Giveaway - $10 iTunes Gift Card from Holiday Inn

When you think of Holiday Inn, do you think, "Oh yeah, there's one in every city." But did you know that Holiday Inn is a global hotel brand? Next time you have Paris on your mind, you can stay at one of several Holiday Inns in Paris:



Or if Bali Hai calls you, enjoy the tropics at a familiar yet exotic Holiday Inn.



One destination on my bucket list is Dubai. Check out the luxurious digs in this most opulent of cities.





Here are some other great, surprisingly affordable destinations:

• Malé, Maldives for about $199/night
• Lisbon, Portugal for about $107/night
• Papau New Guinea for about $224/night
• Christchruch, New Zealand for about $132/night
• Nairobi, Kenya for about $215/night 

Of course none of this destinations may be in anybody's budget, but you can rely on Holiday Inn for a great night's sleep if you're visiting relatives this holiday season, or planning a romantic getaway or a girls' escape weekend.

To help create a holiday music mix for your travels this season, Holiday Inn is offering several iTunes gift cards.

*** If you'd like win one of three $10 iTunes gift cards, visit Holiday Inn and leave a comment below with an exotic or not-so-exotic place you'd like to visit with a Holiday Inn. ***

For extra entries, promote this contest by tweet, blog post, StumbleUpon or other social media and leave an separate comment for each with the URL or username. Up to five entries per person.

This giveaway ends December 2, 2009 at 11pm EST and is open to residents of US and Canada.

Special thanks to Holiday Inn for providing the iTunes gift cards for the giveaway and myself.

Book Giveaway – Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind

Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood

Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done is one of those incredibly heartfelt, charming books that make you laugh and cry at the same time. Since my son is in third grade, it also provides me unique insight into his classroom through his teacher's eyes. Phil has 25 years of teaching under his belt and he knows that despite the changes in technology with computers and gadgets, kids are still kids.

Here's a short sample of why Phil Done remembers why he loves being a teacher:

When I asked the class where french fries come from (I was looking for potatoes) and Eric said McDonald's, when Ronny wanted to know if there is such a thing as a left angle, when Evelyn was shocked to find out that I get paid, when I asked the class to give me a synonym for laugh and Greg said LOL, and when Juan looked at my cuff links and said, "My dad wears handcuffs, too" - I remembered.

If you can't get enough of Phillip Done, check out his previous book, 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny.

32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching

*** If you'd like your own copy of Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind, leave a comment below. ***

For extra entries, promote this contest by tweet, blog post, StumbleUpon or other social media and leave an separate comment for each with the URL or username. Up to five entries per person.

This giveaway ends November 21, 2009 at 11pm EDT and is open to residents of US and Canada.

Special thanks to Phillip Done for providing copies of both books for the giveaway and review.

Review - iPlay n' Learn iPhone Application

Parents magazine has just released the iPlay n' Learn application for the iPhone / iPod Touch. It is the perfect distraction, I mean instructional tool, to keep your preschooler occupied.

My daughter is five years old in Kindergarten, and she liked the Tracing section most, especially since she is learning to form letters and numbers correctly in school.



For less dexterous younger children, the Flashcards give a great introduction to letters, numbers, shapes and colors. There are entertaining audio messages and animations to go along with each section.

My daughter also enjoyed the quizzes, where she could "beat the question" by tapping the answer after reading the word instead of waiting for the audio.



Does this application hold the interest of the young set? The proof is in the pudding. On another occasion, my daughter she went back to the iPlay n’ Learn app for more tracing and quizzes. Yay!

The iPlay n’ Learn app may be purchased in the iTunes app store for $0.99. Just click this link to open it in the iTunes Store.


Special thanks to Parents.com for sending an iTunes gift card so I could review the iPlay n' Learn app.

Review - Percy, The Perfectly Imperfect Chicken

Percy, The Perfectly Imperfect Chicken by Rick Rieser is a delightful children's book which teaches tolerance for differences and imperfections. Rick Rieser (RickRieser.com) is a chicken farmer and first-time author, with a 25-year career as a nationally recognized children's advocate. Rick used FastPencil.com to publish his book. Through their marketplace, he found an illustrator for the book.

My daughter enjoyed reading this book and especially looking at the rich color illustrations. The message of the book makes it a perfect holiday gift.

You can preview "Percy, The Perfectly Imperfect Chicken" on RickRieser.com and purchase it from FastPencil.com for $12.95.

Giveaway - Calypso Studios S.H.O.P. tote

Calypso Studios has a new line of Fall and Holiday S.H.O.P totes.





Aren't they beautiful? S.H.O.P totes are strong, lightweight reusable bags that roll up with a snap closure to take with you easily. They are made of polyester and can hold up to 20 pounds I have used a S.H.O.P tote for several months and it is strong and extremely convenient to carry.

Through the end of October, all Holiday S.H.O.P totes are 2 for $10 using promo code HSHOP1031.

*** If you'd like your own Fall or Holiday S.H.O.P tote, leave a comment with your choice of Leaf Toss or Jolly Santa. ***

For extra entries, promote this contest by tweet, blog post, StumbleUpon or other social media and leave an separate comment for each with the URL or username. Up to five entries per person.

This giveaway ends November 14, 2009 at 11pm EDT and is open to residents of US and Canada.

Special thanks to Calypso Studios for providing S.H.O.P. totes for the giveaway and review.

Chocolate with a purpose

Did you know that every purchase of Hershey's has supported the Milton Hershey School for children for the last 100 years? Milton and Kitty Hershey set up a trust to devote their entire fortune to support children from profound need. Find out more about the school and its impact on at www.thehersheylegacy.com.

You can see the Milton Hershey School logo on the specially marked Hershey Legacy chocolate bar.



So when you're considering treats for Halloween, remember that choosing Hershey's also helps to break the cycle of poverty for the kids at the Milton Hershey School.



Special thanks to Hershey for sending the Hershey Legacy chocolate bar for my family to enjoy.

Review – The Beatles Rock Band

The Beatles: Rock Band

The Beatles Rock Band has got to be one of the few video games that simply don’t need promotion. When I first heard that they were going to produce The Beatles Rock Band, I immediately wanted to pre-order it. But thanks to Harmonix, I received a free promotional copy of the game software to review with my existing Rock Band.

The Beatles Rock Band is exactly as awesome as you would imagine. The story mode walks you through The Beatles career from the early days to the rooftop of Apple Corps. The dreamscapes take you right back the to psychedelic 60’s. The music… there is simply no compare. Unlike other Rock Band and Guitar Hero video games, where you may or may not know the songs well, you can be guaranteed to know all The Beatles songs. The song list is pretty comprehensive, but covers more of the later years. In the upcoming months, three additional albums will be available for download, Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Rubber Soul.

To make your Rock Band collection complete, you can also get a replica of Ringo’s drum set as well as John’s Rickenbacker, George’s Gretsch and Paul’s Höfner Violin Bass.

Aren’t those beautiful?? Beatlemania is in full force at our house! We love to sing the songs in harmony and even my non-gamer husband will join in. Highly recommended for any Beatles fan.