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Pinterest Favorites with linky 01/28/2012": Valentine’s Day Crafts

January 28, 2012 By 1 Comment

I am loving the Pinterest Linky and teaming up with Susie QT Pies and Crystal and Company!  Since this post is all about pinning, be sure to pin this post and a few of the posted linkies.  Choose your favorite and click to your heart’s content.

So, what can you put in the linky? You can put any or all of the following items:

  • 1.  Your Pinterest Board Linky
  • 2.  A few of your favorite links
  • 3.  A blog post of your own Pinterest Favorites or round up post!
    This week, since February is right around the corner, I am sticking with Valentine’s Day inspired pins.  That doesn’t mean that YOU have to, though!
    Follow Me on Pinterest
    If you aren’t on Pinterest and would like to be, simply email me with your email address in the body and I will send an invite right on over!

    picnic faves

    3. iPod Valentine – This "IPod" is actually a box of conversation hearts and a couple of Reese’s cups!
    4. Love Juice – Drink "mix ins" are the "love juice"!
    Go visit my faves and then, link up below!

    Thanks for playing!

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Filed Under: Crafts and Hobbies, Holidays / Seasons Tagged With: , , ,

Giveaway: The Story of Hanukkah Howie (book)

January 12, 2012 By

Hannukah Howie kids bookEver had a bad hair day?  My kids are notorious for those, water, hair gel, etc., usually fixes the uncompromising hair for my kids but in this story, the mom isn’t so lucky!  The Story of Hannukah Howie is a great little story about the adventures of a small Jewish boy who grows up with hair with a mind of it’s own but in the end it turns out to be  a really special gift.  What seemed like just another bad hair day, is what makes Howie eventually become a special boy.

As a mom and teacher, I really enjoyed reading this book to my kids.  We got to learn about the religious practices of another culture and I thought it was perfect because it was during a time when our family was celebrating Christmas.  So we got to compare and contrast the two holidays.  Why would a Christian family want a Hanukkah book?  Simple, Jesus Christ was Jewish!  It also gave me an opportunity to also teach that our Christian faith was grounded on Judeo-Christian principals.  This light little story aided in this process at our home and the added feature was how well the story was written.  It felt like listening to your favorite grandmother telling you a real story about a little boy with bad hair who turned out to save Hanukkah and bring cheer to others!  The rhyming feature in the book gave it that great added touch everyone enjoys in a read aloud.  The text was also predictable so the kids were able to chime in ever so often to keep them engaged in the story.  The illustrations helped in this aspect as well.  In a very clever fashion this book teaches about Hanukkah but in a subtle and gentle manner.  Actually, Howie reminded me a little of Santa Claus a little!  :) So whether your family is Jewish or not, I recommend this great little story!

About the Book:

Have you ever had a bad hair day? Well, imagine eight bad hair days in a row — and at just the wrong time. Our hero, Howie, has very strange spiked hair, but only during the eight days of Hanukkah.  By day eight, in fact, there are “… nine spikes in all, four at right, four at left, one in center so tall”. Howie’s Mom gradually realizes that Howie’s hair looks like a menorah — the nine-candled centerpiece for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. But just when she wonders what she can do, Hanukkah ends and the spikes disappear.

Was the hair-spiking a one-time event? Not a chance. Each year at Hanukkah, Howie’s hair springs into spikes. Since they are impossible to control, over the years both Hannah and Howie search for possible remedies. Readers learn that “…the only solution that seemed to be there… was for Howie to cover his very strange hair.”

This clever book, besides being hugely entertaining,  presents a gentle message that, regardless of our personal appearance and our differences we each have a role in this life – we each have a place in the family of man.  For Howie, his hair and its particular uniqueness ends up being the crown jewel of his personality!

Buy it!

Interested in adding this great book to your family library, buy it today!

Win It

One lucky reader will win a The Story of Hannukah Howie Book of their own!

REQUIRED COMMENT: Visit the The Story of Hannukah Howie website, look around, then come back and tell me why you would be interested in adding this story to your family library.

BONUS #1:

Follow @momof3boys3702 on Twitter and RT this contest. The easiest way to retweet is to simply click the green ReTweet on the top right of this post. YOU MAY TWEET ONCE DAILY!

BONUS #2:

Like 3 Boys and a Dog on Facebook, then share this post by clicking the Facebook share button at the bottom of this post.  You also want to follow them on Facebook, because they let you know of events related to this book.

Other bonus entries:

  • #1. Spread the word about this review by: email, forums, blogging, Digg, or putting the link in a meme. (one entry per thing done)
  • #2. Sign up for my NEW Weekly Newsletter.
  • #3. Subscribe to my RSS feed.
  • #4. Put my button on your blog.
  • #5. Leave a comment on any other post (excluding giveaways!) Be sure to leave a comment here saying which post.
  • #6 – Vote for me at Picket Fence by clicking the button on my sidebar. Be sure to leave a comment saying you did! YOU MAY VOTE ONCE DAILY!

CONTEST ENDS: at Midnight CST on 1/26/12

OPEN TO: US & Canada

*DISCLAIMER: I was sent items to help facilitate my review. Any opinions stated are strictly my own.*

 

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Filed Under: Early Years, Giveaways, Holidays / Seasons, Homemaking / Housekeeping, Homeschooling, Just for Kids, Parenting, Parenting, Parenting and Family, Reviews, Teachable Moments Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

December 23, 2011 By 5 Comments

I am only going to be on this computer for little snatches of time for the next several days.  Things get super busy around here this time of year.

Today is going to be spent cleaning, cooking, and baking.

Friday will be spent doing a bit more cooking and visiting family

Christmas Day will be non-stop from the time the boys wake us until we crash late that night.

Boxing Day will be spent shopping.  Yes, I have an addiction. LOL!

Then, I will get back to the grind on the following day!  I don’t have much (if anything) scheduled on this blog for the next several days.  So, don’t worry about missing anything. Smile

 

Please have a safe and wonderful Christmas I will see you soon!

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Filed Under: Holidays / Seasons Tagged With:

Country Crock Kids Thanksgiving Review/Giveaway

December 11, 2011 By

I was sent several items from Country Crock to review.  I received them a few days before Thanksgiving. I was really busy helping my sister with her bakery. She had a ton of cakes and pies to get done for Thanksgiving. Then my daughter got sick…..then, of course, I got sick. Still trying to fight it off. Anyway……That is why this is late. I do apologize to Country Crock.  Actually only 1 of the items is Thanksgiving related. The rest can be used anytime. My daughter loved them all.

1)Thanksgiving Place Mat – This is really cute and made very well. My daughter loved using it for her Thanksgiving dinner. It is from Pottery Barn, is no longer available to purchase.

Thanksgiving Place Mat

From the website-

Help kids remember what Thanksgiving is all about with linens that have reminders to give thanks and gather together sewn into them. Our turkey-shaped place mat is made from cotton percale and felt, with a pocket for utensils and another for the a napkin.

  • 18″ wide x 13″ high

Care

  • Machine wash in cold water; gentle cycle.
  • Use only nonchlorine bleach, if needed.
  • Tumble dry on low heat.
  • Warm iron as needed.

2) Curious Chef Apple Slicer/corer- This was very easy for my daughter to use. It has large handles to easely hold on to. It is shaped like an apple and really cute. $8.99 value This item can be purchased on there website, Curious Chef. They also have plenty of other items for kids at great prices.

Apple Slicer

From the website-

Details

Stainless Steel. Fun apple shape. Soft grip touch.

Curious Chef is a line of real kitchen tools for kids.

About Curious Chef®

Curious Chef is the only full line of real kitchen tools for kids. All of the products are designed to be safe and ergonomically easy for children to use.

3) Mr. Potato Masher- My daughter loved mashing the potato’s with this cute little thing. It was easy for her to hold too. The handle is shaped like a potato. Too Cute!!! It can be purchased on there website here. On sale right now for $4.99 regular $5.99. They also sell other great items.

Mr. Potato Masher

 

From the website-

Adorable Mr. Potato Masher.  One durable masher.  Spudtacular in form and function.  By Jole de Vivre, MSC International

 

4) I also received a Country Crock apron, a coupon for $1.50 on Country Crock Spread and some Country Crock recipe’s.

Win it:

1 lucky reader will win a kit like I received. It is hard to put a value on this because the place mat is no longer available and Country Crock had the aprons specially made with their logo on them. But I would say a $25-$30 value.

Mandatory Entry: Head on over to the Country Crock website and tell me something you learned about Country Crock.

BONUS #1: Follow Country Crock and @momof3boys3702 on Twitter and RT this contest. The easiest way to retweet is to simply click the green ReTweet on the top right of this post. YOU MAY TWEET ONCE DAILY

BONUS #2: Like Country Crock and 3 Boys and a Dog on FaceBook then share this post by clicking the FaceBook share button at the bottom of this post.

Other bonus entries:

  • #1. Spread the word about this review by: email, forums, blogging, Digg, or putting the link in a meme. (one entry per thing done)
  • #2. Sign up for my NEW Weekly Newsletter.
  • #3. Subscribe to my RSS feed.
  • #4. Put my button on your blog.
  • #5. Leave a comment on any other post (excluding giveaways!) Be sure to leave a comment here saying which post.
  • #6 – Vote for me at Picket Fence by clicking the button on my sidebar. Be sure to leave a comment saying you did! YOU MAY VOTE ONCE DAILY!

CONTEST ENDS: at Midnight CST on Dec 25, 2011

OPEN TO: US Only

*DISCLAIMER: I was sent items by Country Crock to help facilitate my review. Any opinions stated are strictly my own.*

 

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Filed Under: 3 Boys & A Dog General Posts, Giveaway Winners, Giveaways, Holidays / Seasons, Meals / Menus, Recipes, Review and Giveaways, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GIVEAWAY: Holiday Memory Organizer

December 9, 2011 By

Well it’s officially only 15 shopping days ’til Christmas! Who’s done all their shopping? I can tell you I have barely started and I have four kids to buy for this year! My time is quickly running out!

Aside from the craziness of shopping and preparing for Christmas, there is one thing I’m sure we all want during the holidays and that’s to make memories that will last a lifetime. Whether you have kids or it’s just you and your spouse or just  you, we all want fond memories and we want to remember them and to show others our memories as well.

What a better way to keep track of those memories then putting together a Holiday Memory binder. The Holiday Memory Organizer from CarolinaPad is the perfect place to store all your holiday memories from pics, to recipes, to family traditions and Christmas card lists.

The Holiday Memory Organizer includes 5 decorative tab dividers, 12 pocket pages to hold 48 standard 4”x6” photos, 12 pocket pages to hold 48 standard 5”x7” photos and 12 pocket pages to hold 48 letters, cards, photos or other keepsakes up to 8.5”x11”. At a retail price of only $12.99!

My brain is already working overtime with ideas of what I want to put in my binder! I see favorite recipes, pictures of fun activities, ides for next Christmas, the possibilities are endless. What I like most about this book is that it’s all contained and set up for you all you have to do is drop stuff in. I can’t wait to get started documenting our Christmas memories and traditions in one convenient place. I won’t be hunting for that awesome melt in your mouth shortbread recipe anymore because I’m putting it in my book. I won’t be asking myself each year, “Now what did I bake last year?” now I’ll know!

You can purchase this handy binder and other items direct from their online store, unfortunately they can’t sell to Canadians just yet but they are working on it.

CarolinaPad has given our US readers a discount code for 20% off your next purchase made before January 15th 2012. Here’s the link: http://carolinapadstore.com/index.aspx?dc=3boysandadogdirectly either click it or copy and paste it into your browser window.

Win it!

One of our lucky readers is going to win the Holiday Memory Organizer! The giveaway is open to both US and Canada!!

*Please note that if you win we will need your full name and address and phone number  (Sorry FedEx rules) and you cannot have won ANY type  of Carolina Pad prize, contest, etc in the past 90 days. (Including Facebook and Twitter.)

Mandatory Entry: Head on over to the Carolina Pad store and tell me one other item that you would like to buy.

BONUS #1: Follow @carolinapad and @momof3boys3702 on Twitter and RT this contest. The easiest way to retweet is to simply click the green ReTweet on the top right of this post. YOU MAY TWEET ONCE DAILY

BONUS #2: Like Carolina Pad and 3 Boys and a Dog on FaceBook then share this post by clicking the FaceBook share button at the bottom of this post.

Other bonus entries:

  • #1. Spread the word about this review by: email, forums, blogging, Digg, or putting the link in a meme. (one entry per thing done)
  • #2. Sign up for my NEW Weekly Newsletter.
  • #3. Subscribe to my RSS feed.
  • #4. Put my button on your blog.
  • #5. Leave a comment on any other post (excluding giveaways!) Be sure to leave a comment here saying which post.
  • #6 – Vote for me at Picket Fence by clicking the button on my sidebar. Be sure to leave a comment saying you did! YOU MAY VOTE ONCE DAILY!

CONTEST ENDS: at Midnight CST on Dec 23, 2011

OPEN TO: US and Canada

*DISCLAIMER: I was sent items by Carolina Pad to help facilitate my review. Any opinions stated are strictly my own.*

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Filed Under: Crafts & Games, Crafts and Hobbies, Holidays / Seasons, Organizing, Review and Giveaways
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