2011 November — MomStart

Season of Giving Day 21: Laffy Laffalot : Laugh. Heal. Give Something Back

November 21, 2011 By Momstart 2 Comments

By Ashley

Since Summer has been working so hard on the Season of Giving series here on MomStart, I wanted to help her out. When Laffy Laffalot came to me for a review, I know I had found the perfect addition.

Let me introduce you to Laffy. He is a cute little orange guy who loves to laugh! He has over 20 different laughs that you (or a little one) can hear at the touch of a button. He comes with headphones that are perfect for everyone (and won’t hurt kids’ ears), MP3 quality sound, and a helium effect knob that changes the sound of any laugh for even more fun! Laffy also comes with 4 programmable buttons where you can record your own laughs or messages. Laffy is super durable and can handle drops from up to 6 feet!

Well, now that you’ve met my new friend Laffy, let me tell you why he’s such a perfect addition to the Season of Giving. Laffy was created by a California firefighter and paramedic. He wanted to create the perfect toy that would help put smiles on the faces of injured or ill children. Laughter has truly been proven as some of the best medicine.

Even better, Laffy Laffalot has teamed up with the National Children’s Cancer Society (NCCS). For every Laffy sold, the NCCS receives $3. It feels so good to buy something fun and silly when you know it helps improve the quality of life for children with cancer and their families worldwide. Last year, we had a small scare (thankfully ending with all good news) with our own son, and seeing the children coming into the hospital for their cancer treatments, I’ve seen what a benefit Laffy (and the money he raises) can be.

Laffy Laffalot has now also teamed up with Autism Smiles, a group that works to give children with autism and their families special apps, products, and equipment. Right now, proceeds of $2.00 (per special promo code – autismsmiles) will go to Autism Smiles.

Laffy makes a great gift for anyone, whether their healthy, struggling with illness, or just feeling a little blue. If you can’t think of anyone that Laffy would be a good fit for though, it’s also possibly to just order a Laffy (or 100!) and send your donation to any location. Discount prices are even offered on orders of 6 or more.

So there you have it, a HILARIOUS toy that helps children and their families worldwide. I hope that fills your heart with as much happiness as it did mine during this Season of Giving!

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and President of our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.

Filed Under: Ashley, charity Tagged With: Autims Smiles, charity, Laffy Laffalot, MP3 player kids, National Children’s Cancer Society (NCCS, toy review

50 Free Hugo Movie Passes for Tonight’s Seattle Screening

November 21, 2011 By Momstart 3 Comments

HUGO comes out in theaters on November 23^rd. This is Martin Scorsese’s FIRST 3D film and I have movie passes for the first 50 people to sign up. So if you’re in the area and are interested in being one of the first people to see the movie I have instructions on how to get a free movie pass. See bottom of this post for how to download your movie screening passes.

Hugo Movie Synopsis:

While on a daring adventure to find his family, Hugo Cabret discovers a robot in the walls of a Paris train station which transports him to a world of wonder, mystery and magic. In this place, he and an eccentric girl piece together the mystery surrounding his missing family, using the robot, a heart shaped lock and the comical characters they meet along the way as clues and the road map back to where he belongs.

Based on Brian Selznick’s award winning and imaginative New York Times bestseller, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this magical tale is Academy Award®-winner Martin Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D.

How To Get Your Free Movie Tickets

For your chance to receive screening passes, log on to www.gofobo.com/rsvp then enter the RSVP code: MOMS261D. Remember it’s for tonight November 21, 2011 in Seattle WA 7:00 PM at AMC Pacific Place. Passes are limited and are available on a first-come first served basis.

Filed Under: freebie, savings Tagged With: Free Movie Tickets, Hugo, Hugo movie passes, Martin Scorsese

Avacados Mini Chef Vidoe Contest

November 21, 2011 By Momstart 2 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Avocados from Mexico for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
When it comes to using Avocados I’m not very creative. I think of them as an addition to a salad or sandwiches. I’m also very fond of using them on tacos and in guacamole. I hardly ever think of using them in anything else but they are actually quite versatile in recipes. I’ve seen recipes for soup, and recipes for fried avocado fingers, both sound very appetizing if you ask me.

Why should you use avocados when cooking? Because they’re so good for you. Avocados are full of vitamins and fat that’s good for you. The good fat is what we call it in our house. They also have potassium, fiber, folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and some B Complex vitamins that support brain function and good memory, which reminds me, I should be eating some avocados. Want your kids to eat them too, then get them in the kitchen with you. Letting kids participate in cooking inspires them to try new things, even green squishy things. Plus you could enter them into a contest to win prizes. The Mini Chef video contest! Ten finalists will be chosen by a panel of food and entertainment experts based on the chef’s personality and the presence of avocados. So enter the Mini Chef Video Contest now.

Here is my simple Avocado recipe:

Ingredients:

7 Eggs

2 Avocados

1/4 Milk

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream

Salsa

Tortillas

Directions:

Microwave the tortillas for 10 to 15 seconds

Mix eggs, milk, salt to make scrambled eggs. The quantity depends on how many people you are feeding. Scramble the eggs on a skillet and top with cheese just as they finish cooking.

Peel and cut the avocados

Place eggs and avocados in the tortilla and wrap them up like a burrito

Dip in Salsa and or Sour Cream.

Now if you think you have what it takes to win the The Mini Chef video contest and your children are age 5 to 15 then here’s how to enter. You need to upload a 1-3 minute video of your child preparing a kid-friendly avocado recipe. You could win $1000 cash, an HD camcorder, a Nintendo 3D with 2 games and be featured. All video entries must be submitted by December 4^th, 2011. Public voting will begin on December 6^th and contest finalists will be notified by December 12^th. For regular updates about the contest, follow @guacgrl on Twitter.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

VTech Catch-Me-Kitty What a-Me-WOWsome Good Time

November 20, 2011 By Momstart 147 Comments

By Ashley

VTech has such a great reputation for delivering educational, interactive, and durable toys. The new VTech Catch-Me-Kitty delivers all of that and more! I have to say, as a parent, I was even impressed with all that the Catch-Me-Kitty does!

The VTech Catch-Me-Kitty is a small orange kitten that “runs” (or more accurately rolls) around as your busy little walker tries to catch him! Seriously, genius! The kitten comes complete with sensors on both the back and front. The front sensors help the kitten know when to turn around to avoid hitting walls, cabinets, and furniture while the sensors on the back let the kitten know when your little one is close. This lets the kitten speed away so that your little walker (or runner) will chase him!

The Catch-Me-Kitty is an interactive toy that keeps kids active! How awesome is that? There is also an educational setting on the kitty which allows your child to begin working on shapes through the buttons on the kitty.

Between the singing, whimsical sounds, flashing lights, rolling around, spins on the floor, and buttons to push, this toy is AWESOME! It was so good that pictures along just couldn’t do it justice. Here is Atticus enjoying his test of VTech’s Catch-Me-Kitty.

Are you interested? Well, good! You should be! Is there a little one that you think would love chasing around a little orange kitty? Good news… MomStart has teamed up with VTech for a giveaway!

Enter to Win:

A VTech Catch-Me-Kitty

To Enter:

Tell us some of your favorite VTech toys!

Extra Entries:

tweet:

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Shannon Thompson.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and President of our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.

Filed Under: Ashley, giveaway Tagged With: Ahsley, giveaway, VLog, vtech, VTech Catch-Me-Kitty

Top Chef Healthy Choice Café Steamers

November 20, 2011 By Momstart 5 Comments

I’ve worked with Healthy Choice in the past and loved their innovation with the Café Steamers. It’s a great way to have well cooked foods right out of the freezer. Well, the fun didn’t stop there as you can guess. Healthy Choice recently teamed up with Bravo’s Top Chef in a cooking showdown for the best frozen meals. The winning recipes are the new Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Café Steamers.

The Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Café Steamers come in quite a few varieties:

Barbeque Seasoned Steak with Red Potatoes
Chicken Fresca with Chardonnay
Chicken Linguini with Red Pepper Alfredo
Chicken Margherita with Balsamic
Grilled Chicken Marinara with Parmesan
Grilled Chicken Pesto with Vegetables
Grilled Vegetables Mediterranean with Rice
Roasted Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms

I received Barbeque Season Steak with Red Potatoes and Chicken Linguini with Red Pepper Alfredo. I haven’t tried the Alfredo dish yet, but I did try the Steak with Red Potatoes and it was really good. My only compliant would be there were too many onions in the bowl. I’m not a big fan of onions. I did love the steak though, who knew you could have steak out of the microwave and it be tender and juicy. I guess Healthy Choice figured it out.

More Facts About the Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Café Steamers:

- The Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Café Steamers bring an all-star lineup of bold, modern and exciting flavors to give you exactly what you want – food that is both healthy and delicious.

- The line of great-tasting dishes features quality ingredients such as slow roasted garlic, asparagus and grilled eggplant.

- The unique steaming technology separates the sauce from the rest of the entrée to steam the meal in the microwave, allowing for crisp vegetables, tender meats and al dente pastas.

- The exclusive new line includes eight delicious varieties that utilize proprietary steaming technology that produces a fresh-tasting meal in minutes. Varieties include:

- The packaging features a Top Chef mark, along with a description on why each entrée is inspired by Top Chef.

The Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Café Steamers will be nationwide for a suggested retail price of $2.75 – $3.50 very soon. For more information, visit Healthy Choice or www.bravotv.com/showdown.

We received compensation from The Motherhood on behalf of Healthy Choice and samples for this review.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: Barbeque Seasoned Steak with Red Potatoes, Bravo's Top Chef, Cafe Steamers, Healthy Choice, review, Top Chef

B is for Baking – 50 Yummy Dishes to Make Together

November 20, 2011 By Momstart 4 Comments

By Ashley,

This fall, Sesame Street came out with what I think is an AWESOME cookbook, B is for Baking. Atticus has just now gotten to a stage where he can actually “help” in the kitchen and definitely wants to be a part of everything! B is for Baking provides so many recipes that have easy steps in them that really allow him, or any other little one, the opportunity to help cook! Yep, my (almost) 17 month old has now officially helped me cook in the kitchen!

The book features 50 delicious, nutritious, kid-pleasing recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus snack time and special occasions. All of the recipe pages are colorfully designed with full-sized photos and detailed instructions that are sure to inspire kids to develop good eating habits while having fun in the kitchen at the same time! Not only does this book encourage kids to develop healthy eating habits, but it also encourages them to learn through counting, practice with shapes, and work together as a team.

Sesame Street teamed up with Susan McQuillan to write this children’s cookbook. Susan is a dietitian, cookbook author, and food writer who has contributed to magazines such as Woman’s Day, Family Circle, American Health, Prevention, and Cooking Light and has appeared on the Today Show and the Food Network.

Whether it’s Grover’s German Pancake, Rosita’s Beefy Enchilada Pie, Big Bird’s Veggie Quiche Squares, or Cookie Monster’s Pumpkin Pudding, you and your whole family will have a blast cooking with this B is for baking. The recipes are easy follow, contain ingredients that aren’t hard to come by, and make foods that are health, exciting and fun for both young and old.

Atticus and I worked on Cookie Monster’s Pumpkin Pudding and it turned out great! I will say that you need to pay attention to the quantities yielded because this recipe made way more than I thought it would. That wasn’t really a problem though because it was so yummy!

Since the holidays are approaching, keep this book in mind for any mom or grandma you know who loves to be in the kitchen. It would even make a great family gift! I definitely love my copy of this book and I think you will too!

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and President of our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: 50 yummy dishes, B is for baking, Cookbook, kids and baking, kids cookbook

Season of Giving Day 20: From my Addiction to Giving

November 20, 2011 By Momstart 4 Comments

By Summer

I just might be addicted. I’m a gold member of Starbucks and I just got “scolded” by my husband for reloading my card too often. I love when the holiday flavors return. I love then the red cups return. I love when there are new gifts on Starbucks’ shelves.

One of the new items at the Starbucks’ registers reflects this season of giving, they’re the INDIVISIBLE bracelets which support Opportunity Finance Network to help create jobs in the USA by financing underserved community businesses such as small businesses, microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate developers, and affordable housing developers. This initiative is called Create Jobs for USA.

The Starbucks Foundation donated the first $5,000,000 and you can give by donating $5 when you pick up your next drink. Best of all 100% of your donation goes to creating and sustaining jobs in the United States. For your $5 donation you also get this fun little bracelet that is itself “Made in the USA”. I bought one through the drive thru at the beginning of November, and then my babysitter liked it so I got her one too. What a fun gift to give! You can also donate online and have support bracelets sent to you. If it matters to you, your gift to help the Create Jobs for USA is tax deductible as Opportunity Finance Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

You can fine Create Jobs for USA on their own website, on Facebook and on Twitter.

About Summer:

Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm

Filed Under: charity, Summer Tagged With: Creative Jobs for USA, Opportunity Finance Network, season of giving, Starbucks Foundation

Season of Giving Day 19: Heifer International Pass On The Gift

November 20, 2011 By Momstart 6 Comments

By Summer,

Heifer International is a giving non-profit organization that was founded on the though, “children don’t need a cup, they need a cow.” Founder Dan West created Heifer for Relief and in 1944 was sending the first shipment of 17 heifers to Puerto Rico in order to provide families with livestock as well as training. The heifers would then supply milk and continuous support for the country as the heifer’s offspring was then to be passed on as a donation to another family. So the gift of food is never-ending.

Gifts can be as little or as large as you wish. Just check out the Heifer catalog:

· $10 share of one — goat or sheep or tree seedlings or pig or rabbits
· $20 flock of chicks or ducks or geese, or share of a llama
· $25 share of a water buffalo
· $30 honeybees or share of fish
· $48 share of a “Knitter’s Gift Basket”*
· $50 share of a heifer
· $60 “Flock of Hope” of chicks, ducks, and/or goslings
· $60 tree seedlings or trio of rabbits
· $85 share of a camel
· $90 share of a “Cheese of the World Basket”*
· $120 goat or sheep or pig
· $150 “Share the Joy” sharing the “Joy to the World Gift Basket”* or llama
· $250 water buffalo
· $300 three schools of fish
· $480 “Knitter’s Gift Basket”* of a llama, alpaca, sheep, and a angora rabbit
· $500 heifer
· $850 camel
· $990 “Cheeses of the World Gift Basket”* of a heifer, goat, sheep, and water buffalo
· $1,500 “Joy to the World Gift Basket”* of two sheep, four goats, one heifer, and two llamas
· $5,000 “Gift Ark” of two of each – cow, sheep, camels, oxen, water buffalo, pigs, beehives, goats, donkeys, llamas, and two trio of each – ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, and two flocks of each – geese and chicks
· $10,000 “WiLD [Women in Livestock Development] Gift”
· $25,000 “Gift of Transformation”

If you’re follow the stars, Heifer International’s supporters include Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson, Diane Lane, Ed Asner, Patricia Heaton, Alton Brown, Mary-Louise Parker, Susan Sarandon, Joe Mantegna, and Eva Amurri. So “Pass On The Gift”.

All donations for catalog items or general monitory donations are tax-deductible.

About Summer:

Filed Under: charity, Summer Tagged With: charity, gift of hope., Heifer International, Pass on the gift, season of giving, Summer

Island Breeze Ginger Cake Recipe

November 18, 2011 By Momstart 18 Comments

By Summer:

In the previous post, Summer shared with us how to give to children through a cookbook called Feed Our Small World. The post was called Season of Giving Day 18: The Recipe for FEED[ing] Our Small World. You should check it out and all the other Season of giving posts for this month. She also shared one of the recipes from the book here. Here’s a taste of the FEED Our Small World Cookbook coming to you from Jamaica:

Island Breeze Ginger Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground all spice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup molasses
2 Tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
1 large egg
1/3 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Ask an adult to help you heat the oven to 350 ^oF. Lightly butter an 8-inch-square baking pan and dust it with flour.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and the 5 dry spices.

3. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar, Beat in the molasses and grated fresh ginger. Then beat in the egg.

4. Beat half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add the water and beat again. Finally, add the remaining flour mixture and beat just until mixed in.

5. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake it until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan to finish cooling.

Serves 9

Disclaimer: This book was provided for the promotion of this book. Disney also provided a copy of this book to be donated to a local low income school. Thank you Disney for caring about our children and their literacy!

About Summer:

Filed Under: recipe, Summer Tagged With: Disney Publishing, Feed Our Small World, Island Breeze Ginger Cake Recipe, recipe

Season of Giving Day 18: The Recipe for FEED[ing] Our Small World

November 18, 2011 By Momstart 5 Comments

By Summer

I love to buy gifts. I especially love to buy gifts then they support a cause. Disney has released an It’s a Small World cookbook for children called FEED Our Small World. The recipes are a little complicated for a chef-in-the-making, but this book is great for a little family time cooking!

The books has 6 breakfast recipes, 7 lunch recipes, 7 dinner recipes, and 6 dessert recipes; as you can imagine these delicacies give you a taste of the world with recipes from France, Spain, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, India, Greece, Cuba, China, Thailand, Senegal, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, Morocco, Mexico, Ireland, Poland, United States, Jamaica, and England.

These recipes are fun and easy! Many of them have a lot of ingredients, so be sure to shop with your young chef before starting a recipe. I think then children help make a dish they’re more likely to try it, even if they don’t end up liking the taste. FEED Our Small World offers flavors from around the world, so your child can try all different kinds of flavors. This is a great book to base a play date or theme party around.

My Mom Start Review Grade of FEED Our Small World Cookbook: A+

This book isn’t just great for the joy of cooking or for the family time you’ll have while preparing a dish, but the Disney It’s a Small World FEED Our Small World Cookbook also donates to the FEED Foundation to provide Vitamin A supplement for 450,000 children for one year.

The FEED Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit started by Ellen Gustafson and Lauren Bush in July 2008. Their mission is to improve the global food system by ensuring nutritious school meals for all children. Basically FEED focuses on food security, school feeding, and healthy food. The FEED Foundation partners with the FEED Project, LLC and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). You can also donate directly to FEED:

- $10-50 can provide school meals to children around the world for the school year

- $240 can provide two families of six using agricultural aid in East Africa

- $350 can support a classroom nutrition program in the USA

About Summer:

Filed Under: charity, Summer Tagged With: charity, Cookbook, Disney, Disney Publishing, Feed Our Small World

Season of Giving Day 21: Laffy Laffalot : Laugh. Heal. Give Something Back

50 Free Hugo Movie Passes for Tonight’s Seattle Screening

Avacados Mini Chef Vidoe Contest

VTech Catch-Me-Kitty What a-Me-WOWsome Good Time

Enter to Win:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

Top Chef Healthy Choice Café Steamers

B is for Baking – 50 Yummy Dishes to Make Together

Season of Giving Day 20: From my Addiction to Giving

Season of Giving Day 19: Heifer International Pass On The Gift

Island Breeze Ginger Cake Recipe

Season of Giving Day 18: The Recipe for FEED[ing] Our Small World

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