33MILES Today & Christmas CD Giveaway!! CLOSED

Congratulations #10 Autumn ~ You Won!!!

A few months ago I got an email from a reader of mine. She casually mentioned that she was married to someone named Chris Lockwood. I knew I recognized the name and emailed her back to ask her if it was Chris Lockwood from 33Miles {a Christian band I love}? It was!!! I have been a long time 33Miles fan and so has Pac Man. Even Krash LOVED one of their older songs “Thank You” when he was about 2{he still does}. He would belt it out in the car, where we kept their CD!

I was thrilled to learn that 33Miles had a new CD, Today, coming out and I was offered review copies and a copy to give away to one of my readers! This also includes their awesome Christmas album too!!!! So, even if you aren’t a 33Miles fan {how could you not be though}, the Christmas album alone is simply beautiful!!! I am always collecting Christmas music and just love having this as a part of my playlist.

I am currently listening to the Today CD while typing this and I am in love. I have been mostly listening to the Christmas CD for obvious reasons {and I LOVE it}, but I have a feeling that after Christmas, Today will be on a LOT. Pac Man loves 33Miles too and thought it was SO cool that a reader of mine is married to one of the band members!

33Miles is a Christ focused band with amazing talent. I love Christian music that is wonderfully written and preformed but mostly gets the Message right. Christ is very obviously the center of their work. You can read a bit of background information about the band here, and also listen to samples of their music. Here is their touring schedule in case any of you are blessed enough to live close and see them in person. I would love to worship with them if they ever come close to me! They even have a blog too! I loved this quote from Christ Lockwood…

“We need to regroup and refocus, to unplug from all the distractions that keep us from
living like we know who we are,” Chris explains. “Despite our circumstances, we are
people of faith. And like all those listed in the ‘Faith Hall of Fame’ in Hebrews 11, we
have to live today as citizens of heaven. They didn’t receive the fruition of all they
believed in, all they’d struggled to accomplish. But they kept the faith because they knew
they were meant for the world to come. That should be our goal: to live with eternity in
our hearts.”

BUY IT…

You can buy the Today/Christmas Album combo for only $10 right now on their website!!! I recommend this option, so you can get both for that low price. If you can’t wait and want to download, you can find Today here and Believe {Christmas} here on Amazon. You can here great samples of the music on Amazon too.

WIN IT…
I am excited that one of you will win this awesome Today/Believe CD combo set! I am going to leave the contest open for just a few days so the CD can get in the mail to the winner before Christmas so you can enjoy the beautiful Christmas music in time!

Mandatory Entry…
Just leave a comment telling me you’d like to win! Pretty easy huh? After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

1. If you follow @1plus1plus1 and @33Miles on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry. Feel free to copy and Tweet this: @1plus1plus1 is hosting a giveaway for @33Miles, enter here http://bit.ly/dEiA96 to win a copy of their new CD set! Ends12/12
2. If you subscribe to /follow 1+1+1=1, give yourself an extra entry.
3. If you visit www.33MilesOnline.com and browse around a bit, give yourself an extra entry telling me something you learned about the band or any other fact you find!

This Giveaway is open for USA only!

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS December 12, 2010 {11am}. Winner will be announced here and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

DaySpring Christmas Cards {Review}

I was given the wonderful opportunity to review beautiful Studio DaySpring Christmas cards this year! I usually make my own cards but was ecstatic to have this opportunity to use a beautiful design by DaySpring.  I was able to see MANY DaySpring products, including their gorgeous cards, while at the Relevant Conference back in October.

Here is the card I chose {with our family info deleted}…

I got the 5x7 flat card and included our family information on the back!  I was VERY impressed with the quality when the cards arrived in the mail.  I usually do my own designs and have them printed myself, I am so glad I had this opportunity to use Studio DaySpring this year!!!!

If you are quick and order TODAY {11/30} you can get 30% off using the code SUPER30!!!

Play This Way ~ U-Play Mat Giveaway

Congratulations #19 ~ Lauren, You Won!

Play This Way Every Day was started by Dr. Jen ~ a pediatrician AND a mom of 2 sets of twins! Talk about experience, huh? Wow, I was impressed when I read her about page!

Play This Way Every Day was founded in 2008 with the goal of enhancing interactive floor play between toddlers and parents.

We were sent the entire set {U-Play Mat Professional Edition} to review…

The 4x6 cards slide into the pockets like this…

The size is perfect, because you could easily use 4x6 photos also! I haven’t tried that yet, but think it would be a great idea, especially for family members’ photos!

Here you can see Ladybug with the mat, this photo was taken after we played together one day. She likes to collect all of the cards and hug them as you can see. I let her explore freely after we did some of the activities together.

She enjoyed our play time together but her attention span is a bit short! This will be great for working on that! The images are a tad bit unrealistic {for some of the animals especially, you can see them here in PDF form}, and this was the only problem I had with the entire kit. I tend to be a bit more Montessori minded and go for natural, life-like images when teaching names of animals and items. The images are bright and certainly cute, but the green elephant threw me a tad. Obviously Ladybug didn’t mind that at all and she was very drawn to the images. Krash liked them a lot also. So, it isn’t really a problem, but I wanted to point it out in case anyone else might want to know!

What I loved about the U-Play Mat…

• It is a great way to expose your child to different items you may have forgotten about! There are several things we talk about daily but as we used the kit I realized how many simple items I had not taught Ladybug through natural exposure.
• The mat is awesome, I LOVE the shape and the concept of the pockets to hold the cards. It is perfect for the games suggested in the little booklet that comes with the kit.
• It grows with your child. The ideas seem endless, there are so many ways to expand on knowledge using this simple tool.
• It would be wonderful for children who need extra help; whether with speech, language acquisition {ESL possibly}, attention span, and more. I can see this tool being something certain parents would really benefit from.
• The cards are thick and have rounded edges-which I love. Ladybug is able to freely explore them and they are sturdy and safe.

Overall we are very thankful to have this kit in our home and I think it will be used for many years, especially with Ladybug as she grows.

BUY IT…

Can’t wait to see if you’ll win? You can use this special discount code to receive 10% off and FREE SHIPPING: 1PLUSTEN

WIN IT…
www.PlayThisWay.com is offering a U-Play Mat Starter Set to one winner!

Mandatory Entry…
Visit www.PlayThisWay.com and tell me your favorite feature of the U-Play Mat/Cards after you browse around their site a bit.

After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

1. If you follow @1plus1plus1 and @playthisway on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry. Feel free to copy and Tweet this: @1plus1plus1 is hosting a giveaway with @playthisway for a U-Play Mat Starter Set! Enter here: http://bit.ly/cEv8QI
2. If you Like 1+1+1=1 on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry.
3. If you Like Play This Way on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry.
4. If you subscribe to /follow 1+1+1=1, give yourself an extra entry.

This Giveaway is open for USA only!

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS November 30, 2010 {11am}. Winner will be announced here and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Guidecraft Animal Train Sort & Match ~ Review {w/link to giveaway}

Guidecraft has amazing learning toys. I am always blown away with their quality and unique ideas. I was very curious about the Animal Train Sort & Match even before I knew I would be getting it for review. I wasn’t sure what to expect and it surpassed my expectations! I didn’t read well to realize that the board the shapes go onto is magnetic-duh. I think I imagined them just laying and slipping around-NOT the case! This toy is awesome!

I was a tad bit surprised to find out which of my children loved it and which one didn’t really care for it too much. Any guesses?

Well, this cutie pie didn’t get the concept, but absolutely loves the toy! She plays with the pieces, we talk about the animals and colors and she loves the magnetic board!

The other kid of mine who loved it…

…the oldest one!!!! Yup, PacMan was certainly not too cool at the ripe old age of 8 for this toy!

So, in keeping my reviews honest and from the heart-I have to admit that Krash wasn’t very fond of this toy. I honestly thought he would like it, but it isn’t a super hero or a dragon, so what could I expect? I DO think he will like it eventually, as he does love puzzles and challenges. We did play with it one time, where I put the puzzle together and then had Krash close his eyes to guess which piece I removed. He DID like that-just didn’t want any part of building the puzzle himself!!!

As a mom and as an educator-I LOVE this learning toy. It has so many learning opportunities and is so well made. You can read more reviews form my Guidecraft Mom team members also-the toy seemed to be a hit with them all!

BUY IT!

You can purchase the Animal Train Sort and Match we reviewed here on the Guidecraft site, or here on Amazon.

WIN IT!

Carissa from My Life on a Taffy Pull is hosting the giveaway this month! Head on over to enter to win from Nov 10th til the 14th!

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

ABC Twiggles ~ Giveaway {2 winners}

Congratulations...

#255 Eszter AND #112 The Bish Family You WON!

I will be emailing shortly!

I am excited to share ABC Twiggles with you! It is a great early childhood website filled with wonderful resources for your child! You can read all about the program, their beliefs and what they have to offer here on their site. ABC Twiggles contacted me to offer a free membership to my family and also to 2 of you! I have been reviewing the site for a couple of months now, you have probably noticed photos of us using the resources in my Preschool blog posts! Here are a few of our personal favorites on the site.

Our favorite {both mine and Krash} is definitely the cute online books. Krash has watched these over and OVER again! Definitely a great addition to our RRSP program-as I don’t create anything like that!

Here you can see his face as he was watching one of them! He is also holding the apple worksheet he had just completed, which you can see for FREE here in their sample letter A lesson!I never thought Krash would be my worksheet kid, but he is. He loves certain types of worksheets and there are a several on the ABC Twiggles site that he loves to do! His favorites are these that have the letter of the week mixed in and he has to color them all to make a path {this time for the squirrel to the nut} He also really enjoyed this one in particular, getting the zebras to the zookeeper…

ABC Twiggles is donating a membership to 2 different winners!!

BUY IT…
Can’t wait to see if you’ll win? You can join ABC Twiggles now for $21.99.

WIN IT…

Mandatory Entry…

Visit www.ABCTwiggles.com and tell me one activity you like after you browse around their site a bit! Remember you can download and print the entire A unit for FREE!!!

After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

1. If you Like ABC Twiggles/Kids Soup on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry.
2. If you Follow/Subscribe to 1+1+1=1 give yourself an extra entry.
3. If you Follow @1plus1plus1 on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry {only one tweet please, not daily} Sample Tweet: @1plus1plus1 is hosting a giveaway for ABC Twiggles here... http://bit.ly/9zrgCl 2 Winners! #preschool #ece #education

This Giveaway is open for anyone.

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS November 14, 2010. Winner will be announced here, and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Guidecraft Rainbow Blocks Review {w/link to Giveaway}

 

Rainbow Blocks are AWESOME! 

I have always wanted these, so when I found out we were getting the 30 Piece Rainbow Block Set to review I was ecstatic!  They are even better than I imagined!  Quality wooden blocks are a must-have in my mind and these are not only wonderful wooden blocks, but they have the addition of the rainbow windows which provide for even more imaginative play.

 

I knew this little guy would LOVE them, and I was right.  He was a bit confused at first-thinking there was a specific something he was supposed to do with them.  Once he let loose he played for hours.  My favorite was his rocket ship…

 

Ladybug surprised me with how much she enjoyed them and actually built {stacked} with themThe cars in the blocks = awesome…totally her thing.

 

Pac Man has had a good time with these blocks too, he has always loved blocks of any sort-he has that type of mind and enjoys creative free play.  One night he set up a store with “glasses” for sale.    This is the pair I chose…nice huh? ;-)

Mom’s thoughts…

Initially I was skeptical due to the expense, and I originally wondered if 30 pieces would be enough to have fun with.  I am happy to say that these blocks are worth the $$ and that 30 is enough.  We would love to add to the set, by possibly getting some of the other neat sets they have {sand, shimmering water, crystal beads, etc.} but these as a stand alone set of wooden rainbow blocks is wonderful.

BUY IT!

Guidecraft offers awesome wooden blocks, you can see their rainbow blocks here, as well as many other different types of wooden blocks they carry! You can purchase the rainbow blocks we reviewed here on the Guidecraft site, or here on Amazon. 

WIN IT!

Erica from Confessions of a Homeschool is hosting the giveaway this month!  Head on over to enter to win a set of your own Rainbow Blocks!

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Guidecraft Doll Cradle Review

When I found out we were going to be reviewing doll furniture, I must admit, I wasn’t too excited. Oh how WRONG I was to think Ladybug was too young {she is 18 months old} for doll furniture. I chose the doll cradle in natural, and knew she would love it someday, just had no idea it would be the day I put it together! PacMan snapped some pictures of me while I was putting it together {didn’t he do a good job?}It was very simple to put together and I was amazed with how sturdy it was as I examined all of the pieces. Krash saw me working with tools so of course he had to come help me ;-)

The minute it was done they all came over to investigate. Ladybug was IMMEDIATELY drawn to it.

She then went to find her Mickey and Minnie dolls and rocked them for a long time. She even positioned them just-so and covered them with the included bedding.

Then, she insisted on getting in. I was nervous at first ;-) but let her try it out. Talk about sturdy-you’d think this was made for her to sit in {but it is not}. She sat and rocked herself for a really long time. Then she went night-night…

On another day she rocked our pumpkins… She has played with the doll cradle so much, like I said-I had no clue she would like it so much! We are so grateful to Guidecraft for allowing us to review this awesome doll cradle.

Other Guidecraft Moms got to review doll furniture too. Curious to see what they thought? See reviews for…

• Table & Chairs {Jolanthe}, Table & Chairs {Cindy}
• Bunk Beds {Carissa}, Bunk Beds {Erica}
• Doll Buggy {Xenia}
• Doll Cradle {Jodi}
• Doll Bed {Jenn}

BUY IT!

Guidecraft offers beautiful doll furniture! You can purchase the doll cradle we reviewed here on the Guidecraft site, or here on Amazon. This would be a GREAT Christmas gift, for a special little girl in your life!

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Ahh Prods Bean Bag ~ Review & Giveaway {$50 gift certificate}

Congratulations Comment #138...Shannon, you Won!!!!

To say we LOVE our Ahh Prods bean bag chair would be a total understatement. If you spent a day in our home, you’d see how much this bean bag is loved, by ALL of us. I had been researching bean bags in preparation for our new schoolroom and found several online, but was honestly a bit skeptical without ever being able to sit in them. I knew the ones I could find at my local retailer weren’t what I wanted-I just wasn’t sure which route to go. I was drawn to the Ahh Prods Bean Bags site {which I found through a Google search} and ended up contacting them to see if they would be interested in a review…thankfully they were! My amazing bean bag arrived soon after that and the love affair began. I knew we would like it, I had no idea how much we would love it.

From the moment the box was opened, everyone was just in awe. It is SUPER soft {we chose the cuddle fabric in navy blue-which is the same fabric my mom uses to sew baby blankets out of!}. This fabric is not only soft, but also extremely durable-I know this from the blankets!

Our little Ladybug, who is almost 1 1/2 thinks the bean bag is her bed ;-). She loves for us to dig her a little hole and let her lay in it while she watches her favorite show!

She also thinks it is a super fun toy…

Our boys rotate days using the bean bag for independent reading time,

and often will end up in it together…getting along well just so they can share it. If they fight-I get it!

The bean bag has been used for a chair in other various locations, this was one of my favorites!

Ahh Prods bean bags all come with an outer cover which is WASHABLE, along with an inner cover that protects the beads from moisture. This is a VERY important feature, as I am sure any of you with kids will understand! You can see detailed product info here.

We have had our bean bag for about 2 months now and it is actually more comfortable for all of us now that it has been worn in a bit!

I highly recommend this bean bag, and I don’t say that lightly as I know it is more expensive than the type of bean bags you can find elsewhere. The quality far surpasses any bean bag I have personally seen and the fact that it can be washed, refilled if necessary, and even recovered ~ lets me know that this bean bag will be around for a long time. Unlike our $30 bean bag that our cat peed on and ruined. Of course there was no liner so the nastiness soaked through to the beans and damaged it permanently. We don’t have to worry about this one since we can wash the cover and the inner liner will protect the beads from moisture!

An AhhProds Bean Bag would make an excellent Christmas gift for your family and would be something every member would enjoy. They carry different sizes, we have the 37”. My husband really wants the giant, although he does fit in the 37”. You can see excellent photo comparisons of the different sizes they carry to get an even better idea. We are thrilled that we will be getting at least one more bean bag we just haven’t chosen our fabric yet!

They even offer free fabric swatches if you are trying to match something or just decide between different fabrics. The customer service has been amazing! Shipping was awesome too, when my order was placed, it arrived in just a few days!!! The BIG box became a play fort for the boys too…added bonus!!!

AhhProds.com is donating a $50 Gift Certificate to one winner!

BUY IT…
Can’t wait to see if you’ll win? You can use this special discount code until October 31, 2010 to receive $10 off of a regular-priced bean bag chair: 1111off10

WIN IT…
www.AhhProds.com is offering a $50 gift certificate to one winner!

Mandatory Entry…
Visit www.AhhProds.com and tell me your favorite item and the page name where you found it after you browse around their site a bit. Leave the name of the item and URL (page name) in your 1st comment!

Ex: I like the Fun Paisley Fleece Bean Bag Chair: http://www.ahhprods.com/inc/sdetail/28113

After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

1. If you follow @beanbagchairs on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry. Feel free to copy and Tweet this: Do you want an awesome bean bag chair? Head over to @1plus1plus1 who is hosting a giveaway for @beanbagchairs here: http://bit.ly/9BwydZ
2. If you follow @1plus1plus1 on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway, give yourself an extra entry. Feel free to copy and Tweet this: Do you want an awesome bean bag chair? Head over to @1plus1plus1 who is hosting a giveaway for @beanbagchairs here: http://bit.ly/9BwydZ
3. If you Like 1+1+1=1 on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry.
4. If you Like AHH! Bean Bag Chairs on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry.
5. If you subscribe to /follow 1+1+1=1, give yourself an extra entry.

This Giveaway is open for anyone!

I will select a winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS November 1, 2010. Winner will be announced here and on the AhhProds Bean Bags Blog, and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment/or enabled in blogger). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

The Jesus Book ~ Review

We have had this book, The Jesus Book by Stephen Elkins,  for some time now…and have been reading bits and pieces over time.  Here are our thoughts…

• The illustrations are awesome, I specifically like that Jesus has dark hair!
• It is not a book I would recommend sitting and reading straight through, but rather using it more as a reference tool to look up certain things about Jesus.  There are categories {Who, What, Where, When, Why, How} and short excerpts digging deeper into specifics about Jesus.
• The stories are well done and simple, yet explain a lot.  Pac Man {age 8} really enjoyed the book and read much of it on his own, then asking me questions later.  Krash {age 4} enjoyed it too, but he doesn’t have great comprehension skills so much of it was over his head.  He was drawn into the illustrations though.
• Overall I am glad we own this book, as it is unlike any other children’s Bible storybook we have.  It is one I am sure we will go back to over the years as we dig deeper and deeper into the life of our Savior!
• I would recommend this book, and I especially think of my blog readers who have emailed me telling me that they did not grow up in a Christian home yet want to teach their children about Jesus.  Many of you have expressed that you are learning right along with your children, I think this book would be great for you!

You can buy The Jesus Book here on Amazon.  See the book info page here on the Thomas Nelson Website.

Do you want to review books on your blog, here’s where I got this one…