Marble Maze Review and giveaway

Cuddlebug Kids sent us some marble mazes to try out and review. It is basically a marble placed between two very soft pieces of material in a maze form. The idea is to manipulate your hands/fingers to move the marble from one area to another all without actually being able to visually see the marble. This is an excellent hand toy/fidget that is great for concentration. It makes a wonderful car toy, grocery store toy, basically anytime you would like to keep your kids busy this would be a great toy to take along.

"The marble maze series gives kids something fun to do with their hands to help busy minds stay focused"

Fruity Twist Marble Mazes:
The Serpentine maze zig zags back and forth (lemon/lime)
The Double S maze has a mirror image zig zag with 2 marbles to manipulate at the same time (tangerine/lime)

Have you ever found yourself subconsciously doodling in school while your teacher was talking? I used to do that but just because I was doodling, doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention.

Deen really enjoyed trying to figure out the marble maze.

Cuddlebug kids handmade "products help provide structure and sensory support to kids with ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, PPD-NOS and Sensory Integration Disorder." That is no limitation though as I find their products to be great for kids without the above disorders too!

Although I don't have one of her gorgeous weighted stuffed toys it is definitely on my wish list!

and... that is not on my wish list for my son... I want it for myself!
It looks so cozy! :)

"Weighted animals can help little nervous systems calm down enough to participate in story times, circle time, and other seated activities. Sitting on a child’s lap or being carried around the classroom or home, Lovie can help provide deep muscle input to calm little ones."

Cuddlebug Kids has offered one of my readers the chance to win a set of marble mazes!
Read on to learn how to enter.

Mandatory Entry: Visit Cuddlebug Kids Store and leave me a comment here telling me which item interests you most.

Extra Entries(leave appropriate comments for each extra entry):
Visit Cuddlebug Kids Blog and leave a comment (1 entry)
Subscribe to my blog in a reader. (1 entry)
Become a follower of mine. (1 entry)
Add my button to your sites sidebar. (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway. (1 entry. Leave link to tweet in comment)
Post about this giveaway on facebook. (1 entry. Leave a link to your facebook page)
Blog about this giveaway (2 entries. Leave link to blog entry in comment)

This giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday February 28, 2010. Good luck to all my readers!

*Disclaimer: I was not paid to do this review. I was given a free product to try and to review honestly.*

Twinkle Wish Adventure Review and Giveaway!

I walked into the local Toys R Us store in South Africa this past weekend and what do I see all over the girls section? A Lot of My Little Pony toys! My Little Pony seems to be very popular right now and I can definitely see why.. (I used to love my little pony when I was younger)

Shout! Factory was kind enough to not only send me their new My Little Pony Twinkle Wish Adventure to review but they also sent me 2 copies to giveaway to two of my lucky readers!

My Little Pony Twinkle Wish adventure is a fun story with great lessons about friendship. Pinkie Pie and her friends are so excited about the Winter Wishes Festival because the wishing star will grant them one of their wishes. Unfortunately the wishing star goes missing so Pinkie Pie and her friends go on a journey to find the wishing star.



The dvd is full of bonus features including:
6 Sing along songs
Downloadable Activities
An animated story called Elefun and Friends ( which is about a frog and an elephant learning to help each other out)
Waiting for the Winter Wishes Festival a prequel

This DVD would make a great Christmas Present or a great birthday present!

Even though Deen is a boy he really enjoyed the DVD... as soon as he saw the DVD he helped me open it up and asked me to play it immediately.

The theme song for my little pony is so sweet... I now sing it to Deen with a few word changes... It is so easy to substitute your own words in... "My little Deeny, my little Deeny"

To enter the giveaway(MANDATORY entry):
Leave me a comment telling me one of your favorite things about Fun With Mama... It could be an activity, a printable, etc..

Extra Entries(leave appropriate comments for each extra entry):
Subscribe to my blog in a reader. (1 entry)
Become a follower of mine. (1 entry)
Add my button to your sites sidebar. (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway. (1 entry. Leave link to tweet in comment)
Post about this giveaway on facebook. (1 entry. Leave a link to your facebook page)
Blog about this giveaway (2 entries. Leave link to blog entry in comment)

This giveaway will end at midnight on Saturday November 28 2009. Good luck to all my readers!

*Disclaimer: I was not paid to do this review. I was given a free product to try and to review honestly.*

Coco Loco's Designs Story Felt Set Review and Giveaway!

Connie at Coco Loco's Felt Designs sent us a Brown Bear Felt story set to review and boy were we excited when we received it! Deen and I couldn't wait to play with it!
Connie is an Early Childhood Educator who creates felt stories because of her passion for children. Connie says, "Felt stories introduces literacy and promotes creative play through exploring interactive and educational experiences."


Felt stories help bring stories to life in a way that still uses a child's imagination.

Deen and I have read Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See many times but he doesn't take much notice to the animals colors... he notices the animals more. When I told him the story through the felt set and thereafter asked him to point out the different animals I could see him grasping the colors better.

"Deen, point to the black sheep"


"Mama, here is the black sheep!"

Connie pays attention to the small details and her touches of glitter really catch the eye.


Coco Loco's Felt Designs sets consist of the felt story pieces and a story card (this is so much better than having to take out the book with you wherever you go, thus being able to easily travel with the story).

After receiving this product I have so many of her stories already on my wish list!


The Giveaway: Win The Giant Turnip Felt Set from Coco Loco's Felt Designs


To Enter(Mandatory Entry):
Visit Coco Loco's Felt Designs and leave a comment here telling me which felt story set is your favorite.

Extra Entries (Leave appropriate extra comments for each):
Subscribe to my blog in a reader. (1 entry)
Become a follower of mine. (1 entry)
Add my button to your sites sidebar. (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway. (1 entry. Leave link to tweet in comment)
Post about this giveaway on facebook. (1 entry)
Blog about this giveaway (2 entries. Leave link to blog entry in comment)
Purchase something from Coco Loco's Felt Designs and mention my blog (3 entries)

Giveaway ends September 29, 2009 at 11.59pm. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on September 30, 2009.

*Disclaimer: I was not paid to do this review. I was given a free product to try and to review honestly.*

Book Review and Giveaway

PicPocket Books sells books for your Ipod or Iphone that can be easily downloaded from ITunes. Children can enjoy reading and listening to books while on the move. I was excited when they asked me to review one of their books since IPhone books is a new concept to me. Just download from Itunes, transfer to your phone and you are good to go.



I downloaded the picture book called Tractors which is an educational book about different types of tractors. The text is highlighted while the book is being narrated by young children. The highlighted text is great for early readers since they can follow and read along. Tractors is part of their Big Stuff book range which is aimed at promoting early literacy in young children.

What I like most about their books is that you always have them on hand whenever you need them (well atleast for those of us who always carry their cell phone everywhere). There is no need to pack any books ahead of time to keep your kids entertained because all the books are conveniently being taken with you wherever you go. (Less mess, less chance of your book being dirtied or getting lost)

Deen refused to get into his carseat yesterday and I was in a major rush so I whipped out my Iphone which is ALWAYS with me and gave it to him to read the story. He immediately sat in his carseat since his curiosity was sparked. He loves to feel like an adult by using my IPhone so he felt very proud of himself for having a use for the phone too. He is also a major book lover so this was perfect to keep him busy.

My opinion on the particular book Tractor is that it is a good book for kids that are car lovers/ tractor lovers/wheel lovers. It would be great to add to your tractor theme but I think for the age of 2 1/2 I would prefer having a story like book since that is what interests my son the most. I am very eager to try out the other PicPocket books because I am in love with the concept of it.

My opinion on PicPocket Books is 5 stars. I love the convenient concept!

They have a book called "My friend Isabelle" which has great reviews and seems more story like. It is a true story about two kids (one that has down syndrome) and their usual Friday play date together. The book points out their similarities and slight differences in a way children can relate to and understand. The book shows children that everyone is different and differences are what make the world so great. I have not read this book myself but it does seem interesting.

The Giveaway:
PicPocket books are offering one of my readers(who owns an Ipod or Iphone) a free book from one of their current titles.

To Enter: (Mandatory)
Visit PicPocket Books and leave me a comment with which book you would like if you win


Extra Entries (Leave appropriate extra comments for each):
Subscribe to my blog in a reader. (1 entry)
Become a follower of mine. (1 entry)
Add my button to your sites sidebar. (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway. (1 entry. Leave link to tweet in comment)
Blog about this giveaway (2 entries. Leave link to blog entry in comment)
Purchase something from PicPocket Books before the giveaway ends (3 entries)

Giveaway ends September 11 2009 at 11.59pm. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on September 12, 2009.

*Disclaimer: I was not paid to give this review. The company offered me one of their books for free to review. This is my honest review on the product**

Monster Finger Puppet Giveaway

I was browsing etsy when I came across these adorable monsters at Happycloud Thunderheads Shop!


Are these not the most gorgeous monster finger puppets?!
I'm so in love with them and its definitely on my wish list! I think my son would adore these!

Lucky for us, Daniel from Happyclouds Thunderhead's shop has offered to give one of my lucky readers a custom set of monster finger puppets!
You can choose to build your own monster puppets according to your childs specs, or be surprised with the mystery pack!

(Because the eyes are made of buttons they are not recommended for children under 3 but why not request for the kids safe embroidered eyes option for younger kids?)

I can see lots of time spent storytelling and a lot of imaginative play with these.

To Enter(Mandatory Entry):
Visit Happycloud Thunderheads shop and leave a comment here telling me which monster is your favorite in the shop.

Extra Entries (Leave appropriate extra comments for each):
Subscribe to my blog in a reader. (1 entry)
Become a follower of mine. (1 entry)
Add my button to your sites sidebar. (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway. (1 entry. Leave link to tweet in comment)
Visit Happycloud Thunderheads blog and leave a comment mentioning you're here from Fun With Mama (1 entry)
Participate in my Unleash Your Creativity McLinky (2 entries)
Blog about this giveaway (2 entries. Leave link to blog entry in comment)
Purchase something from Happycloud Thunderheads Shop and mention my blog (3 entries)

I cant wait to see pics of the lucky winner using these!
Giveaway ends September 7, 2009 at 11.59pm. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on September 8, 2009.

Good Luck Everyone!

Cool book tutorial and our first giveaway!

Today I made a really boyish shaped board book for my son and boy was it easy! Let me show you how:

I downloaded this really cool quickpage album from Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs. The album comes pre prepared, all you need to do is add your pictures and print. I then adhered it to chipboard...
here, have a look at this quick tutorial:

After adding my own journaling and pictures (you don't need to add journaling, thats optional) I printed it out on HP advanced photo paper (glossy)


Then you cut...
Glue cut pieces to chipboard...I used a tape runner and some permanent glue...


Cut again with your scissors....

(Don't forget to glue the backs to the pieces after you cut them out...)

Use a sand block to smooth down messy edges...

Punch holes on the hole marks (i used my crop-a-dile big bite)... and embellish as you like :)

I would have preffered to use binding rings but i didnt have any ... so I used a pipe cleaner and embellished it with a pretty ribbon..

Here are the pages inside:






That stamp is his real foots stamp at birth..



The Giveaway:

Would you like to win this boy quickpage album? Or how about a $4 gift certificate to Kelleighs store?
If you have a little girl, she has this gorgeous template album.


Kelleighs store is full of easy printable templates of boxes, albums, a pencil case, and so much more!

Heres how to enter(Mandatory entry):

• Go to Kelleigh's store and leave a comment here telling me which item is your favorite in her store.
  

For Additional entries leave a comment for each of the following:

• Become a follower of my blog (1 comment entry)
• Subscribe to my newsletter through e-mail or RSS feed (1 comment entry)
• Grab my button and post it on your blogs sidebar (3 comment entry)
• Add me to your blogroll (1 comment entry)
• Post(blog) about this giveaway linking to this post (3 entries. Add link to comment)
• Go to Kelleigh's blog and leave her a comment telling her you've come from Fun With Mama (2 comment entries)
• Purchase something from Kelleighs store. (2 entries)
  
• Follow me on Twitter (1 comment entry. Let me know your twitter name in comment)
• Tweet about this giveaway (2 comment entries. Add link to comment)
  

This giveaway will end August 28th 2009 at 11.59pm est.
To use kelleighs products you need a photo editing program (like photoshop, photoshop elements, paint shop pro, anything with layers. You can get a free photo editing program here)



This giveaway is now over