Johnson's Baby Shower Blog Tour

I have always used Johnson's Baby Lotion for all my babies. I love the scent and the gentle feel of it, and cannot even imagine having a baby without that trusted pink bottle of lotion on the changing table. Another staple in our house has always been Johnson's No Tears Gold Shampoo. The only way I can convince both my boys to wash their hair is by showing them that shampoo bottle first. And of course myself and my daughter have both used it as well, many times!

Over the years with our kids, we have also consistently used Johnson's Baby Powder, Head to Toe Baby Wash (remember those first baths in the little plastic baby tubs??) and mineral oil. I have found using the mineral oil to help remove make-up a wonderful trick. And of course, the Desitin! We still need and use this, as my littlest one is still quite happy to be wearing his diapers and showing very little interest in potty training! So those diaper rashes are still with us from time to time.

And just recently we were able to enjoy Johnson and Johnson's new fabulous Bedtime Bubble Bath & Wash formulated with Natural calm essences, a unique blend of soothing aromas to help babies and children sleep better. I should say my boys were able to enjoy it, but believe me, mom did as well. The scent is so soothing and wonderful, we all enjoyed bath time. And I really do think the Bedtime Bubble Bath helped the munchkin boys settle down a little easier and drift off to sleep a bit easier.

In my opinion, nothing is more fun, practical and smells as good as a baby basket full of Johnson Baby goodies at a baby shower! And I have yet to meet another mommy who does not consistently use, or did use, Johnson's Baby Products with their babies and kids!

"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Johnson’s and received samples of Johnson’s Baby products to facilitate my review."

"On Being a Real Princess"-- Review and Giveaway

I was very fortunate to receive a copy of a wonderful book for young girls titled "On Being a Real Princess, Secrets of the Happy Heart Princess" to review. The book is written by the very inspirational Sandi Stonebraker, who also happens to be an extremely talented blogger and artist.

A bit of background on Sandi. Sandi is a grandmother living in MainStrasse Village, Covington, Kentucky. When Sandi's granddaughter offered to move out of her bedroom and into another bedroom in order to accommodate her new baby brother, Sandi offered to decorate the new bedroom for her granddaughter. And just like so many little girls, what Sandi's granddaughter wanted was a princess theme for her bedroom. Sandi's beautiful mural of a princess in a garden enthralled everyone who saw it, and soon Sandi was creating beautiful murals for others.

And so Fairytales Kids, home of the Happy Heart Princess, was born. When you visit HappyHeartPrincess.com, you will see a collection of beautiful paintings done by the talented Sandi, and I can promise you that you will be entranced by them!

Sandi's describes The Happy Heart Princess as "the princess of the 21st century who bridges the gap between fairyland and the real life dream that lives in the hearts of little girls everywhere."

There are many reasons why I fell in love with this book instantly. First, the book is just so darn cute. As soon as you see the beautifully illustrated cover, you want to open it and look inside. This is a good thing when it comes to motivating young girls to read. The book is light, colorful and fun looking and like I said, soooo cute looking that even my 11 year old daughter couldn't resist picking the book up as soon as she saw it and read it!

When you open the book you are immediately drawn in by the beautiful illustrations that fill up page after page. I cannot imagine any little girl not being delighted just looking at the pictures. The colors are vibrant and the scenes are beautifully detailed.
But beyond the gorgeous illustrations, comes a very important message about young girls and self-esteem. Girls learn that it is the inner qualities that make someone special. There are 16 princesses to meet inside the book, and each shares a secret of being a Happy Heart first, and a Princess second. And the princesses are drawn as everyday girls living all around the world and doing everyday things. Personally, I believe that as adults, one of the most important responsibilities we have is to instill and build self-esteem in our children. That will be their foundation for building a happy healthy life, and we should embrace every opportunity available to do this.

With that said, I have to say my favorite part of this book are the Journaling Activities for children which are on every page where a new princess is introduced. Children are asked questions about their feelings and thoughts, as related to the princess they just read about. There are beautifully lined pages for journaling their answers and thoughts. There are also spaces provided for children to draw pictures as well. The discussions that adults and children can share from these journaling activities are wonderful -- so many issues relating to self-esteem can be discussed using these activities as stepping stones.

This is a beautiful book and perfect for a parent and daughter to curl up and read together. And I was delighted to read that Brave Heart Prince , a self esteem book for boys will be available soon!

You can win a free copy of ""On Being a Real Princess, Secrets of the Happy Heart Princess." Just visit happyheartprincess.com. Let me know your favorite gift item offered there in a comment.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive extra entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED entry. But for extra entries, you can:

* Add happy families to your Twitter and Tweet the contest.
* Blog about the contest - add a link to Happy Healthy Families and the happyheartprincess.com
* Add the Happy Healthy Families button to your site OR add Happy Healthy Families to your blog roll.
* Subscribe to Happy Healthy Families.

Please Note:
Contest is Open to US entries only.
You have 72 hours to claim your prize once the winner is announced.
If you want to be contacted via e-mail, please leave your e-mail in your comment entry.

Contest ends Jan. 14th, midnight.

Amazon Gift Certificate Give Away Ends Tonight!!

Last call....if you want to get in on Happy Healthy Families Amazon Give Away ($15 Gift Certificate), tonight is the final night! You just need to post a comment about your favorite children's book you like to read to your kids, or just like yourself, and tell me why it's your favorite. That's it. And one lucky winner will win a $15.00 gift certificate to spend at Amazon.
Tomorrow I will do the drawing, so be sure to stop by and see if you are the lucky winner. And if you don't win this contest, don't be sad....Happy Healthy Families will be having another fun giveaway shortly.

Speaking of giveaways, here are a couple more fun giveaways going on in the blogosphere right now--

A very cool Cleaning Package Giveaway at From The Desk of Melissa

"Because it's Christmas" giveaway (lots of great toys!) ongoing at What's That Smell

CurlyQ Cuties--Plush Monster Giveaway at The Mom Buzz

Make Fun Bathtime Books For Your Toddler

Fun "books" for toddlers to look at in the bath tub are easy to make at home and can be made with drawings, family photos, magazine pictures, etc.

Glue selected pictures on cut pieces of construction paper that fit inside the plastic baggies you are using. Glue pictures on both sides of the construction paper for two-sided pages. Then sew the baggies together by sewing sew along the inner side of the zip lock. Now the book is waterproof. Have your toddler make a cover for the book and place that in a baggie as well.

There are so many variations that can be done. ABC books, farm animal books, numbers, shapes, colors, family pictures books, and on and on. They are so easy to make and little ones love helping to make the books too.