Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab Product Review and Giveaway

March 25, 2013 By 8 Comments
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As a parent of two young daughters there are a few attributes that I especially love to find in toys.  I love when toys allow for creativity, science, exploration, and trial and error.  The Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab fits that bill.  It is a set of 60 mix and match pieces that children use to construct all types of courses for the metal ball to go down.  They stick to the special 2 foot board that has a Velcro®-like material on it as do all the parts.  Set up is super easy.  My 9 year old set the board up herself and was able to make her own contraption within minutes.  With so many parts to use, the possibilities are endless.  It is a great one or two person toy that makes for hours of creative play with lots of trial and error.

With the  Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab my children were testing out and learning about gravity, angles, and more without even realizing they were learning.  If you want the ball to travel faster do you tilt the slide up or down?  That is just one of the scientific questions that my daughters discovered with this set.  The set is well crafted and was easy for both my 7 and 9 year old daughters to use by themselves.  I think their favorite part is the flying pig at the end of the contraption they created.  I mean who wouldn’t love a flying pig?

Standing over two feet tall, the Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab has 60 mix-and-match pieces to build an unlimited amount of contraptions.  Kids can dream up crazy courses, then build and test them using this easy-to-construct Velcro®-like system.  Instructions offer tips and tricks on how to best manipulate the kit’s components.  It guides kids through five sample contraption designs while they learn how to predict the outcome of each.

Components:

  • Cannon with flying stunt pig
  • Cleaning machine
  • Toilet
  • Chicken coop
  • Boot buster
  • 2 gears and cup
  • Funnel
  • Zigzag ramp
  • 12 tracks
  • 24 track clips
  • 2 off-ramps
  • 6 stops
  • 4 steel balls and ball extractor
  • Hook-and-loop backer board with stand
  • Tri-fold instructional booklet


Make sure to check out SmartLab’s FREE ZONE for fun, FREE activities, trivia, and coloring pages.  There are TONS of great activities to do so make sure to pin this post so you can pull it out on a rainy day or a day when you hear those dreaded words, “Moooooooommmm, I’m bored!”  The activities range from making “alien blood” to making a spa mask, from making a rubber band guitar to having a backyard scavenger hunt and LOTS More!!!

Want to win your own ?  Enter below:
GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED


Disclosure: I was not compensated for performing this review. I received one or more products mentioned for free to conduct my review. The statements expressed by me in this post are my own personal and honest opinions of this product.

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Hearts For Hearts Girls Product Review- #HeartsforHeartsGirls

September 16, 2012 By 1 Comment
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There are so many toys out there as any parent knows.  So it’s not often that a toy comes along that my children not only want to play with but we all love the toy’s message and purpose.  Add on that when you purchase this doll a donation is automatically made to World Vision (a charity that helps children around the world) to help children in the country that the doll represents.

 

 

 

I was so excited to be chosen to be a part of the Hearts For Hearts Girls campaign through Mom Select Mommy Parties.  Hearts For Hearts Girls are dolls that each represent a different country from the United States of America to Brazil, India, Mexico, and more.  Each doll is dressed in the typical clothes that a girl in that country would wear.  It comes with a little story book about the girl, her country, and what her life is like in that country.  Each one also includes a friendship bracelet for the girl.

 

We received 2 dolls, Zelia from Brazil and Nahji from India.  Zelia was dressed in the typical colors of Brazil and Naji was dressed in beautiful tunic from India.  She even has the traditional nose piercing and henna tattoo on her hand.  They are each 14 inches, have poseable vinyl bodies, and high-quality rooted hair.  I just love the attention to detail in these dolls’ styling.  The quality of these dolls is great and so is the price.  They retail for around $29.99 and you can purchase additional outfits for around $12.99.  

Learning about life in other countries really opened my daughters’ eyes to the world outside of our little community.  My daughters learned about protecting the Rain Forrest in Brazil and how young girls in India often get married and start families very young.  You will see from our video how these dolls have inspired my daughters to get active and involved in change in our home and community.


Close up view of face and nose piercing

Close up of henna hand tattoo
Want to learn more about Hearts For Hearts Girls?  Check them out:
Hearts For Hearts Girls Website
Hearts For Hearts Girls on Facebook
Shop For Hearts For Hearts Girls on Amazon.com
Shop For Hearts For Hearts Girls on Target.com

 

 

 

 

 

I was selected to be a MommyParties host as part of a promotional program with MomSelect.   All opinions are my own.

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English Idioms and Expressions For Everyone, Yes, Even You! A Book Review

October 16, 2011 By 9 Comments
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Have you ever taken the time to stop and think about what some common expressions in the English language mean?  If English is your first language you might not even think twice when someone tells you to “Keep your shirt on” when you are in a hurry or “I just got a pink slip” when they get fired.  You would know what they meant.  But if English isn’t your second language, or even if it is, often it can get confusing.  In Reza Mashayekhi’s book, English Idioms and Expressions For Everyone, Yes, Even You, he explores many of the idioms and expressions in the English language.  His book has easy to understand meanings of more than 2,000 commonly used English idioms, expressions, and phrases.  He also includes the origins of some of these expressions, examples and expressions in sentences, and also some interesting expressions from other cultures.

It was amazing for me to realize while reading over Mashayekhi’s book just how many expressions I use all the time that I never really thought about before.  It almost reminds me of the Amelia Bedela books where she takes everything literally.  This book is a great tool for anyone learning English as a second language but is also important to help those of us who have been speaking it all our lives to remember to phrase things differently when speaking to others who might not understand.

I really found this book interesting but what really touched me the most was a story that Mashayekhi tells of a foreign exchange student who was tragically shot to death when he walked on someone’s property.  The armed homeowner yelled, “Freeze!” but the student understand what the homeowner meant and was shot to death.  This is  an extreme example of how expressions can be confusing but this book did open my eyes.  I am also looking forward to sharing this book with my children to help explain expressions to them.

Examples from the book:

Ace in the hole  
Origin: Gambling

Big secret help. A winning factor kept hidden.

She is our ace in the hole. With her at our side, I’m sure we’re going to win this thing. But keep it to yourself for now.  The prosecutor had an ace in the hole: an eyewitness!

Background:
This may have its origin in the game of poker where you have an ace with the face down, until it’s time to show it.

Burning the candle at both ends

Working too hard.
Overextending oneself.
Doing too many things at once.

Dead presidents

Cash.
Monetary bills.
Dollar bills, paper money, in general, because they mostly have portraits of the late U.S. presidents on them.

A “Hot one” is a $1 bill.
An “Abe” is a $5 bill.
A “Jackson” is a $20 bill.
A “Grant” is a $50 bill.
A “Benjamin” or a “C-note” is a $100 bill.

Want to learn more or get your own copy?  Check out English Idioms and Expressions on Facebook and on the book’s website English Idioms and Expressions. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reza Mashayekhi was born and reared in Tehran, Iran. He later attended the University of Michigan, where he received a degree in aerospace engineering.

Reza has always been interested in learning the intricacies of the English language. This is why, alongside of his engineering work, he has taught English to non-English speakers. He has done this because he has wanted to expand his knowledge of English, and he has a good explanation for his reasoning.

“When you want to learn a subject, you approach it from your own perspective,” he says. “Once you feel that you know enough about it, you typically move on to something else. When you teach a subject, however, you have to learn everything about it before you can satisfactorily answer all of the questions that are raised by the students.”

Reza also consults with non-English speakers to prepare them for their public speaking events, or to help with their day-to-day conversational skills, both in the form of workshops and on a one-on-one basis.

Being a non-native speaker of English, living and working in the U.S., Reza’s experience through the years and his interactions with his students and clients has led to the compilation of this book.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for performing this review. I received a free book to read and review.  The opinions and statements expressed by me in this post are my own personal and honest opinion of this book.

Want to win your own copy of  English Idioms and Expressions For Everyone, Yes, Even You?  Enter below:


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Envirosax- Product Review and Giveaway

September 4, 2011 By 7 Comments
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I recently received several ecofriendly reusable Envirosax bags to try out with my family from Conservingnow.com.  These bags are not only beautiful, but functional,  as well.  Conservingnow.com was nice enough to send the Optimisitc Envirosax Bag Style #4 for me:


and TWO of the Envirosax Bunny Style bags for my girls:

My Little Helper Modeling her Envirosax bag:

There are 46 different styles of Envirosax including some Sesame Street ones for children.  There are styles to suit everyone’s tastes.  They are very stylish yet functional.  I love that I can bring them where ever I go and I don’t feel like I am dragging an ugly sack with me.  They roll up very small and can fit right in my purse or in my glove compartment so I can always have them with me when I shop.

And the styles for children are adorable.  No matter where we go, my girls like to bring their Bunny Envirosax bags filled with their toys and books.

Conservingnow.com also offers FREE decals that people can put in their car windows as reminders to take their reusable bags with them when they shop.  I know I personally want to always use reuasable bags when I shop but I am often already in the store when I remember.  Now with this FREE reminder decal from Conservingnow.com I have a visual reminder on my car to remind me when I get out of my car.

ConservingNow.com Free Car Window Static Cling Reminder

Here is some information on Conservingnow.com.  I love how they care about the environment and they have made it their mission to education families and school children about protecting the environment.  As a former teacher I especially love the work they are doing with schools.

WHO IS CONSERVINGNOW.COM?

ConservingNow.com was created by a mother and daughter who are very passionate about the environment. As more people began to think about carrying their own reusable bags, it became clear that  people needed a little help to change the habit of using convenient plastic bags to reusable bags. The idea was conceived after watching shopper after shopper when asked at the checkstand, “Paper or Plastic?” exclaim that they had forgotten their bags AGAIN.

The founders also believed that simple actions could have a huge impact on the environment and consequently launched a community called www.conservingnow.com for earth friendly people who care about the planet. Their first campaign is all about eliminating plastic bags from the environment. Their community members are concerned about future generations and what they will have to live with because of our “disposable habits”. Their community members understand the harmful effects that plastic bags have on our environment and are committed to take action.

ConservingNow.com’s goals are threefold:

1) Change behavior of adults (use reusable bags for all shopping trips).

ConservingNow.com came up with a FREE CAR WINDOW STATIC CLING to remind shoppers to grab their bags when they leave their car.

www.conservingnow.com/content/bring-your-own-bag-static-clings

2) Educate young people and their families about the harmful effects of plastic bags to our oceans and environment.

ConservingNow.com has classroom kits for teachers as well as free resources for parents, families, teachers and schools.

http://www.conservingnow.com/teaching-our-children

3) Create a community change blog.

ConservingNow.com has a one-stop resource where individuals, municipalities and corporations can find out what other areas of the country are doing either with environmental initiatives or legislatively.

http://www.conservingnow.com/blog

ConservingNow.com also sells reusable bags, ecokits and other assorted reminder products. 100% of their profits go toward funding classroom kits and individual static cling reminders.

In their first year, Conservingnow.com’s community has grown to over 125,000 members each of whom has received a FREE static cling reminder. They are really seeing tremendous traction with city-wide, corporate, community organization and school initiatives through their partnering programs. Additionally, they have distributed classroom kits to schools across the United States and Canada along with the thousands of downloads of their parent and teacher materials.

ConservingNow.com also has over 11,000 very active fans on Facebook. ConservingNow.com hosts a daily dynamic conversation, covering all aspects of living a greener life.

ConservingNow on Facebook

Given that most individuals use on average 500-700 plastic bags per year, ConservingNow.com‘s community is responsible for keeping over 60 million bags out of the ecosystem and they have only just begun!

ConservingNow.com is actively working with supporters, partners and like-minded individuals to help spread the word. Won’t you join us? It is by working together that we can really make a difference!

I was given the 3 Envirosax bags mentioned from ConservingNow.com to facilitate my review but I was not compensated in any other way.  This review is entirely my own honest opinions.

Win your own Envirosax bag:


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Amy Adele- Stationary, Invitations, and Gifts- A Product Review

September 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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I am very happy that I was selected to do a review a product from the website, AmyAdele.com.

AmyAdele.com features beautiful stationary, invitations, labels, calling cards, gifts- clothing and gift tags, and announcements.

I selected the Happy Daisy Row Calling Cards and I was so excited when I received them.  They are beautiful and functional.  If you win a contest from my blog you will probably get to see one for yourself because I ordered them to say “Congratulations from Cori’s Coupon Corner”.  I will be including them in with my giveaway prizes.  I like that they came with mini envelopes to put them in as well.  That was an added bonus!

These calling cards are versatile because you can use them as gift tags, playdate or appointment cards, bookplates, or simply calling cards.  These would be great as Mommy Contact Cards.  Just put one of the cute styles, add your name and contact info, and give them out to other mommies when you are making playdates.

I have a bad habit of buying presents for children whose parties my children are invited to but forgetting to buy cards.  I am going to place an order for cards for each of my daughters that say,”A gift from Mini Cori #1″ or “A gift from Mini Cori #2”.  This way if I forget to buy a card I can just include one of these calling cards instead.

I really like that the quality of the paper that these cards are printed on is excellent and they are made from 100% Post Consumer Recycled Paper.  And I especially like that they came in an adorable organza pouch.  They would make a sweet gift for a little girl or even a big girl!

This weekend is a great time to shop on AmyAdele.com because they are having a labor day sale.  If you go through ShopAtHome.com there are 2 different coupons listed- 35% off and FREE shipping on orders over $15 OR 50% off Calling Cards.  Hurry, these offers are for this weekend only.    Which reminds me, I’d better go order the cards for my daughters NOW!!!

Here are a few pictures of some of the other wonderful items you can find on AmyAdele.com.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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