How to use this Page

Excluding the heat, July is one of my favorite months of the year.  My husband is home for the summer, and there is always something going on in Utah.  Last night we watched 4+ big city fireworks shows from my backyard, and there are parades and festivals all month long.

To get in the spirit of things, I thought it would be fun to introduce all of you to some of the fun historical costumes available from Wholesale Halloween Costumes.

For the 4th -

In Utah we also have a state holiday on the 24th to celebrate when the first pioneers came to Utah.  We're big on American History here and lots of people do reenactments, have balls, and even go on cross country treks to honor our state's settlers.  So for the 24th -


I've seen a lot of pioneer costumes in my day.  Most are home made and not very attractive or comfortable looking.  I love the prairie lady costume because it looks fancier than most, but would still work for a variety of activities.

The costume has a full skirt so it does have a bit of netting, but it isn't restrictive at all.

To Buy - The Prairie Lady costume retails for just $37.90 at Wholesale Halloween Costumes and includes the bonnet, the belt, and the dress.  It comes in a standard size and is made to fit bust 34-38 and waist 26-32.  I'm pretty average in size and my measurements fall in the middle of both categories.  When I tried the dress on it was a bit roomy, but fit well when I added the belt.

It's definitely worth checking out!

Unfortunately I don't have a way to take a picture of myself in the costume but will add one when I can get my husband to take one!



Disclosure - I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Add a Comment

My girls and I are always so excited when a new Scooby Doo DVD comes out. Our newest acquisition is SCOOBY-DOO! 13 SPOOKY TALES AROUND THE WORLD.  My girls love that it is a collection of episodes so that they can watch a few at a time in their allotted tv time.

Synopsis - Nobody vacations like Scooby-Doo and the gang! Join Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their canine pal in Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales Around the World as they visit some of the coolest and creepiest destinations across the world. Prepare to get shipwrecked in the Bermuda Triangle with scary skeleton scuba divers and chased through the canals of Venice by the Ghostly Gondolier, who even kidnaps Daphne! Hop aboard a haunted Aztec barge, but not before Scooby-Doo! wows a vengeful god with his best Mexican hat dance – to say nothing of his airplane cha-cha over the headhunter-happy jungles of Brazil. Along the way you can bet the Mystery Inc. gang will get to the bottom of each mystery with plenty of “zoinks!” (the same in every language), plenty of high-jinks, and a whole lot of international cuisine – leaning tower of pizza anyone?

Episodes Include
Disc 1:

• The Fiesta Host is an Aztec Ghost
• The Harum Scarum Sanitarium
• The Spirits of ‘76
• A Creepy Tangle in the Bermuda Triangle
• To Switch a Witch
• A Menace in Venice

Disc 2:

• Shiver and Shake, That Demon’s A Snake
• Lock the Door, It’s a Minotaur
• The Ozark Witch Switch
• The Jaguaro
• Moonlight Madness
• Ghosts of the Ancient Astronauts, Part I
• Ghosts of the Ancient Astronauts, Part II

To Buy - Scooby-Doo: 13 Spooky Tales Around the World is a new animated collection from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group available in stores May 15, 2012. This two-disc DVD features over four hours of globe-trekking high-jinks and fun, featuring everyone’s favorite mystery-solving Great Dane, Scooby-Doo! and an UltraViolet™ Digital Copy. Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales Around the World will retail for $19.98 SRP, but is on sale at Amazon for just $11.99.

I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post. 

Display Comments Add a Comment

Mornings would be so much brighter if every box of cereal contained a book to read! That's why I always look forward to the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories® program every year. The Spoonful of Stories program recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary with the distribution of more than six million children books! This year's books could be found free inside specially marked Cheerios boxes starting in March 2012. However, if your area is anything like ours, the boxes flew off the shelves! But don't worry if you missed all the new stories this year -- read on for a giveaway you won't want to miss.

Several great Simon & Schuster small-sized paperback books were offered this year in the Cheerios boxes. The selection featured six picture book titles, written in both English and Spanish and appropriate for ages three to eight: 

● Noodle & Lou by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Arthur Howard
● Hello Baby! by Mem Fox and illustrated by Steve Jenkins
● If I Were a Jungle Animal by Amanda Ellery and illustrated by Tom Ellery
● Peeny Butter Fudge by Toni and Slade Morrison and illustrated by Joe Cepeda
● Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Scott Magoon
● Can I Just Take a Nap? by Ron Rauss and illustrated by Rob Shepperson

In addition to providing books in the cereal boxes, Cheerios made a $300,000 donation to First Book, a literacy focused non-profit, and also gave 5000 children's books to 10 First Book local volunteer chapters nationwide.

I applaud Cheerios for promoting literacy through this wonderful book distribution program. If only they could continue the program year round, and work together with other publishers, to get more free books in the hands of children!

One of the best things about the books is that they are bilingual! (And, due to the small paperback size (7" x 5-1/4"), they are also very portable and easy to stash inside a bag for trips.) My kids and I have been reading a few of the Spoonful of Stories titles this week to brush up on our Spanish just in time for Cinco de Mayo.

Both my kids really enjoy reading Tammi Sauer's Mostly Monsterly (Mayormente Monstruosa). The book stars a mostly monsterly little girl monster named Bernadette (though for a monster she's not really all that

Display Comments Add a Comment

May is officially birthday month in our house, so to celebrate I'm going to introduce you to some great gifts for kids.  Today's gift idea is Wuggle Pets.

Wuggle Pets are little mini stuffed animals that kids can stuff themselves.

The starter kits retail for $19.99 and come with 2 animals and all the necessary stuffing.

All you have to do is hook the wiggle pet to the front of the machine, and then put the stuffing and sprinkles in the top.


Then you twist the crank until the pet fills up.  Then you give them a name and a personality, and zip up the back.

My girls thought it was so fun to create their pets.  They thought it was so fun to watch them fill up and give them secret personalities.  But their very favorite part was naming them and clicking them to their backpacks.  Here we have Pixie Dust the Dog, and Sassy Pants the Unicorn.


 To Buy - The Wuggle Pet starter kit retails for $19.99 and contains

• Cuddly Puppy And Magical Unicorn Pets With Clip Attached
• 1 Fun Filled Factory
• 2 Bags of Fluffy Stuffing
• 12 Personality Charms Pet Pet
• 2 Bags of Magic Dust
• 2 Birth Certificates
• 1 Zipper-Up Tool

The Party Pack retails for $49.99 and also contains the Funny Monkey, Sunny Bunny, Earful Elephant, Playful Pony, Clever Raccoon, and the Bashful Bear. Check out wugglepets.com for more info!




I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Today you're cordially invited to my daughter's virtual coloring fashion show, a glitzy extravaganza showcasing the new Rosie Flo's Fashion Show Pop-up Coloring Runway Set. My daughter has worked hard and long to ready her fabulous models and spectators for the show.

Rosie Flo's Fashion Show is a box gift set published by Chronicle Books that contains a ready-to-assemble paper theater and catwalk along with 18 paper models, 8 front-row spectators and a little poodle for kids to color and personalize. There are also pop-up chairs for the front-row spectators, little invitations to pass out and a paper camera to set up at the show. Instead of designing dresses, kids get to complete the character line drawings, a sort of "filling-in-a-person" drawing activity. Like all Rosie Flo products many line drawing dresses are ready for a creative mind to take over and add heads, faces, legs, arms and all the extra flourishes. Kids get creative by making up their own characters to fit the costumes.

The pop-up theater is impressively detailed, both inside and out. Models "get-ready" at the outside back of the theater in a dressing room and then enter through the doors onto the catwalk. No glue or scissors is required and the theater itself isn't too hard to assemble though smaller kids will probably need some assistance. According to the outside of the box, this set is recommended for ages six and up but with parental help I imagine younger kids would also enjoy coloring and creating the models.

My artsy daughter has already spent several hours drawing and coloring the models and spectators in her set and still has several more models to color. I asked what she likes most about this product and she replied that, "It is better than a coloring book because when you are done coloring you can play with it. It is hard work but a lot of fun because you get to draw people."

Models walking the catwalk.

A variety of spectators watch the fashion show.

As a parent I really like that this set challenges young artists by helping them practice

Display Comments Add a Comment

Bid wakes up a a lot at night - and I mean a lot a lot.  She has no sense of time and always climbs in our bed and wants us to turn on the tv.  It doesn't matter what time it is, or how long she's been asleep she wants to watch our tv.  

I hate it!  Between Bid and Baby Co I rarely get a full night of sleep.  Baby Zoo has created a great product to help parents like me and kids like Bid - The Momo Alarm Clock.

The Baby Zoo Sleep Trainer Momo Alarm Clock functions like a regular alarm clock, but is specifically designed to help little kids know when to wake up.  The monkey closes it's eyes during the nighttime hours, and opens it's eyes when it's time for little ones to wake up.

Another fun feature is that you can have the alarm set to a fun jungle sound or even turn off the volume completely.  This is great because I don't necessarily want to wake Bid up early, but I do want her to know when it's okay to wake me up.

The Momo is also a good alarm clock for school aged children because it has an analog clock and a digital clock.  Since Kik is just learning to tell time, it's a great way to help her practice.

The clock features

• Analog & digital clock;
• Opening/closing eyes at your preferred time;
• Kids Alarm Clock with jungle alarmsound, with adjustable volume (can switch off completely);
• Nightlight, automatically shuts down after 30 seconds.

To Buy - The  Baby Zoo Sleep Trainer Momo Alarm Clock retails for $39.99 from Kastel International and is a great option for kids.  They also have a fun Gus nightlight and Coco digital music player that are perfect for helping kids with their nighttime routines.




For more info and special offers you can also check out Kastel International on Facebook. 




I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Both my girls could crawl by the time they were 4 and a half months and walk by the time they were 9 months. Baby Co is 6 months old and a bit behind.  He doesn't crawl so much as scoot.  He does a sort of push up, sticks his bum high in the air, and pushes backwards on his tippy toes.  As hard as he tries he just can't seem to go forward.  It's super cute, but his legs and feet are always getting stuck under couches and doors.

Because of this what Co wears (or doesn't wear) on his feet is very important.  With bare feet he gets scratched up.  Socks are slippery.  And most shoes fall off his sausage feet easily - which means he either has bare feet or slippery socks all of the time.  One of my very favorite brands of shoes for transitioning babies are Pedipeds.

Co has the Original Adrian Chocolate Brown Shoes and I absolutely love them.

• All Natural Leather Sole
• New Diamond Patterned Tread 
• 2 Layers of Leather plus soft foam insert for protection

To Buy - The Originals Adrian - Chocolate Brown shoes retail for $33.00, and are a great buy!  For more information and special deals check out Pediped on Facebook and Twitter!



I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Because my girls love ponies so much, I couldn't resist reviewing MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC:THE FRIENDSHIP EXPRESS.

In My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: The Friendship Express, the benevolent Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, selects unicorn Twilight Sparkle for a very important assignment - to learn about the most important magic of all: friendship. With her new friends, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, Twilight sets out on amazing adventures, and they all learn what it means to be true friends.

To Buy - My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: The Friendship Express was released on Feb. 28th, 2012, and retails for $14.97 on Amazon.com and the Shout Factory Website.  But you can get it right now for just $9.99 on Amazon.

The DVD features 5 episodes and some fun bonus features including

• Meet the Ponies,
• sing-a-longs
• coloring sheets
• “Yipper Caper” - (Pound Puppies Episode)

My girls love that the unicorns are a central part of this DVD, and it's a great buy for any Pony fans.





I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Add a Comment

As most of my readers know, I have 3 kids - a 5 month old, a two year old, and a kindergartener.  Right now all of them are going through a transitional period, learning and growing every day.  Baby Co is learning to crawl, sit, and eat like a big boy.  Kik is learning to read and fend for herself in a school environment.  And Bid is learning to use the potty, control her emotions, and be a big girl in general.  Because of this, I thought it would be fun to have an event that highlighting products geared towards these transitional stages.

The first product I want to tell you about are Wonder Bumpers from Go Mamma Go Designs.

All of my children have had the same crib.  It's  in good condition and pleasant to look out, but I still have problems with it.

When Kik was 4 and a half months she would scoot backwards and get her leg caught in between the bars.  She would try to get out herself and would end up with a scraped leg.  With Bid we were ready for the problem and put up a traditional bumper fir a short time.  But because it decreased airflow and made it so she could pull herself up, we quickly took it out.

I didn't want to deal with either problem with Baby Co, so I started looking for solutions on the internet.  After a little searching I found Wonder Bumpers and had to try them out for myself.

Wonder Bumpers are vertical crib bumpers that zip around each crib rail individually.

This leaves space between each rail for airflow, but padding for baby comfort.

 Wonder Bumpers feature

• 100% Cotton
• Poly-foam insert
• Lead-free zipper
• Machine or Hand Washable
• And most styles are reversible

To use a Wonder Bumper all you have to do is fold it around the crib rail and zip up.  Most of the styles are reversible so you can rotate the pattern to suit your taste.

Because it matches the color of the room perfectly, we went with the Blue Damask.


To break up the pattern I decided to alternate the solid side and blue damask print.  I love it!  It's smooth and silky, and it looks so fancy!



Because my crib rails are all d

Add a Comment

Since Feb is the month of love, I wanted to introduce all of you to two of Veggie Tales newest releases, VeggieTales: God Loves You Very Much and VeggieTales: If I Sang A Silly Song.

VeggieTales: God Loves You Very Much "...includes nearly 90 minutes of family-friendly content and features three fan-favorite VeggieTales stories that teach other valuable lessons about love, Gideon: Tuba Warrior, The Ballad of Little Joe and Rack, Shack & Benny. The title also includes an all-new “story-song” called Does He Love Me?, as well as other bonus features and activities."

My girls had seen Gideon and the Ballad of Little Joe before and have always liked them. But Rack, Shack, and Benny was a new experience for them and it instantly became one of their favorites. It's not strange at all to hear "The Bunny. The Bunny. Woo I Love the Bunny, coming from one or both of them.


In Veggie Tales: If I Sang A Silly Song, "Larry the Cucumber hosts “The Silly Song Telethon” and counts down the top favorite silly songs of all-time... voted for by the fans!! The fun continues with a surprise introduction of a never-before-seen, new Silly Song chosen by Larry the Cucumber from thousands of fan submissions!"

I love the Veggie Tales Silly Songs, and this disc is really fun because it's all about the silly. I really liked that they covered old silly songs as well as some of the newer songs. Here's a little sneak peak - http://www.veggietales.com/widget/widget.html
To Buy - God Loves You Very Much and Veggie Tales: If I Sang A Silly Song retail on Amazon for $12.99, but you can get either of them right now for just $9.99.


I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post. By entering this giveaway you agree to my giveaway/disclosure guidelines

Add a Comment

My girls love the Buddies and have been so excited to see the newest release Treasure Buddies since they saw a preview on our Spooky Buddies DVD.

Synopsis - The 6th film in the Buddies franchise stars everyone’s favorite talking canine superstars Rosebud, B-Dawg, Budderball, Buddha and Mudbud, as the pup pack journeys to mysterious Egypt in search of the greatest treasure known to animalkind, the legendary Cat’s Eye jewel, from the lost treasure of Cleocatra! Danger lurks around every secret sphinx, cryptic crypt and puzzling pyramid as Ubasti, a devious cat, schemes to possess the mystical jewel and use its powerful energy to rid the planet of all dogs! With help from new lovable friends Cammy, a baby camel - and a mischievous monkey named Babi - the gang and their new friends avoid booby traps, solve puzzles and explore a mysterious tomb in their most exciting and challenging adventure yet.
To Buy - Treasure Buddies was released on Jan 31st 2012 and is available for purchase today. Treasure Buddies Right now you can get it for just $16.99 on Amazon!

Bonus Features include

• DIGS: B-Dawg Edition – In this fun bonus feature, B-Dawg the hip hop happening pup gives a tour of his home to kid reporter G.
• “Roam” Music Video

And just for fun here are some fun Treasure Buddies Recipes




I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Display Comments Add a Comment

My 2 year old loves Minnie Mouse.  The Perfect Valentines Movie for her would be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: I Heart Minnie which was also released on Feb. 7th 2012.

 In the movie, it;s time to celebrate Minnie Mouses Birthday with 5 fun episodes.

Minnie & Daisy’s Flower Shower (All-New, Never-Before-Seen) - The botanical highlight of the year is in trouble, unless Minnie and Daisy can get their flowers to bloom! Together, they board the glove balloon to help coax the clouds to sprinkle much needed rain.
Daisy’s Dance -Clap your hands and tap your feet! Join Daisy, as she gets ready to perform in the talent show.
Daisy’s Pet Project - The Pet Parade is almost here and Daisy needs to find the perfect animal for which she can love and care. But it’s not as easy as she thinks and soon she has three new friends: an elephant named Bubbles, a giraffe called Longfellow and a bunny called Captain Jumps-a-lot!
Minnie’s Rainbow - After a brightly colored rainbow appears over the clubhouse, Minnie searches for the pot of gold that’s supposed to be at its end. Along the way, she meets a leprechaun and discovers that not all treasure turns out to be as she expected!
Minnie’s Birthday – Today is Minnie’s birthday, but the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse friends need to set up her birthday party.

My daughter loves this show!  She calls it the rainbow show and wants to watch it at least once a day.

To Buy - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: I Heart Minnie retails for $19.99 U.S./$24.99 Canada and is available now!





I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Add a Comment

Do you have all your holiday shopping finished? During a last minute shopping trip yesterday I noticed many families in search of last minute stocking stuffers. If you are buying stocking stuffers and gifts for a little girl, she might enjoy a Calico Critters set. My daughter adores playing with these small, fuzzy animal figures. She received her first set at age four and continues to request new sets every year.

Earlier this fall Growing Tree Toys sent my daughter a new set to review: the Calico Critters Margaret and Halley’s Dress Shop. This mother/daughter bear set is very cute! My daughter was so excited to see that the set includes a change of clothes for both of the bears, plus tons of accessories! Having extra clothes available makes imaginative Calico Critter play a whole lot more enjoyable. In fact, Mother Bear was kind enough to share some of her wardrobe with my daughter's other Calico Critter animals!

Calico Critters Margaret and Halley’s Dress Shop includes the following items:
• 2 Bear Figurines
• 4 Clothing Sets
• 2 mannequins
• Mother Bear Necklace and Purse
• Baby Bear Headband and Hat
• Tiny Hand Mirror
• Mini animal toy for Baby Bear
• Framed wall portrait

The Dress Shop set retails for $18.95. The mother bear figure has poseable arms and legs, but the baby bear is not poseable. My daughter is finally old enough that she can dress her animals herself so this set with all the mini accessories and dresses is perfect for her. She has spent many hours playing with her bears and other animals (she also owns the Calico Critters Dalmatian Dog Family and the Calico Critters Norwood Mouse Family).

Isn't it just the cutest thing how Mother Bear's tail sticks out of the back of her dress? The detail in all the Calico Critter products is remarkable. I can't imagine how hard it must be to manufacture such small clothes for the animals. All the clothing and items in this set live up to the high quality we expect in the Calico Critters lines. Because the set include very small parts, I would recommend you also purchase a storage container to keep everything together. Some of the items are easily lost. My daughter keeps her Calico Critters collection in a large, lidded container.