MomReviews

Summer isn’t over yet, and Disney Records is celebrating with tours of some of their best music groups like They Might Be Giants, Dan Zanes, Imagination Movers, and Choo Choo Soul! Thanks to Disney and MomCentral, we received five CDs to get us up and moving and let me tell you, these CDs are FUN! We weren’t able to get through every song on every CD because there are certain children in this house who insist on monopolizing the entertainment center with their oh-so-important video games, ahem, but we did discover some favorites in the bunch.

The CDs we received are:

• Ralph’s World, The Rhyming Circus
• Disney Music Block Party
• Imagination Movers, Juice Box Heroes
• They Might Be Giants, Here Come The 123s
• Choo Choo Soul

My personal favorite is Choo Choo Soul, because on the Disney channel, they play this video called “Steam Train”, it goes “All aboard the choo choo train, all aboard the choo choo train. All aboard the choo choo train, all aboard, all aboard”. Every time I hear it, I end up singing it all day! The singer, Genevieve, has a wonderful voice and a great sense of rhythm and style, I listen to that CD in the van even when the kids aren’t with me

Please visit the Disney Music Block Party website for more information about the CDs, about summer tour dates for Disney Artists (They Might Be Giants will be in Long Island, New York from Friday, August 22nd - Sunday, August 24th, 2008!), tips for throwing a block party, even a podcast for preschoolers! Fun!

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Until recently, every member of my family had their own MP3 player except for Kaitlyn. She was always snagging our players and trying to fit the ear buds in her teeny ears, upset that she didn’t have one of her own. And then we received this SweetPea3 Player from Mary at Orca Communications and our problem was solved! Made by Peapod Toys, the SweetPea3 MP3 Digital Music Player is encased in soft rubber that makes it comfortable to hold and tough in case it’s dropped, and it’s just the right size for little hands. The speaker design means no headphones are needed, and with just three buttons, my 2 1/2 year old has no problem figuring out how to turn it on and scroll through the songs!

The SweetPea3 holds up to four hours of music that you organize into three playlists. It comes with one playlist already created, ours has music by Susie Tallman & Friends as well as stories by Jim Weiss. It comes with a USB cable and easy to follow directions for downloading songs from your CD collection on to the player, and you can also purchase songs from www.sweetpeasongs.com. Kaitlyn’s favorite is “Toora, Loora Loora”, which she calls “The Quiet Song”. I can tell that it is soothing and calming her when she listens to it.

Other great features of the SweetPea3: it’s water (and drool!) resistant, lasts up to 40 hours on a single AA battery or you can use the included power supply cable, and it has a parental volume control so you can assure that it won’t be too loud for your child. You can also set it to auto-shutoff after a certain amount of time, we all know how kids like to turn a toy on and then walk away leaving it running! At $69.95 the SweetPea3 is comparable in price to other MP3 players, and since it’s designed for ages 0-8, it would make a great, long-lasting gift! Visit Peapod Toys for more info!

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Although I am too busy during the day to watch them now, I used to be HOOKED on CBS Soaps. I started watching “Young and the Restless” with my Grandma Sullivan when I was in elementary school and would visit her during the summer, she called it her “story”, and there was NO TALKING during Grandma’s story. Starting in the 6th grade, I would come home from middle school just in time to watch the second half of “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light”. On days when I stayed home sick, I indulged myself in the whole CBS lineup, starting with Y&R, then “Bold and the Beautiful”, then ATWT and Guiding Light. When I started my job at the Credit Union, we tuned into the CBS radio feed and listened at our desks, timing our lunch breaks so we could watch a solid hour on the lunchroom TV.

And now, thanks to SOAPnet, I can stay caught up on the characters and stories of my CBS “stories” any time I want! SOAPnet is more than just daytime TV, too, it’s been relaunched to include coverage of entertainment, stars, pop culture, beauty and fashion news in an “informed, engaging editorial style.” The SOAPnet channel shows not only daytime soaps, but also reruns of old shows like “Beverly Hills: 90210″ (so cheesy it’s cool again), and new shows like “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Pushing Daisies”. For each show you can click links for recaps, cast info, even message boards.

To celebrate the re-launch of SOAPnet.com, a very generous sponsor is offering some AWESOME reader giveaway prizes! Here’s what I have to give away to four VERY LUCKY winners:

A MARC JACOBS wallet!
(Image coming soon)

A $25 Gift Card to Barney’s!
http://www.barneys.com/Barneys%20Gift%20Card/BARNE06,default,sc.html

A $15 Gift Card to Pinkberry!
http://entertainmentaccessspotlight.com/pinkberry.jpg

A $15 Gift Card to iTunes!
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/giftcards/itunes/gallery

Contest Rules:
To be eligible for this giveaway, you MUST do the following:

1. Visit the SOAPnet website then come back here and tell me, in a comment, one show that you watch or enjoy reading about that has a page on the SOAPnet site.
2. Subscribe to this blog’s feed using the RSS Subscribe links in the sidebar, OR Stumble this post (the first person to Stumble will need to write a short description), OR submit the post to Digg or Kirtsy using the links at the end of the post, OR write a short post about this giveaway on your own blog linking back to this post’s URL. In the same comment as above, tell me which one of these you did.
3. Make sure you leave a valid email address in the comment field, winners will be chosen at random and informed by email and will have three days to reply with their full name, mailing address and daytime phone number for shipment of prizes.

This giveaway ends Monday, August 18 at 11:59 PM EST. I will use random.org to generate a sequence using the number of valid entries received, and the top four numbers in the sequence will be the comment numbers that win. The first number randomly chosen wins the Marc Jacobs bag, the second number chosen wins the Barney’s Gift card, the third number chosen wins the Pinkberry Gift Card, and the fourth number chosen wins the iTunes Gift Card.

Disclaimer: Prizes awarded in this contest are being provided by a sponsor. MomReviews is not responsible for changes to prizes based on availability. Winners will be provided with the sponsor’s email address and must contact them directly with questions about the prize.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

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After BlogHer in San Francisco last month, I flew home on a red-eye flight that left at 9:50 PM and arrived at 5:20 AM. As we boarded the plane we each took a pillow out of a big cardboard box, and there was a blanket on each seat. Now, my blanket was folded and wrapped in plastic, so it may have been new, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I slid the pillow into a special airline-pillow-sized pillowcase that I bought online, and took out the CHILD’S TRAVEL PILLOW and INFANT SIZED FLEECE BLANKET I had bought at Walgreen’s before I left and had packed in my suitcase. My Winnie The Pooh (oh YES it was!) blanket might not have been much larger than the airline blanket, but at least I knew I was the only person to use it. Because if you think that airlines WASH those blankets between flights, well, yeah, they don’t.

I was comfortable enough sleeping with my head against the window, propped up with my pillow, the airline pillow in the pillowcase, with the folded and still-in-the-plastic blanket under that, and I covered as much of myself as I could with my little blanket, but I was still so COLD. Why is there a stream of ice-cold air running along the floor of airplanes? My feet felt like ice cubes when I woke up!

So yeah, it worked out okay, but then I come across the Cabin Cuddler and I’m all OMG, I SO could have used that instead!

Check this out-US Airways Express captain Jim Levings saw people on his flights struggling to get comfortable and stay warm while traveling in the summer, wearing shorts and t-shirts, while their seatmate had the cold air blasting straight down. Standard airline blankets are not only too small for most people anyway, they don’t even come close to covering your feet. Captain Levings thought, why not make a travel blanket that covers the whole body AND keeps the feet warm, AND is easy to carry?

He felt so strongly about wanting to fill that particular airline traveler’s need that he QUIT HIS JOB and invented the Cabin Cuddler with the help of his wife and sister! Now, how cool is that?!? He also saw it as a way for people to get some sleep if their flight has a long delay and they have to hang out in the airport. And the BEST reason to invent this product? For those of you who are squeamish, I just want to warn you, this is going to be REALLY GROSS:

There was another reason for creating a personal travel blanket. Levings says, “Blankets are reused on airlines no matter how sick people may have been who used them, no matter how wet, moldy, or germy the blankets were.” To complement the germ-free environment he envisioned, Levings includes an inflatable pillow in the soft travel pack, which can also double as a pillow case.

GAH! So this is why you need to BUY A CABIN CUDDLER travel blanket before your next flight-not only will it keep your entire body warm including your feet which are tucked nicely into a patented foot-pocket, BUT, it covers the SEAT OF THE PLANE, which I’m now envisioning as a festering pool of previous traveler’s germs and filth. You just lay it on the seat, sit down, put your feet in the pocket, wrap it around your shoulders, then buckle the seat belt around it. Your hands stay free and you stay warm!

Oh, and it comes in it’s own tote bag, which you can use as a carry-on item or slip inside a larger tote or backpack until you get on the plane. Some people even use the tote with the blanket inside as a comfortable seat cushion at sporting events! It also comes with an inflatable pillow which is as easy to blow up as a balloon, according to the website. I’m telling you, if I’m going to continue to fly every few months or so, especially flights at night, I need a Cabin Cuddler! I won’t even mind answering the inevitable “OMG, where can I get one of those?” questions I would be sure to get. I may have to switch to train travel unless I can get one!

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Created by two Moms, thought up when a three year old requested tutus for the 15 friends coming to her “Pink Party”. PrissyPoofs are comfortable to wear, look adorable, and can even be machine washed!

PrissyPoofs come in a wide variety of styles and sizes-TeenyPoofs fit newborn to 6 months! They look great with a t-shirt, turtleneck, or leotard, with bloomers, tights, or leggings underneath. This is Kaitlyn wearing her Knotty Poof, I think she looks beautiful! It made her want to twirl and dance around our yard, and really, for me, that’s what being the Mother of a girl is all about-providing her with something that makes her feel like dancing!

Each PrissyPoof is made from yards (and yards!) of tulle, and can be machine washed on delicate. However, it’s probably safer to carefully hand wash instead. If the Poof starts to, well, de-Poof, you can put it on a hanger while the shower is running and the steam will poof it right back up. If you are looking for a unique and beautiful Halloween Costume that is sure to be an attention-grabber, check out the line of SpookyPoofs. Kelly Ripa’s daughter Lola wore the LadyBugPoof for Halloween last year! Check out the entire site to find your favorite PrissyPoof for your Princess!

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