One of the movies that Madison loves is 3-2-1 Penguins! Save The Planets! This movie follows the galactic adventures of two young kids and four space-traveling penguins. They respond to distress calls from across the galaxy. While helping others, they learn life lessons and values along the way. There are 3 stories on this DVD. However, my favorite has to be the first story about the green-eyed monster. As an adult, I knew exactly what they were talking about. However, Madison (my 4 year old) didn’t. It was great story and lesson about jealousy. My one year loved the music and danced the whole time.  He often laughed too, but I am not sure if he understood what was happening or if he just laughed because we were.  The green eyed monster is a topic that I encounter daily at my house.  I love that there was humor for both adults and kids in it too.  It makes it much more enjoyable for us adults who have to watch the movie over and over and over again.  I often found myself giggling when my kids did.  I didn’t realize this was a cartoon on TV (till my husband informed me).  However, I am so impressed with the lessons that it will be a cartoon that we will continue to watch.  Here is a sneak preview of what the movie is like and about (and you will laugh at the preview I promise).  3-2-1 Penguins! Save The Planets! is a movie that should be under your tree this Christmas.

Are you like me?  Are you allergic to life itself?  You may laugh at this statement, but I have had allergy testing done.  I was allergic to every single thing I was tested for.  This is why I say I am allergic to life itself.  My only chance at a normal life was to get allergy shots.  However, they were not sure if that would actually get rid of all of my allergies.  I was not about to get three years of shots of something that they were not sure was going to work.  I pretty much ended up where I started.  I take it day by day, and if it is really bad, I take Claritin.

Clorox Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray is a lifesaver for people like me.  It is one of the easiest ways to reduce your common indoor allergens.  The biggest indoor allergens are a cat dander, dog dander, and dust mites.  They make up to 90% of the allergens in your home.  They can easily build up in soft surfaces such as cushions, upholstered fabrics, curtains, carpets, bedding, and stuffed animals.  Clorox Anywhere® Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray is super easy to use to get rid of this.  All you have to do is spray the items that you suspect are harboring allergens.  It chemically breaks apart the allergens, and does not leave behind a harmful residue.

I personally liked that it did not leave a scent either.  I have a husband who is super sensitive to scents and perfumes, so this is extremely helpful in my house.  it is also gentle and enough to use around kids and pets.  This will retail for approximately $2.99 and can be located in the home care aisle of most stores.  For me, $2.99 is well worth allergy relief.  Even if you aren’t allergic, do you really want all that floating around your home?

Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics announced today that children should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it may help prevent serious diseases?  What does this mean?  Millions children will need to take vitamin D supplements to reach the new recommendation of 400 units daily (up from 200).

I know there are parents all around who are wondering how to get this additional amount of Vitamin D now into their children.  The best source of vitamin D is sunlight because the body makes vitamin D when sunshine hits the skin.  However, if you like in a state like me (Illinois), we don’t often go out in the winter, because it is way too cold.  The only way most children are going to be able to get this much vitamin D is too supplement it.

I luck out that my daughter takes vitamins without a problem.  However, my cousin’s daughter will not take anything.  An easy way to get the vitamins into your kids is to use Emergen-C Kidz Complete Multi Vitamin and Multi Mineral Supplements.  For kids 4 and older, all you do is add a packet of Emergen-C Kidz to 4 - 6 ounces of water and stir.  For kids 2-3, use a half a packet with 2-4 oz of water.  Emergen-C Kidz has 24 essential nutrients including choline, 500 mg of vitamin C, and 400 IU of vitamin D.  It also has beta carotene, vitamin E, zinc, iron, and phosphorus (there are several more vitamins too!).  If you notice, Emergen-C Kidz offers more health boosting vitamin C than the leading brand to help support their immune systems.  It is available in major grocery stores and drug chains and in health food stores.

This passed the kid test in my house.  We tried the orange pineapple explosion, and Madison drank it in one sitting.  She like the flavor and wanted more after she was finished.  If that flavor doesn’t sound like something you’d be interested in, this also comes in Strawnana Berry and Cherry Yumberry (ok, I can’t even type that without giggling a little.  Your kids will love those name as much as I do.

Your kids will like their fizzy drink and think they are getting a treat, and you, as a mom, will know that they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need.  I promise, I’ll keep it our little secret.

Huru Humis will be one of the big gifts that everyone is going to want for Christmas this year. They are made for children ten and up. However, my 4 year old and 1 year old love them too. Each Huru Humi has its own name and distinct personality. Their interests range from sports to journalism. We have two of them, and I swear I have teenagers living in my house now. If I don’t check, Madison has been sneaking them into her bed with her at night too.

The reason I like these is that they interact with you. You are able to ask them questions, and they actually will respond to you. The other cool thing is that if you put two Huru Humis next to one another, they start talking to one another! They will have a whole conversation with or without you. These definitely teach your kids many social skills.  It shows them how to have a conversation, not to interrupt, and have differing opinions.  They are fairly easy to use, so kids of all ages will be able to use them.  If you quite talking to them, they even try to get your attention.  Another feature that my kids love is that their hair and outfits are interchangable too.

I have already seen commercials for these on, I think, Nick Jr or one of those kid stations, so you know this is going to be big. Each Huru Humi costs $29.99 and can be purchased at Walmart, Target, Kmart and Toys R Us. However, if you do not want to wait to get one of these, I was able to get not 1, not 2, but 3 of these to giveaway to my lucky readers.  Now, two will be given away randomly.  The third one will be randomly given away among the people who make a Huru Humi video.

Each one of these things will give you one entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know why you want this.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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For ten more entries,

1.  Make a Huru Humi Cartoon here.  Publish your video and add it to your social profile and link to it in a comment.

Good luck! This contest will end Oct. 22, 2008 at 8:00 PM CST and is for both US and Canadian residents.

If you have little ones in your house, check out Baby Rodenburg. This DVD teaches you child sign language, A-B-C’s, numbers, colors, and animals.  The DVD was a huge hit here.  Madison (my 4 year old) is learning sign language in preschool, so she loved the reinforcement.  My son who is 15 months loved it due to the music and seeing other babies.  I am not sure if he really “understood” any of the sign language.  Mom like it, because I got to actually learn some sign language (like how to sign eat) that is actually quite useful at my house.

My only complaint about the DVD is that it seems a bit disorganized at times.  I wish they correlated the signing to whichever letter they were on.  Meaning, when they did the sign for eat, I think they should have been talking about the letter E.  That being said, they really reinforced each sign and what it means using several different ways.  As each thing was signed, Madison often repeated the sign several times and repeated the word that went with the sign.  Will danced with the music and pointed to the screen and said “seeeeeee” every time an animal, baby, or toddler was on.

This DVD was created by a set of parents who couldn’t find any DVDs out there that fit their needs for their child.  Instead of complaining, they made their own DVD to use with their own child and to share with the rest of us!

The CareBears Dance ‘n Play Piano has been a huge hit in my house with both my kids. Madison (my four year old) doesn’t play with it too much anymore, but my 15 month old still enjoys it. The piano plays three different songs, and has different settings. It also lights up when you press the keys, and the Care Bears dance which makes my son laugh. It is a tad on the loud side, so you may want to check your health insurance and have your hearing checked if you think its quiet. :)  If you want a great introduction to music for your little one, this is a great toy for that.

Wipe Clean Letters is a must have book for any preschool aged children you have in your house.  This book comes with its own dry erase marker (and a place to keep it too!).  The book is made of cardboard, and you are able to wipe clean any work your children do in the book.  Each page has a litter of the alphabet on it.  it also has words that start with that letter or have that letter in it (example:  for s, you would see sinks on the page.) It has the uppercase and the lowercase letters on each page to trace.  Some of the pages even have a small activity to do on them.  Madison can spend hours with this book.  I love that it is teaching her picture and word recognition, and that it is still fun for her.  If you want a great interactive book, this is what you should get!