The Green Year

I'm always looking for ways to "green" up our life, and I'm proud of the fact that we have already made several easy changes to help save the planet: we recycle, do laundry on cold, eat less meat, use cloth grocery bags, buy energy-saving lightbulbs, pack the kids' lunches in recyclable containers, use natural, eco-friendly household products, and so on.

But I know our carbon footprint is still closer to BigFoot's than Cinderella's. I cannot, cannot, will not give up my hot showers, I still drive a Toyota Sienna minivan (which gets an embarrassing 15 miles per gallon), we don't compost, we can't afford to buy organic sheets, and so on. So I need more easy, eco-friendly ideas!

A couple of weeks ago I posted about some of author Jodi Helmer's tips to make your Halloween a greener holiday. I've been reading her book, The Green Year, which has given me a whole new set of ideas for changes we can make.


The Basics
The Green Year (December 2008, $14.95, ISBN: 9781592578290, Alpha Books), provides 365 simple and inexpensive eco-friendly ideas for each day of the year. Organized by date, the green living tips suggest small changes and environmentally friendly ideas that make a big green impact. The Green Year is more than a calendar. It offers practical, affordable and engaging activities that help make going green a blessing rather than a burden.

About the Author
Jodi Helmer is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about eco-friendly topics. Her work has appeared in Plenty, Yoga Journal, Women's Health, Natural Solutions, Backpacker, Woman's Day, Family Circle and American Way. She is the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Careers and a professional speaker who offers workshops on green issues. Helmer also maintains a website, www.green-year.com. She lives in Charlotte, NC.

The Bongga
I'm happy to say that this book is giving me a whole new set of ideas on how to make more easy, eco-friendly changes to our lifestyle! For example, I had never thought of filling up empty milk or soda jugs with water and freezing them in order to fill up an empty freezer (a full freezer works more efficiently that an empty one). Jodi's tips are simple and doable, and she never lets the perfect be the enemy of the good. If you don't think a particular tip won't work for you, she has no words of scorn. Each page has space for you to write your own notes down if you have an alternative to her tip that works better for you. Finally, I think it was really nice (and consistent) to note that the book itself is made from recycled paper; it shows that Jodi's commitment to going green goes beyond mere words.


The Bottom Line
If you're green behind the ears when it comes to eco-friendly living, take the first step towards saving the earth by reading The Green Year! And if you've already started down that green road, The Green Year will keep you going with lots of fresh, new ideas.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Last Day to Enter the Cheer detergent giveaway!

Just a reminder, my Cheer detergent giveaway ends tomorrow, so you've only got a short while left before your chances of winning some Cheer detergent plunges to zero! So Click here to keep reading and enter to win a bottle of Cheer detergent.....

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Norman the Farting Elephant

November is here, and December is just around the corner.... time to start making a holiday gift-giving list! Wondering what to get for the person who has everything? How's this for a funny novelty gift? A farting elephant! We recently received Norman PhartEphant to try out; here's what we thought:

The Basics
Norman PhartEphant is a plush elephant that makes farting noises when you squeeze his tail. Apparently Norman is from Africa and has moved to the US, and the change of diet has caused him to become rather gassy.Here's how the makers of Norman PhartEphant describe him:

Norman PhartEphant™ was designed for the 3-10 year old crowd, but has become a favorite among those of any age that are yound at heart. Norman PhartEphant™ is adorable, cuddly, and hilarious; a combination not seen in other products! Laughter follows him where ever he goes.

Super soft and squeezable, at 10 inches round, Norman PhartEphant™ offers a variety of 8 fart sounds with a squeeze of his tail. Norman PhartEphant™ makes a favorite gift for your difficult to surprise child, co-worker, spouse, friend, and/or spouse.




The Bongga
Only Norman could turn a fart into something adorable. He's soft and cuddly and huggable, with the saddest little doe-eyes that say, Ooops.... sorry, I didn't mean to do that! Don't hate me! Of course we don't hate you, Norman! You're so cute and your farts don't even smell! Men, take note: if you have a tendency to belch and fart, this might make a great "I'm sorry" present for your girlfriend or significant other! On a deeper level, Norman's story offers a great opportunity to talk with kids about friendship and acceptance of other people's anomalies, follies and differences.


The Blah
The fart sounds are electronic recordings; I don't know whether they were recordings of actual farts or synthesized farts, but they sounded pretty genuine. However, for some reason I was expecting the fart mechanism to be mechanical rather than electronic. So I was expecting Norman to sound like a whopee cushion -- instead, his farts sound a bit "tinny", with the faintest hint of static. Also, I love the little back story that comes on Norman's tag but I'd have loved to learn more. The website sells storybooks, coloring books and kids' teeshirts for those who can't get enough of Norman, but I think Norman should come bundled with the storybook so that kids can get read Norman's story, and he can become more than just a farting elephant -- he can become their friend.


The Bottom Line
Norman Phartephant would make a humorous, whimsical present for farters of any age -- but for kids to find a special place in their heart for Norman, they should read the storybook as well.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Battle of Giants

Last week we were invited by Ubisoft, a gaming software company, to their San Francisco office to check out their lineup of games for Nintendo DS before they are released this holiday season. We tried and enjoyed several games from Ubisoft's Imagine, Petz and StyleLab lines, but 3Po's and Jammy's clear favorites were two games from Ubisoft's Battle of Giants series: Dragons and Dinosaurs.


The Basics
Ubisoft's Battle of Giants series allows your child to control dragons and dinosaurs and send them into battle with other dragons and dinosaurs. In Battle of Giants: Dragons, your dragon roams the land searching for gems and treasures, using combinations of gems to help win battles against other dragons. And in Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs, your dinosaur battles other dinosaurs for eggs and fossils, which you then use to unlock features that will make your dinosaur even faster and stronger.



Here is what Ubisoft has to say about this series:
The Battle of Giants^TM series on Nintendo DS^TM gives young boys the chance to control and battle some of the most magnificent creatures of all time. From dinosaurs to dragons, these games feature turn-based battles with intuitive and easy-to-play Touch Screen controls, multiple maps and levels for hours of exploration, and multi-player tournament mode to play against friends! Plus, players can customize their creature’s colors, patterns, and physical features to really make them unique. Check out the Battle of Giants video games today!


The Bongga
3Po and Jammy really enjoyed playing these games! Just configuring their dragons and dinosaurs (changing their colors, giving them different features, etc...) was fun, and they loved sending their creatures to battle other dragons and dinos. The interface is fairly intuitive and easy to learn; it didn't take 3Po and Jammy long to figure out how to control and maneuver their dragons and dinosaurs, and if your child is already familiar with the Nintendo DS system, he or she will get it in a snap. There are so many levels of play that they would have played for hours if I let them. They'll definitely get to enjoy many, many 20-minute sessions out of these videogames before they get bored!




The Blah
It's difficult for boys in grades K-1 to play these games since they constantly have to read instructions, especially in the beginning. I wish these games had age or level ratings as well as content ratings -- or that Ubisoft's Parents Corner had recommendations based not only on the child's interest, but also on the child's age -- so that we parents could tell which games are appropriate for our kids' skill level!


The Bottom Line
Ubisoft's Battle of Giants: Dragons and Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs are two great "big boy"-style videogames that even little boys can play.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Win Free Movie Tickets!

I remember the first movie I ever watched at a movie theater. It was The Sound of Music, and I must have been five or six years old. We didn't watch many movies when I was a kid, but once I entered college I must have gone to a movie theater at least once a week. I've got lots and lots of good memories at the movies; not only of the movies themselves, but of people and events that happened there, like sneaking into a second movie after the first movie ended or getting my first French kiss.

Now that I have kids, nights at the movies are few and far between for Alfie and me, which makes them all the more precious. The kids are just starting to enjoy full length movies (complete with the scary parts), so I was really happy when General Mills generously provided me with 4 free tickets and a box of free General Mills cereal -- perfect for our making some new Movie Moments! Stay tuned for my report on which movie we chose to watch and how our movie night went. Thanks General Mills!


Make your own Movie Moments!
Here's a great deal: starting in November, General Mills' Cereals is going to help you and your family create your own Movie Moments! You can receive a free movie ticket when you purchase two specially marked packages of General Mills’ Cereals. After purchasing two cereals, visit generalmills.com/moviecash to enter the code found inside each box of cereal and print your free movie certificate good for admission to any movie.

Participating brands include select sizes of: Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix and Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs.

To find a participating theater near you, log onto
http://emoviecash.com/dis_locator/.



Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a Movie Moment Prize Pack, courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark, consisting of:

* 4 e-movie cash certificates ($12 each) redeemable at participating theaters (click here for a list of participating theaters).
* 1 coupon for a free box of General Mills cereal

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and share your favorite movie moment. Was it when you spilled popcorn all over your boss, or the first movie you ever saw, or the first time you kissed at the movies? Don't forget to leave an email address or some other way of contacting you!

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my button -- it's on the left hand sidebar, or click here to get it -- and post it on your blog! (leave a comment here with a link to your site).

2) Blog about this giveaway and include a link to the giveaway post (leave a comment here with a link to your post).

3) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a night at the movies from General Mills and @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/yl7qzn4


Maximum of 4 entries per person. Prize good at participating theaters and stores only. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on November 14, 2009.; I will draw a winner at random on November 15 and post the winner's name on the comments section soon after. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!


I received my own Movie Moments Prize Pack -- thanks, General Mills and BlogSpark! -- but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Get Healthy Hands Musical Handwash Timer

We're always trying to get the kids to wash their hands, especially now that the flu season is here. Is it lunchtime? Wash your hands. Finished with that ice cream cone? Wash your hands. Did you pick up that paper napkin from the floor of that public restroom? Ugh, wash your hands! Are you sniffling? Wash your hands! And get that finger out of your nose and wash your hands!

Doctors and medical professionals always tell us that washing hands frequently is one of the simplest and most effective ways of preventing the spread of germs and sickness. The CDC has some guidelines for the right way to wash your hands:

* Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
* Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
* Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing "Happy Birthday" twice to a friend.
* Rinse hands well under running water.
* Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.

But even with these guidelines, it's tempting to rush through the hand-washing process, especially if you're a kid and your Lego project is waiting upstairs for you. Unless I'm watching them like a hawk, they end up splashing a teaspoonful of water on their hands, or rubbing just a microdot of soap on their hands. That 20-second rule? You have no idea how quickly my kids can sing "Happy Birthday" when they're in a hurry. I recently reviewed a product that has really helped me and my kids do a much better job of washing our hands the right way: the Disney Musical Handwash Timer from Healthy Hands. Here's what we thought of it:

The Basics
The Disney Musical Handwash Timer is a rubber cap that fits over most standard soap nozzles. When you push down on the pump to dispense your soap, you press down on the timer, which turns the music and lights on. The music and lights go off after 20 seconds, so your child knows exactly how long he needs to be scrubbing his hands. There are two versions of the product -- Disney Little Mermaid and Disney Cars -- and each unit will last through over 1,000 uses. The product costs $3.99.

The Bongga
This is one of those ideas that is so simple and brilliant that you wish you had thought of it yourself. We already use musical toothbrushes to help our kids brush their teeth for the right amount of time, so why not a musical timer for handwashing? It's perfect! Even when I'm not in the bathroom with them, I hear the music playing, so I know they're washing their hands, and washing them properly. The timer really keeps us honest -- I'm often tempted to shortcut my handwashing myself, but (20 seconds is longer than you think!). Even better, the timer has made handwashing fun, so the kids actually wash their hands more often.



The Blah
This product is supposed to fit most kinds of liquid soap dispensers -- but it really only works best for the dispensers with thick, chunky soap pumps. The rubber needs to stretch out tight over the pump, otherwise it slips around from side to side, or slips off entirely. And the space between the timer and the soap pump quickly gets filled up with soap, which quickly turns into a chunky, gunky mess. Also, you need to remind your kids to turn off the faucet while they're scrubbing, because you don't want to be wasting all that water. Finally, parents beware -- that song can get pretty irritating!

The Bottom Line
The Disney Musical Hand Wash Timer is a wonderful way to get kids to wash their hands -- and wash them the right way. Just remember to buy a chunky soap dispenser!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Wonder Bread giveaway

My Wonder Bread giveaway ends November 4 -- you've only got a few days left to enter to win a $100 Visa gift card and a year's supply of Wonder bread!

Click here to get to the Wonder Bread review and giveaway post, and to enter......

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Happy HallowGreen!

A couple of weeks ago I posted some tips for Going Green this Halloween, but since it's Halloween today I thought it would be worth sharing them again:


1) Green the goodies: Think of all the candy wrappers that one little goblin throws in the trash – then multiply that number by the millions of trick-or-treaters who are happily gobbling up their stash. Offer organic apples from the farmers market or buy treats in bulk to minimize packaging waste.

2) Come up with a new costume: Skip the racks of colorful costumes at the mall (most of them are made of non-renewable materials like plastic) and come up with a creative idea for a homemade costume. Add a bandana to a pair of jeans and a denim shirt for an instant cowboy costume or put on your wedding dress and go as the Bride of Frankenstein. Or, host a costume swap with the neighbors. The costumes their kids have outgrown might be the perfect fit for your little one.

Here's my family's contribution towards the HallowGreen effort: all three costumes were made from old clothes and toys that were lying around the house.



In my family, a single wig goes a long, long way. How's that for reducing and reusing?


3) Choose natural decorations: Bails of straw, colorful mums and a handful of gourds are great seasonal decorations that can be composted on November 1st. If scary witches hanging from the oak tree and plastic pumpkins on the front step are a must-have, scour secondhand stores.


The author of these tips, Jodi Helmer, also has a great book that offers eco-friendly lifestyle tips for Halloween and every other day of the year: The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference (from Alpha Books). I'm really enjoying reading through my review copy and I'll be posting a review about it soon.

Have a safe, happy and green Halloween!

I did not receive a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- The Bestest Giveaways Around the Blogosphere

As a giveaway blogger, I've found it's a great way to get more traffic to my giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I've found it's a great way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So I've started a weekly giveaway roundup post that hopefully people will find useful. Feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter all those giveaways!

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Brandi Carlisle Give Up the Ghost

Today's review isn't just for Halloween -- you can enjoy Brandi Carlile's album year round -- but with a title like Give Up the Ghost, how could I not feature in on Bonggamom's Halloween Haunts?

The Basics
I was treated to a free download of Brandi Carlile's new album, Give Up the Ghost, which was released on October 6. It became iTunes' #1 bestselling album just days after its release, and even now it's still on iTunes' Top Albums list.

Here's what the producers of Give Up the Ghost have to say:

Washington state-bred Brandi Carlile was inspired to pick up the guitar and learned to play after seeing the Indigo Girls in concert at Lilith Fair. Her last album, The Story, debuted on Billboard's Top 200, peaking at #2 on iTunes and was named one of VH1's "You Oughta Know" artists in addition to having many of her songs featured on various episodes of "Grey's Anatomy".

She's toured with the likes of Ray Lamontagne, Dave Mathews Band and Sheryl Crow, who raved about Brandi's live performances, "She has the most amazing voice I may have ever heard. Soulful. Country. Perfect in every way and propelled by taste."

The Bongga

I find it so much easier to listen to an album when I like the artist. I don't know too much about her, but what I know about her, I really like! She really sounds like an indie artist, one who cares about making music first and foremost. She sounds folksy and earthy and very real. I also admire the fact that Brandi is using her artistry to make a difference -- she has created The Looking Out Foundation to financially support the causes she cares about.

Her new album, Give Up the Ghost, seems as likeable as she is. My favorite is Caroline, her duet with Elton John on the piano because it's lively and upbeat, I love Elton John and his sick piano playing (and I mean that in a good way) is the perfect complement to her voice. I also like That Year, with its wistful, melancholy tone -- perfect for listening to when you're curled up on the sofa beside your honey :)

The Blah
I don't really have anything negative to say about this album -- if you're a fan of acoustic guitar and simple ballads, there's nothing to complain about!

The Bottom Line
The producers of Give Up the Ghost say, "If you like KT Tunstall, Indigo Girls, Missy Higgins and Rachael Yamagata, then you will LOVE Brandi Carlile". I love KT Tunstall, and I agree!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Make Jammy a WinARRRR!

Hello dear readers! I've just entered J&O Fabrics' Halloween contest for best homemade costume. I've entered Jammy's homemade pirate costume because it's authentic looking, cute, and -- most important for the lazy or non crafty folk out there, which is, like, 99% of everyone -- it is SOO easy to make. Please vote for Jammy and send the message that ANYONE can create a great homemade costume!

Click here to get to the poll and vote. If the link doesn't work, you can copy and paste this code:

http://apps.facebook.com/opinionpolls/poll.php?pid=1256149394&_fb_fromhash=89a321afa2a4cd18f2f8c079b2eed864

The entry with the most votes by Oct. 31 will win! To vote for Jammy, head on over to the poll at the address above and click on letter L (Pirate). Thanks for your support!

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Decorating for Halloween with PartyLite

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so every October I go all out with Halloween themed decor. I get out the orange-and-black storage bins on the first of the month (I'd do it sooner, but Alfie won't let me), do a little bit each day, and by the time Halloween night rolls around the house is decked from head to foot in spiders, cobwebs, bats, skeletons and pumpkins.

So when PartyLite, a direct seller of home ambience products, invited me to check out their collection of Halloween decor items to review, I couldn't be more delighted. I was sent a list of some beautiful products to choose from, including some beautiful witch, cat and kitten tealights. But once I saw PartyLite's Change-O-Luminary, I knew I had to have it. Here's what I thought of it:

The Basics:
PartyLite is a direct seller of home ambience products like candles, candle accessories, home fragrance, accent decor and more. They carry an assortment of seasonal products for Halloween and Autumn, including the Spooky Cat Tealight House, the Ghoulie Aroma Melts Warmer, and the Change-O-Luminary, which I reviewed. The Change-O-Luminary is a frosted-glass luminary with 3 sets of interchangeable metal panels. Each set of panels has a separate theme -- a spiderweb for Halloween, fall leaves for autumn, and snowflakes for the winter.

Here's what PartyLite has to say about their Change-O-Luminary and other Halloween decor:
Do you love decorating for Halloween? Get ready for the oohs and ahhs! The trick to decorating is finding the best ideas. The treat is that PartyLite has them all right here. PartyLite, the world’s largest direct seller of home ambiance products including candles, candle accessories and home ambiance products, takes all the horror out of day with new chilly weather scents, platinum quality candles and fabulous accessories for the season. Goblins everywhere can set a stylishly spooky scene to hand out their holiday tricks and treats!

Change O Luminary transform the ordinary to extraordinary with this versatile fall piece. The luminary includes a votive cup six decorative magnetic panels – two spider webs, two snowflakes and two leaves to bring your décor through all the chilly weather seasons.


The Bongga
I love, love, LOVE this product! First of all, it's beautiful. The simple, box shape of the luminary and the dark, matte metal frame make it easy to blend into any decor (it goes perfectly in our Craftsman-style home). The frosted glass gives the candlelight a beautiful glow (the Halloween tealights they sent us fit inside perfectly, and they gave off the most wonderful, subtle fragrance), and each of the 3 metal designs sets the spirit of the season without being tacky or over-the-top.

Check out the designs:

I'm caught in the web of the mesmerizing candlelight.... and happy to stay that way.

'Snow place like (a beautifully-decorated) home!

I sure could fall for this luminary.

Even Alfie, who is extremely picky about home decor, says it's a beautiful, beautiful luminary. It's also really easy to change out the designs, it's cheaper than buying 3 separate luminaries, and takes up waay less space. It's the perfect seasonal decor, for all the seasons!

The Blah
I'm so hooked on the idea of changing panels that I've gotten greedy: In the words of Oliver Twist, I want some more, please! I'd love to be able to purchase extra panels to stick on my Change-O-Luminary. How about a Hannukah menorah? Or an Arts-and-Crafts / Frank Llloyd Wright window outline? The possibilities are endless!

The Bottom Line
The Change-O-Luminary is an easy, beautiful and practical way to refresh your home decor throughout the year.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. Unless otherwise, stated, the views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Encyclopedia of Haunted Places

If you're looking to travel somewhere this Halloween week, why not head to a haunted house? I received a book to review that's perfect for Halloween: the Encyclopedia of Haunted Places, compiled and edited by Jeff Belanger. He's the founder of Ghostville.com and a noted paranormal investigator who has appeared as a paranormal expert on many television programs, including The History Channel, The Travel Channel, and more. Here's what I thought of the book:


The Basics
Encyclopedia of Haunted Places lists down a number of haunted houses around the world. Most of them are in the US and Canada, but there is a section for haunted places in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Oceania, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. Each place is accompanied by a brief description of the place, the haunted history behind it, and a description of some of the paranormal activities that have been observed there.

Here's what the publishers have to say about the book:
The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places is the first directory to be written by dozens of the world's leading paranormal investigators. Research notes, location background, first-hand accounts, and many anomalous photographs featuring ghostly manifestations comprise the hundreds of haunted listings in this directory. For years, paranormal investigative groups have been studying their local ghosts with scientific equipment as well as with more esoteric methods, such as psychics and séances. This directory is a repository of some of their most profound cases. From across the United States, Canada, and many spots around the globe, ghost investigators tell of their sometimes harrowing experiences, share their research, and give readers an overview of both well-known and obscure haunted locales. From private residences to inns and restaurants, battlefields to museums and libraries, graveyards to churches, The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places will offer supernatural tourists a guide to points of interest through the eyes of the ghost hunters. This reference also offers names, addresses, phone numbers, and Web addresses to each location covered. Feeling brave? You may just want to stop and visit some ghosts on your next trip.


The Bongga
Despite all the horror flicks out there, there's nothing quite as thrilling or scary as a real ghost story, and this one has dozens. Like any encyclopedia, this isn't meant to be read from cover to cover in one sitting -- I like leafing through the book and reading whatever catches my eye. I especially love the stories told by the ghost hunters (or as they are officially called, paranormal investigators) featured in the book. We also had a fun time looking to see if we had actually been to any of the places listed in the book, or if we were familiar with them (Alfie has been to a couple of them in Australia and in England).

Best of all, I was thrilled to see that a couple of places in the Bay Area made it into this book -- the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose and the Oakland Bay Bridge. I've never been to the Winchester Mystery House and I've felt no hurry to visit, because I've always thought it was just a tourist trap. Now that Jeff says the place is really haunted I might actually change my mind. And I don't think I'm ever going to cross the Bay Bridge again without feeling a shiver and a tingle!



The Blah
I'm not sure why the photos in this book are so limited in quantity, quality and size. Most of them are small, underexposed black and white photos. I wondered if perhaps they were taken as proof of paranormal occurrences, but other than a few dots of light, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary in any of those photos. Large, colored photos of some of the haunted places would have made this book much more appealing to browse through, even if the photos didn't have anything ghostly in them.


The Bottom Line
If you want to send a few shivers down your spine, Encyclopedia of Haunted Places makes for a great Halloween nighttime read! It's also a fun travel guide for anyone looking to visit a haunted house.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Printies Halloween Contest

Here's a fun online Halloween contest that will bring out child's creative side. It's sponsored by Printies, whose craft product Printies Design Studio I'm reviewing (watch out for my review post in the next week or so). Just create a Halloween-themed Printie character, post it to their online gallery, and you get a chance to win one of 31 Printies Design Studios! Click here for more details and complete contest rules. Hurry, the contest ends November 1!

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Halloween Magic at the Disneyland Resort

One of the things on my to-do list is to visit the Disneyland Resort during Halloween. Not only is every inch of Disneyland and Disney's California adventure decked out with pumpkins, even the attractions get a Halloween theme. and the fireworks show has Jack Skellington making a star appearance. Speaking of stars, even Space Mountain gets a Halloween costume -- it becomes the Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, with ghosts coming out of the dark and reaching out to people on the ride. And of course, there's Mickey's Trick or Treat Party, the ultimate Disney Halloween event. It sounds like a fantastic experience, and I hope I get the chance to take the kids in the future.


Win It!
If you live in the Bay Area, xiaolinmama has a perfectly spooktacular giveaway going on -- she's giving away a free trip to Disneyland for a family of four! Click here for the full deets and to enter.

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Winter's Tale children's essay contest

I recently ran a giveaway for a great children's book, Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again. The giveaway winner, Terry (hey Terry, don't forget to contact me with your mailing info!), is one lucky blogger, but guess what? The prizes keep coming! Scholastic books is holding a children's essay contest gets to meet Winter the dolphin! Not Winter the dolphin in the book, not Winter the dolphin plush, the actual Winter the Dolphin in the flesh. Here are the contest details:

Winter the Dolphin has been an inspiration and hero for children and adults alike. When Winter was just three months old, she was rescued from a crap trap which had seriously damaged her tail. It wasn't clear that she would survive but she did. However, the damage to Winter's tail was so extensive that it fell off. To everyone's amazement, a prosthetic company stepped in an fitted Winter with a prosthetic tail. Now Winter is using her new tail and thriving.

Scholastic wants to hear about an animal that has most inspired your children by having them tell us about their favorite animal hero in 200 words or less.

One grand prize winner and his/her guardian will receive a trip to visit Winter at her home in Clearwater, Florida, one night's stay at a hotel, $500 travel voucher, a Winter prize pack and a Nintendo DS Game system! 10 runners up with receive a copy of Winter's Tail, a Winter's Tail Nintendo DS game and a Winter plush doll!

Send entries to:
Scholastic's Meet Winter the Dolphin Contest
557 Broadway
New York , NY 10012

Each entry must include student's name, age, and grade; teacher's name; and school name, address, and phone number.

All entries must be received by November 30, 2009. Winners will be announced on or around December 14th. No purchase necessary. Open to legal residences of 50 United States and D.C. ages 6-14 as of November 30th 2009. Void where prohibited.

Click here for complete contest rules.

Good luck, everyone!

I did not receive or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- The Bestest Giveaways Around the Blogosphere

As a giveaway blogger, I've found it's a great way to get more traffic to my giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I've found it's a great way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So I've started a weekly giveaway roundup post that hopefully people will find useful. Feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter all those giveaways!

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Yo Gabba Gabba cd Review and Giveaway

Win this cd! To find out how, keep reading...

Who would have thought that a skinny guy with orange hair and five funny-looking monsters would be so popular? Only all the kids in the US, that's who! A couple of weeks ago I received word that the cast of Yo Gabba Gabba! is going on their very first live US tour: Yo Gabba Gabba Live: There's a Party in My City! Their initial ticket offering quickly sold out, so they've actually had to add more dates and times to fill the demand. Unfortunately they won't be stopping by the Bay Area, but the producers kindly sent us a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD (Meet My Family) and book (Christmas in Gabba Land), as well as a copy of their new album, Music Is Awesome! , which releases on cd and digitally tomorrow, October 20th. Here's what we thought of it:

The Basics
Music is Awesome! is Yo Gabba Gabba's first cd release. Here's some information about it from the producers:
Yo Gabba Gabba! is a groundbreaking television series that infuses retro style and modern-day music to teach simple life lessons. A vibrant cast of puppet characters and special guests play and dance when they hear the magic words 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'. Today's most popular names in movies, television, music and sports flock to guest star in the groundbreaking show, including Jack Black, Rachel Dratch, Tony Hawk, Biz Markie, MGMT, Mark Mothersbaugh, Andy Samberg, Amy Sedaris, The Shins, Amare Stoudemire, Jimmy Eat World and Elijah Wood, among others. This is the first time fans of the show will be able to purchase the amazing original music featured on the show as well as exclusive original music performed by guest bands like The Roots, The Ting Tings and more.

And here's some information the producers have provided about their current tour:
YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE: THERE’S A PARTY IN MY CITY is the first live U.S. touring show for the hit children’s program, which was created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz and is produced by The Magic Store and W!LDBRAIN. The live-action U.S. stage production is inspired by the award-winning television series, with broad appeal among preschoolers, parents, teens and adults. DJ Lance Rock and everyone’s favorite cast of characters – Brobee (the little green one), Foofa (the pink flower bubble), Muno (the red Cyclops), Plex (magic robot) and Toodee (the blue cat-dragon) will rock out to their favorite songs from the groundbreaking series, while special guests show off their “dancey dance” moves. This state-of-the-art production is an interactive experience that will offer audience members of all ages the chance to bring the characters to life when they say the magic words, “Yo Gabba Gabba!”


There are several show dates and times still open:
Nov. 15 in Los Angeles, 11:00am and 3:00pm
Nov. 21 in New York, 5:00pm
Dec. 5 in Chicago, 11:00am and 3:00pm

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Yo Gabba Gabba Live! website, or go to www.ticketmaster.com.

The Bongga
We're not watching the live show, but if the cd is anything to go by, the funky techno-beat is going to whip those young concert-goers into a frenzy of song and dance. It's got all the songs from the tv show that kids know and love. My kids' favorites are Get the Sillies Out, I Like to Dance, and of course, Party in My Tummy.

The Blah
Yo Gabba Gabba reminds me of the Teletubbies: the characters are simple, cheerful and so childlike they almost border on the psychedelic. You either love 'em, hate 'em or wonder what the heck these creatures are doing. But hey, what do I know, I'm just a parent. The kids aren't doing all this analysis. They just like to sing and dance with the characters.

The Bottom Line
If your child is a Yo Gabba Gabba! fan, he or she will love the Music is Awesome! cd.

Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a copy of the Yo Gabba! Gabba! cd, Music is Awesome! To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment here and tell me your favorite Yo Gabba! Gabba! character. Don't forget to leave an email address or some other way of contacting you.

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my button -- it's on the left hand sidebar, or click here to get it -- and post it on your blog! (leave a comment here with a link to your site).

2) Blog about this giveaway and include a link to the giveaway post (leave a comment here with a link to your post).

3) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a Yo Gabba Gabba! cd from @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/ylarbpp


Maximum of 4 entries per person. US mailing addresses only. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on November 6, 2009.; I will draw a winner at random on November 7 and post the winner's name on the comments section soon after. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Go HallowGreen this Halloween

Green is a staple Halloween color -- think of green pumpkin leaves, green slime and green monsters -- but it never really occurred to me that Halloween isn't a very green holiday. Green, as in, good for the environment. With all the plastic skeletons and fake spiderwebs and candy wrappers floating around this time of year, all this trick or treating can actually have quite a negative impact on the environment. (I'm guilty of buying lots of plastic decorations as well, but I do keep the decorations and use them year after year. Needless to say, my Halloween decor collection is turning into its own monster).

Fortunately for the environment, there are people like Jodi Helmer, co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Careers and creator of the website www.green-year.com, who put a lot of effort into coming up with eco-friendly suggestions for Halloween celebrations that won't cramp your style. I received some of her tips and I thought they'd be great to share with everyone. Here are some of Jodi's suggestions for putting the green back in Halloween:

1) Green the goodies: Think of all the candy wrappers that one little goblin throws in the trash – then multiply that number by the millions of trick-or-treaters who are happily gobbling up their stash. Offer organic apples from the farmers market or buy treats in bulk to minimize packaging waste.

2) Come up with a new costume: Skip the racks of colorful costumes at the mall (most of them are made of non-renewable materials like plastic) and come up with a creative idea for a homemade costume. Add a bandana to a pair of jeans and a denim shirt for an instant cowboy costume or put on your wedding dress and go as the Bride of Frankenstein. Or, host a costume swap with the neighbors. The costumes their kids have outgrown might be the perfect fit for your little one.

3) Choose natural decorations: Bails of straw, colorful mums and a handful of gourds are great seasonal decorations that can be composted on November 1st. If scary witches hanging from the oak tree and plastic pumpkins on the front step are a must-have, scour secondhand stores.


You can find more tips like this for Halloween and every other day of the year in Jodi's book, The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference (from Alpha Books). I'll be receiving a review copy soon, and I can't wait to read all of her tips for making small changes to our lifestyle.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Have a Roaring Good time with The Jungle Grapevine

Alex Beard is a marvelous artist whose intricately detailed work can be found in drawings, paintings and puzzles. He recently published a children's book that draws on his memories of his childhood in the African savannah. His new book, The Jungle Grapevine, features some of his artwork and continues his mission to make art more accessible to children and to people everywhere. We were sent a copy of The Jungle Grapevine and a companion 3D elephant puzzle, and here's what we thought:

The Basics
The Jungle Grapevine is a children's picture book set in the heart of Africa, where we find jungle animals engaged in an afternoon of speculation, rumor-spreading and generally freaking each other out.

Here's what the publishers have to say about the book: In The Jungle Grapevine (Abrams, Sept. 2009), acclaimed artist and debut author Alex Beard reinterprets his memories of the African savanna's most colorful inhabitants to create a modern retelling of the classic game of telephone.

Beard also created a companion set of board games, card games and puzzles featuring the most endearing characters of The Jungle Grapevine. It's all part of his mission to demystify art, making it available to people in all ages and stages of life.

The Bongga
We really enjoyed reading The Jungle Grapevine! The story is funny and entertaining and sparked a lot of discussion about misunderstanding and overreacting. And I can't say enough about the illustrations. There's just so much to look at, my kids spent ages just leafing through the pages. The book is really high-quality, with a beautiful typeface (I can't believe I'm actually raving about a font!) and nice thick paper, and it certainly wouldn't look out of place on the shelf next to our classics like Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland.

The accompanying Jungle Grapevine puzzles and games are just as beautiful. The 3D elephant puzzle we received was the perfect complement to the book. When it arrived in the mail, I gave it a cursory glance and dismissed it as one of those cheapy balsa-wood puzzles that you can buy at your local dollar store. But upon closer inspection, it's actually a high-quality toy that's challenging to put together and beautiful enough to display. Unlike the cheapy unpainted versions, the pieces in this puzzle have been painted so the finished product looks just like the elephant in the Jungle Grapevine book.


The Blah
The illustrations in The Jungle Grapevine are so whimsical and charming, I think any parent would love to decorate their child's nursery or bedroom in a Jungle Bedroom theme. Unfortunately his Jungle Grapevine prints are way too expensive for the average Joe, and I'd love more affordable decor options besides the oversized Alphabet Flashcards. How about some Jungle Grapevine bedsheets or tshirts?


The Bottom Line
The Jungle Grapevine makes a beautiful, educational present for any child. If you're feeling generous, throw in one of the companion games or puzzles for even more jungle fun. The whole series will give children a renewed appreciation of art!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Do NOT enter this Sweepstakes. Because I want to win it.

Leapfrog has an awesome Star Wars sweepstakes going on for the next several months. They're giving a total of seven first prize winners will receive a Tag, Leapster2 or Didj system and a Star Wars game or book. That would be a great sweepstakes in itself, but Leapfrog has gone All Out and come up with a Grand Prize worth over $3000! It's a Star Wars party for your child and ten friends. The prize package includes 11 Leapfrogs, Tags or Didj's, 11 child Star Wars costumes, a party package, an R2D2 trashcan, and other fun things from that Galaxy Far, Far Away. And the best part of this prize is a $200 gift certificate to Merry Maids, so you don't even have to clean up all that party mess! You can enter once per day until 1/4/2010. But you're not going to enter, are you? Please?

I did not receive a product sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- The Bestest Giveaways Around the Blogosphere

As a giveaway blogger, I've found it's a great way to get more traffic to my giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I've found it's a great way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So I've started a weekly giveaway roundup post that hopefully people will find useful. Feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter all those giveaways!

Continue reading...

Wow! Wow! Wubzy DVD Review and Giveaway

Who loves Wubbzy? We do! My kids love watching the antics of Wubbzy, Waldo, Widget and all their friends on the TV show Wow! Wow! Wubbzy. Earlier this year we saw tv ads promoting the Wubb Idol episodes featuring Beyonce in her first ever children's project. We never got around to watching it, but fortunately for us, the new Wubb Idol DVD just came out on October 13, so we get another chance. We recently received a copy of the DVD, as well as the new Wow! Wow! Wubzy! Sing A Song sing-along-CD featuring Beyonce. Here's what we thought:

The Basics
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is Nick Jr.'s #2-rated preschool property, with its popular tv series, online games and podcasts. Even the youngest viewers can relate to the situations that Wubbzy and the gang find themselves in, and each show reinforces important preschool social skills like sharing, getting along and helping others. Wubb Idol is Wubbzy's first TV movie and highest-rated Wubbzy episode of 2009; it has just been released on DVD on October 13, along with new Wubb Idol-themed books from Scholastic and Wubb Idol toys from Fisher-Price.


Here's what the folks behind Wubb Idol have to say about the DVD:
In “Wubb Idol” (SRP $16.98), Wubbzy, his best friends, Walden, Widget and Daizy, can’t wait for the most popular girl group, The Wubb Girlz, to pay a visit to host the “Wuzzleburg Idol” talent show! Everyone in town hopes to win the contest. If Wubbzy can wow the judges, he’ll get the chance to go on to Wuzzlewood and perform with Sparkle, Shimmer, and Shine at their big concert and maybe even become a movie star! But will he remember the importance of just being himself? Viewers join “Wubb-Z,” Walden, Widget and Daizy and special guest stars Beyoncé and former ET anchor Jann Carl – on the coolest, star-powered road trip ever filled with singing, dancing, best friends and more!

Multi-award-winning international pop sensation Beyoncé Knowles makes her voiceover debut in “Wubb Idol” – her first-ever children’s project – as Shine, the lead singer of the most awesome girl group, The Wubb Girlz!

The new 93-minute DVD – with double the content of the “Wubb Idol” TV movie – also features special activities, coloring pages, music videos and more!


The Bongga
What can I say except Wow! Wubbzy is the sweetest little character, with a heart of gold and a body to match. He's so cute, you can't help but wub, I mean love, him! Beyonce's cartoon character, Shine, looks almost as hot as Beyonce herself. She sparkles, shimmers and shines like the star she is. Her Sing A Song, is my favorite track on the Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Sing a Song cd. It's bright and catchy and it reminds me of Beyonce's "Single Ladies". Not that I'm trashing any of the other songs in the album, which contain songs on the Wubbzy tv show that kids know and love.

The Blah
I don't think the show had to be as long as it was. Kids don't need feature-length entertainment to enjoy, and keeping the show shorter would help parents limit their kids' tv time. I would have preferred several, shorter episodes so we could extend the Wubb Idol fun over several sessions.

The Bottom Line
The new Wubb Idol DVD is going to Wow! Wow! Wow! your preschooler with a fun , danceable music, and a great take-home lesson: Be happy with who you are.

Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will be selected to win a Wow! Wow! Wubzy prize pack, which includes:

* the brand-new Wubb Idol DVD
* two Wubb Idol-themed books from Scholastic
* the new Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Sing-A-Song CD featuring the original song composed and performed by Ms. Knowles!

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment here and tell me your favorite Wow! Wow! Wubzy character (I like the kid who says, "Wowwww.....kooooooooky!"). Don't forget to leave an email address or some other way of contacting you.

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my button -- it's on the left hand sidebar, or click here to get it -- and post it on your blog! (leave a comment here with a link to your site).

2) Leave a comment on any of my blog posts on Finding Bonggamom (leave a comment here with the link to the post that you commented on).

3) Blog about this giveaway and include a link to the giveaway post (leave a comment here with a link to your post).

4) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a Wow! Wow! Wubzy prize pack from @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/ylywxr6


Maximum of 5 entries per person. US mailing addresses only. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on October 31, 2009.; I will draw a winner at random on November 1 and post the winner's name on the comments section soon after. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Disney on Ice: Princess Classics

Last night, MomSelect treated me and my family to tickets to the opening night of Disney on Ice presents Princess Classics at Oakland's ORACLE Arena. We've watched a couple of Disney on Ice productions before --Finding Nemo 3 years ago, and Princess Classics (the exact same production!) 6 years ago -- so we knew we would be getting a real treat. The Pea was doubly excited this time around because now that she's taking figure skating lessons, she'd have an extra appreciation of the skating part of the show. And we were triply excited because Alfie's parents came along with us, making it an evening of fun for the entire family. Here's what we thought of the show:



The Basics
Disney on Ice: Princess Classics features the stories of: Jasmine, Ariel, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Snow White and Cinderella. With each story, skaters perform ice routines set to music from the Disney movie.


Here's what the producer, Feld Entertainment, has to say about the show: Disney on Ice presents Princess Classics is an amazing journey to the magical land of Disney classic fairy tales. Travel to a kingdom under the sea, an enchanted French castle, an Arabian palace and more! With special guest Tinker Bell, enter the worlds of your favorite Disney princesses Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Mulan and Snow White and see their dreams come true as this royal skating extravaganza brings magic to your hometown!

Check out these videos I took during the show:





The Bongga
We came in with high expectations, and the show met every one of them. The quality of the show took Alfie's parents' breath away! The skating was great, and so were the costumes and special effects. The grownups' (Alfie, Alfiesmum and Alfiesdad and my) unanimous favorite was the glow-in-the-dark Little Mermaid production number.

And I can't overstate how much my kids enjoyed the show. The Pea, at the sophisticated old age of 8, considers herself too old for Disney princesses, but she got really involved-- as did her brothers -- in the storylines, the skating and the singing. I kept sneaking peeks at them and seeing them singing along to the music. Truth be told, I couldn't help singing too. And I loved the way the whole audience was so engaged: when Snow White's wicked stepmother, disguised as an old crone, offered Snow White the poisoned apple, my kids joined everyone else in the arena shouting NOOOOOOOO!


The Blah
We had a wonderful evening, but even Disney Magic and pixie dust were not enough to erase a couple of minor irritations:

1) I wish the evening show had started a bit earlier than 7:30PM. Since the show is 2 hours long, the kids stayed up way past their bedtime and woke up the next day tired and cranky.

2) After we had arrived home and decided to take out our old Princess Classics souvenir programme to see what had changed in the six years between shows. The answer: NOTHING. As in, the two programmes were IDENTICAL. The photos, the text, even the message from the producers. The only difference was the cast.

Now, don't get me wrong: I have no problem whatsoever with Disney on Ice running exactly the same show. After all, shows on Broadway run for years and years, and you don't go around changing the script, do you? Our enjoyment of the 2009 performance was not diminished in any way by the fact that we had watched the exact same show 6 years ago.

But I felt quite betrayed by the fact that the photos I was seeing in the 2009 souvenir programme were not only not the photos of the 2009 performing cast, but were actually 6 years old. And come to think of it, how do I know that these photos were photos of the 2003 cast? For all I know, those photos could be 10 years old! Come on, guys, people shell out a lot of money for the stuff you sell in your shows, so don't cheap out!



The Bottom Line
You can always count on Disney on Ice to deliver a high-quality show that parents and kids will enjoy. Their Princess Classics show is the perfect way to give your little princess a night to remember!

Buy It!
Use the coupon code MOM in the MC Promotions box on www.ticketmaster.com to get four tickets for $44 (Mon-Fri matinee shows) or $4 off Friday night and weekend shows.

Showtimes for Disney on Ice at HP Pavilion are:

Wed, Oct. 21 2009 at 7:30PM
Thu, Oct. 22 2009 at 7:30PM
Fri, Oct. 23 2009 at 10:30PM
Fri, Oct. 23 2009 at 7:30PM
Sat, Oct. 24 2009 at 11:00AM
Sat, Oct. 24 2009 at 3:00PM
Sat, Oct. 24 2009 at 7:00PM
Sun, Oct. 24 2009 at 1:00PM
Sun, Oct. 24 2009 at 5:00PM

Click here for a complete list of show venues, dates and times. Enjoy the show!

I received complimentary event tickets to the event, but no monetary compensation to review the show. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Getting ready to fight the flu

Today was a wet, wet day; after months of dry, hot weather, a storm hit the Bay Area and it was like the floodgates had opened (I probably shouldn't joke about floods given that half of Metro Manila was under water just a couple of weeks ago). It was a sobering reminder that there's more where that came from, and the cold and flu season is on its way. Just a couple of days ago, I received an invitation from Boiron, a manufacturer of homeopathic products, to discuss the things I do to keep my family healthy during the cold and flu season. I thought it was intriguing that their goal was not to review their product, rather to get a discussion going, so I decided to participate. Besides, I'll take any opportunity to chime in with my opinions.

So without further ado, here are the top 3 things I do to keep the cold and flu virus at bay:

1) Get a flu shot -- Funny that this should be number 1 on my list given that we missed both flu clinics that our doctors' office set up. But we fully intend to get our shots this year. Even though there's a lot of discussion about whether flu shots actually work, whether all this immunization is good for kids, and even all the controversy about the link between thimerosal in vaccines and autism, I firmly believe that the flu vaccine works. It's just empirical: one year, I don't get a shot and I get the flu. The next year, I get the shot and don't get the flu. Same with Alfie. Same with my aunt. Hmmmmm.....coincidence? I think not.

2) Wash hands -- Pretty simple, huh? Kid with cold wipes snotty nose with grimy hands, then holds doorknob. Five minutes later, my kid holds the same doorknob. Voila, flu city. Had my kid washed his hands, the snotty germs would have been washed away. I'm pretty bad about remembering to ask my kids to wash their hands, but I'm getting better. Anyway, lately they've been coming home with such grimy hands that it's impossible not to ask them to scrub that dirt off.

3) Stay warm and dry-- I know this is sort of an old wives' tale. You don't catch a cold just because you're cold, you catch it because you've been infected with a cold virus. But I think being out in the cold and damp weather weakens your immune system, making it easier to catch cold.


If my kids do catch a cold or the flu, I usually just let it run its course and avoid too much medication, unless the kid is really uncomfortable, in which case I give ibuprofen for fever and a menthol cough drop for a sore throat. I don't find that cough or cold medicines do much to help, but I make an exception at nighttime. I think that getting a good night's rest is a priority, especially when they're sick. Coughing or sneezing keeps my kids awake at a time when it's crucial for them to sleep, so I'm happy to help them sleep with Benadryl or a nighttime cough or cold mixture.

Homeopathic medicines? I've never tried them, and I admit I don't really understand what homeopathy is. According to Boiron, Homeopathic medicines work to stimulate the body's own healing processes and they use natural substances in micro-doses, which sounds quite intriguing and really beneficial. But Boiron's FAQ page didn't really answer the question, and the Wikipedia entry was equally confusing. All that dilution and dosing. Boiron's going to be sending me some samples of their homeopathic remedies for kids, and hopefully it's going to come with some kind of explanation. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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It's Halloween on Jumpstart!

My kids have had a resurgence of interest in the Jumpstart website ever since they logged on and saw that the Jumpstart world is all dressed up for Halloween! There are jack-o-lanterns everywhere, there are spooky spiderwebs on the ground, you can hear crickets chirping, and the whole place is dark like it's twilight and everyone's about to go trick-or-treating. And that's just the backdrop! I saw on the Jumpstart blog that kids can dress their Jumpees up in all kinds of costumes, they can adopt Halloween-themed "pets" (if a skull or a pumpkin counts as a pet!) and participate in Halloween-themed contests. I think it's a great way to keep the site fresh and keep the kids interested. And it doesn't hurt that Halloween is my favorite holiday, so anything spooky this month will probably get an A-ok from me :)

I did not receive a product sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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