GIVEAWAY WINNERS -- OOPS!

I have a couple of winners to announce...thanks to my goofy computer problems which seem to be non-ending lately (shh..it is working today, so I am trying to be extra nice to it..), I am off more than I am online these days.

Anyhoo.....

The winner of Music Box is
Katrina!

and the winner for the Pledge Multi Surface Cleaner is:
Xenia!

I'll be sending you guys emails asap!!

Don't forget about the current giveaways--

$50 Gift Certificate to Tiny Prints
$60 Value of Preschool/Kindergarten reading and activity books!!

Barefoot and Pregnant

Nope, not me....those days are but memories for me now- well maybe not the barefoot part. But thanks to the family review network, I was introduced to a site that is absolutely what I would have loved to have been a part of during my baby belly days.

Barefoot and Pregnant.com offers information and support for mommies and daddies to be. It is like an online manual for pregnancy. They cover everything---from getting pregnant, to adoption to surrogacy to healthy recipes and exercise. There are support groups and forums as well.

For anyone expecting a baby, or even thinking about having a baby, new parents and grandparents...Barefoot and Pregnant is a community to check out. And if you have some wisdom, advice, tips, you can contribute to the site as well....after all, who has better advice to give than moms and dads that have been there and done that?

Wordless Wednesday..... My Graduate

My beautiful graduate. Junior High...here we come. Sniff.

Interactive Childrens' Books: GiveAway and Review

My boys and I had the awesome opportunity recently to check out Interactive Book-Webscene (IBW) Books. These books use a story telling process that not only reinforces and builds reading skills, but completely engages children and makes reading FUN!

"IBW titles use a new storytelling process that combines an actual print book with the interactivity of online animations. Here’s how it works: you read a chapter. At the end of the chapter, you find a weblink. When you go online to the weblink, you find an animation or other multimedia called a webscene that’s part of the story. After you view the webscene, you go back to the book to read another chapter, find another weblink and so on. There are seven or more webscenes included in every IBW book."

Both my munchkin boys received books from the KA Reader Series, which is the series for begining readers. When I read the book, "A Day at The Zoo" with my two year old, he was thrilled when we reached the end of the chapter so that we could go online and watch the corresponding webscene. My little guy is stubborn when it comes to speaking, and has only recently started making real progress with his vocabulary. So when we would watch the animated scenes, it made me so happy to see him point at objects and repeat what they were, and "dictate" to me what was happening in the scenes.

My 5 year old read the book, "Coming Home" with me. This was a bit more action packed and had a slightly higher vocabulary level than "A Day at The Zoo." He loved the story, was delighted with himself when he could sound out words, and like his little brother, thoroughly enjoyed going online to watch the webscenes after each chapter.

Each KA Reader includes English and Spanish text, webscenes, story theme, word count, reading grade level and word pattern families. Every book uses 85-100% of the words in a given word family (all listed on the ack of each book), so it makes it that much easier for a child to master reading.

Parents can also visit IBW Booksellers to learn about IBW's Book Sellers program where Sellers receive an immediate 20% commission on all sales!

IBW Books has generously offered one Happy Healthy Families Reader an IBW Book Package worth $60.00!

The winner will have a choice of one of two IBW prizes:

The Busy Preschooler's Guide to Learning -- fun activities built around the alphabet, with step-by-step help to guide parents in how to use everyday situations to teach 105 skills their kids need before they walk in the kindergarten door (Retail value$60)

or

Three KA Readers-- (Retail Value $60)

To Enter:

Visit www.IBW-Books.com and tell me which books you would like, and visit www.IBW-Booksellers.com and let me know when IBW Booksellers get paid. Note: You must visit both sites, and answer both questions for entry.

Extra Entries:

Blog about this contest, linking to this post and to IBW-Books.com -- Three Extra Entries

Tweet This Contest, and leave me a separate comment for each day you tweet it (one entry per tweet--tweet as often as you want for more entries).

Follow me on Twitter.

Follow my blog.

Subscribe to Happy Healthy Families (Let me know if you already do for extra entry!)

Favorite me in Technorati.



Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry.

Contest will end July 14th at 11:59 EST. Winner will be drawn randomly, be notified by email and will have 3 days to confirm, or a new winner will be drawn.

Open to US addresses only.

Waverly Helps Teach Kids About The Environment

Isn't he a cutie? This is Waverly,the water drop, and he is proud to say that he is eco-friendly and 100% Organic!

"Waverly is a little dreamy, very sweeet
and loves a good laugh.
He even makes fun of himself--
often saying he may be all wet, but he is certainly no drip."

Waverly is particularly - and deeply - concerned about protecting
the Earth's water resources and keeping them clean. His areas of expertise are Oceans, seas, rivers and lakes.

My munchkin boys received Waverly in the mail a bit ago, and instantly fell in love with the guy. I have to say this plush toy is so soft--it just feels good to hold him.

So who really is Waverly, and what is his story?

Waverly is one of three "idbids" a 100% organic plush toy collection sold at NMC Toys. Idbids and NMC Toys, along with The Nature Conservancy, want to help teach children about earth, nature and keeping our environment healthy. Each toy is lovingly handmade in Egypt, so no two are going to be alike. They toys are dyed with environmentally friendly natural, metal free vegetable colors. There are no small parts either making them safe for your child.

Waverly is joined in his journey to help kids learn about the environment and helping to take care of it with two other Idbids: Lola the Flower idbid and Scout the Cloud idbid. Lola is adorable of course in all her pinkness, and her areas of expertise are flowers, trees and plants. Scout is all about the air we breathe, and is an avid bird watcher.

The cool thing about these plush toys is that they come with personal codes that kids can enter on the idbid website, and learn how to help protect their new friend's habitat. There is a certificate they can print out with their name on it as well.

Parents can feel good purchasing one of these plush toys because a portion of the purchase will go directly to The Nature Conservancy through February 2010.

My boys had a great time on the idbid website, and I really do appreciate products like Waverly that teach as well provide fun and comfort.

idbids: iddy biddy steps, for a greener world!

Thanks to Parent Reviewers for this fantastic review opportunity.