I was fortunate to review the CD Dreyer Family Band: Family Photograph (ARV $14.99 CD; $9.99 MP3 Download), which offered a broad range of music styles that both the young and young-at-heart will enjoy.

We are the Dreyer family…What’s the music all about? Our family experiences! This is homegrown in the extreme. Recorded in 11 days over 2 family vacations, this music was made for us and is just too good not to share. Who is it for? Some songs are about and for little ones; many are for school age kids; some are loved by the “tweens” in our lives; and many come from the parents’ perspective and have been known to make grandparents cry (you know who you are). In short, this is not a toddler CD, but a CD that just might take the whole family on a musical journey while on that family road trip.

Family Photograph consists of songs with influence from all sorts of genres—blues, jazz, country, and more, and the songs are all about life, love, and family.

Many of the songs describe scenarios that parents often experience themselves, such as struggling to get kids into bed or taking care of boo-boos, and present them in a light-hearted way. Loud House is a funny song that I could definitely relate to. It’s a song about all the noise many of us encounter in our daily lives, and how the “baby’s gonna wake up” because of the noise (every time the wind blows, the stairs creak, or a dog barks while my baby’s sleeping, I always worry that he’s going to wake up).

The I Love You Song and Peace and Love are really sweet songs that will tug at your heart, and so does Covers (A Lullaby), which happens to be my favorite track. This song almost sounds as if it has an island influence, and it’s simply a soothing song that could easily help any child fall asleep.

Although some of the songs may be geared towards little ones, I felt most of the songs were actually for adults, who would be able to appreciate the songs and the meaning of the lyrics more. However, all of the songs are appropriate for the entire family to listen to. In fact, my son kept dancing around to Big Green Tree!

No matter what your taste in music, it’s easy to find a favorite song on Family Photograph!

Shop: You can purchase Dreyer Family Band: Family Photograph on CDBaby.com

Thank you to Dreyer Family Band for the product to review and/or giveaway.

Gem at Sage and Savvy

This week’s Blogger of the Week is Tara from Tara’s View of the World.

Tell me a little about yourself and your blog.

I am an imperfect pastor’s wife and an imperfect stay at home mother of 3 beautiful children. Olivia is 2 years old, Owen is 5 years old, and Aiden is 7 years old and has been diagnosed with high-functioning Autism & ADHD. I blog about my daily attempts at staying sane I also do a lot of reviews and fun giveaways to keep life interesting!

How would your 3 kids describe you?

Well, I asked my oldest son how he would describe me and he said “snuggly and computery” :). My 5 year old son looked at me like I was daft in the head and said “you’re mommy!” (of course!). The boys often tell me that I am not very good at playing war games or making the right machine sounds but they do like how I read to them. My daughter is a total mommy’s girl right now and I suppose she considers me an extension of herself- inseparable.

What’s your favorite product that you’ve reviewed and why? What would your kids’ picks be?

I’ve enjoyed a lot of the products I’ve reviewed but I think my favourite as far as usefulness has been the FilterStream Dirt Tamer vaccumm… I love that thing and use it daily! I think my kiddos favourite would be the Toobeez. They use them to make forts on a really regular basis

What do you find hardest about reviewing products? And the most rewarding?

I find it very hard to review products that I try and end up hating. I find it tough to write negative things, even if it is honest! I also find timing my reviews tough- sometimes things can go at a nice steady workable pace for weeks and then all of a sudden dozens of products will arrive all at once and it can be tough to fit the reviews in between parenting and life duties!

The most rewarding thing about doing reviews is getting the opportunity to try products I would never otherwise know about and I LOVE passing on the information about the especially cool, under-appreciated items out there! The handmade products are usually really rewarding because most of the time they are amazing products that no one knows about. Publicizing those reviews often helps out another mom and I find that gratifying.

What do you like to do in your free time, when you’re not behind a computer or chasing after your kids?

I love to watch movies (chick flicks being my favs) and reruns of Gilmore Girls. I am an avid reader and devour books regularly As a family we go on drives and spend time at the beautiful lakes around our home. And naps. I love naps. I am still trying to catch up on all the missed sleep of the past 7 years!

Thank you to Tara for sharing her story with us this week. Be sure to visit Tara’s View of the World to read her great reviews and anecdotes, and Tara’s View on Books to see what’s on her bookshelf this week.

If you have a blog and would like to possibly be featured here, please let us know by filling out the contact form above. We look forward to hearing from you!

I’m always on the lookout for kids clothing that are not only functional but shares a positive message. So when I was introduced to Bee-Tees, I knew I found exactly what I was looking for.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Communication is the key in any relationship. Bee-Tees provide a teachable moment of communication between parents and children. With the environment in which we find ourselves today, parents should take responsibility to teach their children about positive character. In our hectic lives it can sometimes be difficult to find the time or opportunity to start these conversations about character. Kindness, honesty and fairness must come back into our businesses, our government and our lives. We are responsible for teaching our children, not friends, television or movies. Bee-Tees is a vehicle for parents to use to start a conversation about these traits.

MY REVIEW

We received their Bee Kind Tee in Blossom and loved it! This 100% cotton shirt was not only soft and comfortable but the silk-screened image was bright and colorful. Girlie Girl couldn’t wait to wear it.

What I liked best was the positive message that the shirt conveys not only to my daughters but to everyone who sees it. I know that if I saw a shirt that said “Bee Yourself” or “Bee Inspired” it would make me stop a moment and reflect on those character traits.

These shirts are available in a variety of colors, designs, and even sizes. Everyone from babies to adults can sport their very own Bee-Tees. And how cute would it be if everyone wore a Bee-Tees on your next family outing? I guarantee that you’ll get tons of compliments!

Stop by Bee-Tees today!

Product Description:

R.W. Knudsen Family brand has partnered with the Berenstain Bears for the launch of Sensible Sippers Organic Juice Boxes. The Sensible Sippers are 100% certified organic and come in a variety of fun flavors:

• Fruit Punch
  Banana
  Apple
  Mixed Berry

My Review:

Thanks to R.W. Knudsen Family, I received Apple and Mixed Berry Sensible Sippers to try out. Of course, they were an immediate hit with my little one - she easily recognized Mama Bear (apple) and Sister Bear (mixed berry) from the Berenstain Bears. Anything having to do with The Berenstain Bears has to be great!

Just like most juice boxes, these are extremely convenient for travel or school lunches. The boxes are sturdy and have a completely sealed straw attached. The flavors are great, and I’m looking forward to trying out the Banana flavor in the future - sounds yummy!

Kids always love juice boxes, but I was impressed as a parent. While my little one doesn’t need school lunches yet, this review had me thinking of what I would pack in her lunch. Here’s what I really loved about Sensible Sippers:

100% certified organic - we prefer organic produce, so this is a huge factor for me

Sensible Sippers are 50% juice and 50% water
(Funny story - My little one has just turned 2 and we are starting to drink juice. I’ve always heard that you should dilute the juice. So when I got the Sensible Sippers, I diluted our first one in a cup. HaHa It didn’t taste quite right - that’s because they’ve already diluted it for us.)

No added sugar, artificial flavors or preservatives

40% less calories than regular juice boxes

4.23 oz juice box - perfect size

Try them out this fall in lunch boxes or just at home to have while playing outside. Make it an even sweeter deal by printing off a $1.00 coupon off an 8-pk of Sensible Sippers. Coupon expires 9/30/09

Debra traded in high-powered suits and high-heeled shoes for a new role as mommy–crayon enthusiast, storyteller, and kisser of boo-boo’s. You’ll find her helping families at A Frugal Friend, where she teaches others how to reduce their expenses through coupons, rebates, freebies and deals.

Book Description:

Baby Smarts is filled with developmental games based on the latest brain research. The book is divided into 4 chapters, each representing a 3-month period in a baby’s first year. Each activity helps develop and reinforce the skills babies need in order to reach typical developmental milestones.

My Review:

I would have loved this book when I was pregnant. I had sooo many books on my nightstand…..some helpful, some not. This book would have been practical. Many books out there talk about developmental milestones…. what your child should be doing at 6 months. I never came across one, until now, that gave you pages of games and activities along with the list, to help your child reach those milestones.

I remember trying to get creative on my own figuring out ways to get my daughter to do certain things physically……she especially  hated tummy time, but I knew it was important since she slept on her back. This book would have been sooo helpful and I am sure would be a lifesaver to other parents  who can at times be so sleep-deprived. Oh, I remember those days well.

The best part is that the activities in the book require NO expensive gadgets or toys. It reminds us that yes, toys are always fun, but they are not necessary for a healthy, developed child. Parents can get creative with pots and pans, twigs, cereal, hats and wooden spoons.

While some of the activities are simple things that a parent might already be inclined to do, the real benefit of the book is having it all in one place, according to age.

A great idea for any expectant couple!

Debra traded in high-powered suits and high-heeled shoes for a new role as mommy–crayon enthusiast, storyteller, and kisser of boo-boo’s. You’ll find her helping families at A Frugal Friend, where she teaches others how to reduce their expenses through coupons, rebates, freebies and deals.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Mark Boos Benhard and James Kelley baked up the idea to open a franchise called Kookie Krazy where kids make their own oversized Kookies. The store provides the pre-made dough, with six flavors to choose from (sugar, plain, oatmeal, chocolate, peanut butter and espresso) from recipes provided by Kelley, an avid Kookie maker since grade school. Customers can then select from dozens for tasty bits ranging from chocolate chips to dried fruit to their favorite candy bars. A post-baking trip to the toppings bar features chocolate syrup, sprinkles and other goodies. Milkshakes, ice-cream sandwiches, Kookie cakes, gift baskets and ready-to-go Kookies are also on the menu.

MY REVIEW

I had the opportunity to review Kookie Krazy for myself and I loved it! It was so much fun to make my own cookies online and then have them delivered right to my door. Now that’s the way to enjoy cookies!

First, I chose my cookie dough which was peanut butter. Then I just dragged the toppings I wanted onto my cookie. It was chocolate chips and Heath Bar bits for me. That was it! If I wanted to go back and make any changes, that was easy to do, too.

I liked that cookies arrived in a plastic bucket and individually wrapped. However, the best part was eating them. Now only were they fresh and delicious but they were also huge! I measured them to be about 4 1/2 inches across.  Now I can get my fill of cookies and be able to say that I ate just one! LOL!

So if you love cookies as much as I do, check out Kookie Krazy today! One dozen made-to-order gourmet cookies are only $19.99.

But summer’s still in full swing! To make it more affordable for families to fight the couch potato blues, Blockbuster has come out with a special summer promotion. Available for $10 a week, the Summer Escape Pass allows you to rent as many DVDs and video games as you’d like from your local participating Blockbuster store. The catch is you can only have one rental out at a time. Considering just a video game rental could cost you up to $8.99, this could potentially be a really good deal, especially if you live near a Blockbuster.

Blockbuster gave me a complimentary Summer Escape Pass to use for a week, and it couldn’t be easier to use! With this pass, you can choose from thousands of movies in the Blockbuster library – from classic family favorites to animated kids films to the hottest new releases. It’s also been a great way to try out new Wii games that I’ve been hesitant to rent, much less buy.

My only disappointed lies in the fact that my week just ended.

To get more information on how the Summer Escape Pass works, or to buy one of your very own, just visit your local Blockbuster. This promotion ends September 7th.

I wasn’t around when the Woodstock phenomenon hit but I have heard many stories from people who experienced the 60’s. Forty years later, Sony Music Entertainment has launched the release of The Woodstock Experience. The complete set includes 10 CDs, 6 posters (including the Original Woodstock Poster Exclusively in this box), 25 previously unreleased tracks, rare photos that all add up to THE WOODSTOCK EXPERIENCE.

Each THE WOODSTOCK EXPERIENCE disc is packaged inside a mini-LP cover with inner paper sleeves: CD-one replicating the front and back covers of the original LP, and CD-two featuring iconic photography of the artist performing at the festival. These mini-LPs is housed in a paper-board slipcase sharing continuity of design recognition across all five packages. The slipcase also contains a two-sided 16×20-inch fold-out poster, with one side displaying iconic photography of the artist performing at the festival, and the other side displaying a classic crowd shot of the audience.

The Woodstock Experince can be purchased at Amazon.com. The entire set sells for $77.49 or you may purchase individual CDs for only $15.99. Get yours today and relive the experience! And don’t forget to check out Woodstock.com!

WIN IT!

Sorry but I don’t have the CD set to giveaway but I do have a Woodstock poncho as well as various Woodstock posters for one lucky winner. To enter:

• Just mention in comments before midnight, Aug 7th why you’d like to win this. That’s it!
• A random winner will be selected and notified via email shortly thereafter.
• The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to my feed.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• Place my button in your sidebar.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.

This giveaway is open to everyone world-wide. Good luck!

Growing up, Science was never one of  my favorite subjects. However, I may have felt differently if Sid the Science Kid was around back then.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

“Sid the Science Kid”, The Jim Henson Company’s first series for PBS KIDS that features a practical in-school science curriculum, uses music and humor to celebrate children’s natural curiosity about science in everyday life. The energetic and inquisitive Sid starts each episode with a new question (”Why are my shoes shrinking?” “Why do bananas get mushy?”) and embarks on a fun-filled day of finding answers with the help of family and friends.

MY REVIEW

We recently had the opportunity to review 2 new Sid the Science Kid DVDs: The Bug Club & Change Happens.

In Change Happens, we join Sid and the rest of the gang as they discuss why things change when exposed to time, temperature, and the environment. Girlie Girl’s favorite episode was My Mushy Banana where the class talked about how different foods decay. It was pretty cool to see how elapsed time affected a perfect pumpkin into a pile of moldy mush. Baby Bug liked My Shrinking Shoes because it helped her to understand how her body is growing every day even though she can’t really see it.

In The Bug Club, Sid takes a look at his backyard and wonders about all the things in it: leaves, dirt, bugs, animals, and more. Our family’s favorite episode is Hello Doggie because we’ve all wondered from time to time if animals can understand us. Hello Doggie teaches us that all animals communicate in their own unique way by using body language, sounds, and barking!

Both DVDs also included a bonus disk that includes full stories from other great children shows such as WordWorld, Dive Olly Dive!, Hurray for Huckle!, Tine Planets, Will & Dewitt, Animal Atlas, Hermie and Friends, Pocoya and Hopia.

Overall, we feel Sid the Science Kid is a great educational show for children. It teaches them the reasoning behind the way things work and makes it fun in the process. I especially like when they have Lab Time where their teacher asks them questions and encourages the kids to use critical thinking to figure out the answers. Education and fun all together in one show! Expose your children to the wonders of Sid the Science Kid and watch them learn to love Science!

WIN IT!

I have both Sid the Science Kid DVD episodes to give away to one lucky winner! To enter:

• Just mention in comments before midnight, Aug 6th why you’d like to win this DVD set. That’s it!
• A random winner will be selected and notified via email shortly thereafter.
• The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to my feed.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• Place my button in your sidebar.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.

This giveaway is open to US addresses. Good luck!

These DVDs were provided to me free to charge by PBSKids for the purpose of reviewing them and expressing my unbiased thoughts. By entering this giveaway, you’re acknowledging that you’ve read, understood and agreed to my diclosoure policy.

So what is it exactly?

Grown exclusively in Peru, Salba is:

• The trademarked name for the white seeds produced by a variety of Salvia Hispanica.
• All-natural.
• Higher in Omega-3 than flax and salmon.
• Higher in anti-oxidants than blueberries and pomegranates.
• High in dietary fiber.
• Free of trans-fats and gluten, and has almost no carbs.
• Great for cardiovascular health.
• Good for controlling Diabetes.

Just so you can visualize the nutritional aspects of Salba, ounce for ounce it provides three times more iron than spinach, 15 times more magnesium than broccoli, and six times more calcium than milk. Isn’t that incredible? It’s actually the only food that is part of each of the six groups of the USDA Food Pyramid.

Whole grain Salba and ground Salba are sold in small packages and can be added to everyday foods such as cereal, pancake mix, and smoothies. Basically it increases the nutritional value of meals and recipes without changing the flavor of the food.

I’ve been using the whole grain Salba wherever I can sneak it in these past two weeks, mostly in breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day, after all. The true test was whether my girls could tell that I added something to their breakfast! Salba passed the test with flying colors. My toddler eats everything, so I know that she wouldn’t mind, but my 4-year old is very picky. Because Salba doesn’t really have much flavor to it, she didn’t notice a difference in her morning oatmeal or buttermilk pancakes, even though I added a generous amount of grain. This is what sold me on Salba!

As for myself, my favorite way to use the whole grain Salba is sprinkled over a salad. It gives it a nice crunch, and knowing I’m making a somewhat healthy meal even more nutritious is quite satisfying! I’m also looking forward to using it in muffins, but 90 degree days aren’t really favorable for baking. I’ve read that Salba develops a nutty flavor when baked, however.

We also sampled a variety of other Salba Smart products, including organic blue corn and yellow corn tortilla chips, organic salsa, pretzels made with organic flour, and the new Baked Potato Crisps.

So what do I think? I prefer the flavor of the blue corn chips over the yellow, but they’re both good. The chips are very filling and hold up well to dipping. The salsa I wasn’t a big fan of. Perhaps it’s because I generally prefer hot salsas (the spicier the better!) and very rarely buy it pre-made, but I found it to be very bland. And the pretzels… oh. Those were gone within minutes of me opening the bag! My girls loved them.

But my absolute favorite Salba Smart products have to be the new Baked Potato Crisps. In Original, Bold Barbeque, and Sour Cream & Onion, they’re similar to Baked Lays, but with a nicer texture and much more flavor. Each variety is all-natural, containing just 2 grams of fat, and boasting a whopping 300 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per serving. Plus, these new chips are kosher, wheat free, gluten free, and contain zero grams of trans fat. Only problem is that they’re not available until Fall! So I have to make my 3 bags last.

For those of you looking for snacks to put in your kids’ school lunches, look no further. Salba Smart’s Baked Potato Crisps will be available in 9oz snack-size bags! Salba Smart also offers 100-calorie Bite Size Organic Tortilla Chips, whole wheat tortillas, and pretzels.

I’ve always struggled with how to get my kids to eat more foods rich in Omega-3. Now I have the solution. I’m happy to say that Salba - and Salba Smart products - will be part of our diet from now on!

Salba Smart can be found at Whole Foods Market, Hy-Vee, Central Markets, United Supermarkets, Vitamin Cottage, Wegman’s and other natural foods stores. It can also be ordered online at www.efoodpantry.com or www.amazon.com. The bags of whole grain and ground Salba are a little pricey, but the other Salba Smart products don’t cost much more than their less-nutritious counterparts.