Fisher Price Laugh & Learn – Smart Bounce & Spin Pony – Review

Award Winner

Fun With TV Interaction

My grandson Slugger recently turned one.  It’s a joy to have a grandson since I’m the proud mom of two daughters and one granddaughter.

Slugger approaches life with full force, and head-on.  I like to call him my “monster truck” as he seems to bulldoze his way around learning things.

Of course, any learning requires active participation.

I recently had the opportunity to review the Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony from Fisher Price.

This friendly pony bounces, spins, and rewards baby with lots of music and sounds, even without the TV. And when you set up the wireless TV connection, baby’s actions make big things happen on screen!

There’s plenty of interactive game play, animation, music, sounds, friendly characters, as well as tons of sing-along songs.

The Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony offers three grow-with-me levels of interactive learning that your child will enjoy in your own home using the television.

• 12M+ Level 1: Action/Reaction

Teaches cause, effect, familiar objects, animals, sounds, first words

• 18M+ Level 2: Learn and Play

Teaches letters, numbers, objects, animals, opposites, colors, shapes, peek-a-boo play

• 24M+ Level 3: Active Learning

Teaches game play, word recognition, counting, actions, weather, following directions

To view a demonstration of this delightful toy for your toddler, Click HERE.

This Christmas, teach your child that learning is important. Give your child or grandchildren the Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony from Fisher-Price and watch your child learn and grow right in front of your eyes!
Requires 3 AAA and 3 C batteries.

Ages: 12-36 months

Product: N0446

Maximum Weight: 44 lbs. (20 kg)

For More Information Visit: Fisher Price

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Go Waggaloo Children’s CD – Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family – Review and Giveaway

Smithsonian Folkways

Traditional Folk with Subtle Uses of Modern Technology

Both my husband and I are Baby Boomers.  Occasionally our taste in music differs, but for the most part, we enjoy the same type of music.  We grew up with folk music, rock n’ roll, and hard rock.

As young parents, we tried to expose our girls to various musical genres.  On car rides we would often play CD’s from Arlo Guthrie, including Allison’s Restaurant.

Recently I had the opportunity to become familiar with a new children’s music release from Smithsonian Folkways, Go Waggaloo, from Sarah Lee Guthrie &  Family.

The album features Sarah Lee Guthrie, her husband Johnny Irion, their two daughters, and a host of other family and friends including her father Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Pete’s grandson Tao Rodriguez Seeger.

When our girls were younger, one Friday after Thanksgiving we took them to Stockbridge, Massachusetts for the day, and looked for the infamous “Alices Restaurant.” They still talk about that trip to Stockbridge!

Go Waggaloo continues the Guthrie song-making tradition forged by Sarah’s grandfather, Woody Guthrie.

The album includes three previously unrecorded songs written by Woody Guthrie and set to music for the first time by Sarah Lee Guthrie.  The album mixes traditional folk with subtle uses of modern technology, including drum machines, loops, and cell phone recordings.

When we played the CD for ‘Lil Moomette, who’s 3, and for Slugger, now 1, their favorite song was Don’t I fit in My Daddy’s Shoes?

Other tunes of the CD include:

• Go Waggaloo

• Take Me to Show-and-Tell

• Bright Clear Day

• ‘Cuz We’re Cousins

• Big Moon

• Fox and the Goose

• If Mama Had Four Hands

• Big Square Walkin’

• She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain

• Brush Your Teeth Blue #57

• Oni’s Ponies

Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. Our mission is the commitment to cultural diversity, education, increased understanding, and lively engagement with the world of sound. Smithsonian Folkways is the most trusted brand in children’s music; Folkways has been the label of more than 200 children’s recordings including music by Ella Jenkins, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly among others.

This is an enjoyable CD for family car trips, daycare providers, or home schooling!

For More Information and Special Offers Visit: Smithsonian Folkways

Moomette’s Magnificents  is hosting a Giveaway Contest! For a chance to win, there will be one (1) winner of the Go Waggaloo Children’s CD.

Please include a way of contacting you. Should you be the contest winner, this information may be shared with the contest sponsor in order to send your prize.

Main Rule:   (remember if this rule is not followed then no others will count)
a) Sign up for my free Newsletter Updates to my blog through my e-mail Feedblitz link (on the top of my right column or let me know if you already are, in a separate comment) AND

b) Visit Smithsonian Folkways and leave a comment about what you like best about their site and another product you’d like to try.

This contest will run until November 9, 2009 at 11:00 pm. EST

For Additional Entries, check out my Contest Entry Rules.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

Striking Skin Care – For Women Over 40 – Review and Giveaway

Reinvent Your Skin

With SmartPeptides

I’ve always maintained a  beauty regime for my face since I was a teenager.  I’m fortunate to say that I’ve really never had acne, and have inherited good genes.  My grandmom lived to be 101, and hardly had any wrinkles, and really looked at least 20 years younger than she was!

Over the years I’ve had many compliments about my skin.

Starting in my teens, I always removed my makeup at night and used an astringent-based facial cleanser.  As I got older, I made sure I always applied moisturizer.  In the evening I would also use a night cream and under-eye cream.

Recently I had the opportunity to review products from Striking Skin Care.  It’s  a product line for women over 40 that helps restore radiance and firmness to skin by using SmartPeptide technology.

SmartPeptides target areas that need improvement in the appearance of aging skin such as age-related skin characteristics: lines and wrinkles, loss of elasticity, loss of firmness and definition, appearance of darkened areas or general unevenness of skin tone, rough texture, and thinning of the skin.

I started out by using the facial cleanser, Striking Multi-Vitamin Creme Cleanser.  First you rub into a dry face, and rinse off.  Afterwards I applied Rejuvenating Eye Crème and Restorative Moisture Crème.  During the day I’ll apply my mineral makeup over it.  At night, I just apply as instructed.

Since I’ve been using the product for approximately one month, I’ve noticed that my skin has a firmer appearance, and the area underneath my eyes doesn’t seem as baggy.  The product is a rich consistency, yet isn’t greasy feeling.

The Striking Skin Care line can also help target the effects that peri-menopause and menopause have on women’s skin.   Approximately 45 million women are going through the menopausal transition in the US at any one time.  With an average life expectancy for US women today of 84 years, many women spend around 50% of their adult life as a menopausal or post-menopausal female.   During this phase, a woman can experience increased dryness, loss of firmness and an increase in fine lines and wrinkles on her face and neck.

Striking Skin Care products are free of parabens, fragrance, artificial colors,
pore-clogging ingredients and formaldehyde-releasing ingredients and are Dermatologist tested.

As a Baby Boomer, I can honestly say that I like how my skin looks and feels after using the Striking Skin Care line and will continue to use their products.

For More Information Visit: Striking Skin Care

Moomette’s Magnificents  is hosting a Giveaway Contest! For a chance to win, there will be one (1) winner of one Striking Skin Care Set valued at $149.95 (US Residents Only)

Please include a way of contacting you. Should you be the contest winner, this information may be shared with the contest sponsor in order to send your prize.

Main Rule:   (remember if this rule is not followed then no others will count)
a) Sign up for my free Newsletter Updates to my blog through my e-mail Feedblitz link (on the top of my right column or let me know if you already are, in a separate comment) AND

b) Visit Striking Skin Care and leave a comment about another fact not mentioned in this post and another product you’d like to try.

This contest will run until November 11, 2009 at 11:00 pm. EST

For Additional Entries, check out my Contest Entry Rules.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

Pumpkin Festival – Keene New Hampshire – Wordless Wednesday

Halloween

Keene, New Hampshire holds a Pumpkin Fest every fall around Halloween.  Keene is a quintessential New England college town, where Keene State University is located.  This is just one of several such displays that are built where they try to break the record number of pumpkins displayed.  It’s even more spectacular when the jackolanterns are all lit at night!

For More Information Visit:
Keene New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Fancy Friendship Bracelets from Klutz – Review and Giveaway

Arts and Crafts

Jewelry Making

When I was a youngster, I didn’t attend fancy day camps in the summer when school was out.  The Park and Recreation Department in my town would hold activities at each of the local parks all day long.  Along with my friends, I’d show up in the morning; go home for lunch and; walk back for the afternoon activities.

One of my favorite activities was arts and crafts.  For a small fee, perhaps it was 5 or 10 cents, we’d get to make a project.  One of my favorite projects were the bracelets made out of colored cord.

I recently had the opportunity to review a newly released book from Klutz featuring the Fancy Friendship Bracelets, written by Anne Akers Johnson.

Klutz started with super-simple instructions for a flock of all-new bracelet designs which includes five different colors of cord.

Features Include:

• 6 stylish charms

• 40 yards of cord

• More than 200 beads

Recommended for ages 8+, the book includes instructions to make 10 different fancy friendship bracelets.

Klutz was started in 1977 by three unconventional friends from Stanford University. In 2002, Scholastic Inc., the largest children’s book publisher and distributor in the world, acquired Klutz.

…how-to books from Klutz come packaged with the tools of their trade (from juggling cubes to face paints to yo-yos), and are designed for doing, not just reading.

Klutz also offers Bead Loom Bracelets, Spool Knit Jewelry, Shrink Art Jewelry as well games, puzzles, art, drawing and extra supplies.

For a MSRP of $19.95, this is a cute, entertaining and educational book to put on your Christmas holiday shopping list for any pre-teen or tween!

For More Information Visit: Klutz

Moomette’s Magnificents  is hosting a Giveaway Contest! For a chance to win, there will be two (2) winners receiving 2  copies of the same book – one to keep AND one to share.

Please include a way of contacting you. Should you be the contest winner, this information may be shared with the contest sponsor in order to send your prize.

Main Rule:   (remember if this rule is not followed then no others will count)
a) Sign up for my free Newsletter Updates to my blog through my e-mail Feedblitz link (on the top of my right column or let me know if you already are, in a separate comment) AND

b) Visit Klutz and leave a comment about what you like best about their site and another product you’d like to try.

This contest will run until November 8, 2009 at 11:00 pm. EST

For Additional Entries, check out my Contest Entry Rules.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

Dirt Devil Gator 10.8V Cordless Hand Vacuum – Review

Energy Star Compliant

25th Anniversary of Dirt Devil

As I’ve been married for over 35 years, I’ve had several different vacuums by various manufactures.

Currently I own a Dirt Devil Pet Vac Legacy Rewind with hepa filter.  I also own a Dirt Devil Easy Steamer Carpet Shampooer.  I find their products to be very reputable and affordable.

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to review a new Dirt Devil Gator 10.8v Cordless Hand Vacuum from the Gator Series™.

This past summer I went camping to the Connecticut shore with my daughter, son-in-law and the grandkids.  As I have two car-seats, we used my car when we were driving from our camp site to the beach, or out to dinner.  Needless to say, my car collected quite a bit of sand in it!

After charging the vacuum, I found the Dirt Devil Gator quite powerful and it did a good job collecting all the sand and other debris that collected on my car seats and floor mats.

I also tested it on the carpeted stairs to the second floor, and was amazed at the amount of cat hair that this little vacuum picked up!

When I went to empty it, once I slid the tabs back, I can see where the name was derived from – it actually did look like an alligator’s  mouth!  The filter was full, however easy to clean.

The Dirt Devil® Gator Series™ dirt cup flips open for easy emptying versus the traditional two-piece dirt cup that requires users to take the unit apart and remove dirt and dust with their hands. Now, you’ll be able to just press the release buttons and empty debris without touching the dirt, saving both time and effort.

This whole new line of hand vacs marks the 25th anniversary of Dirt Devil’s powerful and compact cleaning product entering the marketplace.The Gator Series vary in voltage (10.8V-18V) and price ($29.99-$59.99) and will be available at Target and Best Buy.

Features Include:

• Dirt Devil® Gator 10.8VTM

• Cordless Hand Vacuum

• Gator SeriesTM  Dirt Cup for easy emptying

• Powerful suction for quick clean ups

• Built-in crevice tool for cleaning tight spaces

• ENERGY STAR approval

• 3-Year Warranty

If you’re looking for a reasonably priced yet powerful, easy-to-use hand vac, I would recommend putting this on your holiday shopping list for the car enthusiast, new grads or newlyweds.

For More Information Visit: Dirt Devil

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Halloween in Connecticut – Scarecrows on Main

Halloween in Connecticut

New England Holiday Traditions

New England lends itself to being particularly inviting in the Fall, and especially during Halloween.

Last weekend was beautiful.  We took a daytrip and  a leisurely stroll along cobblestone sidewalks through a historic town here in Connecticut to view “Scarecrows on Main”.  Each year local civic organizations, schools and arts groups get together and hold a contest for different categories of  “Scarecrows” that are handmade.  Of course, not all are scary – and each year they just seem to get more unique!  Many have themes.

It’s a great idea for tourism, and families come and enjoy the day, patronizing the local shoppes and restaurants, or even bring a picnic lunch – as well as their cameras!

I took so many photos and couldn’t put them all up on Wordless Wednesday, so I thought I’d let you enjoy them here.

Does your town do anything special for Halloween?

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Home Decorating Tips – Always Have a Focal Point

Make Your Room Stand Out

My daughter and son-in-law are in the process of building a recreation room to add more space for their growing family.  Once it’s finished, they’ll have to concentrate on furnishing it.  This is where the fun part begins, in my opinion.

This is not a lesson on concentration. A focal point is the place where the eye naturally gravitates within a room. Whether you’re adding on for the family, or building a home office, take into consideration when decorating that it’s important to choose a focal point for your room before you start thinking about anything else.

Popular Focal Points

The first thought for a focal point is an architectural structure. It could be a fireplace or a built-in bookcase. In the case of the family room, you might consider an audio and video furniture or a wood stove, fireplace/television alcove combination.

When determining the focal point of any room, you’ll want to start big. When entering a room, people’s eyes begin high and steadily move downward. The largest thing in your room may be the fireplace. In that case, use it as the focus of your room.

Focal points can also be created. In homes with rooms that have no distinguishing architectural features, you can choose what you want as the focal point. Add a bookshelf, a large piece of artwork or a big screen television.

When all of the walls look alike, use paint to distinguish your focal point. Paint one wall in a similar, but lighter shade than the other three. That single wall becomes the focal point for your room.

Always use something big. Small items in the room can be engulfed by other features and not be seen as a focus for anything, if they even catch the eye of your visitor at all.

Enhancing Your Focal Point

Why is it important? Having one outstanding feature in each room, makes that room interesting. It gives the room character so to speak. It also gives you a place to begin when deciding how to adorn the rest of the room. For instance, the furniture can be gathered around the focal point.

For some, it is not the center of the room but it is a main feature. Leave room in front of the fireplace or the bookshelf for admiring by visitors and friends. The furniture can then be centered in front of the television on a shorter wall.

Use accents to spruce up your focal point. Family pictures can be hung on the wall around the fireplace (using this as an example). Flowers, antiques and other items that are precious to you add to the eye-catching nature of this element in your room. Resist the urge to junk it up. Less is always more especially when it comes to accessorizing around the rooms of your home.

Having a focal point in a room makes the room easier to decorate and even more lovable. You can work everything else in the room around that one feature. Make your visitors’ attention immediately go to the focal point in the center or simply dress your focal point up to make it stand out. If you don’t have a natural focal point, use furniture such as bookshelves, entertainment centers, television stands, etc. to create a focus for the room.

photo credit: Hugo90

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Beauty Tip of the Day – Unilever Products Giveaway

Look Your Best

How Do They Do It?

Some of the celebrities from my era are still gorgeous and have a “timeless” look about them.  Just look at beauties such Goldie Hawn, Demi Moore and Barbra Streisand.  No doubt about it, our favorite celebrities look fabulous, but they don’t achieve that look alone. In fact, they have lots of help getting there. With a few tips from these insiders, we can look our best too.

On my right sidebar you’ll find a Beauty Tip of the Day widget, featuring beauty tips for hair, skin and face.

Read on for some secret celebrity beauty tips:

Wardrobe expert Ricci DeMartino offers advice on looking slimmer than you really are. To look lean and pulled together, wear clothing in matching colors on the top and bottom, like khaki pants and a taupe blouse. Avoid wearing two different colors like a red blouse and blue pants. This cuts you in half and draws attention to your waist making you appear bigger.

Stars like Tyra Banks and Gwyneth Paltrow swear by figure-controlling pants and tights to hide bulges. They are not the only stars who wear minimizing undergarments when wearing elegant evening wear either.

With zoom lenses picking up the tiniest flaw, great skin care is high on the list of must-dos for celebs as well. A biggie is protecting sensitive skin from the sun’s UV rays as well as from environmental irritants. Products of choice contain antioxidants.

Slathering on the sunscreen is recommended too. Even with sunscreen on, the stars avoid sunbathing, to keep their skin in top condition. So how do they get that just off the beach look? Stars like Lindsay Lohan use a  self-bronzer is sprayed on in a tanning booth. The glow lasts for up to seven days and is UV free. No tanning beds or lying on the beach to get that awesome tanned look.

Keeping the skin well hydrated is another biggie for celebrities and it should be for you too. Dry skin shows fine lines, making you appear older. Products containing Vitamin A fight signs of aging so read the label and check the ingredients when you choose your moisturizing cream. Go for the super dewy look like Debra Messing.

If your eyes look tired, puffy or red, you look older. Youth and vibrancy go hand in hand. Alicia Keys’ make-up artist advises the use of concealers to get rid of dark circles and make eyes appear brighter and more rested.

There are secrets to having great looking hair too, of course. One surprising trick that many stars rely on is to not wash their hair every day. In fact many stars absolutely won’t wash their hair the day of a big awards show. Why not? Well, it seems that shampooing too frequently gets rid of naturally occurring oils. We knew that but why is that important? These oils are what keep hair shiny and smooth naturally, creating a fabulous look for the big event.

Hair extensions are all the rage in Hollywood these days. But this may be one tip you may not want to use. They come with a hefty price tag and some heavy duty upkeep.

We may not have access to our own personal make-up artists, hair stylists, or advisors, on a daily basis, but with a little bit of work and some creativity, we too can achieve a celebrity-like look.

Moomette’s Magnificents  is hosting a Giveaway Contest! For a chance to win, there will be one (1) winner of a box of beauty products from Unilever, with items such as Dove, Vaseline, Q-Tips and Ponds.

Please include a way of contacting you. Should you be the contest winner, this information may be shared with the contest sponsor in order to send your prize.

Main Rule:   (remember if this rule is not followed then no others will count)
a) Sign up for my free Newsletter Updates to my blog through my e-mail Feedblitz link (on the top of my right column or let me know if you already are, in a separate comment) AND

b) Visit and click the Beauty Tips of the day Widget and leave a comment about what beauty tip you found most helpful.

This contest will run until November 1, 2009 at 11:00 pm. EST

For Additional Entries, check out my Contest Entry Rules.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn – Fun With Friends Musical Table – Review

Developmental Benefits for Baby

Award Winner

Since my grandson Slugger was born, I’ve found that boys are entirely different than girls when it comes to discovery.  I’ve had two daughters, and my granddaughter ‘Lil Moomette is now three.

Slugger just bulldozes ahead with curiosity.  He’ll play with a toy, or whatever catches his attention until he has it all figured out!

I recently had the opportunity to review the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Musical Friends Table.

We had a similar, earlier version of this table for ‘Lil Moomette, but found that this version has more activities and  keeps her entertained.  The legs on the Fun With Friends Musical Table are higher than the older version.  Actually, the kids compete to use it!  Slugger will grab the phone, and say “Hello”; or he’ll keep flipping open or closing the storybook pages.

There are four corners of activity to keep the grandkids busy while learning. The table allows toddlers to either sit and play or stand and cruise while learning.

The learning center has flashing lights as well as friendly characters to encourage exploration.

Activities foster and encourages learning of:

• Letters

• Numbers

• Counting

• First words

• Colors, shapes, opposites, animals and more

• Bilingual – in English and Spanish

Musical fun includes sing-along songs, tunes, real instrument sounds and a variety of music styles.

There are several different modes that are accessed through a simple switch.  The Imagination mode brings imitative play to life with real-life sounds, piano keys, phone tones and more.

As a grandmom, I can definitely say that any pre-school, daycare provider, homeschool or mom-to-be would appreciate one of these for a baby shower!

This is a fun, educational toy to put on your holiday shopping list this Christmas season.

By registering at Fisher Price you’ll have an opportunity to download and print an in-store coupon that entitles you to $20 off a $100 purchase of Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn™ and/or Go Baby Go!™ Infant Toys.

Requires 3 AA batteries.

Table measures approx. 18½” W x 18½” L x 15″ H when fully assembled.
Ages: 6-36 months
Product:    M9972
Approx. Retail Price: $45.00

Available at: Fisher Price

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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