Sweet 16 Celebration

My baby is turning 16!!!! I can not believe it. I plan on having sixteen days of fun and prizes to celebrate this amazing event. Now I have never did a Sweet 16 before so we can learn together. I am going to bring some wonderful ideas to parents everywhere on planning a great party.

This celebration will be so much fun with door prizes, giveaways, reviews and information to help make birthdays a little bit easier.

If you are interesting in being a part of this Sweet 16 celebration please fill out the form below.

Need for Speed Nitro for Wii Review

Back in November I found out about the Need for Speed Nitro coming out for Wii. Well guess what? We got a chance to play it :) I was so excited about being able to review it I did not even read the instructions! I get that way sometimes, lol. Especially when it comes to racing games. I played a quick arcade game and that was enough for me. I was ready to play the career mode. There are a lot of great aspects of this game that I love. The graphics are wonderful. Crisp and colorful. The cops stay on you which is always fun. Your vehicle gets damaged more which adds to what you have to pay attention to. Dents and cracked windows make it harder to use nitro and pick up more. Luckily there are wrenches on the road that you can pick up to repair your car right way. Sometimes you might be moving so fast you will miss them!

We had a great time playing Need for Speed Nitro. Between the different racing events:

• Race
• Team Race
• Eliminator
• Speed Camera Challenge
• Drift Challenge
• and Time Attack

The Speed Camera Challenge was my favorite. When I was first playing it, I was so excited to play, I forgot to use my nitro. Believe me when I say that makes a difference, lol. We did have a little trouble with the drifting. I just could not get it quite right, but I am going to keep trying! I am not a huge fan of the way the multiplayer option was set up. It could be a little easier. All in all, we like this game and can't wait to see how far we can get.

You can pick up Need for Speed Nitro for Wii at Walmart for $49.96 and get it shipped for free.

If you need more Need for Speed:

Follow them on Twitter

Find them on Facebook

Watch Videos on Youtube

Stream the soundtrack on MySpace

The game for this review were provided at no cost for the sole purpose of reviewing it. This did not affect our thoughts or opinions about it.

National Geographic Kids 2010 Almanac Giveaway and Review

Do you read National Geographic? We do.We even have a stash that we still look through. Whenever our library has a book sell we buy a bunch of them! Kayla and TJ really like National Geographic because it fills their thirst for knowledge. We recently had the chance to check out the National Geographic Kids 2010 Almanac and I could not get it out of their little hands! First of all the book is hardcover and fits perfectly in their hands. It is so packed of information. The entire family was learning new things because the kids were running around asking everyone did you know questions. Like did you know:

• some dinosaurs had 1,000 teeth?
• there are 293 ways to make change for a dollar?
• the first telephone answering machine was 3 feet tall?
• that elephants are gentle?
• a 13 year old designed Alaska's flag?

See what I mean? This book is a lot of fun!! There are over 500 crisp photographs, tips for homework help, sections that are color coded, crafts, games and even jokes to make learning fun. You can buy your own National Geographic Kids 2010 Almanac for $19.95

I am so happy that National Geographic Kids is letting me have the opportunity one lucky reader their very own National Geographic Kids 2010 Almanac :)

To Enter
Leave a comment about what you or your child has learned from National Geographic.

Extra Entries
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Become a fan of National Geographic Kids on Facebook. Leave a comment telling them 1stopmom sent you. (10 extra entries)
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Leave a comment on any non giveaway post
Follow me on Twitter

Follow National Geographic Kids on Twitter
Tweet this "win a National Geographic Kids Almanac from @1stopmom and @NGKids http://tinyurl.com/yz2udpy" (can be done daily)
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The Rules
This giveaway is open to US residents only. It will end on January 14, 2010. Please remember to leave a comment for each entry and an email address so I can contact you if you win. If you are already a follower, fan, subscriber, etc don't forget to leave a comment for your entry!! A winner will be chosen using Random.org and contacted via email.

The National Geographic Kids 2010 Almanacs for this review and giveaway were provided at no cost to me. This does not affect my opinion in anyway

Giveaway Winners

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time out to enter these giveaways. It is time to announce the winners.

Pillsbury Grands! Prize Pack: # 314 Kimberly
Domino's Pizza Gift Card: #312 tatertot374 and #265 clynsg

Congratulations!!!! I have sent you all an email :)

When Teachers Talk Review

I just finished reading When Teachers Talk by Rosalyn S. Schnall. One of the reasons I love to read is because you are able to see something from someone else's point of view. This book is a perfect example of that. I am not a teacher but I am a parent. I am the first to admit that there are times I complain about why teachers do this or that. Never once did I think about what they go through within their work environment. When Teachers Talk gives teachers in the Chicago Public School system a voice. To share what they are experiencing in a safe setting. I thought this book was soooo interesting. I think because of the fact that as I parent I have personally dealt with different types of principals. Some good and others not so good. I have always wondered if as a parent I am seeing this, what is it like for the teachers? The way it is set up you can literally open up the book anywhere and start reading. Each section tells you how many years the person has been teaching, how many different schools and how many principals. The stories cover topics including abuse of teachers mentally, principals changing grades and discipline chosen over education. Even though this book is over 500 pages it held my attention.

A lot of work went into this book. It took over 5 years and 500 teacher interviews. Rosalyn S. Schnall is a retired public school teacher with 35 years of experience. You can get your own copy of When Teachers Talk: Principal Abuse of Teachers / The Untold Story at Amazon for $15.80

This book was provided to me a no cost for the sole purpose of reviewing it. This did not affect my opinion in any way.

Pure Silk Shave Cream Review

Did you know that Pure Silk offered different scents? I had no idea. Actually I never really thought of a shaving cream having a fragrance. There is plumeria, raspberry mist, coconut and oat flour, citrus zest and melon splash. I was sent a can of their Melon Splash to review. The fragrance is not a favorite of mine. I think I would like something along the lines of Plumeria much better. The cream does a great job of moisturizing and making your skin soft though. The can is easy to hold and rust free. There are no seams or edges to rust.

The can of Pure Silk for this review was provided at no cost for the sole purpose of reviewing. This does not affect my personal opinion and thoughts.

GlassesUSA Review

Me and all four of my kids wear glasses. You can imagine how expensive that can get when you factor in how picky my kids are and tend to lose things. Jazz was given the chance to try out some glasses from GlassesUSA. I swear it took her forever to finally pick a pair. She got them down to two choices, Kim Red and Stripes. It was tough but Jazz picked ....... Kim Red, lol. It made a difference that that rhinestones were on the side rather than on the front of the frame.

The Kim Red style is only $47.95 with the lenses included! That is a pretty good deal. I have seen frames that Jazz just had to have that were ridicously expensive! When the glasses arrived they included a free case with cloth and polished lens edges. The shipping was pretty quick and the glasses have a 1oo% satisfaction guarantee. If fo reason you are not satisfied you can get a full refund or a new pair of glasses. No questions asked! The GlassesUSA website is really easy to use. It loads quickly. The glasses start at $18 and if you sign up for email updates you get an instant coupon for $5 off . And guess what? They accept Paypal :) If you have trouble reading your prescription you can fax it or scan it and email right over to them.

Jazz is quite happy with her new glasses :) She does wish she could a pair in purple too!

The glasses for this review were provided at no cost for the sole purpose of reviewing them. This did not affect our thoughts or opinions about them.

Ear Cuffies Review

Now that my girls are doing their own hair and helping each other, I am keeping my eyes on the look out for anything that can make it a little easier for them. They are using flat irons and curling irons. I remember when I first started out I used to burn my ears all the time :) Had those burn marks right on the tips of my ears and everything. I can honestly say I am a little better now. I was recently able to try this product out called Ear Cuffies. Now these are a good idea! You put these little things over you ears and they protect them from the heat. Isn't that cool?

The sample we got was black. The inside fabric is not itchy at all and there is elastic on it so it stays in place. It does a good job of protecting your ear and not just when you are doing your own hair. But also when you are doing someone else's hair. It definitely makes me worry a little less about anyone getting burned. All my daughters like it but would would prefer their own one in different colors. They love purple and pink. They don't want them mixed up. Even different designs would look pretty.

Ear Cuffies are not that expensive either only $4.95

The Ear Cuffies for this review was provided to me, at no cost, for the sole purpose of reviewing it. The opinions expressed are purely my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.