As many of you know already, I love chocolate.  However, I love chocolate even better when it is helping out a create cause.  Ferrero (a chocolate company) and Share Our Strength (a hunger relief organization) have teamed together for the second year to do good.  As of right now, Ferrero has donated $150,000 to Share Our Strength and that want you to help them donate more.  All you need to do is go to the Share Something Sweet website and send an ecard to any of your friends and/or family.  They will donate an additional $1 per e-card sent up to $10,000.  Also, for every person who joing the Ferrero Facebook page, they will donate another $1 (up to $1,000).

Now, the Share Something Sweet site is actually pretty cool.  They have event news, product offers, and even a chocolate quiz (which I highly recommend that you take).  I found out I had a Ferrero Rocher® Chocolates Personality.

Let’s help fight childhood hunger and send a card to a loved one!  I know I am.

I recently came across a site called Oh! Toys that has some of the most unique toys on the US market.  The toys on this site stimulate creativity and development.  Also, these toys are a lot of fun, and you won’t find them at your local toy store.

Most of the toys on the Oh! Toys site are for kids between the ages of 3 and 10.  However, the Sina einSTEIN blocks can be used by all ages.  As you can see from the above pictures, we made it a family event!  The shapes of these blocks are truly nothing you have ever seen before.  You can made some of the most unique things with them:

Have you seen any blocks that allow you to make such interesting shapes? I know I haven’t.  Sina’s einStein Blocks have 36 pieces – 9 blocks in red, blue, yellow, and green.  I noticed that they also really made my 4 year old think.  This aren’t your normal traditional blocks.  You can’t build a tower like you normally would with them.  However, you can build so many new cool things.  These blocks are something she will definitely be able to use for a while.  Now, Will (my one year old) was able to help with the tower (a little), but his main goal was to knock down whatever Madison and Daddy were building.  They made it through the rath of a 1 year old and no harm was done to my walls or the blocks.

If you need a toy for that kid who has everything, this is definitely it.  It will make them think and allow them to create to their mind’s delight.

Did you know . . . .

• There are over 1,000 different kinds of “smellers” in your nose?
  • Test show a 40% improvement in mood when exposed to a pleasant scent.
  • The average human being is able to recognize approximately 10,000 different odors.
  • Your nose can smell directionally, telling you where an odor originates.
  • A woman’s sense of smell is keener than a man’s.
  • No two people smell the odor the same way.

With that being said, it isn’t all that surprising that you can get cards that actually smell.  Scentsational Greeting has come up with a way to add scents to their cards, and let me tell you, they smell wonderful.  I was amazed at how good they smell.  Their signature scents include lavender, vanilla, ocean breeze, lemon, roses, and coffee.  They even have a holiday line including peppermint, christmas tree, and gingerbread.  All you have to do is gently rub the front of the card to release the awesome scents.  They have card for just about every event too.

If you want to send a unique card that everyone will love, check out Scentsational Greeting.  You’ll be the talk of your friends and family.

Until recently, I had never heard of the Cole Family Christmas.  However, this is a story that has been passed down from generation to generation.  Hazel Kendle, 88, told the story to her granddaughter who got it down on paper for all of us to enjoy.  More than 20 family members have had their hand in making this book come alive to us new to the story.

Hazel was one of the nine Cole children in the story.  The tale is based on what really happened that Christmas when they were allowed to pick what they wanted from Santa from the Sears catalog.  Since the Cole family were poor, this was an event that did not happen often.  Unfortunately, a blizzard hit, and they ended up with a snowy Christmas surprise instead.

The back story of this book alone made me want to read this book myself.  It truly shows the importance of getting your family history down on paper, so others can enjoy the stories you know and love.  This book is for 10 – 12 years old.  However, we have been reading it to our kids (who are 4 and 1).  The chapters are short enough that we can read one a night and still keep their interest.  Now, I read it in one sitting and loved it.  My kids like the illustrations too.

This book is about the true spirit of Christmas and is a must read for everyone.