MOM CONFESSIONALS

{ disclosure : received My Little Pony’s RC Rainbow Dash Plane as a gift, the opinions expressed here are always my own }

I’m definitely living vicariously through my daughter.  As a kid my parents couldn’t really afford toys for us.  Christmas gifts usually involved more practical gifts like a new outfit and school bag.  But I do remember all the girls with their dolls, Strawberry Shortcake toys and My Little Pony.  Oh how I wanted ones of my own!

My daughter is a mix of girly and tomboy and the My Littlle Pony’s RC Rainbow Dash Plane is perfect for her!  Maybe I’ve been living in a bubble but this was the first RC toy I’ve seen that wasn’t targeted at boys.  I can’t imagine a little girl not wanted to have an RC controlled toy of their own.  I can’t believe there aren’t many more out there.  Ava shrieked with delight when we opened the box to reveal a My Little Pony gift.  Little did she know that it was way more fun than she could have ever imagined having only played with RC “boys” toys.  I laughed in amusement because my 6 year old was begging to play with it himself — you know, with a girl’s toy.  It was appropriately rated for ages 3 and up, with a simple 3 button remote that took seconds for the toddler to figure out without any instruction. Out came all her Pony’s and they took turns riding Rainbow Dash’s plane as I’m always trying to teach the toddler another socialization skill.

My Little Pony’s RC Rainbow Dash is being added to my arsenal of gifts.  Perfect for little girl’s birthdays, Christmas presents or in this case… just for being her.  With a suggested retail price of $24.99, it requires 3 AA batteries which are not included.

For a limited time, get $10 off when you spend $30 on select new items from My Little Pony at Amazon.com. See details and restrictions.

I also spotted it at our neighborhood Target on sale for $18.99 – STEAL!

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Kids all over the country are readying themselves for the first day of school.  Many many years ago, I recall this being one of the most highly anticipated days of the year.  Part of the fun was the preparation.  These days kids have an amazing arsenal of tools to get them ready.

HP’s new Photosmart e-All-in-One printers are a must have in any family’s household.  Being an HP printer household ourselves, there is no limit to what these printers can do.  Not only will the kids be able to print out all of their homework assignments and photos for show and tell, but they can also access new print apps including Crayola for coloring pages, PBS Kids for literacy, math and science activities or Disney for fun and educational after-school activities including coloring pages, games and crafts. Starting at just $99, e-All-in-Ones are also equipped with ePrint, a unique simple email address assigned to the printer that allows the sender to deliver a print the same way they would send an email message.  For some parents that are still not very tech savvy, that’s an awesome feature and still keeps us “cool” with our kids.  They’ve got a printer for every level of need, from a family who prints homework and occasional pieces of artwork and photos to the family with a professional parent who works from home or at home.

Parents will also love Snapfish photo gifts that are practical for the daily routine including personalized notebooks for keeping those notes in order (available for $9.99) or a desktop organizer to display a favorite photo of family and friends while keeping all those school supplies handy (available for $26.99).

Tired of looking at the same old book cover and locker?  Download and print free book covers and locker posters from the HP Creative Studio for FREE!  The HP Creative Studio also offers bookmarks, flash cards and mini journals to keep you on track and record your special memories from the year. In fact, while you’re out shopping for supplies, pick up a pack of HP’s Multipurpose Paper, Everyday Photo Paper or Advanced Photo Paper. With each purchase of these select products, parents can unlock the magic of Mickey & Friends to create their own collage masterpiece from the Disney Print Center presented by HP. For more, visit www.disney.com/printmagic.

GIVEAWAY: To get the school year started off on the right foot, ONE lucky winner will win a $50 Gift Certificate to Snapfish.  To ENTER, from now until September 10th 2010, fill out this FORM.  Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter@momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win $50 Gift Certificate to Snapfish @momconfessional http://wp.me/pLvfH-zj) 2nd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM again and leave a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses and must be 18 years or older. Giveaway ends on September 10th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

{ disclosure : received complimentary business card printing but the opinions expressed here are always my own }

{ comments are closed for this post, to enter giveaway please fill out this form }

My husband always says without even looking at the prices I always choose the most expensive item on the menu.   What can I say other than I’ve got good taste!  When it comes to design, I’m pretty much the same way.  When it came time to think about getting new business cards I wasn’t going to get the same design as before.  I saw it as an opportunity to do something different and change things up a bit.  A new design wasn’t going to be cheap… or so I thought!

When the kind people at Uprinting.com offered me a chance to try out their printing services and dangled “square” business cards in front of me… I was drooling.  I had previously priced square business cards and they were NOT cheap.  I always got the same lame excuse, it’s a unique size, requiring a special die… as if I was the first person to think of this brilliant idea of a square business card.  Added to my idea of a double sided card, my internal calculator was working overtime.  I thought I was in for a REAL treat… getting all fancy smancy with square business cards.

As I uploaded my design with their easy to follow guidelines and handy Illustrator template, I was shocked to see how affordable they made it.  Not only was I getting square business cards, but double sided, hi-gloss, full-color with bleed too.  In laymen terms, the whole nine yards!  Each of the features individually would exponentially add to the final production price at a print shop… but not at Uprinting.com!  There is even an eco-friendly option printing with 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock.

Even more amazing is their customer service.  During the process I got a free proof (before you pay) sent to me and then a personal phone call to approve my draft for production.  Every question I had was answered and my own little quantity mistake was rectified during one of our phone calls.  The perfectionist side of me asked the graphic designer to double check the red on the back matched the red of the lips and she happily complied.  From start to finish my order took just a little over a week with standard delivery.  When I opened the box, they were perfect! and gorgeous!  It was my design come to life!  Nothing makes me more giddy than seeing my design come to fruition.  A similar order would have cost around $120 easily at another unnamed printer using one of their own single sided designs.  For approximately $33 with 3-day shipping I got the whole she-bang!

GIVEAWAY: One lucky winner will win 500 Business cards by Uprinting.com.  Your choice of 2 x 3.5”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card); 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock; Full Color Both Sides.  To ENTER, from now until September 10th 2010, fill out this FORM.  Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter@momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win 500 Business cards by Uprinting.com @momconfessional http://wp.me/pLvfH-yD) 2nd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM again and leave a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses and must be 18 years or older. Giveaway ends on September 10th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

{ disclosure: I requested and received a sample of reusable produce bags and eczema rescue cream, but the opinions expressed here are my own }

I recently stumbled upon Abe’s Market which brings together an impressive collection of companies that are all green, natural and eco-friendly.  These are all names and brands you have come to know and trust — California Baby, Born Free, Green Toys — as well as new ones you’re guaranteed to be pleased with as well. They’ve got the entire family covered, even the furry four legged ones too.  With a cozy neighborhood market and a selection that rivals superstores, they have items for the gourmet chef, families on a kosher diet, toys, furniture, herbal remedies, and even hard to find items like all natural suncare.

What makes Abe’s Market unique is that it creates a community of sharing and really bringing a face to the companies they seller  - it’s like having a conversation with your best friends.    Every month they bring one of their amazing sellers front and center to tell their story as well as giving them a voice on the blog covering everything from Green Living to even things like Photography tips!  Mom’s are always sharing information and Abe’s Market rewards mom’s for doing what they already naturally do.  By sharing Abe’s Market with (3) of your friends at checkout, you automatically get 10% off your order!

They also have an amazing policy called the Shop Relaxed Guarantee which includes:

• Price Guarantee – if you find the product online for less, they will happily refund you the difference
• Easy Returns – you have a generous 60 days to return any product you are not happy or satisfied with
• Shipping - If you act now until Sunday (7/25/2010), they are offering FREE shipping on your entire order.  Normally a flat rate of $4.99 whether you order one item or fifty…which is still a bargain!

Abe’s Market will be our go to place online for all things green and all-natural by a community that shares and supports Abe’s Market ideals about health and wellness, reliability, trust and honesty.  Check out Abe’s Market at www.abesmarket.com.

{ COMMENTS ARE CLOSED FOR THIS POST }

{ disclosure: no compensation was received for this post, a sample was provided.  giveaway is provided by ZOOCCHINI }

Are you guys salivating over all my amazing giveaways yet?!  There’s something for everyone and this time something for the toddler!  Yea, she was definitely starting to feel like the forgotten child… sorry babe! When ZOOCCHINI’s Lars the Lion arrived on my doorstep in his adorable paint pail, I did not want to part with him.  He was just too cute!  I obviously didn’t hide him fast enough because the “little miss” spotted him in an instant and asked if he was for her — because you know, everything and anything wrapped (or unwrapped) is for her these days… ha ha ha!  Like all of her dear friends, if she loves you, she’d like to bath with you too.  There has been many a rescues of her little friends from the perils of our bathtub.  I much appreciate Lars the Lion as a  hooded towel and was able to reason (albeit via a little storytelling) that he was waiting nicely outside of the tub to warm her up because he secretly is afraid of bathes.

GIVEAWAY: Does your toddler want a ZOOCCHINI pal of their very own?  One of our incredibly lucky readers a chance to win their very own ZOOCCHINI Plush Pal and matching hooded towel.   To ENTER, from now until July 15th 2010, visit www.zoocchini.com and fill out this FORM telling us which is your favorite ZOOCCHINI Pal.  Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter @momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win a Zoochini Plush Gift Set @momconfessional http://wp.me/pLvfH-uf). 2nd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM again and leave a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway ends on July 15th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

If you simply can’t wait to get your hands on your very own, ZOOCCHINI is offering an exclusive 20% discount for Mom Confessionals readers using code ZOOC202 at checkout (expires July 31st, 2010).