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Crayola Has Great #GiftIdeas for Under the Tree This Year! – #Review and #Giveaway

December 13, 2011 By 126 Comments

There are some classic gifts that I always like to put under the tree.  Crayola is one of them!  Crayola has so many wonderfully creative ideas that bring out the imagination in children.  Some of my favorite “Santa” presents to get for the kids are from Crayola.  Each year Crayola comes out with fantastic new products in addition to the classics and I am so excited to share some of them with you!  Any of these would make great gifts for the kids on your list this year.

 

Crayola Jewelry Boutique

With the new Crayola Jewelry Boutique, kids can become their own jewelry designers! Crayola put a unique “spin” on jewelry making with a special “jewelry spinner” that creates multi-colored beads using Crayola Model Magic. As kids spin their beads into shapes, they can string them together to create original bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and pendants that reflect their own personal style. Let the designing begin!

  • By combining eye-popping colors to create unique beads with the Jewelry Boutique “spinner,” the amount of fun and creativity is endless because no two beads turn out exactly the same!

 

  • For a dazzling finish, coat designs with bead glaze. For even more sparkle and pizzazz, add gems, and interchangeable pendant and bracelet charms!

Recommended for children ages 6+, each Jewelry Boutique kit includes 8 packs of Crayola Model Magic to mold 160 beads, 5 bracelet charms, 3 pendant charms, 2 shape cutters, a bead dryer rack, 5 toggle sets, 4 earring posts and ear wires, a bead punch, 18 gems, 2 necklace cords, 1 elastic cord, bead glaze, and the Jewelry Boutique Spinner with storage areas and retails for $24.99.

 


Crayola Glow Book

Let your kids’ imaginations run free this holiday season while creating glowing, moving art with the Crayola Glow Book. Turn the lights out and watch their artwork come alive on each page and appear as if it is actually moving!

Using special glowing-ink markers to draw on each of the four clear pages, kids can choose one of the four tracing guides to create original scenes, signs and messages, and arrange them in their desired order. Then, just hit the lights and allow your kids to wow you with wildly colorful, glowing animated scenes. Variable light settings create colorful, multi-layered effects. The Crayola Glow Book wipes off easily so kids can use their imaginations to create endless glowing artwork! A simple wet cloth will do.

Recommended for children ages 6+, the kit includes one Glow Book with 4 clear pages, 4 animation tracing guides and 6 glow markers and retails for $24.99.

 

Crayola’s Telescoping Crayon Tower and Ultimate Art Supply Case

For everyday inspiration and creativity, be sure to keep Crayola’s Telescoping Crayon Tower and all-inclusive Ultimate Art Supplies case handy, so they’re can always be prepared to create! Filled with crayons and all of the classic art tools for drawing and painting, kids can share their creativity through colorful works of art! The Telescoping Crayon Tower and Ultimate Art Supplies casemake great gifts every child can use to jumpstart their creativity.

  • The Telescoping Crayon Tower puts limitless color at kids’ fingertips and compacts neatly for storage with 150 Crayola Crayons and a built-in sharpener for extra convenience.
  • There are no limits to a child’s imagination with the all-in-one, portable Ultimate Art Supply Kit.

Recommended for children 4+, the Ultimate Art Supply Kit contains 24 crayons, 8 washable broad line markers, 12 colored pencils, 8 washable watercolors, 1 paint brush, school glue, scissors, and colored paper and retails for $16.99. The Crayon Tower retails for $17.99.

My boys had so much fun playing with the Crayola products. The only thing I set aside was the Jewelry Boutique because the product is more on the feminine side.  I am definitely saving it though to pass on to my 7 year old niece as one of her Christmas presents from us this year.  I know that she will have so much fun making her own jewelry.

For some reason my sons are all enamored by markers- which I hate.  I like crayons better because they don’t run or leak and you don’t have to worry about them drying out.  I have had the hardest time selling crayons to the boys to use until they got the Crayon Tower.  All of sudden crayons are cool again!  They think that its great how it goes up and down and they love to see the crayons in tower form.  My three year old is really trying to figure out the crayon sharpener though.  We all thought that the inclusion of the metallic and glitter crayons are awesome to color with.  I am a bit jealous that I didn’t have these cool crayons when I was growing up!

The Ultimate Art Supply Case has everything your child could need to create a work of art.  I love that its all contained in a handy case that can easily be taken to grandma’s too.   Everything has its place and doesn’t fall loose when contained.  I will admit that the case can be a bit tricky to open but even if one of the sides falls out the contents are contained.  My only suggestion for the kit would be to include some white paper in addition to construction paper.  I love pictures drawn on white paper sometimes too.

If you need some new ideas for coloring pages be sure to check out Crayola.com?StoryStudio because they have a great tool called the Story Studio.  You can upload pictures from your digital camera and then the studio transforms them into coloring pages!  This would make such a great gift for grandma!  You could print out a great picture of grandma and the kids and then have them color them.  Once done you can have them framed and give Grandma a piece of artwork that will pull at her heartstrings!  Very affordable and thoughtful.

My husband’s birthday was last week and my sons all got together and used the kit and the tower to create their very own special birthday card for their Dad.  My oldest two drew a picture of themselves with their Dad and my youngest scribbled and doodled but insisted on multiple pages and that we glue them together so his creation was very unique.  Below are pictures of each of them with their card.

 

Even though they are all different ages its nice to see that they all enjoy the creativity that Crayola brings to the table.  I love seeing them share ideas and get their creative juices flowing.  The cards they made definitely put a smile on their Daddy’s face as well as their own.

Crayola has so many great kits and activities out.  My boys loved the Crayon Tower so much that Santa is bringing them a Marker Tower too!  I only mentioned a handful of products offered so be sure to check out the Crayola Holiday Gift Guide and see all the options available for what will fit the personalities and ages of the children on your list.

Don’t forget to follow Crayola on Facebook and on Twitter for all the latest Crayola ideas and innovations.

 

Win It!

One lucky Pretty Pink Momma reader will win a Crayola Prize Pack!  The prize pack will include one of each of the products mentioned above:

  • Crayon Tower
  • Glow Book
  • Ultimate Art Supply Kit
  • Jewelry Boutique

 

Mandatory entry for this giveaway will be to leave a comment on this post telling me which of these products from Crayola would you most like to give as a gift to a special child in your life to inspire creativity, and why?

Entry is easy.  After you leave a comment on the post be sure to click “I did this” on the Rafflecopter widget below.  Don’t forget about the extra entries too!

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Filed Under: Chic Family Finds, Chic Little Kid Finds, children, Christmas gift ideas, Christmas Toys, crafts for kids, fun gifts, gifts for kids, Giveaways, My Blog Spark, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Is the Gyro Bowl Really Spill Proof?

November 11, 2011 By 6 Comments

 

If you haven’t seen or heard about the Gyro Bowl by now you’re probably living under a rock – or you don’t own a TV.  I first saw this fun bowl about a year ago when watching TV with my sons.  Of course like every single thing they see on TV I heard a myriad of “I want that!”‘s coming from three different mouths.  I have to admit, the theory behind this product is really attractive.  As I mentioned in my Lees Carpet review last week my boys spill EVERYTHING and it drives me nuts the amount of food that I find on the floor over the course of just one day.

But even after watching the commercial I myself couldn’t help but wonder, does it really work?

When given the opportunity to review the Gyro Bowl this last month I jumped at the chance.  My three year old Emilio has told me so many times how badly he wants the Gyro Bowl and I figure if anyone can put this new fangled bowl to the test it’s him.  He loves to carry around his toys in all types of containers and buckets.  But his favorite thing to tote around with him are his beloved fruit snacks.  The boy is addicted to them.  The problem is that I find fruit snacks everywhere, I mean everywhere, I even found some under the covers in my bed this afternoon!  Have you ever tried pulling gooey sticky fruit snacks from carpet fibers before?  Not fun – I couldn’t wait to see if the Gyro Bowl really worked….

Gyro Bowl Features

• Kid-Proof Gyro Bowl
• Inner Bowl Rotates 360 Degrees
• Virtually Indestructible
• Saves Time, No More Cleaning
• Use it for Non-Food Items
• BPA-Free Plastic
• Top Rack Dishwasher Safe
• Not Microwave Safe

When I gave the Gyro Bowl to Emilio he was SO happy! I mean you haven’t a bigger grin on a kid.  He was fascinated with the 360 degree rotation and really liked playing with it even when the bowl was empty.  I like the fact that it had a lid so that any snacks or objects that he placed inside could stay put when he wasn’t galavanting around the house with it.  I love that it’s top rack dishwasher safe too – because I try to avoid handwashing items at all costs.

Did it work?

So truth be told, most of the time the items stayed inside the bowl.  The only time that we had some spillage was when he was running around and shaking it up and down at the same time.  If the bowl doesn’t have the opportunity to rotate or is jarred by some way in the rotating process some items are bound to escape.  And all though I hoped for a miracle my sons are smarter than the bowl.  No matter how much the bowl rotates it doesn’t matter if little hands keep it forced open while walking around or running.  Stuff will fall out just like any other bowl.

If you ask me the Gyro Bowl isn’t a total bust.  It works great if used as intended but kids are kids and there isn’t a perfect spill solution.  All in all, Emilio still loves it and uses it all the time.  That alone justifies the purchase.  If my kids have fun with an item and love it, regardless of how they choose to use it, its money well spent.  I think that its a really fun gift for kids but just don’t expect a miracle.

On a side note, the base bowl, if you remove the inner pieces, has colander like holes in it and works great for rinsing kids size portions of fruits like grapes and berries.  Which I think is a great bonus feature that isn’t advertised.

Visit https://www.buygyrobowl.com/ to take advantage of the buy one get one free for $14.95 plus S&H offer while it lasts.

 

*I received a Gyro Bowl to facilitate an honest review of the product.  All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.

Filed Under: Chic Little Kid Finds, gifts for kids, Reviews Tagged With: ,

LeapFrog Learn, Create and Share Party Experience

November 4, 2011 By 7 Comments

 

As a busy mom of 3 I have been loving the LeapFrog brand for many years. I always find their products to be fun, educational and affordable. I have three boys so another plus is that they last – they are very kid friendly. I have some LeapFrog products that I have passed down from first born, to my second and then to my third. Each boy has loved the interactions that they get from playing with LeapFrog toys.

Because I am a long time LeapFrog fan I was really excited to be able to host a LeapFrog Learn and Share Party for my closest girlfriends and their kids. We have kids ranging in ages from 3-8 and the products that I received for the party were entertaining for all age levels. Plus it was just nice to get all of our kids together for a really good time and some fun mom time too.

The kids at the party had a lot of fun reading and exploring all that the Tag Reading System and the new LeapPad Learning Tablet had to offer. A lot of sharing had to occur to make this possible so it was great that LeapFrog also provided some fun activity sheets for kids to work on and color while anxiously awaiting their turn.

Check out my BFF Renee and her 4 year old daughter Julia coloring together :)

 

Tag Reading System

• Learn to read series
• Easy audio download
• No cartridges to lose
• Large library offers books, games, maps and more
• Comprehensive reading system offers an array of experiences
to guide children from early exploration to independent
reading

 

The LeapFrog Tag Reading System is a great tool for teaching kids to read. I have no idea the technology behind that smart little pen but it is amazing! It knows exactly what to read just with a swipe of a page. At the party the kids that enjoyed it the most were in the 4-7 age group. My son Benji, who is 6, took a real liking to it. He loved reading the books and I could see the sense of accomplishment on his face when he finished each page. I could see this system building confidence for him because he wasn’t relying on Mom to read to him the words he didn’t know. I could see that reading with the help of the Tag reader he still felt as if he read it all by himself. Where if I were to help him in the same way he doesn’t consider it by himself. Below is a quick video of Benji using the Tag Reading System for the first time – you can see how it really works for him!

All though I knew about the Tag library of books I had no idea prior to the party that there were also maps too! The World Map was a huge hit for kids and moms at the party. I loved how interactive the map was too. It was great to see how extensive the listing of countries was. My husband is from El Salvador, a very small country in Central America, and most kids maps don’t include it. I was thrilled to see that El Salvador was there and I could point out the size and location to my boys. It’s hard for them to believe that El Salvador is smaller than the state we live in!

The World Map has tons of great interactive tools too. It is double sided for double the fun too! Kids can point to a country and learn how other kids live around the world. They can learn the names of the continents and countries too. They can even learn a few words in other languages. My 8 year old got a big kick out of this map and I was happy to see him eager to learn about other countries.

 

LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet

Ages 4-9

• Works with all Leapster Explorer games and apps
• Built-in Camera & Video Recorder
• 100+ Cartridge Games, Apps, Digital Books and Videos
• 5″ Touch Screen
• Kids can take 30,000 photos or shoot 120 minutes of video
• Headphone Jack
• USB Port
• Requires 4 AA Batteries
• Includes an Extra stylus with tether

I think that the most sought after item at the LeapFrog Learn and Share Party was the new LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet. I like to think of it as like an iPad for kids. It has so much fun stuff to do and play with. You can set up a profile for each child so the games and levels that they play don’t get mixed up between children. That is a HUGE deal in my house with three competitive boys. They definitely hate when one of their brothers plays a level that they were on. It’s so nice that as long as they remember to choose the right profile everything will be fine. I also liked that the profile allowed the parent to choose the grade level for the child’s profile. I definitely also like that the LeapPad Explorer has skill levels that adjust automatically so that kids can learn at their own pace.

One thing that sets this apart from other like-minded toys is the level of parent involvement. When the kids are done playing parents can connect the LeapPad Explorer to the free LeapFrog Online Learning Path and receive insight on what areas of learning their child may need some help in. Parents can also share their child’s art or stories with friends and family through Facebook or email. How cool is it that your child can draw a picture for Grandma and you can send it to her via email?

The only thing that really disappointed me about this product was the fact that it runs on AA batteries. Within a week we needed to replace the batteries. It would be best to use rechargeable batteries but we don’t have any. The boys have a lot of fun with this so I may need to invest in some. We take the LeapPad Explorer in the car with us all the time so it was a pain when the batteries ran out and I didn’t have any on hand to replace it with. I now know on long road trips that I will have to pack some extras in the car.

All in all I found the LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet to be really fun for my kids. My 3 year old loves it but I do think that he is a bit too young to fully grasp some of the concepts. He is learning though and he really loves getting help from his older brothers. It’s great to see them connecting and playing together with an educational toy. My three year old’s favorite thing to do is practice tracing the letters of the alphabet. He and my six year old also really enjoy the movie that plays when singing out the letters of the alphabet – my six year old knows them so well he sings them on his own all the time!

If you love LeapFrog products than I’m sure that your children will have as much fun as the all the kids at the party did. The LeapFrog Explorer Learning Tablet and the Tag Reading System would both make wonderful Christmas presents!

 

*I was provided with the products and information from LeapFrog via MomSelect in order to host a LeapFrog Learn and Share Party. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Filed Under: Chic Little Kid Finds, Educational products, educational toys, gifts for kids, learning toys, MomSelect, Reviews Tagged With: , ,

Check Out These Adorable #Personalized Children’s #Shirts from Pipsqueak Boutique!

October 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I absolutely LOVE personalized gifts – as I have mentioned millions of times before in my previous posts.  I think I love them so much because I love keepsakes.  Having a special item that I can always treasure is an irresistible idea.  When I pull the item out it brings back so many great memories and it’s such an awesome feeling.  This is something I feel especially when the item belonged to one of my children.

Have you seen the cute and adorable personalized shirts for kids offered at Pipsqueak Boutique?  The ideas are so fresh and creative, funny and uplifting – completely adorable!  These shirts are stylish, fun and functional!

Have you ever thought that it would be so great to have a shirt that celebrates your child’s birthday?  At Pipsqueak Boutique you can order one of their birthday shirts for toddlers to remember the special day with.  Think how excited your child would be to wear their birthday shirt that will let everyone know how old they are and that they are the birthday prince or princess that day!  Plus the shirts come in different seven different styles and sizes range from onesies all the way up to 4T.  The shirt can be personalized with three different sayings or you can even customize it to say whatever you want!  Super cool right?

There are several other really cute shirts but one of my absolute favorites is the dictionary definition shirt.  I saw that one and FELL IN LOVE!  I knew that I just had to have it for my three year old, Emilio.  He is so spunky and I think that having a shirt that defines just a little bit of him is such a fantastic idea for a keepsake.  Also, when he outgrows it the shirt could be framed.  Just like the birthday shirts they come in seven different styles and sizes up to 4T.

The dictionary definition personalized shirts come with the option of having five sayings as the definition.  The suggested sayings are so funny, king of the playground, mess magnet and handsome devil, to name just a few.  The best part is that if you have your own ideas you can create your own custom definitions.  That is what really makes this keepsake one of the best personalized gifts for a little boy or girl that you love in my opinion.

For Emilio I chose five sayings from the suggested sayings that I felt fit him to a tee.  They were mess magnet, tiny dictator, future heartbreaker, handsome devil and Daddy’s right hand man.  Check him out wearing his new custom shirt!  So cute!

Be sure to check out Pipsqueak Boutique and see all of the adorable custom shirts that they have to offer.  Here is a glimpse of a few more of my favorites that I know you will think are as fun as I do.  These will make awesome birthday or Christmas gifts for the pip squeak in your life!

 

Filed Under: Chic Baby Finds, Chic Little Kid Finds, children's boutique, Emilio, fun gifts, funny T-Shirts, gifts for kids, personalized gifts, Reviews, unique gift ideas Tagged With: , ,

Llama Llama Home With Mama Children’s Book Review and Giveaway – 3 Winners!

October 14, 2011 By

Llama Llama Home with Mama
By Anna Dewdney

Ahhh…CHOO! Llama Llama wakes up feeling under the weather. His head is feeling hot and his throat is sore. No school for little Llama today. What is there to do all day? Being sick is such a bore. But when Mama begins to feel sick, Llama knows just what to do. He gets her tissues, fluffs her pillow, and finds a book to read together. Spending time with each other may be just the thing to help Llama and Mama feel better!

 

Llama Llama Home With Mama is the latest release from the New York Times bestselling Llama Llama book series by Anna Dewdney.  The Llama Llama book was a perfect read for my three year old son, Emilio, who loved the beautiful illustrations and simple phrases.  I felt that the simple theme was easy for Emilio to follow and the illustrations really told the story for him so he could understand what was going on even in moments when chose just to flip through the pages himself without me.  I love the illustrations because they are so vibrant and they have a look to them as if they were painted on a canvas, which I found to be really unique.

Check out Emilio enjoying his new book!

For those that really enjoy the Llama Llama books you can have more Llama fun by joining the Llama Llama online community at www.llamallamabook.com.  There Llama lovers can play games, watch videos, find printable activities and more!  The site also lists locations where fans can meet Anna Dewdney or Llama in person.

Buy It!

You can bring home Llama Llama Home With Mama for the little ones in your life for $17.99.

 

 

 

Win It!

Three lucky Pretty Pink Momma readers are going to win a copy of Llama Llama Home With Mama!

 

Mandatory Entry:  Comment on this post telling me who you would want to share the Llama Llama book with if you were chosen as one of the winners.

Get Extra Entries

Each additional entry option will be worth one extra entry unless otherwise noted

  • Follow Pretty Pink Momma via Google Friend Connect
  • Subscribe to Pretty Pink Momma posts via your favorite reader or by email.
  • Like Pretty Pink Momma on Facebook
  • Post about this giveaway on YOUR facebook page – leave a link to the post in your comment
  • Follow @PrettyPinkMomma and @PenguinKids on Twitter
  • Tweet about this giveaway.  Please put this in your tweet:  “#Win a copy of the #newrelease #kids #book Llama Llama Home With Mama from @PrettyPinkMomma #Giveaway ends 10/30 ow.ly/1yEszx” Please include your tweet url within your entry.  Earn one extra entry per tweet, max of 3 tweets per day at least 3 hours apart from each other.
  • Enter any other Pretty Pink Momma giveaway – let me know which one you entered
  • Blog about this giveaway (3 Entries) – leave a link to the URL of your blog post

Good luck to all that enter!  This giveaway is s open to US only.  Giveaway ends on Sunday October 30th, 2011.  Winners will be chosen using the And the Winner Is plug in.  The chosen winners will have 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen.

 

 

*I received a sample copy of Llama Llama Home With Mama in order to facilitate an honest review of the book.  Both the review sample as well as the prize copies were courtesy of Penguin Publishing.

Filed Under: Chic Little Kid Finds, children, gifts for kids, Giveaways, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Tea Modern Mexico Boys Clothing #Review and $50 #GiftCertificate #Giveaway!

October 12, 2011 By

I love buying my sons new clothes, and they grow like weeds, so its also out of necessity.  Over the years I have learned that my sons each have a unique individual style.  Well, at least my older boys do.  My youngest is three so I can still dictate what he wears at least 65% of the time and he is totally fine with what I pick out.  My oldest son, who is 8,  hates to wear jeans and lives in athletic pants and fun tee shirts.  Last but certainly not least, my 6 year old, loves to wear jeans and loves graphic tees with cars, animals and more.  He is probably the biggest fashionista of them all!  He is very particular about what he wears and takes great care to make sure that he matches.  Honestly though, all three of them love to get new clothes and I was thrilled when the boys were offered the opportunity to review some outfits from Tea’s Fall 2011 Modern Mexico collection.

About Tea

“Travel opens anyone’s heart and mind to people and places that we don’t know. The clothing we create at Tea transforms the foreign world into a smaller, friendlier and more familiar place. We believe that we bring a little bit of that world home to you.” – Emily Meyer, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer

We design distinctive fashion collections inspired by the beauty we discover in our travels around the world. From the iconic art and architecture of Barcelona to the graphic boldness of Brazilian street graffiti, we interpret our discoveries into beautiful, dynamic styles for children, ages 0-12. We launched our women’s collection in the fall of 2010 in that same spirit—easy-going, culturally-connected styles designed to fit your life.

Everything we create—our products, images, words and ideas—is inspired by going there and being here. And by our passion for exploring different cultures. We are awed by the unique beauty and diversity of people around the world. As we celebrate and share our discoveries, it reminds us how small the world is and how alike we all are.

*info taken from Tea’s About Us page

The Review

Tea graciously sent each one of my sons an outfit from the Modern Mexico collection.  I absolutely LOVE this collection!  The colors, the textures, the graphics of this collection – all of it.  All though my sons aren’t Mexican they are Latino and I really love the Spanish flare of the clothing.  It’s nice to have some items that remind them of their Spanish background.  Even though each of them have very different tastes this collection has enough styles to cater to each of their likes.  Another huge plus in my opinion.  Each piece that we were sent were sturdy, durable and very well made.  It is quite obvious to me that Tea creates high quality, long lasting Children’s Clothes.

 

Emilio’s Outfit

Emilio was sent the Mas de 62 Tee and the Surplus Playwear Pants.  This was a great choice for Emilio because with Fall upon us he really needed to have a new long sleeved tee.  I love the color and the style.  The sleeve is designed to be not quite full length.  The 62 symbolizes that there are 62 spoken languages in Mexico.  It’s great to have a story behind the reason for the number.

The Surplus Playwear Pants are AWESOME!  I love the color and they have an adjustable waistband – a must have in toddler pants.  I immediately noticed that the adjustable band end was looped and sewn back into the pants.  Basically, this means that if you need to adjust them to accommodate a child with a small waist there isn’t a huge 3 inch dangle of elastic band coming out of the pants.  The sewn in loop keeps it all tucked in and neat. I think that all adjustable waistbands should be as well thought out as those used by Tea.

The Mas de 62 Tee as well as the Surplus Playwear Pants are machine washable and 100% cotton.  Both are available at Tea for $35 each.  The Mas de 62 Tee  is available in sizes 6-12 mos to 12 years.  The Surplus Playwear Pants can be purchased in sizes 12-18 mos to 12 years.

Benji’s Outfit

Benji was sent the Jaguares de Chiapas Tee and a pair of the Super Side Stripe Pants.  Benji really liked the color and soccer theme of this tee.  He couldn’t wait to try it on.

The Super Side Stripe Pants are more of a sweatshirt material and they are more fitted in the leg than loose.  The stripe down the side ads a fun sporty flair to the pants and I know that Benji enjoyed the fact that these pants have pockets.  Even though Benji is more of a jeans wearer he really took a liking to this pair of pants and wears them at least once a week.

The Jaguares de Chiapas Tee is available for $26 but is currently on sale for only $19.50 and the Super Side Stripe Pants are $30.  Both are machine washable, 100% cotton and can be purchased in sizes 6-12 mos to 12 years.

 

Oscar’s Outfit

Oscar was sent the Vaqueros Tee and a pair of Ticking Stripe Pants.  I thought that this was a great choice for Oscar because the outfit is very comfortable yet it looks nicer than jeans and tee when worn together.  Oscar likes different tees and he really liked the design of this shirt which is based on a vintage Mexican postage stamp.

Knowing that Oscar really only wears athletic pants I was a little worried if he would like the Ticking Stripe Pants.  The pants have an elastic waist band and are very durable even though they have a very light weight to them.  I think that it was these features that really made Oscar comfortable when wearing them.  He told me that they are so comfortable that it feels like he is wearing PJ’s!  I love the style of the stripes, the tailored knees and I know that he loves the fact that they have pockets.  It is so great to see Oscar expanding his wardrobe and going for a different look.  I am definitely planning to buy other pairs that are similar in style offered by Tea.

The Vaqueros Tee can be purchased for $30 and the Ticking Stripe Pants  for $32.  Both are machine washable, 100% cotton and available in sizes 6-12 mos to 12 years.

I truly love the Boy’s Clothes that Tea has to offer.  They are adorable, modern and fun.  I think that it’s great that most items are available starting at 6-12 months.  As a mom of three boys I know just how hard it is to find Baby Boy’s Clothing that looks cute without looking feminine.  So many boy’s clothing options are more babyish than little boy looking.  Being able to dress your little boy in clothes that look gender appropriate is a BIG deal for moms like myself that don’t like the frilly baby boy outfits that are offered at most department stores.

In addition to babies and little boys Tea also offers shoes, clothing for girls and women as well as a small selection of gifts for children.  Shipping is free for all orders over $150 and only $7 for everything else.  You can also find Tea locally at several children’s clothing boutiques and department stores including Nordstrom, Bloomindale’s and Saks Fifth Ave.

 

Win It!

One lucky Pretty Pink Momma reader will win a $50 gift certificate to Tea!

Mandatory Entry:  Visit www.teacollection.com then come back and comment on this post telling me one item that you would like to purchase if you were chosen as the winner of the Tea gift certificate.

Get Extra Entries

Each additional entry option will be worth one extra entry unless otherwise noted

  • Follow Pretty Pink Momma via Google Friend Connect
  • Subscribe to Pretty Pink Momma posts via your favorite reader or by email.
  • Like Pretty Pink Momma and Tea on Facebook
  • Post about this giveaway on YOUR facebook page – leave a link to the post in your comment
  • Follow @PrettyPinkMomma and Tea on Twitter
  • Tweet about this giveaway.  Please put this in your tweet:  “#Win a $50 @TeaCollection #giftcertificate from @PrettyPinkMomma #Giveaway ends 10/26 #clothes #kids ow.ly/1yEtWz” Please include your tweet url within your entry.  Earn one extra entry per tweet, max of 3 tweets per day at least 3 hours apart from each other.
  • Enter any other Pretty Pink Momma giveaway – let me know which one you entered
  • Blog about this giveaway (3 Entries) – leave a link to the URL of your blog post

Good luck to all that enter!  This giveaway is s open to US only.  Giveaway ends on Wednesday October 26th, 2011.  Winner will be chosen using the And the Winner Is plug in.  The chosen winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen.

 

*I received samples from the Tea Modern Mexico Fall 2011 collection to facilitate an honest review.

 

 

Filed Under: Chic Baby Finds, Chic Little Kid Finds, children, children's boutique, gift certificate giveaway, gifts for kids, Giveaways, Reviews, soft cotton tees Tagged With: , , ,

Control and Monitor #Kids Online with a #Free Membership to Fooz Kids #cleverfooz

September 2, 2011 By 2 Comments

Fooz Kids Happy Kids are Fooz Kids

Thank you to Fooz Kids for providing me with an All-In-One pack to review. The opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint.

 

My boys love playing on the computer and I have to admit that I haven’t been a big fan of it until recently.  There are a couple of reasons why I didn’t like to let them play, the first being that I hated them constantly accidentally closing the browser, clicking on files, deleting files or just plain scrambling anything in general.  The second is that I’m a busy mom and I didn’t like having to sit with them and type in all the different websites that they wanted to go to play some games.  It’s time consuming and frustrating when I have to explain to my three year old that he just can’t play the games that his older brothers are playing because he doesn’t have the understanding or dexterity to do so.  So, I only let them play on occasion.

 

This last week I was able to review Fooz Kids, a kid friendly internet browser.  I LOVE IT!  It is such an awesome find.  The best feature about Fooz Kids is that it is the only thing that the kids have access to when they are playing online.  It is impossible for them to click on anything that minimizes, can be deleted or rearranged.  The parent can easily exit out of the program at any time using a password.  If the child tries to exit the password message comes up.  Of course, if the parent chooses not to have the password protection that’s an option too.  I love that I don’t have to worry about what they are playing or doing online because only kid friendly material is accessible.

The kids love it because they have a visual menu that showcases dozens of popular children’s characters from pre-k to pre-teen.  They simply have to scroll through the menu and look for the picture of the site that they are trying to find.  They never have to type in a web address!  I love that the kids can navigate from place to place without my assistance.  They love the independence and, quite frankly, so do I.  In addition to other kid friendly sites they also have a menu of educational videos.  My kids loved watching the videos about bugs.  The only thing that the menu doesn’t offer a link to that I would like to see added is a link to NetFlix because my boys love to play kids show and movies all the time.  That would be an awesome addition in my opinion.

 

As I mentioned earlier, parents have total control over what they want their child to have access too.  I have three kids so I have set up three identities for online play.  I love that that if I don’t want my 3 year old to have access to some of the pre-teen or more adult humor based cartoons then I can remove them from his menu options.  This also works great when I find the sites that have games that are above his playing skills.  If they are not part of the menu then he doesn’t have the option to play – which avoids so much frustration for us both.  Yet, I can still allow access for my older sons to play them when they are signed on. So far, the only problem that I have encountered when they are playing games was one game in particular needed to have some software downloaded.  I like that they boys don’t have access to download applications but even after I exited Fooz Kids, went back to the site and downloaded the application using internet explorer, I went back into Fooz Kids and then we still weren’t able to access that particular game.  So far, that is the only time that it’s been a problem.  All of the other games have worked just fine.

There are tons of thing for kids to do when they play online with Fooz Kids. They have access to printable arts and crafts.  They can show off and share what they create with friends and family.  Your child can personalize their avatar and decorate their virtual room in a way that expresses their unique individuality.  Each child also has their own dashboard where they can send and receive messages from friends, update their profile and more.

As the parent I have a dashboard too.  I can see all the messages that my kids see and I can also send messages to them.  But, to be totally honest, my kids don’t really use the dashboard.  They have spent all their time focused on the games and videos. Now that school is starting back up next week I plan to have them spend more time in Fooz Kids University where they have access to 20,000 practice skills that align with school curriculum and are broken down by grade level.  I love the Fooz Kids University because I don’t think that my sons’ teachers give them enough homework and this will be a fun and exciting way for them to get in some extra practice.

Since I have started my Fooz Kids membership my kids have used it everyday.  It’s really nice that my 3 three old can navigate the web all by himself and I don’t have to worry about what he’s clicking.  It’s a great step towards independence for BOTH of us.  I’m sure that if you try it you will love Fooz Kids just as much as I do!

Sign Up and Try Fooz Kids Today!

Want to try Fooz Kids out for yourself?  Click HERE to receive a FREE membership valued at $11.99!  After you sign up please let me know what you think about Fooz Kids, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions too!

 

Please click here to learn more about Fooz Kids. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #cleverfooz

Filed Under: Chic Little Kid Finds, Clever Girls Collective, coupon, coupon code, family fun, Featured Article, Free stuff, Free trial membership, Fun Activities for the Kiddos, Reviews Tagged With: ,

Don’t Forget to Watch #PhineasandFerb Across the 2nd Dimension Tonight on the #DisneyChannel

August 5, 2011 By 6 Comments

 

Last Saturday I took my two oldest boys to the Radio Disney event at the Dimension 13 theater in Portland for the special preview screening of Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension.  The new movie will air tonight at 8 pm on the Disney Channel so set your DVR cause you won’t want to miss it!

The movie was very cute and super hilarious for both parents and children alike.  We got to see Candace in a whole new light as well as a brief glimpse as to what Phineas and Ferb might be like if they weren’t allowed to say “I know what were going to do today”.  Plus we get tons of Heinz Doofenschmirtz and lots of Perry the Platypus action.  We also got to see Phineas and Ferb’s reaction to finding out that their beloved pet Perry was really a secret agent!

 

 

If your kids love Phineas and Ferb they will love this movie!  My boys were talking about it for days – in fact, they are still talking about it!  My husband didn’t get to see the movie with us and so the kids have been telling him all about their favorite parts.  They insist on watching it with him tonight so that he can see and understand for himself first hand what all the funny is about.  Luckily for them their Dad won’t mind because he is a huge Phineas and Ferb fan too – which I happen to notice that most Dads at the movie screening were super fans.

We had never been to a Radio Disney event before and it was really fun!  They had dancers, games, giveaways and tons of promotional gear.  My boys also scored a free pass to the aquarium in Newport which was a super bonus because we are planning a trip there next weekend.  When they boys got home they hung up their promotional movie posters on their bedroom walls and reveled in all the fun that they had at the premiere.

One of the funniest games that they played outside while everyone was waiting for the doors to open was Squirrels in My Pants.  Only a true Phineas and Ferb fan would appreciate the this game!  The kids were partnered up and one had to wear huge pants while the other aimed squirrels into them.  It was a lot of fun to watch and all the kids had a great time.  Lucky for you – I got it on video!

 

 

So don’t forget to tune in tonight and watch Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension.  Remember it’s at 8 on the Disney Channel – check your local listings for the exact time for your area.

Have fun!

 

Filed Under: Chic Little Kid Finds, Daily Living, Disney, family fun, movie review Tagged With: , , , ,

Rango Summer Fun Review and Giveaway! Giveaway Closed

July 29, 2011 By

One thing that our family loves to do is watch movies together.  When we can, we like taking the boys to see new movies when they hit the theaters but seeing as our youngest is 3 its not always possible.  Some days he completely watches the movie without a peep and others he is wandering all over the aisles yelling and disturbing other movie patrons.  So, the cost of the theater experience combined with a possibly unruly 3 year old has driven us to patiently await for the DVD release of popular movies.  Rango was one movie that was at the top of our list!

About Rango – taken from the press release

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (May 10, 2011) – Called “the coolest, orneriest, funniest, best-looking movie” (Richard Corliss, Time) that is “like nothing you’ve ever seen” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), the hilarious and imaginative RANGO saddles up in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack with Digital Copy and on standard DVD on Friday, July 15, 2011 from Paramount Home Entertainment.  The incomparable Johnny Depp voices Rango, a chameleon living as an ordinary family pet that dreams of being a fearless hero and is challenged to become just that when he inadvertently becomes the sheriff of a lawless desert town called Dirt.  Depp reteams with director Gore Verbinski, the visionary behind the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, in this wildly original comedy, which delighted audiences of all ages, earning more than $120 million at the U.S. box office.  The film also features the voices of Isla Fisher (Horton Hears A Who!), Abigail Breslin (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl), Ned Beatty (Toy Story 3), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End), Harry Dean Stanton, (“Big Love”), Ray Winstone (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and Timothy Olyphant (“Justified”).

As we sat together watching Rango we all laughed at the antics of the theatrical Rango, AKA Johnny Depp.  The kids and I both really loved the movie.  I will say that it was an interesting concept of having the old west serve as the back drop of the desert town of Dirt.  It definitely made the story very colorful and fun.

One thing that I found interesting was the cast of characters actually acted out the movie on a Paramount set which is very different than the normal approach of just a microphone and a headset.  The real life actions of the characters are brought to life in their voices because they really all were acting out the movie together – props and all. I found some great clips on YouTube that show how the actors worked together in creating the full Rango experience. It’s really cool to see the acting translated into the character animations!

 

All in all, Rango is a really fun and creative movie that receives a thumbs up.  Rango was a big hit in the box office and now it can be a big hit at home too.  It was released on DVD July 15th so it can be enjoyed all summer long!  Not to mention that the DVD includes 10 deleted scenes and the never before seen alternate ending.  Plus you can meet the Real Creatures of Dirt!

 

Win It!

One lucky Pretty Pink Momma reader will win a copy of Rango on DVD as well as the Rango Movie Storybook

Mandatory Entry:  Giveaway closed. Comment on this post and tell me you are going to watch Rango with

Giveaway open to US only.

And the Winner Is…
Author: Jessica Slone (jessica_slone78@yahoo.com)
Comment: permalink

I am going to watch it with my family, which is my hubby, son and two daughters. What a great way to spend an evening, laughing with family.

Get Extra Entries

Each additional entry option will be worth one extra entry unless otherwise noted

  • Follow Pretty Pink Momma via Google Friend Connect
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  • Tweet about this giveaway.  Please put this in your tweet:  “#Win #Rango on DVD Plus the Rango Movie Storybook from @PrettyPinkMomma #Giveaway ends 8/14 http://ow.ly/1v6rxz“ Please include your tweet url within your entry.  Earn one extra entry per tweet, max of one tweet per day.

Good luck to all that enter!  This giveaway is s open to US only.  Giveaway ends on Sunday August 14th, 2011.  Winner will be chosen using the And the Winner Is plug in.  The chosen winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen.

 

 

*I was contacted by M80 and asked to write a blog post on behalf of Paramount in which I was given the opportunity to share my thoughts and opinions on Rango. I received a Rango summer fun gift pack as a thank you for my participation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Filed Under: Chic Little Kid Finds, family fun, Giveaways, movie review, Reviews Tagged With: ,

#PhineasandFerb Across the 2nd Dimension #Portland Area Sneak Peek #Giveaway!!! – 5 #PDX Families Will Win

July 22, 2011 By

 

Phineas and Ferb fans get ready for the newest Disney Channel movie starring our favorite summer duo!  Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension will be airing on August 5 at 8/7 Central.

We are huge fans of Phineas and Ferb at our house.  In fact, when we moved into our new house a few months ago we all had a good laugh that the engraving on the garbage disposal ring in the bottom of the kitchen sink read “Insinkerator”, because it totally sounded like something right out of Doofenshmirtz’s lab.  The show is hilarious and I love watching the antics that ensue while Phineas and Ferb discover what they’re gonna do each day.  This is one kids cartoon that my husband and I both take the time to sit down and watch because we love it just as much, if not more, than the kids.

About Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension

SYNOPSIS
In the series, there are 2 very separate worlds – Phineas, Ferb and Candace in one world, Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry in the other. In the movie, Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension (aka PF2D), these two worlds are thrust together for the first time to create a big adventure like we’ve never seen before. After the boys stumble upon Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s lair, Phineas and Ferb unintentionally help the evil scientist perfect his latest –inator, which sends them all to an alternate dimension where a truly evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz (as opposed to our simply ineffective Dr. Doof) has succeeded in taking over the Tri-state Area and plans to travel back to our dimension to conquer it as well. After overcoming the shock of discovering Perry’s secret, the threesome learn to work together and establish a newfound relationship as not just pet/owners, not just friends – but a dynamic team ready to face their greatest challenge yet: to save the world as they know it.

Attention Portland Area Families!! Pretty Pink Momma has 5 Family Four Packs of tickets to giveaway!

Thanks to the Disney Channel I have a fun opportunity to go see Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension with my two oldest sons on July 30th at a local Portland area theater a full 6 days before its premiere on the Disney Channel on August 5th!

Guess what?  I get to the pleasure of offering 5 families a four pack of tickets to go and see the movie with us!  So if you are in the Portland area, or want to enter on behalf of a Portland area family, this will be a fun day at the movies for all. Plus your kids will get to enjoy a sneak peek and see it before their friends do!

To get the kids excited for the big premiere, whether you get to to to the movie or not, there are tons of great clips, games and more that can be found here.

 

Five Families Will Win:

A set of four tickets to the Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension movie

  • July 30th at 10:30 AM
  • Portland area theater – only winners will be informed of which theater

 

How to Enter:  Comment on this post telling me which Phineas and Ferb character is your favorite and why.

*This giveaway is open to all entrants that are committed to having some family fun in Portland, Oregon on July 30th at 10:30 am.  Please do not enter if would be unable to attend.*

 

Get Extra Entries – one extra comment per entry

Thanks for entering!  This giveaway concludes on 7/25/2011 at 10 pm  PST.  Winners will be notified asap and tickets will be sent out for this event immediately.  All winners will be chosen at random using the And the winner is plug in.

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Chic Little Kid Finds, Disney, family events, family fun, Giveaways, OR Area Tagged With: ,
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