My Best Gift, with Bonus Tantrum

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For every download of the app between now and Dec. 31, 2010, SWAGG will donate $1 to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) , up to $125,000.

Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG are sending a pair of movie fans to the Sundance Film Festival! Download the SWAGG app and then visit the Ultimate SWAGG Getaway Sweepstakes site to enter to win a trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival. Entry deadline is January 3, 2011, 11:59pm, PST.

My mom was a pretty outstanding gift giver, whether it was an antique briefcase she found in the closet with my grandpa's initials, or the adorable stuffed animal/poster combos she picked out for my friends' birthday parties.  I remember for Hanukkah we wrapped up the 8 days of lights with a big gift.  One year I got a bike, my sister got a video player to go with her video camera, and my brother got a big stuffed raccoon.  We seriously thought he got the short end of the stick.  Of course we said nothing, because he absolutely loved it, had been coveting the guy to go with his smaller animals.

I like to think I inherited her gift giving skills, at least for the first 40 or so years of my life.  I'm pretty much burned out now...I gave gift cards to my kids last year for pete's sake.  I know that people just love gift cards, and my kids loved them of course, as they were for the Lego store, but I want to make be little more personal.   I've really scored in the past, though, and was reminded the other day by my mom of the best gift I ever bought for someone.  It was for my mom, and I had great fun reminding her of the story again. 

I was a kid, maybe 8 or so, and the family was shopping for each others Hanukkah gifts.  I took off with my dad, knowing exactly what I wanted to get for my mom with my saved up twenty bucks.  We looked and looked, but I could not find one in the right price range.  My dad is not an impatient guy, so we must have planned a meeting time as he started insisting we had to go, we'd come back later.  The item I was looking for was an electric nail file, and manicure set.  See my mom had, after umpteen years, had finally stopped biting her nails.  They were growing out nicely and I thought it would be the perfect gift.  I finally spotted it, and we were out of time.  My dad wanted to come back another time, the nerve.  I can't honestly remember why he wanted to leave, but I threw a tantrum right there in the store.  We had to buy this for mommy, she deserved it.  Crying and whining, I must have been quite a site.  I got my way, though, and snatched up that snazzy kit for $19.99. 

My mom used that thing for years.  It was a different shape than most, and worked amazingly well.  She seriously was never able to duplicate it when it finally died.  The tantrum was totally worth it in my opinion, and my mom was not just being nice, she used it all the time and still has great nails. 
Learn more about the coolest new app that revolutionizes the whole shopping, gifting, and gift card-organizing experience and Download the SWAGG app to your iPhone or Droid. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.

Attack of the Holiday Photo

I've been a Shutterfly fan for quite awhile, and have used them a couple times to order holiday cards.  All those photo sites are pretty cool, but it's nice that this one is local with a huge selection of holiday cards, especially our favorite, the holiday photo cards, like that this simple, but still colorful one on the left.  Very non-demoninational, goes with any photos you could possibly want, only drawback...my husband would probably not like that yellow, I love it. 

My husband's just a bit fanatical about his Christmas photo cards.  Long before I met him, he would send out oodles of Christmas cards to his friends across the earth, each with a photo of himself in some exotic place.  I was very proud of myself one year when I sent 15 to friends, I felt like such an adult.  Growing up we never sent out cards, and I remember a conversation with my dad a number of years ago when he told me "one day I just decided to stop sending cards, and I've never looked back."   Some years when the stacks of cards waiting to be signed and address looms before us during a busy holiday season, I sure can understand that sentiment.

My first husband had no desire to send cards, it did not fit in with his Jewish traditions.  That may be one of the reasons I was so excited to send my own cards.  Post-divorce, I was living alone for the very first time in my life, in my own apartment, watching my TV shows.   Excuse me, lost myself for a second in that fantasy. 

Anyway, my current (does that sound odd?) husband had to give up his exotic locale photos once we added kids and dogs to the mix.  He never liked my idea of using only the kids in the photo, and he loved the challenge of a) picking a creative idea (we've done soccer jerseys - big surprise, pacifiers, lying on the ground in a circle, funny glasses, etc.) b) getting kids and dogs in place (and not crying, in the case of babies and toddlers) c) setting the timer and leaping over to join us and finally d) waiting to get the film developed while you hoped one came out okay.  You have not lived until you've counted down the seconds waiting for the camera to snap, hoping the dog would not wander off of the baby look away.  The age of digital photos, photoshopping and now multiple photos per card has eliminated much of that excitement.  The cards with multiple photos are also a lovely new addition, since you can pick the best picture of yourself and still please your family with silly photos of them.

Now the excitement revolves around picking through the hundreds for options.  In the past I was a bit obsessed to find a funny, "holiday" (as opposed to Christmas), not religious card.  I am always tempted by the Hanukkah cards, my way to make up for the years of years of Christmas overload during my Jewish upbringing.  Maybe it's because I have boys, but I love this one...got the modern touch, with toys.  Our photos would of course include colorful jerseys and butts.  I can totally relate to the friends who've completely given up on ever getting cards out before Christmas, so go with New Year’s cards or on one case, Valentine's, which was great.  My husband will have none of that, these cards will wish you a happy holiday, Merry Christmas or Seasons Greetings, whether sent out on Dec. 15th or Jan. 15th.  Just to add to the struggle, yes, we've also started a letter, but it is pretty funny, promise.

We often just choose the simple one photo one, because, frankly, it's cheaper and we just have to find that one family photo.  Plus how cute is that reindeer?  It's also got just enough room to scribble our signature, the minimal in personal touches, important when you have 150 to fill out.  So imagine this little number,

 

with this photo?

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Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Mastermind

As I mentioned there were a ton of sponsors and giveaways at BlogHer, and while I sent a box of stuff home, only a handful really prompted me to give them a shout-out on my review blog.

One of those was one of my favorite games as a child. It's Mastermind, and the original has hardly changed. The colors have changed slightly, the case is blue and I think it used to be black, but this simple, logic game is still the one I loved. The company just had a small table at the conference, and the great thing was they sent me the game rather than having me haul it home. I also got a new version for little kids, which is absolutely adorable. It's animals placed in a certain order, which makes it a bit easier than remembering colors and location.

There seem to be a whole slew of editions now, the aforementioned classic plus advanced and ultimate, which I'd love to play with my husband or dad.  Of course there are Disney and Spongebob versions, but I like the animal the best.

The only drawback to this game is my kids keep making mistakes when they put the little pegs it, makes it hard for me to win.

From the Blogher 10 Sponsor page 

Pressman Toy Corp.

MASTERMIND, the classic game of strategy from Pressman Toy Corporation, has had players making and breaking codes for generations. It’s the codemaker vs. the codebreaker! Solve your opponent's code in fewer turns than it takes your opponent to solve your code. With 2,401 combinations possible, it’s a mind-bending challenge every time the game is played. New versions for kids include Animal MASTERMIND Towers and SpongeBob MASTERMIND Towers. Learn more at http://www.mastermindboardgame.com/.

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Disclosure:  I was sent a complimentary Mastermind Classic game and Animal MASTERMIND® Towers with no other compensation.  I was under no obligation to post a review and all above opinions are my own.

Brazil or Bust

Sponsored By


Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine, Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

There is absolutely no question what my family's ultimate vacation would be, we're even collecting bottles and cans to be turned into cold hard coin to fund the trip.  We're not super confident we'll raise enough in this way, but wouldn't that been a cool story?  If you've read many of my posts, you'll see we are a pretty soccer obsessed family.  I'm even on a team now, although still not as big of a fan of watching professional games, especially when my husband heckles the opposing team's coach.  You may have been swept up in a world-wide sporting event which combines the Superbowl, World Series and a bit of the Olympics thrown in for good measure...the Copa Mundial de Fútbol is what much of the world calls it.

 

Our dream would be to fly to Brazil in 2014, world cup soccer tickets in hand.  The soccer games would be awesome, of course, but we are also in love with the country and people.  One son has included becoming a Brazilian citizen and playing for their national team in his life plan.  My husband's been twice for coaching clinics, and I joined him once and found the laid back lifestyle, the warmth in the people and the diversity just wonderful.  We spent one evening at a coaches house, where he was throwing a party for his girls team.  An incredible display of food was laid out, and when I mentioned I had not yet tried the national drink, the host walked across the street for a lime, muddled it up with some sugar and voila.  The kids plan to learn Brazilian Portuguese over the next few years, but given that many people there speak Spanish they will be our tour guides.

We don't want to just see games and indulge in buffet style eating, there are the beautiful beaches, where my kids could join the locals in a rousing game of futbol, the world-famous Brazilian celebrations and the sites such as the incredibly gorgeous Iguazu Falls.  This means of course many plane tickets, as Brazil is a huge country.  This is a dream vacation, though, so let's throw those in as well.  And who wants to wait four years, so nothing wrong with a trip before then.

Don't forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as do I.

Assets

I'm going to be posting some reviews of products I got from Blogher10 over the next few days.  I figure any item I still use now must be pretty good, and the first is ASSETS by Sara Blakely, founder of Spanks.  This new shapewear from Spanx is cheaper than the original, but it really works.  I got a free pair of these at BlogHer and they were one of the first things I pulled out of my swag to try out.  They felt much lighter than a pair of Spanx that I already owned, so I was not expecting the same kind of "firming" if you know what I mean.  They worked really well though.  You can see below (from the write-up I got from the Blogher10 sponsor page) that they are sold at lower cost stores, but I can attest that at least the bicycle short style does a pretty good job.

ASSETS by Sara Blakely



In 2006 Spanx founder Sara Blakely brought her shapewear know-how to more women with the national launch of ASSETS, a collection of expertly designed shapewear and legwear available at an unbelievable value. Delivering best in class shapewear, legwear, and foundations at approachable prices, ASSETS is sold in the following stylish retailers women love to shop: Target, LOFT, David’s Bridal, and Motherhood Maternity.

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Disclosure: I got a pair of mid-thigh shapers at Blogher but was under no obligation to post a review.  All opinions are my own.

Hexbug City

"Daddy, what's your favorite toy?  Mine are the hex bugs"
                                                                    Keegan, Age 7

"I like those other toys, but these are clearly much more fun for everyone"
                                                                   Nieve, Age 8

"They look like cockroaches, mommy does not want one."
                                                              Most of the moms

Want a toy you might have to chase around the house, looks like a cross between a bug and an electronic circuit and your kids will absolutely love?  Let me introduce, the HEXBUG Nano.  Actually, they come in all shapes (the Nano is the newest) and my first introduction to them was as a giveaway from my company.  We're even selling them on our company website so you know they're going to appeal to the nerd in all of us. 

Watch them in action and tell me you're not impressed - my apologies for the sideways video

Last week I threw a hexbug party for a bunch of families from our school.  I stayed up late the night before putting the maze of interconnected pieces together, the buggy habitat, to prevent a repeat of the ZhuZhu pet habitrail nightmare.  I put a couple sets together on the coffee table, and the next day my sons managed to cover the floor with an elaborate maze in like 5 minutes.  It snaps together easily and is easy to take apart. 

These bugs are amazing, they'll flip over, zoom around and push each other off the bridge in the Hexbug Nano Bridge batte, which is really cool. There were girls and boys at this party, kids from 4-8 and lots of parents.  Everyone thought they were pretty cool, even if a few moms found them creepy.  My son really did claim it was his favorite toy, although he may have been swept up in the moment.

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Disclosure: I was given 30 Hexbug Nanos and an extensive habitat and other kits to throw a party for kids.  I received no other compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Wha Oooga!

Well, I have put on my most comfortable pair of shoes ever.  I had to explain to my son why I could not wear these to work, besides the fact that it's still practically summer.  I figured out they are just not "professional" what with the slew of teens wearing them everywhere during my last camping trip.  I just wish I had them then.  Yes, I have my first pair of  "UGG" boots, but these are Whooga, an Australian company who offered me a pair of boots in the hopes I'd write about them.   We never jumped on the croc or Ugg bandwagon, but I have occasionally coveted a pair so jumped at the chance. Rest assured these are in no way knock-offs, but a quality alternative maker of the ugg boots so popular among the models of San Diego, or so my husband observed (he still can't figure out why leggy blonds would don these "ugly" boots with their short shorts and halter tops). 

One of the other reasons I agreed to try their boots is this company is a bit obsessed with disclosure.  They wanted to make sure I mentioned these boots are made from authentic 100% merino wool, designed in Australia, but manufactured in China.  It was a bit odd getting a beautifully wrapped package of soft fur Australian boots from China, and I at first worried a hotel had returned the leftover notebooks I purposely left on my last business trip there.  Having worked for a global company for a while, and often being in charge of giveaways, I am well aware of how many items are made in China, and pretty much all of these types of boots are, including the popular UGG Austraila boots.

I chose these short purple ones, as they recommend if your concerned about your calf widths (yes, I inherited by dad's calves) to opt for the shorter ones, but they have three versions, and you can roll them down for a cute look.  I have wide feet and was a little worried about the fit, since they don't come in different widths, but I promise they fit absolutely perfect.  They have sizing instructions on their website and it worked.  The website is really chock full of information, including how to choose your color. Black is the "safest" but since I have three pairs of black booths, and was not planning to dress up my business attire I wanted something more fun.  I really love the color.

I would not say these are cheap, but they are less expensive than others out there and feel simply amazing. 

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Disclosure: I was given a pair of boots to review but offered no other compensation.  I was asked to write a review but the boots came with no obligation.

Pretty Pretty Jewelry From Wonderful Places

We mommy bloggers get a bunch of press releases we're encouraged to post, offers to borrow a new phone for a few weeks or some odd new snack for our child.  I'm in marketing so I certainly do not begrudge anyone trying to get publicity for their product, but that also doesn't mean I don't appreciate a worthy business with a beautiful product, not to mention a generous offer. 

You may have heard of Kiva, a microloan program helping to alleviate poverty around the world.  NOVICA, in association with National Geographic, combines that concept with an Etsy type platform, connecting buyers with artists and artisans around the world.  They have a loan program and the most beautiful handmade jewelry, paintings and home decor.  You can find artisans who's family have been in this business for years or generations, young woman who love to make beautiful pieces, from exotic locations like Thailand, Mexico and Brazil, for which I have a special place in my heart living in a house of soccer.  Each piece also seems to have a unique and interesting name.

I was given a generous gift certificate and encouraged to find something in the necklace section, although it wasn't mandatory.  Fine with me, boy was there a lot of absolutely gorgeous stuff to choose from.  What a fun task ahead of me, although at some point it was all too much, there is so much to choose from.

Check out these bright-colored necklaces from Brazil, these are small rolled up magazines.

From Thailand you can find some of the most vivid colors.

You can shop by material, by region, new items or most popular.  The website it beautiful and really easy to navigate.  One of the best parts is each artist tells their story, and each piece comes wrapped in unique packaging with a handwritten note.  You can also personalize your own site, add something to your wish list or email to a friend with a single click.  There's a gift finder and featured artists, everything you need for a pleasant experience.  And if an artist really touches your heart, you can make a small (or large) loan.  The whole site touched me so much I made a member page.

I finally chose three pieces.  I don't have a lot of jewelry but have been wearing more lately and I tried to find something fun and something more classic.  This is from a lovely woman in Peru, with geometric silver shapes and an unusual chain.  Appropriately, this is named "Pride" - simple and bold.

 Look at the adorable packaging.

 

I absolutely love this, and admit it reminded me of those superstar necklaces so popular last year.   It's a perfect length and makes be feel all cheery, and it's no wonder as it's called "Carnival" and is from Brazil.  More great packaging.

I also chose these sweet little earrings. Oddly, they came in a lovely box, but it was so packed with stuffing they barely fit. 

"Glistening Sophistication"

I loved everything I got, it was all high quality and unique, and could tell by the notes it was made with love and skill.  It may take me longer than to pick out the artisan I'd like to support with a loan, but that is my next step.

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The disclosure part: I was provided with a $200 gift certificate to NOVICA but was under no obligation to post this review.  They suggested necklaces but gave me the option to purchase whatever I wanted.

Do You Believe in Fairies?

Why did I get this tweet the other day?  We were fortunate to get free tickets to the threesixty° Peter Pan show, where I also got to see a bunch of blogging friends, including the ultra-marathoner Kari (okay, not quite there yet, but close), who wrote a much more thorough review of t he show here if you're interested.  While her kids were talking about fairies, mine were choosing characters for some imaginary game.  Given my options of Tink or Wendy (since I was a girl and they could not remember Tiger Lily), I chose Captain Hook.  To annoy his brother, who got to be Peter Pan, Keegan chose Captain Jack Sparrow.  I hope my kids "grow up" to be as brave and adventurous as Peter Pan, provided they always come back to their mommy.

My mom told me about this show months ago, well before it came to town, and ironically I was hoping she might take us, or at least the kids, as I suspected it was out of my budget (no, I never want to grow up, either).  So what a great opportunity to get tickets, which "forced" me to take a half day off work and bring the kids to a rare trip to San Francisco. 

The theater was really magical, with the flying stunts and the 360 degree projection screen that really brought life to the story, allowing the characters to fly underwater and then back up through the forest.  I had asked my kids what they know about Peter Pan, which wasn't much, but they still enjoyed the show, at least they said they did the day after. Poor Keegan had a tummy ache for the first half and squirmed and groaned in my lap.  Donovan loves watching movies and plays, but started in on the questions and moving around just about 2 seconds after the "please ask your children to stay in their seats and speak in a whisper" announcement.

It really was kid-friendly, though, with the flying and fighting scenes, which were more like dancing.  I loved the creativity of the sets, with the animals having a puppeteer right on stage, the giant crocodile, the bath tub boat and of course the giant screen.  I did find the story a bit scattered and strange, although it's likely I just don't remember Peter Pan very well.  The theme of him wanting a mommy and the girls wanting a boyfriend was completely lost on my kids and didn't seem too fit well into the play. 

We loved the humor, Captain Hook tough as nails except when he becomes so frightened of the mean old crocodile.  The lost boys were endearing and fun,  and my son is still yelling out (spoiler alert) "Slightly Spoiled" (no pun intended) - the name of one of the Lost Boys. Trouble-maker Tink, with her army boots and ripped abs to go with her pink tutu was just awesome.

It was great getting to meet the Darling family members after the show.  The kids got their autographs and I got some pictures.  They were so friendly and sweet and impressed with my son's Manchester United soccer jersey.

You can get tickets here.  The place is small enough that every seat is a good one, and make sure you stop by the incredible water structure across the street.

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Disclaimer: SHNSF provided my family with four tickets to see the show.  They also allowed us access to some of the cast members and yummy refreshments after the show.  I was under no obligation to write this review, but really appreciated the opportunity and had a great time.

Photo Shoot!

All I can say is wow, just wow, when I look at the photos I received in my email box a few days ago. Thanks to Silicon Valley Moms blog and Images by Anna (Anna's a blogger there too) I got the opportunity to not only have some professional shots done, but by a photographer I knew my family (read, my picky photographer husband) would love. Nothing stiff or posed about the shots on her site, she aims to capture the spirit, the wildness and the silliness of the kids, and the love the families have for each other. Even when I read through the guide and knew my kids would never fit into her suggested "styles" (classic, modern, etc.) I felt no worries about showing up in soccer gear, cuz that's who they are.

I was a little worried about my children. They are are sweet and kind and fun, but can take a while to warm up and we had exactly 20 minutes for this session and I did not want to waste it. We have tons of photos of the kids, but not a lot of the whole family and no professional ones since we got free baby ones a million (okay, 5) years ago which came with too many strings attached. I begged, pleaded, bribed with the promise of Hobees and let them wear their favorite (clean) jerseys and roll down the hill before we started. We met Anna in a park and from the minute she applauded the dirt my son managed to find within 5 minutes in the huge expanse of grass, I knew we'd found the right person.

She forced us to relax, show our love and giggle, she got my kids to play around and not hide behind their mommy or jump into daddy's arms, their usual reaction when any new adult talks to them.

I cannot wait to hang some of these up in my house, to create a space just to relax while I admire the family, as she suggests on her site.

My kids are all about the goofy, silly and crazy looks. Not only did Anna capture these, but the kids look incredibly happy underneath it all. My husband loved them, although he now thinks he needs a little botox to get his eyes to open more...I'm signing us both up next year. This guy certainly needs no such thing.

We just cannot thank you enough for this wonderful opportunity.
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Disclaimer: I received a free photo session and five web resolution photos from Images by Anna as well as a discount on orders from her site of those photos. I was under no obligation to write a favorable review, this is all my own experience.

Pretty Please Books Review and Giveaway

I was given the opportunity to review some books geared towards the ages of my kids. I like the idea behind these books, basically teaching values and character building with more advanced books than you normally see. When my son was younger, we really needed the "No Hitting" and "No Biting" cute little board books, and they even kind of worked. I'm also struggling with getting my older guy to like reading, so am always open to suggestions. This was also perfect timing with the 2nd grade lessons, which include not just summarizing the books but explaining the author's message.

There are currently four books available from Pretty Please press. You can get 20% off the list price for books purchased through the website as well as a “buy 3 books, get 1 free” offer, but this great offer expires December 31, 2009.

We read three of the four books. As much as my kids love dogs, I just could not get them to crack open anything with ballet dancing puppies. My favorite was the The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters which I read with Donovan, who's a lot more open to new books. The was silly and hilarious, about fighting siblings who go on tour. We read Kick Block Punch several times, my boys are eager to start karate as soon as they get the okay from dad. I was really hoping they would like Pynx more, the illustrations were wonderful and imaginative. The books were long enough to allow for some discussion, but the messages simple enough for my 5 and 7 year olds to get right away. I can't say my kids loved the books, but I don't have big readers here and they sat through the whole book which is not a guarentee around here. I would love to see a silly book with brothers, or planes or big trucks. Sadly my son will judge a book by it's cover.

You can take advantage of the discount, or you can try to win these books for yourself. I'm giving away all four books. The minimal requirement is to leave a comment here, but if you want to help out you can also do one or more of the following:

• check out the Pretty Please website
• include one of your or your child's favorite book in the comment
• retreat this on twitter (@nicole_pelton) or post on your blog for an extra entry. Use this or post your own: (@nicole_pelton is giving away books from Pretty Please press http://tinyurl.com/yk7zchy)

The contest will end on midnight Monday, December 14th and I'll have my little readers pick a number out of a hat.

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Full disclosure: I was given these books for free to review and asked to post the review and do a giveaway on my blog. I was not influenced by the publishers nor given any monetary compensation for the post.

Thank You Party Sponsors

I had the absolute pleasure of going to a Silicon Valley Moms blog holiday party, not the least of why it may be my only chance to really dress up this season (that awkward sentence was my gift to you this holiday blogging season). Hooray I'm back working at my old company, but they got rid of evening parties eons ago, so no chance there. This party was sponsored by Chevy, who gifted us with lovely Tiffany GM key chains.

Photo by Carla Duharte-Razua of babyjidesigns

Coffee mate gave us travel mugs and creamer, but more importantly gave me the kick in the butt I needed to donate some suits I never wear. They collected 95 pounds of clothes to send to Dress For Success, whose "mission is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life." You should go send a Cup of Confidence and COFFEE-MATE® will donate fifty cents to Dress for Success for every cup (or note) sent.

Photo by Carla Duharte-Razua of babyjidesigns

I actually won two fabulous items. One was a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit Plus. Awesome awesome prize, yes and I got it by getting the highest points flapping like a chicken (Bird's-Eye Bulls-Eye to be exact). Tee hee. I got a Wii fit a while ago, and when I heard about the Wii Fit Plus I ran out to add it to our minimal Wii game collection. It was only $20 and it's got loads more games for 2 people. My kids can't seem to fathom games that are not competitive, so they only want to to the 2-person run, which is technically not a race but don't bother telling that to my kids. This Chicken flapping game is so silly my 5 and 7 year old boys refuse to do it, so I of course had to try for myself, and let them laugh at me. All that practice paid off and I got the high score. I've been encouraging my parents to get a Wii Fit, since my mom really needs to improve her balance and I thought this would be perfect. They have helped us out so much this year and I was glad to give them this gift, I just need my kids to get grandma to actually try it.

I also got three of Olive Smart Sack reusable bags, and won six more and I have to say these are so much better than all the other reusable grocery bags I have. They are compact, designed to fit in your cup holder so you don't forget to bring them in. I've been keeping them in my purse and they are so soft and so strong I love using them for everything. I swear I'm not just saying that because one of the owners of the company got me a glass of wine while his wife told me about the bags. I have a weirdness about certain materials, and these are really nice to the touch and come in pretty colors.

I left with goodies for the kids too. So often all the fun kids things are for babies or little girls plus my boys mostly wear soccer gear or jeans and t-shirts. They loved these soft blue grass hats from Zooni though, and sure looked adorable with the glasses from Teeny Tiny Optics. The baby blanket from Lucky Jade was soft and so different than most, can't decide if we should keep it or give it to an actual baby.

He likes the hat, just not having his picture taken.

There were so many great companies there. I got tickets to Wicked, which I've been wanting to see. I read the book a while ago, and keep hearing great things about this show. Tiny Prints! gave us a beautiful assortment of thank you and holiday cards and if we can get our act together and take a family photo we may order our Christmas cards, or more likely New Years, cards through them.

There were so many other sponsors, and you can see them here as well as get coupon codes for your holiday shopping. I will post more about all the great electronics and lotions and creams as I try them out.

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Disclosure: I was not compensated monetarily for this post, nor was I obligated to post in any way. I did receive the products mentioned above for free.

Cute and Snuggly Hamsters, Whee!

Have you heard about Zhu Zhu pets (aagh, my ears - turn the sounds off before clicking)? My boys, their friends, and I got a chance to throw a party with these furry bundles of cuteness. Yes, I store them in a KFC bucket, wanna make something of it? These things are absolutely adorable, making cute sounds and racing around the house. There is no off button, but you can pet them to put them to sleep, start them back up and hold them and pet them and call them George.

We got a whole slew of hamsters.

Mr. Squiggles / Num Nums / Chunk / Pipsqueak (looks like there's a new one called Patches, and yes, they have bios).
Donovan picked Chunk - ha, remember that name, you'll get to hear my son say it over and over again. My kids only took two or three hours to choose which one they wanted, and after all my worries that nobody would want the girls, Keegan went with Num Nums. Could you die of the cuteness?

So here they are putting together the elaborate maze that we also got, although in hindsight I should have put it together before hand. I wanted to see how easy it was for kids to put together, and the answer is, not so much. While the hamsters are really nice quality - furry and soft and zoom around impressively, even backing up when they hit something, the plastic "habitrails" leave a lot of room for improvement. It really brings out the personalities, though. Some kids just gave up and went off to find obstacles to challenge their new little "pets" while those of us with a touch of OCD (raising hand) stuck it out and managed to put the thing together after I sent the boys off for snacks.

Check out the spread I created for these guys - thank you Zhu Zhu pets for the snack ideas. Yes, in answer to your question, boys can make weapon-like objects even at a hamster party, but we love us some fruit kabobs.



For some real hamster action, I present to you the completely non-professional, non-edited zhu zhu pets home movies. Pay not attention to the boy-generated sound effects in the background or the mom completely ignoring one of her sons. Just enjoy.

I think the pets make great gifts, although they are a little pricey. Think of them as furry robots and they are quite a bargain. The accessories all come separately, and the little car is my favorite, although every time I tried to use the ball some kid would grab it and take it apart so it was not fully tested.

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I did get all of this free, including the set for us and the hamsters to give away. I was asked to post but was under no obligation and there was no monetary compensation for this.

Catching Up...Eek! And a winner

I am so behind on my reviews. I've got books, skateboards and hamsters with adorable and funny video to share if I can just get my computer to run a bit faster.



Without further ado, though, I am finally giving away the Cake Wrecks book. So so sorry for the delay.



I used random.org since my number picking children are away at grandma and grandpas tonight, and the winner is Mar Vista mom Sarah Auerswald. Congrats!

Book Review: This is Where I Leave You

I just, literally (hah!) finished This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Trooper, this months Silicon Valley Moms blog pick for our virtual book club. I managed to finish this book in just about four days, which is not that unusual for me, but I would definately call this a dense book, in a good way, an excellent way. The story was so packed with description and dialogue, from the hilarious oversharing of the mom, the aging obese or pasty-legged visitors, to the angry thoughts constantly running through Judd's mind. Judd is the main character, who stumbles upon his wife with is boss, somehow manages to light the guy's testicles on fire with a birthday cheesecake and soon after leaves to sit shiva with his highly disfunctional family after his father dies. I loved his family. Perhaps I loved them because they made me laugh out loud, or made my family seem mroe normal, but it's more likely I envy their directness, their emotions that seem to leak though even when they try to hide them. One of the very last lines is:

"We can all drive stick. We can all change a flat. We can all repress our feelings until they poison us."

Sure their life was not perfect, okay there is no question it was screwy, but repressed emotions? Not in that house. Sure sarcasm about your mom's skirt length, insults hurled at matchmakers and the constant punching is probably not a healthy release of emotions, but it sure makes for fun reading. Like an engaging TV show, I wanted to jump in and snap those characters into action. "Alice, you can adopt. Get that husband of yours tested. I know the feeling, really, I pondered doing that same thing with my husband's nephew." "Judd, you are clearly using this affair as an excuse to get angry that your life is not a fairy tale with a happy ending. Nice Jewish boy does not get the hot babe unless he works hard on the marriage, especially after a loss like that. Who doesn't want to fall in love again? Get over yourself." Okay, got that off my chest.

In case it wasn't clear, I highly recommend this book.

And full disclosure, I got a free copy of this book

Cake Wrecks Book and UnderNeat that "A Giveaway"

Read here about the book signing I attended for the fantabulous and hilarous new Cake Wrecks book based on one of my all-time favorite blogs. This book is really funny, as you can imagine, and it's got tons of stuff not on the blog. It is of course in the same spirit of the blog, funny without being mean spirited, family friendly and utterly silly.

If you've read the blog, you'll know how awesome Jen is with her commentary. She's added stories and oodles of new photos. There's a whole chapter on CCCs (cupcake cakes, ptooey), an ode to baby bottoms and "gut-wrenchingly awful, with a snide of snickering schadenfreude" wedding cake wrecks. To be honest I'd never even heard of groom's cakes before this blog, or it might have been the cake shows I obsess over. In this book we've got the question of which you'd rather eat, "a slimy whole fish or a fuzzy, month-old pickle?" Yum.

I'm not going to post any of her cakewrecks here, but here are some of my own highs and lows.

Pigs by me and Soccer cake by Brian, not to shabby. These were two of Donovan's cakes.

Two very busy Star Wars cakes for Keegan's 3rd birthday. Yes, I made one cake for preschool and one for a party at home.



It's Dialga, can't you tell?


And my masterpiece!

Get it, it's a fun book. Support your local bookseller, get it on sale at Amazon, or to win your very own autographed copy of Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong leave a comment below, describing in detail a wrecked you've had made. No, I'm kidding, just leave any old comment by midnight next Saturday, 10/10 and I'll randomly pick a "winner."