Holly and Hal Moose from Build-A-Bear, $25 Gift Certificate

Holly & Hal Moose™ are the latest addition to the Build-A-Bear Workshop, just in time for the holidays. They are dressed for the season and come with a companion book, Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure. There is no question that they will be a hit with kids, as my kids were immediately and absolutely taken with them. You can see their happy faces here. The lights on Hal's antlers light up when you press his paw, and both Holly and Hal come in super soft and cuddly Build-A-Bear fur. My kids immediately loved taking their shoes on and off and my daughter especially loved the Holly's red satin underwear with the opening for her tail.

If you'd like $25 gift certificate to Build-A-Bear Workshop, please leave a comment by November 30, 2008 at 11 pm EST. Giveaway open to all.

Need a nap? Can't Sleep? Let Pzizz help you

Pzizz is a program that creates a mixture of words, music and sound effects to effectively help you "power nap" or get a good night's sleep. It uses an algorithm to create new combinations so that it is unique every time you use it. The Energizer Module helps users take power naps during the day and the Sleep Module helps users get a good night's sleep. I tried both and they were quite effective. You can listen to the audio right on your computer, or download it to an MP3 player.

The Pzizz software is available for purchase on the PC or Mac and a 15-minute free demo is available.

LeapFrog Crammer - Study Tool, Games, MP3 player

The new LeapFrog Crammer is a grade school kid's and parent's dream machine. It has flash cards, quizzes, an MP3 player and games. It is targeted for 8- to 14- year olds, but my son had no trouble using it at 7. He immediately went for the on-board game when he first received it, but ever since I connected it to the computer and downloaded some MP3 files, he loves to use it to listen to music now.  This is his first MP3 player.

The Crammer has 1 GB of memory and you can download and store age appropriate flash cards and quizzes in math, science, social studies and language. It is easy to use with the four edges of the screen being navigation buttons.  I ran into a little trouble loading the PC software at first. It is supposed to "automagically" load the software when you connect it through the USB cable.  I had to navigate to the new mass storage drive and manually launch the setup file.  After that, the software was easy and intuitive to use.  Since we have three LeapFrog devices now (Tag Reading System, Crammer and Leapster2), they all appear under the same LeapFrog Connect software.

So what kind of music does my son listen to?  All the songs he knows from Rayman Rabbids, Guitar Hero and Rock Band.  I guess you can take the boy away from the video games, but you can't get the video games out of the boy.

Skin MD Natural - A Shielding Lotion

Fall is upon us and the dry skin months are here.  Skin MD Natural is much more than just a moisturizing lotion, it is a shielding lotion.  It will provide a barrier where the skin's natural moisture can be retained, and also protect the skin against irritants or allergens.  If you're thinking that this would probably feel like wearing a glove over your body, here's where it will surprise you.  It is extremely light and is absorbed very quickly.  It doesn't feel like anything at all, yet you can tell that it is still working at the end of the day.  Doctors even recommend it to treat eczema.  I am extremely sensitive to fragrance and this lotion has a very light, pleasing scent.  I am also wary of clogged pores and although other skin products may say they are non-comedogenic, my face will tell you otherwise.  I am very happy to report that Skin MD Natural is truly non-comedogenic.  They now have an SPF formula as well.

You can find Skin MD Natural using their store locator or order it on-line.  If you're a blogger, check out their free samples for review.

R. W. Knudsen's Organic Sensible Sippers Giveaway

R. W. Knudsen's Organic Sensible Sippers are juices that every parent can feel good about. They are 100% certified organic, and contain 50% juice and 50% water, reducing the amount of sugar intake without compromising on taste. They have flavors to please every kid, apple, banana, fruit punch, and mixed berry. If you'd like to have one of three 8-pack packages of juice, please leave a comment with your choice of flavor. Contest ends November 7 at 11pm EST and is open to residents of the US.

Juice and More Juice

I get plenty of food samples, but rarely do samples actually change my shopping habits. Recently, I found two juices that have made it onto our shopping list.


R. W. Knudsen's Organic Sensible Sippers come in 4.23 oz. juice boxes that not only have organic juice, but are diluted 50% with filtered water. At home, we always dilute juice with water, but until now, we didn't have a choice out on the road with the kids. Now we can rest assured that their juice is organic, and it does not have all that sugar. Only 7 to 9 grams of sugar per box!  The best thing is that our daughter loves it. She asks for it every day. R. W. Knudsen is also offering a $1 coupon for you to try it yourself.


V8 V-Fusion is a combination fruit and vegetable juice, giving a full serving of fruit and a full serving of vegetables in each 8 oz. glass. I was skeptical at first, but these juices taste fantastic, like a slightly thicker fruit juice. You definitely don't taste the vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and beets! We've tried almost all the wonderful combinations, strawberry banana, pomegranate blueberry, peach mango and strawberry banana light. They also have açai mixed berry and tropical orange. Even our daughter loves the juices and we can be happy that she is drinking both fruits and veggies.

Sylvania DOT-it winners

Congratulations to the Sylvania DOT-it winners:

Here are your random numbers:

3 13 9 31

Miss Blondie - I would use them in the bathroom as a nightlight for when my son gets up in the middle of the night.And probably his room too.

Jenny - I'd put it in the bottom of the sink and let it flash while I give my daughter a bath. I know she'd enjoy it. It'd also be cool to leave a message with the light flashing so my husband would see it. Neat!

Beverly Clark - I would keep a couple next to my bed for when the electricity goes out and the others in our storm cellar for when we have to run to our "hidey hole" when fierce weather happens.

MaryBeth Is - definitely in the kids room! They would love these