GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

Each of my kids have their own pillow, not personalized ones but specially sewn for them by my mom. They are awfully attached to their respective security pillows and must have them during their sleep. Though my older boy has outgrown his pillow, the younger one has been bugging me to sew her a bigger and “prettier” one.

Being terrible at sewing, I was lucky to have discovered the Personalized Name Pillows pdf version book which is available from YouCanMakeThis.com. I was amazed how easy it was to follow the step by step instructions! The book comes with pattern, alphabet cut-outs and easy instruction and even teaches you how to pair fabrics of your choice. You really wouldn’t believe how simple making a personalized pillow can possibly be until you try it.

WIN IT : Thanks to YouCanMakeThis, I am giving away two e-book of Personalized Name Pillows to two lucky readers. You can participate by:

• One entry – Let me know whom you would like to make this pillow for
• Three additonal entries – if you tweet this giveaway (please leave your twitter id)
• Giveaway is open to everyone
• Giveway closes on 16th May 2009
• Two winners will be picked using the random.org. Please remember to check back here for the winner announcement post.

I have no doubt that each and everyone of us have a favourite teacher. If you feel that you have not shown enough appreciation for your favourite teacher who has has worked tirelessly to educate, shape and inspire you, here’s your chance!

Send your teacher back to school in style with a new wardrobe from Jones New York and Macy’s, plus supplies for their classroom from Adopt-A-Classroom!

Seven (7) Grand Prize winners will flown to New York City, where they’ll participate in a photo shoot styled by Jones New York style guru, Lloyd Boston. If that’s not enough, these winners will also receive a grant for classroom supplies from Adopt-a-classroom!

Winners will be chosen from Northern California, New York Metro, Houston, Chicago, Portland, Tampa and St. Louis.

All you need to do is simply go to http://jnyintheclassroom.or, and explain why your teacher deserves to go back to school in style!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

We’re giving away one tube of Fairhaven Health Dreambelly Stretch Mark Cream: Contains ingredients recognized for their ability to revitalize skin during pregnancy and tone skin after childbirth. Ingredients include aloe vera gel, natural butters, moisturizing oils, grapeseed extract as well as rosehip seed oil and antioxidant-rich vitamin E. DreamBelly helps prevent stretch marks by keeping skin supple and elastic and may aid the body in regenerating strained tissues and help fade existing marks. Price: $19.95   

About Fairhaven Health:

Our mission at Fairhaven Health is to help those couples who may be struggling with their conception efforts. And for years now, we’ve been achieving that important goal. From preconception through pregnancy and nursing, Fairhaven Health is there – every step of the way – to provide clinically-proven products designed to safely and naturally promote fertility and pregnancy wellness. As a trusted leader in the field of reproductive health, our fertility solutions are cooperatively developed and formulated by a diverse panel of medical experts – including doctors, ObGyns, nutritionists, and naturopaths. Noted fertility expert, Amos Grunebaum, MD, plays a pivotal role in formulating our FertilAid, FertileCM, FertiliTea, and Pregnancy Plus product lines.

Here’s how to enter this giveaway:

From the creators of Math Blaster series of educational children’s games, Knowledge Adventure has recently launched their first browser-based virtual world at JumpStart.com. Thanks to the wonderful people of Knowledge Adventure, I was offered a chance to review JumpStart and share my thoughts with you.

When it comes to online sites, I’ve always emphasize the importance of safety before I would let my kids use them. I’m happy to see that JumpStart offers a completely safe and secure online environment for kids age 3-10 to interact, explore and learn.

You can access JumpStart via Macs as well as PCs. Upon logging in, there are a few areas to explore such as:

Storyland which is meant for ages 3 to 5 years, comes complete with 5 virtual worlds – JumpStart Town Square, Pet Land, The Beach, The Jungle and The Neighbourhood. Kids get the opportunity to create their own painting with various colours and patterns, learn to match alphabets, watch movies, build their own virtual house, dress their avatars and more.

Adventure Land for kids 5 to 8 years of age – Kids are invited to explore a mysterious island off the coast of JumpStart. Each player needs to learn the skills, speed and moves to survive on Training Island and subsequently put their newly gained knowledge to good use in Lost Island. This is definitely a mission that entertains the kids as well as challenges their minds.

The fun does not stop there. Arcade style games such as Buggy Racer, Dodge Boat and Sound Bop are also available at JumpStart. For the older kids (3rd to 5th Grader), they will be thrilled to know that Future Land will be launched soon.  Nevertheless the best part is, it’s not all about the kids, there is also a section called “Fun for Parents” which includes a discussion board and Jumpstart Times - a monthly newsletter which touches on issues important to parents.

I am not done checking out JumpStart as there are just so many challenging activities available which allows kids to explore and try new things. One thing I am confident with is the fact that I can safely let my kid have fun on his own as I can receive email updates which enables me to track my kid’s progress.

Having won numerous awards such as iParenting Media Award – Outstanding Product 2007, Mom’s Choice Awards 2008 Silver Recipient, JumpStart is definitely a 3D gaming and learning platform that I would not hesitate to recommend to parents. Check out the adventure for yourselves!

Since most of us bloggers shop frequently online, I thought it was appropriate that I share with you this website called We-care.com. This online shopping mall  turns your online shopping activities into donations for nonprofits.

Basically We-Care.com provides two important services to shoppers:

1) Access to hundreds of coupons and special discounts to over 800 online merchants

2) When shoppers click through We-Care.com to one of those merchant’s websites, a percentage of what they spend is automatically donated to the nonprofit, school, or association of their choice

Best of all, it’s FREE!!!

Since the current economy has put more families under stricter budgets, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to hand out money to charities. Through We-Care.com, we can remain frugal without having to cut our giving habits out of our budget. Check out how you can help make a difference today.

Some of you may recall that I ran a giveaway with www.youcanmakethis.com recently. Well, I just received word that they will be launching a sister site in April – www.YouCanQuiltthis.com If you are a quilting fan, do sign up as there will be projects, tutorials, and patterns brought together by a team of experts and lead designers in the industry.

I don’t normally promote giveaway on my site but all you crafty ladies out there might be interested to know that in conjunction with the launching of the site, they will be having a contest, whereby you could WIN a Marie Osmond Quilter’s Companion sewing machine from Janome! Check it out for yourself.

In these tough times, many families are cutting corners and holiday trips are taking a back seat even more so during this Spring break. Like any other parents, I’m sure you’re looking for ideas to keep your kids occupied at home and out of trouble.

While computers and internet are a great resource, most parents are naturally cautious about letting their kids loose on the Internet. In actual fact, if you knew where to look, there is a lot of FREE and GOOD content available online. Let me just share a few here with you:
 

1. LEGO – Ideal for the Lego fan, your child can watch Lego comics and movies, play games and construct their own Web page to show off their creativity
2. Nick – Your child can pledge to save the world, play games, check out the latest news on SpongeBob or create a virtual life on Nicktropolis.
3. Pbskids – With games themed around Sesame Street, Clifford, Curious George, Arthur, Barney and other kid classics, your kids will have fun “interacting” with their favorite characters.
4. Cartoon Network Games – With more than 200 games featuring favorite cartoon characters, your kids can hunt monsters with Scooby-Doo, play Ninja Survival or follow the Path of a Jedi.
5. Funbrain – Part of the Family Education Network, the site provides educational activities for parents and teachers, as well as interactive games to help your kids with math and reading.
6. Funschool – This site, provided by Kaboose, is designed for elementary-age kids and offers free educational games as well as printable activities, coloring sheets and craft projects that will help your kids learn while having fun.
7. Hot Wheels Games – For car fans, Hot Wheels has dozens of vehicle-related games that let kids drive through mazes, race friends and solve puzzles.
8. Fortune Girls – beta website where tweens can try their hand at being fashion and business divas.