Review: Superman Costumes at Costume Discounters

Pros: Fast service, nice quality costume, true to size, good value.

Cons:  This costume is so neat that now the little brother wants one too! :)

Summary: If you are looking for nice quality costumes in any size with lots of accessories to choose from, check out Costume Discounters!

Review:
My son chose this costume because his little sister begged him to; she wants him to wear it when she wears her Supergirl costume!  What a good big brother he is!

Our Deluxe Light-Up Superman costume came in the mail today, only three business days after we ordered it from Costume Discounters! Although the package was very small and light-weight, the costume seems very well made.  This Man of Steel costume includes the one piece body suit (including huge muscles) and a detachable cape.  The Superman emblem on the front of the costume lights up, which my kids thought was really cool! :)

The length and fit of the costume seemed true to the sizing chart offered on the site.  Since K usually wears slims, the costume fits over clothes, which is better on a cool fall day anyway. 

Another great feature about this company: Costume Discounters guarantees the lowest price on the web, or they will match the price and also give you 20% off. They also offer free shipping on exchanges, allowing you to try their costumes risk free!

Disclosure: We received the Superman Costume mentioned above  for  review. The opinions we have expressed are honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the product. No other compensation was received.

JourneyBee Travel Crib Review and Coupon Code

Pros: Very light weight, quick pop-up assembly, folds flat for easy storage or transport.

Cons: Does not come with a bassinet/changing table feature that some travel cribs include.

Summary: If you are looking for a great travel crib that is soooo easy to set up, is lightweight, stores and travels easily ...JourneyBee is the way to go! This would be a great item to keep at Grandma's house or to have on hand for visiting guests with babies and toddlers!

Purchase it at ParentLab.com and use coupon code: H5ezWmQ6 to get 10% off your purchase!

Full Review:

Okay, there are quite a few great things to say about this product! It arrived in a zippered storage bag with a shoulder strap and 2 smaller handles. The bag also contains a front zippered compartment which would be convenient to store toys, blankets or diapers in..

Take out the travel crib and it will gently pop open with no tricky assembly, and no trouble getting it to stay open. The mattress pad easily slides into a pocket at the base of the crib to make the bed cushiony. The JourneyBee comes with a soft fleecy sheet that attaches and lines the inside of the crib and can be removed and washed easily. Assembling and breaking down this crib was so easy it reminds me of the pop-up play tents and tunnels my kids have. This crib folds so flat that it could be stored under a bed or behind a couch.

Thinking back on the other travel cribs we have owned, I'm sure that they weighed at least twice as much as this one, were tricky and took a significant amount of time to set up and break down, and were annoying to store and travel with.

Below is a video of the first time we set up and broke down the crib...we didn't even have to read the directions... :)

The only feature I miss with this travel crib is an adjustable bassinet/ changing table feature that some travel cribs have.. However, the detachable mattress part of the crib could be easily used as a changing mat.

Overall we loved this product!

Find more info about this travel crib at ParentLab.com or follow them on Facebook or on Twitter.

Disclosure: We received a JourneyBee travel crib  to  review. The opinions we have expressed are honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the product. No other compensation was received.

Sadie the Paper Crown Princess: Review and Coupon Code

Summary:  If you have a little "princess wanna-be" in your house that is concerned primarily with her princess attire... Sadie, The Paper Crown Princess is a great book to show what it really means to have the heart of a princess (or Prince)....hint: it's not about the clothes or the shoes! :) A lovely little story to help instill generosity and compassion in little people.

Use coupon code "overflow" on the Sadie Website to get 20% off your book purchase!

Review: Recently at our house there have been a few episodes with a certain little 4-year-old "princess" over her clothes...If she doesn't get the dress she wants to wear, we hear loud dramatic outbursts of  "Then I'm NOT going to be a PRINCESS!!!" Good heavens, what will we do with her when she is a teenager?! After getting tired of hearing this over and over, I sat her down and talked with her about how some children in the world don't even have any clothes to wear, and about being thankful.  She stopped suddenly and was shocked and horrified..."Some children don't have ANY clothes?" 

"That's right," I told her. 

She thought for a minute and then looked at me in disbelief..."Then show me, where are the children with no clothes?!" :-o

After our little chat about being thankful and about children who don't have clothes, we have had far less trouble getting dressed in the morning! 

This sweet little book is a wonderful addition to our library and is a great way to talk to kids about what's really important.  In this colorful story with adorable illustrations, Sadie travels the world and learns about giving to others.  She learns how compassion and generosity bring far more happiness than having "princessy" stuff on the outside.  She even encounters a lovely surprise...she gets to see what a real prince looks like! :)

Learn how to join the Paper Crown Society on Sadie's website!  

Also visit the blog to learn more about Sadie's Summer of Giving and how YOU can get involved!

Disclosure: We received a digital sample of Sadie: The Paper Crown Princess for review. We always express our honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the product. No other compensation was received.

Lite Sprites by WowWee: Review and Coupon Code

The bottom line: This toy set is great for keeping kids attention for a long time.  Lots of different interactive parts, and color learning/matching activities.  Be advised if you purchase the Tree of Lite alone, it does not come with any Sprite characters...they are sold separately as are the accessories! The more accessories that you have, the more fun the whole set is.

Visit the WowWee Toy Shop and use the coupon code: blogpromo10 for 10% off of your total purchases!

Ok, the little people in our house were extremely impressed with the new Lite Sprite toys from WowWee! This set of toys kept 5 little girls (ranging in age from 2-11 years old) happily entertained for the longest time.  And to be fair, the boys thought they were kind of cool too. :)

Our set includes:
Tree of Light: Tree house with a stairway, an elevator, and a green scape base for the sprites to play in. The tree top lights up, changes color, and can spin!


Lite Wand with Prisma Sprite and Pod: Sprites can ride in their pods which attach to the Tree of Lite which can be rotated taking them on a fun "ride". The wand causes other toys and accessories to react with light, color and sound!

Lite Sprite with pod: each Lite Sprite changes to a rainbow of different colors and reacts to motion and the Lite wand.

Lite Sprites Lite Pets: pets are nice to add extra "participants" in the play... they come with a log to sleep on.

Lite Sprite Swing: Sprites can ride on their swing and magically change colors as they swing back and forth.

Six-year-old Wyn was delighted when she saw the magic wand. This wand is so completely magical as it makes musical sounds and lights up a rainbow of changing colors! We were particularly surprised when we saw that the wand has a sensor that can copy a color from almost any random object and reacts by lighting up in a matching color. Press a different button, and the wand changes the color of the little Sprite fairies and all of the accessories.

**Warning: We made a fun discovery! If the there are Light Strike games going on while Lite Sprites are "playing", the Light Strikes (also made by WowWee) change the colors of the Lite Sprite toys!  But never fear, the magic wand can overpower the Light Strikes until they run out of "health"!  :)

Thinking of purchasing toys from the Light Sprite collection or any other WowWee toys? Visit the WowWee Toy Shop and use the coupon code: blogpromo10 for 10% off of your total purchases!

Disclosure: We received the Light Sprite toys and accessories listed above for review. The opinions we have expressed are honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the product. No other compensation was received.

Paper Jamz Pro Series by WowWee: Review and Coupon Code

The Bottom Line:

- Expansion of an already popular line yields some entertaining additions.
- Something for everyone results in a fun "concert" experience. Pick your favorite.
- Still have pre-programmed songs that you will hear over and over and over again!

 WowWee Toy Shop 10% off coupon code: blogpromo10

We were blessed with several new items from the popular Paper Jamz line. In combination with nine children (not all of them ours), they were a lot of fun...and noisy! Now that I have recovered a bit, I can reflect on the experience as follows:

Pro Series Drum Kit
This is a pretty full drum kit, especially compared to stick-oriented setups, but it's on a much smaller scale, for fingers. It is pretty fun to play, The rhythms are challenging to keep up with, but the music (repeating over and over!) gets old fast (this applies to all the Paper Jamz players).
BUT! But now, in the Pro Series, you can load your own music on! Yes! Now we are having fun!

Pro Series Guitar
This guitar was really easy to figure out and was fun to play with. I had to threaten small children with electronic banishment unless they let me check it out, so does it rate with the 3-12 crowd? Oh, yes.
And now it rates with the 40+ crowd because you can load The Who and Rush on it! The Pro Series is the right direction.

Microphone - Amplifier
This mic - amp combo was a huge hit! The six-year-old conducted an entire TV show and did not willingly share. The voice modulator works great and is very fun, especially when you plug the unit into your stereo!  If the 4-year-old gets too close to the amp, the feedback gets pretty annoying! Still, this is a great addition to the band.

Justin Bieber Keyboard Guitar
After I finally figured out how to put this keytar into freeform keyboard mode, I was able to work with it. Until that time, Justin's voice popped out with a different line with every key, which the 3 year old thought was amusing. It is well-designed (as are all the Paper Jamz), but the real reason one will buy this (or not) is that Justin's name and picture are on it...and because it says "Paper Jamz"!

 If your kids, of just about any age, like performing like their favorite bands, I can't imagine a better set of "instruments"! The Paper Jamz name is well-known and the quality is good. When all the instruments get going, it becomes more of a cacophony, but maybe I'm too old. I'm still getting used to the no-button controls, but the kids pick it up just fine. Finally, the features on the "Pro" series (the ability to download your own music choices) definitely moves this series into the 12+ age range, and makes it easier on the parents' sanity.

Now, if I could only change the music on the Justin Bieber keytar... ;)

Thinking of purchasing toys from the Paper Jamz series? Visit the WowWee Toy Shop and use the coupon code: blogpromo10 for 10% off of your total purchases.

Disclosure: We received the Paper Jamz toys and accessories listed above for review. The opinions we have expressed are honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the product. No other compensation was received.

Light Strikes by WowWee: Review and Coupon Code

Bottom Line:
- A lot of friends + a lot of Light Strikers = Lots of fun.
- Extras are fun, but choose carefully if you are on a budget.

WowWee Toy Shop 10% off coupon code: blogpromo10

Light Strike is a laser tag-type system released by WowWee (the makers of the popular Paper Jamz music toys) this year. We tested two Assault Strikers, one Striker, and the various targets (mini, strike, vest, and the "Intelligent Targeting System" [ITS]). We also used several attachments (scope, refractor launch, enemy scanner, and rapid fire system).

The system works by sending infrared signals out from the Striker; any Striker that receives the signal and is not on the same team (blue, red, green, or yellow - yes, FOUR teams are possible!) loses health. How much depends on the type of shot. Each Striker can change the type of shot it produces, akin to shotgun, sniper, silenced, etc. The Assault Strikers have more options, but the smaller Strikers are quite effective and have some options. They also have an advantage: when playing in the dark (which is a blast), it is hard to find the Paper Jamz-like sensor locations on the sides of the Assault Strikers, but the Striker G.A.P.-024 that we tried has actual buttons on the top. If you get used to the locations, maybe it would not be a big deal, but I prefer a button I can feel when my other senses are engaged trying to see friend or foe.

The ITS is a cool gadget. The team who shoots it five times first "owns" it, then it goes into one of three modes: Medic, Bomb, or Sentry. In Medic mode, the "owning" team can shoot the ITS (which also rotates, making this more difficult) and restore health. Sentry mode can shoot players of opposing teams, while the Bomb sends out a signal that depletes health of opposing teams really fast. It is a fun device, but should be used in close quarters for best effect. The other targets begged one big question: "Why?" When shot, all they do is turn the color of the Striker that did the shooting. Given more time, we may think up some games to play with them (Capture the Flag is possible, but it would be easy to cheat). It may help to include some game ideas right in the packaging, or at least some on the website. Beyond that, the instructions were accurate, but minimal (and had tiny type).

The other attachments supposedly improve aim, destructive power, etc. I am sure that given enough time, maybe we would have developed greater sophistication with the system to use these effectively, but it was just a lot of fun to run around shooting each other and the ITS.

 I enjoy tag-type games a lot and was really looking forward to this review. I played with a couple of 8-year-olds who enjoyed the experience immensely! The worst thing is that I wish we had more Strikers and more people - the more the merrier! The devices were robust (8-year-olds are not gentle with toys) and worked quite well. The range was about 10-20 yards, which made our large-ish yard (200ft x 80ft) a bit too big. Our small-ish house, though, was too close for comfort. Thus, I recommend a small yard with many obstacles for cover, or inside a large house or building. For us, the next stop is our big old church! It would not be the first time such games have been played there.

Overall, it was a fine experience with the system. If I were looking at scaling up for a youth group or recreation group, this system would definitely be on the short list. Again, with a limited budget, I would focus on more Strikers and less on the extras, with the possible exception of the ITS. The Assault Strikers are great for more complex scenarios, but the basic sets are good for a lot of fun. WowWee has a(nother) winner here!

Thinking of Purchasing Light Strikes? Visit the WowWee Toy Shop and use the coupon code: blogpromo10 for 10% off of your total purchases.

Disclosure: We received the Light Strike toys and accessories listed above for review. The opinions we have expressed are honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the product. No other compensation was received.

WowWee Toys and Coupon Code!

Be watching in the next week for a review of WowWee toys!  WowWee is the creator of several super fun and unique toys including Paper Jamz, Light Strike, and Lite Sprites!

In the mean time, head over to the WowWee Toy Shop and start your Christmas shopping!  Use the coupon code: blogpromo10 to get 10% off of your purchases!

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.

Check out this great Uppercase Living deal!

Want to cozy-up your home or office and add some simple do it yourself decorating? These Amazing Specials won't last long...so order right away!

The holidays are almost here and Uppercase Living has the perfect gift for you!  Two exciting new promotions are being offered to help you save big this month. Until January 4 at 11:59 p.m. (midnight) MT, all 200 designs featured in the 2009 Fall/Winter Online Transition List can be purchased at 40% off!  In addition to this, your order over $50. will not be charged for shipping!

Kodak Gallery Giveaway!

Looking forward to using this one!  The Kodak Gallery will be giving away $15 gift codes to be used on their site.  In order to qualify, you must register and and agree to recieve future mailings from the Kodak Gallery.  Learn more, and sign up here.

Thanks Dealightfully Frugal!