This review is part of our Three Gs For The Holidays event. Visit the announcement post to get more holiday shopping ideas from our Gift Guide, get involved in fun giveaways, and learn how you can help children in need this holiday season!

One of my fondest memories of being a little child was reading and being read to. I loved books (still do, in fact) and going to the library to check out new books was one of my favorite things to do. The reason I loved books was because it was as if every story took me to a whole new world. Each story invoked my imagination and introduced me to the world from a perspective as I’ve never imagined it before.

So of course I would love for Jayden to explore these same wonderful experiences brought on by books as I did. As he grows older and starts learning to read, I’m going to be on the lookout for books I think he’d enjoy. The other day we received some books by The Secret Mountain publishing group. I know Jayden is way too young to read, and may even be too young to comprehend a word I say to him, but one thing about him is that he loves being talked to. Whenever I talk directly to him, no matter my facial expression or the tone in my voice, he always smiles and cracks up (hopefully it’s not because he thinks his Daddy is funny looking!)! So I wanted to see how he’d react to me reading a book to him. I sat him down and read A Duck in New York City to him, and no surprise at all, he took to it really well. He smiled and giggled and paid attention throughout the whole story. So there’s no doubt that he likes being read to. Could this be the beginning of Jayden’s love for books?

The Secret Mountain features children’s books in both English and French languages (and a few catering to the Spanish language). Each book comes with a sing-a-long CD, where children can enjoy songs and sing along following the lyrics printed in the back of each book. The Dream Songs Night Songs: From Belgium to Brazil CD features lullabies from around the world in their native languages. They are so soothing and relaxing that they even started to put me to sleep. As for Jayden, he LOVES music regardless so needless to say, he loved the singalong CDs! The illustrations in each book are absolutely amazing! I love the rich colors and textures. The Secret Mountain has an English language singalong DVD that I think is also worth checking out!

The Secret Mountain children’s books have won numerous awards, including the Parent’s Choice Gold Award and Best Books Award. The Secret Mountain children’s books will definitely make a wonderful holiday gift that any child or parent would absolutely love!

Now over to you! Do you love to read? What do you like most about reading? What were some of your favorite books to read as a child?

We’d like to help out those who are less fortunate this holiday season, so we’ll be donating some toys to Toys For Tots! But, since there’s only so much we can do, we encourage you to make a donation also. You can donate toys or cash to Toys For Tots, at your nearest Toys For Tots drop-off location. You can also donate a cash gift online via credit/debit card by visiting the Toys For Tots Online Donation page. With your help, there’s no limit to the amount of smiles we can put on childrens’ faces this year!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these related posts:

• Win A Kush Breast Support!
• Win An isABelt or hisABelt!
• Win A $100 Home Depot Gift Card!
• Three Gs For The Holidays!
• Shopping Frugally For The Holidays Or All Year ‘Round

This giveaway is part of our Three Gs For The Holidays event. Visit the announcement post to get involved in other fun giveaways, get shopping ideas from our Gift Guide, and learn how you can help children in need this holiday season!

Many women naturally sleep on their sides, I happen to be one of them. While side-sleeping is recommended by healthcare professionals for proper spine alignment, this poses a problem as a woman’s breasts rest on top of each other due to gravity and pressure. Without additional support, the forces of gravity and pressure can make side-sleeping uncomfortable and restless. The forces can also lead to premature wrinkling in the cleavage area. Call me crazy but I worry about the girls sagging and wrinkling up frequently. Although I am young, time sure does fly. It’s never too early for preventive measures.

A woman named Cathinka Chandler, experienced this problem, and as a result developed wrinkles in her cleavage area due to sleeping on her side with no additional support. After consulting several physicians and finding that there were no products available in the market that support a side-sleeping woman’s breasts, without the use of a bra, adhesives or restrictive clothing, she created the Kush Support! Comfortable to wear & convenient to use, Kush offers a more natural resting position for a woman’s breasts for a more restful sleep while maintaining natural beauty.

We have one Kush Support size C to give away to one of you! It is recommended that women who are pregnant or nursing order a Kush model one size smaller than their cup size. So if you wear a D cup bra or larger, you should order a C cup Kush. If you aren’t that blessed in the boobie department, maybe you have a friend who is!

How To Enter

There are a total of 5 ways you can enter this giveaway, and everyone is eligible! You can enter using as many methods listed below as you’d like. Each method of entry is worth 1 entry. Here is how you can enter:

1. Leave a comment telling us how you (or a friend) would benefit from the Kush Support.

2. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by leaving a direct link to your post.

3. Put our Three Gs For The Holidays button in your blog’s sidebar. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this.

<a href="http://mommydaddyblog.com/2008/11/18/three-gs-for-the-holidays" title="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/sheeniebabie/mdbholidaygiftguidebutton.gif" border="0" alt="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" title="Win A Kush Breast Support! mommydaddyblog.com" /></a>

4. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by including a direct link to your tweet.

5. Subscribe to receive e-mail updates so we can keep you updated on future happenings here at Mommy Daddy Blog. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe. Be sure to let us know that you’ve done this (or if you are already subscribed to receive e-mail updates from us) in the comments using the same e-mail address you subscribed with.

This giveaway, along with all other Three Gs For The Holidays giveaways, will end on December 8th!

We’d like to help out those who are less fortunate this holiday season, so we’ll be donating some toys to Toys For Tots! But, since there’s only so much we can do, we encourage you to make a donation also. You can donate toys or cash to Toys For Tots, at your nearest Toys For Tots drop-off location. You can also donate a cash gift online via credit/debit card by visiting the Toys For Tots Online Donation page. With your help, there’s no limit to the amount of smiles we can put on childrens’ faces this year!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these related posts:

• Win An isABelt or hisABelt!
• The Secret Mountain Children’s Books Review
• Win A $100 Home Depot Gift Card!
• Three Gs For The Holidays!
• Shopping Frugally For The Holidays Or All Year ‘Round

This giveaway is part of our Three Gs For The Holidays event. Visit the announcement post to get involved in other fun giveaways, get shopping ideas from our Gift Guide, and learn how you can help children in need this holiday season!

Wearing a belt with my pants is a necessity. When wearing a belt, I feel secure. I don’t have to worry about my pants wiggling down exposing my assets as I walk or bend over. I have quite a few belts, but I only wear a 2 or 3 of them. One because most of them are far too bulky for me, they poke me all over when I sit down. Two I’m allergic to nickel, so the metal in the buckles give my stomach a rash. I have to turn the buckle to the side with most belts to keep from breaking out.

The isABelt is the MUST HAVE Fashion “fix-it” accessory in my closet. The isABelt is made of a transparent thermoplastic polyurethane, which makes it strong, flexible, discreet, and allergy friendly! Not to mention it’s only 1/2 of an inch wide which adds to the discreetness of the belt. The isABelt prevents back gap, slippage, belt bulk, and tummy breakouts! Talk about a fashion dream come true! IsABelt offers funky designs for juniors, a pink ribbon patterned belt for Breast Cancer Awareness, a plus size IsABelt, and even the HisABelt for men!

Are you traveling by plane this holiday season? You’ll definitely want to pick up an isABelt product, you’ll definitely get through gate security faster!

We have one isABelt (adjusts up to size 14) and HisABelt (adjusts up to 50 inch waist) to give away separately!

How To Enter

There are a total of 5 ways you can enter this giveaway, and everyone in the United States is eligible! You can enter using as many methods listed below as you’d like. Each method of entry is worth 1 entry. Here is how you can enter:

1. Visit isABelt’s where to buy page. In the comments tell us the name of an isABelt retailer near you. Be sure to specify whether you need an isABelt or HisABelt (can also be worn by ladies) as well.

2. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by leaving a direct link to your post.

3. Put our Three Gs For The Holidays button in your blog’s sidebar. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this.

<a href="http://mommydaddyblog.com/2008/11/18/three-gs-for-the-holidays" title="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/sheeniebabie/mdbholidaygiftguidebutton.gif" border="0" alt="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" title="Win An isABelt or hisABelt! mommydaddyblog.com" /></a>

4. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by including a direct link to your tweet.

5. Subscribe to receive e-mail updates so we can keep you updated on future happenings here at Mommy Daddy Blog. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe. Be sure to let us know that you’ve done this (or if you are already subscribed to receive e-mail updates from us) in the comments using the same e-mail address you subscribed with.

This giveaway, along with all other Three Gs For The Holidays giveaways, will end on December 8th!

We’d like to help out those who are less fortunate this holiday season, so we’ll be donating some toys to Toys For Tots! But, since there’s only so much we can do, we encourage you to make a donation also. You can donate toys or cash to Toys For Tots, at your nearest Toys For Tots drop-off location. You can also donate a cash gift online via credit/debit card by visiting the Toys For Tots Online Donation page. With your help, there’s no limit to the amount of smiles we can put on childrens’ faces this year!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these related posts:

• Win A Kush Breast Support!
• The Secret Mountain Children’s Books Review
• Win A $100 Home Depot Gift Card!
• Three Gs For The Holidays!
• Shopping Frugally For The Holidays Or All Year ‘Round

This giveaway is part of our Three Gs For The Holidays event. Visit the announcement post to get involved in other fun giveaways, get shopping ideas from our Gift Guide, and learn how you can help children in need this holiday season!

We have always visited Home Depot for our home improvement needs. Whether it was paint or even those electronic rodent repellent thingamajigs that we needed, we always ended up at Home Depot. I love how they have such a huge selection, which can be a good thing and a not so good thing. The huge selection gives you many options, yet it’s so many that it’s hard to decide what to buy! You just want everything! Another thing that I’ve always liked about Home Depot is how friendly their employees are. They are always willing to help you out with whatever you need, and I respect that. For that reason, I’ve become a lifetime shopper of Home Depot!

So to kick things off for our Three Gs For The Holidays event, we’re giving one of you a chance to win a $100 Home Depot gift card! This is the perfect time to start making sure your home is weatherized for the winter. With this Home Depot gift card, you can do just that! Another great idea is to decorate your home for the holidays. You really don’t expect to win that holiday decoration contest this year without a huge Santa on a chopper blowup, do you? I didn’t think so!

(Also, for those who partake in Black Friday shopping, Home Depot has recently published their Black Friday ad. Click here to check out the deals they are offering this year.)

How To Enter

There are a total of 5 ways you can enter this giveaway, and everyone is eligible! You can enter using as many methods listed below as you’d like. Each method of entry is worth 1 entry. Here is how you can enter:

1. Visit Home Depot’s holiday decorations section, then come back and leave a comment letting us know what item(s) you’re interested in buying for your home.

2. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by leaving a direct link to your post.

3. Put our Three Gs For The Holidays button in your blog’s sidebar. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this.

<a href="http://mommydaddyblog.com/2008/11/18/three-gs-for-the-holidays" title="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/sheeniebabie/mdbholidaygiftguidebutton.gif" border="0" alt="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" title="Win A $100 Home Depot Gift Card! mommydaddyblog.com" /></a>

4. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter. You can write whatever you’d like or you can copy and paste the text provided by us below. Be sure to let us know in the comments that you’ve done this by including a direct link to your tweet.

5. Subscribe to receive e-mail updates so we can keep you updated on future happenings here at Mommy Daddy Blog. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe. Be sure to let us know that you’ve done this (or if you are already subscribed to receive e-mail updates from us) in the comments using the same e-mail address you subscribed with.

This giveaway, along with all other Three Gs For The Holidays giveaways, will end on December 8th!

We’d like to help out those who are less fortunate this holiday season, so we’ll be donating some toys to Toys For Tots! But, since there’s only so much we can do, we encourage you to make a donation also. You can donate toys or cash to Toys For Tots, at your nearest Toys For Tots drop-off location. You can also donate a cash gift online via credit/debit card by visiting the Toys For Tots Online Donation page. With your help, there’s no limit to the amount of smiles we can put on childrens’ faces this year!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these related posts:

• The Secret Mountain Children’s Books Review
• Win A Kush Breast Support!
• Win An isABelt or hisABelt!
• Three Gs For The Holidays!
• Shopping Frugally For The Holidays Or All Year ‘Round

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again! The holiday season has to be our favorite time of the year hands down! There’s just something about the season that makes us all feel warm and fuzzy inside. Have you made your list? Have you checked it twice? Maybe you should, but before you do, come join us in “Three Gs For The Holidays”!

Giveaways For The Holidays

We have over 25 gifts that we will be giving away here on Mommy Daddy Blog. Each giveaway will contain a gift that is included in the Gift Guide below. Beginning tomorrow, we will try to throw at least two giveaways per day, with the last batch being thrown on December 1st (this date may change). ALL giveaways will end on December 8th (this date may change also). We will also post reviews of several additional gifts from our Gift Guide, along with the giveaways.

If you’d like an easy additional entry into all of the giveaways, we simply ask that you place the button for our “Three Gs For The Holidays” event on your blog. We’d like to get the word about “Three Gs For The Holidays” out to many people, and we can definitely do that with your help! Here is the button:

<a href="http://mommydaddyblog.com/2008/11/18/three-gs-for-the-holidays" title="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/sheeniebabie/mdbholidaygiftguidebutton.gif" border="0" alt="Three Gs For The Holidays At Mommy Daddy Blog!" title="Three Gs For The Holidays! mommydaddyblog.com" /></a>

Once you have placed the button on your blog, let us know by mentioning it in your comment for each giveaway that you enter. We will then count that as an additional entry in your name for each of those giveaways. There will be more ways to enter that we’ll mention on each individual giveaway post, so be sure to check those out if you’d like a better chance at winning something. As each giveaway or review is posted, we will put a link below each item in the Gift Guide to its corresponding giveaway or review. The best way to stay notified about all of the giveaways is to subscribe to our feed through RSS or receive e-mail updates by entering your e-mail address below!

Giving To Kids In Need For The Holidays

We’d like to help out those who are less fortunate this holiday season, so we’ll be donating some toys to Toys For Tots! But, since there’s only so much we can do, we encourage you to make a donation also. You can donate toys or cash to Toys For Tots, at your nearest Toys For Tots drop-off location. You can also donate a cash gift online via credit/debit card by visiting the Toys For Tots Online Donation page. With your help, there’s no limit to the amount of smiles we can put on childrens’ faces this year!

Gift Guide For The Holidays

We’ve compiled a holiday gift guide to help give you some gift ideas that could make shopping a little easier to do this year. Below, you will find buttons linking to not only gifts, but companies that provide wonderful holiday gifts. Below each button you will find a link to either a giveaway or a review (as we publish them). By including these giveaways and reviews, we hope to give you insight into how we enjoyed the gifts and we would like to give you a chance to try out the gifts yourself. Most of the items and companies in the Gift Guide are geared towards babies and new parents, since we are new parents ourselves!

Comments will be closed on this post to avoid any confusion! You must comment on each individual giveaway as they are posted!

Holiday Prep!

GIVEAWAY

Baby Apparel!

Baby Fun!

Life Of A New Parent Made Easier!

Stocking Stuffers!

GIVEAWAY			GIVEAWAY

Fun For The Children!

REVIEW

Family Fun!

Gadgets!

Other Lovelies!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these related posts:

• The Secret Mountain Children’s Books Review
• Win A Kush Breast Support!
• Win An isABelt or hisABelt!
• Win A $100 Home Depot Gift Card!
• Shopping Frugally For The Holidays Or All Year ‘Round

Yes I realize it’s Tuesday and that I’m a day late with this. The reason: Jayden is starting to get really good at getting himself around. Sometimes we’ll lay him down on a blanket on the living room floor, and one minute later he’ll be 10 feet away from his original spot. The problem is that our living room is still a bit cluttered from us moving in a few months back. So yesterday we decided to clean it all up and baby proof it. Who knew it would take all day? So I never got around to posting this yesterday which is why I’m posting it today. Below you will a few links to interesting stuff that Mommy and I came across and want to share with you all. Enjoy!

New Moon Girls - A New Social Network For Girls

For 16 years, New Moon Girls has supported, guided and entertained hundreds of thousands of girls. The company recently announced the opening of NewMoonGirls.com, a safe, secure and advertisement-free social network where girls can discover, create their own media, and share it with each other.

The Sak New York Sample Sale

For the handbag lovers that live in or around New York City, The Sak is having a sample sale at the New York showroom on December 11th and 12th. They will have The Sak, Elliott Lucca, and Sakroots bags that will range from $5-$60. More details:

Address: 339 5th Avenue, 2nd Floor
Time: 9AM-5PM
Number to call for more info: 212-329-4500

Two Knobby Tires Kids Guides

Two Knobby Tires, an online store that sells outdoor gear, is providing free printable guides for kids going on outdoor adventures.

The Christmas Registry

The Christmas Registry is a website that enables children to interact with Santa (via Mom/Dad) before Christmas. The main things that children can do are:

* Create and maintain a Christmas wishlist
* See their current rating on Santa’s naughty/nice meter
* Send/receive letters to/from Santa

One of the best things about the site is that there is a little elf (Lucy) who helps guide children through the site - once parents set-up log-in information. This enables children who can navigate a computer (but still may not be able to read) to enjoy the site.

A Christmas Story About Your Child, For Just 1 Cent

Identity Direct is practically giving away the perfect gift for any child this Christmas! For just 1 cent, they will print a 30 page, full color, personalized Christmas story starring your child and Santa. Any child will absolutely love this book that is all about them, with their name, birthday, address, friends’ names, and even your name all included. It is a truly memorable keep sake. Click here to get started on creating a book. This ends on November 24th.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these related posts:

• Monday Mentions #2
• Monday Mentions #1
• May 2008: A Month In Review
• April 2008: A Month In Review
• March 2008: A Month In Review

My friend Lori of A Cowboy’s Wife and My Wooden Spoon was hired by Velveeta to create a casserole recipe of course using Velveeta cheese! Her Shrimp Stroganoff Casserole is to die for! To help promote the Velveeta Casserole Challenge, Velveeta gifted me a Le Creuset casserole dish and a supply of Velveeta cheese to create a casserole recipe of my own. I thought this would be a great way to reopen my food blog, but life has been pretty hectic and time has done nothing but pass me by. There’s no telling when I’ll open my food blog, or get that recipe up, so it’s best that I at least do PART of my assignment! I can’t leave Velveeta or Lori hanging!

We made a MUCH needed run to the grocery store before I finished this post, so I was able to have some fun in the kitchen! We’ve been eating a lot of Chili lately, so I decided to make a chili casserole. My recipe is below!

Chili Squares
Ingredients
3 cups homemade or canned chili (warmed up or cold)
4 cans of Pillsbury Big & Buttery crescent dinner rolls
5 green onions chopped
1/2 loaf of Velveeta cheese (24oz) cut into small pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll 2 cans of crescent dinner rolls. Spread dough across 13×9-inch glass baking dish. Press dough a 1/2 inch up the sides of dish. Spread 2 cups chili on top of the dough. Sprinkle Velveeta cheese and green onions on top of chili. Roll 2 cans of crescent dinner rolls, place on top of cheese and onions. Pinch top layer of dough into the bottom layer of dough. Bake for 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

This is a condensed version. More pictures as well as the chili recipe will be available on my top secret food blog!

If you’d like to try my recipe or have some Velveeta fun, there’s some cheesy lovin’ going around the blogosphere. I’d be spreadin’ the lovin’, but I choose to keep my supply of coupons, sorry! They are definitely coming in handy! So since I’m being stingy with my coupons, I can direct you all to Christine of From Dates To Diapers. She’s giving away 5 Velveeta Loaf Coupons courtesy of Lori! Also, please keep Christine in your thoughts. Her baby sister fell and hurt herself pretty bad last Friday and is now in the hospital.

Oh gosh and how can I forget about the awesome giveaway Lori’s having for a choice of a Kitchenaid Immersion Blender, a Cuisinart Food Processor, or a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer!! I’m crossing my fingers for the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, it will make bread and apple turnover making much easier!

Lori really wants to win the Velveeta Casserole Challenge, so help a hard working momma, blogger, and friend out by voting for her every day! Here’s to Lori! HIP HIP HURRAY!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these related posts:

• Milk That Lasts How Long? Horizon Organic Single Serve!
• YoMommy Yogurt: Fortified For Expecting Moms
• And The Winners Of The Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta Giveaway Are…
• Just A Little Reminder…
• Mmm Mmm Whole Grain Pop-Tarts!