When my youngest daughter who’s now 21 was a toddler, the only way we could get her to go to sleep at night was by listening to music. Several of her favorite storybooks came with accompanying music tapes.

Back then, she had a tape player ~ you may or may not remember them ~ the kind where if the thin tape got twisted or stuck that was the end of everything? Can you imagine what it was like trying to get my toddler to sleep at that point?

We actually still have the special tape player and many of the same books, which will probably be passed down to my daughter’s children if she ever has any.

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to review some absolutely stunning illustrated storybooks from the publishing group, The Secret Mountain.

I received three different storybooks from The Secret Mountain collection:

Dream Songs Night Songs: From Belgium to Brazil
A Duck in New York City
Down at the Sea Hotel

Each storybook came with an accompanying CD filled with music that compliments the story and is attached to a pocket on the back cover.

My granddaughter, ‘Lil Moomette just recently turned two. Our favorite out of the collection is the Down at the Sea Hotel. The CD includes 14 performances and additional printable files, along with lyrics and illustrations.

I recognized several of the songs immediately ~ “Goodnight, My Angel” , written by songwriter Billy Joel; as well as other songwriters including Neil Young.

These would make perfect Holiday, Birthday or anytime gifts for your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, family friend or home schooled children.

Much like her auntie’s favorite books and tapes, these delightful story time books and CDs from
The Secret Mountain are destined to become cherished favorites of ‘Lil Moomette.

Please share with me your child’s favorite bedtime ritual ~ I’d love to know if any other children listened to music like my youngest daughter did!

Visit http://www.thesecretmountain.com for more information.

For the last two Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm. Eastern Time, I’ve been participating in Girl’s Night Out on Twitter over at Mommy Gossip.  You can do a Twitter Search using #GNO to see all the posts.

It’s so much fun and I’ve met some terrific new Twitter friends and connected with current friends.

The topic this past Tuesday night was Holiday Dishes and Drinks.  There’s some wonderful new recipes posted that I’m going to be trying.  I had several requests for my Bacon Cheese Roll Up Appetizer and Chocolate Mini Marshmallow Velvet Fudge recipe (my Mom’s, and my favorite when I was a kid) that Mommy Gossip was kind enough to feature this week after the event.

GNO is also sponsoring a Virtual Food Drive ~ GNO Gives Back.

Please join me in supporting this worthwhile cause so all American families in need can indeed, have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Visit Mommy Gossip~Cares at http://mommygossip-cares.blogspot.com/ for more information.

Follow me on Twitter on Tuesday November 18 for discussions on Charities we love and how we We Can give back.

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Work At Home Mom Blueprint Has The Answers You’re Looking For.

When my girls were toddlers and beyond the sippy cup stage (we called them tippy cups,) my husband and I tried to get them to drink from a cup with a straw. If you’re a mom or grandmom of a toddler ~ you might be thinking that’s easier said than done.

Inevitably, my daughters would end up taking the straw out and playing games with it or dropping it all over the table or on the floor.

At some point we found a cup that had a built-in straw in it and that was the answer to our dreams!

My oldest daughter is now 25 and a mom herself. ‘Lil Moomette, my granddaughter who just turned 2 in October, is very proficient using a straw, and has been for quite some time. But alas, the games continue! Grandpa and I have been searching locally for the elusive magic cup with the straw in it, but had been unsuccessful.

To my delight, I was contacted by Jennifer Anderson, a WAHM and owner of Lil’ Chillers to review what I think is the ultimate answer to many a mom of toddlers who are learning to drink from a straw!

Lil Chillers is - The Next Step in Sippy Cup Evolution

Made of unbreakable BPA-free polycarbonate, Lil’ Chillers™ have a non-skid bottom and easy-grip sides for little hands. Lil’ Chillers™ are tip-resistant and designed with a flared straw which prevents children from removing the straw from the cup.

Lil’ Chillers™ are for everyone—smaller children, older children and even adults. They are also great for preschools, daycare and even the elderly who may have trouble drinking from an open-mouth cup.

The website also provides an extensive list of FAQ’s providing information regarding straw drinking for a child who has special needs or receives speech or occupational therapy.

These cute cups are for toddlers 18 months up, and come in six colors.

I think they’d also be great for making smoothies as the straw is large enough for any liquid to pass through!

What I like about Lil’ Chillers cups are that they are top-rack, dishwasher safe. Additionally, the plastics used are Bisphenol A (BPA) safe for human use. What’s even better is that replacement straws are available if the need arises. The company also has a Return Policy in place.

If you’re a mom, grandmom or aunt and are looking for a terrific cup to keep at home or for gift giving, please visit http://www.lilchillers.com to learn more.

I actively participate in Twitter & Facebook and met Barbara Schantz who sent me a delightful new product to review!

Barbara is a mom of not one, but two sets of twins.  As if she’s not busy enough, Barbara is also  mompreneur owner of Baby Dipper, LLC, and the designer of The Baby Dipper Bowl.

This bowl allows parents to feed a baby using only one hand and helps toddlers learn to feed themselves.

My daughter, mom to ‘Lil Moomette who just turned two, also has her hands full as she has a new son, Slugger, who was born in August, 2008. When they’re over, it takes both of us to try to feed the kiddos, so I can’t even imagine having two sets of twins!

My Charming Son-In-Law is a twin and has a sister who’s 14 months younger than him, so his mom and I always have conversations about what it was like when he and his siblings were younger!

Sales of The Baby Dipper Bowl launched in July 2008. What makes this versitile bowl so unique is that it’s triangular shaped, measures 4 inches long, 3 inches wide; 1 3/4 inches deep (10 cm x 7.5 cm x 4.5 cm) and holds 4 fluid ounces.

The Baby Dipper Bowl has a non-slip base gripper bottom, so it stays in place on a smooth surface, and won’t slide around. It has contoured interior guides enabling easy transfer of food to spoon. Additionally, it’s transparent, and allows easy viewing of how much food is left in the bowl.  The Baby Dipper Bowl comes with it’s own spoon featuring a nicely curved handle, for ease of use.

Microwave safe ~ exercise caution with hot foods
Hand Washing Recommended

Grandmoms ~ Aunts~Sisters & Friends! This nifty bowl will make an excellent Baby Shower, Newborn or Holiday gift this season!

Barbara would like to offer my readers a coupon code to use for purchasing The Baby Dipper Bowl.  Use CODE MOOM1108 to receive 10% off between now through November 30, 2008.

Visit http://www.babydipper.com for more information.

Anyone with a 3-year old knows how much they luv to take a “tubby” bath. I remember those days well. Either they fight you to no end, or they enjoy it so much that they don’t want to get out!

As a grandmom, I babysit quite often for the little darlings, and get to relive the experience all over again with ‘Lil Moomette!

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to review Bath Blizzard, by Spin Master.

The Bath Blizzard, a bubble machine,

…creates fun by releasing a waterfall of bubbly foam fun for the tub that your children can actually clean with.

Bath Blizzard can be securely hung on the faucet using the adjustable strap for a clutter-free bath.

This fun, compact bath bubble-maker hangs securely onthe side of the tub via suction cups, with just the turn of a knob, a waterfal of soapy bubles goes spilling into the tub. It’s sure to make bath time a blast for evn the most water-averse little tyke! 

Now where with this ingenious idea when my children were little?

The Bath Blizzard consists of a tears-free formula that is

• HypoAllergenic

• Pediatrician and Opthalmologist Approved

• Hypo-Allergenic for Sensitive Skin

• Wheat-Free

• Fragrance-Free

• Paraben-Free

Additionally, Bath Blizzard comes complete with a Battery-operated Foaming Machine; with strap for stability on the side of tub, 2.54 fl.Oz. Bubble Bath Concentrate (which is enough for 10 baths) and is Refillable.

Ages 3+

Available at Target,Toys R Us and Walmart.

If you’re looking for a unique Birthday Gift or present for Holiday gift-giving this season and for more information,  visit Kid Kleen at http://www.kidkleen.com/

As a Baby Boomer Gram, I always seem to have an opinion on everything. One of the things I enjoy most is grabbing a cup of coffee on the way to and from my office commute. It never fails to amaze me how many clerks at the coffee shop can’t seem to make change without the help of the computer cash register.

Likewise, many young children today are so digitally connected, that something as elementary as telling time by looking at a clock with hands ~ the old fashion way ~ simply stumps them.

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to review a quality product from Olive Kids.

‘Lil Moomette, my 2 year old granddaughter, loves to be held up by her Grandpa to our pendulum clock in the living room, and hear it go “tic toc.”

I received a beautiful Blossoms And Butterflies Personalized Clock with her name on it. The clock face is a light pink with a pretty pink flower arrangement in a purple pot. The personalized name is centered around the base of the pot. Butterflies replace numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9. The clock measures 12 in. across, and uses one AA battery (not included). There’s even coordinating bedding available to match!

Something as simple as a clock with moving hands can truly help even a toddler get a head-start on number recognition, sequencing, identification and counting skills, prior to Pre-School.

If you’re a mom who home schools your children or a Grandparent, Aunt or family friend looking for a unique gift ~ Olive Kids has it all.

Olive Kids is a delightful online shopping experience offering just about anything for kids that you can imagine ~ kids bedding; infant bedding; personalized clocks; rugs; wall art; plush & floor pillows; growth charts & more!

Best of all, Olive Kids has received many Mom-Tested and Mom-Site Awards.

The Blossoms and Butterflies Personalized Clock is definitely a winner. Many other styles for both Girls and Boys are available.  Visit at http://olivekids.com

We’re coming into the 2008 Holiday Selling season now on eBay ~ my favorite time of year, as sales in my eBay Store, Moomette’s Magnificents, really start to jump! As a Grandma, I’m always on the lookout for that special toy that’s sure to be a big hit with the kiddie set. I’m going to rely on my copy of the 2008 Holiday Toy Guide.

The 2008 Holiday Toy Selling Guide is a resource for eBay sellers that provides a list of the toys expected to be the most popular this holiday season. This list is compiled from industry experts and compares the retail prices to performance on eBay and then this information is provided in a weekly report.

Want to get a heads-up?  Here’s 9 Tips For Finding Those Hard To Find Toys:

Just because you may not see a toy on the shelf in a store, doesn’t mean it is out of stock. Use these nine tips to find even the toys that are the most difficult to get your hands on.

1. Communicate with your local stores to learn stocking patterns

2. Talk with store stockers just to learn how they run their store

3. Store employees are more likely to talk with collectors than dealers - Be very careful of your wording ~  They will figure out that you are a dealer/reseller when you visit buying the same things over and over.

4. Talk with customer service folks - Don’t assume all employees have the same level of information. Sometimes they have information the stockers don’t have. Where a stocker may not know when they are getting a shipment of a specific toy, the customer service folks may be able to tell you.

5. Avoid the big stores - check out drug stores, grocery stores - even smaller online toy stores

6. Visit grocery stores/drug stores in less affluent areas

7. Visit out-of-the-way cities

8. Look behind other toys on the shelves

9. Look under shelves in hidden storage areas - and places employees would hide toys.

The 2008 Holiday Toy Guide provides you with a list of the most popular toys - many of these toys are going to get harder and harder to find as we get closer to the Holiday Season. Be sure to use these tips to find these great selling toys.

Hurry! Weekly updates to the Holiday Toy Guide start the first week of November… and joining before November 4th will ensure that all 8 updates are received.

In honor of Maternity Week at An Ordinary Life I am trying to win a gorgeous Elliott Lucca Limited Edition handbag. It’s not your ordinary purse either, this bag also can function as a diaper bag! Maternity Week starts September 13th and there will be tons of great prizes. (Including another big surprise!)

Wouldn’t this be just perfect for the Mother-to-Be on your list, or a great gift to tuck away for the Holiday Season?

This Elliott Lucca bag is valued at $368.00 and is Limited Edition ONLY! Giveaway ends Sept. 24th

As a Reviewer for MomSelect, I have the opportunity to Review one of the the Precious Girls Club books.

Thanks to both, I’m going to be giving away 4 Books and 10 Web Codes to some lucky Readers of this blog!

These will make wonderful stocking stuffers in time for the Holidays!

Precious Moments®, the gift company known for their inspirational figurines and products, launched a new product line and an interactive virtual world website for girls 4-8 years old. This new concept is called the Precious Girls Club and is a virtual world that inspires, enriches and encourages that all too brief moment in a girl’s life journey: being a precious little girl. The Precious Girls Club features wholesome age-appropriate characters. You can visit the website at  www.preciousgirlsclub.com

The virtual world website offers games, quests, and virtual charms that reward good behavior in the virtual world, as well as in the external world. Parents will be able to go online and reward their girls with an online helpful charm, for example, when they have helped with household chores. These charms will unlock extra points online, thus providing a fun reward to reinforce positive offline behavior. The site will also provide tools to help girls form their own Precious Girls Clubs in the offline world.

Examples of things to do on the website include:

*Memory Maze

*Super Splash

*Coloring Pages

*Crafts

*Games

There is also a chapter book series that goes along with the Precious Girls Club featuring the wholesome, age-appropriate characters in a variety of scenarios.

Precious Moments has also created a website designed to connect mothers of like-minded beliefs and morals at www.preciousmoms.com and features celebration planning tools, inspirational messages and advice from real world like-minded moms. Visitors to the site will be able to download invitations and recipes, send blessings to their loved ones and interact with mothers across the globe

Available for online purchase at the website, and retail stores now are:

* storybooks
* charms and charm bracelets
* music CDs
* figurines
* water globes, and
* plush toys

Each item will come with a web code that will give your child access to Precious Moment virtual world.

Readers of Moomettesgram’s Musings is delighted to  share this special access code 3HWH-T9DX-RROK with my readers so that you can experience all the fun and excitement of premium Rainbow membership in the Precious Girls Club.

Moomettesgram’s Musings is giving away 4 copies of the first book in the Precious Girls Club series, A Little Bit of Faith and 10 scratch-off codes for a FREE premium “Rainbow Membership” trial on PreciousGirlsClub.com

Now for the Rules:  They must be followed exactly or entries will be disqualified:

To enter First, you must ~Subscribe to my blog through my Feedburner Link (on the top of my left column)

Then:

~ Leave me a comment,  describing  someone you know who would enjoy this book and/or web code ~ it could be your daughter, niece, grandchild ~

To earn  extra entries, you must leave a Separate Comment for each task you perform.  You will receive one [1] extra entry):
~Add my button to your sidebar or add me to your blog roll.

~Blog about the contest on your blog, linking back to my blog and the post.

~Go favorite or fan me on Technorati (the link is on my Left column if you scroll down) or both.
~Tweet about this contest.

Ends Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at approximately 11:00 EDT (As long as you can still comment you can enter!)

Do you remember the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls? I can’t believe they’re turning 25 this year!

This fall, Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch kids will be hitting store shelves for a limited time only. These are the original Cabbage Patch Kids, available at retail for the first time since their debut in the early ‘80s. These ‘Kids started an unprecedented consumer craze in 1983 and captured the hearts of millions.

Each one-of-a-kind commemorative ‘Kid will be an exact reproduction of an original ~ achieved by using the original sculpts/molds and the exact materials of the classics. They will have the same faces, clothing and names, and sell for a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Over 115 million Cabbage Patch Kids have been adopted since 1983, making Cabbage Patch Kids the best-selling large doll of all time.

As many of my readers know, I became a grandmother for the second time 4 weeks ago when my first grandson was born. It’s a little different this time around, as I have 2 grown daughters, and of course, ‘Lil Moomette, my granddaughter who’ll be turning 2 this fall.

I have to tell you a short story though, about Moomette’s mom. My daughter, born in 1983, was quite the terror when she was little. It’s quite interesting to hear how Moomette is giving her a run for the money now, and I get to say “been there, done that!” Although my daughter loved to play with her dolls, she wasn’t always the gentlest with them. Most of her dolls were always headless, and usually sans the outfits they came in. Except for LouLou Gael ~ who was one of the first original Cabbage Patch Dolls from 1983.

My youngest daughter actually told Moomette’s mom in the hospital room, that “I hope you keep the head on this one,” as the OB nurse looked on in horror!

My sister-in-law is a graphic design artist, and worked for Coleco Industries who was licensed to sell the Original Xavier Roberts dolls, and whose world headquarters was in West Hartford, CT. As a toddler, my daughter, niece and nephews were child models and their photos appeared in many Coleco Cabbage Patch promotional toy publications, brochures and on the boxes the dolls and Coleco toys came in!

There were always plenty of Cabbage Patch dolls in our house and at my niece’s, and fortunately I didn’t have to camp out at the stores along with the masses to get them. We had all the Cabbage Patch Kids and Preemies~ there was LouLou Gael, Brendan,  Cameron Ezra, born September 1, and Otis, (just to name the few that I can remember) ~and the dolls attended all the family Birthday Parties ~

Our family had a boat, and LouLou traveled everywhere with Darling Daughter. LouLou even had her own specially made life preserver!

During the holidays ~ even my brother and husband got in on the action to have their photos taken with LouLou and Brendan.

These are the actual Birth Certificate, Adoption Papers, Parent Association Membership Application, and Baby’s Firsts from LouLou Gael and Brendan (b. September 1).  I knew exactly where to find them ~ right with our very own Birth Certificates and Wedding License!  Brendan’s says he wants to grow up to be a ‘Scientist.’  We still have many of the dolls, but LouLou has moved on to the Big Doll House in the Sky.

Thanks for the memories.

I’d love to hear your own stories about the memories you have of the Original Cabbage Patch Kids!

For more information on where to purchase these Limited Edition Cabbage Patch Kids and to share your own memories, visit at http://cabbagepatchkids25.com.