Jumpin-Beans

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. OH MY GOODNESS!!!   Talk about a MUST HAVE!!!  Do you have a princess in your life?  If so---  I know a book you just must get!!!   Dear Princess    is the name and you will fall in love. In this book, you see the different characters from the stories you love delivering a letter to their Princess.  ( Gus delivered to Cinderella, Max to Ariel, Pascal to Rapunzel... You get the picture...)    Then, you turn the page and get to read the letter that was sent to them, it is actually a folded letter, so they get to unfold it and read it... with the official seals and all ... Followed by the response they pen back!!   The best part?  The last letter is to someone YOU would NEVER expect...   It has a spot to have you writ

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. For the little princess in your life, look at the latest Sofia book (that includes over 60 stickers!)   Sofia the First - The Enchanted Science Fair  .  This doesn't have to be JUST for the princess either, it is a cute book that talks about their science fair and the things that they had to go through to make their project the best to win!  The Enchanted Science Fair also includes a couple of Princes as well, so that makes it a great read for everyone!  The princess moral to this story?  A true princess is always a true friend! In these days, I think the moral of this whole story is one that ALL kids need to read!   SYNOPSIS: It’s almost time for the Enchanted Science Fair, and Sofia and her classmates must

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Did you see my post about Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ? Well - now I get to offer up a few fun activities for you.. and a GIVEAWAY!!!!  This movie looks like it will be absolutely hilarious, so I am so excited to see it!!!! Until then, click on these images to enlarge and ENJOY!!!!! Want to win??? Look at what is included in the prize pack!   The pack includes - One (1) official  ALEXANDER  coffee mug - One (1) giant green highlighter - One (1) crocodile stress toy - One (1) official   ALEXANDER   reusable bag a Rafflecopter giveaway

*** This is not a sponsored post. I just thought it was pretty cool... and we hope to get to Legoland one day soon!  You know we love Lego... so I thought this was great to share with you! If you are a first responder (Police Officer, Fire Fighter or EMS)  you can get a free single day admission to LEGOLAND FLORIDA during the month of September.  Read more about it below: LEGOLAND ® Florida Resort is proud to once again honor police officers, fire fighters and EMS personnel with a free single day admission to the park during the month of September.  LEGOLAND Florida Resort’s special offer gives first responders a chance to experience the Park’s more than 50 rides, shows and attractions with their friends and family.  The program is valid for all police officers, fire fighters, and EMS employees working in the United States.  Active and retired personnel with identification are also eligible.  Eligible personnel should present their employee ID or professional organization membe

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Maybe you remember me posting about Stride Rite's campaign to have people donate their gently worn shoes so that other kids less fortunate could have a pair of shoes...  As if that wasn't awesome enough as it is, I wanted to tell you more about how impressed I am with Stride Rite.   Let me back up and explain a few things first... As a teenager, money wasn't an object when it came to my shoes...  As it wasn't MY money being spent... but as soon as I started having to pay for them out of my pocket, the $125 shoes didn't REALLY look that much better than the less expensive ones!    So, that quickly changed my outlook on them...  Once I became a mom, that trait carried on... I was NOT about to spe

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. How is school going with your kids this year?  We have been pretty busy and it just seems to be adding more and more each day.  So, I wanted to get an planner and "try" to be organized...  I was excited when a pack of  Zebra Pens arrived.  Why?  Well ,it was a 14 pack of all different colors! Talk about organization... I could color code everything in my entries!!!!  But then, I saw it said GEL retractable and I was not thrilled... You see, gel pens and I do not work!  They smudge to easy and I get mad.  Not that I am perfect, but if I am writing something, I want it neat, not all messy and smudged!    I opened the pack and saw that they went one step further in their packaging!  They added the little p

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. We are not familiar with Ella the Elephant here, but it looks like a super cute cartoon from the art on the cover of the DVD.  If you have an Ella fan, you would love knowing that on September 16th, it was released on DVD for you to own!  Make sure to grab a copy now to put under the tree this holiday season... if you can hold off on gifting it that long!   Here comes Ella the Elephant and her magical red hat, with eight delightful stories about fun, friendship, love and laughs on  Ella the Elephant Season 1 Volume 1: The Magic of Friendship , available September 16, 2014 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE).    Ella the Elephant  is based on the popular children’s book series. Kids will be captivated by

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Twelve Dancing Unicorns by Alissa Heyman was a really cute book for us to review.  When it arrived, I was not really sure if Broxton was going to be interested in reading it...  but once he snuggled up, we settled down and enjoyed it!  I loved how it starts off with a KING - so you know it is going to be good!  Then, as the story starts to unfold, we learn that the King has these beautiful unicorns that he keeps chained up (with a gold chain) to their very own pomegranate trees.  The story gets better... each morning, the King goes to see his beautiful unicorns and finds that each of them has broken free of their chains at some point during the night.  The thing is... he can NOT find out how or why... they are a

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. If your calendar is clear for October 2nd and you live in or near Marietta, Georgia... Why not make it a date night for a good cause? Devereux Georgia is having an event with money raised for the Marietta Campus.   Without fundraising, they would not be able to stay open, so this is a great way to give back to the community!  (If you can't attend, you can still donate online if you would like.) You might be asking "What is Devereux Georgia ?" Well - let me tell you --- (From their site)  The Devereux Georgia Treatment Network (Devereux Georgia) is located on a secure, tree-lined, 40-acre campus in Kennesaw, Georgia. Devereux Georgia is licensed to serve 100 children up to the age of 21, who are experi

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Image Credit - Amazon Need a new book for your library?  Sports Illustrated for Kids has released " What are the chances?  The Wildest Plays in Sports " and it comes just in time for anyone wanting to stock up for a great Christmas gift! I am not sure if you know it, but I am really a fan of Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints')  not only for his plays on the field, but for the person he is when he is OFF the field too!  So, imagine the surprise and delight when I opened this book and was greeted with "5,000  Passing Yards in a Season.  Only eight times has a quarterback thrown for 5,000 or more yards in an NFL season.  The New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees has done it four of those times.  No ot

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. SYNOPSIS:  Disney’s “ Alexander  and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”   follows the exploits of 11-year-old  Alexander  (Ed Oxenbould) as he experiences the most terrible and horrible day of his young life—a day that begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by one calamity after another. But when  Alexander  tells his upbeat family about the misadventures of his disastrous day, he finds little sympathy and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him. He soon learns that he’s not alone when his mom (Jennifer Garner), dad (Steve Carell), brother (Dylan Minnette) and sister (Kerris Dorsey) all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Anyone who sa

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.   We fell in love with Blu (and Jewel) when we watched the first Rio movie... Then, when Rio 2 was released, we fell in love with the other family members...  Although it is an animated movie, it really is a great movie for all ages...  Now, they are expanding even further! As with all movies that are hits, there have been releases of items that fall into the "Rio Franchise" and we were sent a couple for review... Here is a small list of some of the items that have been released: Leading licensing partners for Fox Consumer Products and  RIO  2 include: Jakks Pacific  – Bounce Sky Balls, Figures, Hula Hoop, Jump Ropes, Playsets, Plush, Musical Plush, Remote Control Toys, Role-playing Game Costumes and Se

I received this in an email and thought it would be nice to share... Language Building with Books By Thomas Weck  (Author of   Cave Monster  and Bully Bean  )  I believe a child's ability to learn at a very early age is typically underestimated--possibly delaying a child's verbal development. I have found that most children between the ages of 4 and 6 can master many language skills that we tend to "reserve" for when they are a bit older. If, instead, we work on the assumption that most children can incorporate complex words into their functional vocabulary between the ages of 4 and 5, we can help make that happen. One of the best and most enjoyable ways to accomplish this is by reading to your child as often as possible. A children's book that incorporates the following elements will show a rapid increase in vocabulary and stimulate curiosity that leads to further vocabulary mastery. 1. First and foremost, books with a message or a moral offer greater