It is hard to come by good kids CDs.  Most of the kids CD’s out there are so sing songy and drive the parents nuts.  Groovy Ruby is not one of these CD’s.  Instead, I found Groovy Ruby enjoyable to listen to.  The songs are set to a rock beat.  Both my kids like to dance and sing to them.  I love that the songs are by tweens, and they are about friendship, perseverance, and endurance.  I want my little ones to stay little, and I like that these songs help them to say that way.  Madison’s review (my 4 year old) of the CD was that it made her want to get up and dance.  She also told me it was her favorite.  I asked if she had a favorite song on there and her reply was all of them. In her book, this CD gets two thumbs up.

In a time when we need our kids to get up and move around, I am glad to find a CD that we all can enjoy. I am lucky that I get to give a copy of this awesome CD to one of my lucky readers! Here’s what you need to do:

1. You can listen here to the songs on the CD. Tell me what song you like the best.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
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For 5 additional entries,

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This giveaway will end on November 21st at 8:00 pm. This is available to everyone no matter where you live! Thanks Groovy Ruby! Good luck!

I just got a box of these Town House Flipsides to try tonight, and I have to admit that I really like them. I was really interested in figuring out how a cracker pretzel was going to taste. Surprisingly, these Town House Flipsides are really good! I tried the cheddar thinking I wasn’t going to like it. Usually, cheddar flavored things knock you over, because they are so cheesy. These had the perfect amount of cheese flavoring. As far as taste goes, they taste like a cracker and a pretzel (I know, you probably could have figured that out!). It is actually a really good combination. I can see us eating this plain and eating this with dip. This is also a great treat to bring to my daughters preschool. The kids really don’t sugar for their snack time. Also, one of the girls in her glass is allergic to peanuts. This makes it extremely difficult to find something to bring for a snack (I swear almost almost everything has peanuts in it or was made on something that came into contact with peanuts), and this would work perfectly the next time I need to bring a snack! To quote Madison (who is 4), these are “beautiful” and “yummy in my tummy”. Needless to say, these were a big hit in my house!

If you are like me and have no sense of a direction, then you definitely need to think about getting a portable GPS unit. I know this was one of the best purchases we have ever made. A GPS unit can get you from your house to Winter Park real estate to Disneyland. Now, depending on what you want to spend determines the features you get. We have a more low end one, so it just tells us to turn in 800 ft. If you buy a more expensive one, it will tell you to turn on Morris Avenue in 800 feet instead. The screens also get bigger the more you pay. For someone who is not sure of what their needs are, I would definitely start with the cheaper ones and go from there. I now know what I want in our next one.

The only thing that drives me a little nuts is when it tells you to turn on a nonexistent street. However, I do love that if you don’t listen to its directions it will reconfigure the route and still get you where you are going. Bill, who has a sense of direction, uses this for work a lot. It tells him the number of miles and how long it will take to get there.

If you don’t have a GPS unit, what are you waiting for?

I have to say that I am extremely disappointed in Nabisco’s labeling of its products. Madison had to bring in a treat for her birthday, and one of the children in her class has a peanut allergy. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine how difficult it was going to be to find a snack (I swear I would have had better luck finding nimh batteries at my local grocery store). Most of the companies out there do label their products clearly. For example, one of the companies had the allergy products listed in bold.  Other companies listed that their product had wheat, soy, or peanuts (or possible trace of peanut product) separately below the ingredient list.  The store’s bakery products even had a separate listing to make it easier on the consumer!  Nabisco did not.  I was afraid to buy any of the Nabisco products due to me taking the chance that I was missing peanuts being listed.  They lost a sale from me and who knows how many other people due to not being able to tell what products may effect those who have an allergies.

I wasn’t thrilled to be sitting at the airport at 4 am this morning. I am definitely not a morning person. However, a couple of things stood out for me, and I want to pass on that information.

Midway

First, I enjoyed the curbside drop off for my bags. No waiting in line or anything. It also took less than five minutes. They guy gave me great directions to get to my concourse and off I went. Even though it was extremely early, there were many shops and restraunts open. I had a bacon bagel from McDonalds which was right next to the concourse I needed to be at. As for security, that always sucks. However, it was done quickly and efficiently. It took me less than five minutes to get through.

Southwest

First, I have to start with how easy it was to book my ticket. I went online and was able to see all of the ticket prices and times after I did a search. You could also see this for the flight there and the flight back. On the search, you are able to set the parameters to what works best for you.. Because I bought my tickets online, I was able to print the boarding pass the day prior. No waiting in line for that either! I think this enabled me to use the curbside check in. There were also several stores right by my concourse. I am not sure if Southwest had anything to do with that or not. Either way, it was nice. They also started a new boarding procedure today. I am not sure if it is just in Chicago or not. They took everyone with the letter A and the number 1 - 30 board first. I had A53, so I boarded shortly after. Once on the plane, I was able to pick any seat I wanted. I ended up sitting in row 4 and in seat A which is an aisle seat. I was expecting a lot less leg room and room in general. I am completely satisfied with my seat. We were given a box of snacks to eat too! It had some chips ahoy crisps, cheese and crackers, and trail mix. We were also given some peanuts (the staple of airline travel). The other thing that impressed me was that I was able to get a free refill on my Sprite. The flight attendant asked me if I wanted more — I didn’t need to ask. The flight crew was nothing but kind, helpful, and courteous. I couldn’t have asked for more. The pilot was helpful before and after liftoff letting us know that we were running early and that the temperature was around sixty degrees (it was only 30 degrees in Chicago). The pilot also warned us before we hit a bit of turbulence that it was coming. The seats were comfortable enough that I dozed off (and slept through the turbulence). I also did not have to worry about needing joint and muscle pain relief, because I was so comfortable. I can only hope that the rest of my day goes as well as this has so far.

My recommendation is to fly Southwest. I was thoroughly happy, their prices are affordable, and their prices are excellent. I know I will be using them again.

Blog directories are a great way to get both traffic and increase your pagerank. Alive Blog Directory is a directory that you definitely should get your site into. It is built on the main Alive Directory resource.

Submitting a link is super easy. There are a ton of categories to choose from such as games, pets, relationships, society, etc for you to categorize your site. There is a category for everyone there. You are also able to list your site either yearly or permanently. You do not very often see a permanent listing, so it was a nice surprise to come across that. The directory also allows you to see which listings were most recently added and which ones are getting the most hits from the directory. Both are extremely interesting to look at.

On the nuts and bolts side of things, this site is very easy to navigate. As I stated before, you can very easy submit your site. The colors chosen are extremely pleasing to your eyes, and it is very easy to read. This site is just as easy for someone submitting a link as it is for someone looking for blogs to check out. Overall, you should definitely check this directory out for exposure for your blog.

I ordered the DVD Leap Frog - Math Circus for Madison last week. The DVD came today, and we have already watched it.

I like this video. It did not drive me nuts as some children’s programming can. It is a cartoon with an actual plot. This video teaches numeration, problem solving, and creative thinking skills. In other words, she is learning counting, addition, subtraction, and so much more. This video held her attention (which is somewhat amazing since nothing holds her 3 year old attention span!). This video is designed for children ages 3 - 6.