Pretty Neat Book Review/Giveaway

March 13, 2011 By Anne

My motto has always been – “My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.” I stole it from my sister in law.

But sometimes you have to get things organized. My biggest problem is the kitchen. I always have a pile of papers on the table and several piles on the bar. As well as piles of other stuff!

One thing I always do as soon as I get home is go through the mail and throw the junk mail away and put the bills and important papers away. It’s all the other stuff I need to work on, magazines, school papers, coupons, etc.

I was checking out Pretty Neat. A new book out by Alicia Rockmore and Sarah Welch.

Their motto – let go of perfection. I did that a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong, I have areas that need improvement and my clutter stresses me sometimes, but I try to let it go.

Pretty Neat is a great little book. A very easy read. I have pages tagged to go back and read more and try out their ideas.

My favorite idea from the book is about organizing photos. I have a ton of photos, either developed and in boxes or still on the CD. I really want them in books, so we can look at them.

Angela Harris’s idea is to order six months to a years worth of photos and then they are all ready to place in the albums. I love it! That way it’s all right there.

Pretty Neat is funny, truthful, entertaining – check it out. I think anyone and everyone will get something out of it.

Would you like a copy to read and get organized? One Mommy Has to Work reader will get their own copy.

Plus, one winner from all the blogs participating in this giveaway will be chosen at random to receive a $200 gift card (same as cash such as Visa or AmEx) plus a selection of Buttoned Up products (ARV: $50) to be used towards her own reasonable organizational goals for her life.

To enter, leave a comment telling me what area you need help in organizing.

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Giveaway ends March 20st at 9:00 pm est. Open to US. This giveaway is through Global Influence. The company/PR gave a book to review. This did not affect my opinions.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

SpellQuizer Review

March 10, 2011 By Anne

I’m always looking for easier ways to teach my children. They both attend school but I always like them to learn as much as they can. It seems a great way to do this is through computers.

I was able to review SpellQuizer and tried it out on my 10 year old son.

So what is it and how does it work?

SpellQuizer is an interactive computer program that you or your child can manually enter spelling words. You can also choose from a large assortment of spelling lists. The words are spoken and used in a sentence. The child then types the spelling and is told whether or not it is correct.

Hunter immediately tried all of the lists available in the preview version. I love the idea that I can add his spelling list and he can practice on a daily basis.

SpellQuizzer’s built-in spellchecker recognizes both US and UK English spellings. When adding words, the spellchecker warns you if you are spelling a word wrong. This way the child can easily add his own list as extra practice.

Plus you can import and export lists with other families. This a great feature for homeschooling.

Hunter enjoyed trying it out. I’m not sure we would keep up with it as our schedule is hectic and sometimes having dad test you on words, while doing other things, seems easier. But I thought the program was unique and would definitely recommend it to others.

This is a Mama Buzz review. I was given the above product to use on my computer to facilitate this review.

Anne

Mega Bloks Domino Build Game Review

March 2, 2011 By Anne

We had the the opportunity to review this new game by Mega Bloks. Mega Bloks has some wonderful games and toys. Our family loves them!

After opening this game we had to sit down and give it a try. This game is a color and matching type game . It has really bold colors and is very kid friendly. It’s perfect for three year olds. You take turns matching the tiles and building an animal with bloks. First you choose an animal card. Then you take turns trying to match the Domino tiles. See below…

Every time you get a match you get a piece of your animal blok. This gives the kids something to hold and play with until it’s their turn again.Who ever gets all four pieces is the winner! This game is very simple and quick – perfect for my daughter. I mean like 5 minutes.

After the first 2 games we kinda just matched the tiles. But we played it again a few days later.

We really enjoyed it and would recommend it for any 3 – 6 year olds. I think 3-4 year olds may be better a better age though. I can’t find any faults with this one! We loved it!

This is a Team Mom review. I was given the game by Team Mom and Mega Bloks to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

Anne

Pirose Fashion by Reno Rose Review

February 28, 2011 By Anne

Are you looking for a great accessory for the spring? Scarves are a great item, because you can do so many things with them! Check out Reno Rose scarves. I love scarves. I use to wear them in my hair when it was longer and I was younger.

I received a beautiful pink scarf from Reno Rose. The scarf is different than ones I’ve used before in that it has a hole in the center. Look at the picture above – see how it lightly drapes over your shirt? It’s very light weight too.

They are beautiful to wear as an accessory and have many different ways it can be worn. Check out the different ways here.Reno Rose, Inc. started out in June of 2009. My daughter was the main inspiration behind the one accessory that launched my dream of building a business with which I could support my family.

My family’s story is a happy one, with a few obstacles along the way. I am originally from Tokyo, Japan, and I moved to America at 15 to take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study at a prestigious arts academy. After performing as a professional ballerina for ten years, I decided to shift my energy to the next chapter of my life: marriage and starting a family

Inspiration quickly overcame desperation. My mother Akino was my role model, as she herself is an entrepreneur who worked tirelessly to support her family. She taught me to be self-sufficient, so instead of giving up hope, I created my own economic opportunity when there were none offered to us. With my mother’s continued support, I have been able to build my company from the ground up just as she had done with her own.By channeling my appreciation for art into a new medium, I designed and invented a functional and fashionable nursing cover. Motherhood instilled in me a sense of empowerment that I did not feel should be overcome by insecurity when it comes to nursing in public. What started with a sewing machine in a small apartment has now become the Pirose, a multi-way fashion accessory. It is created from the same airy fabric used in my ballet days and is named after the graceful movement of pirouettes. I designed it as a lightweight yet discreet solution for nursing mothers and as a versatile fashion accessory for all women to enjoy, nursing or not.

That is such a beautiful story!

I really love the different patterens and the many ways the scarves can be worn. The scarves sell for $35.00.Check Reno Rose out on Facebook and Twitter.

Check out my pics below!

This is a Mama Buzz review. I was sent a scarf for review purposes from the company/PR agency. This did not affect my opinions, My opinions are my own.

Anne

Kids Music Review

February 24, 2011 By Anne

Savannah and I drive 30 minutes to school/work and back again. We listen to a lot of music. So when I was asked to review some kids Cd’s I was all for it!Beth from Sugar Mountain PR sent me a variety of CDs.

1. Use Your Words by Jeremy Plays Guitar. I really liked this one. These songs are all songs helping children communicate better. It’s a great way to teach children. Use Your Words is a good song, the title says it all. I tell this to my daughter every. single. day. One of the songs has a “Doors” feel to it, very cool for us, the parent. Number 13, Keep Your Cool, has a blues feel to it. We definitely enjoy listening to this cd. Check it out http://www.jeremyplaysguitar.com/ , $15.00.

2. Sunny Day by Elizabeth Mitchell. Elizabeth, her husband and her 9 year old daughter all perform on this one. The music is soft and kinda folksy. Two of our favorite’s are Sunny Day and School Days, which I believe is a remake from an oldies song. I gave this cd to Savannah’s school. They are always looking for music and Sunny Days is the teacher’s favorite too! Check it out http://www.folkways.si.edu/ for $$11.98

3. Jungle Gym, by Justin Roberts. Great CD. The music has lots of horns. These songs are all about things that happen in children’s lives, getting lost, fire drills. Trick or Treat is a fun, fun song, great beat. Number 4, Sign My Cast is a very fun song, reminds me of Hunter and his 2 casts this past year. Snow Day is cute, very good beat. We enjoyed this one a lot too! Check it out http://www.justinrobertsmusic.com/ for $16.00

4. Swimming in Noodles, by Jim Cosgrove. I think is our favorite one. Cool Daddy sounds like an oldies song, this one gets played often. Cookie Time has lots of piano. Some of the songs have a calypso, islandy feel, others more rock and even a little country. More favorites are Spaghetti and Goofballs, Nobody Does it Like You, oh and I can’t forget Hang on Mama. This on is Savannah’s favorite. Mama gets lost in a pile of laundry! I hum these songs at work and it’s kinda of annoying that I’m humming kids songs, but what are you gonna do! Check it out http://www.jimcosgrove.com/ for $15.00

I thank Beth and the PR company for providing these for us to review and highly recommend them for those of you with kids or grand kids, nieces, nephews, you get the picture.