Review: Pajaminals Storybook Nap Mat and Cowbella plush toy

We received a Pajaminals storybook nap mat and a Cowbella plush animal for review. 

Pros: Fun, colorful, foldable mat for naptime, great for sending to daycare or preschool to use on top of cots, with babysitter, or to keep at Grandma's. Super soft, cuddly characters that encourage happy napping are always a plus!

Cons: The "storybook pillow" may at first be a bit exciting to "read" when trying to go to sleep. :)

Summary: If you are looking for a great cot-liner or sleeping mat for the babysitter or to keep at Grandma's, this is a great naptime product to have on hand!

Purchase: In most department stores and online. Prices vary.

Full Review:
If you haven't seen the new Jim Henson show called "Pajaminals" aimed at toddlers-preschoolers yet, it is showing on Sprout and NBC Saturday mornings. This show focuses on promoting preschool skills to help their days run smoothly. As a parent, foster parent, and teacher I can especially appreciate the part where they teach healthy sleep and naptime habits!

Along with this show, there is a new line of Pajaminal toys and products.

We loved the snuggle up story mat. It is made with premium fleece material and includes a plush book (all attached) that transforms to a pillow at the top.  Kids can use their imagination to tell stories about the pictures which could help with transitioning from play time to sleepy time. 

A soft blanket is attached at the side of the mat with colorful characters printed all over it. This mat is sized perfectly to fit on top of a nap cot or to use on the floor at babysitters house or at grandma's. The mat folds and velcros shut for easy storage. It is sized for a preschooler up to about age 5.

 

There is also a collection of Pajanimals plush toys (in 2 sizes) includes the characters: Apollo, Squacky, Cowbella and Sweet Pea Sue inspired by the TV series. We received Cowbella, who is made of soft fleecy fabric that is trimmed with silky ribbons.  These would make a great birthday presents for toddlers or preschoolers!

 

 

Disclosure: We received the  Pajaminals storybook nap mat and a Cowbella plush animal  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.

Zylie the Bear Review and Giveaway!

Summary:  Zylie is a quality bear with an adorable face that any child would love!  She is a classic looking 18 inch bear that can be dressed up in doll clothes and played with like a doll.  

Review:
As you can see, Zylie is not just a typical stuffed animal toy... She is an American Girl-sized bear that can wear 18-inch doll clothes and is dressed to go on an adventure!

Inside the little tote is a world map, a tiny journal, and a passport. This Zylie the Bear Kit also comes with a small chapter book about the places she visited in New York...

She comes wearing a flowery dress top, jeans,  button jacket and is accessorized with a little orange tote.  I love that her "designer clothes" are so soft and feel perfect for cuddling! 

Enter to Win Zylie!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We received Zylie the Bear for review. We always express our honest opinions and have not been influenced by the companies providing the product. No other compensation was received.

Review and Giveaway: Robby Wash Laundry Washing Ball

Pros: No carrying heavy bottles of detergent, no detergent spills or mess, no measuring, no large containers to store, reduced cost, hypo-allergenic, environmentally friendly, refillable, use with all washing machine types, wash 120 loads of laundry before refilling!

Cons: It doesn't fold the laundry..  ;o)

Summary: If you hate dragging heavy detergent jugs home from the store and would prefer to use something more earth-friendly and hypoallergenic, Robby Wash Ball is a great option!

Purchase it for $32.95 here

Review:

Okay, there are quite a few good things to say about this product.  I will admit that it's hard to believe that this little laundry ball replaces detergent for One HUNDRED and twenty loads of laundry!  The ball is filled with tiny balls contains activated macromolecules that claim to slowly dissolve dried-in stains by generating ions into the water. 

With six people in our family, we go through a LOT of laundry! After using this little wash ball for a few weeks it has been working surprisingly well! The clothes have been coming out clean and pleasantly fresh smelling, which is always impressive when you have small children! :)

 A few other things to consider:

• This is a time saver (no more shopping for and lugging heavy detergent jugs from the store).
• a huge space saver (In our small house, those big detergent jugs take up a lot of space)!
• a big money saver (I'm sure we've been spending more than $32 on 120 loads of laundry).
• There is a cap in the ball that allows you to refill it and continue using for years to come. *Make sure the little cap is placed on the ball tightly to prevent beads from falling out.

The wash ball also includes a stain stick to pre-treat stains before washing.  The jury is still out on this as we haven't tried it on everything yet, but I am pleased to report that after trying it on a white shirt with red frosting, the frosting is completely gone!

Giveaway! Enter to win a Robby Wash Ball below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We received the Robby Wash Ball by Oransi 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.

Signing Time On Demand and iPad 3 Sweepstakes!

                                                   

Pros: No commercials, watch any time or place, watch on a variety of media options, entertainment on the go, always there for you to load onto future computers, phones, or tablets!

Cons: Cost may be a factor..especially if you want them all!

Summary: This is a great stuff-free gift you can give your children or others that they can continue to use for years to come!

Review :

My 4 Year old was thrilled when she saw the pictures on this post and said, "Oh I LOVE 'silent' time with Alex and Leah!"  :) We've loved these videos since our children were babies, but since we bought our first dvd's, a few of them have gotten scratched and no longer work.  We love the idea of Signing Time on demand! No more storing dvd's or worrying about them getting scratched. And if you happen to get a new computer, phone or tablet,  you can just log in and reload the videos you've already purchased!

We received the digital video from Series 1, Vol. 5 video, ABC Signs..  This video teaches the sign language alphabet and also includes signs for numbers 1-10.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Signing Time, they are wonderful instructional videos geared towards children from infants to around 8 years old.  We love it!  These are great videos to have your children watch over and over again when you are waiting for doctor appointments or traveling, etc... These videos are also great tools to use in the classroom to promote better communication or to teach a second language. 

Click below to download a free Signing Time on demand video and enter to win an iPad3 until May 18, 2012!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Increase Your Baby Chances and Enter to Win a ConceiveEasy Starter Kit ($152 value)!

One of the very best days of my life was the day I became a mom!  I remember how much we wanted a baby and I will always remember the excitement of being pregnant for the first time.  It was so much fun announcing our baby news to friends and family!

I know that for some couples, it can be a very long wait which can create lots of stress on their relationship... Studies show that it becomes increasingly more difficult to get pregnant in your 30's and 40's. I was surprised to read that healthy 30 year olds have only a 20% chance of conceiving naturally and healthy 40 year olds have a 5% chance of conceiving naturally. 

The great news is that if you are wishing for a baby, there are ways of increasing your chances of conceiving more quickly and easily than ever before!  ConceiveEasy has developed a Trying To Conceive Starter Kit claiming a safe, all natural, 100% drug-free product called FertiBella. Clinical testing showed FertiBella to increase fertility in most women an average of 33% in as little as 28 days!

Also included in the kit is information on how to get pregnant as well as education on common causes of infertility. The ConceiveEasy website offers a phone number to call and talk with a specialist about any questions or concerns before purchasing their product.

Win it!
ConceiveEasy is offering one Be Blessed follower a 2 Month Supply ConceiveEasy TTC Starter Kit (a $152 value) with your choice of bonus gifts! Feel free to enter for yourself or a friend.

One winner will receive ConceiveEasy's Months 1 and 2 Starter Packs and may also choose one of the following bonus gifts:

Bonus gift #1: 20 Early Result Pregnancy Tests
Bonus gift #2: 20 One-Step Ovulation Tests
Bonus gift #3: 10 Pregnancy Tests and 10 Ovulation Tests

Apple iPad2 or Amazon Kindle Fire Giveaway!

 Enter below to win an Apple iPad 2 (16GB) or an Amazon Kindle Fire from Rafflecopter!

Review and Giveaway: ChicoBag Timeless Collection

The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a durable, washable, spacious, earth-friendly, reusable bag with style to tote all of your stuff in, this is the bag for you! This is an awesome plastic bag alternative, can be used as gift-wrap, can be given as a gift, is made from washable, durable fabric, stuffs into it's own little pouch, and easily fits into your purse or pocket! This bag has an open top so it's possible for things to fall out and there is no padding for fragile objects.

Full Review:
I am always surprised how light weight the package is when I receive a ChicoBag in the mail!  I just received a new bag from the Timeless Collection.  It is amazingly spacious and can fit huge amounts of stuff!  I just realized that my laptop with 17 inch monitor fits into this bag with ease (although there is no padding, so be careful if you are carrying computers or other fragile objects)... This bag has wide comfortable straps, the fabric feels sturdy and claims to hold up to 40 lbs!

Sewn into the side of the large bag is a tiny pouch with a clip that can fasten to a strap or keychain.  Turn this pouch inside out and you can stuff the entire bag into the tiny pouch!  I love the fact that this makes it super easy to tuck into your purse, pocket or attach to a key chain making it easier to remember to bring your reusable bags to the store.  As with all ChicoBags, this one is made from a material called rePETe.   RePETe is made from recycled materials, mainly recycled plastic bottles!

These bags from the Timeless Collection are so pretty, any of them would make a great reusable gift bag!

Visit ChicoBag on Facebook and Twitter!

This Giveaway ends 12/21/2011. Open to continental US residents only.

**To Enter:  If the giveaway form is not loading or says that it has ended, click here and wait for Rafflecopter to load.  Thank you!

Becoming Jewelry Review and Giveaway

I was delighted when I received this sterling silver handcrafted My Whole Heart Necklace.  It is so elegant and simple and also so special to me with the names of some of my favorite people stamped around it. Becoming Jewelry specializes in creating beautiful handcrafted personalized jewelry and gifts.

The beautiful hammered gold-filled heart layers on top and compliments the silver charm.  I love the quotes and verses on the website and some come attached to certain jewelry items giving them extra charm! My necklace came pleasantly packaged in a tiny cloth gift bag with a tag that says:  

"i love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach."
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

This necklace would make a special and personal gift for just about any occasion and can be personalized with either names or a phrase that is close to your heart.

Below is another example of a necklace that I like with a neat saying:

If you are looking for a unique and extra special gift, check out the Becoming website!


Purchase: Becoming gifts can be purchased here.

Want to Win?!
Becoming has offered a $25 gift certificate to one Be Blessed reader! 

You may enter ANY or ALL of the following ways:
***Please leave a separate comment for each entry, and also your email if it is not on your profile.  Happy Entering! :)

Visit Becoming Jewelry and and leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite item is...

1.  Become a follower of this blog through Google Friends Connect (2 entries)
2. Subscribe to this blog via emails. This counts if you are already a follower too! (2 entries each)
3. Add the link to this giveaway to any current giveaway linky (2 entries each time)
4. "Like" Becoming on Facebook, follow her on twitter or leave a comment on her blog. (1 entry each)
5. Add the Be Blessed button to your blog or website.. (3 entries) Leave a comment on this site and let me know that you did.
6. "Like" Be Blessed on Facebook.
7. Like the post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment here. (2 entries)
8. Follow ReviewMama on Twitter.
9. 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 a beautiful personalized sterling silver jewelry gift! http://tinyurl.com/3qsquw5@ReviewMama #win #giveaway 
10. Let me know where you heard about this giveaway.

This giveaway will end June 21st, 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 notify you by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Disclosure: We received a My Whole Heart Necklace from Becoming Jewelry for 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.

ChicoBag Messenger Bag Winner!

Congratulations Julie with comment #123!  You are the winner of the Amethyst Chico Messenger bag!  :o) 

Julie said... 123

I like Chicobag on fB Julie Jones

May 10, 2011 8:42 PM

Thanks to everyone who entered! Be sure to enter the great giveaways listed for this month! (Click on the links in the upper right sidebar of this blog to enter)
*Winner must respond in 48hrs or a new winner will be chosen.

Review and Giveaway: ChicoBags

Pros:  Earth friendly and made from recycled plastic; so many great colors and designs; many styles and sizes to choose from; sturdy; light weight; easy to store, washable, water resistant,

Cons:  Magnetic closures may not stop objects from falling out, and large space capacity may tempt me to carry more than I should.

Summary: If you are looking for a wonderful, spacious, earth-friendly, reusable bag with style to tote all of your stuff in, this is a great one!

Purchase it:  at ChicoBag.com

Full Review:
I was so surprised how light weight my ChicoBag package was when it came in the mail!  I was also surprised how spacious the bag is... it seems much bigger than it looks on-line! This Messenger10 bag features 2 cocooned pockets to keep your water bottles snug, one large inner compartment as well as 2 zippered pockets, a comfortable adjustable strap, and magnetic and zipper closures.

This bag could easily fit a beach towel, sun lotion, water bottle and a good book!  It would also make a great school bag, a picnic bag, or even a great small diaper bag... Although I love the magnetic closures on the front flap, they may allow things to fall out easily if tipped or dropped.

The fabric in these bags is made with a material called rePETe™ who's main ingredient happens to be a type of recycled plastic (the same plastic used in drinking bottles)! Who knew that recycled plastic could be so pretty and useful?!  The rest of the bag (zippers, straps, pockets and tags) is made of recycled materials as well. These reusable bags are super light-weight and sturdy.  I love that they all fold up into a tiny pouch with a hook to make them super convenient to travel with!

ChicoBags come in a wide variety of styles, colors and uses...from school to grocery shopping, biking, or camping, or a day at the beach...there is a bag style for every occasion!

See what others are saying about them on the ChicoBag Facebook page.

Want to Win it?!

ChicoBag has offered one Messenger 10 bag in the color Amethyst to one lucky reader!

You may 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 each)
2. "Like" Be Blessed on Facebook and/or vote in my giveaway poll in the upper right.
3. "Like" ChicoBag on Facebook.
4. Like the post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment here. (2 entries)
5. Follow ReviewMama on Twitter.
6. 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 Chico Messenger Bag! http://tinyurl.com/3z9tl7b @ReviewMama #win #giveaway
7.  Leave a comment telling me how you would like to use this bag.
8. Let me know where you heard about this giveaway.
9. Add the Be Blessed button to your blog or website.. (3 entries)
10. Enter to win any other current giveaway on this site and let me know that you did.

This giveaway will end May 10th, 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 sample ChicoBag to review and one to giveaway.  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.  All pictures in this post came from the ChicoBag.com website.

We have a WINNER for the JumpStart Wii game giveaway!!! :o)

And the winner is:

 

Congratulations Denise S.!  

Denise S. said... 53

I follow reviewmama on Twitter: @lazybones344  March 7, 2011 4:35 PM

Thanks so much for entering everyone! Be sure to click here and enter to win one of 3 Words to the Rescue books and stay tuned for more great giveaways coming soon!

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.

And The Winner Is....

YAAAY!!!  We have a winner of the Walls That Welcome giveaway!  The winner is..."Mommy Kennedy"!  Congratulations Mommy Kennedy, and be sure to check your email!  Thanks everyone that entered!

Today is the LAST day!!! Get your entries in soon!

Just a reminder...The Walls That Welcome giveaway ends today November 30th at 12pm PST, so be sure to get your entries in!  Click here to go directly to the giveaway.

Walls That Welcome Giveaway!

I am SOOO excited about this giveaway!  Have you heard of Uppercase Living yet?  It is beautiful decorative rub-on lettering and designs for walls, windows, doors, or almost any surface!

Choose from a huge assortment of pre-made expressions, or completely design and customize your own with the MyDesign Suite creator on this site!  You choose the colors and size for the space you are planning to decorate!  Also, I'd like to let you know that it can stay up and look beautiful for many years, and when you are ready to take it off, it is COMPLETELY removable, and will not damage your wall!  This makes it great for dorm rooms, apartments and renters!  I love how cozy and welcoming it makes your home feel without adding extra clutter.  And more good news...it's simple to put on yourself, and it's a very cost effective way of decorating! (Think how much it would cost to have someone paint customized lettering on your walls!)

Walls That Welcome is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky winner!  Entries will be accepted until November 30th at Midnight PST, and the winner will be announced on December 1st.

How to enter:
First and *mandatory* entry number 1. Go to the Walls That Welcome Uppercase Living site, look around and leave a comment about your favorite product and how you would like to use it in your home.  Be sure to post your email address for each entry so I can contact you!

Entry #2. Post this giveaway and link on your blog, facebook, or twitter. (post and enter up to once per day day)

Entry #3. Visit AND follow the Walls That Welcome blog publicly and let me know that you did.

Entry #4.  Follow this blog publicly.

Entry #5.  Click here to join Decorating with Uppercase Living group on facebook and then let me know that you did.

Bonus Entry: Visit the application instructions and watch how easy it is to put expressions on your wall and tell me what you think.  (If I can do it you can! :)

 Happy Entering!