Marvelous Mom Reviews

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Hip Hip Hurray Giveaway Linky

Here are some of my giveaways:

Life As We Know It DVD & Soundtrack 2 Winners Ends 2/17

Life As We Know It DVD & Soundtrack at Woven by Words Ends 2/17

Lady In Waiting by Susan Meissner at Woven by Words Ends 2/17

I want to let you know my Hip Hip Hurray Giveaway Linky will be moving to my Woven by Words blog at the beginning of March.

To add your giveaway linky you must link to your giveaway not to your homepage! It will be deleted if it doesn’t. Spam will go as well. If you believe I’ve deleted your linky by accident, please let me know. Also no affiliate links either.

A CSNstores Opportunity!

We are an occasional travel family. I love road trips, that’s for sure, but our “luggage” leaves a lot to be desired! For the most part we used duffle bags or things we’ve gotten for free. I can’t even tell you what brand any of them are, if there’s even a brand.

And when I say “free” I mean duffle bags from my daughter’s college open house, trips to the state fair, etc. Not something that was sent to me.

My daughter’s on the other hand travel by air more than I do with school competitions or for vacation or mission trips. Lucky girls, but they can have it. I’m pretty much done with air travel. Anxiety attacks are NOT something I’m fond of. I’ll stick to the road.

I have to admit we are a duffle bag kind of family. I say that only because they’re squishable and since I typically have to jam pack my minivan squishability is a necessity. Delsey luggage from the Luggage.com CSNstores has some great selections.

Check out this awesome Delsey Helium Hyperlite 26" Rolling Duffel bag. I like that we’d be able to roll it around making it easier for my boys to help instead of me trying to lug 4-5 bags around on my own.Oh my goodness, my oldest daughter would LOVE the Helium Zip 25” Suiter Trolley in Raspberry Red. That color would send her to the moon!When we do travel, I always make sure we have one bag that has our overnight stuff for each night we are on the road. This makes it so much easier than unloading the large pieces just for a change of clothes.Something like this Helium Fusion Lite 2.0 Personal Bag in Black would work perfectly.I’d like to thank CSNstores for the opportunity to do a giveaway in my next CSNstores post! Keep an eye out for it!!

Monday, February 7, 2011

PowerRangers: Samurai emPower

The Power Rangers are back! With a new cast, a new look and a new network, Power Rangers: Samurai debuts on Nickelodeon Monday, Feb. 7th at 8pm EST before moving to it's regular spot on Sundays at noon on Nickelodeon.

The world's most successful kids action series is in it's 19th season and has moved from Disney to Nickelodoen and just got a shiny, martial-arts-influenced reboot.

Combining comedy with action-filled storylines, the all-new half-hour series features a new cast of Rangers and never-before-seen villains, as well as high-octane action, martial arts and advanced special effects.

A new generation of heroes is about to explode out of the darkness to battle bad guys everywhere!
The new Rangers, Jayden, Kevin, Mia, Emily and Mike, harness the mystical Samurai Symbols of Power to fight evil with the elements of Fire, Water, Sky, Forest and Earth.

They are not alone in their struggle. An all-knowing mentor and special spirit animals called Zords aid in their attack against the relentless dark forces.

emPOWER Kids

The emPOWER movement will launch along with the new series. emPOWER provides parents and kids the tools they need to work together to grow healthy kids and support healthy communities.

emPOWER inspires participation in schools, online and in local communities to demonstrate the Power Rangers values:

* Standing for What's Right
* Teamwork and Cooperation
* Confidence
* Health and Physical Fitness
* Caring and Friendship

About The Episode:In the action-packed premiere episode, “The Team Unites,” after Mike can’t anticipate an attack like Kevin and Jayden, he grows frustrated and takes a break from training to meet up with old friends. But when a long-armed monster named Rofer attacks, Mike unsuccessfully attempts to fight him alone, and his friends are injured. Jayden and Mentor explain the hard truth that Samurai Rangers must stay away from family and friends in order to protect them from the dangers that are involved with being a Ranger. Inspired, Mike begins to take his role and training as a Samurai Ranger more seriously. With Jayden’s help, Mike uses his training and creativity to anticipate Rofer’s moves and defeats him.

You can find more information like Downloads, Games, Episodes and much more at the Power Rangers emPower website.

Is your school or child participating in the Power Rangers in-school program?

During January and February 2011, Gym Class Kits including Fitness guides and bulletin board messaging are being delivered to more than 4500 participating U.S. elementary schools. The guides include group activities focused on Power Rangers values and physical fitness, designed for Kindergarten – 3rd grade students. Each participating school is entered for a chance to win: a visit from the Samurai Power Rangers and a $10,000 donation to their physical education program.

Every week the emPOWER website will feature a young person who's making a difference in their family, school, or community. Nominated by parents on the emPOWER facebook page, we'll feature the Ranger of the Week's photo and story to inspire kids, parents, and teachers about how kids are making a difference.

Your child can also “Samurai” themselves at the Power Ranger website.

My Review:

I thought the debut of Power Rangers Samurai was a good one. This will be another series that my boys will want to catch each of. Unfortunately it’ll air during church so they’ll have to catch reruns, but we’re used to that on Nickelodeon.

I remember watching many of the other series because my oldest son is 11 and we’ve been watching these for about 5 yrs. As a mom, I have to say the bad guys crack me up. They are the goofiest looking, dopiest, trouble makers since Godzilla movies.

I asked Doodle, 7yo what he thought of the show and he said he liked it. I asked him if he’d watch more of the shows and he said, "Maybe.” He hasn’t explained what he means by “maybe” even though I’ve asked him a couple different ways.

I think Power Ranger shows help kids to learn how to help others, become better people, and to not rely only on themselves. I like the lessons that they teach. It’ll be interesting to get my 11yo’s opinion of the show. He’ll have to watch it next Sunday hopefully.

I am eligible to win a gift card from One2One Network for posting my opinion of the show. I have not been compensated for this review and the opinions expressed are my own and never influenced by the company.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Kidorable Review & Giveaway

Oh how I wish I still had little girls in my house with the adorable lines from Kidorable! Because I don’t, I thought of some of the families at church who have some adorable little cuties that would love to try out some rain boots!

Thank goodness I had a taker. I showed up at church and asked one of our pastor’s wives if her daughter would be able to fit in them. Oh goodness, sure enough! Little B put the Kidorable Ballerina rain boots on and she loved them!

Seriously, how cute are little girls in anything Ballerina? Well, if you check out the new Kidorable line of Ballerina products you will be thrilled at what your little girl could be sporting.

Now, Kidorable isn’t just about the Ballerina line! Oh no. The have a couple lines for boys as well like their new Space Hero line! Check out a few of their other lines:

Here’s your opportunity to win a Kidorable umbrella of your choice.

Required: Visit Kidorable and tell me which line is your favorite.

Giveaway open to US residents only 18 yrs or older. Please leave your email in the required entry or have it available in your profile. No email/contact = No entry. Giveaway ends 2/20/11 at 11:59 PST.

Winner has 48 hours to respond.

Extra Entries:

I’d like to thank Kidorable for sending me the Ballerina Rainboots that I passed on to my “model”. Kidorable is also providing the giveaway product. The opinions expressed are my own and never influenced by the company.

H&S Candies Heart of Valentines Giveaway

I’m not sure if you’re like me, but I ♥ chocolate. I’ve had H&S Candies before and they are melt in your mouth delicious! These aren’t tiny pieces of chocolate that you wish would last longer. No, these are chunks of chocolate that make you roll your eyes in delight!

Lucky for you, I have the opportunity to giveaway a box of chocolates thanks to H&S Candies!

Giveaway open to US residents only 18 yrs or older. Please leave your email in the required entry or have it available in your profile. No email/contact = No entry. Giveaway ends 2/18/11 at 11:59 PST. Winner has 48 hours to respond.

Extra Entries:

I’d like to thank DBA West for the opportunity to participate in this giveaway. I will be receiving a box of chocolates for posting. The opinion expressed is my own and never influenced by the company.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Life As We Know It DVD & Soundtrack Giveaway ~ 2 Winners

Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel will be available February 8th. To celebrate the release I’m able to give away a DVD and Soundtrack to the movie to 2 winners!

I only saw 2 movies last year and Life As We Know It was one of them. LP and I went to see it and we laughed out loud during it! Yes, I’m one of those people. If you haven’t heard about the movie here’s an intro:

“This quirky romantic comedy follows Holly (Katherine Heigl) & Messer (Josh Duhamel), two seemingly unsure adults, who become unexpected parents to their best friends’ daughter after a tragic accident. As opposites attract, the two struggle to put aside their differences, learn how to care for their charming adopted daughter Sophie and become a family through these unforeseen circumstances.”

Last week I was able to part of a conference call with Katherine Heigl! How insane is that? It was a great 1/2 hour with her and about 10 other bloggers. You can read more about it at Woven by Words.

I thought I’d share some of the answers to her questions. (Did I mention I’m still shocked I got to do this call? *grin*) Her answers aren’t verbatim because I tried writing everything down and had to drop little words but the meat of how she responded is her completely.

Being in the public eye, how do you maintain your true self?

Katherine: I tend to be too honest. I don’t censor myself well. What you get is me. I need to learn to be more private.

Does being a parent change how you view the roles you'll take or the roles you've played in the past?

Katherine: I want to play roles of women I can admire. I want my daughter to be able to watch my movies.

Do you have date nights?

Katherine: I have a girl that nanny’s but only until a certain time. So, we have date night at home after our daughter goes to bed. We don’t go out as much as we used to. I love going out to dinner.

How do you decompress?

Katherine: Watch Apple TV. I just finished a marathon of Sons of Anarchy. I also watch Gossip Girl, Life Unexpected and Cougar Town. I like to involve myself in other shows.

Now’s your chance to own the DVD and Soundtrack!

Required: Tell me which Girls Night In Tips from the widget above you like the most.

Giveaway open to US residents only 18 yrs or older. Please leave your email in the required entry or have it available in your profile. No email/contact = No entry. Giveaway ends 2/17/11 at 11:59 PST. Winner has 48 hours to respond.

Extra Entries:

I’d like to thank DBA West for the DVD I’ll be receiving as well as the giveaway products. The opinions expressed are my own and never influenced by the company.