I enjoy shopping online tremendously, mainly because that’s the only kind of shopping I can afford to do, with two hyperactive kids who will probably wreck havoc if I brought them to shopping centres. Thus, I often surf the net to find sites that I can feel comfortable with and have products that appeal to me.

I recently stumbled upon Announcements Galore which offers a great selection of photo cards, announcements and invitations. All of the products are custom designed and of great quality. I had spent some time browsing the site as I was looking for a gift for a new mommy and was truly in love with their lovely range of photo birth announcements. I think it is totally cool that they incorporate your favorite photos into a high-quality keepsake that will be treasured for years. I

For those who are interested, Announcements Galore also offers:

• Graduation Announcements and Invitations;
• Engagement Announcements and Save the Date cards;
• Wedding Announcements;
• Photo Invitations;
• Holiday and Seasonal Photo Cards;
• Keepsake Collages;

Being a small business, I find that besides competitive pricing, they also pride themselves of providing exceptional customer service. If you are looking for customizable announcements or personalized keepsake, hop over to Announcements Galore and have a look yourself. Sample is also available on request. Now, how cool is that!

I had the priviledge to review author JoAnn Dawson’s latest series of books, thanks to the wonderful people of Sourcebooks, Inc. The award winning author’s Lucky Foot Stable Series tells the tales of two girl friends, Mary and Jody. It has nothing to do with shopping, sex or snobby school cliques but it centres around their talented ponies, Lady and Gypsy as well as their action packed adventures and secret missions to faraway places.

A delightful and engaging series, Lucky Foot Stable comprise of 3 books:

Lady’s Big Surprise

The first in The Lucky Foot Stable series follows best friends Mary and Jody on an amazing adventure, one that will take them to a cow funeral, to the mysterious Secret Place and, most incredibly, to their first horse show with their favorite ponies, Lady and Gypsy.

Star of Wonder

Nothing could have been a better Christmas present than the birth of Lady’s foal, Star of Wonder. But with a scary sleepover, the discovery of someone’s secret past, a daring escape (and rescue) and the terrible news of where Star of Wonder has disappeared to, the adventure is just beginning for best friends Mary and Jody in the second book.

A Star Discovered

Life at the Lucky Foot Stables has been going smoothly for epic friends Mary and Jody. They are working hard to get Lady’s foal, Star of Wonder ready for his yearling classes and his first horse show. All of this suddenly changes when a mysterious man shows up and says that he is going to take Star away. And the worst part is: he might have the right to do it!

Complete with beautiful line-drawn illustrations throughout, each installment of The Lucky Foot Stable takes readers on an exciting adventure with best friends Mary and Jody and their talented ponies Lady and Gypsy. Reflecting on teamwork that sends a positive message, The Lucky Foot Stable also encourages a healthy, active lifestyle and offers ideas for good clean fun.

Though this series focuses on girls, my son had a wonderful time reading the books and learning the various horse related glossary. Ideal for age 8 and above (especially for horse lovers), The Lucky Foot Stable series is available for purchase via Sourcebooks.com.

In The Motherhood is definitely one of the funniest online series that I’ve ever watched. If you are a mom and have not watched it’s first season, you can now catch the show’s second season with it’s star-studded cast such as Jenny McCarthy, Leah Remini and Chelsea Handler. Afterall, every mom deserves some ME time and what better way to spend it then watching the humorous adventures of motherhood.

I’ve included a trailer for those keen on a sneek peek. Enjoy! At the same time, don’t forget to check out www.inthemotherhood.com where you can also submit stories, vote for your favourites and watch as the winning submissions are turned into new episodes starring Jenny, Leah and Chelsea!

The title says it all. I love this book. It’s the perfect gift for any Mom, not necessarily only on Mother’s Day! Hey, mommies deserved to be pampered all year round.

My Mummy Is Magic is the combined effort of two authors, Carl Norac, a highly popular children’s author, and Ingrid Gordon, who is famous for her hugely successful WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THE BOO-HOO BABY?, which has been translated into 10 languages.

Recently published on 01/02/2008, here’s a sneek peek at what this book is all about:

This little girl’s mummy makes cakes as big as a rocket and chases the night-time monsters away. Butterflies come and listen when she sings, and the sun always shines when she wears her favourite dress. But when she tells her daughter she loves her, that’s the most magic thing of all!

This special miniature edition of this beautiful picture book is available from PanMacmillan.

Spa Sensials aren’t exactly for moms only but all moms definitely deserve to have it. Everyone knows most moms hardly have time to pamper themselves with all sort of house chores; not to mention running after the kids. So, what happens to our skin if we do not have time to lather ourselves with proper lotion or skin care? The result : dry and crack skin of course.

I am one of those mommies who hardly have any “Me Time”, so Spa Sensials Intensive Moisturizing and Conditioning Hand and Foot Treatment Sytems really attracted my attention. They consist of a pair of gloves and socks which you can easily put on in a couple of seconds and go about doing your chores. These socks and gloves are made of a proprietary, stretchable nonwoven material infused with aloe, jojoba and vitamins A, B5 and E, and are clinically proven to soothe and deeply moisturize dry, cracked skin. The material keeps moisturizers against the skin for quick absorption, enabling you to enjoy a relaxing, easy spa experience at home.

What I enjoyed about using the gloves and socks is the fact that I am free to go about doing my stuff without sacrificing my time. It’s just so flexible and yet all it takes is only 15 minutes to be effective. Spa Sensials will make great gifts for all mommies who needs some pampering and rejuvenation. Try the spa experience at home!

Thanks to Mom Central, I was given the opportunity to review a new line of games launched by Cranium. I took the games Let’s Play Count and Cook and the Let’s Go To The Zoo Seek and Find Puzzle home to the delight of my 4 year old daughter.

I love the fact that Let’s Play Count and Cook can be enjoyed with a minimum of 2 players. The objective of the game is to pick any of the recipes in the cookbook and gather all the ingredients for it.

To start off, players have to put all the tokens face up on the game board. The player whose birthday is coming up next gets to start first by rolling the die and moving your chef the number of spaces shown, going in either direction on the play path. If you land on an ingredient you need for your recipe, add the token to the recipe. If you land on a star, add a special ingredient to the recipe -anything you want. If you are the player who manages to collect the last ingredient, you win the game! The winner gets to open the secret window for a surprise (find out for yourself!).

Let’s Play Count & Cook Game includes the game board, 20 ingredient tokens, 4 chef movers, recipe book, and die. My daughter gives it the thumbs up as she gets to pretend play with the game. Even my 8 year old son finds it interesting enough to join us in the game. Overall, Let’s Play Count and Cook is ideal for teaching counting, matching, turn taking and working together. Retails at $12.99 from Cranium.

 Let’s Go To The Zoo Seek and Play Puzzle is not the typical puzzle that springs to mind. Apart from putting the pieces of puzzles together, players also gets to search for animal and shapes in the puzzle such as peacocks and polar bears, lemurs and lions. How the game is played : Once the puzzle has been pieced together, each player is given three cards from the beginner or advanced deck.  Then, each player takes turn to search for the puzzle for the items on the cards. Mark your discovery by using the dry erase marker to circle it. The advantage of using the marker is that you can wipe the marks off with a dry tissue. However, it can get tiring wiping them if there are too many.

Let’s Go to the Zoo Seek & Find Puzzle comes in a box with 24 puzzle pieces, 30 cards and an erasable pen. Great for age 3 to 5 as these younger kids get to brush up on their spatial thinking, counting, color and letter matching and fine motor skills. However, I would not recommended it for older kids as it can be less challenging to them. Retails at $9.99 and available from Cranium.

Wishing All Friends and Readers

Blue Skies Ahead For A Happy New Year 2008

No ifs, ands, or butts!

Take your cute dimples and celebrate your New Rear!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 TO EVERYONE

Today’s the day!

*Drum Roll Please*

The winner of the Scream Free Parenting Book is

ShannonFrance

Congrates to you!

Please email me your mailing address.

My sincere thanks goes out to those who blogged about this contest and also to those who participated.