Valentine's Day Event Starts Today!

Happy Valentine's Day Event Starts Today!! We are hosting a "Love Your Family" Review and Giveaway Event featuring products that everyone can enjoy.

This year for Valentines Day we want to celebrate families. Valentines always seems to be about romantic love and all that mushy stuff! We are trying to show people that Valentines isn't just about the birds and the bees but about loving your family. If its your mom, dad, your kids, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews or who ever you have in your family to show them you love them.


We are very excited to share with everyone all the great products we have had the opportunity to review and giveaway for this event. We thank all our sponsors for being apart of our event.

I Want A Dog CD Review

 

This CD made me laugh. My son loved the I want a Dog song. He just learned to say "DOG" so he was yelling "DOG" when he heard the word. It was very cute.  We do have a dog and he adores her. This song would melt any dog lovers heart. It sings of floppy ears and being your best friend. I know many families cannot have a dog for many reasons, just as I cannot have a cat since I am allergic but the song is just so cute! It might make you want one! There are also so many ways you can be a dog friend! You can volunteer to walk shelter dogs, something my father in law does. Or play with a dog from a family member or friend who has one like my sister does for her sons. We can all in some way or another fulfill the pleas of kids who "Want A Dog"! A great thing about this CD is that 20% of the profits form each CD purchased will be donated to the North Shore Animal League of America.

Jamie Broza & Dusty

 Song #4 "Turn That Phone Off" was powerful to me and in a way somewhat sad that a song like this has to be made. I know it is a great message, we do need to hang up our phones. It is just sad how in the song the kids are asking mom to get off the phone and listen to them how they talk about their day and at a soccer game how a parent misses the action because they are on the phone. I remind myself sometimes with the computer too that I need to make sure I am not ignoring my son. The song is great for kids because they do need to be the ones to tell their parents to hang up the phone! This is definitely a new generation of parents that we have cell phones, the internet and music at our fingertips. This song is a good reminder to wake up and pay attention to our kids before they grow to the stage where it is "don't look at me" rather than "look what I can do!"

This CD has parts when real kids are talking and I found that part to be cute. The song "Birthday Parties Always End In Tears" made me laugh. My parents have a few birthday pictures of me in tears. For me it was because I did not want to wear a dress. The song cracked me up. This song is a reminder to keep parties simple and small! 

My son did not seem to like this CD too much. The songs didn't capture his attention as much as other CDs we have reviewed. I think maybe it is a little more big kid songs. The first song he did like and I did too.

* I received a free copy of the CD mentioned in this review from a PR company.

Juno Jr Welcome to Harmonica Springs CD Review

After reviewing a Juno Baby DVD we were thrilled to be able to review the CD. This CD is Juno Jr Welcome to Harmonica Springs. It is so cute! My son was carrying around the CD case and was happy so it didnt make it into the picture! We were also sent some very cute Juno magnets. You can see all the Juno Baby CDs available at the website here.

One of the main reasons I love Juno is her sweet voice. She always sounds so happy and upbeat. My son loves the beats and rhythmic music that he sways and dances to it. He of course loved the opening song because it is Juno's theme song and he remembered it from the DVD.
I have a few favorites on the CD and so did my son. My is "It's Your Heart That Sings" it made me smile so much and its how I feel about my little guy. He has such an ear for beats. Music is the one thing he will fall asleep within minutes to. I also liked "Goodnight Juno". Having already watched the DVD I could picture all the Juno Baby characters as they were singing. My son really liked "The Sound of a Train" and "Friends Make a Symphony".

The CD also has instrumental music of the songs. I knew my son would love these ones and he did. He does the cutest sway when its mellow songs and when its a beat he can dance to sometimes he was dancing so fast he fell over and laughed.

I think the CD is perfect to buy after seeing the DVDs. It allows you to bring Juno and her friends with you in the car. I also like that I can put it in the CD player and let him listen without having to watch the tv.
If you have not discovered Juno Baby yet I definitely recommend giving it a try!

For more info on Juno Baby and her friends you can check her out on facebook and twitter.

Juno Baby sent me a free copy of the CD mentioned in this review for free.

WINNER of The Crabby Cook Cookbook

 

The luckyWINNER of The Crabby Cook Cookbook is:

Milena said...

following crabby on Twitter #1 #barrettboys

I emailed have you and you have 48 hours to respond.

Thank you to everyone who entered and check back soon for our awesome Valentine's Day Event

Babies R Us Sale 3 Day Sale

Babies R Us is having a great 3 Day sale from Friday Jan. 21 to Sunday Jan. 23.
Some of the Sale highlights are:
Buy 1 Get 1 50% off on all Playtex feeding items
Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Annie's Homegrown Food and Snacks

The Clearance section online is filled with awesome deals.

 The First Years Cars Themed 3 Pack Take n' Toss Sippy Cup for $4.49.

Nuby BPA Free Printed Non-Drip Bottle 3 pack 8oz for $4.98.

Walmart Refused Coupons

Today I went to my local Walmart to redeem a Chiquita Banana coupon I was sent for being a Chiquita Mom. The cashier REFUSED my coupon. I was so confused I told them its a manufacture coupon and I had the right product and the correct amount. I was told they no longer accept manufacture coupons for a product that is FREE. I still in shock paid for my items then went to customer service to ask them. I was told the same thing. That they will refuse them but will take BOGO coupons but not the other. The woman at customer service told me that since Walmart has such low prices they do not want to give things away for free. I was puzzled since the manufacture covers the cost of the item. I have always been annoyed by Walmart but this just takes the cake on the crappy customer service of the store.

Has this happened to anyone else?

I could understand if it was a computer printed one or something but it was a shiny new crisp coupon sent directly from the company. I won a few free wipes packs from Huggies Rewards and I was going to redeem them at Walmart and pick up some dog food, but now I will go to Safeway to use my coupons and spend my money!

On a side note of funny and creepy things at Walmart I wanted to share a story. The summer I was pregnant with my son I was totally craving watermelon like at every moment and one time we went up there I was selecting a big watermelon and almost touched a RAT!! As I pushed one watermelon aside to get to another out the rat popped. He looked right at me with his big eyes and he had the nastiest thick tail. I did scream lol and threw my watermelon back in the bin and went to Raleys to get my watermelon. I told a cashier on my way out and she did not seem to even care. Since that day I refuse to buy my produce from there and now with this last incident I will not be going back anytime soon and definitely not trying to use coupons there.

Do you have any Walmart horror stories you would like to share?!?

Fred Meyer Jewelry Contest

Fred Meyer is having a great Valentine's Day Jewelry Contest to win 1 of 5 Heart Shaped Diamond Pendant Necklace in Sterling Silver. (retail value of $395)

I am entering this one right now!! I would love to have one for Valentine's Day! 

You can enter here.

Crabtree & Evelyn Sale Up to 75% Off

Crabtree & Evelyn is having a great online sale. They have expensive stuff most of the time and I cannot afford it. But they have great products so when a sale like this happens I love it.
They have a really great sale on a Gardeners Manicure Set for only $10!

There is a whole section of $3, $5, $7 and $10 clearance sale items. Everything from soaps, lotions, hand wash, gift sets, and so much more all under $10. This would be a great time to buy Valentine and other gifts.
The $5 section has some of the best deals.

New York & Company Sale $50 off $100

There is a great coupon for $50 off $100 for New York & Company redeemable for January 15-17 2011.
You can use the printer friendly version for in store here or use the online code 6361.

They are having a great sale of New Arrivals Buy One Get One 50% off. The Online Clearance Sale has an additional 30% off this weekend as well. Online they have belts, hats and purses starting at $2.99!! With all these deals and the coupon this should make for a great new wardrobe for the New Year for $50!! 
Definitely worth buying a few things for next years holiday season too!

Wholly Guacamole Product Review

Recently I had the opportunity to do a review for Wholly Products. This is a great company that makes all natural pre-made dips like Wholly Guacamole, Wholly Salsa and Wholly Queso. Wholly Products sent us 2 different kinds of guacamole, their salsa and their cheese to review! Around our house we love Food, Friends and Football.

The packages are rather large with plenty to share so we thought what better way to try out all of these snacks then during a Sunday football game with friends. The only thing we needed to buy were the chips and we had ourselves a quick, easy and healthy snack. Everyone was buzzing about how good the guacamole was and how the queso has a nice little bite to it, but it was my husband and his response I was waiting for. He loves “chips and dip” and loves to make his own guacamole so I was not sure how he would feel about pre-made guacamole. He said that he really liked it and that was good news because he knows his guacamole and salsa!


There were two types of guacamole one regular and one spicy. I prefer mine less spicy so that was great for me, but I know that the men really liked the spicy flavor and kick it had. The salsa was also really good, not too spicy and you could taste the flavor. Everyone talked about how fresh it all tasted, it must have been because between 5 adults and 2 kids we polished off in no time! I would definitely recommend this product to anyone. We really enjoyed Wholly Products and will definitely go to their web site to print off more coupons for our next party!


You can find out more about Wholly Guacamole and their other Wholly products on their Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Wholly Products website also has cute kids activities and recipes for your next party.

**This review is my own opinion and may vary from others. I was not paid for this review post. I was sent for free the products mentioned in my review.

WINNER Happy Baby Foods Giveaway

Winner of the Happy Baby Foods Giveaway is 

ReadyReader00 said...

My favorite product is the Happy Bites Chicken Bites.

Congrats I have emailed you and your have 48 hours to respond.

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway!

Check back soon for the Valentine's Day Event

Juno Baby DVD Review

I am a member of Heard It From A Mom and recently I was sent a free copy of Juno Baby to review with my son. It is a very cute well put together show. The mom who makes the Juno Baby series is a composer and it shows in the music that accompanies the show. My son loved the rhythm of the songs and of course danced his little heart out. He stood in front of the tv and bobbed up and down and swayed side to side. It is so cute! The main character Juno is a girl but she has side kicks like Rai Rai, Bunny, Indie, Murphy, and my favorite BUZZ.

As I type this he is quietly watching sitting on a box he has made into a chair. He doesn't normally sit down for a DVD but when the scenes of the real children are brushing their hair he is captivated. It is this favorite activity right now to brush his hair then mine. It is very sweet.

One of the scenes I love is the one where Murphy teaches Juno and friends how to make a bowl of cereal. One of the songs about trying new foods gets stuck in my head. The Broccoli song plays in my head over and over.

The greatest thing about Baby Juno is that the theme of the DVD is for children to overcome their fears. Everything from fear of new foods, to fear of water, to the fear of the dark this DVD address the issues with cute songs and fun dancing. The scene of getting over the fear of a hair cut is so cute and starts out with Juno having very long pigtails. At first I was cracking up because I did not know Juno does not normally have super long pigtails. Its very cute. As I watched I was thinking maybe I will call a hair cut a hair trimming since kids learn to be cut is not good. It can seem scary I am sure to hear you have to go volunteer to go get cut. I think the word makes kids think it will hurt since every other time they are cut it cause pain. I am no expert just had a thought. So for my son we will be getting his hair trimmed. He definitely needs one but I can not trim off his super sweet curls just yet. 

The Facebook page of Juno Baby has fun games and more.

* I received a FREE copy of Baby Juno from Heard It From A Mom but volunteered to make this post. I was in no way obligated to do so just wanted to share.

Famous Footwear New You Contest

Submit your inspirational story of transformation in 250 words or less
(This could be a story of weight-loss, career change, overcoming challenging
circumstances or any kind of physical or life makeover.)
Be sure to include the turning point that led you to make a change
and how you made your transformation.

To enter the contest submit your story on their facebook page. There you can also read other entries.

Prize Details

ONE GRAND PRIZE winner will receive: - XBOX 360 with Kinect - The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout game for XBOX360 Kinect - $100 gift card to Famous Footwear - 1 pair of K-SWISS Tubes shoes - $100 Spafinder gift certificate - Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred DVD - Jillian Michaels Master Your Metabolism Cookbook - Winner’s story will be published in Mind Body Sole magazine to be distributed in Famous Footwear stores nationwide. FOUR SECOND PLACE winners will receive - Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred DVD - Jillian Michaels Master Your Metabolism Cookbook - Winners’ stories will be published in Mind Body Sole magazine to be distributed in Famous Footwear stores nationwide.

Contest Instructions

Submit your “New You” inspirational story of transformation in 250 words or less (this could be a story of weight-loss, career change, overcoming challenging circumstances or any kind of physical or life makeover). Finalists will be chosen on January 13, 2011 by the Mind Body Sole editorial team based on originality, creativity and use of the fitness theme, with equal weight being given to each criteria. The winner will be announced January 14, 2011. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the entrant with the highest score for originality, inspiration and achievement.

Contest Starts

December 30, 2010 @ 08:00 am (CST)

Contest Ends

January 12, 2011 @ 11:59 pm (CST)

 *** I am going to enter this one too! You can find out more on their Facebook page on the contest tab

FREE Kids Activity Lowes Build and Grow

 I have always thought the free clinics from Lowes and Home Depot looked like fun. My son is still too little to participate but  I wanted to share it with everyone.

This Saturday 1/8 at 10:00 am to 11:00 am the clinic is to build a game box. It looks like a fun project. Saturday January 22 they will have a Ball Toss clinic to make a fun game for you and your kids to play.

You can sign up here so they know how many kids to expect at the clinic.

Love Letterings Buy One Get One FREE Sale

Love Letterings is a cute online store that specializes in decals you can put on your walls, mirrors and many more places. They have a great design ideas page that makes me want to decorate the living room and halls with them all!

They are having a current promotion that is fantastic. The sale is for B1G1 FREE with coupon code "NewYear" They are also offering a free shipping coupon code "freeship" that is stackable with the B1G1 Free.

 This sale would be a great opportunity to try Love Letterings products and add a new element of design to your home. My favorite design is the "Live Simple, Laugh Often, Love Deeply". I have a mirror that would look great with this design on it. Another one of my favorite designs is the "Loving them for who they are.....and who they will become". 

 

 

The Crabby Cook Cookbook Review and Giveaway

I am not the best cook and I am definitely a crabby one! So when I had the opportunity to review The Crabby Cook Cookbook I knew it was perfect for me. Jessica Harper, the author, made me laugh as I read this cookbook. Its like you are in her mind as she goes through funny experiences while entertaining. She refers to a funny acronym I like, H.A.S. Hostess Anxiety Syndrome. I usually only get this when its my mother in law coming over lol. I think since I have become a mom I try to seem more like I have things all under control, I think its because I feel so not in control.  My husband does most of the cooking in our house, (he has worked as a chef so he does make great food)  so I thought if I have more cookbooks to follow I might attempt to cook more.

The Crabby Cook cookbook is filled with really great recipes and stories for even the not so crabby cook. The recipe I wanted to cook first was the Quirky Turkey Pasta. I selected this recipe first because Safeway had turkey meat on sale BOGO so I had the turkey. Secondly I selected this recipe was from the story. It made me laugh since it is about picky eaters and how she imagined spinning them in her salad tosser and she called the daughter of her diner guest Poopsie. I was a picky eater as a kid and I am sure I drove other parents nuts when I was a dinner guest at their house.

I did alter the recipe a bit since I was eating with my son I left out a few spices and used a noodle he adores. I really enjoyed the meal. The turkey was a great change from hamburger and I know that is why my son ate so much of it. He loved the turkey and ate it by the handful. He was mad when I had to let it cool before he could eat it but was soon all smiles when he tasted the turkey.
 

 I have more recipes bookmarked for later in the week and look forward to more of her funny stories. You can visit her website to watch funny videos of Jessica cooking. I loved her Butternut Squash video from New Years you can watch it here. This book is like a modern I Hate To Cook Cookbook. This book would make a great gift for the cook that is a bit crabby but still wants to please their guest.

Here is how to enter the giveaway for The Crabby Cook Cookbook.
MANDATORY Entry:
You can win a copy of The Crabby Cook Cookbook by leaving a comment telling me the one food you feel crabby about having to prepare.Leave your email address in your comment so I can contact the winner.

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 Me on GFC (right top corner) +3
Follow Me on Twitter +1
Friend my Facebook page +1
Follow The Crabby Cook on Twitter +2
Like The Crabby Cook on Facebook +2
Visit Jessica's website TheCrabbyCook.com and tell me one thing that made you laugh! +2
Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link +5

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts January 5, 2011 and ends January 19, 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 sent a copy of the cookbook to review.

Birthday Freebies

Since it is a new year and we are all going to have a birthday this year I thought it would be a great time to list some birthday Freebies. I found a great list from Free Samples N' Coupons N' Reviews. She worked very hard getting this list together and I wanted to share it. One place you should definitely sign up for is Victoria Secret PINK Nation Club. I used mine last year and with clearance items I got FREE lotion. They also send out coupons to your mail box for FREE panties all the time.
A recent incident I totally embarrassed my husband when I declared I will take the biggest pair you have. I guess I should have phrased that differently and now have my exercise bike out and in use so next time I can request the medium ones. He won't go in with me to Victoria Secret anymore lol. Plus I might be strange but I carry the coupons I cant use in my purse and give them to random strangers in the store. I always get a wow thanks! So never throw out ones you cant use, just leave them for someone else.
Here is the link for the Birthday List

Do you know of any birthday Freebies that are not on the list? If so please leave a comment so I can share it with my readers.
Have a great day!

Happy Baby Foods Review and Giveaway

In celebration of my wish for everyone to have a happy new year I am hosting a giveaway of Happy Baby Foods Product Coupons. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review their products. I knew I wanted my son to try the Salmon sticks and Veggie Tots as soon as I received my coupons. I was pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of foods Happy Baby makes. Plus they are made in the USA and USDA organic certified which I think is wonderful. My son LOVED and gobbled up like a eating machine the salmon sticks. For me as a kid it was a battle to get me to eat healthy foods so I was so happy to see him love fish. The veggie tots he picked apart a bit before he ate them and funny enough he picked out the black beans that were inside them and eat those separately.
The frozen chicken and veggie cubes he didn't seem to like as much. That was probably my fault since we don't use microwaves I had to heat them up in a sauce pan and they kind of got a bit smashed up. He is really into feeding himself and got a bit annoyed I was trying to spoon feed him.

The Happy Bellies Multi-grain Cereal was perfect to mix with his frozen meals to give it texture that he could feed himself with. When I let him eat them mixed he was much happier to be able to feed himself. I liked the added DHA and probiotics in the cereal for his brain and eye development. My hubby wears contacts so anything I can give my little guy for his eye health I like to feed him.

The yogurt melts he was head over heels for! He was saying "Num Num" when he was eating them it was so cute. He tried the mixed berry and the strawberry and they smelled so good I had to try them too!! They are very good. We had to go back to Whole Foods for more when he ran out because he looked so sad when I gave him puffs instead of yogurt melts. My little boy is an official a Happy Baby fan! The puffs I knew he would like since hes a puff a holic. I was happy to give him the green puffs that are made of leafy greens. The nice thing about the Happy Baby puffs is how big the container is. We used to get him Gerber puffs but they would go so quickly and are not organic.
I have not yet been able to find the fruit pouches in my Whole Foods market but I was told another store had them in stock so I am waiting for my local Whole Foods to have them for my son to try. While making this post I learned something new! Safeway carries Happy Baby so I will be getting those fruit pouches very soon. I would encourage every mom to serve your child the Salmon Sticks. They are so healthy and easy to just heat up and serve. My son oddly liked them cold and in the morning but he is my little boss so I gave him them how he likes them.

For the Giveaway Happy Baby will send one lucky reader a set of Happy Baby Product Coupons. The coupons include 2 happy yogurt melts, 2 organic puffs, 2 frozen happy baby meals, 2 frozen happy bites, 2 happy bellies cereal, and 2 fruit pouches.
You can find Happy Baby products at Whole Foods, Safeway stores, Babies R Us and other stores. You can search here to find a location near you.

Here is how to enter the Happy Baby Giveaway:
MANDATORY Entry: Follow Happy Baby on Twitter
Leave your email address in your comment so I can contact the winner.

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 Me on GFC (right top corner) +3
Follow Me on Twitter +2
"Like" my fan page on Facebook +1
"Like" Happy Baby on Facebook+1
Visit Happy Baby website and tell me your favorite product. +2
Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link +5

**Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts January 1, 2011 and ends January 10, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. This review is my own opinion and may vary from others. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was sent product coupons for the products picture for this review.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!! I want to thank all my readers for help making my blog a success. I have big plans for my blog in 2011. I am inviting two new reviewers to my blog so I can offer more reviews and giveaways. With more moms working on my blog we will bring you more coupons, deals, parenting tips, funny stories and more.

I love that my blog has connected me with so many great moms from all over the USA. We will be hosting a "Love Your Family" Event in February so make sure to check back often for extra entry opportunities and previews of what we will be reviewing.