Disney Shopping Deals

Well, since I am recently home from a Disney vacation and I love to shop online at the Disney Shop to remind me of my trip, I thought I'd share some great deals that I found there. They have some adorable kids t-shirts on sale, 3 for $20. They also have a $5 shipping deal on a shipment of $89 or more if you find other things you want to buy with code SHIPTODAY.

They have a lot of styles to choose from, here are a few examples:

This adorable Winnie the Pooh one is so sweet.

This cute Belle tee is one of MANY Princess t-shirts they have.

And for the boys, there are Cars, Power Rangers, Toy Story and Mickey t-shirts.

Go check it out, you can stock up on some cute shirts for summer or for an upcoming trip. They also are having a half-off sale on all of their beautiful snowglobes, so if you are a collector or a Disney fan, they are definitely worth checking out as well. Hope you have a great Disney Day! :)

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

If you didn't like Phil's prediction this year, remember that historically he's only been correct 39% of the time. I, for one, am ready for spring!

If you'd like to look at a fun website with your kids, take a look at this one today, it's the Official Website of the Punxsutawny Groundhog club. Lots of fun stuff here, how the tradition got started, activities for kids and even a recipe for groundhog cookies!

Baby Center Store Closing-Save Up To 80%

Babe Center online store is closing on January 6th and they are having a huge blowout sale to clear out their merchandise. Besides getting the discounted prices, you can also use the code FREESHIP49 for free shipping on orders of $49 or more. They have toys, clothes, gift ideas and lots of stuff for expecting moms-maternity clothes, strollers, nursery furniture, pregnancy and parenting books and many other items as well.

Some examples of deals you will find:

This convertible diaper bag from Fanci-Free was originally $89 and is marked down to $18.

This adorable Kate Spade rocker from Maclaren was originally $119 and is marked down to $48.

They have a lot of book deals, such as this one for Growing Up Green, a guide to raising healthy families that was originally $15.99 and is now marked down to $4.80.

They also are having a huge sale on Carter's clothing-you can save up to 75%.

Check it out now, they will be closing Jan.6 but will still be honoring their 30-day return policy for your purchases. Please feel free to link to this post to spread the word about this great closeout sale.

Holidays=Matching Jammies

I know some think this lame, but I LOVE matching holiday jammies for the whole family. Seriously, they make the cutest Christmas photos. You can get pictures on Christmas Eve of the excited kids leaving cookies for Santa or the whole family in front of their stockings and of course all the festivities on Christmas morning. It's one of my favorite traditions. However, I do not have a teenager yet, I don't know how well this would go over if you have teens in the house.

But for those of you looking for some cute family pj's, The Company Store has a lot of cute styles to choose from, Christmas Plaid, Snowflakes, Candy Canes, Penguins, even Hanukkah jammies for those that celebrate Hanukkah and can wear them for 8 nights! They are having a sale on them right now, so check it out and next year when you have the cutest Christmas pictures ever, make sure you send me one!

eToys Deals

eToys is offering some promotions this week that might interest you if you have some toy shopping to do. I love finding free shipping deals for online stores, since shipping costs can add up quickly. They also have a 2008 Holiday Toy Guide to help you find great toys for thes kids on your list. Hope you can use some of these!

eToys: Great Gifts Up to 60% Off on Select Items. Shop Now! (ends 12.8)

eToys: Free Shipping On Select LeapFrog Items! (ends 12.8)

eToys: NFL Lockers 20% Off All NFL Lockers (ends 12.8)

eToys: Select Dress-Up Outfits Buy One, Get One Free! (ends 12.8)

eToys: Special Holiday Offer, Get $5 off $100. Shop Now!

Gifts for the Little Meteorologist

Do you have an older child who loves science and is fascinated by weather? Here are some great holiday gift ideas for kids want to be a weatherperson when they grow up and for kids who just have a natural curiosity about our world.

This digital weather station looks like so much fun. Kids set up the station and use tools that measure temperature, humidity and other weather indicators to put together their own forecast. The can also measure air pollution, rain pH and build a barometer. It also comes with an activity book. You can get it for $39.98.

The DK Eyewitness Weather book has amazing weather pictures as well as facts about weather and climate. This is for middle age kids, but even younger kids would enjoy the pictures. I love the DK Eyewitness books, our whole family enjoys reading them together. You could also get the Eyewitness Weather DVD.

Here's a great website that kids can use now and all year long and it's free. It's called Weather Wiz Kids and it is such a fun website designed by television meteorogist Crystal Wicker. You can find lots of information on tornadoes, hurricanes, clouds, weather experiments and games, coloring pages, even weather jokes like this one:

Whatever happened to the cow that was lifted into the air by the tornado?

Udder disaster!

Haha! :)

I can remember when my daughter was afraid of thunderstorms when she was a preschooler. It really helped her to learn about what happens during a storm and that the loud thunder could not hurt her. She enjoys learning about weather; our Science Museum has a great Weather Discovery area for kids and she loves doing the cool experiments they have.

Are your kids fascinated by weather, terrified by it, or could they care less about the weather? :)

Designer Linens Outlet Deal

I know many of you are planning out your shopping strategies for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it's an exciting time of year for us shopaholics! Here is a great deal from Designer Linens Outlet- they have a Black Friday discount code that you can use now through Dec.8. The code is FF08 and you can click the link above to check out the deals there.



They have a great Designer Kids section, with adorable sets like this Eric Carle one. As a former teacher, The Very Hungry Caterpillar was one of my favorite books and I think a room with this theme would be super cute.

Hottest Holiday Toys

According to the National Retail Federation 2008 Top Toy survey, Barbie and video games top the list for the hottest toys this holiday season. The survey polled 8,758 consumers this month to gauge this year's shopping trends among consumers. Here is the list of what they found to be the Hot Toys of 2008:

Top toys for girls

1. Barbie
2. Disney Hannah Montana
3. Dolls (generic)
4. Bratz (dolls)
5. Nintendo Wii
6. Video games
7. Elmo
8. Disney High School Musical
9. Disney princess (dolls and themed items)
10. American Girl (dolls and themed items)

Top toys for boys

1. Video games
2. Nintendo Wii
3. Lego
4. Cars (generic)
5. Transformers
6. Elmo
7. Star Wars
8. Hot Wheels
9. Remote-controlled vehicles
10. Xbox 360

What are your kids asking for this year? Are you planning on buying any of the toys that made the list?

Gift Ideas for Your Little Star

Do you have a little diva or divo (is that the correct term for a male diva?) in your house?

If you answered yes to that, here are some great gift ideas to help your little star shine:

You can set the stage with this Star Performance Theater. Whether they want to sing, act or walk the runway, this will put them at the center of everyone's attention.

This karaoke system is fun for moms and dads, too. That is, if you are able to get the microphone away from your diva (or divo).

If your star dreams of being the next American Idol, a great idea would be this American Idol Encore bundle for Wii.

If your whole family loves American Idol, the American Idol - All Star Challenge DVD game looks like a lot of fun on family game night. You complete challenges like singing, dancing and trivia and it features video clips from the first five seasons.

Does anyone have any other great finds for a little one who craves the spotlight? I'd love to hear what you've found!

Question of the Day

Leave it to kids to make you painfully aware of how much about the world you don't know. Astronomy, world history, philosophy, nature, medical mysteries.....you name it and I've been asked about it. Today my daughter asked me,"why do they say something is 'brand-new'? What if it's generic, can it still be brand new? Where did that word come from mom?"

Hmmm....I'm a college graduate and consider myself an intelligent person, how could this nugget of knowledge escape me? So, thank the Lord for Google, I distracted her long enough to find the answer. Thus perpetuating the myth of the all-knowing mom. I just wanted to pass this along in case any other mom out there is posed with the same question.

"brand-new" adj

1. Completely new.

Etymology: 16c, from brand (ie like bright new metal just taken out of the fire).

There you have it. Now here's my question-how did our moms survive without Google and Wikipedia?

Oh, and please don't ask me what "brand-spanking new" means, I haven't googled it yet! :)

We Like To Move It Move It!

Have you seen Madagascar 2 yet? I like family movies that can be entertaining for kids and parents alike and Madascar 2 is that kind of movie. It's only been out for a short time now and it has not only made it to #1 at the box office, it's making it's way into our everyday lives-is it just me or are you seeing the Madagascar theme just about everywhere these days?

Your kids can play it on their Nintendo DS.

They (or you) can reenact favorite scenes with action figures.

They can celebrate with it on their birthday.

And they can even get it at McDonald's.

McDonald's is using the new Madagascar 2 Happy Meals to promote their new platform, One Minute to Move it. It's a global children’s well-being program designed to encourage kids to see what a difference a minute can make. If you need some ideas, you can go to http://www.happymeals.com/ where kids can find creative activities and ways to move it in a minute.

On a related note, did you know that Alex from Madagascar 2 is a HUGE fan of The Happy Mom blog?

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today we celebrate the men and women who have served our country. It's also the day that my daughter gets to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the whole school at a Veterans Day Program, as part of her duties as student council president. Hopefully she won't follow in her mom's footsteps and add an "Amen" at the end of it in a moment of nervousness when reciting it in front of a large group. Embarrassing moment #314 in my life. :)

If you want to share the importance of Veterans Day with your children, here are some great resources for you:

* VA Kids The VA kids website has a ton of great information for kids. You'll find information on the history of Veterans Day and what a veteran is, as well as activities for kids from K-12th grade.

*The American Legion At the American Legions site, kids can send a Veterans Day Ecard and say thank you to a Veteran . There is also a brief history of the day also on page.

*Children's Songs for Veterans Day Kids love singing and learning songs and these are sung to well-known songs so they're easy to learn. This site also has other links for coloring pages, crafts, puzzles and other activities relating to veterans day.

Thank you veterans!

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is going to be here before we know it. I'm really looking forward to it, it's one of my favorite holidays because I love traditions, good food and families getting together. However, I realize for most kids it's not something that they're too excited about. It's a little blip between the "cool" holidays of Halloween and Christmas and you get a couple days of no school. Well, here are some ideas to rock the kids' table at Thanksgiving this year from Pottery Barn Kids:

The fine china is boring and overrated. These super cute turkey plates make the kiddie table THE place to be this year.

And it's not a party until you add these adorable turkey headbands. How fun are these! They crack me up-I think they have the potential to be used at the adult table after enough wine has been served. :)


Also, keep a basket of fun Thanksgiving books like these ones for kids to read:

Thanksgiving Is... by Gail Gibbons

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
The Story of the Pilgrims by Katharine Ross
Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl by Kate Waters

(this one is a favorite of my daughter)

I'd love to hear how you celebrate Thanksgiving with kids-special crafts, recipes or traditions that you have!

The Democracy Project

Make sure you vote today and if you have a chance to take your kids with you, then do it. It is a great opportunity for you to model good citizenship to them and let them know that being able to vote is a privilege. The Democracy Project is a great website for kids to learn about the democratic process. It's fun for adults to look at too. DK Eyewitness books (I LOVE these books for kids, we have a collection of them) has a book called Vote which also does a great job of explaining the history of voting and elections. Remember that every voice counts.

Happy voting!

One Posh Kid Pettiskirt

I love boutique clothing for kids, especially for little girls. I am a girlie girl at heart and I love outfits like this one from One Posh Kid with a LuckyGabi pettiskirt. It is so gorgeous that if it came in adult sizes I could be talked into buying one. I would be happy twirling around in it all day long.

Happy Halloween Sale

Aren't these adorable? I love these fabric Build-A-Pumpkin sets from Pottery Barn Kids. I admit it, cleaning out pumpkin guts does not make me happy and this is a cute alternative to pumpkin carving (and just buy your pumpkin seeds at the store, all nice and cleaned for you). I know it's 2 days before Halloween and you won't get them in time for this year, but you can be a smart shopper and get them now to use next year. They were originally $24 and are now marked down to $5.99! You can get some for your whole neighborhood and be the friendly pumpkin street (except for the skull pumpkin, he doesn't look like the friendly type).

There are many bargains to be had at pbk right now. Look at this cute dragon costume, it's adorable and snuggly warm and the best part is it's marked down from $89 to $21.99!