From Melissa's Desk

Creativity For Kids Review

My children adore fun art projects, but being a person who completely lacks artistic abilities myself, I don't always provide them with enough opportunities.

So, when I was give the opportunity to review Creativity for Kids' new Do Art Pottery Studio, I was thrilled.

My kiddos squealed with delight at the first sight of the colorful box. They couldn't wait to get it open and set up.

Here's what we got:

• pottery wheel w/foot pedal (8 7/8"w x 3"h x 9 7/8"d)
• 3lbs. of synthetic air dry clay
• trimming cord w/handles
• 6 piece sculpting tool set
• white base paint
• opaque acrylic paints
• transparent glaze paints
• 2 paint brushes
• sponge
• large table cover
• artists apron

Do Art Pottery Studio introduces children to the art and history of hand sculpted pottery. From pinch pots to clay figurines, this pottery wheel set will teach and inspire. There is also a fully illustrated instruction booklet that will provide young artists with an exceptional introduction to the art and craft of hand thrown pottery. The wheel surface is grooved which helps to hold the clay firmly and keeps it centered. The foot pedal operation means no on/off switch to worry about, so the batteries last a long time.

My daughter spent an hour or more working on her piece of pottery. She had so much fun with it. Take a look...

Making sure that the clay is centered on the wheel is the very important first step to ensure you don't have a lopsided piece of art.

Your hands WILL get messy, but like most things, messy is part of the fun!

This a a fabulous product that I would recommend to anyone wanting to spice up their children's craft time.

Thanks to Mom Fuse for this review opportunity.

Math Whizz Tutoring Plus+ Review

Math-Whizz® Tutoring Plus is a personalised math tutor that gives your child engaging new ways of learning, with award-winning content and interactive animations to teach math concepts and challenging questions to test them.

Both of my kiddos got a chance to test their math skills with Math-Whizz Tutoring Plus and we were not disappointed. Their teaching methods are geared toward each child's own abilities letting them progress at their own pace. And being a homeschool mom, I'm all about letting my little ones work at their own pace.

Math-Whizz® Tutoring Plus helps your child to enjoy math and motivates them through customizable learning environments, games, toys and fun adventure activities to continue using this service.

That’s not all. You also get live parent reports to monitor and control your child’s progress and get involved in their learning plan.

How it Works:

• Math-Whizz is an interactive online personal tutor. It starts at your child's ability level, rather than age. This helps students improve at their own pace.
• Lessons are delivered in the form of interactive animations that make math fun. This helps children develop confidence and start enjoying math. Your child can try FREE Sample Exercises, here.
• When they’re doing well, Math-Whizz offers fun online rewards and accelerates the pace of learning.
• If they have difficulty, Math-Whizz guides them in the right direction by providing further instruction.

What Results Can You Expect:

Children who use Math-Whizz Tutoring Plus for 90 minutes each week for a year improve their math age, on average, by TWO years.

You can get measurable results with Math-Whizz, results that you can track with a parent reporting console. Many customers have told us that their childrens' confidence in math improved dramatically, with results in the classroom.

They are so confident that Math-Whizz Tutoring Plus will help your child that they guarantee at least one year of progress in math age in the first year of usage OR YOUR MONEY BACK, provided your child uses Math-Whizz Tutoring+ as advised*.

Click below to view a demo:

 

Or

Click here for sample lessons:

 

We really enjoyed the time we've spent using Math-Whizz Tutoring Plus. If your children could use a little extra help with their math skills, I recommend you give Math-Whizz a try. You won't be sorry you did!

Thanks to Mom Fuse for this review opportunity.

Vaseline Clinical Therapy

I despise my seemingly endless dry skin issues. I've tried innumerable kinds of lotions, but there are only a few I've found to help.

Did you know that healthy skin naturally repairs itself but when skin is not healthy it can’t perform optimally? About 45% of people are concerned about or actively tackling chronic dry skin with symptoms including redness, tightness, cracks, scales, flakes and soreness, skin’s way of signaling proper functioning has broken down.

So I'm not alone in the need for some miracle skin care. And after trying Vaseline Clinical Therapy, I think I've found it.

New  Vaseline Clinical Therapy Lotion helps make skin amazing again by providing instant relief, long lasting protection and sustained recovery to dry skin.

The Vaseline brand is so confident in the effectiveness of new Clinical Therapy Lotion, clinically proven to be 60% more moisturizing than a prescription lotion, it went to one of the harshest skin environments in the world and gave the lotion to one person to try. If she liked it, she could then freely “prescribe” it to anyone else she thought needed it. Take a look...

Be sure to visit Clinical Therapy's YouTube page for more information.

Also, when you visit prescribethenation.com, you’ll see who Petal “prescribed” and how the chain has spread throughout Kodiak in webisode features. While you are there, take advantage of the Prescribe the Nation Sweepstakes, where you can win an 8-day Alaska adventure for four! Plus, five lucky people will win 2 $100 Spafinders gift certificates weekly!  The first 45,000 to enter will receive TWO FREE SAMPLES of Vaseline® Clinical Therapy™ lotion to share with someone they love. Users can also prescribe to a friend via email “postcard”.

This really is a fabulous skin care product and now it's my turn to prescribe it to YOU!

Win it:

I was given 5 bottles to prescribe to family and friends. I've already shared 3 of those bottles with people I felt could benefit from Vaseline Clinical Therapy's awesomeness. So I still have 2 bottles to share. Who better to share with that my internet buddies, right?

Just leave a comment telling me your dry skin issue. This giveaway ends January 23rd @ 10:00pm EST. Two winners will be drawn randomly and will have 3 days to claim your prize.

You can earn extra entries by (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Blogging about this contest and linking back to From Melissa's Desk and Vaseline Clinical Therapy.
2. Subscribe in a reader.
3. Twitter this (leave me your twitter name)
4. Add my button to your sidebar

Good luck!

Thanks to Family Review Network for this review opportunity.

Cleatskins

My son is in love with his football cleats. He'd would wear them everywhere if I'd let him, but as everyone knows wearing cleats on the street will ruin them quickly.

Then along came Cleatskins, an innovative new product that easily converts cleats to street shoes. Cleatskins were designed to address the needs of today's sport-minded family who regularly engage in soccer, football, baseball, golf, and other outdoor sports.

We really love the ease of these and plan on using them for future sports. I heartily recommend you give them a try also. You can find out where to buy them here.

Check out the great Cleatskins video below...

This review was brought to you by Mom Fuse.

What's Up?

Okay, so, this whole new year thing is in full swing. All the Christmas decorations have been packed away and I'm left wondering if that blur really was Christmas. But, oh yes, I have the mess to prove it. There are still toys and boxes and just plain stuff lurking in every corner.

I spent New Year's Eve night alone. Yes, that's right. I said alone. Both of my children were spending the night with friends and Hubby was in bed just off from a 12 hour shift of working while in the midst of a stomach virus (he doesn't miss work, y'all). So there I sat on the couch with my comfy blanket, the remote and some popcorn. Rather uneventful compared to some of my past New Year's Eves (not that I've been wild or anything; I don't do wild). Both of my kiddos called me at midnight to wish me a Happy New Year and blow kisses over the phone. And that was that.

Yesterday, I spent the entire day doing laundry even though a good friend of mine warned me of an old wives tale that says washing clothes on New Years meant I was washing a loved ones life away. Well, it was either do the washing or be eaten by it. Good thing I'm not superstitious cause that pile was HUGE! Then my MIL fixed us the traditional New Year's Day dinner, which was totally yummy and I made a couple of New Years resolutions. One of which includes the Wii Fit and my joining up with the Wii Fit Mommies and the other which takes away my life line. Will I survive? Stay tuned and see.

Today I took the kids to the movies. We saw Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. I just love that guy. I know he can be a little crude, but he's also freakin' hilarious in a totally dumb way. It was a cute movie with lots of laughs. I actually found myself laughing a the little kid in front of us more than the movie. His little laugh was contagious.

Now I'm home relaxing by the fireplace and enjoying my comfy blanket some more. And that's what I've been up to. What's up with you?

LoYo! The game where everyone shouts...

I live in a family of gamers. We love to play, play, play. So we were all thrilled to try out LoYo!

About the Game:

LoYo!™ has all the elements of a classic – Strategy, Risk, Memorization and Luck! But most of all, it is FUN and easy to learn! The object of the game is to have the lowest score at the end of six rounds of play. Try to get LoYo! cards and avoid the dreaded OH NO! cards. Think you have the lowest score?, then shout “LoYo!”… But watch out! Someone may catch you and double your score! Feel like giving up? Don’t worry, there’s LoYo! Catch-Up™.

It was the funniest thing to hear my kids trying to shout LoYo! They would get so excited when they thought they had the lowest score that they would shout all sorts of variations...NoYo!...SoLo!...YoNo!...etc.

It really is a great family game that's easy but lots of fun!

This review is brought to you by Mom Fuse.

Curse of the Bone Pirates

I was so excited to receive my copy of Curse of the Bone Pirates. We are always looking for a good clean kid-friendly books that we can read aloud. And this book did not disappoint. It's definitely a great juvenile chapter book will appeal to both boys and girls.

The story is about three friends who must face challenges and solve mysteries in adventure to save Nui Island.

More about the book :

An evil force is destroying the natural wonders of Nui Island, and it’s up to three new friends to solve the mystery. When Big B is dragged from his comfortable life and close friends in Chicago by his grandfather’s mysterious affliction, he’s sure he’s going to have the worst summer ever. But soon after arriving in the tropical paradise of Nui Island, he is caught in a web of danger and intrigue. The Maemae reef is dying, his grandfather’s brilliant mind has been infected and creepy Island legends are coming to life. Big B and his new friends, Sam and Nalu, rely on wit, courage and strength to unravel Nui’s ancient mysteries. What they uncover will help them save the Island, restore his grandfather’s soul, and break the curse of the Bone Pirates. With a captivating plot, fascinating characters and an important ecological message, Curse of the Bone Pirates: Nui Island Eco-Logical Adventures will haunt and delight young readers.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Trust me, it is. You can download an excerpt here, but I urge you to order a copy since 50% of the profits go to charities that empower kids to improve physical, social, and environmental health.

This review is brought to you by Family Review Network.

Have a Fine 2009!!!

Regeneration Anti-Aging Organic Whole Food Bars

Any parent knows the daily stresses of everyday life can age you rapidly. Especially if you don't take time to eat healthy. Unfortunately, today's busy schedules can make eating healthy nearly impossible. Until now, that is...

For a little more than the cost of a venti latte, there is a delicious snack or meal replacement with a whopping 150% of our recommended daily dose of antioxidants that comes from the world's most exotic superfoods like acai and gogi berries, and the mangosteen:

The BRAND NEW delicious Regeneration Anti-Aging Whole Food Bar is the first to contain a powerful combination of fresh, cold-pressed superfoods, high levels of anti-inflammatory nutrients and vitamins, nutritious fruit flavonoids and low-glycemic ingredients – foods that nourish from the inside out giving our body, skin and mind the nutrients needed to slow aging and achieve optimal health. The bar has been independently tested by Brunswick Laboratories (www.brunswicklabs.com) to contain a super high 7,800 ORAC units per bar –The ORAC test is considered the industry standard in determining antioxidant level of foods and nutrients.

I had the chance to sample both flavors of the Regeneration Anti-Aging Whole Food Bars. And I have to admit that we aren't the healthiest eaters, so the taste of these wasn't something we were accustom to. BUT, I do believe that making these part of your diet would definitely be a help to your health.

This review is brought to you by Family Review Network.

Little First Act Discovery Products

Little First Act Discovery products help babies to preschoolers catch the music bug with imaginative, music-learning toys. Designed with the guidance of child development experts, these products spark an interest in music at a young age, guide young children through key learning milestones, and encourage interactive play with parents.

I had the pleasure of trying out one of the Music Learning Pals, Penny Piano. Penny Piano introduces baby to music learning through songs and interactive play. Teaches basic music concepts such as pitch, harmony, rhythm and more. Baby presses Penny’s arms to make authentic piano sounds, and squeezes Penny’s hands and feet for ABCs, 123s, and sing-along songs!

This was perfect for my little 17 month old niece. She loved it, as any child would. Penny Piano is full of sounds, songs and huggable fun! Your little one is sure to love it!