Dora the Explorer-It's Haircut Day DVD Review Birthday Bash

Dora is a household name and her name comes up a lot in ours. JJ loves to watch Dora and her cousin Diego and all of their adventures. I like the show because there is a lot of learning going on from different animals to learning to speak Spanish. My son tells me animal facts all the time and knows more Spanish than most adults!





Dora has a new DVD that came out called Dora the Explorer It's Haircut Day! JJ was so excited to watch this movie, I thought he was going to burst! It's Haircut Day is a 4 episode DVD that features some of Dora's "firsts". One episode is titled Dora’s Hair Raising Adventure- her first trip to the barber shop with Boots, Happy Birthday, Super Babies- her twin brother and sister's first birthday party, Baby Winky Goes Home! -where they help a lost space creature find his way home, and Dora’s Pegaso Adventure- where Dora rides her first Pegaso. We have watched this DVD over and over again and I love that my son is learning valuable lessons along the way. Great DVD, you can't go wrong with Dora and Boots! I recommend this to parents of little ones and preschoolers.

You can buy this Dora DVD for your collection at Target  and Walmart.

*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the DVD mentioned in this post for my review.

Earth Monkeys Review and Giveaway Birthday Bash

Earth Monkeys is an eco-friendly company that makes baby and toddler gear. Earth Monkeys was created by two hip and stylish Moms. They have a great product and we were lucky enough to review the "Simeon" Porta-Pad in green with a sweet monkey on it for my little one. What I love about this light weight (made out of recycled bottles, how cool is that) changing pad is that you don't have to worry about fitting it into your diaper bag along with the 25 other things shoved in there. It folds up into it's own little pouch and has a clip on the end so that you can attach it to the outside of your diaper bag or purse. Love that! No more worrying about changing your little one in public or on the floor at your mother-in-laws, your baby (and your mother-in-laws carpet) is well protected. It is the perfect size for your on-the-go needs and storing and cleaning this Porta-Pad is super easy. Not to mention you are being "greener" than ever because all of there items are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles! How can you go wrong? They even have a Baby Shower Gift Set that any new-aged Mom would love. Check them out today!

GIVEAWAY: 

Win you own Simeon Porta Pad from Earth Monkey

To Enter This Giveaway: 

Visit the Earth Monkeys website and tell me another product  that you like.

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

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*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 5, 2011 and ends on June 24, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the product mentioned for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Bright Starts Drop & Giggle Toy Review Birthday Bash

For Baby L's birthday presents we were looking for toys that are fun but also with a good quality name behind them and we found that with Bright Starts. They have lots of great award winning products, if you mention the name Bright Starts everyone seems to know what you are talking about. Bright Starts sent us the Drop and Giggle toy to review. We were very excited to test out this product!

The Drop and Giggle comes with 3 colorful balls that you drop into Mr. Giraffe's head and arms that tunnel their way out of his feet. When the balls are dropped through the holes the toy giggles and makes noise that my son just loves! After we showed him where the balls go he was a regular old pro. Dropping the balls, picking them up and doing it all over again. It seems like anytime we get a new "baby" toy my 4 year old is just as excited as Baby L. It is like he is the inspector to make sure that it is fun or good enough for Baby L, after about 10 minutes he moves onto his own big boy toys. He is not a baby anymore he tells me after he tests it out for a bit. At first he thought the Drop & Giggle was "pretty cool...for a baby". The Drop and Giggle is recommended for ages 6 months and up, they carry toys for ages birth to 18 months and up.

Check out all of their products, they carry everything from High Chairs, Play yards, Swings, Seat Covers, Mobiles and more. I recommend the Bright Starts to everyone I know. Good quality products with a large selection to choose from!

To learn more about Bright Starts and get deals and coupons for their products you can follow them on twitter or be a fan on facebook.


*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the toy mentioned in this post for my review.

Sasquatch Books Review and Giveaway Birthday Bash

I have said it here before but we L-O-V-E books in our family. We also love Sasquatch Books! They publish books for and from the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and California. This is near and dear to our hearts because each of these regions holds a special meaning in our family. They have a great selection of books for Children, Food and Wine, Gardening and more. We have reviewed books for Sasquatch before, Larry gets Lost in Seattle is a favorite in our house!! This time we were sent Who Hoo Are You? and What is Green? . These two books are written by Kate Endle and they are beautiful. I love the illustration and picture choices.



Who Hoo Are You is about different animals out there, and each has a description that begins with the letter of the animal. Like a hugely happy hippo and a lovable little lamb, too cute! Baby L loves animals so this was naturally a hit. Great book!




What is Green teaches you about colors and on each page it gives you examples of things that are the same color. For example; orange has a basketball, pumpkin and a carrot and more. This was another great book and we loved the illustrations.

Sasquatch books carries great quality books that will last a lifetime. We will be building our library of books from them for sure!

GIVEAWAY:
Win the two cute books by Kate Endle that I was sent for your own book collection.

 

To Enter This Giveaway:

Follow Sasquatch Books on Twitter

 *Leave a comment letting me know your a follower and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Like Sasquatch Books on Facebook +2
-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +3
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2 

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (right hand side) 

-Subscribe to our Emails +2 (right hand side)

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 4, 2011 and ends on June 24, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the books for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Sterling Publishing Being Smart Books Review and Giveaway Birthday Bash

Sterling Books is a publishing company that carries books on tons of topics for adults and children's books. The children's categories are endless. They have everything from Easy Reader Classics, History, Hobbies, Magic Tricks and even have IQ tests.

We were lucky enough to receive a few books from the Begin Smart Books category to review. They are beginning books for "smart" babies, these books teach them things they learn as they start life. When you are browsing the web site when you click on a book it gives you all important information any parent would like to see. It tells you the material of the book, the number of pages and the age range of the book among other things. I thought it was a great way to shop because when I was looking for a target age range the fact that it said twelve to eighteen months let me know that was exactly what I was looking for. First we read the book Begin Smart All Gone, ages 12-18 months. All Gone is a simple book that displays first food words like juice and cookie, the pages are chunky and perfect for little hands.
Then we read Begin Smart What Does Baby Say?, ages 12-18 months. What Does Baby Say is a first lift-the-flap book with questions and simple one word answers that helps a child to learn about the art of conversation. Baby L loved the lift-the-flap style book and kept wanting to read it over and over again.
Last we read Begin Smart Splish-Splash , again ages 12-18 months. Splish-Splash is a rhyming story about a teddy bear as he does all of the steps it takes to take a bath all the way to bed time. Baby L loves bath time or any type of water play so this was a great story for him. I love to read stories that rhyme and also loved that the Mama Bear was there to help the whole story, just like me. All the books were great, but Splish-Splash one was by far our favorite.

Sterling Publishing offers so many more books with so many categories to choose from, I definitely recommend checking out the web site to see what they have. You will not be disappointed!

GIVEAWAY:

Win the same Being Smart Books I was sent for your own book collection.

To Enter This Giveaway:

 Visit  Sterling Books and tell me what other kids book you would love to have?

 

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry.
If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Follow Sterling Books on Twitter +2

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +3
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2 

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (right hand side) 

-Subscribe to our Emails +2 (right hand side)

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 4, 2011 and ends on June 24, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the books for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

1st Birthday Bash Event for Baby L

(Baby L's 1st day in this world...smiling away)

(Baby L almost 1 year...still smiling)

One year old? Where has the time gone? Baby L is turning ONE and I swear I feel like he was just born yesterday! JJ was my 1st born and he was my practice baby...just kidding. He was the one that launched my into the wonderful world of Motherhood. I was new to the Mom gig so I felt like time was going at a good slow and steady pace. I was watching JJ and waiting for him to get big just to see the next "new" thing he was going to do. I loved JJ being a baby but didn't soak it up as much as I have with baby #2. I knew with Baby L that he was going to get big and do all of the big boy stuff soon enough, I needed to sit back and enjoy this time. It felt like the more I watch and prayed for time to slow down, the faster it went. It really has been a great 1st year with Baby L. I have loved to watch him turn into this little person who loves to do everything his big brother does, loves to eat anything he finds on the ground, LOVES animals of all kind, and loves to snuggle his Mama! He thinks that his Dad is the greatest and I know the feeling is mutual.

The first year is so important, babies look to you for the emotional stability and support that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. You are their world and for the next few years their little personalities and bodies are growing at such a rapid pace. Something I always try to remember is that you can't get the time back. Your children will never be this age again, 1 year or 16 months, or 2 years and so on. When the time is gone, what you have is memories. Keep making those memories and store them close to your heart. They will continue to grow and new stages will happen, you better not blink because you might miss something!

As hard as it is watching my baby turn a WHOLE YEAR OLD, I am so excited to plan his 1st party! The decorations, the cake, the PRESENTS!! It is all going to be awesome.

Stick around and see how we are celebrating Baby L's 1st Birthday here at the Frugal Family Tree. We have lots of great sponsors and lots of great giveaways! Keep checking in with us, we are going to be partying all month!!!!

Old Navy Active Wear Pants Crowdtap Review

I have been on a mission to lose 30 lbs before I turn 30 and the Women's Compression Capri activewear pants I received for being an Old Navy Style Council Member through Crowdtap are inspiring me to try even harder! I have not really lost anything worth blogging about but I do feel like I can do more and feel better when  I am doing it so I am healthier from working out and eating better.

Awkward pose I was doing LOL

The pants feel fit unlike most of my work out clothes. They make me wanna get smaller to look even hotter in them. I like how they are breathable while you are working out in them. They stay in place too so no pulling up your pants and pulling down of them from uncomfortably spots lol! My friend came with me and she got the same ones and loves her too. She wears hers around the house too. The other coupons I sent to my sister and Mom so they will be sporting some awesome Old Navy Activewear pants too!

Old Navy has tons of cute Activewear including some Yoga pants I was eyeballing in the store. I told my hubby hint hint for my bday! 

Would you like to have a chance to work your way into being a awesome crowdtapper like me? Crowdtap is a free site where you take surveys and participate in campaigns to share your opinions. I am highly opinionated so this place is great for me! You can sign up here to start your path to being an insider!

* I was not paid or compensated for this post. Just wanted to share my crowdtap experience as an Old Navy Style Council Member!

California hail storm and a Mother bird needed help

Not Normal for Cali on June 1st!

I know for most states hail is a whatever happens all the time. But for here in sunny California its a big deal when it happens on June 1st! This is suppose to be the first day of summer. There should be sunshine, the smell of BBQ in the air and the sound of the ice cream mans truck driving around the neighborhood. Well it was nothing like that! The day was raining like crazy, thunder so loud it was starting to scare me a bit and then the tornado warnings that were only 20 minutes from here.

It was a weird moment when we were eating dinner with the blinds open to see outside. We do this every night so we can enjoy the sunshine while we eat. It was raining hard but in the distance I could see white soft clouds and blue skies. My husband hates then rain so I told him "Cheer up I can see blue skies just beyond the neighbors house. This will clear up any minute." I was so very wrong! The rain came down harder then very loud thunder followed by the biggest pieces of hail I have ever seen! I was stunned that it was happening so fast. The first hail was about the size of quarters! The whole neighborhood was covered in ice. I wanted to take a picture as it was happening but my husband suggested I stay in side. I am a bit crazy with my camera!

This is after it rained and melted the hail a bit.

To my amazement it hailed for a few minutes and when the pieces got smaller I went outside to snap some photos. I am still stunned this happened on June 1st! I even upload some pictures to our local news since they were asking for pictures from our area. It was quite a wild weather day here in Northern Cali.

The nest that fell from the tree above this recycling bin.

After the sun came back out about an hour later I went outside to pick up some trash that had been blown around from the wind. On top of my recycling can safely sat a nest with 4 eggs in it. It was amazing to me since I never until the day before put my recycling bins in that location under our fruit tree. I usually have them elsewhere but changed spots to make it easier to use the bin. I am so happy I did since I am sure a fall to the ground would have resulted in eggs being broken. I looked up to see the spot right above where the nest once sat. My husband was now outside holding our son showing him the eggs. I wanted to cry at the thought of the Mama birds little babies not in there home. I can imagine she flew off somewhere to hide from the huge pelting hail. I have seen the Mama bird a few times eating the fruit from our tree and I knew I had to help. After all for the first year my sons nickname was Birdie (he is now my Bubba!). I ran back inside and got a pair of plastic sterile gloves so my human scent wouldn't be on her nest. My husband held down some of the surrounding branches and I gently placed her nest back into the spot it once sat. I am happy that my recycling can caught the little eggs and I was able to have a Dr. Dolittle moment to show my son every Mama and her babies are worth caring for.

Do you have any animal rescue stories to share?

Organicville Foods Review and Giveaway

I am always on the look out for new products to try, especially in the kitchen. After you have been cooking dinner for 35 years like I have been, a little change is definitely needed! I love organic foods and as I become more aware of the benefits of eating organic, I try to incorporate them into my daily life. There are now so many organic foods to pick from, not just fruits and vegetables. Do I always eat organic? No. My budget and life don't always allow for it, although I wish it did. I recently came across a line of foods called Organicville Foods.

The company offers pasta sauces, salad dressings, salsas, and much more. Every product is certified organic, gluten free, vegan, and contains no added sugar. For dinner last night, I made pasta using the Portabella Mushroom Pasta Sauce. It was delicious. Portabella mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, and fragrant onions and garlic are blended together to taste so good, you'll want seconds. A simple salad, and some garlic bread sticks were enough to make a delicious yet easy meal.



We have also tried the Mild Salsa, made with agave nectar. That was very tasty, too. It tastes great with tortilla chips or used as a condiment with different dishes. Organicville products can be found in natural food stores and in many grocery stores across the country including Whole Foods, Safeway, and Costco.



You can also order from their online store at www.organicvillefoods.com. I will definitely buy more from this company. The founder is a third generation vegetarian and one of her goals was to make organic foods taste good. I think she has succeeded.

GIVEAWAY:

Win 2 items from the Organicville Foods website of your choice.

To Enter This Giveaway:

What 2 Products would you select from Organicville Foods if you are the winner?

*Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.

-Follow Organicville Foods on Twitter +2

-Like Organicville Foods on Facebook +2

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +2 -Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (top left hand side)

-Vote for us for "Were on the Fence" (left hand side of the blog, just click the button) +2

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June1, 2011 and ends on June 14, 2011 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the products mentioned for this review from Organicville Foods. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from other

Peace

Baby L's pajamas say it all....



PEACE baby!