Discovery Toys Review and GIVEAWAY!

CLOSED: Winner is... Mom 2 4! Congrats and I'll be sending you an email for your address!!


Back in the day when Justin was a wee one, I tried my hand at selling Discovery Toys. It didn't take me long to figure out that I had neither the drive to sell or the mindset to keep good track of income vs. expenses. I lasted a mere 18 months at it, but the main reason I had started selling was already paid for in the discounts I got on numerous, fabulous toys.

I still use many of them for schooling Corinne (shape sorting, counting games, an old cassette that had lots of songs for every teachable aspect you can imagine!) and they have all proven to be high quality toys. So, when I was contacted by Discovery Toys to review a toy for Corinne, I said "ABSOLUTELY. Just make sure it's a new toy, because I have all of the older and classic ones!"

We received THREE new toys! SCORE!

Jam Session, Flip Flop Faces, and Friendship Island arrived on our doorstep a few weeks ago and we have been having a great time trying them out.
Well, I already HAVE Flip Flop Faces as it is an older toy, but there is a reason it's been around for so long. It's a GREAT activity for a wide range of ages. With several different ways to play this game, it teaches everything from hand-eye coordination and color recognition to reading and math. It's a perfect game for parties, trust me! I do believe I know a certain little kid who will be getting this for Christmas, thanks to this review!

Friendship Island was a new game for our family. We have tons of board games. TONS. But with homeschooling, any new way to encourage Evan to read, Corinne to follow directions and Justin to be a helpful big brother is a new way to LEARN. It truly discusses the ways to resolve problems without allowing our emotions to carry us away. I am really grateful to have received this game as I have a particular child in this home that could use the reminders on "how to be a good winner or loser." I'm not pointing any fingers, though....

And finally, another new toy for our family, the Jam Session. A set of sturdy musical instruments with a play along cd (and bonus skill card for parents), the Jam Session came at just the right time for us, as well! I was wondering how I could use our older, "slightly" broken musical instruments from long ago to use in teaching music and music appreciation to my children. This new set (in addition to the cd) has provided me with several lessons of music class! Knowing how much Corinne enjoys music, singing and dancing, I am thrilled to see her marching around the house, leading her brother in a parade of 2. Of course, a parade shouldn't be just 2 people, so I have to join in at the end... I'm usually the castanets, lady... :)

Discovery Toys has generously offered a free Jam Session for one reader! I am so happy to be able to offer a fun, quality toy to one of you at this time of the year! Put it aside for Christmas or an upcoming birthday! Or simply surprise your little one with a fun new toy, just because you can.

To win:

~ Comment!

~ Twitter it!

~ Blog it!

~ Follow me!

~ Go to DiscoveryToys.com and tell me what other toy (besides the above 3) looks interesting to you!

(Lots of exclamation points, eh?)

One entry for each of the above. Just please let me know where to find your tweets or blogs, ok?

I'll pick the winner on Wednesday, October 21.

Good luck to everyone!

A winner!

The winner of our Gustafer Yellowgold toy and t-shirt is....

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Congratulations! Enjoy and thanks to everyone for entering!

Seeing Sunshine

I am so excited! I get to surprise Corinne with a girls' only day to see Gustafer Yellowgold at Schuba's in Chicago!! Eeeee!!

What? Don't know Gustafer? Dude. Don't you remember my post from April?!? Haven't you all memorized my ENTIRE BLOG yet?!? I thought I had sufficiently obsessed readers!

Whatever.

Just in case you don't know the music I am referring to, I give you this:


Weird but cool, right?

The best part is that Corinne and I actually both really like this music.

I. Am. Stoked.

The couple behind the music, Morgan Taylor and Rachel Loshak have offered a little gift for one reader. A plush Gustafer doll and a t-shirt from their site. :) I recommend you check out their music and, if you're in the Chicagoland area on Sunday, October 11, come out to Schuba's Tavern at 3159 North Southport. Let me know and I'll look for you. I'll be there with my own little rocker!

Leave a comment below and I'll pick a winner for the doll and shirt on Monday, October 5.

I Can See Clearly Now...

Edited with winner!

Using our high tech methods of Eeny Meeny Miney Moe, I'd love to announce that "E" (Erin) is the winner of the children's sunglasses! I'll email you and get your info. Congrats and thanks for entering.

Thankfully, my kids have always liked wearing cool shades in the summer sun. Getting them to wear protective eye gear isn't a huge issue in my house. But I know that we are not the norm and that loads of children fling those puppies straight out of their strollers and wagons the moment their mothers try to sneak them over their unsuspecting eyeballs.

Not shy. Not even one iota...
Real Kids Shades is a line of fashionably sweet sunglasses, targeted at your little one's precious eyes. Their lenses provide "100% protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays while the wrap-around style minimizes exposure to peripheral light." They are shatterproof, lead-free and contain no bisphenol-A or phthalates. Perfect for the littlest wearer, they are a great pair of sunglasses for babies and toddlers! (It's not dirt. It's face paint from the fair. Swear to God.)


To win a pair for yourself, please visit their site and tell me in the comments which pair (and size) you would like to receive. (Corinne has the tangerine roses which are very cute, but I'm thinking a little boy might prefer something else. Yes?) I'll pick a winner with the help from one of my lovely assistants on Wednesday, September 23.

Extra entries for being a subscriber, tweeting, blogging, yadda yadda yadda. Be creative. If you do something extra that you think should earn you an entry, just tell me what it is. I get so tired typing out all of those details! I guess I could just copy and paste but that would require me to be a bit savvy now, wouldn't it? Don't you love that I have carried my rambling post-scripts over to my review blog?!? You cannot escape the lunacy that is MEEEE!!!!!!

Pet Rescue

I have a confession: My kids play a LOT of video games. As in, they play a number that I won't write on this site for fear of losing your respect. (Yikes. That must be a LOT, eh?) But no matter how much screen time they get, I WILL swear that I try to place the educational ones in front of them more often than not. Whether or not they respond to them or not isn't my point. My POINT (since you asked) is that I TRY.

One of the sites that I have raved about before is the Jumpstart site for younger children. Corinne LOVES it. I LOVE it. Can't say enough good stuff. Here, read my previous review... Check out their online site...

See? Good stuff.

I was absolutely tickled to have JumpStart contact me again, asking me to review their new game for the Nintendo Wii system, JumpStart, Pet Rescue. My family doesn't personally own a Wii, but my sister does! So Corinne and I headed on over to try out the new Wii game with my niece who is 4 years old. Here's Corinne's review of the game.....

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hmmm. She may have gotten a bit off-track there. Sorry! But she's just so dang cute, I couldn't resist! I love 3 year olds...

It has all of the good stuff that the online game had. Rated for Early Childhood by the ESRB, it focuses on the skills that are important to pre-schoolers and young learners, all within the context of an adorably sweet adventure-world.

For any of you lucky Wii owners who would like a chance to win a Pet Rescue game for yourself, head on over and enter! It's scary simple.

A book to read before you jump...

If I were looking for a book on skydiving, I would search for one written by someone who had actually, well, jumped out of a plane. Literature written by those who observe on the ground or even by the pilot would definitely have some interesting perspectives, but really? Can I REALLY understand what it is to ride up in that plane, stomach turning over in knots and wondering:

"Will I survive? Will I get injured? Is this REALLY a smart idea? Maybe someone else should jump!!"

Can a pilot who has never taken the leap into air honestly comprehend the emotions of someone free-falling for hundreds and hundreds of feet? Would his interpretations of that experience ever come close to first-hand knowledge?

That is the attitude I had when I began reading the book, Birth Day by Dr. Mark Sloan, a pediatrician and father. How can a MAN know enough about childbirth? How can someone without the proper reproductive parts even GUESS to know what childbirth is? Sure, he's attended hundreds, perhaps thousands, of births, including his own 2 children. Sure, he's cared for those babies and their parents for decades, guiding them through the typical new parent fears and questions. This definitely makes him qualified to answer questions about BABIES, but about pushing that infant out? I wasn't convinced.

After I got into the book, though, my opinion began to sway. Like a toy sailboat on the ocean, my thoughts bobbed every which way...

"Just because YOU had a male OB who wasn't sympathetic doesn't mean all male doctors are that way! Give the man a chance, self. Give him a chance..."

And because his knowledge and research is so vast, written in a style that even a non-medical mother such as myself could completely grasp all of the technical terms (without feeling talked down to), I admitted that I enjoyed this book.

I said it. I liked a book by a man doctor. What's next, military school for my boys?!?

Birth Day appealed to me not because it was about birthing babies. I KNOW about birthing babies. No, Birth Day kept me interested until the end because Dr. Sloan admitted to knowing nothing of what the mother really goes through. (I mean, we can all IMAGINE the pain of getting our legs crushed by a semi-truck, but we'll all admit that we have no IDEA of what it truly means, without having that experience first-hand.) He instead focused on everything that surrounds human childbirth and the reasons (both socially, economically and physically) that our methods of delivering our children have become what they are today. I now understand why the baby's entire body must turn mid-delivery, why feminism had an effect on medicated births, and why cesareans have risen so dramatically in the past generations. (I will also never call it a Cesarean Section, now that I know "Cesarean" actually MEANS "Section"...) He managed to educate me, his reader on topics I had never considered or understood. He also made me furious to hear that the US is one of the only developed countries that doesn't use Nitrous oxide as a pain management alternative. (Read Chapter 5. I really AM irked!)

But seriously, Birth Day was a lovely book. Dr. Sloan compiled a very thorough and honest book about childbirth and infancy that would be beneficial to any woman. Especially a woman who's wanting to jump out of a plane...


For other interpretations on Birth Day, check out the SVM Book Club discussions, going up this Wednesday on the Silicon Valley Moms Blog!

Wanna see my Mussel's?

Edited to add the winner!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My prayers were answered!! I asked for someone to send me something to review that I really, REALLY needed like FOOD, and the heavens opened and showered upon me great vats of delicious applesauce!!Well, not vats. That would be a bit much. But a BUNCH of applesauce. Like 6 packets of 4 individual servings! And Corinne and I have been having a blast trying them out. (It's pathetic, really, how much fun we have had eating applesauce. It may have something to do with our ongoing lack of a vehicle and method of escape from our home of family love...)

Musselman's new flavors and products of apple sauce arrived on my doorstep a week ago. Totally Fruit and Healthy Picks come in several flavors to keep the whole family satisfied. Strawberry, Raspberry Acai, Blueberry Pomegranate, Key Lime Cupuacu, (You don't even want to KNOW how badly I mangled that pronunciation...) Peach, and Traditional Apple. I have to say, my favorite is the Blueberry Pomegranate. DEEEE.LI.CIOUS. The Key Lime was very surprising. I tentatively placed a bite in my mouth (I mean, "Key Lime" and "Applesauce" just doesn't sound like it should go together, does it?) and found it to be a very mild applesauce with a slightly citrus tang. Quite tasty. The only flavor that didn't go over 100% for ME was the peach. For some reason the aroma just reminded me of baby food. I couldn't get past the olfactory memories to enjoy the taste, though Corinne still liked it.

And now, my friends, it thrills me to be able to offer this package of yummy goodness to one lucky reader! (Again, it REALLY thrills me. I honestly need to get out of this house!)

Way to Enter:

~ Comment below
~ Subscribe to my blogs
~ Twitter this post
~ Blog this post
~ Tell me your best memory involving applesauce. Keep it clean, folks. (But if you have a REALLY good one that actually ISN'T clean, can you email it to me?)

I'll pick the winner on Thursday, August 20!