Brighter Minds Media has now introduced Bob The Builder Can Do Zoo. It has already been awarded three awards — that’s how good it is!  I let my greatest kid tester in my house try it out — that would be Madison who is 4.  Since we have gotten the game in the mail (thanks Family Review Network!), Madison goes around singing “Bob the Builder . . . We can do it  . . . Bob the Builder . . .  Yes we can”.  That has been my house for a week now.  However, I don’t actually mind all the much, because we really like this game.  As soon as I found out the Diner Dash (my favorite computer game ever) was behind this, I knew we had a winner.

Bob The Builder Can Do Zoo has 3 modes of play - Story, Free Play, and Sticker Book.  There is also 6 animal habitats to build,  7 unique learning activities, and hundreds of stickers to collect for building achievements.  There are three levels, so it is quite easy to pick the level that is best for your kids.  You are able to play in both English and Spanish.  There are also many skills taught through this game - problem solving, critical thinking, object classification, planning and time sequencing, pattern, size, and spatial recognition, and shape and color identification.

Why is this game a winner in my house?  That is actually pretty easy.  First, this game works on our desktop that is 8 years old.  Most games won’t work on there, and we actually consider that Madison’s computer.  When a game works on there, we all cheer for joy.  The second thing that I loved was that she was actually learning something while playing.  There are a lot of games out there that are just mindless, and I would much rather have her playing games like this.  Next, the price is right.  It should retail around $19.95 which is very cheap and affordable for a computer game.  Lastly, Madison can play this herself.  I didn’t have to help her at all.  She is only four, but that say a lot about this game.  It is truly simple and age appropriate.  Nothing is more frustrating than to get a game for her, and I have to play it because it is too hard to do and/or navigate.

If you are looking for a great Christmas or birthday present, I highly recommend Bob The Builder Can Do Zoo.  It was a big hit in my house and will be in yours too!

I am all for saving money.  What woman doesn’t want to save a couple of bucks when she is shopping?  Nowadays, most of us have moved our shopping online and love coupon codes.  FindSavings.com is a great place to get your coupon codes to save yourself a couple of bucks.  You can easily find what you are looking for.  On the left sidebar, you can search for your coupon either by using the category list or the store list.  On the right sidebar, you can see all the new coupons that have been added into their system.  The middle column has all of your featured deals.  I personally am loving the HP Home Store Offers.  Our HP desktop that we have now was custom built in 2000, and it still works!  However, it is a tad slow compared to my laptop (which I bought in January).  I had been thinking that we should do another custom built cpu, and I just found a coupon for $400 off!  They even have coupon codes for my most favorite store:  Best Buy.  I can definitely always spend my hard earned money there.  What is my favorite part of this site?  I can sign up to get an email with the latest codes.  Who wouldn’t want ways to save money sitting in their email?  I know I am signing up for a couple of these coupon emails with my favorite stores.  If you are looking for a one stop shop for your coupons, FindSavings.com is it.

We allow my four year old daughter on the internet.  Yes, we are right there and monitor what she is doing.  She is only playing games on Noggin or Disney Playhouse.  However, I do worry about when she gets a bit older  Did you know that:

• 41% of unwanted sexual solicitations, 29% of unwanted exposure to sexual materials, and 31% of harassment occurred when children were online with their friends. (I can believe this due to the IMs I get.  I have it listed in my profile that I married, and I still get IMs from men wants who knows what).
• Law enforcement officials estimate that more than 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given moment.
• 1 in 5 youth ages 10 to 17 received a sexual solicitation or were approached online.

These are just a few of the scary statistics out there.  I like to think that I am always going to know what my kids are doing online.  However, I know that isn’t always going to possible.  That is where GuardChild comes in.  It does exactly what you think it does.  Its all about protection, education, and community.  You are able to protect your family by blocking pornography, stopping online predators, and monitoring instant messages, blogs, chat rooms (AOL, MSN, and Yahoo) email, and even what your child is doing on MySpace.   You also are able to join the members community which will give you hundreds of articles, parent resources, educational sites, and family-friendly entertainment sites.  Lastly, there is community. Guard Child has a blog that allows you to share concerns and successes, learn from online safety experts, and contribute articles, advice, and questions.

The saying that it takes a village to raise a child is still true. Things have changed so much since I was little. I can only imagine what it will be like in a few years when Madison will be trying to hide what she is doing online from me. However, I do believe in being proactive and software like this is exactly what you need.

I love when I come across jewelry sites that are so unique that I have to pass them along. Like the picture to left here, Jewels of Denial (I love that name!) has so many unique rings. Their prices are awesomely cheap (which I always love) and if you sign up for their email list, they will give you an additional 20% off! They also have earring, pendants, and bracelets too. Also, if you spend over $35 (and live in the US or Canada), you get free shipping! Personally, I can easily find $35 worth of stuff that I want. Also, if you spend over $75, they will send you a silver sapphire pendant for free. What are you waiting for, go check them out!

I want to thank everyone who entered. It ended up being an awesome giveaway — with all of the extra entries I had 348 entries! Who knew pasta was that popular? (Now, if I was giving away some sexy swimwear I wouldn’t have been as surprised. LOL) Onto what you all want to know:

Since that image is pretty small, the winner is comment #2 which is Connie from BrainFoggles!  I will be emailing her shortly!

Did you know that the stamp rate increased today? I had to mail the invitations for Will’s birthday party out, and I didn’t have any forever stamps. Instead, I had a bunch of 41 cent stamps. Nowadays though, I think the Forever Stamp is really your best buy. Why? Once you buy a Forever Stamp, you can always use it even if the rates go up.  I didn’t buy these the last time I needed stamps, so I got to spend my afternoon with two kids in the post office buying penny stamps.  What a waste of time!  Needless to say, I bought 100 Forever Stamps!

On Tuesday night, my family and I tried the new Pizza Hut Tuscani Pastas. They are 50 oz containers of either Creamy Chicken Alfredo or Meaty Marinara. You don’t have to do anything special — you just order it just like you do when you order pizza. The pasta dishes are $11.99 and feed a family of four. As you can tell from the picture of Will, this was a big hit for our family. We ordered the Meaty Marinara, and there was not one noodle left. When Pizza Hut was twenty minutes late, I was all ready not to like the pasta. However, it was piping hot and it was good.

Not only do you get the pasta, but you get five breadsticks with your order too! Pizza Hut has the best breadsticks ever, so this was a nice addition. This is something we are definitely going to be ordering again.

Now, if you want to try this at your house, I have a great deal for you. I’m having a giveaway for anyone who lives in the US. I will give the winner a a coupon for a free pasta dinner from Pizza Hut. I’ll make it super easy too and give you several ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment on this post. One comment only please and let me know everything you did for your entries in that comment.
2. Blog about this giveaway linking to this page or my home page.
3. Stumble this post.
4. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed.

I’ll be running this contest until May 16th at 10PM CST. Good luck!