Mommy's Hangout/Atlanta Mommy Blogger/Jen Williams

VeggieTales Bob Lends A Helping Hand & Larry Learns To Listen *Review & Giveaway

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I’ve been a fan of VeggieTales since they first started producing the children’s show back in the 1990’s; I believe it was 1993 when the first show was first aired. I like the show because it teaches our kids moral integrity and values, something which in my opinion has been lost over the last few decades. Anyway, I recently had chances to review two new VeggieTales DVD’s that were released in September.

Bob Lends A Helping Hand – When Joe’s mother breaks her big toe, it’s Bob the tomato to the rescue, and Larry and Joe are right alongside him to help, in a super-hero kind of way. This isn’t really what Bob is expecting. Through the story children will learn with Larry and Joe that everyone can be a super-hero if they help one another, and lend a helping hand so to speak. The characters are so cute, and kids seem to be captivated by them.

The DVD also contains two classic VeggieTales shows: “Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue” which is a funny little play on the Mark Twain stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and “Lyle the Kindly Viking, it stars Junior the Asparagus as a Viking who makes a stand against other plundering, greedy Vikings.

Also included are some bonus features: a Singalong to “Bob Lends A Helping Hand”, the “Bob Lends A Helping Hand” interactive book, “How to Draw Tom and Huck”, and a little “Boiling River Family Activity”.

Larry Learns To Listen – One thing that children seem to have trouble with is learning that they have to listen and follow directions, at least that has been an issue with my own children when they were younger and even now that they are grown adults. In this VeggieTales story children will follow along with Larry as he learns to listen and the importance of following directions. You see Larry has gotten a new toy, and in his excitement he decides not to follow the directions to put it together. Even his friends tried to tell him, but he just wouldn’t listen. Well, to his dismay the toy doesn’t work and just goes “KERPOW!” So, in the end Larry does learn the valuable lesson of listening, and his friends are right there with him.

Also included in this DVD are the classic Veggie stories of “Pistachio” and “Josh and the Big Wall.” Together these stories help kids discover that God gave us friends and family to help us; if we listen to others, we won’t miss the valuable things that others have to say.

Both of these DVD’s retail for $10.99 on Amazon, I highly recommend the VeggieTales DVD’s as they are a fun way to teach our children morals and the right way of living.

 

WIN THEM! One lucky winner will win these 2 DVDS!  Just leave me a comment on another VeggieTales Dvd you would like or already have!

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Baking for the Holidays with Pillsbury *Review & Giveaway*

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It’s getting close to that time a year again. You know the time of year where you bake, and bake, and then bake some more. You make all those tucked away recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. You know the time of year, its holiday time! I think to myself, Yay, what a fun time of the year.

You know though that you don’t have to wait until the holidays to get down and dirty and bake away. I don’t know about you, but I love to bake, and even more so I like to eat what I bake. Now, even though I love to bake, that doesn’t mean I always want to break out the family recipes, sometimes I just want something that is quick, easy and still tastes really good. This is when the boxed cake mixes, brownie mixes, and cookie mixes come in.

I recently had a chance to review some Pillsbury baking products, and I have to say they were delicious. Pillsbury has several new baking products available just in time for the holidays, or just to make on a Saturday morning with the kids.

  • Mocha Fudge and Dark Chocolate Pillsbury Brownie Mixes
  • Pillsbury Cookie Mixes in Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Funfetti and Sugar Cookie
  • Sugar-Free Moist Supreme® Cake Mix in Classic Yellow and Devil’s Food
  • Sugar-Free Brownie Mix in Chocolate Fudge and Milk Chocolate
  • Pillsbury Sugar Free Creamy Supreme® Frosting in Chocolate Fudge and Vanilla

What I had a chance to review was:

  • Mocha Fudge and Dark Chocolate Pillsbury Brownie Mixes
  • Pillsbury Cookie Mixes in Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Funfetti and Sugar Cookie

I’m not really sure how to explain how good they were. I love chocolate, and the brownie mixes created within me such a delectable, wanting more sensation that I could have eaten all of them in one sitting! I didn’t, and my stomach thanks me, but I know I just wanted more. They were especially good right out of the oven.

The cookies were just as good. The kids devoured them almost immediately after coming out of the oven. My kids aren’t really kids anymore, they are 25,23,20,16 but when it comes to cookies they act like they are 5, and my 81 year old father is even worse than the kids. He absolutely loved the Chocolate Chip.

I give thumbs up to Pillsbury for introducing some wonderful and delicious new products. If you are a Pillsbury fan already, then you’ll like what I’m about to tell you, and if you haven’t had a chance to try Pillsbury’s baking products, I encourage you to do so, and you’ll like what I’m about to tell you also.

Starting October 2, 2011 through November 30, 2011, fans of Pillsbury baking mixes, frostings and flours can visit www.pillsburybaking.com to enter the Pillsbury People Celebrate More Photo Contest. Fans are asked to submit a photo capturing an everyday family celebration, plus a brief description (140 words or less) describing the moment and how the family experience made them feel. Ten finalist photos and captions will be chosen and posted on www.pillsburybaking.com for a nationwide online vote to help decide the winner beginning in January 2012. The winner will also be invited to the ultimate hometown celebration for the Pillsbury Doughboy’s birthday this spring.

NOW WIN SOME! One lucky winner will be able to win the same items that i reviewed!

  • Mocha Fudge and Dark Chocolate Pillsbury Brownie Mixes
  • Pillsbury Cookie Mixes in Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Funfetti and Sugar Cookie

To Enter please leave a comment below sharing what you like to bake during the Holiday Season



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Faces of Grief: Stories of Surviving Loss and Finding Hope *Review & Giveaway*

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I was given an opportunity to read the book Faces of Grief: Stories of Surviving Loss and Finding Hope by Dr. Sherry L. Hoppe. It was the title that struck me, and really sparked my interest in the book. You see, I have suffered a lot of loss in my brief 46 years on this earth of ours. The greatest losses are that of people whom I have loved dearly. I have been a widow twice, I have lost in-laws, grandparents, children whom I have babysat for died in a fire, and my latest loss was that of my dear mother back in 2007. March 2007 may seem really far away for some; but to me it seems like yesterday.

Sherry address things that I have said many times and I still find myself saying. “Why is life so unfair” I have thought this over and over in my mind. To me losing one husband made life unfair, but to lose a second to death just a couple years later just exasperated my feeling of “life is so unfair”. As a Christian woman, I often wondered “Why did god say “No,” when I prayed for a miracle”?

The book is comprised of stories of real people, people who have suffered loss in their lives. They recount the circumstances surrounding the losses and the grief that was endured afterwards, but then they also share how the grief was overcome and those people were able to move on with their lives. I connected with so many of the stories, the feelings, the hurts, the anger, and all the emotions that come with grief.

This is a book that I would recommend to anyone who has lost a loved one, the stories of courageousness will give you the hope you need to carry on. I’d even recommend it to people who haven’t lost anyone yet, because eventually we all lose people we love and cherish, and reading this book, might just prepare you a little for the inevitable, although I don’t believe we can fully prepare ourselves for the loss of a precious loved one.

The book retails for $13.86 at Amazon

 

NOW WIN YOUR COPY HERE!  Just leave me a comment letting me know why you would like to win this book.  I will pick the lucky winner Friday 10/21/2011 @ 11:59 PM EST

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30 Things He Told Me But Can’t Tell You Because You Won’t Listen *Review*

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Mischa P. Green’s book 30 Things He Told Me But Can’t Tell You Because You Won’t Listen offers married women words of wisdom and encouragement so they can learn to strengthen and build on their relationships. This strengthening and building is done by learning and enhancing listening and communication skills. Mischa has put together a compilation of conversations that she has had with married couples, wives, husbands, single men, divorcee’s, single women looking to get married, divorced and remarried couples, coupled along with her own thoughts on marriage and a personal reflection on what she might have done differently if she could go back and relive her own now dissolved marriage.

The title is important because it explains that the book is coming from the male perspective. Men so often don’t seem to verbally convey what they are thinking or feeling, and this book can give a women some serious and most certainly valuable insights to what the men in their lives might be thinking. The book follows 30 different conversation topics and each topic is actually based on a direct quote from someone’s actual husband, the quote is immediately followed by a commentary and what I think might be the best part of each topic is the “what might be helpful” section at the end of the topic. The “What might be helpful” section discusses various things that might help in the given situation. Some topics that are discussed are:

  1. “We like gifts to. Men like gifts just like yall’ women do”.
  2. “I am not those other dudes –Deal with me on the strength of who I am, not who they were”.
  3. “How she treats me has everything to do with how I treat her”.

That’s just a small glimpse of the topics; remember there are 30 of them. As I was reading I thought back to my own marriages, both of which ended in death of my husbands, but I could relate to what Mischa was saying, and if I ever get married again I will be taking her teachings to heart and mind.

The book is easy to read, and keeps your attention. It’s definitely written for awakening women. Women who really want to work on their relationships, women who are willing to wake up, open their minds and their hearts and listen to the men they claim to love.

For more information, please visit www.GreatnessNow.org

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Disney’s Cars 2, RIDEMAKERZ *Review & Giveaway*

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I recently found out that the age old adage of girls like dolls and boys like trucks is just plain wrong. I had an opportunity to receive a Disney Cars 2 Ridemakerz Truck, and I didn’t have any boys to build it with, so I built it with a group of girls ages 6-16! We had a blast putting this toy together, and even more fun playing with it after we were done.

The product I received was the Disney Pixar Cars 2 Hot Rod Mater Custom Kit. It came with all the pieces needed to quickly assemble the toy. Now, I’m sorry, but I forgot to take a picture of the toy before the kids got to it. They were so excited about getting to put the toy together that I had a hard time containing them. The good news is that I have a lot of pictures of them putting it together, and of the finished toy.

The company states that the toy is geared for ages 4 & up. Well, I’m 46 and my daughter is 16, we both love anything that is Disney/Pixar related, so we definitely show that older people can enjoy this toy. A friend of the family has daughters ages 6, 9, and 10 and they participated in the assembly of the toy, they also had a really good time putting it together, so the company is right, it’s appropriate for ages 4 & up. Dis-assembled it has some small parts that a younger child might try and put up their nose or swallow, so the youngest I would recommend would also be 4.

You can purchase parts or pre-packaged Ridemakerz at Toys-R-Us, or you can make things even more fun by customizing your car/truck at the company’s website. You can choose the body type, and there are at least 30 different body types to choose from. After picking your body style you get to pick the Chassiz style, Treadz style, Wheelz, Soundz & Accessories. By being able to pick each aspect of your toy you are truly making it your own and possibly even one of a kind!

So, if you’re looking for a gift for either a boy or a girl, this is one that can be made really special to your individual child.

NOW WIN ONE HERE!! ENTER BELOW!


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