Until recently, I had not heard of Ta-Ka-Radi. However, now that we have it, we can’t stop playing it. This is a game that is perfect for the family. Ta-Ka-Radi involves players constructing a tower with spaces in-between three chosen tiles per level. After the tower is built, each player takes a turn pulling out a tile from any level and putting it on top.  The only rule is that you can’t touch the other player while they are making their move!  Now, if you are like me and live with an engineer, well, you are at an instant disadvantage!  However, even though I haven’t one yet, we have had a ton of fun playing with this.  This is too hard for Will and Madison to play.  However, they take the wood tiles and built towers with them every day.  They loves these just for their own use too.  Ta-Ka-Radi is made by a family-owned company in Maine. The tiles are made from native Maine hardwoods, and the game is packaged in personalized re-usable tote bags. Ta-Ka-Radi makes a fun and unique gift for the holidays and is great for a lot of family fun!

This contest is over. We have five winners: Samantha Pruitt, Erma, Julie, Robin, and Jen. Congrats!

Do you like coffee and/or tee?  Then you definitely need to try The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf company.  They have a ton of flavors to pick from, and there is pretty much something there for everyone.  Plus, they have added some holiday flavors!  Some of your holiday choices include Pumpkin Latte & Ice Blended drink, Peppermint Latte & Ice Blended drink, Espresso Mint Chip Ice Blended drink and the Winter Dream Tea® latte.  They also have Limited Edition Holiday Blend Coffee and the Winter Dream Tea. The holiday menu items will be available at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores from November 10 through January 6.

If you are looking for a gift for a coffee or tea lover, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will also have limited edition gift packages including:

* “8 Days of Coffee” — eight 2-ounce bags of medium, dark roast, decaf and flavored ground coffees
* “Tea Quartet” — four of our famous whole leaf teas each in its own box with 5 tea bags
* “Coffee Duet” — a combo package of two popular 8-ounce coffee bags
* “Winter Dream Tea & Mug Set” — featuring a The Coffee Bean logo signature tea mug and popular seasonal tea
* “Holiday Blend & Mug Set” — includes The Coffee Bean logo coffee mug and a the dark and distinctive, rich flavored Holiday Blend Coffee
* “Special Dutch Chocolate & Mug Set” — a signature cocoa mug with the The Coffee Bean logo and our very own rich cocoa mix
* “Warm Winter Cocoas Set” — includes three 8-oz cocoa powder tins in the most popular flavors: Special Dutch™ Chocolate, French Deluxe™ Vanilla and White Chocolate.

If you love coffee or tea (or know someone who does), you definitely need to check them out.  That being said, I have 5 – $5 gift certificates to give out, so you can try them!  Here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post.  Check out the The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf site and tell me what flavor you’d like to try.
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. (1 entry for each social network).

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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This giveaway will end on December 17 at 8:00 pm CST is available to US residents. Good luck!

Want a crazy fun game for your house? Crazy Mixed Up Martians definitely fits that bill.  There are two boppers:  one green and one blue.  With one version of the game, you just bop your color martians when they pop up.  In another version you can play, you just try and hit as many as you can as they pop up.  Now, this game is just fun.  You’ll have a ton of giggles and screaming while playing.  It is for ages 4 and up, but again my eighteen month old has no problem playing it (Again, just need to be careful that he doesn’t put anything in his mouth).  We like this in our house, and you will too.

Did you know that Baby Einstien has been around for 10 years?  I can’t believe it either.  Granted, my oldest child is only going to be five, so I’ve only been able to enjoy them for half the time they have been around.  That being said I love baby Einstein and all of their products.  We own a ton of Baby Einstein DVDs and books.  I can totally see how they are the #1 selling infant DVD line.  The best part of their DVDs is that they are timeless.  Madison will still watch the DVDs with her little brother Will (who is now 18 months old).  Their DVDs are some of the best ones out there in my opinion.  Not only do they entertain your children, they also learn from them. You can easily interact with your children and talk about what’s on the screen.  It is almost amazing how memorized little kids get while watching these DVDs.  I also love that their music collection.  We have used their Lullaby Classics CD with both of my children.  Baby Enstein’s book collection is also great.  Their books are very interactive.  They include your children as part of the story and require your children to interact with the book.  For example, in Touch and Feel Farm animals, they are able to feel a sheep’s wool, a cow’s nose, and a horses mane.  Will is very much into textures right now, so this is one of his favorite books. Madison still reads their See and Spy shapes book!  Each page asks you to look for a count certain items, and no matter how many times we do it, she still loves it!

Having been a huge fan of Baby Einstein for 5 years, I can only tell you that I highly recommend all of their products.  We have yet to have a product of theirs that we didn’t like.  Their products make great presents for you kids, a baby shower, or just for the fun of it.

Another great place to check out for you Christmas shopping is Maddigrace.  This is a unique boutique that really carries a little something for everyone.  They have gifts for moms, dads, kids, and you even pick yourself up a gourmet lunch bag!  This is a site after my hearts, since they offer free shipping.  They have a daily sale so make sure you check in to see how you can save even more money.  They also have a ton of items that you can get personalized to make what you get a one of a kind gift.

The site is just fun to look at.  The navigation is great, and it is quite easy to find what you are looking for.  The background colors really draw you in.  Ordering is pretty painless, and you can even use Paypal. If you are looking for a site to get all your Christmas shopping done on, Maddigrace is a great place to start.