2011 Muir Glen Organic Reserve Gift Basket

Well the holiday shopping insanity is about to wind down in the next few days. That is almost exciting as Christmas itself! I always have a few people to buy for that I don't see till after the holiday and of course that means I can procrastinate a little longer. The 2011 Muir Glen Organic Reserve Gift Basket can a perfect, inexpensive gift for a foodie friend, co-worker, teacher, etc and for any occasion, not just holiday time.

"Muir Glen long-time partner farmers cultivate 1,000 acres of organic soil in Northern California’s Yolo County. In late spring of this year, 13 of those acres were planted with our Reserve tomato seedlings. Chosen specifically for their exceptional sweetness, the Harvest Sunset™ Reserve--a blend of yellow and red tomatoes, offer unique but complimentary textures, colors and flavor profiles.

Grown exclusively for Muir Glen under certified organic practices, and after months of thoughtful planning, constant attention and careful nurturing, the 2011 Reserve Tomatoes were hand-harvested at the peak of ripeness to guarantee the exceptional quality and taste you’ve come to expect from Muir Glen."

This gift basket is sold for $10 (plus $5 shipping) and can make a really nice thank you gift or even a nice gesture for the New Year. Or even better - you have spent the past months shopping for everyone else, it could even make a nice gift for YOURSELF.

The Reserve Kit includes:

• One 14.5 oz can Reserve Harvest Sunset Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
• One 14.5 oz can Reserve Harvest Sunset Organic Diced Tomatoes
• One 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
• One 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic No-Salt Added Diced Tomatoes
• A recipe booklet featuring a variety of recipes created by award-winning chefs from around the country made with the 2011 Reserve Tomatoes

Buy
To order visit MuirGlen.com.

I received free product in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Playmobil Robbers Amphibious Vehicle Play Set Review

Playmobil toys have always been a big hit with my kids. They allow for fun, creative and dramatic play and I love watching them use their imaginations to play with their toys. We have a few pirate sets that they enjoy playing with and the twins had some sets on their Christmas wish list.

Growing Tree Toys sent me the very cool Playmobil Robbers Amphibious Vehicle Play Set to review.

"Kids will have a blast with this land-to-sea Playmobil Amphibious Vehicle Play Set as they outmaneuver the cops and make it home in time for dinner. The Playmobil Amphibious Vehicle Play Set includes the water and land vehicle that actually floats, a robber figure, crowbar, shotgun, 2 cases stolen from "Bank Central" and Euro-style play money so kids can make a suave getaway by land or sea every time!"

With any Playmobil toy comes some minor assembly. Honestly, it is pretty simple and your child could likely do most of it on his or her own. But for the purpose of my review, I assembled it alone.

Pictured above is all the pieces. Everything just snaps into place, so no tools are needed. From start to finish it took me just under 15 minutes to assemble.

The result is one cool vehicle and figure set! The cases hold 6 pieces of play money each and both fit into the back of the vehicle together. The robber figure wears a hat and bandana, both removable, and carries a gun and crowbar. Put this together with other Playmobil Robbers sets for endless hours of fun!

What is really fun about this vehicle is that it also floats in water! So your child can bring it into the bath for a little water fun or maybe use it in a water table outside during the warm summer months. Sold separately is the Playmobil Underwater Motor which could really make this even more awesome.

Buy
The Playmobil Robbers Amphibious Vehicle Play Set is available at Growing Tree Toys for $21.99. Growing Tree Toys offers a wide variety of educational toys and toys that spark creativity and imagination.

Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product and/or company. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. I received free product to review.

Fun Family Video Games for Holiday Gift Giving

We are just a few short days away from Christmas. Can you believe it? While I have all of my shopping done, I know there are plenty of people out there who are waiting till the last minute. A gift that is sure to be a big hit for anyone on your list, both young and old, is the perfect video game. My boys are getting a bunch of video games this year, which I also love because I don't have any more room for toys. Here are a few that you might like to add to you last minute shopping list.

Zumba Fitness 2
Exercising doesn't have to be mundane and boring. With Zumba Fitness 2 you can dance the pounds away and have fun while doing it. There are 32 routines that will give you a total body workout. Great gift for someone who has fitness or weightloss on their New year's resolution list. Come with the Zumba Fitness Belt to hold the Wii controller to free up your hands.
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Rating: T (Teen)

Max and the Magic Marker
This game is different from anything yo have seen before. You not only control Max, but his Magic Marker as well! You use it to draw directly inside the game world where everything drawn becomes physical objects. These objects are used to overcome challenges and complete levels.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: E (Everyone)

Just Dance Kids 2
Who says that kids have to spend cold winter days sitting around doing nothing? Get them up and on their feet with Just Dance Kids 2. It features 40 fun and crazy dance routines to kids favorite songs, including hits from today's popular artists, TV shows and movies. Sure to provide both entertainment and even a little exercise for the young child on your gift list.
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Rating: E (Everyone)

Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack
Probably one of the hottest video games this holiday season. Every child will love bringing these cool figures to life in the game. Build the ultimate army of Skylanders with over 30 Skylanders to collect! Includes Portal of Power, Sticker Sheet, Poster, Trading Cards and 3 Character Figures.
Platforms: Mac/PC, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and older)

National Geographic Challenge!
How about a game that the entire family can sit down and play together? Players will explore the earth through geography and history, and begin a journey through the ages. With high definition videos, entertaining mini games, 4,000 different questions and high resolution images, this game is both fun and educational.
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Rating: E (Everyone)




I received free product for inclusion in my Holiday Gift Guide. This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

NewAir AIC-210 Ice Cream Maker Review

I love sweets. I could live off of chocolate alone. A sweet treat that my entire family enjoys is ice cream. We don't indulge too often, but usually the kids will have a few scoops of ice cream after dinner on Saturday's when Grammy is here. Watching the brain freeze faces my two year old makes is quite comical. When shopping for ice cream, I have found that finding one that is not loaded with artificial flavors and ingredients or high fructose corn syrup is quite the challenge. Like anything else, the best way to make sure that the ingredients are all natural is to make it yourself.

Air & Water offers a variety of ice cream makers ranging from small, personal sized to large commercial size. There is even one that makes soft-serve ice cream and has a cone holder under it so you can make the perfect ice cream cone. I jumped at the chance to review the NewAir AIC-210 Ice Cream Maker, literally. The idea of being able to make my  own ice cream using organic ingredients thrilled me! I could not wait for it to arrive and try it out.

This ice cream maker is fully automatic with a built-in freezer and compressor that mixes and freezes ice cream for you with no pre-chilling required. That means all you have to do is turn it on, add your ingredients, set the timer and voila - you are on your way to homemade ice cream! And it only takes 60 minutes for it to be finished. You are not limited to ice cream either. You can also make sorbet, frozen yogurt and gelato.

I will say that this ice cream maker is rather large, so you will need to have either a good amount of counter space or a lot of cabinet storage. I have neither, which means my ice cream maker is residing in the office in between uses. Just to give you a size comparison, I placed it next to our Keurig Mini Brewer.

Inside you will find a metal bowl, with handle for easy removal, as well as the plastic mixer. Both are easy to take out and clean.

The instruction manual for the NewAir AIC-210 Ice Cream Maker includes several recipes for you to get started making your frozen treats. I decided to start with their basic vanilla ice cream recipe and add some crushed cookies to make it Cookies n Cream. I started with organic whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, Fair Trade vanilla extract, and organic Newman-o cookies. I discovered on my shopping trip that no grocery store carry organic heavy cream. I wonder if it is even made at all?

I mixed together the ice cream ingredients, minus the cookies and then poured them into the ice cream maker.

Next you place the lid and then the black motor back on top. You will see there is a little door on the clear lid, this is for adding ingredients like cookies, candy, etc. These typically are added near the end.

Once you start the machine the display will show you the time remaining as well as the current temperature inside where it is making the ice cream.

Now comes the only hard part - waiting. It will take 60 minutes for your ice cream to be ready, which really isn't all that bad. While I waited, I pounded the cookies into crumbles and kept watching the ice cream maker do its work. As the the ice cream starts to form and gets thicker, you will notice the churner moves more and more slowly. With ten minutes left to go, I noticed it stopped churning but the compressor was still going. This is the NewAir AIC-210's automatic shut-off feature that protects the motor by stopping the unit if the mixture becomes too thick. But the cooling was still going until the time was finished. Since the cookies needed to be added to the last 5 minutes of the process, I ended up having to mix those in by hand. I suggest wearing oven mits when you remove the bucket because it is COLD.

I transferred the ice cream to a plastic container to store in my freezer. I let it sit in there for a few minutes while I cleaned up and put my ice cream maker away. Then I scooped some into a bowl to give my first attempt at homemade ice cream a taste.

Best. Ice cream. Ever. Seriously, I am not kidding. This is so delicious and fresh and free from artificial yuckiness to boot. I absolutely love this machine and I can't wait to experiment with other recipes and flavors. I am most excited to try to make some gelato. When I was in Montecatini Alto, Italy some years ago, I had some Tirumisu gelato and it was by far the best frozen treat I had ever eaten. I wonder if I will be able to duplicate it?

Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product and/or company. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. I received free product to review.

Shop Sears Brands for the Holidays plus $100 Gift Card Giveaway!

Christmas came a little early for us this year when Sears offered to send me a gift card to shop at their stores as well as one to giveaway. Sears exclusively carries a number of quality, budget-friendly brands that are perfect for holiday shopping lists. When I think of Sears brands, Craftsman, Kenmore and Lands' End are the names that immediately come to mind. I was unaware of some of their other exclusive brands like Apostrophe and Sofia Vergara, who offer stylish women's clothing.

From the moment I found out about the $200 gift card, I have been thinking about what I might buy with it. With the long list of exclusive brands shown above, I have lots and lots of options. The question is, do I buy a few smaller items or do I use it towards the purchase a single big ticket item?  I have put together a wishlist that has a few things from clothing to appliances.

My husband is a very loyal Craftsman tool user. All of his tools, including power tools, are Craftsman and he will not use anything else. And he is not alone as Craftsman is ranked by men as the No. 1 brand in America for overall quality. So I thought it might be nice to get him a power tool that he needs to put under the tree. With the freak October snowstorm we had this year, a lot of huge tree branches came down on our property. There are even some snapped branches dangling from trees in our front yard. It looks like one tree we will have to cut down completely. My husband realized that it would be a good idea for him to have a chainsaw to cut down the branches and trees and then cut them up to drag into the woods. He has been eyeballing one like this Craftsman 4 hp 18" Electric Chain Saw which is on sale for $99 online. If I was to get this for him this Christmas he would be thrilled!

I hardly ever buy anything for myself since having kids. However I did recently receive some cute, dressier outfits to wear and I am in need of something nice to wear over them. I love the design of this Apostrophe Women's Ruffle-Trim Cardigan currently on sale for just $19.99. This cardigan is regularly priced at $50.00 so this is a great deal. In addition to purple it also comes in heather, black and sand. As much as I love the purple color, I've added the black one to my wishlist. Black is just more versatile and will go with all of my new outfits.

I of course have to add something for the boys onto my Sears wishlist. This Christmas I may have gone a little crazy with the toy and video game purchases. In fact, I have not bought them a single item of clothing, which is not typical for me. My oldest could certainly use some pajamas and the Joe Boxer brand has some cute sets at low prices. He has shown a fascination with army related things lately. Just the other day we were eating dinner at a Chipotle and a group of soldiers in army fatigues walked in. He could not take his eyes off of them. So I thought this camouflage style Joe Boxer Boy's 2-Piece Mock Layer Shirt and Pant Pajama Set would be great for him.

Then I thought, maybe the best thing to do with the gift card would be to use it towards a purchase for the house, which in reality is for me too. Our dishwasher has not worked well in years. Once I became a stay at home mom back in 2007, it suddenly stopped getting the dishes clean. Often times things come out dirty and have to be rewashed. And forget glasses, they never come clean at all. I am sure a large part of the issue is our hard well water. But I also think that our dishwasher just can't handle the increased usage as it gets run at a minimum of twice a day. I have been dreaming of getting a new dishwasher for years, but since the current one technically still works, my husband has denied that wish. We have a Kenmore refrigerator that we have been very happy with and I have been looking at their dishwashers the past few nights. Kenmore is the number one player in the appliance industry and more people buy Kenmore than any other brand. Couple that with our past experiences and I feel good about buying their appliances going forward. The Kenmore line has several dishwashers in the $400 range, like this Kenmore 24" Built-In Dishwasher. While $400 is not chump change, it is certainly more affordable than some of the higher end models. The gift card obviously doesn't cover the entire cost, but it certainly makes it more affordable for us. Now I just need to convince my hubby that this is the way to go. Having a more efficient dishwasher will certainly save us money in the long run.

Now that I have my wishlist and some ideas of what I would like, I just need to sit down with my husband to make a final decision on what we should buy with our gift card. Ultimately it will probably come down to  a battle of the Craftsman Chainsaw versus the Kenmore Dishwasher. I'll have to keep you posted on who emerges victorious. Who are you rooting for? What are some of your favorite Sears brands?

Giveaway 
One (1) winner will receive a $100 Sears gift card that may be redeemed in store or online. Please use Rafflecopter entry form below.

This giveaway is open to legal residents of the United States, 18+ only and will end on December 22 at 12:01am EST. No P.O. Boxes. One winner will be chosen at random using Rafflecopter and will be posted on the Winner's Announcement Page. Winner has 48 hours to claim his/her prize otherwise a new winner will be picked. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. Prize fulfillment is the responsibility of the sponsoring company. This blog and its author are not responsible for giveaway prizes that are lost in transit or damaged. This blog is also not responsible if a sponsor/company does not send prize(s). Naturally, I will communicate with said company(s) several times, and make every effort to resolve the issue. Good luck! 

I received a Sears gift card in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.  Contains some affiliate links.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Little Engine That Could Game Review & Giveaway

Having a family game night is a really great way for everyone to gather around, spend some quality time together, unplugged, and just have some fun. Introducing board games at a young age is good and hopefully will help to build a long standing tradition. We have some of the classic board games, as well as some Star Wars versions of classic board games. I was recently given the opportunity to try a Tales to Play game from Patch.

"Our Tales to Play™ line of games brings to life classic and beloved stories for children and families to enjoy. If you love the book, then you can now live the game with colorful game boards, including 3D accessories and detailed characters. Each game is an adventure, much like the ones children read about in books, and each time you play you'll experience the magic and whimsy of a great story being told.

We received The Little Engine That Could Game to play with. My children are familiar with and enjoy this book a lot, and we actually have three copies of it. The game brings the story to life for them with bright blue train engines that move along the tracks on the game board till they eventually make it up the big mountain.

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Jade's Toy Box Mini Classic Toddler Box Review

My youngest son's birthday is in December, just before Christmas.  So every year I am left with the challenge of finding him good birthday presents in addition to Christmas presents. To be honest, sifting though all of the toy ads can be rather exhausting. Breathing a breath of fresh air into my toy madness this year is Jade's Toy Box.

"Each Jade's ToyBox Concept Box™ contains a carefully vetted selection of fun, educational, and eco-friendly toys, books, and games for teaching important themes and concepts, from art and music to health and the body, even sustainable architecture.  We do the homework for parents, researching the best quality, safest products that are available: products devoid of lead, BPA, phthalates, and other potentially harmful materials that do not belong in your child's environment. Our products aren’t covered with the latest cartoon character, and they don’t require batteries."

Jade's Toy Box has a variety of box sets that are specific for certain age: newborns, toddlers and preschoolers.  The sturdy cardboard box is filled with age appropriate educational, fun and eco-friendly toys.

I received their Mini Classic Toddler Box from Abe's Market for review. This box set is for ages 2+, though some items might be 3+. In our box there was a shape sorter, picture book, sticker book, hand puppet puzzles and a parent guide.

This comes in a thick cardboard box with handle that is perfect for storing and transporting the toys in. When you open it up there is a fun cut out activity on the lid that you can do with your child, but I am keeping it in tact for now so I have a place to put the toys back into when he's done playing.

These are all of the goodies that were included in our box. I was impressed wit the high quality items like Plan Toys.

The Plan Toys shape Sorter. I am a huge fan of anything Plan Toys makes. Their quality is amazing and their environmental awareness and commitment is even more amazing. I was thrilled that this set included a toy from them. This shape sorter is labeled for 3+ so a 2 year old may need some assistance. I love the vibrant colors and my son loves putting the shapes and pieces together.

This set of puzzles is great for this age group and I love that it comes in its own box so that the pieces don't get lost.

I'm not sure what to call this "5 Little Monkeys" set but it is so adorable. Each monkey has a weighted bottom so they stand up straight and we have a lot of fun acting out the nursery rhyme with these.

Reading to your child for at least 15  minutes a day is so important, and what better way to do that than with this colorful book, The Animal Boogie by Debbie Harter. It even includes a singalong CD.

What child doesn't like stickers? My older three boys are obsessed with them. My almost two year old has not yet ventured into the world of stickers, so I am storing this ABC Sticker Book from Usborne for a rainy day.

There is so much fun packed into this box its amazing. My toddler has been enjoying all of the toys thus far. The puzzles and and shape sorter are a little challenging for him, but it is helping him to really work on those fine motor skills.

This box and others from Jade's Toy Box make really well rounded gifts. There is a load of activities the kids can do to keep them busy all day long. I think these are prefect for holiday or birthday gifts.

Shop
Jade's Toy Box "Mini" sets and "Original" sets are available at Abe's Market. The Mini sets retails for $59.00 and the  much larger Original sets retail for $199.00. Abe's Market offers free standard shipping on all US orders.

Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product and/or company. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. I received free product to review. Post include affiliate links.

Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack for Wii Review & Giveaway

If you browsed any of the big holiday toy catalogs this year, like Toys R Us, Target and Walmart, you probably noticed that Skylanders Spyro's Adventure appeared in all of them. This is one of the hottest games this holiday season. When I first saw the Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack I knew this is something that my boys would love and I just had to get my hands on it. Collectible figures that come to life on screen when you place them on the Portal of Power? YES PLEASE! OK, forget the kids. I knew that I would enjoy this too.

In Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, you can ‘Bring Your Toys to Life’ in a boldly innovative adventure game where players collect real-world interaction figures and teleport them directly into the game using a mystical Portal of Power™. Propelled by a story-driven adventure, players take on the role of a powerful Portal Master who can control over 30 different characters, including the beloved fire-breathing dragon Spyro. Players will embark on a fantastical journey into an amazing world, where they will explore mysterious, mythical lands, battle menacing outlandish creatures, collect gold and treasures, and solve interesting puzzles while on a quest to save their world from Kaos, an evil Portal Master.

Skylanders Spyro's Adventure offers a whole new way to play. Kids can have fun playing with the many collectible figures off screen and then bring those characters to life on screen. The "interaction figures" actually store and remember the player's shared experiences such as ability, upgrades and gold collected. So the figures can be brought over to a friend's house to play on their Portal of Power. Wait, what happens if you have a Wii and your friend has an Xbox? And all of the figures can be used across all platforms. With "Cross-platform Playability" you are able to use your figures on other platforms, so you don't have to worry that your friend's is different than yours!

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