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Dolphin Island

Many thanks to Entertainment Squad for providing this product/product information for review.  Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Dolphin Island is available for Digital Purchase March 2nd! I got to see a preview copy of this move and you don’t want to miss it! This is such a sweet tail of a girl, friendship (both human and animal friends), love, accountability, and facing a big life challenge.

This is a fun, colorful adventure for the whole family to enjoy! My kids watched the preview with me and we all LOVE the dolphin!

Dolphin Island is Dove-approved for all ages! and Winner of Best Feature Film – Christian Film Festival 2021.

Check out their website for a FREE downloadable Family Discussion Guide to spark meaningful conversations about Courage, Forgiveness, and Faith (coming soon!)

5 OUT OF 5 STARS. RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 7 TO 18, PLUS ADULTS. IT IS FAMILY FRIENDLY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY -Kids First!

A HEARTWARMING TALE OF LOVE AND ACCOUNTABILITY, WILL BE ENTERTAINING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY – Dove Foundation

Purchase Dolphin Island after its on-demand release on Tuesday, March 2nd, and watch from the comfort of your own home!

I have 2 giveaways to share! Click Here to enter the first one.

Enter below for a chance to win a digital copy of Dolphin Island!

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Valentine Gift Guide

I received products free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

Pink Panda

With 2 grams of sugar and 90 calories I was worried that they wouldn’t taste very candy like. I was pleasantly surprised. I actually love the Astro Blasters (yellow bag), they’re sour, sweet, and chewy. And with less sugar than in my usual gummy snacks I feel a little better about eating them.

Pink Panda is cute, fun, and tasty. A terrific Valentine gift for anyone.

Well Told Design

These street map etched glasses are amazing! They sent me a mug and a pint glass to review with a map of one of my favorite cities. It’s so much fun to be able to look at the map and remember the fun things my Hubby and I experienced in this City all while drinking my morning coffee or enjoying an evening beverage.

I have a sister who collects coffee cups and this mug is the perfect Valentine gift for her! Honestly, these maps are so cool! You can give these to any Valentine.

Even my little guy had to try to steal the show!

Escape Mail

I enjoy a good mystery, and Escape Mail is super fun! The map and clues are so cool! And it took me a good amount of time to solve my envelope. It makes for a fun and unique Valentine gift for that person who is just so hard to find something unique for. And for anyone who loves a little mystery!

This is a great gift to just randomly mail directly to a friend and just let them have fun figuring it out!

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Reading for Kids

I received the below books free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own. *this post contains affiliate links*

I am absolutely loving the Read City USA challenge for 2021. They’re challenging everyone to read 20 minutes a day. You can join through your local library and then at every 10 hours mark you earn a sticker. We just stopped in our local library this week and pick up our first sticker. And my 4th grader who is all about doing things to their fullest, picked up her 10 hour and her 20 hour sticker. She’s figured out that if she reads an hour a day she can earn every single possible sticker. So, she’s been averaging 1 hour and 20 minutes of reading a day.

This challenge goes through the end of December 2021 so there’s plenty of time to get started and encourage your kids to read more! I’m on a perpetual hunt for new books for my kids and I’ve definitely struck gold with my latest 2 book reviews! Keep reading to discover a couple of our new favorites!

One book that my girls recently enjoyed is “The Friendship Fairies – Go to School“.

The Friendship Fairies by Lucy Kennedy – Illustrated by Phillip Cullen is a super cute book about 3 Fairy friends and their adventures back to school at the Magic Manor.

Faced with new challenges both in school and in their friendships, how will they make this a great back to school experience for everyone!

I love the friendly story and the fun illustrations and am happy to have my girls reading a book about the challenges of making new friends. Friendships are even harder this year and it was so good for them to read about other girls facing friendship challenges and overcoming them!

My son was super excited to help me review these books and CD from Friendly Fables by RAP DAD.

These books and the rap music are so much fun! My boys love rap music. I do not, so I have no idea what rap artists are appropriate for kids and who is not. It’s so hard for me to find raps that I actually like the boys listening to, because I’m so unfamiliar with the genre.

I was excited to try something new, and designed for kids. These do not disappoint. They’re fun, catchy, approved by me, and greatly liked by my boys. Plus, with matching books, my 2nd grader is actually excited to read, and his little brother is excited to listen to him read, because they both think that these are so cool.

Dino Rap is our current favorite, and the cd is now a permanent addition to my car!

Share with me in the comments, what’s something your child has read and loved this year! I’m going to run out of books really fast if my kids keep up this reading pace all year, and I need some new suggestions!

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Gifts for Moms

I received these products free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

I LOVE reviewing products for moms, because that means I discover some cool stuff for myself while I’m at it. Here’s 3 items for that mom or female friend on your gift list that is just impossible to shop for! They’re all unique, fun, and probably something that she doesn’t have yet!

Moxie Malas

Moxie Malas is Crystal Healing and Aromatherapy jewelry. Each piece is hand crafted in the United States using semi-precious gemstones and crystals.

Moxie Malas sent me this beautiful “I Just Can’t Even” bracelet to review.It’s a 7 inch bracelet on a stretchy band. It seems appropriate considering how difficult it is to keep my cool with the mixture of work stress, educating my children, and unusual holidays this year.

This bracelet has amethyst, aquamarine, moonstone, rose quartz, prehnite, and howlite for a mixture of courage and calming semi-precious gemstones and crystals.

The porous purple stones on this bracelet are lava stones. And, aside from being the perfect addition to this bracelet, they can be used for essential oils if I want to add a little scent to my bracelet.

A lot of Moxie Malas jewelry items have these porous lava stones for adding your favorite aromatherapy to your crystals bracelet.

They even have a monthly bracelet club if you want something new every month but are just overwhelmed by all the great options like I am, and can’t make up your mind!

Bombay Hair

I love playing with my hair, but I hate owning 50 different curling wands (well, I don’t think I actually own 50 – but I definitely own at least 10). All those power cords, sizes, etc.

So, I was excited to receive this 5 in 1 Curling Wand to Review. Basically, I have 5 curling wands, and only 1 power cord. That’s just awesome! This set comes with a rest for setting my hot curling wand on and two hair clips for helping me keep my hair where I want it while I’m curling.

This wand heats up super fast. Yay! That’s really important to me because with 4 kids, when I sit down to work on my hair, I don’t have 10 minutes to wait on my curling wand to heat up. Full disclosure here – with the exception of a couple wands that I’ve purchased for my daughters, I’m still using my curling irons from the 90s and those things take almost a decade to heat up. I think I was way overdue for an upgrade.

The different sizes are super easy to swap out, and there’s a lock switch so you can’t accidentally twist your wand off the base while you’re curling – because that would be a problem. Just make sure that your wand is completely cool before swapping ends. – which is the only down side of a 5 in 1. You can’t use multiple sizes at the same time.

My favorite is the second from the left (in the picture) that has the smaller base and larger end. I start at the scalp and wind my hair around so the end of my hair is at the end of the wand. I have long hair and it’s always frustrating when my ends curl but the top doesn’t, so being able to curl tighter where it’s more difficult and looser where it holds better makes my curls come out so much more even.

Prank-o

These gifts are amazing for that white elephant gift exchange, or for the impossible to purchase for person on your gift list.

I’m actually re-gifting these because I have a couple people on my gift list that just need a gag gift.

These call of nature mugs are funnier the longer you look at them, and the gift cards are perfect for that person who is always telling you how much they love gift cards – or the person who insists on giving everyone gift cards every year. No matter which side of the gift card fence you fall all, these are awesome!

You can actually go to the web address on the gift card (Prank-o owns those domains) and it will give you all the details about how you’ve been pranked.

Prank-o also has prank gift boxes, prank greeting cards, prank flyers, and more. All perfect for bring out the laughs however you choose to exchange gifts this holiday season.

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Holidays for Kids

I received these products free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

Hylands

I am a huge fan of Hyland’s! And these products are no exception. They work great and are still gentle enough for my toddler. It’s so nice to be able to help him out when he has a cold.

Sometimes, he older sister actually asks for Hyland’s instead of more adult medication because it really is a lot nicer. And I don’t tell her no. If she’d rather have medicine that’s more natural, like Hyland’s, I’m all about it!

These are great to have on hand for the holidays. This year, we’re not seeing a lot of people, but, most years, someone gets a cold before the end of the holiday season.

Blimey Box

This fun box is great for keeping kids entertained the entire holiday season!

It’s basically a toolbox, locked with a lock that has a puzzle for your kid to solve in order to figure out the lock combo.

Once you open that, there are 3 more tasks inside the box and 3 more locks to open the bag that has the key to the treasure chest.

Inside the treasure chest is the prize. Each box also includes a pdf document (that they e-mail to you) that contains 45 additional puzzles. Every couple of days, I’ll put something new in the treasure chest – currently, I have these gold bar chocolate candies that I’m using -, reset the locks for the new puzzle, and set it out for the kids. Whoever figures it out first gets the prize.

The kids are quite motivated to figure out math and english puzzles to get to chocolate! And, it’s a great way to make them think and keep them entertained without technology. A win win.

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Family Friendly Holiday Activities

I received these items free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

Elyptol

I know we’re all staying home for the holidays, but I still want my surfaces clean for all the fun family activities we’re doing. So, before we get started, these hard surface wipes from Elyptol are perfect for wiping down the table or counter.

With natural ingredients and a Eucalyptus clean scent, these wipes are perfect for any solid household surfaces.

Elyptol has hand sanitizer, sprays, wipes, and liquid soap. Even if I wasn’t being extra cautious about germs this year, my 3yr old son is still struggling to accurately hit the inside of the toilet, so, I’m doing a LOT of bathroom cleaning. It’s nice to do it with a product that doesn’t dry out my skin and that leaves my bathroom smelling amazing!

Use code: germ free for a 20% discount when you order.

Adventure Challenge

Now that we have a clean work surface, the first thing my kids wanted to try out was this Adventure Challenge book.

There’s a plethora of fun family activities, you scratch off one, and have to accomplish it before you can pick another one. We just finished the one where you create a sculpture out of something from your fridge. It was so much fun!

There’s tape strips by each challenge for sticking on a photo of your adventures. When we’re all done it’s going to be an awesome book full of fun memories!

It’s hard to beat having fun AND being able to look back easily and remember it.

I’m loving the randomness of the activities, this makes them so fun and unique. And I love that I have a fun activity literally at my fingertips for those days when we just can’t think of anything to do.

So much fun!!!

You’re Pulling My Leg Jr

This game is simple, you ask a question – like tell me about a time an animal tried to bite you – the answerer flips a coin and doesn’t let anyone else see it, heads is the truth and tails is a lie.

The Answerer then answers the question by telling a story with the designated truth or lie and the listeners have to guess if the story is true or not.

We started this the other night and the kids did not want to stop! It’s so much fun coming up with random stories (or true stories) and trying to trick your siblings (and parents).

We got many laughs out of this game and have plans to play it again tonight.

The best thing is, you can easily play this game with a large variety of ages and everyone can have fun tricking everyone else. I plan to pull it out for our next extended family zoom call.

Pando

So this game arrived all wrapped up, with this cool note. I liked the game before I even played it! Obviously, the creators of this game are super creative, which is everything I could hope for in a get to know you trivia game!

This game works as a couples game, a group party game, and even as a family game. It’s funny how my questions my husband and I did’t know the answers to for each other!

The kids thought it was so fun to learn random information about everyone, and there really are so hilarious questions/answers that happened while we were playing.

This is another game that is perfect for family or friend zoom calls as well as family game night.

With all these awesome activities, my kids are well entertained this holiday season, while still learning about each other, and staying safe!

 

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Tween Gift Guide

*I received free samples of these items for purposes of my review*

Tweens start getting more complicated to shop for. They want fewer toys and more personal care items. My tween loves games, beauty products, and baking! So, I’ve rounded up a few items that I know she’ll love.

Eco Lips

This fun chapstick comes in 3 very festive holiday flavors, Raspberry truffle, Candy Cane, and Gingerbread.

Eco Lips are organic and fair trade so something you can feel good about giving your child.

These are small and make terrific stocking stuffers or buy the multi pack and wrap it as a present.

The way my daughter looses lip balms, I’ll need a couple multi packs just to get her to next Christmas.

Not into holiday scents? They have lots of other flavors available. Including tinted products and bee free products. There’s something here for everyone!

America’s Test Kitchen – the Complete DIY Cookbook for Young Chefs

My daughter loves to bake! And this cookbooks is perfect for her. From making your own sprinkles, to sweet and sour dip, to ketchup, to butter, to milkshakes, to really anything you can imagine. The instructions are easy to follow. There’s lots of pictures. And everything in here is simple enough that my daughter can do it on her own – though sometimes I just can’t resist joining her.

This is the perfect gift for that kid who just loves to experiment in the kitchen!

Scenties

I feel like the 80’s are back! Well, the part I loved about the 80’s is. Scrunchies!!! And, they’re better than ever, they smell like cotton candy, cupcakes, and bubble gum. Honestly, my girls are obsessed with scrunchies. And I can’t blame them, they’re so easy and comfortable for fixing long hair, and what’s not to like about smelling like cotton candy while you’re at it.

Out of this set, the bubblegum hair bands are the favorite. We’ve been using those over and over and they smell like bubblegum every single time. It’s so much fun! Plus the little tag on them is just so cute, and honestly makes it just a little bit easier to grab onto the rubberband without grabbing my child’s hair.

And, if you really want to be all fun and 2020, they have face masks, with velcro loops that you attach the scented bands to. So you can wear a cute face mask AND sport your favorite scent at the same time. How cool is that?

My daughter has requested one of everything for Christmas!

Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle

I remember this being a thing when I was a kid. So I was super excited to check out this toy for my daughter.

It’s way more fun than I expected! This re-release of a classic toy is so well done! It’s quite sturdy and works way better than I was anticipating! All of my kids are having fun with it.

They built some ramps out of cardboard boxes and set up their own stunts in the driveway. They’re so cool! The toy is super easy to wind and use, and it balances well. We’re still working on mastering the wheelie – sometimes we can get it and sometimes we can’t. But, we’re close to figuring it out.

This toy has provided hours of fun and creative play and everyone is super excited every time we pull it out. We can’t wait to figure out what stunt Evel Knievel can do next!

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Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Truffle Shuffle invited me to review their Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. I seriously struggle with scrambling the hollandaise sauce, so I was super excited to give this a try and see if I can get it all to turn out.

Truffle Shuffle is available to order online. You can order individual items or sign up for a cooking class. I did the Eggs Benedict Cooking Class. They send you your box of supplies a couple of days before class – it’s awesome! They send you everything. No running out for a random ingredient (like white vinegar). Then, you show up for your zoom class at the scheduled time and they walk you through making the item.

It’s so much fun! You have the option to leave your camera on and show the chefs and other participants what you’re up to, or you can turn yourself off and just cook. It’s so much fun to learn something new like this!

The instructions are well written and easy to follow, and the chefs are awesome about sharing tips and tricks to making your food the best it can be.

I love that I can do this in my house. My kids can join me if they want, and we can all sit down and eat together after we finish cooking.

The salmon and caviar added a new element to eggs Benedict that I hadn’t had before. And while it’s probably not something I’ll make every day, it sure was an awesome treat!

I even have a little bit of truffle salt left over for using on other things. Their truffle salt is amazing. The truffles give it so much flavor.

I’m quite pleased with my results, and I’m happy to report that my hollandaise sauce turned out great!

And I learned something new, a little bit of vinegar in the water when I make poached eggs, and they turn out even better than usual!

They have some really awesome looking holiday themed classes coming up! Check them out and use my link to get 10% off your first order.

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Spa Night with Spin Master

Thanks to Tryazon and Spinmaster for the fun products to review!

Orbeez Soothing Spa

This is my favorite of the 3 products. It seems weird, but you soak these orbeeze beads for a couple of hours and then stick your feet in the Orbeeze Soothing Spa, turn it on, and the Orbeez cycle over your feet. It feels so good!

You can get more orbeeze already liquified or in these little “seed packets” that you just soak in water and they expand into these Orbeez.

While this was fun at a party, it’s honestly way more fun after the kids are in bed and I want to relax with a good book. And my feet feel so soft afterwards!

Hollywood Hair Extension Maker

These hair extensions are so fun! My girls and their friends all have long hair so they had lots of fun creating and then styling their hair with these colorful hair extensions.

I can also tell you that the markers that come in this kit are washable! Let’s just say that little girls don’t think about the fact that they’re coloring the table when they’re decorating ribbons for their hair!

Since these just require a hair clip to put in, you can use them over and over and style them many different ways! Every friend got to go home with their own extension!

Go Glam Nail Salon

We had lots of fun with this one. Both kids and moms got involved in painting our nails. And then Go Glam Nail Salon stamping machine made it super easy to decorate our nails. It took less than a minute to add the multicolored animal print to my nails!

This was the hot item at the party and everyone loved creating and showing off their Glam Nails!

Some moms went home with some fun new items added to their kids Christmas lists!

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Santa in a Snow Globe

Santa in a Snow Globe by A.H. Edelman

NEW ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BOOK HONESTLY EXPLAINS WHY THE HOLIDAYS WILL BE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR — AND HOW TO HOLD ONTO THE CHRISTMAS MAGIC

The holidays are typically a season of unbridled merriment and joy. However, this year’s celebrations are going to look a bit different. Recognizing the challenges this year’s holiday season will bring, New Jersey mom A.H. Edelman was inspired to write Santa in a Snow Globe, the first illustrated children’s book to offer parents, caregivers, and children a starting point to talk about life’s new realities—explained straightforwardly by Santa—complete with timeless advice, beautiful inclusive illustrations, and a big dose of Christmas cheer.

The mom of two was reading the business section of the Sunday New York Times when she saw a story about protecting Santas from COVID-19 this year. “The president of the International Brotherhood of the Real Bearded Santas—yes, it’s a real trade group—mentioned how they would explain to kids this year that Santa would need to sit behind some type of barrier,” Edelman says.

“Evidently Santa is in a high-risk group: many have diabetes, are overweight, and elderly.” Edelman thought about how, in 2020, children have had to adapt to new holiday traditions and celebrations nearly all year long. “Kids already couldn’t celebrate Easter, they sat out most of the summer and Halloween. They’re really going to want to see Santa for Christmas, or at least be assured he’s still coming,” she adds.

Going beyond mask-wearing and social distancing, Santa in a Snow Globe also touches on issues the world is facing today, including climate change and protests. However, Edelman’s Santa still shares a positive message of hope and the importance of appreciating the simpler things in life.

About the Author A.H. Edelman is the author of The Little Black Dress and Manless in Montclair. And, yes, she still believes in Santa. She lives in Montclair, NJ.

About the Illustrator Serge Srećko Gall, originally from Zagreb, Croatia, is a painter and illustrator whose work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Esquire, and The New Yorker. He lives in Hillsdale, NY and is currently working on his autobiographical graphic novel.

My Review

This book is super cute, and I love the simple rhyme and how it explains to children in a lighthearted and easy to understand way why Christmas is going to be a bit different this year, and how that’s OK.

The pictures are so fun and the rhyme is easy to read, it’s a book that my children will enjoy over and over this season, and is a great segway into answering their questions about what’s happening this season.

“Because of Covid” is already a common phrase is my house, and while that makes me super sad as a parent to see my kids missing things that I had hoped for, it’s also helpful for us to talk about why things are different and how we can still have a great holiday.

I love how this book inspires parents and kids alike to talk about not just having fun for ourselves, but looking outside of ourselves and considering how we can encourage others this holiday season.

Plus, we love snow globes in my house, so seeing Santa in a Snow Globe in real life would actually be kind of awesome!!!

Question and Answer with the Author

QUESTION: Congratulations on Santa in a Snow Globe! Tell us about the book.

A.H. Edelman: Santa in a Snow Globe is the origin story of how and why St. Nick will be found sitting ‘in a place that is clear and quite round’ when families come to share their wish lists with him this holiday season. The book offers parents, caregivers, and children a starting point to talk about life’s new realities explained straightforwardly by Santa, complete with some timeless advice, beautiful and inclusive illustrations, and a big dose of Christmas cheer.

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

Edelman: I got the idea for the story after reading an article in the business section of The New York Times Sunday edition when the president of the International Brotherhood of the Real Bearded Santas mentioned how they would explain to kids this year that Santa would need to sit behind some type of barrier. Evidently Santa is in a high-risk group: many have diabetes, are overweight, and elderly. I thought about how, in 2020, kids already couldn’t celebrate Easter, they sat out most of the summer and Halloween. They’re really going to want to see Santa for Christmas—or at least be assured he’s still coming.

Q: You are a parent to two girls. Why do you think it’s important for parents to talk openly with their kids about the news and world events?

Edelman: As a parent, I can understand people asking whether this is the type of news we want to share with our children. And my answer is, ‘Yes, we have to.’ Kids are perceptive, and with pretty much everyone wearing masks these days, it’s hard not to know something is up. They stayed close to home most of the summer; some are still not physically back in school. Some have had relatives or friends die from COVID-19. Many have seen, or suffered from, smoke from numerous wildfires. It’s a tough world out there, but this wouldn’t be the first generation of kids to learn the hard lessons of needing to keep a stiff upper lip, thinking of others before themselves, being kind, and giving to those who have less.

Q: What do you want parents and kids to take with them after they read Santa in a Snow Globe?

Edelman: Many kids are already aware they are not living in a world solely consisting of sunshine and lollipops. But they also know—innately—that love is stronger than hate. Perhaps that is a lesson they can share with their parents. As the author of this book, I want to try to change the conversation that we as parents are having with our kids. I’ve learned that kids are resilient, which gives me hope. Our grandparents, or great-grandparents, lived through the depression. Some of my family survived the Holocaust. Our parents were taught to duck and cover in the 1950s—remember bomb shelters? And Bambi’s mom died. In fact, most of Hans Christian Andersen’s and Grimms’ fairy tales are pretty, well, grim. And really, it’s the older kids who are today leading the fight for gun control and climate change awareness—Greta Thunberg was 15 when she started to protest.

Q: You wrote this book with a lot of honesty. Why so?

Edelman: The book offers a starting point to talk and learn about life’s new realities. Some of the messages in the book may seem dark, but these are the times we’re living in. Kids are resilient and they deserve to learn about what’s going on, albeit by Santa. This generation of kids is not the first to have to deal with hardships and reality. Christmas is all about peace on earth and goodwill towards men and women. That’s a good message to send. All hope is not lost if we’re kind to each other and help those who need it most—and believe in science!

Q: You’re Jewish. Why did you write a Christmas book? Do you believe in Santa and the magic of Christmas?

Edelman: I’m an optimist. I’m also an adult Jewish woman who still believes in Santa Claus and happy endings. So, of course, Santa will show up on Christmas Eve, but before he does, he has a few words to say about what he sees happening in the world, how we—both parents and kids— can help change it and what matters most.

Santa in a Snow Globe is available now in hardcover, paperback and ebook at SantainaSnowGlobe.com, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever books are sold.