LaLaGirl Reviews http://reviews.lalagirl.org the real deal. from a real life mom of 5. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:08:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Celtic Woman Review I recently had a chance to hear the new Celtic Woman CD, courtesy of EMI Music and Music Moms. This CD is AMAZING. I hadn’t even heard of Celtic Woman before I received it, and as soon as I popped it into the stereo in my car, my kids were all mesmerized. I expected it to be pretty much, well, Irish music, but it was a lot more than that. I was pretty surprised to hear gorgeous renditions of Mariah Carey’s “When You Believe,” Sting’s “Fields of Gold,” and Billy Joel’s “Goodnight My Angel.” The song that moved me the most, though, was the classic Amazing Grace – it gave me chills.

Here is the track listing from Songs from the Heart:

1. Fields of Gold
2. Amazing Grace
3. Níl Sé’n Lá
4. My Lagan Love
5. When You Believe
6. The New Ground – Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
7. The Coast of Galiçia
8. Non C’è Più
9. The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress
10. You’ll Be In My Heart
11. Goodnight My Angel
12. Galway Bay
13. The Lost Rose Fantasia
14. O, America!

Check out these ladies – aren’t they just magical?

They’re about to embark on nationwide tour beginning February 9th, but I noticed they don’t have any dates scheduled for Colorado. Booooo! That’s okay, Celtic Woman promoters. I won’t hold it against you this time.

Check out Celtic Woman – they’re everywhere. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter on their own website at Celtic Woman.com, and you can view their videos on YouTube.

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2010/03/08/celtic-woman-review/ We love K’Nex! I’m a full month late in posting this review, darn it. I don’t know what it is about the 4th quarter of the year always slipping by in the blink of an eye, but I suspect it has something to do with all those little kid cold germs and all the preparation for the holidays. Anyway. I’ve been remiss in sharing this, and I apologize for that.

My son and husband were lucky enough to sample a 400-piece K’Nex building set, courtesy of K’Nex and Team Mom We aren’t new to K’Nex. When Pablo was paired up with his full-time aide, Barb, she introduced him to the magic of K’Nex. Kids with autism often like to sit and work on something obsessively and with meticulous concentration, and K’Nex is perfect for this. They’re designed to work with the typical building sets you probably already have (the ones that rhyme with Eggo) but they are a thousand times better than those other building sets – you can make the most amazing things, and the design that allows the the itty bitty pieces to fit together is just…genius.

Here’s my boy checking out the big tub of K’Nex.

We LOVE K'Nex.

Um…just so you know, 400 pieces of K’Nex is not a lot. Many of the pieces are miniscule – smaller than a raisin – so don’t expect to buy this tub and have it appear anywhere near FULL when you open it. Have you ever opened a bag of potato chips and realized the bag was only about a third full? Well, the K’Nex tub is about one tenth full when you buy it. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll realize that you need a whole bunch more of these, and you’ll run right out to your nearest retailer to stock up. I think the K’Nex people are counting on that – fill up that tub, consumer! Or, use the extra room as a garage for your spiffy K’Nex truck.

Pablo's truck!

Really, nothing makes my engineer husband happier than sitting down with the boy and building stuff. They sat like this for HOURS. Hours, I tell you. They made a few things shown in the big instruction booklet, but had even more fun making their own creations.

Daddy and Pabo hard at work with K'Nex

Huge thanks to K’Nex and Team Mom for letting us try these out. You can find this same product at Target, Walmart, and Toys ‘R Us for around $20.99.

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2010/01/04/we-love-knex/ Glade…WINNAH! I would have posted this sooner, but everyone in my house has been sick for days. You shouldn’t even be here – go wash your hands after you read this.

Anyway! The winner of the Glade basket has been selected, and I’m pleased to announce it here, almost a week late: it’s Comment #5, KIM! Yay, Kim!

I’ll be contacting you for your shipping address!

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/12/03/glade-winnah/ Glade – A Fresh Night Out: GIVEAWAY! Denver bloggers at 'A Fresh Night Out'

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Anne Marie of A Mama’s Rant hosted an intimate little event which was sponsored by Glade. It was so much fun. I’ve gone to lots of blogging events in the past, and while it’s always a blast to meet other local bloggers, it’s usually crowded and noisy and hard to hear what people are saying. This event wasn’t like that at all. We gathered at the fabulous Warwick Hotel in downtown Denver and enjoyed some great appetizers and drinks while we heard about the Glade Sense & Spray products. Here’s a little info about the Glade Sense & Spray – it’s pretty neat!

Glade® Sense & Spray™ is a smart air freshener that automatically freshens only when you need it, and the new Clear Springs™ scent is specially formulated to eliminate odors. Motion-activated Glade® Sense & Spray™ helps busy moms keep their home smelling fresh with the personalized fragrance they deserve, while conserving the refill and enjoying a value-conscious lifestyle.

Glade® Sense & Spray™ is available in six fragrances. The starter kit is offered in new Clear Springs™, Clean Linen™ and Apple Cinnamon, and refills are available in new Clear Springs™, new Hawaiian Breeze™, Clean Linen™, Apple Cinnamon, Powder Fresh® and Country Garden®. This innovative air freshener is available in the air-care aisle of most food, drug and mass-merchandise stores such as Target, Wal-Mart and many more.

lala girl and Red Sox Mommy We had a good time making up names for new Glade scents – somebody actually suggested bacon. Haha! My suggestion was, “Newborn baby head” although I’m not sure how they’d get that scent into the can. Everyone also had a blast making gift baskets, which contained a mug ready to decorate with markers, a chenille throw blanket, a jar of homemade cocoa mix, a satin sleep eye mask, and the Glade Sense & Spray. The blanket and the basket itself were provided by IKEA – they’re awesome! Each of us was able to make two baskets – one to bring home and one to give away to a reader. Yay! A giveaway! I’m actually giving both away. The one I brought home with me is going to make an awesome teacher gift for my favorite para. Hope she doesn’t read my blog, or it’ll spoil the surprise! (Surprise! Your house stinks! No, not really. But kind of funny, huh? Hee!)

Want to win the basket I created? Here it is. This is the EXACT BASKET you will receive, if you win this little contest!

Lala girl gift basket

Look closely, because my basket is extra special. I’ve already decorated the mug with Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba. Now you really want it, don’t you? Imagine sipping your coffee out of this darling mug!

lala girl with mug

Also, I agonized over the decision of which color throw to put in my giveaway basket. I loved the red throw and the green, but ultimately decided the green would be prettier in the giveaway basket. Yay, green blanket from IKEA. Yay, nice smelling bathroom. Yay, Yo Gabba Gabba inspired coffee mug! If you want this basket, I would love for you to have it. All you have to do is leave a comment on this very post. That’s it. You don’t need to Tweet about it, post about it, follow my RSS feed, or anything else. (Although you can if you want to! Share the love!) Comment as often as you’d like. One winner will be chosen at random on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. (That would be the 27th, if you’re keeping track.) The basket will be shipped to you directly, so you’ll need to provide me with a shipping address.

Please see review policy and contest rules linked at the top of this page for more info.

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/11/17/glade-a-fresh-night-out-giveaway/ LaLaGirl.org I’m kind of tired of keeping separate sites for my regular blog, LaLaGirl – Twinfinite Chaos, and this site, LaLaGirl Reviews. I’m about 98% certain I’m going to start posting reviews and contests and stuff on my regular blog. Sooooo. Just a heads up, I guess. (Because I’m sure you care! Yay!)

Other LaLa Goodness

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/05/17/lalagirlorg/ Fun new books! My kids and I ADORE books. We’re regulars at the fantastic, huge library right down the road from our new house, and storytime is something we all look forward to each week. It’s not unusual for us to be digging library books out from under beds and closets and toy boxes on library day, so I’m always happy to score a few books for us to keep forever! Our newest forever finds are from author and illustrator Leslie Patricelli.

Baby Happy Baby Sad is a book that even my littlest not-yet-reading readers can read. It goes through the basic emotions of baby – happy and sad – and really, what more is there in life when you’re a toddler? In Higher! Higher!, a little girl swings until her feet seem to touch the sky – one of the greatest and most satisfying experiences for any kid.

Check out these great titles by Leslie Patricelli – she’s authored lots of kids’ books and they’re all full of her great illustrations!

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/04/10/fun-new-books/ Corneille: The Birth of Cornelius I checked out this CD recently, when I decided I couldn’t listen to one more minute of children’s music in the car. It was on a day when I was out running errands, the girls fell asleep in the car, and we arrived way early to pick up the kids from school, so I had close to half an hour of blissful “alone” time, just me, a magazine, and this CD. It was perfect chillax music. (Can I say “chillax?” I’m not sure if it’s a word I can get away with. It feels weird in my mouth. Maybe I’m too old. I’m not sure. But there you go.)

Corneille’s music has been described as being a mix between John Legend, Tracy Chapman and Marvin Gaye. I can sort of see that, I guess. He’s not big in the US yet, but he will be! Check it out if you’re into soul and R&B. I’ll bet you’ll like it.

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/04/01/corneille-the-birth-of-cornelius/ No more Noggin? I just heard that Nickelodeon is absorbing Noggin and renaming the channel Nick Jr. I sure hope they don’t do away with Moose A. Moose – he’s our favorite! And he represents all things Noggin! According to the press release I read, the change shouldn’t be too big of a deal – mostly in name. We shall see, I guess.

As Nickelodeon enters its landmark 30th anniversary year, the number-one kids’ network will unify the TV channels (Noggin, The N, Nicktoons Network) and web sites (Nick.com, Neopets.com, AddictingGames.com, among others) from its top-ranked portfolio under the single, globally recognized brand “Nickelodeon”—beginning 4Q 2009. This philosophy of ‘one brand’ signals Nickelodeon’s continued move toward serving the whole family through TV, online, consumer products, recreation and theatricals, as well as heightening its ability to seamlessly navigate audiences across its targeted entertainment platforms for everything from Dora, SpongeBob, AddictingGames and iCarly, to George Lopez, Degrassi and ParentsConnect.com.

Bringing together the entire multiplatform portfolio under the single Nickelodeon umbrella will reinforce Nick’s leadership in the marketplace as a global brand serving the whole family, with kids always at the center. A ‘one brand’ philosophy also allows audiences to easily find the content they want across multiple screens, and it anticipates the platform agnostic media environment and single currency that the audience and industry are moving toward.

Noggin will be renamed Nick Jr., retaining its quality schedule of commercial-free, preschool-focused programming. The N assumes the name TEENick and will further develop and deliver on its mission of serving teens and tweens through programming reflecting the breadth and depth of ‘teen-dom’. Nicktoons Network retains its name while continuing to organically grow its boy 6-11 audience through hit, action-oriented animated programming like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Marvel’s Wolverine and the X-Men and the forthcoming Iron Man series. Also, Nick.com will expand to become a hub for Nickelodeon’s entire digital network of properties and brands, and will continue to serve as the leading content destination for kids.

Guess we’ve got a few more months to love on Moose A. Moose and Zee!

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/03/13/no-more-noggin/ General Mills Cereals Regular readers here know that I’m very mean to my children and don’t let them eat cereal that’s full of sugar. Heck, I even mention that in my “about me” blurb to the right, there! I’ve noticed over the past few months that certain cereal manufacturers have begun to put the nutrition facts right on the front of the box, which I LOVE. I was annoyed, a little, that this little practice hadn’t been put into place by ALL cereal manufacturers. I’m pleased to report, however, that General Mills cereals now report their nutrition facts right at the top of the box, front and center. Yay, General Mills!

It was only because of this, that I realized Lucky Charms is not really as bad as I thought it was, sugar-wise. It has 11 grams of sugar per serving. Still higher than the 10 grams or less that I usually shoot for, but certainly not as bad as, say, RAISIN BRAN. I know I’m probably being lame about the whole sugar thing. It’s not like they aren’t eating yogurt, which has a crapton of sugar in it. What’s my problem, anyway? I guess I just like bossing my children around with my arbitrary, “haha! Mommy says this has too much sugar!” rules.

I probably should focus my attention a bit more on the amount of calcium and Vitamin D my kids are getting. I was told recently that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently doubled the vitamin D recommendation for children. Probably not as big a deal in Colorado, what with our 300+ annual days of sunshine, but there ya go. I just learned that General Mills Big G kid cereals are calcium and vitamin D fortified – this list includes Kix, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and others. They also have at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving.

You can learn more at growupstrong.com.

You might like these posts, too!

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/02/23/general-mills-cereals/ Qlubb.com – organize your group! Trying to get organized in 2009? Check out Qlubb.com, a site designed for managing groups and events. You can go and set up your own little page for your family, book club, classroom, mommy group, scout troop, whatever. It has a built in calendar where members can enter event information and RSVP to events as well. You can also upload pictures and files, and add useful links for the members in your group to check out.

If you’re spending too much time trying to organize and manage your group and less time actually enjoying your group, this may be just what you need to tidy things up. You can even use the site within your own family to keep track of appointments, soccer games, babysitting gigs, and that sort of thing. Check it out at Qlubb.com.

Other LaLa Goodness

]]> http://reviews.lalagirl.org/2009/01/21/qlubbcom-organize-your-group/