The Best Pencil Sharpener EVER!!!

First, I just have to say that we have been having some MAJOR Pencil Sharpener issues.  We had one of those tiny hand held sharpeners with a small plastic cover that usually fell off and left lots of shavings all over the table and floor.  This usually happened just as we needed to be clearing the table for dinner or heading out the door.  I actually wasn’t even looking for pencil sharpeners when I came across the first review for The Classroom Friendly Sharpener, but as soon as I saw it I wanted one, no we actually needed one! 

Classroom Friendly Supplies was kind enough to send us one to review and I have to say we absolutely LOVE this sharpener. 

Why do we love this pencil sharpener:

1. It is quiet, compared to an electric sharpener.
2. It is easy to use, my 4 and 7 year old can do it all by themselves.
3. It holds the pencil for you which is just really cool.
4. It sharpens pencils to the MOST PERFECT POINT EVER IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD!!  (Really it is true!!!)
5. Pencil sharpenings are caught in the bucket at the bottom and do not end up all over the table and floor.

Be sure to visit Classroom Friendly Supplies to see their Pencil Sharpener in action and find out about ordering your own for your home or classroom!

**I was given this product for free to review, but the opinions expressed are my own**

 

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A Very Minted Christmas

Every year I get excited to see all the fun designs that are available for our family Christmas card, even though I get a stomach ache thinking about actually taking the picture.  Hopefully Clara will be the ham that she usually is and everything will go nice and smoothly.

This year as I was looking for ideas for our card I noticed that Minted had a really great selection of fun designs for their Photo Christmas Cards.

Here are just a few of the fun designs that caught my eye as I was browsing their site.  I am planning on a playful card this year the girls are excited to wear their Christmas Pajamas, so these seemed like they would go really well with our theme.

Be sure to stop by Minted to see all the other things that they offer!

They have an variety of stationary, prints and children's room decor items too.  These items would make great gifts for any occasion.

**Disclosure: I will receive money off my next Minted purchase for writing this post to participate in Minted's holiday card promotion however these are my own unbiased opinions.

Product Review: Blok Squad Construction Unit Mission by Mega Bloks

When I was contacted by Team Mom to review a Mega Bloks building set I knew right away that the girls would love the Construction Mission!

Our Blok Squad Construction Mission set arrived and we got right to work building it.  This set contains 218 pieces that creat two vehicles and figures including  a 4x4 and Front Loader.

  We used the great directions with easy to follow pictures to see what pieces we needed and where they should go.  I worked on the construction vehicles and the girls helped me find the pieces.  This set is  intended for children ages  5 and older, but with supervision my girls (almost 5 and 2 1/2 had fun with it).

 Emily and Juliette  found the pieces for the construction workers and put them together all by themselves.  They had fun walking them around and making them go into the vehicles when I was finished putting them together.

I really liked that these sets introduce kids to everyday heroes.  They are available with themes such as fire patrol, police as well as construction.  They also let them use their imaginations for hours of open-ended play.  I think they would love them in our sand table.

You can find this set along with the other themed Blok Squad sets at Toys “R” Us, Walmart and amazon.com

Also be sure to check out the Mega Bloks Family Club for product information, on-line games and activities.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Team Mom and Mega Bloks for providing us with this Blok Squad Construction Unit Mission Set  free of charge to facilitate my review. This review is 100% my own opinion of this  building set and was not influenced in any way by the company.

Product Review: Moon Dough Push n’ Pop Breakfast Set

I was so excited when I was contacted by Team Mom to review the new improved Moon Dough Formula.  Emily and Juliette have enjoyed playing with Moon Dough at their friend’s house, however after seeing what a huge mess it made did not want it in our house.   I have to say I am so glad I gave this set a chance because the girls had SO much fun making all kinds of yummy breakfast treats with it.

  The Moon Dough Push n’ Pop Breakfast Set came with 2 colors of moon dough (which can be mixed together for a cool tie die effect or completely blended to make a new color), a play mat,  a twisty mold and 3 Push n’ Pop molds.

 Juliette was able to use the new Push n’ Pop molds to easily make pancakes, waffles or toast.  Emily and I loved using the twisty mold to make the different toppings.  The moon dough molds really well and pops right out.  Emily was able to do it all by herself and they really looked great.

The new moon dough formula was better than the one that the girls had played with at a friends house, although it did crumble a little bit, it was easy to get it back together and did not stick to their clothes at all.  I also loved that it does not dry up.  It is also Wheat-free and Hypo-allergenic.  The girls were able to make their  breakfast creations and play with them for hours without worrying about putting them away.

There is also a Push n' Pop Sea Creatures set available that looks really cute.  Sso if you want something that your child will have hours of fun creating with, with minimal mess I definitely recommend these Moon Dough Push n’ Pop Sets!

Disclaimer: Thank you to Team Mom and Moon Dough for providing us with this Moon Dough Push N Pop Breakfast Set free of charge to facilitate my review. This review is 100% my own opinion of this  Moon Dough Set and was not influenced in any way by the company.

A Very Merry Shutterfly Christmas Card Giveaway!!!

I have used Shutterfly for both Emily and Juliette’s  Birth Announcements and was so pleased with how easy they were to create and personalize.  Last year we began the tradition of creating a Summer Fun Photo Book and I loved how easy Shutterfly made it to record all the special memories we shared together.  Every year we send a Christmas Photo Card to our friends and family because I think it is great to be able to send smiles along with our Christmas Greetings!  For Christmas last year we created our cards on Shutterfly and I was impressed with all the different styles available.  It was a lot of fun to try them out with the pictures that we took.  I was thrilled with the cards that we finally decided on and ordered from Shutterfly.

This year there are so many new styles to choose from and after checking out all of the new Christmas Card designs I can’t wait to create our family Christmas Card. 

So far my favorite designs are:

All The Happiness

  Bold Bright Joy

 Snowflake Borders

Once the great Christmas card photo shoot of 2011 is over and I upload my pictures I will be able to make the final decision.  Until then I definitely recommend checking out all that Shutterfly has to offer!

**Update**
Here it is!!  Our photo shoot was a little less than fun, however the card still came out amazing.  Can't wait to recieve them and then send them to all of our family and friends.  Click below to check out all the other amazing designs. 

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

The Giveaway!

Shutterfly has generously offered 2 of my readers a chance to win 25 free 5x7 flat or folded cards.

( Winner will be responsible for all applicable taxes, shipping and handling).

Mandatory Entry

Visit Shutterfly and tell me which is your favorite Holiday Card Design or Shutterfly Photo Gift Idea????

(Please leave your e-mail address if you don't have it enabled on your profile).

Extra Entries

Follow A Mommy’s Adventures (1 entry)

Subscribe by e-mail or follow us via RSS (1 entry each)

Follow A Mommy’s Adventures on Facebook - leave your username (1 entry)

Follow @kme0310 on Twitter - leave your username (1 entry)

This giveaway ends on November 5, 2011 at 11:59pm.

The winner will be drawn by random.org and announced on this blog as well as emailed. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn. Email address must be in at least one comment or visible on your profile to win.

Disclosure: I will receive free cards for writing this post to participate in Shutterfly’s holiday card promotion however these are my own unbiased experiences and opinions.

Time4Learning Review

Emily and I  had the opportunity to test out Time4Learning an online home education program and we both really enjoyed using it.

Emily loves using Daddy’s laptop to play games (even though that does not really happen that often) and I always try to make sure that the time she does spend at the computer is useful as well as fun.  This program was just that. 

We used the preschool level  and the lessons were perfect for us.  The lessons were broken into themes, such as Alphabet, colors, shapes, Weather, Space, on the farm and many more.  I liked how each theme began with a story or show which introduced the major concepts.  After, that the activities built on the concepts that were introduced.

Emily liked doing the memory games and coloring activities.  I was impressed with how well she worked with the laptop mouse and how simple the site was for her to find her way around.  However some of the activities did require her to hold down the mouse button and move the mouse which was difficult for her to do.

Overall we enjoyed the time we spent exploring Time4Learning together. 

Disclosure: I was provided with a 1 month Time4Learning membership at no cost in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

An Upcoming Review ~ Time4Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning is an online educational program that can be used in many ways including as a homeschooling curriculum or afterschool tutorial. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Jumpstart Review and Giveaway

I was very excited JumpStart contacted me to try out their  3D virtual world to write a review and giveaway a 3 month membership to one of my readers.

 

JumpStart is an award-winning 3D virtual world that give children a safe online environment to learn while having fun.  After you personalize your “Jumpee” which is the avatar that represents you in this virtual world they are able to explore the many different games and activites that JumpStarts virtual world has to offer.

Emily has not played many games on the computer, but she was very excited to test this one out.  Before I had her try it I browsed it myself and then set up her Jumpee, I had to pick out the eyes, hair and clothes.  I have to admit I had a lot of fun doing this part.  I also played a few of the games to see how they worked.  I like to see how difficult the questions or activities are and what happens if they get an answer wrong.  Once I had an idea of how it worked I let Emily give it a try and she LOVED it!

We tested out Story Book Land which is recommended for ages 3-5.  Emily was not able to navigate through the 3D world on her own, but I am sure that as she gets older it will be no problem at all for her.  First I helped Emily customize her Jumpee, this time she was able to pick out all the different features, which was fun to do.  Next we tried some of the games in the School House.  Her favorite was the Monkey Drop.  In this game there was a number at the top of the tree and Emily had to click on the monkey that was hanging from the tree with the number that matched.

Overall I felt that this could be a wonderful and fun way to reinforce concepts that are being worked on as well as helping practice using a mouse.  I was amazed at how much better she got at it in just a short time. 

JumpStart offers a Free Account so you can visit the site and check it out, but if you get a Members Account you have access to a lot more!

To Find Out More Visit JumpStart:

• Jumpstart Blog – a place to share your thoughts about the games, parenting tips, crafts and learning ideas.
• JumpStart Website – play and explore all that JumpStart has to offer

*The Giveaway*

Win a 3 Month Membership to Jumpstart.

*To Enter*

Visit Jumpstart and tell me something you learned.

Additional Entries:
(Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry to be counted)

• Follow A Mommy’s Adventures publicly.

• Follow me on Twitter @Kme0310 and tweet this giveaway!  You can use your own or tweet this {Win a 3 month membership to Jumpstart @amommysadventures http://tinyurl.com/2dwcp9c} ~ You can tweet once a day, but be sure to leave a link and comment for each one.

• Follow A Mommy’s Adventures on Facebook

• Check out the JumpStart Blog and leave  a comment telling me something you liked about it.

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry

The winner will be announced here, and also e-mailed so please include your e-mail in each comment or enable it in blogger. The winner must respond within 48 hours or I will choose another winner.

Good Luck!!! This giveaway will be open until Sunday, October  24, 2010 midnight EST.

Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

Its*A*Ten Sak Saver Reusable Baggie Review

Ever since I was little I have been interested in going green, only I didn’t know that is what it was called at the time!  In fact one of my favorite books to read was 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save the Earth.  Although I have not been doing everything I possibly could to help the environment I am always thinking about steps that our family can take to go green.  I was thrilled when Tami from Its*A*Ten offered to send me some Sak Saver Reusable Bags to review.

These reusable snack bags are amazing, Tami was generous enough to send me a  sandwich sized bag and a snack sized bag and they were both the perfect sizes.  I often used plastic Ziploc bags to store snacks in my bag for Emily and Juliette, most of the time they would end up ripping while in my bag.  These are not only so much sturdier, but they also look amazing.  I loved taking them out and using them because of the beautiful designs.

 

The Sak Saver Reusable Baggie is made of  a cotton fabric on the outside and lined with 100% Nylon ripstop fabric on the inside.  Since Nylon ripstop fabric is only water resistant, not waterproof you can not use these bags for wet items but I found them to be perfect for sandwiches, crackers, grapes and apple slices.  I loved that the Velcro closure went across the entire top of the bag so nothing was able to sneak out of the bag! 

As Tami states there is not an airtight seal, and after leaving snacks in the bag over night our animal crackers were slightly stale, although you can not store food in them overnight or for extended periods of time,  they are perfect for lunch boxes, playgroup snacks or day trips.

Finally, cleaning these bags couldn’t  be easier!  You can turn them inside out and wipe off the crumbs or through them right in the washing machine and air dry them.

When I first saw these bags I thought they were a great idea, now that I have had an opportunity to test them out I know that they are amazing and I am totally hooked.  I can’t wait to add more to my collection very soon.

You can learn more about and even purchase your own Sak Saver Reusable Baggies on Esty at http://www.etsy.com/shop/itsaten

Also, check out It's*A*Ten’s blog at www.itsaten.blogspot.com  and become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itsatencrafts to find out about new items, fabric choices and other great things.

 

**Thank you to Tami for providing me with 2 Sak Saver Reusable Baggies for this review.  All reviews are my own personal and honest opinions. Other people's views and experiences with the product or products might differ.**

Easy Lunch Boxes Review and Giveaway!!

We were recently sent a set of Easy Lunch Boxes and a cooler bag to review and I have to say they are amazing.  I decided to test them out on our recent trip to the zoo.  We didn’t want to have to buy food there so I packed our whole family lunch.  We each had our own container and I had fun finding yummy and nutritious foods to fill each compartment with.

Emily was so excited to see what she had for lunch.  The cooler bag is nice and large so I was able to fit 2 containers and an ice pack to keep our lunches cold  as well as some extra snacks too!

    Emily was able to open the container herself which is always a big plus and loved the selection of foods all neatly stored for her.   It reminded us of  bento lunch boxes or  Muffin Tin Monday.  I loved how sturdy the plastic is and how many different healthy lunch combinations I can pack using this system.

FDA approved. No BPA, phthalates, lead, vinyl, or PVC. Safe for dishwasher, freezer, and microwave.

Back to school is just around the corner and although Emily will only be going to a preschool class 2 times a week for a few hours  these will make lunch time so much easier for me.  Especially since The Easy Lunch Boxes site not only offers kids lunch boxes, but they also have lots of other hints and tips as well as yummy Lunch Recipes.   I plan on preparing our lunches the night before so that all I have to do is take it out of the refrigerator and serve or bring them with us where ever we may be headed that day!

*The Giveaway* 

Easy Lunchboxes is very generously offering a set of 4 lunchboxes and a cooler bag {winner chooses cooler color} to one of my readers!

**Please note this giveaway is offered to US & Canadian residents only. Please do not enter this giveaway if have won or received free product from EasyLunchboxes within the past 3 months.

*To Enter*

Mandatory Entry: Visit www.EasyLunchboxes.com and tell me one thing you learned about their products.

Additional Entries:
(Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry to be counted)

• Follow @easylunchboxes on Twitter
• Become a fan of Easy Lunchboxes Facebook
• Follow A Mommy’s Adventures publicly
• Subscribe to A Mommy’s Adventures
• Follow A Mommy’s Adventures on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter @Kme0310 and be sure to include your twitter name in your comment so I can follow you too :0)
• Tweet this giveaway!  You can use your own or tweet this {@kme0310 is hosting an @EasyLunchboxes giveaway Enter here  http://tinyurl.com/2asxhfe  } ~ You can tweet once a day, but be sure to leave a link and comment for each one.
• Blog about this giveaway and include a link back to A Mommy’s Adventures. (This is worth 3 extra entries ~ leave a comment for each one)

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry

The winner will be announced here, and also e-mailed so please include your e-mail in each comment or enable it in blogger. The winner must respond within 48 hours or I will choose another winner.

Good Luck!!! This giveaway will be open until Wednesday, September 15, 2010 midnight EST.

**Thank you to Easy Lunch Boxes for providing me with a free set of containers and lunch bag for me to review on my blog. These are my honest opinions and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.**

Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD Review

 

I recently reviewed Tina Turbin’s Best Book Award 2009 Finalist, Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy and the Audio Book CD DREAMS that goes along with it.  Emily and I loved the book and were very excited to also receive the Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD to watch together.  I loved that this DVD was not an animated version of the story,  but large full color images of the book told with sign interpretation.  Emily enjoyed watching as the story was read and signed to her.  I was able to explain to her what sign language was and why some people need to use it. 

I think that it is wonderful that this author is so supportive of literacy and education for the deaf and hearing impaired.  In fact Tina is donating half of the profits from the sale of this DVD to increase awareness and support of literacy and education for Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf and half the profits to other causes which support literacy and education for the welfare of all children.

This DVD will be available in April through the Danny the Dragon Website!

You can find out more about Danny The Dragon and Tina Turbin’s Causes by visiting these websites:

• Danny The Dragon Website – All things Danny the Dragon

• Gluten Free Help – Website created by Tina Turbin to provide information about topics relating to celiac disease.

• Tina Turbin – Information about the author.

**Thank you to Tina Turbin and her assistant Rosie Newman for providing me with a copy of this DVD in return for reviewing it. This review reflects my own personal opinion and experience with this product.