CakeBlast

Recently, MyBlogSpark sent our family a Yoplait Less Sugar, More Fun prize pack to review! They are also allowing me to give two more of these funtastyic  packs away to two of my lucky readers. The Yoplait prize pack includes an insulated travel cooler to keep your yogurt cold, a pair of spoons that change color in warm water, a reusable color-on / wipe-off place mat with puzzles and games, a fuzzy tangle toy, and a coupon for a free six-pack of Yoplait Kids or Yoplait Trix yogurt!

Yoplait Trix contains more sugar than Yoplait Kids, but the difference is very slight. The average leading kids Yogurt has 35 grams of sugar per 8oz serving, but Yoplait Trix only has 28g. Yoplait Kids has 25% less sugar than the leading brands with only 26g per 8oz serving. Another great reason to choose Yoplait is that there is vitamin D in every cup!

I allowed our 4-year old son River to choose what he wanted. I was a bit surprised when he chose Yoplait Trix, based on the flavor “Triple Cherry” rather than the bunny on the package. I was even more surprised when he chose to eat the Wild Berry Blue first. As you can see in the video above, and the photos below, he was very happy with his decision.

This Giveaway Is Now Closed

Thank you to everyone who entered. The winner will be drawn by random.org, announced, and emailed tomorrow afternoon.

Enter The Giveaway

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment telling me which flavor(s) of Yoplait Trix or Yoplait Kids you and your family would enjoy the most!

EXTRA ENTRIES:
To qualify for extra entries, you must also complete the MANDATORY entry. Please put each entry in a separate comment. For instance, leave two comments if you have my button.

**Add My button to your blog (2 Extra Entries).

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**Tweet about the contest. Feel free to copy/paste Giveaway! 2 Winners! http://bit.ly/42dJRW Yoplait Kids or Trix Yogurt Fun Pack w. cooler, toy, & more RT @cakeblast – #giveaway Ends10/29 – Please leave the tweet link in your comment (1 Extra Entry – Can be done once per day).

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Open to U.S. Residents 18+. Contest Ends on 10/29 at 11:59pm CST. Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced Oct. 30th. Winner will be notified by email with “You Have Won the Yoplait Giveaway” in the subject line. Winner will then have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. The free yogurt coupon is not valid in some states including Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota & Tennessee.

Disclosure: MyBlogSpark provided a free Yogurt Prize Pack for me to review and two more to give away to randomly selected winners. I received no monetary compensation for reviewing this product. My review is an honest opinion based on my own experience using this product, and is not reviewed or edited by anyone other than Larry H. from Cakeblast.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• yoplait kids

Go to www.Wizz-e.com and download two free animated e-books! These 24 pg. e-books tell classic childrens’ stories using text, cartoon animation, and sound. Each story contains an option to turn off narration in case you or your child would prefer to read the story and view the moving storybook images. There is no long registration process to access the books.

Upon entering Wizz-E, you will be greeted with a link that takes you to the free e-books. After clicking the link, you are only asked for your name, e-mail, and how you found the site. They have a comforting antispam/privacy policy, and of course be sure to tell them you found the site through Cakeblast Then you get to download two classic childrens’ tales and watch them come to life on your computer. Once you own these free books, you will likely want to buy more.

Wizz-e has stories to fit any budget. From a simple-math ebook for $1.99 to the award winning e-book Hoop-La the Hippo for $8.99, you will find something that you and your kids can enjoy together. Many classic childrens’ stories such as The Emperor’s New Clothes and The 3 Little Pigs are $2.99 each. You can purchase When I Don’t Want to Sleep on sale for $1.99 until Oct. 9th when it goes back to being $8.99 again. That’s a savings of $7.00!

I was not compensated for this review, but I won six e-books from the Bless Their Hearts Mom website. I sat down with my son and checked out some of the free sample pages that are included with all of Wizz-E’s book selections before choosing When I Don’t Want to Sleep, Add One Teddy, Animal Alphabet, Hoop-La the Hippo, & What Time Is It?

Incoming search terms for the article:

• free animation books download

How long does it take for you to give instructions to your child’s babysitter before you leave the house? If your family is anything like ours, it takes too long. And no matter how much time we spend discussing routines and concerns, there are often important details that we don’t remember until it is too late.

By The Book: How to Take Care of My Kids is more than just a reminder of all the particulars we need to tell babysitters. It is  a complete, customizable reference guide for parents and caretakers. Finally we can be sure that our babysitter has all the information she needs to deal with any situation that may arise!

This manual includes nearly 100 pages worth of schedules, forms, charts and memos that can be filled out by the parent(s) and used by the child’s caretaker. By The Book realizes that as parents, we know our children better than anyone.

There are spaces to fill out our kids’ favorite foods, toys and games. We can also include what types of shenanigans to look out for and which methods of discipline work best for them. By The Book includes many details that parents tend to forget when leaving their child with someone else. And even if I have been completely thorough in explaining everything to a babysitter, without this book  we would be unable to offer a plan for any given situation involving discipline, safety, emergencies, and more.

My wife and I are very particular about who we let watch our children. On the rare occasions when we go out, there often seems to be something that slips our minds until after we leave.  Zen, our 4-month old, has needs that are changing from week to week. Our oldest son River enters new phases of mischief that we want to warn babysitters about. We also have to take accidents and unforeseen possibilities into consideration.

By The Book has taken all the guesswork out of what we need to tell the babysitter. When something needs to be added or modified, we can simply print a new page and throw away the outdated one.

Regardless of the situation, we want our babysitter to react the same way that we would if we were there. By The Book: How to Take Care of My Kids, ensures that our babysitter is always on the same page that we are.

Other forms in this book include job applications and questionnaires to use when hiring a nanny or babysitter. There are also sample Childcare Agreement forms stating responsibilities, hours, and wages.

Few things are as precious to Moms and Dads as time. There is never enough time in the day to do all the things we need to do. The best way to save time is to get organized, but even getting organized is a time consuming chore. By The Book: How to Take Care of Your Kids is the time-saving way to ensure that anyone who watches your children will have all the information they need in one easy-to-reference volume.

Exclusive 25% Off Promo Code!!!

Hardbound copies of the book are available for only $19.95 + S/H at http://www.bythebookkids.com but Cakeblast readers can use the coupon code BTBK7757 (case sensitive) for a 25% discount! Karen, from ByTheBookKids has informed me that this promo code will not expire. So check out her site and her fantastic timesaving book!

Plus, we are  giving away an ebook copy ($9.95 RV) of this remarkable time-saving manual for free!

Here are the rules to this giveaway

Please devote a separate comment to each entry. There are 9 maximum entries per person (1 mandatory + 8 extra).  Since this giveaway is for an ebook, it is open to anyone worldwide. Contest closes at 11:59 pm CST, Sept. 24 2009.

Winner will be chosen by random.org on Sept. 25th and notified by email with a congratulatory subject line and instructions for claiming the prize. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Comments are now closed. Congratulations to nicole (comment #3). A Big Thank You To Everyone Who Entered!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Go to http://www.bythebookkids.com and tell me something that you learned on their site.

EXTRA ENTRIES: (To receive these extra entries, you must first complete the MANDATORY entry.)

• *Mention this giveaway in a blog post and include a link to our sponsor and cakeblast.com in your post. Include a link to your post in your comment here (2 Extra Entries).
• *Add My button to your blog (2 Extra Entries).
• *Follow Me on Twitter & Tweet about the contest. Feel free to copy/paste this RT ByTheBookKids Giveaway! $10 RV @cakeblast customizable ebook filled with printable forms, memos, schedules & more http://bit.ly/GNHx1 – Please be sure to include the tweet link in your comment (1 Extra Entry).
• *Follow my blog on Blogger / Google Connect (1 Extra Entry)
• *Subscribe to my blog by email or RSS (1 Extra Entry).
• *Favorite this site on Technorati (1 Extra Entry).

Giveaway Ends 09/24/2009 at 11:59 CST

Two weeks ago I won an exceptional giveaway at Icefairy’s Treasure Chest. The prize was a Twilight Sea Turtle from CloudB. It wasn’t the dollar value that made it such a great win ($34 + S&H). Its just that after reading Icefairy’s review I really wanted one for my 3-year old son. However, I didn’t know exactly how  huggable, lovable, educational, and just plain fun this nightlight is until it arrived a few days ago.

Our 3-year old son River got very excited when he saw the package outside the front door. He didn’t know about the remarkable reptile he would soon be unveiling. River just  loves to get packages in the mail.

Upon opening the package, his eyes lit up. “A turtle!” he exclaimed.

I carefully removed the Twilight Turtle from its box and was immediately impressed that batteries were included. This was nice because River was very excited to try out all the features right away. In fact, he began pushing buttons so rapidly it appeared that he wanted to try out all the features at the same time!

While he explored his new nighttime companion, I read through the included Twilight storybook. The book acts as a guide to all the educational features of the Twilight Turtle. It offers facts about the endangered creatures that adorn the shell. Included in the manual, are ways we can help protect our sea friends and their habitats.

From the guide, parents and children can also learn how to recognize three different constellations in the stars that are beamed onto the ceiling. The book also explains what the constellations represent and how to spot them in the actual night sky. Finally, there is  a certificate of adoption that can be filled out by the parent (or older child).

After coaxing the Twilight Turtle away from River, I began a more conscientious exploration of this innovative product’s many features. There are three color options for the glowing shell. The colors are Ocean Blue, Emerald Green, and Aquamarine. Even without the projected stars, the luminous colors provide a beautiful nightlight.

The Twilight Sea Turtle has five captivating images of endangered sea creatures on its back that light up individually. River was very interested in learning the names of these sea dwellers and now enjoys choosing which one to keep illuminated every night. His interest in dolphins and blue whales has grown tremendously in the few nights he has fallen asleep thinking about them.

The projected moon and stars are fun as well as soothing. We enjoy pointing out and discussing the constellations  as a short, relaxing part of River’s bedtime ritual.

After 45 minutes the turtle shuts itself off to preserve battery power. This is a very important feature to us because we are often too tired or distracted to remember to turn River’s things off manually.

The box and website for Twilight Turtle explains that this product has been proven to help ease fear of the dark. River has never been afraid of the dark, but that does not stop him from loving the Twilight Sea Turtle. It is easy to see why this product has won so many awards including The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval, Baby Talk Editor’s Choice, and the 2008 Top Choice award from Creative Child Magazine!

Whether your child needs help relaxing or just wants to fall asleep under the comforting glow of the night sky, Twilight Sea Turtle from CloudB makes this possible. I highly recommend this product  for children of all ages and the adults among us who are young at heart.

Father’s Day is just around the corner (June 21, 2009 to be precise). As a child I used to make cards for my Dad on Father’s Day, but as I grew older I could never see the use in supplementing the real gift of a necktie or aftershave with a $4.00 hallmark card. And it just seems silly to keep making cards out of construction paper, magic markers, and Elmer’s glue past the age of ten. Well, thankfully the digital age came along and made things a bit easier.

When I first began using technology to save money, it was by replacing the standard purchased cards with cards made in photo-editing programs. The only problem, is that besides using precious ink it took so much time to make a custom card that usually didn’t look much better than the construction paper cards from yesteryear.

I don’t remember when I first began sending e-cards, but they seemed almost better than the Hallmark variety. Not only does an e-card make a great compliment to a real gift, it allows the receiver to be surprised twice in a day. I always presented my Hallmark cards at the same time as I was giving a present. With E-cards, the first surprise arrives in their inbox and then the tangible gift is presented to them later.

The only problem with e-cards is that as with most things, we always had to choose between quality and price. Sure, free e-cards have been around for as long as their pricey counterparts.  But most sites that offer free e-cards  only offer low-quality cards for free in order to lure unsuspecting customers to their site where they can be presented with more expensive options.

GotFreeCards to the rescue!! This company allows users to personalize and send high quality animated e-cards for almost any occasion. GotFreeCards has hundreds of cards to choose from and they only take a few moments to select, personalize and send. They also allow you to upload photos to create and print your own free printable cards at home. Best of all, everything is free and no registration or download is needed.

I discovered Got Free Cards at a wonderful blog called Life in a House of Blue. This blog featured the free e-card site in a review that also included an Amazon  giftcard giveaway!

One Life In A House Of Blue reader will win a $25 giftcard, and out of approximately 15 blog giveaway winners, as additional $100 giftcard winner will be chosen. The giveaway lasts until midnight, June 18th. To participate, just click here and follow the instructions given by Life in a House of Blue momerator, Susan.

Using Got Free Cards is easy enough for a small child to do. So Moms, have your children send Dad a Got Free Cards e-card for Father’s Fay.. and save the construction paper for homemade neckties.