Last year we started a fun tradition at the dinner table where we take turns discussing our favorite part of the day. My girls, who are 4 and 7, enjoy it so much that they will remind us if we’ve forgotten to do it! It’s become as integral a part of our evening meal as saying grace and setting the table and it’s a great way to promote family togetherness, especially since we are all so busy during the week with work and school and soccer.
We have been testing out a couple of fun home dinner games for families from Family Time Fun (they also have a Gather ‘Round Restaurant Game which is perfect for road trips.) These games are available at several retailer, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Toys R Us, Target, and Fat Brain Toys, and have son several awards such as Creative Child Magazine’s Game of the Year in 2009!
Gather ‘Round Dinner Game (the push-button action has made this game my girls’ favorite)
Beginner Dinner Games
Original Dinner Games
The Gather ‘Round game offers 132 dinnertime activities to play while you eat. My girls loved the push button feature on this game, which I love because all the game cards are stored within the round game unit. The Beginner Dinner Games and Original Dinner Games are both small tin sets of game cards. The beginner set is geared toward younger children (ages 3 to 6) while the Original Dinner Game set is perfect for older kids ages 6 to 12. Last night we chose a card that asked each adult to ask each child at the table four questions about themselves and vice versa. It was a fun way to learn about our family favorites. I learned, for example, that my 7-year-old’s favorite food is candy (wink) and I also learned that my 4-year-old is quite good at coming up with creative questions. She asked me what my favorite type of jewelry is!
These are great games that encourage family conversation and fun. I highly recommend them as birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, or for family vacation as they are perfect at the dinner table. Right now you can purchase discounted bundles of the games. You can also keep up with special offerings via their Facebook page.
I fell in love with books at an early age and I fell hard. I remember my grandmother giving me Nancy Drew books and favorites like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Caddie Woodlawn for every birthday. I remember nesting in a big comfy chair and reading A Little Princess or The Secret Garden. Recently I discovered a box of my childhood books in our attic. Flipping through the musty paperbacks I remembered the excitement of picking new books from the Scholastic book fair catalog and my mother ordering them for me. My mom has always been a voracious reader and she encouraged me to read as much as I could when I was little. Sharing my childhood books has been like sharing old friends with my girls.
Now that I’m a busy mom who reads and edits quite a bit during her day job, in addition to running two blogs, it’s pretty difficult for me to carve out time to read. I’d never tried a digital reader device until Sony sent me their swanky and sleek Pocket Reader in a modern silver color (it also comes in pink!) to test and keep. I don’t travel much for work but I think this would be the perfect present for a book lover who travels quite a bit. I am a big fan of checking books out at our local library but I don’t always have, or make, time to stop by. There is a huge library of books available for purchase for the Sony Pocket Reader, as well as literally thousands of classic titles available for FREE download via Google Books! I’ve been reading F. Scott Fitzgerald and really loving his writing style and the era.
Sony has also created a great website called Words Move Me to promote the love of reading. Book lovers can share and connect over their favorite literary moments. I created this nifty widget featuring quotes from some of my favorite books. Click to the right of my favorite featured quote to see some more of my favorite literary moments.
Great battery life – two full weeks of reading (that’s 7,500 continuous page turns) on one charge
For those of us around 40-ish and on the edge of presbyopia, you can choose from three adjustable font sizes
Lightweight and easily portable (about the size of a standard paperback book)
5-inch reading display (See also presbyopia.)
Tons of storage – you can load up to 350 of your favorite books making this great for a literal portable library
Access to online aggregators (I haven’t tried this yet but I think it would be pretty cool for reading your favorite magazines and newspapers, not to mention blogs.)
The downside to the Sony Pocket Reader is that it is NOT a book. There’s just something about the tactile feel of pages and the sound of flipping through a book that the Pocket Reader cannot replicate. But it’s an amazing device!
Want to win your own Sony Pocket Reader (a $199 retail value)?
Visit the Sony Words Move Me website and come back to this post and leave a comment about a literary moment that spoke to you.
For up to five additional entries (please leave a separate comment for any of these you do):
* Tweet @blondemomblog is giving away a Sony Pocket Reader on her review blog http://tinyurl.com/ygsrw72 * Leave a comment on a post at Blonde Mom Blog, my main blog
* Link to this giveaway post from your blog
* Subscribe to the Savvy Housewife RSS feed
* Subscribe to the Blonde Mom Blog RSS feed
A winner will be chosen from all eligible comments left by midnight Monday, February 8 using Random.org. Thanks and good luck!
Red tape, disclosure, blah blah blah verbiage: Sony provided a Pocket Reader to me to review and keep for this post. I have also linked to my Amazon affiliate account in this post. Please don’t get your panties in a wad as I’ve made ZERO dollars from my account!
My mom called me the other day to let me know about this green trench coat at Tarjay (that’s Target to all you amateur shoppers out there…I kid, I kid!) It’s from their Merona line and is $39.99. That’s a little pricey for my blood, but it’s very cute and I bet it goes on sale soon.
For little girls, check out this adorable trench coat at Kohl’s from Candie’s (marked down from $50 to $35).
This time of year I usually get the winter doldrums and I look forward to spring. I found a few more cute green items online that I’d love to add to my wardrobe. Green is one of my favorite colors. Enjoy!
Satchel purse at Payless (only $24.99 so it’s a great way to incorporate green into your wardrobe if you’re on a budget.)
Speaking of budget, I also found a cute smocked knit green dress at WalMart. This makes me think of sipping margaritas in Puerto Rico! Sigh…I can dream as it snows outside.
The green movement is becoming more mainstream and more and more green cleaning products are hitting the market.
I was recently introduced to the BabyGanics line of safe, natural home cleaning products. At first I thought any product with the name “baby” in it wasn’t for me since my baby is now 4 (sniff) and a pro at accessorizing her wardrobe but I was anxious to try out their alcohol free foaming hand sanitizer cleverly named The Germinator. I use a LOT of hand sanitizer. I usually keep some in my purse, some in my car, and some in my office drawer, not to mention a big ole bottle at home. But alcohol-based hand sanitizers used two to three times daily really dry out my hands, especially in the winter. Not only is The Germinator alcohol free, but it’s fragrance free, too. There’s nothing worse than cleaning your hands with scented hand sanitizer before you eat and my kids are constantly snacking on the go–in my car, at the park, etc.
The Grime Fighter All Purpose Cleaner (in spray bottle form and wipes form)
The Dish Dazzler Foaming Dish & Bottle Soap
Breathin’ Easy Air Freshener
The Germinator Foaming Hand Sanitizer On-the-Go
Besides The Germinator, my other favorite product was the Grime Fighter All Purpose Cleaner in the spray bottle. I’ve been using it now for about three weeks in our kitchen and it’s been able to tackle the greasiest and tomato-iest (yes that’s a word at our house) stains on our white stove surface. We also have white countertops and white cabinets in the kitchen (double whammy) and it’s done a great job on cleaning them without overpowering me with any harsh chemical type odor. I also really like the air freshener which comes in a pump aerosol bottle and is handy in the bathroom to help eliminate pesky little odors that linger.
One thing I like about all the cleaning products is they don’t leave a harsh chemical or bleach type scent when you’re cleaning, which is especially nice in the winter when you can’t open the windows. BabyGanics cleaning products 100 percent chemical free and are completely organic so you can feel safe about cleaning with these products around your children.
The Healthy Home essentials kit from BabyGanics retails for $19.99 on their website and would make a great baby gift or housewarming gift for a family with young children.
This giveaway is closed. Mindy who commented, “Thomas and friends thanks for the giveaway” is the winner! Thanks to everyone who entered and be sure to stop back by for future contests, including a Sony Pocket Reader giveaway, which will be posted February 1.
Do you have a Barney lover at your house? Or maybe like my little nephews your kids like Bob the Builder or Thomas? What about Fireman Sam, Angelina Ballerina, or Chica from Sprout TV’s Sunny Side Up Show?
I’ve got a great DVD to give away that is the first in a series developed by HIT Entertainment and Sprout TV around the theme of “helping hands.” Lend a Helping Hand is hosted by Kelly and Chica from Sprout’s Sunny Side Up Show and teaches kids about the ever important theme of how they can help out at home.
I’m a member of Sprout TV’s Band of Bloggers and I’ve been asked to help spread and word about this great new DVD and give one away to one lucky Savvy Housewife reader! Lend a Helping Hand is also available on Amazon for $14.98 should you not win the DVD and would like to check it out for your kids or grandkids.
To enter, visit PBS Kids Sprout and leave a comment on this post with the title of your child’s favorite Sprout program.
For up to five additional entries (please leave a separate comment for any of these you do):
Tweet @blondemomblog is giving away Sprout TV’s new DVD – Lend a Helping Hand – on her review blog http://tinyurl.com/ycb739m
This giveaway is closed. The three winners of the $5 Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards are: Modesty L. who commented, “My little sister loves the Chocolate Donut with Sprinkles!!,” Jennifer Gersch who commented, “iced coffee” and Christopher H. who commented, “Love their iced coffee.” Thanks to everyone who entered and be sure to stop back by the week of February 1 to enter the giveaway for a Sony Pocket Reader!
I love Dunkin’ Donuts and I’ve got a mean addiction to their pumpkin lattes (which, thankfully, our local Dunkin’ Donuts is STILL carrying). I actually prefer Dunkin’ Donuts over Starbucks and my girls love getting a special treat there. They usually go straight for the sprinkle donuts and hot chocolate.
Dunkin’ Donuts is not all about donuts, however. They do offer several healthier options than their famous glazed donuts and I’ve started offering light lattes. You can now order any Dunkin’ Donuts egg sandwich on a croissant, bagel, or English Muffin to be made with egg whites, which cuts back at least 25 % on calories.
Some more new menu features this winter:
The DDSMART menu also features a new Low Fat Cranberry Orange Muffin with only 3 grams of fat that’s delicious.
For a short time, Dunkin’ Donuts guests can enjoy a special limited time value offer of an egg and cheese sandwich for 99 cents with the purchase of a medium hot coffee or beverage (at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants.)
For you old school donut fans, you can now order a “Snow Flurries” decorated donut with white snowflake sprinkles for just 89 cents through February 7.
To celebrate Dunkin’ Donuts’ winter specials I have three $5 Dunkin’ Donut gift cards to give away to three lucky Savvy Housewife readers. Three winners will be chosen at random from all eligible comments left by midnight Thursday, January 28. Simply leave a comment about your favorite Dunkin’ Donuts item.
For up to four additional entries (please leave a separate comment for any of these you do):
I have two Peace Love Mom t-shirts and I absolutely LOVE them. They are soft, stylish, and so much more fun to wear than my typical boring solid t-shirts.
I just noticed that Peace Love Mom is running a great special this month. Send them a picture of yourself wearing one of their t-shirts and telling them about one of your New Year’s resolutions and you’ll get a free long-sleeve thermal t-shirt! This promotion ends January 31 and it does not include shipping. But if you’re already a Peace Love Mom fan this is a great deal!
Sugar Pop Ribbons is having a fun Peace Love Mom giveaway that ends February 1 so if you’ve never tried their great t-shirts now is your chance to win one. (But don’t tell me if you win and I don’t because I really want another one!)
One thing I worry about with our two dogs coming in and out as they darn well please via the dog door is that musty doggy smell (especially when it rains…ugh!) I don’t care for any kind of carpet powder fresheners that just seem to mask the odor. I’ve been known to light a candle or three before we have guests!
Clear the Air Pet Odor Eliminator by Earth Care Products of San Diego is a natural non-toxic odor removal product specially designed to tackle the most difficult household pet, musty mildew odor, and other organic smell challenges. I really wanted to try this product as it doesn’t mask pet odors with heavy perfumes, it actually removes the odor. Our 12-year-old Corgi/German Shepherd mix had an unfortunate doggy throw up incident on our carpet recently and I used Clear the Air Pet Odor Eliminator on the area and left it overnight to completely get rid of the smell.
Creator Bill Vaughan came up with this special formula of natural and non-toxic minerals that are both environmentally friendly and completely safe to use around children (big plus to me). It’s very easy to use. You can sprinkle it on carpet overnight and then vacuum it up the next day. It’s even effective for helping dry up poop and pet urine stains. You can also use it on in litter boxes and on the bottom of dog crates. It’s completley safe, even if swallowed by pets or kids.
Earth Care Products work by using negatively charged particles that have attract ions (positively charged particles). These products are also useful for smoke and chemical odors, vehicles and dumpster containers, and can be used for odor control from trash rooms, litter boxes, carpets, skunk odors, lawns, tile and concrete.
The 14 ounce canisters are sold at PETCO Stores for $9.99 and cover a 100-square foot area. We also were sent one of their odor remover bags which I shared with my brother who was having a ground hog invasion in one of his air ducts (he lives in a 1940s remodeled bungalow.) Visit www.cleartheair.com for more information. This is a great product to keep on hand if you have indoor pets like us!
I don’t know about your kids, but my 2nd grader is stark raving famished when she gets home from school. She starts foraging through the kitchen the nanosecond her little pink leopard book bag hits the floor (wait….GRRRRR…HANG THAT UP, please?)
Also, and don’t tell anyone, there are just some nights I don’t feel like the battle of wills over what my girls will and will not eat for dinner and sometimes I need to whip out a no fail item and slap it in the microwave…enter Farm Rich Snacks and Appetizers. I’m actually most familiar with their French Toast Sticks, which are delicious for a hot and easy breakfast, but we’ve also tried their chicken quesadillas, which are muy yummy (and I consider myself quite the Mexican food connosieur…queso is my crack.)
The nice folks with Farm Rich Appetizers sent me a coupon to try out another one of their appetizer offerings and I picked up the Mozarella Bites. My 7-year-old LOVED them. You could even justify them as a quick school and work night dinner if you serve them with a small salad. I want to try the cheese and pepperoni pizza slices next.
Sometimes I can be a frozen food snob, but Farm Rich Appetizers never taste frozen and they don’t use added trans fats. They’re great to keep stocked in the freezer for those impromptu times your kids have friends over and there is “nothing to eat” (even though your pantry is FULL.)
Farm Rich Appetizers are available at most grocery stores nationwide. Here locally in Nashville you can find them at Kroger, WalMart, and Target. Be sure to check out the Farm Rich coupon page on their website!
Colgate is a name synonymous with good dental hygiene and I was more than happy to try out a few of their newer products.
It’s so important to drill into kids the importance of dental hygiene. Colgate makes it easier with fun character theme toothbrushes, featuring such familiar faces as Dora and Diego, and fun flavored toothpaste. One of their newest offerings is SpongeBob Squarepants toothpaste in bubble fruit flavor, which is perfect for kids ages 2 and up. I’m not sure what a bubble fruit is, but my girls love it. They also love having their own “special” toothpaste. Colgate’s character toothbrushes for children include a Dora and a Diego line. They’re specially made for small hands and developing teeth.
For adults, Colgate also has a great new disposable toothbrush on the market, the Colgate Wisp. If you’ve ever been on a business trip and needed to freshen up after lunch (maybe you forgot to hold the onions) or out on a date with your spouse or boyfriend and needed a quick freshening up without packing your actual toothbrush and toothpaste, than Colgate Wisp is perfect for you. Each Colgate Wisp comes individually packaged and is small enough to discreetly slip into your purse or makeup bag. These are also great to keep in your office for those times when your boss calls an impromptu meeting and you don’t have time to run to the bathroom. Colgate Wisp doesn’t require any water and come with a micro-bead of toothpaste.
No compensation was received for this post other than the products mentioned.
Don’t miss out on future Savvy Housewife product reviews and giveaways (including Dunkin’ Donuts and Zupers girls’ leggings.) Subscribe to the Savvy Housewife RSS Feed.
This giveaway is closed. Charlotte who commented, “I like the tan puppy best,” is the winner. Congrats to Charlotte and thanks to everyone who entered!
My 7-year-old has already been a big fan of Webkinz plush toys and Webkinz.com for quite some time but when Santa brought she and her little sister an adorable soft monkey and puppy from the new Webkinz Jr. line they were both thrilled! These were a huge hit for my little girls. They are beautiful pastel colors and are larger (and more cuddly and definitely softer in my opinion) than the regular Webkinz. Although the Webkinz Jr. website is ideally designed for children ages 3 to 6, both my girls, including my older daughter, enjoyed playing online on this new virtual site.
How are Webkinz Jr. Pets similar or different to regular Webkinz pets?
Webkinz Jr. is designed for children ages 3-6, a younger age range
Webkinz are 8 inches to 8 1/2 inches, whereas the new Webkinz Jr. plush toys are 12 inches
Webkinz Jr. pets have 4 meters: happiness (a smiley face), health (a heart), hunger (a bowl and spoon), and energy (a moon)
Rather than building a house for their pets, players will automatically receive a house with six rooms: a play room, a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, a front yard, and a back yard.
The world of Webkinz Jr. is not as large as Webkinz World, but players will be able to visit a park, a post office, a shop, a playhouse, and a school. My 7-year-old told me the website was much easier to understand and navigate.
Want to win a new Webkinz Jr? Just visit the Webkinz Jr. website and comment on this post about which plush cutie is your favorite. One winner will be chosen at random from all eligible comments left by midnight Friday, January 22.
For up to five additional entries (please leave a separate comment for any of these you do):
* Leave a comment on a post at Blonde Mom Blog, my main blog
* Link to this giveaway post from your blog
* Mention and link to this giveaway on Twitter (@blondemomblog is giving away a Webkinz Jr.on her review blog!)
* Subscribe to the Savvy Housewife RSS feed
* Subscribe to the Blonde Mom Blog RSS feed
Thanks and good luck!
No compensation was received for this post and giveaway other than the two plush toys mentioned in this post.
This giveaway is closed. The winner is Heather Goldsmith, who commented “I liked learning about the characters, specifically Yamagoo who is “prone to flatulence.” ahhhhhhh!!!!
Spiderwick Chronicles award winning author/illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi and his wife Angela have teamed up to write a sweet children’s book series about Meno, a space-elf and his out-of-this-world adventures. Each story is told with bright illustrations in nonsensical language, as if it were translated from Meno’s Alien language into English. As childlike as they are sweet, these stories find humor in the simplest places, and will be a big hit with both kids and parents. My 4-year-old loves the Adventure of Meno Series books! The illustrations remind me a bit of the Jetsons and have a fun retro feel to them.
In book one, Big Fun!, readers will join Meno and his best friend Yamagoo, and find out what Meno thinks is the biggest fun of all. In Meno’s second adventure, Wet Friend!, Meno and Yamagoo decide they want a “friend trio” and, thanks to their wish-granting friend Wishi, get some out-of-the-ordinary choices along the way.
Tony DiTerlizzi has been creating books with Simon & Schuster for more than 10 years and is probably best known for his middle-grade series, The Spiderwick Chronicles (co-created with Holly Black), which has sold millions of copies and was adapted into a film.
I’ve got a great giveaway for a special child in your life donated by the publisher of the Adventure of Meno series–signed copies of both the Big Fun! and Wet Friend! books and a sweet, soft custom made blue Meno or pastel pink Wishi blanket (winner’s choice). This is a great snuggle up and read a good book prize for this winter!
A winner will be chosen at random from all eligible comments left by midnight Sunday, January 17. Simply visit the official Adventures of Meno website and then come back to this post and comment about something you enjoyed.
For up to four additional entries (please leave a separate comment for any of these you do):
Colgate is a name synonymous with good dental hygiene and I was more than happy to try out a few of their newer products.
