Mom Central: GameStop

When the folks at GameStop and Mom Central asked if I would like to do a review for them my first thought was “How fun!” and my second thought was, “Heck yeah!”. Once that was out of the way I was ready to do business (or at least pretend I was).

When I received the GameStop gift card I decided that instead of dragging all three children out and listening to them fight, Hubby and I would just go looking for a new game together instead. To be honest, I’m glad I did it that way because it gave me a chance to focus on finding a game that everyone could enjoy.

As we walked into the store the manager greeted us and asked if we needed any help finding anything in particular. I told her “not at the moment but thank you” and we went to browse the shelves. There was a nice selection of games to choose from but I did notice that the prices are somewhat high for used games. Either that or I’m just becoming a major cheapskate in my old age. I do however like the fact that if you buy a used game from GameStop and decide it’s not really what you wanted, you can return it within a week for a refund.

So with my gift card in hand, I decided on Mario vs. Sonic at the Olympic Games because it was something the kids would have to get off their keisters to play. After I chose my game, I went to pay for it and had a nice conversation with the manager as she completed my purchase. I’ve been to this particular GameStop a few times and I will say that each time she tries to be very nice and helpful to people. The store itself is always kept clean and all the games are categorized in a way (by game system, accessory, etc) that makes finding things easy.

Much to my 17 year old’s chagrin, Mario vs. Sonic doesn’t include blowing anything up and my 13 year old doesn’t get to feed or raise animals but there are A LOT of games to choose from. You are sure to get a workout and build up a little muscle in your arms while playing this game so the heathens aren’t complaining too much. The five year old loves Sonic the Hedgehog so you’ll hear nothing negative from him at all.

Thank you GameStop and Mom Central for giving my family the opportunity to have more fun together.

MomCentral Review: Froose

Froose is a new juice beverage that combines organic fruit with whole grains in an attempt to provide a healthier drink for our kids. When MomCentral asked me to be a part of their Froose blog tour, I couldn't wait to see what the kids thought of it. My hope was that all three kids would like the samples and I would finally have something they all liked.
After trying each flavor though, we ended up with mixed reviews. Out of the three flavors available (Cheerful Cherry, Playful Peach, and Perfect Pear), the only thing I did get the kids to agree on was that Cheerful Cherry was the unanimous favorite. Here is what they said...

~My almost 17 year old said the Froose in general was "okay" but that it had a bad aftertaste. Unfortunately, after only one sip of the Playful Peach he wouldn't touch another box of the stuff so I'm pretty sure that means he wasn't too keen on it.

~My 13 year old said the exact same thing about the bad aftertaste but said she would drink the Cheerful Cherry again if I were to buy it. No chance of getting her to drink the other flavors though.

~The last to weigh in was my 5 year old and it was his opinion that I was most interested in. By the time he shared his thoughts, I had realized that Froose was not going to be something I could get all three kids to drink but that's alright. The 5 year old decided his favorite flavor was also Cheerful Cherry but he liked Perfect Pear as well. I asked him about the aftertaste and he said it tasted good to him.

I'm afraid Playful Peach didn't make the cut for any of them though. I eventually had to pawn that flavor off on the little boy across the street. Hey, I refuse to throw away perfectly drinkable juice boxes. *smile* I like knowing that Froose uses whole organic brown rice because it's gluten-free. While my family doesn't have problems with gluten intolerance, I have friends with children who do and know how hard it can make buying things.

To be honest, at this point I almost don't care how Froose tastes because they cover everything that is so important to us as parents when we are looking for portable juice drinks for our kids. Even the box (packaging) is cute and environmentally friendly as well! I also like how Froose explains their reasoning for the 4fl. oz size of their drinks. I quote, "Why 4 fl. oz.? We chose the 4.23 fl. oz., instead of a larger 6.75 or 8 fl. oz., size to help support the healthy growth and development of young children. The larger sizes are just too big – kids will either fill up on too much juice or it will be thrown out". That makes alot of sense and its nice that Froose is thinking about things to that degree.

All in all I would say that if you're just starting a child out on juice, have a younger child, or you usually have organic juices around then your kids will probably like Froose just fine. My kids are use to sugar-free non-organic juice though and noticed the taste of the brown rice water and syrup right off. I'm sorry to say I did too and it kept me from trying more than just a sip or two. I do wish Froose existed when my kids were little though because I have no doubt they would love having it now. Live and learn I guess.

Despite my picky kids, I give Froose the thumbs up and hope to see it become very popular.

MomCentral- Cranium Bloom

I'm always interested in finding new games and activities to use with my 5 year old during homeschooling so there was no way I could pass up MomCentral when they asked if we would like to give Cranium Bloom’s Let's Play Count & Cook Game and Let's Go To The Zoo Seek & Learn Puzzle a try. Both were a huge hit with my youngest son and I'm so glad we said "yes".

The Let's Go To The Zoo Seek & Learn Puzzle has large pieces that are easy to put together and a lot to look at once the puzzle is finished. That isn’t the coolest part though. This puzzle also comes with two sets of cards (Beginner and Advanced) and a dry erase marker that you can use for an awesome learning game. You show your child a card and ask them to find that number or kind of thing on the puzzle and circle them.

My son breezed through the Beginner cards and made short work of the Advanced as well because he was having so much fun! He especially loved the fact that he was allowed to draw on a puzzle without getting in trouble for it. This has become one of his new favorite learning games.

The Let's Play Count & Cook Game was equally as fun to play. This game comes with Little Chef shaped game pieces, a die, a “cookbook” with recipes that you have to make (plus there are great cooking tips and facts on each page), and round pieces that have different ingredients on them such as tomatoes, cheese, and chocolate chips. The object of the game is to choose a recipe, roll the die, and everytime you land on one of the needed ingredients you put that round piece on the recipe book. The person who collects the last ingredient is the Top Chef and gets to check out the “hidden secret” for the recipe. This game teaches kids turn taking, matching, counting, pretend play, how to work with others on things, and how to have a lot of fun.

My son absolutely loved the "cute" Little Chef game pieces as well as racing Mommy to try to get the last needed ingredient. He also liked knowing some of the ingredients in his favorite foods which led to some fun discussions about cooking.

Since I do so many reviews, my son has a lot of games to choose from but Let's Go To The Zoo Seek & Learn and Let's Play Count & Cook are definitely among his favorites. I can’t even count how many times we’ve played both games over the last two weeks and considering that he is learning and having fun, well you won’t hear me complaining.

Cranium has done a very good job with their Bloom series of products and I’m glad we had a chance to play with and review both games. Thank you Cranium and MomCentral.

MomCentral: What To Expect Guide To A Healthy Home

I always enjoy doing reviews with MomCentral because of the things they send me. What can I say? The variety appeals to my A.D.D! haha. This time I got to check out the new booklet "What To Expect Guide To A Healthy Home" by Heidi Murkoff (who also wrote the famous "What To Expect When You're Expecting book").

Inside this new What To Expect guide are many tips to help families battle germs and illness especially during these cold winter months. Ms. Murkoff tries to cover the main germ attracting rooms such as the Kitchen, Bathroom, Playroom, and Bedroom plus tips to help you teach your children how to battle and avoid germs.

There is even a section devoted to "Fighting The Flu" which has tips on ways you can use to avoid getting the flu or worst case passing it on to others. As we all know, every year there is a fresh flu scare that has us all running and ducking for cover. Many people believe in faithfully getting the flu shot for their family and themselves every year without fail. Others like myself though run the other way despite my suppressed immune system.

The paragraph on getting the flu shot was the only one that I differed in opinion from Heidi on which is pretty good when it comes to me and guides. Despite my own feelings though I felt that Ms. Murkoff is just providing information to people about the flu shot and in no way telling you to rush out and get it which I think is cool. So like me, she let's people decide for themselves and that's what everyone should do. She also doesn't just focus on the flu shot but goes on to suggest other helpful ways to try to save your family some misery. Kudos to her!

If you would like to read the guide for yourself then you're in luck because you can download it for FREE from the Clorox website. Yes, I said FREE! So there is no reason why you shouldn't read it right? Right!

Even though I already knew most of the tips in the booklet I still think it's a good thing to have around as a reference. I also think it is a great thing to give new parents because if they are anything like I was with my first child they are having nightmares of huge germs attacking their house and trying to eat their baby! Okay so my nightmares weren't THAT bad but I'm telling you, I sterilized everything that kid was going to touch for an entire year. I can laugh at it now but back then germs were evil I tell you!

So go download the free booklet and read through it to make sure you are up to date on your germ fighting tips.