My toddler and preschooler loves Thomas the Tank engine. He is quite a hit with most children
between the ages of 2 and 8. My kids really enjoyed the new Thomas release:
Railway Friends which hit the shelves on February 10th. We enjoyed watching Railway Friends, which is filled with messages of friendship, and helping each other. Thomas & Friends always have great stories that display good morals and lessons that are great for kids to learn. We enjoy talking about how Thomas and the other trains handled different situations and problems. It is fun to peek into my child's thoughts with our discussions.
There are six episodes on this DVD:
Best Friends-Thomas is given a job that Percy REALLY wanted, without Percy even being considered. Thomas feels guilty and doesn’t know how to tell his friend and so he avoids him and Percy is hurt more by the avoidance. Thomas comes up with a way to help his friend feel better, and everyone is happy.
The Party Surprise- Colin, a loading crane, is sad because he can’t go to the party that the engines go to every year. His friend Freddie, an engine, decides to bring the party to Colin but totally messes up in the process by not telling his boss that he’s changing everyone’s plans. In the end he manages to make things right and Colin enjoys his first party.
Gordon Takes a Shortcut- Gordon and Stanley race to pick up important passengers. Gordon wants to get there first, and takes a shortcut that makes him more and more lost along the way. He refuses each offer for help. Then he accidentally creates a situation that is dangerous for his friend Stanley and rushes to make things right by asking for help each step along the way.
Thomas Puts the Brakes On- Thomas is entrusted with a load of valuable cargo, but his brakes are squeaking! Thomas refuses a generous offer from a his friend Stanley to help him pull his cargo safely. Along the way he keeps losing parts of his cargo as he is unable to slow down. With the help of three friends, Thomas helps recover the lost cargo and Stanley makes sure that it gets to the right destination.
Saved You!- Thomas tries to help his friends when they don’t really need help at all and in the process causes a lot of problems. Thomas believes that he has the time to help at first, but once he causes the problems he no longer has time to help fix them. After making too many of these mistakes he realizes what he has to do, and he goes back to fix all of his mistakes. When he is done he sees a friend that truly needs help and takes the time to ask before jumping in to help, and is finally able to save the day for real.
Excellent Emily- After a terrible storm, Emily is one of the few engines that hasn’t broken down. Sir Topham Hatt praises her and calls her “Excellent Emily”. Her ego is so inflated that she ignores the advice of her friend Murdoch and runs into problem after problem along the way. Finally Murdoch saves her, and she takes his advice. Along the way she takes the advice of others that know more than her, and arrives just in time. This time when Sir Topham Hatt praises her she reacts very differently and shares the praise humbly.
Railway Friends is an all-new version of what we know as Thomas! The people and trains are now animated~ with moving mouths when they speak. It definitely improves the older version (in my opinion). The scenery is always fun to see and the shots are realistic looking. My husband loves to model trains, and so he enjoys the Thomas shows, too.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Roary The Racing Car: My children love Roary, and always look forward to his episodes after the HIT shows.
Laying Down the Track Game: This little puzzle game presents you with different scenarios where you have to choose from four different track pieces in order to direct Thomas across the terrain and into a tunnel. There are quite a few variations of the game. The game can be played with a mouse on the PC, or with the TV remote.
Name the Train Game: This game shows different trains, fading up gradually from black and encouraging you to guess each train’s name. This name is read out loud and displayed on the screen. It is not an interactive game which makes it easier for younger children to play. Because the name is shown in text as well as the audio, it’s great for children with hearing impairments.
Trailers: The trailers that play at the beginning of this DVD are also available under the Special Features menu.
Shaun in Shaun The Sheep: Off The Baa! was a fun DVD for us to review, and we were very excited to see the release of Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-a-ath! From The Academy Award®-Winning Creators Of Wallace & Gromit™, Shaun The Sheep™ Returns For More Wacky Animal Antics.
Shaun the Sheep keeps us laughing! He has such funny antics and ideas! I actually think this movie was even funnier than the first DVD!
Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-a-ath came out on DVD February 10, and it is from Lionsgate And HIT Entertainment.
With Shaun, Bitzer the sheepdog and the Naughty Pigs next door, there’s no telling what bizarre escapades will happen next. Sometimes it’s shear madness, but it’s always fleecy fun. Join the flock for a wooly good time! The Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-a-ath DVD features eight hilarious episodes starring Shaun and all his barnyard buddies:
Shape Up With Shaun– Shaun puts Shirley the Sheep, on an exercise regime.
Bathtime– Shaun and the flock go on a mission to try and get hot water for their sheep dip.
Fetching– Bitzer, distracted by a fetching female dog, misses the flock’s rampage through the farmhouse, so it’s up to Shaun to intervene.
Take Away– The sheep go on a mission to the local pizzeria disguised as a humanbeing.
Still Life– The Farmer takes up oil painting but during a break, the flock investigates.
Scrumping– The flock begs for apples from the Naughty Pigs’ yard, but after severalfailed attempts, a war breaks out.
Stick With Me– Bitzer glues the Farmer’s broken glasses back together, but when the flock gets its hooves on the tube of glue, things get very sticky!
The Kite– A kite blows into the field and gets stuck in a tree, so it’s up to Shaun and the flock to get it down.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES• “Sing-a-long with Shaun”
Since spring is right around the corner, and we are longing for the seasons to change...it was fun watching the fun episodes on the new Hit Entertainment release: Here Comes Spring! which features Thomas & Friends, Barney and Friends, Bob the Builder, and Fireman Sam, Fifi and the Flowertots and Kipper. My kids love this DVD so much, I am afraid they will wear it out!
The Here Comes Spring! DVD is available on
Amazon released on February 10, 2009.
Here Comes Spring features a colorful collection of six cheery, spring-themed episodes starring favorite preschool characters! Barney, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends and Fifi have come to celebrate during this special time of year. Jump into the fun and enjoy the outdoors with Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam, or create magnificent gardens with Barney and Fifi. Get ready to cheer because Spring is here!
Thomas & Friends- In "Thomas Sets Sail," Thomas is asked to collect the mayor's new sailboat and deliver it to the harbor. But strong winds send the affable engine on a wild and disastrous ride around the island.
Barney and Friends- In "The Big Garden," Barney teaches his friends how to grow fruits and vegetables in a garden.
Fifi and the Flowertots- In "Flowertot Rainbow," Fifi's plan to wow Violet with a colorful display that goes awry when she forgets to water her flowers. What is she going to give Violet now?
Bob the Builder- In "Roley's Flat Garden," Mr. Bentley is designing a new botanical garden. Join Bob and Roley as they work together to get the job done!
Fireman Sam- In "Fit for Nothing," The firefighters are training hard to appear in the Wales Fittest Firefighters calendar. It's a competition to see just who is the fittest!
Kipper- In "The Butterfly," Kipper finds a butterfly who loves the color purple. He traps it in a jam jar but realizes that it shouldn't be kept captive and eventually sets it free.
Would you like to enter for a chance to win a fun DVD for your kids? I have 3 of each of Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-ath and Thomas & Friends: Railway Friends to giveaway~ So there will be 6 winners in all!This contest is open to all readers living in the Continental United States. To get your first entry, tell me what your favorite part of spring is! Also, in your comment, let me know which movie you would like to win! Then, you may come back each day and enter (again) after you do the first rule, just
tweet about this giveaway and leave the url in your comment AND/OR
Click here to see how you can earn even more extra credits to win!! Click here to see guidelines and the
official rules. Contest will end on March 5th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST. GOOD LUCK!
Cole has such an adorable smile! He was trying to "talk" to me in this picture~
Maddie and her cheesy smile.
Brotherly love~
I took these last three (today). Cole is 6 weeks and 4 days old today.
So happy~
He has the baby acne going on right now, but he is still absolutely adorable!
When I my generation was younger, we didn't have the technology like kids do now. We looked in encyclopedias, and went to the library for research. Now kids are using computers and the Internet for everything from talking with new friends living halfway across the world, to playing their favorite online games and researching subjects for homework. The Internet is an endless tool in the hands of our kids. So, we need to make their online world safe for them, because there are so many lurking dangers online. I have a difficult time allowing my son to just sit down and work on the net.
Feld Entertainment's Disney On Ice live touring performances feature iconic Disney stories, characters, and music, providing audiences with a high quality, fun experience the whole family can enjoy together. Interactive Disney On Ice shows feature exciting action, romance, comedy, athletic world-class skating, beloved Disney characters, and favorite Disney songs to which kids can sing and dance along. Their rich colors, costumes, bigger than life atmosphere, music, lighting, choreography and humor all contribute to making the experience one that builds childhood and family memories for years to come.
Caleb and Madelyn really enjoyed coloring the kid-drawn scene on the pillowcase. It was thrilling to see Caleb take his time, and color in the lines so carefully.
Madelyn used the crayons on the pillowcase, and she liked making a lot of circles and lines.
Last night, we went to Nathaniel's yearly choir concert. There are so many children in his school that they have separate nights for each grade to perform their concert. There is one main choir teacher, and she has a helper. It was fun to see all the kids. I have to give props to his choir teacher, because she had kids playing different style drums, all of them playing recorders, bells, egg shakers and keeping them all in order. They sang 5 individual songs, and a patriotic medley of 7 songs. I think my favorite was the train song. This was a song of hand actions, singing in rounds, and leaving out words on beats (like BINGO). When the kids were starting to leave out words to the song, and just doing the hand actions, Caleb started noticing something was different. He said, "What happened to their voices? Why can't they sing?" Of coarse it was quiet, and those of us around Caleb had to laugh. It was so comical! I thought it was so funny that I laughed for some time after that comment~ just thinking about it.
As you play the boards, you fill up your passport to unlock new and never-before-seen Monopoly boards. One of our favorites is the Cheese board. Another bonus to the Wii Monopoly game is the Richest Edition. This is fun when we don't have time for a 2 hour game of Monopoly boarding game. The Richest Edition is completely 
different. The aim of the game is to acquire the most assets at the end of a certain number of rounds. It is a matter of mini gaming against your opponents, and the luck of the dice. The winner of the mini game gets to chose the dice roll they want. The number you pick determines the amount of tokens you get placed randomly around the board. Super fun games for the family with the Monopoly Wii game!
About the game: Through the din of a popular arcade, one player has emerged as the best N-Strike gamer his friends have ever seen. But even as Shane smashes through the game's record, something far more mysterious is happening: his success is being tracked and recorded. Shane is the perfect candidate for an ultra-exclusive invitation to become an N-Strike Elite. Later that night, he's awakened to find the Nomad C Series Recruitment bot hovering silently over his bed. "B.O.B." has a challenge for Shane- join the quest to become an Elite Striker and he'll have access to Top Secret Blasters. It's all the incentive Shane needs, and as the one controlling Shane, it's your opportunity of a lifetime....
Choose from tons of unique pet accessories like scarves, hats, glasses, and more! Play with your pets in four unique pet-sized worlds! Plus you'll manage your Pet Shop through the hopping Pet Plaza. The mini games offer a number of difficulty levels for each game, and you can replay them over and over again. The pets interact with the player and offer choices of things to do. The game starts by giving the player tasks to complete. Everything is simple and well explained and the tasks teach the player about how to play the game. As you play games you earn kibble (money) which allows you to buy more pets and play sets that the pets can play on. As you expand your pet shop more games become unlocked and more 'worlds' unlock for you to play in. You can celebrate pet birthdays and other events by planning festive Littlest Pet Shop-style parties with the Evite Party Planner.
thrilled when I looked on the Dei Fratelli (Fire Roasted)Pasta sauce jar and saw these ingredients: Crushed Tomatoes, Diced Tomatoes, Fire Roasted Zucchini, Fire Roasted Onions, Sugar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fire Roasted Yellow Bell Peppers, Fire Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Carrots, Sea Salt, Basil, Citric Acid, Oregano, Spices. I could read and understand every ingredient! I used the jar in my spaghetti. The taste was phenomenal, and I can say it was some of the best spaghetti that I have ever had! Plus, Dei Fratelli's Fire Roasted Pasta sauce had only 60 calories and had 2 grams of fiber! These are things I keep count of with Weight Watchers. I highly 
Dei Fratelli has a great selection of salsas. The salsas are made with all natural ingredients, too! The black bean and corn salsa has these ingredients: Tomatoes, Roasted Corn, Black Beans, Peppers, Roasted Tomatoes, Vinegar, Sea Salt, Spices, Cilantro, Garlic, Natural Flavor Citric Acid. Such a great blend of good, wholesome ingredients! I think what I like best about Dei Fratelli products is, that I can be confident that I am putting good things into my mouth, and not anything that could possibly be dangerous for me or my health!
to attend one Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show when I was younger. It was a fantastic show~ like no other! Since then, I have been to local circus shows. The local shows are great, but they are no comparison to The GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!
Madelyn loves being out in the snow. She had a hard time walking in it, though. It was quite comical. I think she looks so cute~ a pink marshmallow!
Here are a few pictures of Cole. He is 5 weeks and 3 days old here. He is smiling a lot, and he just started a few giggles. He is starting to Coo a bit, too. It is so precious! I am looking forward to the cooing and giggling!
I love his little mouth. He is just so cute!
Caleb wanted me to take his picture, too. He scratched himself in the face this morning at breakfast. Can you guess what got him? His fork! Owie! Poor guy! He loves wearing shorts everyday~ lately. Fortunately we are home, so he can wear them indoors. He reminds me of spring and summer! We can't wait for the weather to change!
between the ages of 2 and 8. My kids really enjoyed the new Thomas release: Railway Friends which hit the shelves on February 10th. We enjoyed watching Railway Friends, which is filled with messages of friendship, and helping each other. Thomas & Friends always have great stories that display good morals and lessons that are great for kids to learn. We enjoy talking about how Thomas and the other trains handled different situations and problems. It is fun to peek into my child's thoughts with our discussions.
Shaun in Shaun The Sheep: Off The Baa! was a fun DVD for us to review, and we were very excited to see the release of Shaun the Sheep: Back in the Ba-a-ath! From The Academy Award®-Winning Creators Of Wallace & Gromit™, Shaun The Sheep™ Returns For More Wacky Animal Antics.
Since spring is right around the corner, and we are longing for the seasons to change...it was fun watching the fun episodes on the new Hit Entertainment release: Here Comes Spring! which features Thomas & Friends, Barney and Friends, Bob the Builder, and Fireman Sam, Fifi and the Flowertots and Kipper. My kids love this DVD so much, I am afraid they will wear it out!
For as long as I can remember, Johnson's baby products have been around. Actually, they have been around even longer than me! They are celebrating 50 years! My parents are celebrating 51 years of marriage next month. That is a long time!
When I think of the basic necessities for my baby and toddlers, Johnson's bath products are on the list. I love the way that they clean, the way they smell, and the way that they are gentle on my children's skin. I was asked to review a few of Johnson's bath products on behalf of Mom Central and Johnson’s. With three young children, I was happy to partake in this review! Plus, Johnson's is one of our favorite bath time products!
I love the new Foaming Wash that Johnson's came out with! We use the regular bath wash, but my kids have so much fun with the foaming wash. They like to pump the soap into their hands and wash themselves. I think that the foaming wash is easier for kids to be more conservative with how much soap they use. 
When I was a child, one of my favorite toys were my Fisher-Price sets. I remember spending hours playing with the school house, the farm set, the camping set, and the towns with all the people. My parent's still have the Fisher-Price sets, and I hope to "inherit" them someday. I am happy to let you know that Fisher-Price is celebrating 50 Years! For the brand’s 50th birthday, officially marked on March 21, Fisher-Price is planning a year-long celebration including commemorative play sets.
Now, our kids can enjoy a farm set with the new Little People Play ‘n Go Farm play set, which has been designed to reflect the classic look of the original 1968 Play
Family Farm! The Little People Play 'n Go Farm play set is complete with retro-style figures! The play set includes farmer, sheep and cow figures, tractor vehicle, three connectible fence pieces and water trough play piece. Everything stores inside the collectible tin take-along barn that features a handle and open/close top. This makes it great for kids to take their play set places. (SRP $17.49/suited for ages 1-4 yrs.)
Do you remember the Fisher-Price School house? You opened the side and could peek into the school room. The roof was magnetic for your numbers and letters, and you had a built in 
chalk board. There were green desks, swing set and a merry-go-round.
6 episodes, plus 2 bonus episodes all focused on the important values of friendship:
I just love the shoes that See Kai Run makes! They have such great quality shoes, and they are super adorable, too! They have a great selection of new Spring shoes! I am so looking forward to spring and summer, and Madelyn's new Dorothy shoes from See Kai Run will be worn all over the place. When I got the package in the mail and opened it up, Madelyn was standing right there asking for her shoes. She is a shoe lover, and she had to put them on right away. She wore them all day, and smiled the whole time. Not only are See Kai Run shoes adorable, they are made so well for little feet. See Kai Run shoes have very flexible soles and the leather lining (sheepskin) is breathable and durable. The shoes have a padded collar that adds comfort and helps the shoes stay on little developing feet. These shoes are meant to be worn indoors and out, and made to last! 
It is definitely the month of Love!
Electrolux has teamed up with one of America's favorite moms, Kelly Ripa, to spread a little love via a charitable social media campaign. On the Electrolux Web site, you can create and send a unique virtual cupcake to friends and family during February. I had a fun time creating a delicious looking (and sounding) cupcake, and sending it to a few friends. I made a peanut butter cake, in a lavender foil, with lavender frosting, chocolate drizzle frosting, and peanut butter cups on top. No, it isn't calorie free, but it is for a great cause! For every cupcake sent, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) as part of their half million dollar commitment to help support this worthy cause. Which means each virtual cupcake will go a long way. What's more, everyone who logs on and sends a cupcake will be entered for a chance to win the newest front-load Washer & Dryer (an estimated $3,600 value) from Electrolux, the appliance brand used throughout fine homes in Europe for 80 years. Talk about a great cause all around! 
I am a big time fan of Chinese food, and I am a sucker for egg rolls. I have purchased egg rolls from the store, and baked them in the oven. They are tasty, but it doesn't measure up to the restaurants egg rolls. The egg rolls just don't have the crunchy texture like at the restaurants. One main reason is I don't have a deep fryer. I was very impressed with the Kahiki Foods egg rolls, though. With these delicious egg rolls, you just pop them in the microwave. They are packaged in a special wrap, that when microwaved, makes them crunchy. I don't have to cook them in a deep fryer, add the extra calories and fat because of the deep fryer, yet I can enjoy the crunchy texture. The egg rolls from Kahiki foods are only 70-100 calories each. I really like that I can understand and read all of the ingredients of the egg rolls. For instance the Chicken egg rolls consist of these ingredients: cabbage, cooked white meat chicken, carrots, salt, sugar, vegetable oil (soybean, corn, and/or sunflower oil), sesame oil, eggs, spices, yeast extract. Wrapper:wheat flour, water, salt, wheat gluten, ascorbic acid, citric acid, corn starch, vegetable oil (soybean, corn, and/or sunflower oil). Sauce: water, sugar, distilled and/or wine vinegar, pineapple juice concentrate, cornstarch, natural extractive of paprika, hot sauce (cayenne red pepper, vinegar, salt, garlic powder), xanthangum, garlic, ginger, natural flavors, natural beta carotene. These egg rolls are great tasting (a little peppery) and not bad for health-wise either. They are quick to prepare, and really quick to eat. :) Kahiki Foods have 3 different selections of egg rolls: Pork & Shrimp, Chicken, and Vegetable. The packages sell with 3 in each one. I really enjoyed the Kahiki Foods egg rolls, and I know they will be on our future grocery lists.
In fact, if you'd like to try out some products for free, you can sign up for their FREE newsletter. After sign-up, you'll receive a link to your email inbox asking you to confirm subscription. Simply click on that link, and you'll receive all of these product instructions pictured here, plus an online video and digital scrapbooking frames.
something you'd like to learn how to make. You can learn how to make a Child/Adult Apron Set, Women's Reversible Wrap Skirt, The "She Loves Me, She Loves Me KNOT" Handbag, The Reversible Patchwork Bucket Hat, Easy-Fit Pants, and Boys Ties. Remember, even if you've never sewn before, the site believes that you REALLY CAN make these things!
