Review and Giveaway: Auto-B-Good: Pirates of the Parkway

Pros: Nicely animated, lovable characters, cute artwork, colorful, captivating, episodes are short

Cons: Episodes are short, can't think of any others.

Summary: If you are looking for cute kid DVD's with valuable life lessons woven into the storyline for home or classroom use, Auto-B-Good series is worth checking out!

Purchase: Auto-B-Good: Pirates of the Parkway here.

The dvd we reviewed (Pirates of the Parkway)has 5 episodes:


Car Tune Pirates (a story about honesty)


Up From the Depths (Joyfulness)


Digging for Gold (Cooperation)


And bonus episodes:
A Tidy Plan (Cleanliness)


Shop 'Til You Drop (Self-Control)

Our thoughts:
My kiddos love to watch movies! As a mama and a teacher, I love when movies are not only entertaining, but also teach valuable lessons.  This was a really nicely animated movie series with lovable, colorful  characters and great lessons to learn! My kids love the fact that the cars and trucks in Auto B Good are the main characters. This dvd kept the attention of all the kids in our house with ages ranging from 3-8 years old. Even my 3 year old was able to tell me about the movie afterwards and understood the lesson in the story.  She said, "It's not okay to take away from people when it doesn't belong to you". :) My girls said they especially liked the "girl cars" and the boys liked the "boy cars".  My 8 year old said that he especially like the episode, "Digging for Gold" because he liked the way all the cars worked together to help a friend.




Giveaway: Auto-B-Good is offering one Special Edition DVD: Auto-B-Good, Pirates of the Parkway to one lucky reader!


Disclosure:  We received Auto-B-Good: Pirates of the Parkway for review.  The opinions we have expressed are honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the free product.  No other compensation was received.

Yoplait Greek Prize Pack Giveaway 5/20

I received my Yoplait prize pack in the mail yesterday!  It included a reusable grocery bag, a magnetic dry-erase menu planner board, ear-buds, an electronics case, and a shopping cart list and holder, a coupon organizer, as well as a free Yoplait Greek yogurt to try...

In the evening, I went looking for a snack and discovered that my Yoplait greek yogurt container was empty!  It turns out that my 7 year old (sunshine boy) ate the yogurt before I could get to it...so I told him: "Guess who gets to review it?"  ;)  So here are 7-yr old K's thoughts on the matter:

It was good (I love blueberries, mmm!), it was purple, it was tangy, I forgot to smell it (but I`m sure it smelled good), It was soft and squishy. I think we should buy some more."  -7 yr old yogurt thief. ;)




Try It!   
Here is a Printable coupon so you can try it too!

Win It!
One Be Blessed reader will win a Yoplait Prize Pack including:

• A Coupon Organizer
• Magnetic Meal Planner Board
• An electronics case
• Retractable ear buds
• A pocket fold-up reusable shopping tote
• A magnetic shopping cart note holder and pen
• A coupon for a free sample of Yoplait Greek Yogurt

Mandatory Entry:
Leave me a comment about how you incorporate healthy snacks into your diet
or leave me a comment about your favorite kid snacks.

Follow or "like" yoplait in any of the following: (2 entries each, please leave a comment for each entry)

•  Be Blessed on Google Friends Connect and/or subscribe to emails. This counts if you are already a follower too! (2 entries each)
• Yoplait on Facebook
• Yoplait on Twitter
• Yoplait Greek at Yoplait.com
• Printable coupon for Yoplait Greek yogurt
• "Like" Be Blessed on Facebook
• Like the post about this giveaway on Facebook. 
• Follow ReviewMama on Twitter.
• Post about this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and let me know that you did. (Enter daily if you'd like..) Tweet or facebook this: 
  "Win a Yoplait Greek Prize Pack http://tinyurl.com/4xlnm84@ReviewMama #win #giveaway @YoplaitYogurt #MyBlogSpark"
• Let me know where you heard about this giveaway.
• Add the Be Blessed button to your blog or website.. (3 entries)
• Enter any other current giveaway on this blog 

This giveaway will end May 20th, 2011 at 11:59 pm (EST). The giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen using random.org and I will be notifying you by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen.

***Please leave a separate comment for each entry, and also your email if it is not on your profile.  Happy Entering! :)

Disclosure: We received  a Yoplait prize pack and a coupon for a free yogurt to review by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.  The opinions I have expressed are my honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the free product.  No other compensation was received. 

Review: Bloom Avenue, Giveaway Coming Soon!

I received the prettiest, springiest bouquet of flowers delivered right to my door today!  They are so colorful and beautiful that they totally brightened up the whole room!  They were delivered on time by a local florist that is not the closest to my location, but just happens to be my favorite!  They always do such an amazing job!

This bouquet was beautifully and carefully arranged with a lovely mixture of pink and orange gerbera daisies, tulips, roses, mums as well as sprigs of fresh greens.  It came in a pretty ceramic garden dish accented with shiny pink ribbons.

They were ordered through a new website called Bloom Avenue.  When you order a flower gift through Bloom Avenue they make it super easy!  Choose a flower arrangement that you like from their website and they do the work of finding the highest quality florist in your desired location and having your order delivered to the place of your choice. 

Bloom Avenue describes their mission as helping you express your sentiment through beautiful flowers, at the right price, and delivered in a timely manner.

These would make a wonderful surprise for Mothers Day or Easter of any occasion.


Win flowers! 
Check back soon as we will be hosting a Bloom Avenue Giveaway and Coupon Code!
 Disclosure: We received  flowers to review from Bloom Avenue.  The opinions I have expressed are my honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the free product.  No other compensation was received.

Review and Giveaway: Words to the Rescue, by Steve Fadie

Pros: Pleasantly designed, lots of choices for different occasions, funny and serious messages included,  fun to read, time saver when writing lots of notes or thank yous...

Cons: Several sayings I will probably never use; would love more sub-categories....

Summary:  If you are looking for a great little book to help you write extra-special notes to your friends, loved ones and co-workers on just about any occasion, this is a wonderful resource to have!

Full Review:
Have you ever found yourself wanting to write something meaningful to someone you care about, but had difficulty thinking of what to say?  This is the book I have often wished for when trying to find the right words for special occasions and situations!  Since I love being creative and I love saving money (Wow, greeting cards are expensive these days!), I often make homemade greeting cards or gift tags, but coming up with thoughtful messages to write inside is not always as easy.

This lovely little book is full of a thousand thoughtful things to say when you need ideas!  Words to the Rescue includes messages for so many occasions: Birthdays, Congratulations, Anniversaries, Apology, Encouragement, Sympathy, Weddings, Thank Yous, Romance, and many many more...  I like the fact that you can use the ideas word for word, tweak them to make them more personal, or just use them as inspiration to create your own.  This pleasantly-designed little book would look great in a gift basket or makes a great gift with note cards or stationery and a pen or even card-making supplies for a crafty friend.

A few examples I love:

Anniversary:  How much stinking happiness can one guy take?

Apology:  I hope these flowers get me in the door/ 'cause what I did I won't do no more.

Birthday: To my down to earth buddy who's older than dirt.

New Home: Kick back and relax. You'll be making regular trips to the hardware store soon enough.

There are several sayings in this book that I personally would never use, but since all it takes is one and there are so many to choose from, you're sure to find something good.  I also found myself wishing for more organizational sub-categories like in the card shop... for example: funny birthday, messages to children, how to write a thank-you for a gift you don't really like, etc...  ;o)

Overall, if you are looking for a great little book to help you write extra-special notes to your friends, loved ones and co-workers on just about any occasion, this is a wonderful resource to have!

Want to buy it?:  You can purchase this book for $9.95 here on Amazon.com or from the Words to the Rescue Website.

Win it! The Author has generously offered a copy of this book to three lucky Be Blessed readers!

Entry #1:  To qualify for this giveaway just visit WordsToTheRescue.com and leave a comment about the book there and then come back and let me know that you did.

You may also enter any or all of the following ways:

1.  Become a follower of this blog through Google Friends Connect and/or subscribe to emails. This counts if you are already a follower too! (2 entries)
2. "Like" Be Blessed on Facebook and/or vote in my giveaway poll in the upper right.
3. "Like" the post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment here. (2 entries)
4. Follow ReviewMama on Twitter.
5. Post about this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and let me know that you did. (Enter daily if you'd like..) Tweet or facebook this:  Enter to win Words to the Rescue: The sentiment guide for the tongue tied http://tinyurl.com/5rwgvnm@ReviewMama #win #giveaway
6.  Leave a comment telling me about the occasions you would most like to use this book.
7. Let me know where you heard about this giveaway.
8. Add the Be Blessed button to your blog or website.. (3 entries)

This giveaway will end April 20th, 2011 at 11:59 pm (EST). The giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen using random.org and I will be notifying you by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winners will be chosen.

***Please leave a separate comment for each entry, and also your email if it is not on your profile.  Happy Entering! :)

Disclosure: We received a copy of  Words to the Rescue to review.  The opinions I have expressed are my honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the free product.  No other compensation was received.

Review and Giveaway: JumpStart-Escape From Adventure Island game for Wii

Why to buy: 
Entertaining learning tools cover a wide range of subjects; exciting, attention-getting, complex, cool graphics; incentives to keep learning; more age-focused than JumpStart World online, fairly priced, more motion-based interactivity with the program than with the computer; takes less time to load games than the computer

Why to blow off: 
Single-player mode only; cool graphics and entertainment “fluff” can distract from educational objectives

Where to Buy: You can purchase this game in many online stored including the Knowledge Adventure Store for $19.99

Full Review:  My kiddos and I were very excited about the opportunity to review Jump Start Escape From Adventure Island by Learning Adventure! We began the game by creating a completely personalized avatar called a "Jumpee".  There are lots of ways to dress up your Jumpee, but you will need to earn points by playing learning games and earn "sand dollars" in order to purchase and unlock all of the choices. Once you are in there is a whole island to explore, fun characters to listen to, and barnacle bay to swim through.  

If you've ever tried  Jump Start World online, this Wii game is very similar in that it is a seemingly endless virtual world full of kid games.  A couple things we prefer about the Wii game are first that it is more age focused (there are no toddler games for big kids to play and earn points on) and second that the Wii controller allows for more motion-based interaction. 

By playing the games, kids can practice over 150 reading, math and critical thinking skills.  A few of our favorites games are "Jet Pack", "Runway" and "Rubble Trouble".  In "Jet Pack", your Jumpee flies through space in a race to make sure that sentences are capitalized correctly.  In "Runway", kids practice following directions and listening skills by choosing the best clothing to match the occasion.  (For example: Finding all the parts to a yellow firefighter uniform.)  In "Rubble Trouble", kids learn math and counting by 5's, 10's, etc...

Being a four-kid household, we wished that this was not just a single-player game, but alas, another opportunity to learn to share and take turns.
  
Summary: If you are looking for a fun and entertaining Wii game that your 5-9 year old will love with a lots of learning games in the mix at a decent price, you'll love Jump Start World!

Win It!  Jumpstart has offered to give away a copy of Escape From Adventure Island for Nintendo Wii to one lucky reader!

Mandatory Entry: Visit JumpStart and let me what you would like your children to learn from this game.

Extra Entries: 

1.  Become a follower of this blog through google connect. This counts if you are already a follower too!
2. "Like" Be Blessed on Facebook and leave your username.
3. "Like" Jumpstart on Facebook and leave a comment.
4. Follow ReviewMama on Twitter and leave your username..
5. Post about this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog and let me know that you did. (Enter daily if you'd like..) 
6. Tweet:  Enter to win a kids Iearning game for Wii by JumpStart: http://tinyurl.com/4e75fsb @ReviewMama #win #giveaway
7. "Like" this post on facebook:

This giveaway will end March 31st, 2011 at 11:59 pm (EST). The giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen using random.org and I will be notifying you by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry, as well as your email if it is not on your profile.  Happy Entering! :)

Disclosure: We received JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island Game for NintendoWii by Knowledge Adventure to review.  The opinions I have expressed are my honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the free product.  No other compensation was received.

Win a 3-D TV from Movies On Demand! Also Studio Poster Giveaway...

Movies On Demand would like to get the word out about Awards Season and their “How Many Have You Seen?” poll on their Facebook page with a survey and a chance to win a 3-D TV!  One winner will receive a 46 inch SONY Bravia 3-D HDTV and 4 weekly winners will get Movies On Demand for one year. Click here to go Movies On Demand's Facebook page to enter.

**Movies On Demand GIVEAWAY**
Also, Movies On Demand has offered studio movie posters to one Be Blessed reader... The winner may choose two posters of their choice of the following movies:

• Easy A

• Despicable Me

• The Social Network

• Burlesque

• The Tourist

• 127 Hours 

Mandatory Entry:  "Like" Movies On Demand's Facebook page, and leave me a comment that you did.

Extra entries:

• Leave me any comment about...
• Which movies are your favorites?
• Which movies you would like to see?
• Did you see one that you didn't like?  
• Follow this blog, "like" Be Blessed on Facebook,
  or 
• Tweet and follow ReviewMama on Twitter.

Poster winner will be chosen using random.org on March 7th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST.

JumpStart World Review and Giveaway!

Pros:

Great learning tools cover a wide range of subjects; exciting, attention-getting, complex, cool graphics; several learning levels; incentives; fairly priced

Cons:

Cool graphics and entertainment “fluff” take time to load and can even distract from educational objectives; no parental controls; no progress assessment tools for parents/teachers.

Summary: If you are not looking for a full curriculum but an excellent and wide-ranging unstructured and entertaining supplementary learning tool at a decent price, you'll love Jump Start World!  You can join JumpStart for free limited access to learning games...or become a member and get access to TONS more learning games and rewards... 

Full Review: My kiddos and I were very excited about the opportunity to review Jump Start World by Learning Adventure!  Although we use books, workbooks and lots of hands-on learning materials in our home, computers seem to be one of our favorite and most effective learning tools. 

If you've never seen Jump Start World online, it's a seemingly endless virtual world full of fun learning games for kids.  Story Land is geared towards preschoolers ages 3-5. Adventure Land and Marine Land are geared for ages 5-8, and Future Land is for ages 8-10. My kids have been exploring all of the "lands" not necessarily in their age group, and have barely scratched the surface!  There is sooo much more to explore.

You start out by creating a completely personalized avatar called a "Jumpee" and naming it.  My “spicy” little girl that just turned five was delighted that she could make her "Jumpee" have purple pig tails and put a flower in her hair!  She named her Jumpee "Julia Sparklewing".  "Kyle Firewing" is a Jumpee that was created by my fun six-year-old boy and is sporting a "fast-looking" flight suit.  

Enter JumpStart world and your child will be welcomed by cute animal friends with instructions and ideas on where to play.  The landscape in this world is colorful and creative and is decorated to match the current holidays and seasons.  Playing learning games earns virtual coins that can buy pets, new clothes for your Jumpee, as well as other things to decorate and personalize their "world".  “Kyle” loves earning coins to buy pets and pet accessories.  “Julia” loves earning coins to buy furniture and decorations for her virtual room.

These learning games cover a huge spectrum of different subjects... Math, Reading, Language, Spelling, Art, Music, as well as how to be a good friend, good sportsmanship, and caring for pets. “Kyle” is doing great with the spelling and math games in the“IQ actionizer” in Future Land. 

There are also parent content pages, parent forums and the Jump Start Blog.  The Blog has articles about new aspects of Jump Start World as well as hands-on family learning activities, recipes and projects to do together.

The site is so vast that I am not sure of anything that is missing, except the following:

• I found myself wishing for comprehensive parental/teacher controls to be able to direct a child to a specific learning activity, or to put a timer on their play time.  (My kids love playing soooo much that we often have to set the timer to keep them from playing all day or to give their sibling a turn.) 

• Wouldn't it be wonderful to see a “Land” in Jump Start that teaches foreign languages? 

• It would  also be nice to be able to access a progress assessment for my children. 

Overall, a very attractive package for a good price, but you need to keep your kids on task if you want them to get something out of it besides entertainment!

GIVEAWAY!  

Now for the fun part... Jumpstart is giving away a THREE MONTH family membership to Jump Start World!

**To win, just enter one or all of the following ways below and leave a comment for each entry.**  A winner will be randomly chosen on March 31^st and notified by e-mail. 

1. Click here and visit the “About Jumpstart” page.

2. Become a follower of Be Blessed, Fan Be Blessed on Facebook, or Follow on Twitter.  (1 entry each)

3. Post a button on your blog and post the link in the comments (3 entries)

4. Visit the Jumpstart Blog and tell me what you think...

5. Post this giveaway to facebook, twitter and/or your blog (3 entries each)

Bonus:  Leave comments about what you would like to see your child learn in Jump Start World. (Enter as many times as you like! :)

Happy Entering!

Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

A few great bloggy giveaways this month!

Hope you are all having a happy January so far!  I thought I'd share a few fun giveaways I've found just from surfing around...even though I want to win! ;) Check them out...  Are you hosting a giveaway, or know of another good one this month?  Post them in the comments here so we can all enter!
Happy entering!
Click here for a chance to win a $25 Walmart gift card!

Click here to enter to win a Safe Sippy, or Safe Sporter kid cup that is BPA and chemical free!

Enter here to win an adorable flower headband and tutu for your preschooler!

Enter here to win a "Mop Top Hat"...

Read here  how to enter to win a Natural e Green gift pack full of organic bath things worth $125.   *This site is also donating a portion of their proceeds to an orphanage in Haiti this month!

Enter here to win a Parazul handbag!