The Pledge Of Allegiance in School

Does your kid's class say The Pledge of Allegiance in school?  I was proud to discover that my kid's does!

And yes, he's usually shirtless when he's not at school where a full set of clothing is required. ;)

LeapFrog Touch Magic Rock 'n Learn Party

Recently I was given a great opportunity to introduce my kids and some friends to a few innovative toys from one of my favorite kid focused companies, LeapFrog.  LeapFrog toys have been in my house since Joey was an infant, and they've always been a hit with my kids.  My kids love learning, playing, and making music, so the new LeapFrog Touch Magic toys were sure to be a hit.

When the box arrived, I was intrigued... there were no buttons on these toys.  They didn't look like much to me.  But I'm not one to judge a book by its cover, so I proceeded with inviting some friends over and let the kids decide.  Pun intended, they had a jammin' good time.

The LeapFrog Touch Magic Guitar allows the kids to control the speed and sound of their music.  Moms and kids alike will like the sleek, low profile design of these fun toys.  No buttons or funky parts means that it is less likely to get broken, and super easy to wipe clean.  It has 10 built-in songs, and all of my kids have had a great time playing with it.

The LeapFrog Touch Magic Learning Bus is an equally fun toy, and may be more appealing to moms that want their kids to "learn" something through playing.  It has 3 modes to play in: Learning, Letter Exploration, and Music.  Designed for children ages 2+, my 3 year-olds and 5 year-old really enjoyed this toy that teaches letters, early vocabulary, and plays familiar sounds and melodies.  Again, I enjoy the fact that there aren't a bunch of little pieces to break off or clean, and its easy to store on a shelf or take along for a long car ride.

These 2 toys are so reasonably priced at $24.99, and with the holiday season coming up, I think they are sure to be a hit.  You can purchase them at your local retailer (Target, Walmart, etc.) or on the LeapFrog Website. Also, moms with noise-sensitivity (like me) will enjoy the fact that these toys both feature sound settings.  So you can turn it down!

LeapFrog is hosting a music video contest from now until November 30, 2012.  Visit www.touchmagic.leapfrog.com and upload a video of your kid jamming their Touch Magic Guitar, or a homemade guitar made out of your own materials.  The top five videos will win $500 gift cards!  Just in time for Christmas!

Disclosure: As a member of BSM Media, I received the toys mentioned above free of charge for the purpose of hosting a LeapFrog sponsored party.  All opinions expressed are my own.

There's No Love Like Her Love

I rarely write about the conversations I have with the girls, and I find that I'm usually sharing the things that Joey says.... because, let's face it... the kid is hilarious.  I'm pretty sure if I had the time I could write a blog post a day filled with the funny things that Joey says.

However, I'm on here this morning to share some sweet little girl love.  Olivia and I were hanging out in the kitchen, and I said, "I love you sweet pea." Her response was a HUGE hug around my legs followed with, "I'm gonna keep you forever Mommy."  Melted my heart.  Here's a recent picture of my sweet babe:

Winner! Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust Giveaway

Congratulations to post #90, Tara, who said, "we love pepperoni!"  Check your email Tara, and I hope you enjoy your prize pack!  Thanks to all who entered... stay tuned, more giveaways coming soon!

Walmart After Dark

What is it about Walmart?  I mean, we've all seen the "People of Walmart" email forwards.  In fact, they've actually made a website and a YouTube video (both of which are absolutely freaking hilarious) to poke fun at all the crazy sh*t that goes on in Walmarts around the country.

Tonight I had to go out to do my obligatory weekly shopping for things like milk, juice, mini-bagels, and lunchables.  45 minutes and 103 dollars later I was leaving the place shaking my head at all of the questionable situations I had just come across.  In 45 minutes!

The funny part is that less than 2 short years ago I worked at Walmart, and the funny stuff I saw didn't annoy me nearly as much as when I'm there as a customer.  Maybe it's because I was getting paid pennies to be there?  I don't know.  Alas, my employment at the *Rollback* capital of the world only lasted for 8 long months.  And I didn't mind it all that much, mostly because every once in a while I got to post stuff like this to my Facebook page:

But as a customer, I can't stand being in there after hours.  Sadly, the only time I get to go to Walmart (alone) is the time that I hate it the most; After Dark.  Something happens to that place when the sun goes down.  The crazies come out of the woodwork to aimlessly roam the aisle and pretend that they don't hear me saying, "excuse me," 47 times, let their babies walk through the place with no pants on, and take it upon themselves to sample the food, (and I'm not talking about the nice elderly man who gives out samples from his little cart on Saturdays... I'm talking about people who just open up any old thing on the shelves and try it out.)  Those were the highlights of my trip tonight. 

Oh, and no trip to Walmart would be complete without a picture so I'll leave you with this:

 

In case you can't make it my crappy night time phone picture, that's a rolled up dirty diaper in the parking space next to my car.  Nice, huh?  Really?  Cause finding a trash can would have been too inconvenient.

Oh, and seriously, if you haven't watched that YouTube video yet, and you have about 6 minutes to waste, you really should take a peek.  It's stupidly funny.  And you can't help but laugh.  At least I can't.