Oompa Review and Giveaway

Oompa is a refreshing site to visit. They offer a huge selection of items for babies and kids. But here's the best part, none of the items they carry have batteries, flashing lights, music, or are created after themed cartoons. They offer items that allow children to use their imagination!

Here is a little bit about the company:

We offer our constantly expanding collection of European wooden toys, baby toys, educational toys, lunch bags and modern children's furniture to urbane and discerning adults who want to expose the young children in their lives to non-character branded, quality toys that are designed to withstand generations of use. In addition to baby toys, we now offer a wonderful selection of baby gear, including stollers, high chairs, diaper bags and meal & bath time items. Recently we expanded our children's furniture collections to include modern cribs, tables, seating, beds & beddings and tons of playroom storage. We believe baby toys should be natural, safe, eco-friendly, non-violent and from manufacturers who provide safe and nurturing environments for their employees. We believe in fair, competitive pricing and strive for 100% customer satisfaction.

I was recently given the wonderful opportunity to review one of the products they offer. I received the Alphabet Matcher: The Alphabet Matcher is an ingenious toy that will challenge a child’s verbal and written knowledge. A child twists the rings on the toy to choose a letter, then attempts to find the five objects on the ring that start with that letter! Alphabet Matcher engages skills ranging from logic to spelling. It contains three extra sets of rings, covering 24 letters and 120 images!

I absolutely love this toy. I think it's so great they they took something educational and turned it into something fun that can be done independently or collaboratively. It really offers a huge amount of options with it's simple design. You can make it a game, a timed challenge, a parent led interaction... the possibilities are endless! It is recommended for children 3 and up, so my daughter is definitely too young to do this independently. But that didn't stop me form exposing her to it. She sat on my lap and I pointed out the letter. Then I turned the pieces to match the letter and said the word aloud. She watched and participated when she could. When we came to the picture of the mouse she said "mouse"! When we got to the dog she barked. We had a great time interacting together!

You can check out the Alphabet Matcher and tons of other great items on their site!

GIVEAWAY: One Lucky Reader will win their very own Alphabet Matcher!
 
HOW TO ENTER: Leave a separate comment for each entry and be sure to leave your e-mail address!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Oompa and tell me another item you love!

EXTRA ENTRIES:
1. Enter another one of my current giveaways(1 entry per giveaway)
2. Follow my blog 
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet (1 entry per tweet - 1 tweet per day)
4. Fan me on Facebook 
5. Grab my button and tell me where it is (3 entries)
6. Subscribe to my blog via e-mail

7. Follow Oompa on Facebook

8. Follow Oompa on Twitter

This giveaway is open to US and Canada.
This giveaway ends on December 20, 2010 at 5:00 pm EST. One winner will be chosen by Random.org and notified by e-mail. Please respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be selected. Good Luck!

Betty Crocker Review and Giveaway

It's always nice to sit down to a dinner table filled with foods the whole family can enjoy, which is why the best kinds of side dishes are the ones that can be dressed up to satisfy everyone“s taste buds. For a quick and delicious side that will complete your favorite meals, stir up Betty Crocker® Potato Buds® mashed potatoes, made with 100% real potatoes.

I LOVE mashed potatoes.  I used to make them all the time... from scratch... with meatloaf or steak or chicken cutlets. Mmm, I'm getting hungry! But, the fact of the matter is that making mashed potatoes from scratch is time consuming. Ugh... how I used to hate to peel all of those potatoes! So, with a little one on the move mashed potatoes have not been made from scratch in a very long time. But that doesn't mean that they still can't be a part of our dinner menu!

My Blog Spark and Betty Crocker recently gave me the opportunity to review Betty Crocker's Potato Buds! These potatoes are super easy and quick to make. And they fluff up so nicely!

Some of the things that I love about Potato Buds is that you can always have them on hand for when you need them, you can make as much or as little as you need, and you can add all kinds of things to prepare your mashed potatoes they way you like them! I love to add sour cream and cheddar cheese into the mix! Betty Crocker also has tons of yummy recipes for you to look at on their website.

Click HERE for a $.55 off coupon!

GIVEAWAY: One Lucky Reader will win a Betty Crocker Prize pack (pictured above).
 
HOW TO ENTER: Leave a separate comment for each entry and be sure to leave your e-mail address!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Tell me how you like your mashed potatoes!

EXTRA ENTRIES:
1. Enter another one of my current giveaways (1 entry per giveaway)
2. Follow my blog
3. Follow me on Twitter
4. Fan me on Facebook
5. Grab my button and tell me where it is (3 entries)
6. Subscribe to my blog via e-mail
7. Follow Betty Crocker on Facebook (2 entries)
8. Follow Betty Crocker on twitter (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to US only.
This giveaway ends on October 24, 2010 at 5:00 pm EST. One winner will be chosen by Random.org and notified by e-mail. Please respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be selected. Good Luck!

The product, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all given to me from Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark.