99. Simply answer below to enter.

Tell us if money were not an issue, which set would you most like to purchase for your child and why? Visit www.dardatoys.com to see the choices.

Optional Additional Entries for:

1 extra entry if you tell us which items from our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide are your favorites.

Ends on 12/24/09 @ 11:59PM CST.

Thanks for Entering and Good luck to everyone!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Exclusive Ramalama Diaper Bag Offers have Mrs. Claus seeing scarlet

If you've had the chance to read our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, I'm certain you didn't miss the beautiful Ramalama Ava Diaper Bag we featured. In celebration of the holidays and in gratitude to us and our readers for being huge fans of the Ramalama brand, Ramalama brings us 2 exclusive discount offers in scarlet. Both offers are valid now thru December 31st and can be redeemed by emailing us directly at andtwinsmake@gmail.com with the subject "Ramalama Holiday Offer".

The first offer is on the Ramalama Betty which acts as a mini diaper bag or purse. Give it to mommy early because it is perfect for all those holidays parties. In Ramalama fashion, this is a Genuine leather made in Australia bag which includes 1 internal pocket with zipper, 1 external zip pocket on back, Nickel hardware, metal zips, contrasting cream stitching, a change mat, and handy strap for the wrist or stroller. This bag measures 10 1/2” x 7” x 1” leaving plenty of room to fit a phone, keys, lipgloss, and a standard wipes case. Retail Price is $150, but our readers can purchase this bag for $55.

The second offer is on the Ramalama Stevie. This is a satchel style bag which offers 6 internal pockets including 1 with zip closure, 2 perfect bottle pockets, 1 Pacifier/key clip, an extra long adjustable strap for Daddy's comfort, and a Machine washable change mat. Again, this bag is made from ultra soft, beautiful Italian leather in Australia. Retail Price is $405, but our readers can purchase this bag for $150.

*Please note that we are not an affiliate or retailer of Ramalama. We are not being paid for your purchases. We are simply big fans of this brand of Diaper Bags and thus happy to provide our readers with these 2 fabulous deals.

Alloy Jewelry {Review + Gift Guide Giveaway #3}

While I was putting together our Holiday Gift Guide this year, I was contacted by a wonderful jewelry artist by the name of Leah. Leah sells her items both locally in Vermont and via her own Etsy store. Each of Leah's jewelry pieces are hand-stamped and therefore you'll be gifting a one-of a kind bauble.

Leah creates her items at home "on a table strewn with books, tea, and play dough and in the midst of a flurry of children laughing, dancing and singing" all around her. An environment that sounds strikingly similar to wear mine will be worn, though I'd swap the tea for an icy cold diet coke and the dancing for wrestling.

Leah sent me one of her personalized pieces to review and she was even able to squeeze all 5 of my kids names upon it as well as my first initial. In addition to the hand-stamped concave sterling silver disk was a single copper flower accent. It arrived ready to be worn with a 16 inch sterling silver chain as well. I think the overall effect was simple yet sentimental and really quite sweet. I've put mine to use many times already. What mommy or grand mom wouldn't appreciate one of Leah's Alloy Jewelry creations?

Alloy Jewelry is offering a 10% off discount to our readers for the holiday season with the code "andtwinsmake5Alloy". Additionally, in celebration of the inclusion of Alloy Jewelry in our Holiday Gift Guide, you can enter to win one of their silver disc and pearl customized pendants.

So how do you enter to win? Leave me a comment telling me which of Alloy Jewelry's many designs currently available in Leah's Etsy store is your favorite.

Optional Additional Entries for:

1 extra entry if you tell us which items from our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide are your favorites.

Ends on 12/16/09 @ 11:59PM CST.

Thanks for Entering and Good luck to everyone!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway #2- A pair of Mimiten Mittens

To celebrate being listed in our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, our friends at Mimitens are offering our readers a chance to win a pair of their wonderful mittens. Not familiar with these? They are by far my favorite mittens for little ones and you can click here to read my full review.

So how do you enter to win? Leave me a comment telling me what your choice of style and size mimiten mittens would be should your name be selected as our winner.

Optional Additional Entries for:

1 extra entry if you tell us which items from our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide are your favorites.
1 extra entry if you become a fan of Mimitens on facebook.