Madeline's Great Adventure and Madeline: Lost in Paris

Have you heard of Shout! Factory? Even if you haven’t heard of Shout! Factory, I’m sure you’ve heard of some of the DVDs from them. They offer DVDs such as My Little Pony, Jane and the Dragon, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, and one of my old favorites – Punky Brewster. They were nice enough to send me two Madeline movies to review! They sent “Madeline: Lost in Paris” and “Madeline’s Great Adventure.”

“Madeline: Lost in Paris” is an adventure in which Madeline’s lon-lost Uncle shows up to take her to a new and wonderful home, but soon after leaving the school, Madeline realizes her new home isn’t what she wanted at all! She has to use her courage and her friends to find her way back to the only family she has ever known.

In “Madeline’s Great Adventure,” Madeline and her canine companion Genevieve encounter their very own Arabian lamp, get a visit from a Prince, meet a band of pirates, and even track down thieves! This is a very exciting movie for Madeline and all of her classmates from Miss Clavel’s Parisian school!

I was very excited to receive these because I was pretty sure my 3 year old niece would love them. As soon as I got them, I sent them to her house. She didn’t want to watch them at first because she didn’t think she would like them, but her mom put them in and she realized they were cartoon-like characters. She liked both movies, and I recently snuck them back to my house to see if Sydney would watch them. They actually kept Sydney’s attention for most of the movie, which was surprising to me! She’s used to short, simple story lines, and these are over an hour long. She still seemed to enjoy them!

Check out other movies from Shout! Factory HERE.

I received the two Madeline movies from Shout! Factory in exchange for my review. No other compensation was received. See my full disclaimer for more information.

A Christmas Prayer by Amy Parker

I received “A Christmas Prayer” by Amy Parker from Booksneeze in exchange for my review. If you have a blog and are interested in joining Booksneeze, please visit their website HERE.

“A Christmas Prayer” is a short book, written in rhyme. It goes through a simple version of the story of Jesus’ birth, thanking God for each special part of the story. I love that the author points out that Christmas isn’t about toys and dolls, because we are trying to teach that to Sydney already! The first part of the poem says, “So this, my Christmas prayer, is not for toys and dolls- it’s thanking You for Christmas gifts You’ve given to us all.”

I love this book! It is a simple story to share with your toddler about Jesus’ birth and the story of Christmas. I was glad to see that it was a sturdy board book also, because Sydney still hasn’t quite learned to be gentle with paper books. The illustrations, by Marijan Ramljak, were simple and colorful. Sydney likes to help me find the star on the pages.

12 weeks – and morning sickness won’t go away

I’m now 12 weeks along in my pregnancy, and already wishing I were 37 weeks! The morning sickness has gotten better, but still pretty bad some days. While participating in the contest from Mom4Life.com, I came across Psi Bands.

Psi Bands use acupressure therapy to help prevent nausea due to pregnancy, chemotherapy, motion sickness, and many other types of nausea. They cost about $20 for 2 bracelets, which I thought was a small price to pay for relief! I ordered a set of Cherry Blossom Psi Bands (they offer a few different designs), and counted the days until they came in the mail. Luckily, Mom4Life has quick processing and shipping! I tried to put them on when I got them, but it was a little difficult to get them positioned correctly by myself. So, when hubby got home I had him help me re-position them.

I have worn them during the day on several occasions and they do seem to help. I wore one last night while I was asleep instead of taking my prescription medicine, and it helped enough to let me sleep. I didn’t even wake up feeling sick! They do take a little getting used to, and I still haven’t gotten used to wearing the one on my right arm, but for me wearing one seems to help. They are completely reusable and water-proof as well!

If you have nausea, I’d suggest trying these! Especially if you can’t afford a monthly prescription, or if you aren’t able to take nausea medications due to other medications, or if you just prefer the no-drug route!

If you want, you can check them out at Mom4Life…be sure to check out the other great items while you’re there!

CSN Stores Giveaway

As promised, here's the giveaway that is for anyone and everyone!!  CSN stores is offering a $35 gift card to use at one of their MANY, many online stores!  Trust me - there is something for everyone here!

Check out their dining sets, baby gear, cooking items...or anything else you may want to check out.  Here is a list of their online stores.

Shipping charges will apply. CSN stores only ships to the US and Canada.

How to Enter:
It's simple...Just leave a comment...any comment and you're entered to win!

Extra entries:
(1 entry) - Share this on your Facebook status
(1 entry) - Follow So Mommy by Google Connect

**Giveaway will end Wed., October 6th, 2010 at 5 p.m. CST.  Winner will be drawn by a random number generator and contacted by email.  If winner doesn't respond within 48 hours, another winner will be drawn. 

Milly Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Milly giveaway is....

Desires of My Heart, who said, "I follow SoMommy on Google Connect"

Thanks everyone for entering! I think everyone that entered really wanted to win because I think you all did every form of entry!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

In Every Heartbeat by Kim Vogel Sawyer

I received “In Every Heartbeat” by Kim Vogel Sawyer from Bethany House Publishers to review. I haven't been reading a lot of fiction books since Sydney was born (we pretty much stick to board books haha), but lately I have started reading (and enjoying) them again. Fiction books are a nice way to escape reality for a few minutes.

“In Every Heartbeat” is a christian fiction novel about 3 kids (Libby, Pete, and Bennett) who grew up together in an orphanage and end up going to college together on scholarship. Their relationships with each other change constantly while they try to figure out how to do the things they want, make new friends, find jobs, and make time for each other. They each struggle with trying to “fit in” somewhere. Being “unwanted” orphans has caused each of them to feel completely different about their lives. When Libby finds an unexpected secret about Pete's family, it causes hurt, confusion, and even more changes for them. Will they get through it and remain close friends? Or will they finally take separate paths?

I enjoyed this book, though it did start out fairly slow. The characters are very easy to sympathize with, which is important to me when I'm reading a fiction novel. It is a romance novel, but not the typical romance story. God and his love is shown throughout the book, along with appropriate romance between some characters. The only thing I didn't really like about the book was that, at the end, one of the characters turns her life over to God, and after that the actions of some of the characters seem a little unrealistic. I'm glad that God was plainly shown in the book, but I wish it had been interwoven a little more realistically.

**I received this book in exchange for my honest review, which I believe I have given.**

Just Kid Costumes

I received the chance to review a kids Halloween costume, and I was so excited!  I love to have a cute costume for Sydney every year.  The company that sent us the costume is Just Kid Costumes, and let me warn you...they have a HUGE selection to pick from!  They even have a section of "cheap costumes" for those of you on a budget!  The ones I saw in this section were all under $30...some as low as $12-13!  The website is very easy to navigate, especially if you have a specific type of costume you are looking for.  They have sizing measurements so that you can make sure to get the right size as well.

When I opened Sydney's new costume, I had to put it on her immediately!  It is SO cute...so what did we get?  A lovely Snow White costume!

I was very impressed with the quality of the costume.  The material is soft, not scratchy like a lot of princess outfits, and Sydney LOVES to wear the headband.  The shipping was quick as well!

SOMETHING FOR MY READERS!
Just Kid Costumes is offering readers 10% off of their purchase if you purchase by Oct. 1st (which is only a few days away - sorry that's my fault)...So head on over there and pick out your child's costume!  They are also giving a special gift away with purchases now!

Here's your 10% discount code: somommy10