JumpStart and Preschool are 2 names that definitely go hand in hand.  JumpStart has been around for such a long time and I have always enjoyed using their products with my children.  Their new 3D and online versions are so adaptable for various family needs.

I got to try out their PreK 2 cd set and we love it.  Teaching preschoolers all the basic concepts in a very visually appealing way is one of the things I love about JumpStart.  The kids love it as well, giving them access to a world that they control and characters that are very fun.

The first CD is for Preschoolers and they will enjoy 12 activities to help them get ready for school.  On CD 2, Kindergarten children will enjoy the 35 activities created just for them.  One of the most fun activities is creating their avatar and setting up their house.  The kids love these activities, but well, I guess in the end it’s hard to pick any one thing they loved more!

With this 2-CD set, kids can:

• Design an unique avatar and decorate a house
• Choose from over 15 pets to adopt and nurture: groom, feed and buy accessories for the pet to wear
• Complete missions to unlock storybooks
• Rack up gems and then trade them in for pets, accessories or other great prizes to decorate the world
• Get creative by adding personal photos and artwork

Their new JumpStart Online program is another great option.  Even parents have great tools at their fingertips!  This is a monthly membership program that offers similar features to the cd, but even more depth.  Three to ten year olds have tons of educational (yet very fun) resources available every time they login.

With a wonderful 3D landscape, the online world offers so many features.  Be sure to hop over to the site and check it out.  The parents section really is amazing as well, totally worth checking out when you can.

The great thing is that they have offered one of you a 3 month membership to their online world!  To enter, be sure to visit the website, then come back here and leave a comment telling me why you would like to win this.

There are some great extra entry opportunities as well of course, feel free to take advantage of all of the entries for as many chances to win as possible.…Just be sure to leave a NEW comment with each entry…:

• Become a Facebook Fan of A Frog In My Soup!!!
• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.  Be sure to enter by November 12, 2009.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Disclosure: I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  I received a copy of the More Beautiful You CD in order to listen to it and present the review.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

In our digital society, most families have multiple cell phones.  One for dad, another for mom and even one for a few of the kids.  It is not only a way to communicate, but highly recommended for safety reasons.  But we all know that we aren’t supposed to be talking on the phone when we drive unless we are using something to keep us hands free.

As a parent, this is especially important when you see the accident statistics involving distracted drivers, especially those who are trying to talk on the phone, make a call, etc. without using a hands free device.  In fact, many cities and states have made it illegal to do so and we are definitely among them.  When I was asked to try out the Blackberry Visor Mount Speakerphone, my initial concern was that I have an iPhone…are they compatible?  The answer is definitely YES!

This Blackberry speakerphone is compatible with all Bluetooth enabled phones, so you don’t have to have a Blackberry to use it for yourself.  I have to say that I truly am impressed with this little device!

Here’s a few more details:

The BlackBerry Visor Mount Speakerphone is the latest in innovative BlackBerry technology. It wirelessly streams calls from any Bluetooth enabled phone through your car’s stereo system. This slim, ultra light product attaches to your car visor and is very easy to set up – just turn it on and press a button to pair it with your cell phone. You’ll then be able to answer calls with one touch and receive verbal caller IDs. The Visor Mount Speakerphone also keeps you and the kids entertained by streaming music from your BlackBerry over the car stereo.

Here’s what I loved…

• Setup is a snap – make sure you read the instructions on connecting, charging, answering, using it to voice dial (for voice dialing enabled phones), etc.  The instruction “book” is super short and quick.
• Very easy to use – the instructions are simple and once you are setup, you just tap the speakerphone to answer calls…then tap again to hang up, no need to take your eyes off the road.
• Conveniently mounted on the visor above my head and easy to reach.
• Battery life is GREAT!

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reading through the little instruction booklet before you use this device.  Once you have, you’re good to go.  For instance, the battery doesn’t really show you a full looking battery when it is charged.  It simply goes from red to green.  I didn’t know this and drove around for three days with the cord attached (which isn’t super convenient) LOL.

I’m really enjoying our Blackberry Visor Mount Speakerphone and I’m very excited to be able to offer one of these (retail value $99.99) to a lucky commenter. Entering is simple, just visit the website and when you’re done looking around, come back here and leave a comment telling me why you’d like to win this speakerphone.!

There are some great extra entry opportunities as well of course, feel free to take advantage of all of the entries for as many chances to win as possible. …Just be sure to leave a NEW comment with each entry…(hint, when you are looking at this as an individual post, below you will see some little icons, to easily submit this post to a variety of sites):

• Become a Facebook Fan of A Frog In My Soup!!!
• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.
• Fave at Technorati!  Just fave this post or A Frog In My Soup at Technorati.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.  Be sure to enter by October 20th, 2009.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Disclosure:  I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  I received the Blackberry Visor Mount Speakerphone in order to use it myself to present the review.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

I wrote last weekend about Disaster Preparedness and talked about a few recent events that had triggered the post.  As the week continued, however, we definitely saw more and more terrible disasters left and right.  The earthquakes that triggered Tsunami’s in the Samoas had not yet happened and more Hurricanes  expected to hit Indonesia.

I’m actually not telling you all of this to discourage you, but rather to encourage you.  There are definitely things you can do to help!  Remember my trip down to the World Vision headquarters?  I learned so much about this amazing ministry and what they do around the world.

It’s actually a little challenging to wrap my head around the reality of these worldwide disasters!  I do know however that World Vision is on the scene…or very close and ready to lend a hand, but I also know that the only way that they are able to do this is with your help!

Here’s just a few of the many ways you can donate to this incredible ministry AND bless the victims of these horrible disasters:

• Flood Relief fund is here
• Earthquake Relief fund is here
• Disaster Relief here
• Their donation page (for a variety of individual options) is here
• And their child sponsorship page is here if you want to sponsor an individual child

If you want up to date information on all the opportunities to help their relief efforts, be sure to become a fan on their facebook page.

This week I have a very ScrapHappy Giveaway surprise for all of you! If you have been longing to get that first baby book done of your precious little one and maybe even make some fun gifts for Grandparents for Christmas, I have an amazing offer for you.

I’m not going to post one of my own layouts because this one is all about you! If you have just had a baby, grandbaby or know someone who has, I’m sure you have some amazing photos! I’m also sure that most of you are finding that although it would be fabulous to have those photos magically appear in a book, the time required to really get that first baby book completed is overwhelming.  Let alone all the relatives that want their own copies.

Enter, Camie Designs‘ Your Birth Story Photobooks (one for boys and one for girls)!  Here, check it out for yourselves…

Since the last two weeks have been all about great food and home products, the promotion of this fantastic sweepstakes couldn’t have come at a better time.  Right now the Food Network and Kia are offering the What’s Your Forte? Sweepstakes where you can win a $10,000 Kitchen Aid kitchen makeover.  Yay!

In addition to that grand prize, there are also other great prizes from Kitchen Aid and iRobot.  Be sure to visit the sweepstakes’ site for all the details and to enter!

One of the sponsors of this event is Kia Motors and of course the namesake behind the sweepstakes is their cute Forte.

“There have been many firsts throughout time. Like the invention of the engine, the first vehicle to be incredibly safe, the first vehicle to be incredibly powerful. There have been many designers that mastered their craft. There have been plenty of technological innovations such as satellite radio, MP3 devices and Bluetooth. As an automotive company, we weren’t the first at any of these. But when it comes to putting all of this into a compact car, we are pioneers. The Forte. The first of its kind.”

This is such a great car in so many ways, and like all Kia’s I’m sure that the price is great too!  Now, if only my family was a little smaller…  You can even follow them on Facebook!

Just for checking out this sweepstakes, I am excited to be able to offer a fantastic prize for one very lucky reader!   Just visit the sweepstakes site and check it out…enter if you want while you’re there.  Then come back here and leave a comment and you will be entered to win a $25 Fandango gift card and $30 worth of Crate and Barrel Gift Cards!

Extra ways to enter…(be sure to leave a NEW comment for EACH extra entry!):

• Become a Facebook Fan of Kia Forte!
• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.  Be sure to enter by October 13th, 2009.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Disclosure:  I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like. I will receive a gift card as well for presenting this opportunity to you.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Just this past week, there have been wildfires in California, flooding in Atlanta and a Typhoon in the Phillipines.   Thinking about emergency/disaster preparedness yet?  Well maybe you should.

This month is National Disaster Preparedness Month and the Red Cross recently sent me some great tips to share with all of you on preparedness. (more…)

This year marks the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off® contest and the judging has begun.  But it gets better…for the very first time in this contest’s history, you can help with the judging.  Right now, there are 100 finalists and we get to participate in You Be the Judge! to help determine the 10 best recipes that will continue on to compete for the $1 million prize!

We’re coming into it about halfway through, so jump in now and get in on the action!!! So, how does it work?

Judges will select 20 recipes to be placed online at www.bakeoff.com in pairs – two weeks for each pair. Consumers can vote for their favorite recipe in each pair. The recipe from each pair that wins the most votes will earn a spot in the final competition, April 11-13, 2010, in Orlando, Florida.

Voting is limited to one vote per person per each pair of recipes. Voters must be registered members of www.pillsbury.com and 18 years of age or older as of May 1, 2009, to participate.

The first pair of recipes was posted on May 14, 2009 and a new pair of recipes have been and will be posted every two weeks (specifically: May 28, June 11, June 25, July 9, July 23, August 6, August 20, September 3 and September 17, 2009). The voting period for the tenth and final pair of recipes will close at 11:59AM CDT on October 1, 2009. Visit www.bakeoff.com for the official rules.

Before you cast your vote though, you may be curious about how the experts evaluate a recipe. If that’s the case, I invite you to watch this short video of Jann Atkins, Bake-Off® Kitchens assistant manager, as she shares some tips for evaluating a recipe. It just might help you decide which recipe deserves a shot at the million-dollar top prize.

I’m so excited to announce that TWO commenters will receive prize packs featuring a magazine of past Bake-Off® recipes and a Pillsbury Doughboy giggle doll.

I love this magazine and I have to say that the boys and I have spent hours and hours pouring over the recipes (well, in truth, I’m the only one looking at the recipes, their mouths are just watering from the amazing photos).

To enter, please visit the You Be the Judge! site and take a look around.  When you are done leave a comment here telling me about your favorite recipe (if it is a past Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe, even better).

There are many opportunities to get extra entries as well…just be sure to leave a new comment with the necessary information for each one:

• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only.  Entry deadline is July 20th.  It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.

Disclosure:  My Blog Spark sent me the same products that are included in the prize pack.  I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

I have recently begun fervently planning for next fall when I’ll be desperate for activities to keep the twins busy while I homeschool our 13 year old.  I’ve been aimlessly looking about for a simple, easy to use but complete curriculum to use with them…I don’t want to be stuck creating curriculum for them myself! Enter Itty Bitty Bookworm!

Itty Bitty Bookworm is definitely now on my list for top home-preschool choices, this program offers parents (and preschool teachers) complete curriculum so that they can be confident about what they are teaching their children but not have to put in all the hours to put something together themselves. Even if I tried, there’s absolutely NO way I would be able to construct such a complete, comprehensive and age appropriate lineup of activities, pages and projects!

I’m so thankful for programs like Itty Bitty Bookworm and trust me, if you have a preschooler you’re looking to get a preschool program for, you will be too!

The Itty-Bitty Bookworm is a literature-based preschool curriculum on CD that does all the planning for you, so you can focus on what’s important ~ your children. It offers a curriculum for 18-36 month olds, called the Bailey Curriculum, and the Bo curriculum for 3-5 year olds. Both curricula are specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of in-home preschools, family child-care centers, child development centers and home-schooling families.

They gave me two months of curriculum for me to try out with my 3 year olds and we’ve been having tons of fun (since one of those months focused on bugs, even the older boys wanted to get involved)!  I love the convenience of Itty Bitty Bookworm too!  They offer their products in two forms – CD or Downloads!  When you’re ready to go, just open up the file, read through the program, print out what you need and get to it! Going green anyone?  I think it’s so great that you can choose to print out ONLY what you need and know you will use with your children.

The books that are used with this program are typically readily available (or put them on hold beforehand) at your local library, or if you love books like me, you’ll want to order the set to have on hand when you begin the month!

Want to know what comes in the curriculum?

Our curricula contain lesson plans, printables, emergent readers, patterns, manipulatives, shape/color/letter/number displays, and much more. You will need to purchase some craft supplies. You will also need the books upon which the monthly curriculum is based. We have links on our site to websites where the books can be purchased. However, the books are easily found at most local libraries.

You can also check out their website for more information and samples of their curriculum. I absolutely love the way Tara looks at their program…

At The Itty-Bitty Bookworm, “curriculum” is just a fancy-pants word for roadmap. We think childhood is a journey, and most kids just need a little guidance now and then to really come into their own. With our curriculum you can expect to see your child(ren)…

• Develop a love of books.
• Expand her creativity.
• Excited about learning.
• Self-confident.
• Experiment and play.
• Prepared for Kindergarten.

Such a wonderful way to look at how we educate our children and prepare them for the future of their education!  We all know how very important it is to start our children off right and keep their minds active even as preschoolers.  This curriculum just assists us and makes that goal easier!

Itty Bitty Bookworm is offering my readers an amazing discount!  As you prepare to do preschool with your little ones next fall, you’ll definitely want to take advantage of the “Buy One Get One Free” promotion. Any reader who purchases a CD or download will receive another CD or download for free.

To take advantage of this offer, choose the first half of the months you would like, and put them in your cart DO NOT ADD all of them to your cart or it will not work.  Then when you get to checkout, just make sure you put BOGOF in the comments section along with the list of free months you are asking for. The offer will only be good from TODAY through June 13th so take advantage of it right away.

There is no limit on the amount you can purchase. So this means that you can receive a full year of curriculum for the price of 6 months ($150 value)!!!  So if you were even remotely worried about the expense, this is definitely the time to buy this program, though all you need to do is add up how much it would cost you to send your child to a local preschool and you’ll be amazed at the savings even without the discount!

Itty Bitty Bookworm is also offering one extremely lucky commenter One Full Year of Curriculum on CD (download for those outside of the US) which is worth $300! Make sure you visit their website and then come back here and leave a comment telling us why you’d like to win this curriculum and who you’d like to use it for!   Click on the “more” link and you’ll be able to see all the extra ways to enter!

(more…)

We’ve all heard of an encyclopedia, most of us have even heard and often used the online Wikipedia. But when it comes to motherhood, there are just some answers we want input on…but might not have friends to ask. Enter Mamapedia™, your new online source for the Wisdom of Moms.

Mamapedia™ is your lifeline to millions of moms who’ve shared their real-world wisdom through local Mamasource online communities over the past two years. We compiled their answers, organized them by stage, and made them instantly searchable. We invite you to bookmark Mamapedia to find answers in a pinch, and to join your local Mamasource community so you can share what you’ve learned on your journey. And don’t miss Mamapedia’s ever-expanding range of topics, including household, money, health, relationships, and many other things that moms are talking about.

Looking for new appliances or maybe some gardening advice?  Look in their house and home section.  If you’re looking for information on beauty and fitness or on your health, check out the All About Me section.  For any issues pertaining to your children just go to the Kids by Age section and there is simply tons of information to be found on all age groups.  Health or Finance questions…yup, they have information on all of that as well.

As with any parenting site, the views and information expressed are based on each person’s personal experience and needs to be weighed accordingly, but for a great informational site that is JUST for moms, Mamapedia™ is a wonderful resource.

I was recently told of some very fun Mother’s Day resources offered by the Special Olympics.   So be sure to hop on over there and check it out.

At their site they offer some great information about the items they offer for Mother’s Day (including an amazing Mother’s Day card taken from a painting done by a Special Olympics athlete) as well as some great information about the Special Olympics.

They recently ran a large campaign to end the r-word.  You can read all about that here and find out how the use of the r-word profoundly affects people everyday.