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A serious note to my readers

Posted on November 29, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Time for a serious blog post. For the last several months, TechyDad and I have been rather quiet about something that has been going on behind the scenes. What started with an innocent Tweet back to someone we didn’t know has now escalated into much much more. I am sitting here shaking because I am so upset over this entire thing.

An individual believes that we are someone else, someone she knows. Thanks to this, she will not leave us alone. We have blocked her on Twitter and gone to other precautions to safeguard our family.

I can not go into a lot of specifics, but I wanted to let my readers, PR professionals, and companies that I have worked with know what is going on in general terms. Why now? Well, this individual has been threatening to contact you. Via blog contact forms and comments, along with other tactics, she has stated numerous times that she will be notifying you of our so-called "lying ways to get free items."

TechyDad and I have worked long and hard to build trusting relationships with everyone on our blogs and beyond. We hope that you will work with us while we try to get this matter taken care of.

Thank you for your support.

Categories:
me moments Product review real world news TechyDad vent

Tuesday Tales – The Twelve Days of Christmas Series

Posted on November 23, 2010 11:43 am by TheAngelForever

Books that include letters from the characters within them are big favorites of mine. Growing up, I remember adoring The Jolly Pocket Mailman by Janet & Allan Ahlberg. Then, when I was older, I loved Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. Recently, I received some Christmas books to review. As a Jewish mother, I do not read many Christmas books with my children. We tend to focus on Chanukah and generic winter books.

One of the books in the package caught my attention.

I was very intrigued and wanted to know more. Soon after that, I was in a book store with my mother and bumped into the New York City book from the series. I knew that minute that I had to sit down with NHL to take a tour of Washington, D.C. in this unique manner.

About the Twelve Days of Christmas Series:

The sensational Twelve Days of Christmas Series is back with six more places to celebrate: Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C.! Based on the belobed son, every Twelve Days of Christmas book presents a host of entertaining, unusual, and kid-friendly facts about each locale. Plus, each of the now sixteen books are written and illustrated by authors and artists living in the featured area. Whether you sing along or just read aloud, The Twelve Days of Christmas series is the perfect holiday gift for the young and young at heart.

More about TheTwelve Days of Christmas in Washington, D.C.

Christmas in the nation’s capital is marvelous-and Olivia’s getting to see it all, from the gorgeous trees sparkling near the White House to the fabulous Sculpture Garden where she and cousin James ice skate on the frozen fountain surrounded by statues. And of course, there are plenty of monuments, memorials, and museums-like the amazing Smithsonian, with the ruby-red slippers from The Wizard of Oz-and adorable pandas in the zoo, too!

The Twelve Days of Christmas in Washington, D.C. – Written by Candice Ransom – Illustrated by Sarah Hollander – Sterling Children’s Books – On sale October 2010 – ISBN 9781402763946 – $12.95 – Ages 5 and up

What we thought:

I have to immediately say that I was beyond impressed with this book. The fun letters on each page to Olivia’s parents about her time in Washington, D.C. are packed with so much. Not only did my son learn about the different attractions within the Capital, but he also learned about people like Benjamin Franklin, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and many more. As we went on our adventure through parks, museums, monuments, and other places within Washington, D.C. the illustrations connected us to the topic. It was like we were there with Olivia, her cousin James, and Aunt Doris. I must also admit that at the end of each section, I was singing along to the tune about Washington, D.C. with my son.

NHL enjoyed listening to this unique story. He was curious about the items on each page and listened as Olivia’s letters helped to explain what was going on. After we finished reading NHL asked if we could go to Washington, D.C. to see all of the items. Check out a few of the pages from inside the book:

This was a fabulous moment as a parent and teacher. My kid was excited about learning and wanted more! Bravo to the creators of this series. I now look forward to checking out some of the other books in the series to read with my son about other states.

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 Educational gift ideas Product review Tuesday Tales

A holiday treat from Mrs. Prindables

Posted on November 22, 2010 11:07 am by TheAngelForever

Caramel apples have a special place in my heart. You see, when TechyDad and I were long distance dating, we would meet up half way between where we lived. We would spend the day shopping, grabbing lunch, and then we would splurge and have an amazing candy coated caramel apple together before we went our separate ways.

Thanks to MomImpact, we found out about Mrs. Prindable’s Gourmet Apples.

In April, we were sent their Triple Chocolate creation. This apple tops my list as the best gourmet apple I had ever had. Everyone in our family enjoyed it and we talked about ordering some for family members since they are kosher certified. Recently, we were asked to try another one of the Mrs. Prindable’s gourmet apples. There was no way the boys would let me turn this down, so we immediately agreed. A short while ago, the jumbo Dark Chocolate Delight apple arrived at our house.

Before I share what we thought, here is a bit more about Mrs. Prindable’s.

About Mrs. Prindable’s:

Mrs. Prindable’s apples come in two sizes and are certified kosher. They have jumbo and petite apples available. The jumbo apples can weigh up to 1.5 pounds and serve 8-10 people. The petite apples are 8 ounces and serve 1-2 people. Both sizes are available in eight classic gourmet flavors that include:

Dark Chocolate Delight – apple dipped in creamy caramel, rolled in chunks of chocolate and doused in premium dark chocolate
http://www.theangelforever.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpTriple Chocolate – an apple surrounded by caramel along with milk, white and dark chocolate (this is what we received)
Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Almond – apple with peanut butter chips and bursts of dark and milk chocolate team up with whole almonds
Milk Chocolate Walnut Pecan – an apple hand-dipped in caramel, rolled in pecans and walnuts and smothered in milk chocolate
Milk Chocolate Toffee Walnut – an apple is hand-dipped in caramel, rolled in walnuts, smothered in milk chocolate and coated with Ol’ English Toffee
Dark Chocolate Cashew – an apple hand-dipped in caramel, rolled in cashews and smothered in dark chocolate
Dark Chocolate Splendor – an apple dunked in dark chocolate, covered with nonpareil-coated dark chocolate drops and topped with dark chocolate shavings
Milk Chocolate Pecan – an apple hand-dipped in our caramel, rolled in premium whole pecans, and smothered in milk chocolate

In addition to the 8 traditional signature flavors, Mrs. Prindable’s is introducing 3 brand new Holiday flavors. Now available are Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl, Double Chocolate Mocha, and Peppermint Bark. Mrs. Prindable’s also have special gift baskets and items for holiday season, including Hanukkah and Christmas.

During the month of December, Mrs. Prindable’s will be giving away an apple a day on their Facebook Page. All you have to do is "like" them and comment on their daily post where a winner will be randomly selected.

What we thought:

Our jumbo Dark Chocolate Delight apple arrived soon after Halloween. It was a nice break from the boys demanding something from their pumpkin haul. Since the boys recalled the apple from April, they were chanting for apple as TechyDad opened it up and worked on slicing it. As an observer, it appeared to be tough to cut. This is NOT a bad thing. It was thanks to it having such a large amount of dark chocolate on the outside. The good news is that TechyDad was up to the challenge and sliced up our apple.

Once again, I was blown away with the perfectly crisp and juicy apple found underneath the layers. The apple hit the spot with the thick, rich, and gooey caramel that was coating it. Now I need to admit something, I am not a dark chocolate fan. Thanks to this, I found the extremely thick layer of very dark chocolate too much for my taste. Of course, on the flip side TechyDad loves dark chocolate. He thought that the dark chocolate layer was a fantastic treat and enjoyed each and every bite of the apple, caramel, and dark chocolate creation. So my advice, if you are not a dark chocolate fan, please pick one of the other apples that you will enjoy more.

NHL (7) liked the apple and are all of it, while JSL (3) ate some of the chocolate off and then said he was full. The next day we still had some of the apple left. TechyDad asked if I wanted some. I told him I was interested in the apple, but not the chocolate. We struck the perfect deal. He pulled off most of the dark chocolate and had a nice plate full of that, and I ate the juicy apple slice with the caramel on top. See, we are a good team!

Now to figure out which ones to order for holiday gifts for some family and friends. Hmmm……..

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for MomImpact on behalf of Mrs. Prindable’s. My family received a jumbo Dark Chocolate Delight Gourmet Apple to facilitate our candid review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are from my family.

Categories:
food glorious food gift ideas photos Product review TechyDad yummy

Aurora Gifts – Giveaway

Posted on November 21, 2010 10:44 am by TheAngelForever

The other day I reviewed some items from Aurora Gifts.

At the end of the review, I hinted to stay tuned because something else would be coming from Aurora. Yes, Aurora is offering my readers a giveaway.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Aurora, one lucky winner will receive an item from one of the lines that I reviewed.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Go to the Aurora Gifts website and let me know which item you are most intrigued with and who it would be perfect for this holiday season.

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 animal would you love to see represented by the YooHoo & Friends line?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway (May be done once a day): Perfect for the #holidays, a chance to #win a plush from Aurora Gifts. #Giveaway from @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/9HFi5R
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 November 21 and ends at 10:59 EST on December 5, 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: This review and giveaway were made possible by Aurora Gifts and their PR company. 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 Product review

Holiday shopping with Aurora Gifts

Posted on November 18, 2010 4:08 pm by TheAngelForever

One of the great parts about blogging is learning about products that may be new to you. Prior to last year, I was not very familiar with Aurora Gifts and their line of kids toys and stuffed friends. Over the summer, we participated in a study about some of their new YooHoo & Friends and the website that goes along with them for children. It was a fun experience and the boys enjoyed playing with their new YooHoo & Friends critters. Of course, now when I am out and about I often see YooHoo & Friends in stores, along with other Aurora products.

Recently, I was contacted by a PR representative from Aurora to see if I was interested in reviewing some of their new items that are available this holdiday season. Each of them are sold for under $20 each. Since my kids enjoyed the previous experience with Aurora items, I said we would love to.

These are the items that arrived at our house:

More about the items we received from Aurora:

8" Large Lemmee Punk Rocker from the "Retro" YooHoo & Friends line.

Aurora’s international toy phenomenon YooHoo & Friends™ aims to please kids and collectors with the release of uber-hip YooHoo & Friends dressed in 60s, 70s and 80s retro styles. The collection is fashioned after some of the most famous pop culture icons of those decades (think Elvis, Madonna, Travolta from Saturday Night Fever etc.). The medium sized, five inch “retro” YooHoo & Friends are available in seven styles including 70s Love, Punk Rocker, Pop Singer, Vegas, Flash Dancer, British Rocker and Disco Dancer. The larger, eight inch versions include Punk Rocker, 70s Love, Flash Dancer and Pop Singer. Both sizes make sounds when squeezed (MSRP: medium-$8.99, large-$14.99).

YooHoo & Friends™ created the corresponding interactive website www.yoohoofriends.com, so kids and their parents can learn more about the animals (many endangered) and their natural habitats. Membership is free. On the site, visitors can play scores of games, download desktop backgrounds and coloring sheets, send e-cards, raise their own YooHoo & Friends character and much more. YooHoo & Friends is on Facebook (http://facebook.com/yoohoofanpage) and Twitter: @yoohoofriends.

10" Lea Lamb from the Dreamy Eyes collection.

Dreamy Eyes™ feature loveable expressions, big eyes and appealing cuddle material that just melts in your hands. 13 brand new styles include tiger, pony, pig, cow, lion, elephant, monkey, giraffe, cat, pug, Chihuahua, frog and lamb (10”, bean filled; MSRP: $12.99). Perfect for ages two and up!

8" Milly Wanna Be Princess and 8" Pink Kitty with Chocolate Carrier from the Milly Collection.

Milly WannaBes (8", MSRP: $10.99) are dressed as princess, ballerina or fairy. For girls three to seven who love playing pretend and dress up and aspire to be princesses, ballerinas and fairies.

Aurora’s plush toy pet carriers have been one of the company’s best sellers for over five years. Now Aurora has introduced a line of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry scented carriers with Milly. Milly Cupcake Carriers (MSRP: $13.99) include a removable eight-inch Milly plush animal (Mini-Flopsie) and for the first time, Aurora’s plush carriers are marked with scents lasting approximately six months (the carriers range in size from six to eight inches).

Aurora also has Paws Puppets, Aurora – Fancy Pals – The Original Toy Pet Carriers, and Cheeky Charlie & Carmen available on their websiteand retail stores this holiday season and beyond.

What we thought:

When the box arrived the other day, TechyDad told me that it said Aurora outside. I knew it was for the kids, but had no idea what would be inside – it was a surprise. The kids quickly surrounded us as we opened the boys. NHL and JSL immediately started to plot which was for each of them and stated that the pink ones were for Cousin SG. What I did not expect was them to argue over the the Retro YooHoo & Friends guy. I kid you not, to this day they both insist that it is theirs and demand me to agree. Why you ask? Well, they both love the guitar on it and laugh at the whistle call that it makes when you squeeze the tummy. For now, custody of Lemee is mine and I allow the boys visitation rights so they can rock out with him.

The kids thought that the Dreamy Eyes was adorable and wanted to see how soft it was. We were all pleasantly surprised with just how soft it and could see this becoming a child’s favorite to cuddle with. Because of the big eyes, it is not for children under 2. It would be a great addition to stuffed friends for the toddler/preschool set.

Both of the pink Milly plushes are absolutely adorable. I am sure my niece is going to adore them when we give them to her at Thanksgiving for an early Chanukah present. SG loves kittens, princesses, and cupcakes – so there is no doubt that my three year old niece will be in love. I know that if I was teaching, the cupcake Milly would be going with me to a desk to make a cute decoration.

Stay tuned, something fun for my readers will be coming soon thanks to Aurora.

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Aurora Gifts and their PR company. 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.