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Day: December 4, 2012

  • For Girls Like You Magazine {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    For Girls Like You Magazine {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    When I was a kid, my aunt purchased a magazine subscription for me as a Christmas present. I don’t remember now what the magazine was, but I do remember how cool I felt getting this magazine every month. My sister received a subscription to American Girl Magazine, and between our two magazines we had a lot of fun time bonding as sisters.
    I have avoided most magazines for my children. It seems all the ones I’ve found have very grown up material, and views against what I want my Princesses to learn. A few fun ones we have tried are LEGO magazine and National Geographic for Kids. Though those are great, they haven’t held my kids attention, or taught them anything about values and being a girl.
    I’ve just recently learned about the For Girls Like You magazine, and I knew I had to try them out!  Here’s what they have to say

    For Girls Like You Magazine is dedicated to exposing young girls to the things they love without the negative imagery and advertising that is often found in mainstream entertainment. Instead every article, interview, and photo we feature supports a Christ-centered value system.

    As a Christian family, this is what I’ve been looking for! A magazine that goes beyond gossip, and outward beauty. For Girls Like You focuses on the value we each have as girls, and re-enforces what I’m trying to teach at home.

    This is one gift I’m happy to share with my 6 year old. We’ve only had our copy for one day, and she’s hardly put them down.  
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    I love that they also have a For Girls Like You Journal. Although Princess V isn’t writing on her own yet, she is beginning to. We’ve decided to use her new journal to write down any new words she learns. Today, she sounded out and read the OPEN sign at the store. So as soon as we got home in her journal it went. 

    Connect

    Do you have a Daughter that would love this magazine?
    WIN IT

    For Girls Like You is giving away a copy in the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide.

  • BabbaBox from BabbaCo: Activity Box for Kids {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    BabbaBox from BabbaCo: Activity Box for Kids {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    I love gifts that engage parents and kids to enhance a childs learning. As a mom I know the importance of being the first teacher to my kids.  My very first blog was actually centered around this idea (3 Princesses and a Prince Academy).  I’ve tried a lot of different approaches to teaching my kids, but I tend to skip around a bunch, always coming up with new ideas, and never fully accomplishing what I wanted to.  It’s not really a bad thing, but sometimes it meant I was unprepared for a day, and so I’d skip getting down with them and learning.  We’d go through funks.

    I recently saw an ad for a BabbaBox on another blog. It looked like a lot of fun, so I decided I had to look into them a bit more.

    I tell you what, this is one gift I would love to get my kids!  BabbaCo is a monthly subscription for an activity box, geared towards kids ages 3-6.  Each BabbaBox has a new theme to the box, and is full of everything you need to craft, teach and play with your kids.

    Every Babbabox contains 4 components:

    Create – 2-3 projects that include every material needed to create.
    Explore – a theme based product to engage your child with the world and nature
    Storytell – books to stimulate your childs imagination
    Connect – interactive prepaid downloads approved by the Babbaco experts

    BabbaBox - Activity Box for Kids
    This holiday season give the gift of imagination and exploration. Kids will love getting a new box every month.  

    Check out my Holiday Gift Guide for more great gift ideas and then enter the 2012 Holiday Gift Giveaway.

  • Chase Danger Super Spy: Author Interview {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    Chase Danger Super Spy: Author Interview {2012 Holiday Gift Guide}

    Chase Danger Super Spy
    Mystery of the Special Sauce
     
     32 pages of story and illustrations tell the tale of a 6-year-old-super-spy fighting villains to rid the world of their diabolical plans. Included is a 20 minute read along theater CD which brings all the action to life with a narrator, full cast of voices, sound effects and original music. Totally action-packed and written to thrill young audiences with every page turn.
     
    
     
     
     
    Read my Review of Book 1 and Book 2
     
    I wanted to get to know Lisa and her family a little bit better, so I asked if they wouldn’t mind answering a few questions. Read on, because this is one fun family!
     
    What is your favorite Book?
    J.K Rowling is up there right now, as she probably is with a lot of people. Who didn’t love the Harry Potter series? The suspense leading into the 7th book was pretty intense. Chad has been reading the swashbuckler of Rafael Sabatini which are filled with adventure, “Scaramouche” and “Captain Blood” are a lot of fun. We both have enjoyed reading Ian Fleming recently, searching for inspiration for the Chase Danger books. Lloyd Alexander (The Black Cauldron) was a huge favorite as a kid, all his books are whimsical, magical and delightful. We all lean toward adventure and mystery
     
    If you’re book were turned into a movie, who would you cast?
    Since we’re dreaming, can we have anyone, dead or alive? Vincent Price would make a great Igor Fimple, and Marlon Brando could play anything he wanted. We’d need Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp, of course! Is Dakota Fanning too old to play Princess Ali Bali? Does she have a younger sibling in the right age range?  The kids parts would have to be fresh faces. If Antonio Banderas isn’t available to play Zalezgon, we’d settle for Desi Arnaz or even Joe Pesci would be brilliant. Robert Deniro would be a great Captain Looney, but he’d need a wig.
     
    What are your favorite Holiday Tradition?
    We love to create special holiday meals. Heart shaped pizzas on Valentine’s, green ravioli’s on St. Patrick’s, etc.
     
    Our Favorite, though, is what we call the “Christmas Eve Suite”. This meal includes wrapped “presents” (grilled veggies wrapped in fillo crust), a “wreath” made of spaghetti squash and sliced persimmons, “yule logs”, (manicotti filled with ricotta cheese, spinach and sliced grilled chicken) and topped with cherries, cranberries and assorted gum drop candies. If it sounds weird to you, well, we’d probably agree… but it’s wonderful in person. And it’s only once a year.
    Chase has already begun asking for it, but it’s no mystery that he’s only thinking of the gum drops
     
    Here in Los Angeles with no snow, we have outdoor malls where they shower fake “snow” from the rooftops. It’s become a recent tradition to visit the snow for an evening and do our shopping all at once.
     
    to get the most recent updates on Book 3!
     
    The Chase Danger Super Spy books would make a great gift for any young child this holiday season. With the Read Along Theater, your kids can take reading to another level! Although I think boys will really get into this new comic style series, my girls enjoy them just as much.
     
    Where to Buy
    
    You can purchase Printed Books with the CD at chasedanger.com
    or download the books instantly from iBookstore
     
     
    Win It!
    Enter my 2012 Holiday Giveaway to win Book 1, Chase Danger Super Spy: Mystery of the Special Sauce