Have a Laugh - Volumes 3 & 4 Review

I am so excited to say that Mickey Mouse is a favorite in our house! I grew up on Disney. We watched Disney cartoons, went to see all the Disney movies as soon as they came out, visited Disney World every year. The whole family just adored Mickey and everything associated with him. So when my daughter started to show an interest in "Mouse" I just ran with it.

We really started her on Mickey's Clubhouse because it's very age appropriate. While it's definitely a show parents can watch with their kids and enjoy it, it is geared towards young children. So when I was given the opportunity to check out Have a Laugh - Volumes 3 & 4 I jumped at it. This could be a great way to introduce my daughter to some of the classic cartoons while still keeping her engaged and entertained.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases HAVE A LAUGH: Volumes 3 & 4 on DVD! Classic shorts featuring Mickey, Donald, Goofy & Pluto are fully restored and re-mastered! Both volumes also include brand new "Re-MICKS" features, which are comprised of modern musical hits under classic cartoon clips!

Volume 3 Synopsis:

Set sail for the high seas of hilarity when Mickey, Goofy and Donald go a-whaling and wind up going overboard – literally! Bark with laughter as Pluto is dogged by a pesky gopher who’s making mincemeat of Minnie’s garden. Then, have a ball with Goofy as he hits the links and – BLAM! – his “relaxing” game of golf goes outrageously awry.

Fully restored and remastered, these amazing cartoons also feature a new “Re- MICKS” – a mash-up music video of crazy cartoon clips remixed to the hit song, “I Gotta Feeling” from the Black Eyed Peas. It’s a novel approach to uproarious classic comedy that’ll make you laugh out loud. Bursting at the seams with surprises, Have a Laugh – Volume 3 will tickle your funny bone till it hurts!

Volume 4 Synopsis:

Have an outrageously g’day with Mickey and Pluto when their adventure Down Under goes way over the top, thanks to a wayward boomerang and a humongous ostrich. Kick up your heels with Donald as his fireside hula dance “heats up” hilariously. Then, ride a tide of laughs with Goofy as he tries to catch a wave and – BLAM! – gets clobbered by his surfboard.

Fully restored and re-mastered, these incredible cartoons also feature a new “Re- MICKS” – a mash-up music video of crazy cartoon clips remixed to the hit song “Play My Music” from Camp Rock. It’s a bold, new approach to classic comedy that’ll make your spirits soar. Overflowing with fun and surprises, Have a Laugh – Volume 4 will paste a permanent smile on your face!

These DVD's are a huge hit in my house! It's really something the entire family can enjoy together. My daughter also LOVED the Remick to "I Gotta Feeling" by Blac Eyed Peas. She was dancing up a storm and laughing at all the silly things the different characters were doing.

I love that these DVD's keep the classic shorts alive. It's a great way to kick back and laugh with your favorite Disney characters! Each DVD runs for approximately 65 minutes and retails for about $19.99.

Seventh Generation Free & Clear Diapers Review and Giveaway!

Oh wow, I can't tell you how much time I spend obsessing over diapers. It started out when my daughter was first born and I researched until I was blue in the face to find out what the best diapers were. I wanted to be sure that I covered all the major bases... that they were gentle on my daughter's skin and prevented diaper rash (as much as is humanly possible), that they prevented leaks (as much as is possible... haha!), and that they didn't break the bank - because let's face it... we are going to be buying a lot of diapers!

Well, for all you moms out there on this hunt to find a great diaper... let me share my thoughts about Seventh Generation's newly re-launched free and clear diapers!

With the same great performance that parents have come to expect from Seventh Generation, Free & Clear diapers have a brand new look that makes it `clear´ what makes them so special. 

What Seventh Generation leaves out is just as important as what they put in. Free & Clear diapers do not include chlorine processing, fragrances, latex and petroleum based lotions. In an effort to contribute less overall landfill waste and continue to ensure a premium standard of absorbency, the new Free & Clear diapers have been redesigned with a lighter-weight core. With processed chlorine-free wood pulp in Free & Clear diapers, Seventh Generation also makes certain that no chlorine is released into the environment during the totally chlorine-free (TCF) whitening process of the diapers and training pants. 

Seventh Generation has also reduced the size of the diapers´ plastic packaging, meaning that each pack now contributes even less overall landfill waste than before. In fact, Seventh Generation Free & Clear diaper packaging can now be recycled at local supermarkets where plastic bag recycling collection boxes are available. 

I absolutely love that these diapers are completely free and clear. I have learned over the last 2 years that my daughter has pretty tough skin, but I still prefer anything that is free of unnecessary fragrances, chlorine, or other chemicals. I also love how environmentally friendly Seventh Generation is. They take extra steps to be sure that their products and packaging cause as little damage as possible to our landfills. I can only imagine the number of diapers in our landfills... ahhh!

I was also pleased with the performance of the diapers. My daughter is very active and I need a diaper that can stay in place and absorb well. I feel like these diapers do that. They aren't as cute to look at as some other brands because they are very plain in design. But really, they're diapers... they don't need to be cute! And the color of the diaper takes a little getting used to. Since they're not white I thought they looked a little dirty at first. But you get used to it and know they aren't white for a good reason.

You can find Seventh Generation diapers in your local food store and at major retailers. You can also find them online at Amazon. The diapers are available in sizes 2-6.

If you click HERE you can download a $2.00 off coupon good on one Seventh Generation product (diapers, training pants, or wipes).

GIVEAWAY: One Lucky Reader will win a package of Seventh Generation's free and clear diapers in the size of their choice!
 
HOW TO ENTER: Leave a separate comment for each entry and be sure to leave your e-mail address!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Tell me what you love most about Seventh Generation's free and clear diapers.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
1. Follow my blog
2. Follow me on Twitter (1 entry) and tweet (1 entry per tweet - one tweet per day)
3. Enter another one of my current giveaways (a list can be found top right - 1 extra entry for each one you enter!)
4. Fan me on Facebook 
5. Grab my button and tell me where it is (3 entries)
6. Follow Seventh Generation on Facebook
7. Follow Seventh Generation on Twitter


This giveaway is open to US only.
This giveaway ends on July 25 , 2011 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!

*Seventh Generation provided me with the free product, information, and giveaway through MyBlogSpark. All opinions expressed are my own.

Winner!

Random.org has chosen our winner for the Plow and Hearth Grilling Wok Giveaway!

#34 Tamara B.

Congratulations to our winner! An e-mail notification has been sent. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or we will have to choose another winner.
Thank you to everyone who entered!

My First Love

So a fabulous reader had posted a comment on my Dog Collar Boutique post telling me that she had a dwarf rabbit. This made me realize that in all my posts about my family I had somehow left out an extremely important member!

This is Thumper! Thumper is a Netherland Dwarf and he came into my life 4 years ago. My husband and I were living in a tiny apartment and I craved a cuddly friend. When I first held this little guy I knew there was no way I was leaving the pet store without him! But... my apartment didn't allow pets... of any kind. So with a little finagling... and story telling... I got permission to "keep" him. I told my landlord that he was from my classroom and would only be staying the summer... sorta true - we were planning out moving into a house soon.

Plow and Hearth Review and Giveaway

Ahh... summer time. When I think of summer many things come to mind. Swimming, boating, the smell of sunscreen, watching movies in the air conditioning when the afternoon storms roll through. I also think of s'mores. S'mores are a family favorite in our house. In fact, my husband could eat them by the dozen. But we don't get to indulge in this treat very often.

When we travel to my in-laws house we make sure we fire up the fire pit and make our s'mores. But this happens once or twice a summer. We considered purchasing our own fire pit, but the nervous mommy in me decided we should wait until our daughter is a little older. Then Plow and Hearth came to the rescue.

As I browsing their huge selection of items I stumbled across the Indoor S'more Maker. Now you can make perfect s'mores any time, any place…no campfire or open flame required! Our ingenious S'Mores Maker lets you whip up six ooey-gooey s'mores in less than five minutes in your oven, toaster oven or even on the grill. Great for parties and family fun nights. Steel wire with nonstick coating for quick and easy cleanup

We were really excited to try this out and gave it a go in the oven. I have to admit that it's not quite the same as roasting them over an open fire. You don't get the golden brown edges and the marshmallows don't get as gooey in the center. None the less, we were looking for a solution and we found one. My daughter and my husband loved them. The chocolate got very gooey which was the best part for my daughter. It was really easy to do and very easy to clean up. We followed the directions and left them in the oven for about 4 minutes. Next time I might try a little longer to see if the marshmallows get any gooier. And I am anxious to try them on the grill!

Plow & Hearth is filled with great items to outfit your home this summer. I highly recommend you browse the great selection on their website. you can also check them out on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the latest news.

GIVEAWAY: One Lucky Reader will win their very own Indoor S'more Maker ($24.95 value)!
 
HOW TO ENTER: Leave a separate comment for each entry and be sure to leave your e-mail address!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Plow and Hearth and tell me another product you love!

EXTRA ENTRIES:
1. Follow my blog
2. Follow me on Twitter (1 entry) and tweet (1 entry per tweet - one tweet per day)
3. Enter another one of my current giveaways (a list can be found top right - 1 extra entry for each one you enter!)
4. Fan me on Facebook 
5. Grab my button and tell me where it is (3 entries)

This giveaway is open to US only.
This giveaway ends on July 22 , 2011 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!

Dog Collar Boutique Review

As a child I grew u with a dog. She was such a sweet pup and she lived to be 17 years old. She was truly a part of the family. We loved her dearly and treated her like a family member. We took her on family vacations, played with her in the backyard, purchased Christmas gifts and birthday gifts for her. She was the best.

As I grew older I knew I would have another dog of my own with my family, but then we had a baby. We decided to put the dog dream on hold while we got settled in as a family of three. Then a few weeks ago my sister adopted an adorable kitten from the ASPCA and the pet bug has bitten again!

This weekend little Cleo came home with my sister for the long weekend and we all got to adore her for three days. So I was thrilled when the Dog Collar Boutique sent me a couple of cat items for review that I was able to give my new "niece." I received the Mini Crown Charm and the Cats Meow Cat Collar. My sister LOVES the Mini Crown Charm because she considers her kitten to be a true princess and her favorite color is purple.

I was really impressed when browsing their site with the wide variety of items that have for cats and dogs. The dog harness vests are too cute! I love the tweed one. And they have designer dog carriers at amazing prices. And dog leather leashes in every style.

If you are an animal lover you have to check out this site! You will find everything you need at a great price and it gets delivered straight to your door.

flipflop Wines Review

Over Memorial Day weekend my family and I had the opportunity to sample some of the flipflop wines. My family was thoroughly impressed. My mom was even itching to get her hands on another bottle of the Riesling, as that one was her favorite. You can check out my previous review here.

So when I was given the opportunity to try some of the other types of flipflop wine I jumped at the chance. The flipflop collection includes Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. For this time around we received a bottle of the Chardonnay and a bottle of the Cabernet. Since it was another holiday weekend I was able to share the bottles again. This way I could get the opinions of a number of people. 


I was not surprised when the wine received rave reviews. I received comments about the bottle (the women loved the design and commented on how perfect for summer this collection is), the wonderful taste, and the fantastic information provided on the back. I pointed this out to my friends and family as this is one of my favorite parts. On the back label they spell everything out from the flavor, to what food pairs nicely with it, to how it should be served. It even gives you a little scale to see if it is dry, medium dry, medium sweet, or sweet. It's easy to read and understand, quickly making you an expert!


My guests were shocked to learn about the price when I told them that these bottles of wine retail for about $7.99. You can't beat that price. Then I continued to tell them about the Soles4Souls program that flipflop wines is involved with. flipflop wines has paired with Soles4Souls to help bring free foot wear to those who need it most. For every bottle sold (up to 100,000 bottles) this program will give one pair of flip-flop sandals to someone in need. Now this really blew them away. An unbelievable price and a great cause? I'll drink to that!

You can also check out flipflop wines on Facebook!!

Photo Card Creations - Review and Giveaway

Ever since my daughter was born the more things I can put her face on the better! Pictures truly are worth a thousand words, and I love sharing photos of her with family and friends. I have used a lot of different sites for making cards with pictures on them. Every time a holiday or special occasion comes up I am on the hunt for something new and different. I recently was introduced to Photo Card Creations, and I have to say they stand out in a crowd.

Photo Card Creations is a leading online retailer of premium custom photo cards, announcements & invitations.  They specialize in wedding, baby & holiday cards.  They offer hundreds of Card Designs & a variety of Paper Types to choose from, many of which are hard to find elsewhere.  Their cards are printed on the highest quality paper using leading edge printing technologies.   With a professional graphic designer personally handling each order, they offer a more hands-on approach to customer service than many of their competitors.  This Fall, they will be adding over 50 new products & introducing a new user-friendly, online card preview system, which will allow customers to upload their photos & customize & view their cards online before placing their order!  

Photo Card Creations sent me some samples of their cards for this review, and I have to say their quality is outstanding. I absolutely love how unique their designs are. They are classy, elegant, fun, whatever the style you are looking for you can find it. The paper that they are printed on is high quality and the photos come out clear and bright.

I was very pleased with the samples I received and I look forward to working with them in the future to create timeless keepsakes. I know the recipients of my cards will be thrilled with the quality, as well as the adorable photos of my daughter! I encourage you to check out their wide selection of birth announcements for boys and girls, holiday cards, invitations, thank yous and more.


Photo Card Creations is excited to announce that we will be adding a great new feature to our website this fall that will enhance our customer’s online experience!  This new feature will allow our customers to completely customize, view & approve their cards online before ordering!  After selecting the card you’d like to order, you will be able to customize your card using our online custom design wizard.  You will be able to upload, instantly view, zoom, reposition & convert your photos to Sepia or Black & White.  If you don’t like the photo(s) you originally added, you replace them with alternate photos, experimenting with different photos until you find the photo(s) that look best on your card!  You will be able to choose different background & photo border colors.  You will be able to fully customize your text, using suggested greetings available on our website or your own custom greeting.  You can also change the Font Style, Ink Color & Font Size for your greeting anywhere on your card.   You be able to toggle through drop menus to create the perfect card design, watching changes occur as you make them.  Once you are finished designing your cards,  you can preview your final card online and then place your order, which will be shipped to you approximately 3 business days later! 


GIVEAWAY: One Lucky Reader will win a $50 gift certificate to Photo Card Creations!
 
HOW TO ENTER: Leave a separate comment for each entry and be sure to leave your e-mail address!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Photo Card Creations and tell me your favorite design!

EXTRA ENTRIES:
1. Follow my blog
2. Follow me on Twitter (1 entry) and tweet (1 entry per tweet - one tweet per day)
3. Enter another one of my current giveaways (a list can be found top right - 1 extra entry for each one you enter!)
4. Fan me on Facebook 
5. Grab my button and tell me where it is (3 entries)
6. Follow Photo Card Creations on Facebook
7. Follow Photo Card Creations on Twitter


This giveaway is open to US only.
This giveaway ends on July 20 , 2011 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!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend and that you had beautiful weather! We were busy little bees hopping from one bbbq to another. It was a perfect long weekend and getting back to the real world is tough. But I have some great reviews and giveaways lined up for this week!