As many of you know, I do not want a real animal in my house.  We have fish, and that’s enough for me for pets.  However, my kids love pets and Zhu Zhu Pets fit that bill.  It’s a win/win situation for both me and the kids.  I can honestly say that I think the Zhu Zhu Pets hamster and accessories are going to be one of the hottest items this Christmas.

I love this hamster, because besides the batteries, I don’t have to anything.  They don’t stink, they don’t have to be fed, and they don’t die (Not that I am too worried that Will would squeeze the life out of hamster but you never know).  They run around just as much as real hamster and act like one too (when you pick them up and pet their nose, they squeak at you.  They actually have around 40 different sounds they make.)  There are 5 different hamsters to pick from, so you can get one that fits your kids the best. There are a ton of accessories that you can get like the funhouse, wheel and tunnel, mobile and garage, spiral slide and ramp, adventure ball, surfboard and sleep dome, skateboard and U-turn, pet bed and blanket, and pet carrier and blanket.

You should be able to find these at Walmart, Toys R Us, and Target though I’ve heard that they are somewhat hard to find. This is definitely the must get gift this year, so make sure you get your hands on one of these Zhu Zhu Pets!

If you are looking for a very affordable gift for kids ages 3 – 7, then you must get the Poingo.  With the Poingo, you are able to touch pictures and/or the text, the their favorite characters are brought to life with either music, sounds, and words.  The best part is that the Poingo starter kit is $34.99 and is available at Target, Toys R Us, Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale Clubs.  It comes with the pen shaped Poingo and two large hardcover interactive storybooks.  This is definitely affordable, and the starter kit is awesome.  You don’t have to automatically buy another $100 worth of books right off the bat.  You have a working system right from the start.  The book choices are excellent.  The books that came with ours are Cars and Finding Nemo, so it was definitely right up my kids alley.  These movies are favorites in our house, so my kids had a definite interest in the books.   They also have Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Winnie The Pooh.  The pen itself is simple to use.  All you have to do is click it on the part of the book with the words, and it will read that whole section.  You can also click on the images and for sound effects.  There are words that are highlighted also, and you get a definition of the word.  You can also click on images and find out what they are or get a cool sound effect.  Madison is actually able to take this and read the book by herself.  She loves having that kind of independence.  My kids love to read, so this is really a naturally progression for them.

This is one of the best affordable educational toys on the market for kids.  I recommend checking it out — you can even try a demo here.

Have you ever went to the Build A Bear Workshop?  If so, you will know that it is one of the coolest places around if you have kids.  It is seriously like watching magic happen as you watch your bear being made.  It is awesome that you can personalize it and everything.  However, when we moved from Aurora back to Chicago, I didn’t realize that we were going to be leaving our beloved Build A Bear Workshop.  I have no idea where one is now. That being said, there are a couple of ways for me to get my Build A Bear fix.

First, there is a celebrity auction going on right now! They will be auctioning off celebrity-built Build-A-Bear Workshop bears along with autographed copies of the Build-A-Bear Wii game. These bears and signed games will be on eBay’s Giving Works to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California. The bears were built by celebrities like Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott, the Jonas Brothers, James Gandolfini, Melissa Joan Hart, Bonnie Hunt, Mitchel Musso, Meaghan Jette Martin and more.  This would definitely be a talking point for your house!

If that isn’t enough, Wii has come to the rescue for those of use who don’t like by a Build A Bear workshop!  They now have a game called Build-A-Bear Workshop® A Friend Fur All Seasons.  Up to four players can play and you can name, feed, and dress your bear.  You can even go on adventures with them!  This game is rated E for Everyone, so you can enjoy it no matter what age you are!  You can buy this game at places like Walmart, Target, and really any game retailers.  However, I have a great giveaway for you!  How would you like your own Build A Bear game?  Here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post.  Tell me what feature you think you’d like best about the Build-A-Bear Workshop® A Friend Fur All Seasons game.
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:

<a href="http://lisareviews.com"><img src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk258/blm03_photos/125ad-1.png" border="0" alt="Lisa Reviews" /></a>

This giveaway will end on December 14 at 8:00 pm CST is available to US and Canada residents only. Good luck!

I recently came across a ton of items that I can definitely use in my kitchen, and I know you can too!  These are all made my Weiman Products and should be every kitchen!

First, the Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes work great and work on pretty much every stainless steal product you may own.  They clean, shine, polish, and protect.  It leaves a greaseless streak free shine.  It also repels fingerprints (which is a huge thing for me with two little ones who like to touch everything), watermarks, dirt, and dust.  I love that you can use it both indoor and outdoors.  You can find them at Ace Hardware, Expo Design Center, Kmart, Target, True Value, and Walmart.

Next, I tried out the Weiman Granite Wipes.  I don’t have granite counter countertops in my kitchen.  However, these worked excellent on my laminate countertop.  However, I do have a granite sink in my bathroom, so I have been using these there.  The granite wipes easily removed grease, grime, dirt, and toothpaste.  This workds well on Corian, cermanic, chrome, and fiberglass.  It is also certifited Kosher.  These can be found at Target, Walmart, True Value, Kroger, and Publix.

One of my all time favorites is the Weiman CookTop Quick Wipes.  I hate cleaning my stovetop off and having a ton of streaks!  Now, these wipes are the nation’s top rated brand for glass cook top wipes according to IRI and ACNielsen.  They clean, shine, and protect with just one wipe (which is exactly what us busy moms need!).  This won’t scratch and actually helps prevent food from sticking.  This is also certified Kosher.  These are available at Target, Walmart, Ace Hardware, True Value, Expo Design Center, Kroger, and Publix.

My other most favorite product of theirs has to be the Weiman CookTop Scrubbing Pads.  Since my stove is fairly new, I had to use anything that might even scratch it.  However, no matter how careful you are, stuff gets spilled on your stove.  It just happens.   The scrubbing pads are guaranteed not to scrach and are safe for all smooth top range.  These also reduct clean up time by up to 50%!  I use these in conjuction with the Cook Top Cleaner, and you don’t have to use a lot of elbow grease to get the food up. These can be found at Ace Hardware, True Value, and Walmart.

I always feel that if you find a brand that works, you should stick to it.  This is a brand that works, and it works great!

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:

<a href="http://lisareviews.com"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2903" title="lisa reviews" src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk258/blm03_photos/125ad-1.png" alt="" />

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.