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Tuesday Tales – Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox

Posted on January 25, 2011 10:43 am by TheAngelForever

Do you know the importance of next Wednesday, February 2? Well, it is the day that eyes all over the United States will be watching a little critter named Phil. Actually his full name is Punxsutawney Phil and he lives in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Each February 2, the town of Punxsutawney has a celebration. In the early morning, Phil emerges and we all wait and watch to see what he sees. According to the legend, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, the US will have six more “lovely” weeks of winter (please note the extreme sarcasm). If Phil does not see his shadow, spring will arrive early. Anyone want to get the word out now and bribe Phil?!

In our large book library we have a lot of books for various holidays. Last year I noticed that we did not have any for Groundhog Day and wished that we had. The other day we received a copy of a new book from Sterling Children’s Books called Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox. I read the book, but am saving it to read with the kids for the holiday since it will be special on that day.

About Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox:

In Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox, author Susan Blackaby elevates the familiar story of Groundhog Day to that of a delightful tale about two mismatched characters and the start of their beautiful friendship.

Brownie Groundhog wakes herself on February 2nd to see if spring might soon be arriving. But when Brownie steps outside, there’s not even the slightest sign of spring – just her shadow, a frosty field, and a very hungry fox. Like the familiar trickster tales of old, Brownie cleverly and consistently delays the fox’s anticipated lunch. Using all her wiles – and some delicious hot cocoa and cinnamon toast – Brownie finds a tasty way to sate Fox’s appetite and find a new friend in the process. Together, Brownie and Fox enjoy a friendship that helps to make the wait for winter’s end a little warmer.

Susan Blackaby’s deliciously witty writing and Carmen Segovia’s adorable animals and stunning landscapes combine to create a picture book filled with warmth and joy.

Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox – Written by Susan Blackaby – Illustrated by Carmen Segovia – Sterling Children’s Books – On sale January 2011 – ISBN 978-1-4027-4336-8 – $14.95 – Ages 3 and up

What I Thought:

The tale of Brownie Groundhog and Fox is unique. It begins with both Brownie and Fox wanting something that they can not have. Together, they learn about patience, passing time while waiting for something that they want, and working together. The two are unlikely friends, we read along and see how Brownie works in a clever way not to be lunch and keep Fox busy. When Brownie outsmarts Fox and tries to leave, we realize that a friendship is forming. The two bond over a snack and learn to trust one another. In the end, they learn that is is best to wait for what they want together than alone.

I really enjoyed this book and like the lessons that it teaches. Problem solving, tolerance, and friendship are all seen throughout the story. I am looking forward to sharing this book with my boys next week. I think I will even see if their teachers would like to have it to share with their classmates.

So what have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Tuesday Tales and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Disclosure: I received this book complimentary of Sterling Publishing in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. One widget within the review is for my Amazon Affiliate where I will receive a percentage of money for the sale of the books should you opt to buy the book mentioned.

Categories:
books holidays Product review Tuesday Tales

Hair Care With Aveeno

Posted on January 12, 2011 7:23 am by TheAngelForever

Thick, wavy/culy, and very frizzy hair is what I have to deal with on a daily basis. I am always in search of new products that will assist me in battling my nemesis. Thanks to this, when Family Review Network offered an opportunity to try some hair care products from Aveeno, I jumped at the chance. We have bought a lot of other Aveeno products in our house, but I had never tried them for my hair.

I received the following items to try with my hair:

These are the Nourish + Volumize shampoo and conditioner, along with the Nourish + Style Smoothing Shine Crème from the Aveeno Active Naturals line. Since I have frizzy hair, I requiest to try out the creme, but the selection of shampoo and conditioner was randomly sent to me.

More about Aveeno’s partnership with Patrick Melville:

Aveeno has recently paired up with celebrity hairstylist Patrick Melville.

Melville has worked with countless A-list celebrities (including Ashley Judd, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Demi Moore, and Eva Longoria), and has in-depth styling experience. He now teams up with Aveeno to use his wealth of knowledge for all things hair care related.

Melville has used his expertise to give some tips to use that will help people with common hair troubles during this season:

Get ready for this season’s festivities by going with a look that can be worn from the office to the office party. Keep it sleek and simple with an up-do in the morning and be sure to take any accessories, pins, or hair ties you need to re-primp and jazz it up at the office. Remember less is more: adding a simple headband or jeweled-piece provides that extra layer for a perfect evening look.

Always prep your hairstyle with a proper wash. Remember to comb any tangles out before you wet it and use warm water to open the cuticles of the hair and to wash all the oil and dirt off. Then, you only need a dollop of shampoo to rub your hands together and apply to your scalp. Take note that you should put the shampoo on your scalp and not at the ends of your hair. Rinse your hair with cold water afterwards to close the cuticles and add to the shine of your hair. Whether you are looking for a smooth, wavy or curly style, I recommend using AVEENO® NOURISH+ Shampoos and Conditioners to keep your hair naturally beautiful for any occasion.

To flatten frizz on the go, dampen your hands with a finishing spray or smoothing agent like the AVEENO® NOURISH+ STYLE Shine Crème. Run hands through your hair, and then loosely pull your hair back into a bun. Wait 15 minutes and take your strands down for flawless, shiny hair in minutes.

When you’re strapped for time do the T-zone blow-dry: dry down your part and around your hairline only. Not only will you look finished, but your hair will thank you. For best results with lasting hold all day long, use the AVEENO® NOURISH+ VOLUMIZE Shampoo and Conditioner in addition to the NOURISH+ STYLE Volumizing Foam – this combo will give you great volume and hold your style for 12 hours.

Many people make styling curly hair harder than it needs to be. Classic curls are in this season, so if you have them, rock them! To define and pump up those curls, use a conditioning leave-in treatment with a curl-defining spray to add softness and de-frizz those curls. I love to use the AVEENO® NOURISH+ STYLE Curl-Defining Spray Gel on my clients.

Think about giving the gift of beauty for the Holidays. Not only is it practical, but there’s no better gift than that of pampering someone you love. I recommend a gift certificate with at least one product to round it out, like: The Patrick Melville Salon Signature Blow Out with the AVEENO® NOURISH+ STYLE Shine Crème. It provides nourishment needed to keep hair healthy looking and manageable after the salon.

What I Thought:

When I went to use the Aveeno shampoo and conditioner the first thing I noteiced was the scent. It was not intense, did not make me sneeze, and was quite nice. Too many times I can not use hair care products because of the smells. WHen I was washing my hair, it was very easy to lather the shampoo, and the conditioner was thick and felt very smooth when I put it into my hair. I have to admit, I was a bit worried. As a frizzy haired person with very thick hair, I would not have selected the volumizing line. I probably would have grabbed the Nourish + Moisturize one since my hair is very dry year round. When my hair was washed, I loved how easy it was to style. I had no snarls and it felt so smooth.

Next up, I put in the Smoothing Shine Creme that is supposed to help with the frizzy issues I battle. I have to admit, I am not entirely sure how this worked. Thanks to wind, snow storms,hat, and scarves my hair was pretty abused during this time. I really am intrigued to see how it will do in the hot and humid weather that will be back here before we know it. Even with the extreme weather, I will say that my hair was extremely soft and seemed less frizzy in general.

Once again, another Aveeno line of products that I like and will definitely consider buying more of in the future.

Disclosure: This post was written for Family Review Network & Aveeno who provided the complimentary product in exchange for my honest reviwew. No other compensation was given and all opinions are 100% mine.

Categories:
me moments Product review

Have Some Tacos Tonight – Giveaway

Posted on December 16, 2010 8:25 am by TheAngelForever

When I was growing up, it was always a treat to have tacos for dinner. For a while we would do this on Sundays. My mother would line the table with fun toppings, ground meat, and taco shells.

In our house, we make tacos from time to time. When we use real meat, it is often ground turkey. Typically we use burger crumbles that are soy based. If we do this, we can use real cheese for our kosher dining. With burger crumbles we can also experiment with other recipes that can be found on web sites like Betty Crocker that include meat and dairy.

Recently we were asked by MyBlogSpark to try out some Old El Paso products for our family taco night. Since it seemed like a fun idea, we jumped at it. I have to apologize that I do not have any photos. Our trial happened during the time that both of our cameras were not working and the new ones were being shipped.

Our boys are not big taco fans. To be honest, JSL (3) is a VERY picky eater in general. When we make tacos, we can usually coax NHL into eating the meat and other items that we have, but not always together. TechyDad and I like to make Taco salads. We use the Old El Paso 40% less sodium seasoning with our meat of choice and add in black beans and corn. We put this mixture on top of a big plate of lettuce, toss on some low fat cheese, and then some salsa. A filling meal that satisfies our Mexican food cravings. One other perk with Old El Paso products is that they contain Box Tops For Education. So you can earn money for your child’s school while you feast.

To add to the fun of family taco night, you can visit El Tacodor, the world’s only family taco night game. With El Tacodor, you can share a special night at home by challenging one another to a quick fire trivia, wordplay, and pantomime. Head over to El Tacodor to download instructions, a score card, and a challenge sheet so you can begin your fun. You can also visit here to download a printable coupon for $0.60 off any two Old El Paso products.

Giveaway:

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Old El Paso, one lucky winner will receive the following taco night pack like the complimentary one I received.

The Old El Paso taco night prize pack includes a packet of original Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip & Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 gift card to purchase your taco fixings.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – What is your favorite part of family taco night at your house?

1 Bonus Entry – What is your favorite non-taco Mexican dish to make for your family?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway (May be done once a day): Enter to #win a family taco night pack from @TheAngelForever and #MyBlogSpark http://bit.ly/fgxBBZ #Giveaway
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of December. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: I wrote this review as part of a MyBlogSpark campaign for Old El Paso. My family received the complimentary taco night kit and another will be provided to a winner of the giveaway. All opinons are my own and no other compensation has been given.

Categories:
food glorious food giveaway Product review

Don’t lose it, label it (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on December 2, 2010 9:54 am by TheAngelForever

As a teacher, I am big into labeling items that we own. I used to put my name on everything in my classroom. I do mean everything – down to the single crayon! I know it was a bit much, but when you spend so much in supplies you get to be a bit protective.

The same goes with items that belong to my kids. NHL is in second grade and I put his name on everything with a permanent marker. Of course, over the years we have found some items that do not work well with markers. Some items do not have labels to write on, or are so dark a black marker will not work.

When JSL started nursery school this year, I toyed with buying some labels. At about the same time a person from Loveable Labels contacted me about doing a review on my blog. Perfect timing indeed!

About Loveable Labels:

Loveable Labels was born in 2003 when Owner and President of the company Laura Porreca’s first child entered daycare. She was faced with labeling all of the items that belonged to her son. She realized that there was a need for personalized labels that would hold up the wear and tear that kids would put them through each and every day.

The original Loveable Labels included Regular and Slimline Stickers, Shoe Labels, Iron-ons and bag tags. The Regular and Slimline labels are microwave and dishwasher safe, the Iron-on labels can go in the washer and dryer, the Shoe Labels have an extra strength adhesive to stay put, and the Bag Tags are made of a durable and flexible plastic.

Seven years later, Loveable Labels offers many more items including metal tags, safety products for medical alert, household labels, and much more.

What we thought:

We received the Holly Jolly Gift Pack – Santa’s Pick (Christmas Jewels is in colors for girls). The photo above shows all of the individual labels that were included. The boys opted to have a hockey puck and stick on the ones made for us, along with our last name. There was a little bit of everything from Loveable Labels included to give us a nice sample of their products. When the package arrived, it was small and I wondered how it could all be inside. When I opened it up this is what I saw:

As a mom, I loved how organized everything was inside the package. The tabs were labeled so I could quickly get what I needed. The instructions were right in the back in case I needed them Best of all, everything was together for safe storage.

I think the Slimline stickers are going to be my favorite. Since they are smaller and fit on more items, they work well for putting on items that are around the house and head into school. Since NHL is taking our Nintendo DS all over, I decided that a first stop for our labels would be the DS and the carry case.

I am still trying to figure out how to use the Shoe Labels on my son’s boots. I am waiting to get some help from TechyDad to open them up and see if we can figure out a non-furry location where they will stay and be seen. I really hope we can find a spot since most of the boys at school have similar boots and labels would be an asset. In addition to this, I have put a clothing dot on the inside of JSL’s snow pants that will stay at nursery school. Love that the bright label will help him to recognize his own in the sea of similar looking pants within his classroom.

We are still testing the labels, but so far I am really impressed. I like how durable they appear and easy to read. My next goal is to wash some items and see how they hold up. I know some kosher labels that already own do very well in the microwave and dish washer.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Loveable Labels, one lucky winner will receive a Holly Jolly Gift Pack like the one I reviewed.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Go to the Loveable Labels website and let me know which icon you would like on your personalized labels if you win. There are 45, so lots of choices for boys and girls.

The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comments for each that you complete below to make sure you get the right number of entries.

1 Bonus Entry – What is the first item you need to label and why?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway (May be done once a day): Chance to #win a holiday pack of labels from @mylovablelabels and @TheAngelForever. Many ways to enter the #giveaway http://bit.ly/exPdRP
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of November/December. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done three times per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today December 2 and ends at 10:59 EST on December 12, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Disclosure: The review and giveaway were made possible by Loveable Labels. They provided me with the items shown above to facilitate this review. The opinions of this review are mine and I received no other compensation.

Categories:
giveaway photos Product review school Web business

Vote for the 2010 Toy of the Year Awards

Posted on December 1, 2010 10:55 am by TheAngelForever

While in NYC this summer, I had the amazing opportunity to spend an evening with several of the people that work for the Toy Industry Association. It was a nice chance to talk to them about our love of techy and education toys, along with the need for more focus on boy items.

Just before Thanksgiving, The Toy Industry Association unveiled nominees for the 11th Annual Toy of the Year Awards.

Established in 2000 as the "Oscars" of the North American toy industry, the annual Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards bring colleagues together to salute the "best of the best" and celebrate the success, creativity and playful spirit of toys and play.

This year they are doing things a little differently. This is the first year that consumers can also vote for their favorite products in 11 different categories. Anyone can vote from November 22, 2010—January 12, 2011. When you register your votes, you even enter for a chance to win toys from a category that you select. The awards will be announced Saturday, February 12, 2011 in NYC.

So what are the categories? Here they are with a brief explanation of each from The Toy Industry Association:

Activity Toy of the Year
Toys that inspire creative play through various forms of activity

Boy Toy of the Year
Toys developed for boys of any age

Educational Toy of the Year
Toys that help children to develop special skills and knowledge through play

Game of the Year
Children’s board, card, CD-ROM or electronic game formats. (Note: all electronic games must have an ESRB "early childhood" rating)

Girl Toy of the Year
Toys developed for girls of any age

Infant /Toddler Toy of the Year
Toys developed for infant children and toddlers (ages up to 36 months)

Innovative Toy of the Year
Toys that combine innovation and play value

Outdoor Toy of the Year
Toys designed for outdoor play

Preschool Toy of the Year
Toys developed for preschool-aged children (ages 3-5)

Property of the Year
Property that had the greatest success spreading its brand throughout the industry

Specialty Toy of the Year
Toys primarily distributed through specialty retailers

www.toyawards.org

Happy voting!

Disclosure: I just wanted to share this information with my readers. As a fan of toys, I thought this would be a fun experience for everyone involved. I did not receive any compensation for sharing about the Toy of the Year Awards, in fact I am less likely to win the prizes now since more people will be entering *wink*