Holiday Gift Guide- Charm Factory – Review and Contest!


Looking for a little sparkle for the holidays? Something a bit “charming”?
Well, look no further! Charm Factory offers you quality pieces for discount prices. Don’t let your outfits lose their shine, show them off to their fullest with the pretty accessories that the Charm Factory offers.
They have fun charm bracelets that come ready made, or that you can customize yourself! Who has not had a charm bracelet, or wanted one? They are so cute and fun.

That’s not all Charm Factory does, however. They have other choices as well!
For example, they have a big sale on lockets right now!

A bit about Charm Factory
“We feature almost 5000 high quality, unique sterling silver charms, bracelets, beads and more. Silver charm bracelets are so easy to personalize. Start by choosing a charm bracelet (or necklace). Then add as many .925 sterling silver charms as you like. Each charm comes with a free jump ring to attach it to your bracelet.
Made in the USA

Our charms and beads are .925 sterling silver and manufactured in the United States, all lead and nickel free. Our pewter charms are also nickel and lead free. Charm Factory products do not contain cadmium, which is a concern with some products made in Asia. (The jump rings attached to our pewter charms do contain a small amount of nickel. A few imports that we do not make here, like some chains from Italy, are noted in product details.)”

There are tons of bracelets and charms to choose for (very cute!) to personalize and add your own flair to your jewelry. There are also watches and necklaces and beads, oh my!
Check them [Read more…]

Pocoyo Website- 25 Days of Christmas Contest

Pocoyo is thrilled to celebrate his First American Christmas in one of the United States’ most festive cities, New York City, also known as “The Big Apple.” To usher in the holiday season, Pocoyo is inviting his American fans to share in his exploration of New York City with “Pocoyo’s 25 Days of Christmas Contest.”

Pocoyo’s adventures in “The Big Apple” will be recorded each day on his blog at [Read more…]

Holiday Gift Guide- Music Together- Review and Contest!

Hello, everybody, I’m so glad to see you!
I think that may be one of the most well remembered children’s songs, and one I love to use in the Pre-K. I happily welcomed these great, family friendly CD’s into the morning routine at the school. I have a few CD’s and tapes (oh yeah, old school, baby!) from Music Together classes taken in years past. Those classes were so much fun!

• A community of children and their families and teachers sharing songs, instrument play, rhythm chants, and movement activities in relaxed, playful, non-performance-oriented settings.

• Music learned through developmentally appropriate activities that support and respect the unique learning styles of very young children.

• Children participating at their own levels in mixed-age family-style classes or in preschool settings.

• Parents and caregivers contributing to the enrichment of their child’s music environment—regardless of their own musical abilities.

• A new song collection every semester for three years, featuring great arrangements of original and traditional songs in a wide variety of tonalities, meters, and cultural styles.

Music Together Family Favorites features nineteen (19) of the best-loved songs from the nine (9) Music Together song collections. This CD has won eleven awards including a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor award and includes a 32-page booklet with fun music-making activity suggestions for every song for use at home, in the car, or in the preschool classroom. Reviews and Awards

Music Together Family Favorites 2 is a compilation of nineteen (19) best-loved songs from all nine (9) Music Together song collections. This beautifully arranged anthology of original, folk, and traditional songs from all around the world features musically rich arrangements and vocals that appeal to children and adults alike. This CD has won nine awards including a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor award and includes a 32-page booklet with fun music-making activity suggestions for every song for use at home, in the car, or in the preschool classroom.
Reviews and Awards

Music Together Lullabies CD

Music Together Lullabies is a soothing [Read more…]

Heirloom Wooden Toys- update

Last minute gifts… no problem!
Not excited about wandering a shopping mall with a fussy child? Shop from home and relax!
We have a wide selection of gifts in our California warehouse ready for Santa’s sleigh! If you order by Monday, December 13, you can use coupon code LASTMIN for free ground shipping and will still receive your treasures by Christmas! For orders placed after the 13th we recommend expediting your shipment. We guarantee same day shipping if your order is received before noon Pacific time.
Here are a few fun last minute gift ideas:

[Read more…]

Winners!

Winners!
Cradle Rock- Peryl
Rock N Learn- Giovanna

Yay for wins!  Emailing more winners soon, keep your eye on your inbox  🙂

Crafy Mommies, any ideas for me?

Do any of you crafty momma’s have a good idea for a holiday craft that can be done with a large group of kids? I am looking for something new to do with the Pre-K, and my mind is blank!
It can’t be too complicated- the some of the kids are small.   🙂
Thanks for any input you may have, I appreciate it all!

~Samantha

Community- New Special Stop Motion Animation Episode- My Thoughts!


NBC’s “Community,” a smart comedy series about a band of misfits who attend Greendale Community College.
At the center of the group is Jeff Winger (Joel McHale, “The Soup”), a fast-talking lawyer whose degree has been revoked. With some help from his fellow classmates, Winger forms a study group that eventually learns more about themselves than their course work.
Also among the series stars who comprise the group are: comedy legend Chevy Chase (“Chuck”) as Pierce, a man whose life experience has brought him infinite wisdom; Gillian Jacobs (“The Book of Daniel”) as Britta, the 20-something dropout with something to prove; Yvette Nicole Brown (“Rules of Engagement”) as Shirley, a sassy middle-aged divorcée; Danny Pudi (“Greek”) as Abed, a pop culture junkie; Alison Brie (“Mad Men”) as Annie, a high-strung perfectionist; Donald Glover (“30 Rock”) as Troy, a former high school football star trying to find his way, and Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”) as Señor Chang.

ABOUT THE EPISODE: ABED’S UNCONTROLLABLE CHRISTMAS
IN THIS SPECIAL STOP MOTION ANIMATION EPISODE, THE MEANING [Read more…]

Aunt Nellie’s Review and Contest!

Most of you know Kamikaze is adopted. In her birth country, they were big into pickling their food, as well as certain kinds of food that are not as familiar in everyday cooking to many Americans, such as cabbage and beets. So when this package of Aunt Nellie’s vegetables came, you would have thought it was Christmas! We got 5 jars of cabbage and beets, in various styles. Kamikaze freaked out. Like, for real. As if you had given her chocolate, or toys, or I don’t even know. She went bananas.
Many of you also know, that while Kamikaze likes toys and clothes, the way to her heart is though food. Even upon first meeting her, she wouldn’t look at me for anything- even when I offered her dolls, until I pulled out raisins. I told her I would check out the recipe section later, and we could make some of them for dinner. I went to the computer, started checking my emails, came into the kitchen because it was “too quiet”. You know that quiet? That quiet. She had opened several of the jars and started eating them right out of the jar. I have photo evidence!

Nice face, yes?

I took them from her and made her eat some other food with them as well. I don’t know what 2 jars of beets and cabbage will do to an otherwise empty-ish stomach!
OK, so, besides the jars that Kamikaze ate (which I presume she liked a bit, yes?) We also tried a recipe from Aunt Nellie’sSay Yes to Beets” Recipe contest held from June 15-Aug 13 of this past summer, 2010.
It’s called “Bacon Beet Salad”, and yes, it was good 🙂

I liked it more then the hubs did, and Kamikaze ate it all. Shocking, I know!
We also tried a recommended recipe- Savory Beet and Goat Cheese Crostini. I liked this one a lot, as did the hubs. We ate it for lunch one day while the two Tasmanian devils slept- so no notes from Kamikaze on that one!

Beet & Goat Cheese Crostini

Ingredients

  • 1 (16.0 oz.) jar or (15.0 oz.) can of Sliced Pickled Beets, drained
  • 1/2 cup yellow, red or combination cherry tomatoes, diced
  • 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
  • 8 ounces fresh goat cheese, plain or with pepper
  • Freshly ground [Read more…]