Kaskey Kids review!

I have been so excited to share with you this awesome toy. I was recently introduced to Kaskey Kids through another blogger (Angie from "A Simple Kind Of LIfe"). Kaskey Kids was founded by Bruce and Christy Kaskey in 2001. Christy took her children's love for sports and her brothers love for action figures and created these fun sport action figures. She felt these would be the perfect indoor toy for any boy or girl who loves sports.

The sports action figures which Kaskey Kids offers are Football Guys, College Football, Baseball Guys, Hockey Guys, Soccer Guys and mini packs of football and baseball guys.

Review:



Kaskey Kids offered me a free product to review. I had my son select which sport figures he would like to have. After making a hard decision between all the sports he loves, he selected the "Baseball Guys" figurines. This set included all of these items.

- a Red and a Blue team (24 2 1/2" players)
- 1 umpire
- 1 fully adjustable realistic scoreboard
- 28" x 28" washable felt field
- 10" x 6" x 5" stackable container with attached lid and handle
- (My personal favorite) a list of baseball rules and terms for people like me who don't quite understand the sport. Everything was explained in great detail for children too.

My husband has always been into sports and would love for our son to be as well. My husband has found it a little challenging to explain sports to our action hero toy fanatic 4 year old. It's not that our son doesn't enjoy playing sports, he does. The problem is he has a hard time focusing and listening to their rules. He does however focus well when playing with his action figures. On the other hand my husband has never really been into action figures. I hoped this would be a great toy to involve both of them and their likes.


My son loves his "Baseball Guys" figures. My husband has finally found a toy him and his son can enjoy together. I personally love watching my husband teach my son the rules of baseball, while playing and spending time with my son. This is such a perfect toy for a sport fanatic and his son.

I have been so impressed with this toy and the fact that it also doesn't encourage violence, that I have included it on my "Christmas Gift guide". Kaskey Kids has also agreed to sponsor a giveaway during the "Christmas Gift Guide" event!

Discount:
Kaskey Kids is offering you a discount now and one for the holidays. For those of you who want to get an early start on you Christmas gifts, here is a code you can use now.
Code: "Go Guys" 10% discount

Scrap Coloring!

With the weather changing, parents are beginning to search for indoor activities that their children can enjoy. I feel activities on the computer can be very beneficial for your child, as it can help them develop their own computer skills. I would like to introduce you to Scrap Coloring which also will develop your child's creativity.


SrapColoring.com is a fun interactive coloring book for your child to enjoy. Your child can select from a variety of pictures and themes. Once they select the picture of their choice, they have several bright colors and patterns to work with. Your child can simply select the color they want, then click on the part of the picture where they want the color added. If your child wants to use a pattern, they can select the two colors that they want in the pattern. If your child prefers to color with markers and crayons, you can print a black and white copy from your printer. Another fun feature is the "First Name Coloring Page". Here you or your child can create a custom coloring page with a name or written message. Scrap Coloring can create hours of creative fun for your child.

Scrap Coloring also has some fun features for adults. If you are into digital scrapbooking and or enjoy making backgrounds for your personal websites and pages, Scrap Coloring can create fun colorful patterns with their Pattern Generator. To try this out and for further instruction, you can select the "Pattern" tab on the menu bar.

Melissa and Doug review and giveaway!!! CLOSED

Melissa & Doug was started by none other then Melissa and Doug themselves. The business started in Doug's parents garage, but from customers support the business grew and has since developed into a much larger work space. Since all of their products are for children, safety is very important. Melissa & Doug does continuous testing through various phases of production. They also stand by all of their work and for this reason they leave their signature on each of their products. This year Melissa & Doug are celebrating their 20th year of business with many more to come.



Review:
This last year I had purchased a Melissa & Doug "wooden puzzle" for my son. This has become one of our favorite puzzles. My husband and I were very impressed with the puzzles make and durability. When I learned Melissa & Doug made more then just puzzles, I was really excited. I was even more ecstatic when I was contacted about reviewing a one of their products from the Melissa & Doug "play food sets". I was really interested to compare another one of their products with the puzzle we had at home.

My children were sent the "Pizza Party". Included was six slice-able pieces, a pizza cutter, spatula, and over 50 toppings all organized in an adorable pizza tray. Each of the pieces has velcro attached so that they can be placed on the pizza and stay in place while the children plays with it. This also gives them the chance to be creative and change toppings. My children personally love how the sides of the pizza include velcro. This allows them to use the pizza cutter giving them the feel that they are really slicing the pizza. We all have had a lot of fun making pizza and serving it to each other. Through this review My family and I have grown to trust the Melissa & Doug brand. I am excited to purchase more of from the "Melissa & Doug Food Play"in the future. I would espcially love to purchase this Melissa & Doug "Grocery Cart". I
give this review 5 stars for the durability, entertainment and value.


Be sure to check out "The Sunny Patch" line. This is a new addition to Melissa & Doug products. Here you can find kids gardening tools, watering cans, and other outdoor colorful apparel including rain boots, umbrellas, and more.


Giveaway:
One winner will receive the "Pizza Party" set!

To Enter:
Visit Melissa & Doug. Look around, then come back to leave a comment telling me another one of your favorite items they sale. Be Specific!!!(This is a MUST)

*Extra Entries*
- Sign up for Melissa & Doug's "Treasure Toy Club"
- Grab my button
- Subscribe to "Catch the Drift..."
- Follow me on Twitter
- Become a fan on Facebook
- Blog about this post or Tweet it! (Be sure to leave the link)

Rules:
Be sure to leave a comment telling me what the entry is for. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Also be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you. A winner will be selected randomly using Random.org. They will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen. US ONLY!

Giveaway Ends: Sept. 14, 2009

Ebeanstalk and Plan Toys review...

Recently I was introduced to Ebeanstalk.com. This is a wonderful site that will help you find the right product for your child and their age group. What makes their site so unique is they combine toy experts and moms opinions to find the top educational toys. Ebeanstalk selected me along with several other bloggers to review one of their selected toys. I gave them the age of my two children and was sent the Acticity Bus from Plan Toys who makes not only safe, but green toys as well.

The Review:
I was immediately impressed when I opened up up the box and pulled the bus out. The make was fantastic and I loved the bright colors. Both my children love the Activity bus. Right away my son began playing school with the people and the tiny desk and books that were included. This toy has been great for both of my children's creativity. It is also nice to see them learn to play together. Because of the quality, I know this toy will be around for a long time.


Ebeanstalk is set up so that you can find the perfect toy for your baby or toddler easily. Off on the sidebar you will find everything categorized by age, brand and more. Ebeanstalk also offers a selection of baby gear and accessories for all of you moms to be. You will also want to visit this site when planning your child's birthday as it will help you with favors and lists. They even have a calendar where you can schedule all the important birthday dates you need to purchase gifts for. Ebeanstalk then will aware you days in advance of this date, giving you time to search and purchase the perfect gift for the child.

Visit Ebeanstalk and sign up for their newsletter. This way you can get advice from their experts and hear of their promotional offerings. If you like the Activity Bus from Plan Toys, you may want to become a fan of theirs on facebook.

PlasmaCar Mega Review (The Classy Closet Review Panel)

Finding a toy that the whole family can enjoy isn't always easy. I think most of my frustration comes from my almost 2 year old, because she is too small for any toys with wheels. Her legs are also too small to reach the pedals. This has caused many melt downs in our home and during outside play. She loves shadowing her big brother and doing what ever he can do. Although cute, it can be a pain.

I was super excited when The Classy Closet Review Panel and I were asked to review the PlasmaCar from PlaSmarttoys.com. I had seen PlasmaCar's at local fairs and gift shows. I knew if they could really work how they were suppose to, the PlasmaCar would become a huge hit at our home. To give you a little background on the PlasmaCar, it runs fully on pure energy. There is no need for batteries or fuel. You just sit on the car and natural forces take control. You can find more information regarding how it works at the PlaSmart website


The Review:
It was all fairly easy to put together, although I did put the back wheels on wrong at first. That was caused by readers error. My husband is still giving me a hard time for messing up with such easy directions. Everything was very easy to follow and even had pictures to guide you as you went. There really wasn't much to attach other then the the wheels and steering.


My kids love the PlasmaCar. it is great because my youngest can even get in on the fun. She may not understand that you don't need your feet to move it, but she loves it anyways. My son on the other hand thinks the PlasmaCar is the coolest thing since bikes. He loves riding it down on our sidewalk, which has no slope. He thinks it is a race car or something. It is so simple to use and so kid friendly. All of his friends like to take turns on the PlasmaCar as well. The crazy thing is even I can ride it. For adults it works best on a smooth surface, but it still works. Now our only problem is there is only one PlasmaCar, two kids and two adults. You can see what that leads to ;0)

Buy It:
You can Purchase a PlasmaCar at PlaSmarttoys.com.

Follow PlasmaCar:
To stay up to date with PlasmaCar's and current giveaways you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook or on their blog PlaSmart Inc.

*I would like to thank PlaSmart for having The Classy Closet panel review such a fun product. If you are interested in reading other reviews you can do so at these links.

The Classy Closet
A Busy Mom
A Psych Mommy

Smooshie Review...

Once again One2One Network has hooked me up with another fun review. I would like to start by introducing you to "Smooshie", a lovable toy made to help develop your child's creativity. Smooshie's arms, legs, facial features and other fun accessories have a Velcro attachment which allows the child to remove and mix up to create unique characters.



Review:
I have to be honest, when I first opened up the package I was a little disappointed. For some reason I expected more features to be included. I thought for sure my children would get bored with what the Smooshie offered. To my surprise, I was wrong. Although Smooshie is meant for ages 3 and up, my almost 2 year old was freaking out to have a turn. Since, I have to put time limits on this toy to give them each the chance to play with Smooshie. They love this toy and have so much fun switching the body parts around in odd places. Some examples of this are putting the arms on the head and leaving only one eye on the Smooshie's face.

I was almost scared to even look at how much it would cost to purchase new parts and accessories for their smooshie, but once again I was pleasantly surprised. All of Smooshies accessories are only $1.99. I find this a great price to add to add to my children's imagination. I can even purchase another Smooshie body for $5.99. This is very tempting and could save me from refereeing any more fights.

I am now a fan of smooshie and am even excited about adding to our collection of Smooshie accessories.

Purchase:
You can purchase Smooshie at select JoAnn and Michaels stores nationwide. Smooshies are also now available for purchase online at Joann.com.
At Creativity Inc. you cane look through a full selection of Smoothies and parts.

"I See Me" The World According To..." Review and Giveaway!!! (CLOSED)

I hope you haven't forgotten about "I See Me" personalized childrens books. If you remember last month my son and I took the time to create one of these wonderful books. He recieved a kit in the mail for "The World According to..." book. My son had a great time answering all the questions and drawing the pictures for his book. All the questions brought out my sons fun personality. One of the fill in the blanks included the statement, "I would like to help the world by....". My son said, "taking them to the doctors". I thought it was pretty cute and best part is, I now have this answer and many others saved in this published book.

The published book finally arrived last week and my son was ecstatic. It was so fun going through all the pages and seeing his pictures he worked so hard to create. My plan is to have each of my children create one of these personalized books. It is not only made very well, but will last so that my children can share it with their children. This makes a great gift for any child or parent and an even better keepsake. You can take a virtual tour of "The World According to ..." and other "I See Me" books at their site.



"I See M"e offers a variety of personalized items for your child. You can choose from several books and art pieces. Also, Recently "The World according To..." book was awarded the 2009 iParenting Award.

The Giveaway:
One winner will receive the kit and complete book with postage for "The World According to..." book.

To Enter: You MUST visit "I See Me" and look through their store. Come back here and leave a comment telling me another item that interests you.

*Extra Entries*
(The 7 people who left comments on my first review on I See Me books. I have emailed you and as long as you also include the mandatory entry you receive 2 bonus entries. Yes, I said 2. I am feeling very generous today.)

-Follow "I See Me" on Facebook.
-Grab my button
-Subscribe to "Catch the Drift..."
-Follow me on Twitter
-Blog about this post or Tweet it! (Be sure to leave the link)

Rules: Be sure to leave a comment telling me what the entry is for. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Also be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you. A winner will be selected randomly using Random.org. They will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen. US only!

Giveaway Ends: July 23

Lego Sale!!!

There are several Lego sets on SALE and the lowest price is starting at $0.98.

NOW: $0.98 WAS $3.49


NOW: $9.98 WAS $24.99

And much much more.....
Go to Legos Site and head to Sales and Deals.

The Soft Landing Review and Giveaway! CLOSED!

Can I be honest with you. I am not a fan of fabric bibs. They get so messy and then you have to rinse and scrape all the food off of them before you throw them into the wash. Scrubbing the food off of the fabric can be the biggest pain. Then there is the mess that gets left all over the babies lap.
I have been using the iPlay Waterproof Dots n Stripes Bib found at "The Soft Landing". When my daughter decides to drink out of her cereal bowl,a tricked she learned form her brother, the milk no longer falls all over her lap. The flip pocket catches it all. It is made so that when you fold it around, the bib is left opened so the food can be caught. Cleaning also comes very quick and easy. I take it off my little girl, turn on the water and rinse it off in a matter of seconds. Some of the listed features of this bib are below.

BPA, PVC & Phthalate-free
Made from non-toxic EVA material
Tested for lead safety
Waterproof
Easy to wipe clean
Super soft and comfortable
Flip pocket catches more mess
Velcro fastener at neck

The Soft Landing includes all of your safe and easy use baby products. The owner Alicia Voorhies and her team has deticated their time to find the best and safest non-toxic baby gear. You will find everything you need for your baby on The Soft Landing. You can also visit The Soft Landing Blog to find updates on products, reviews, research and shopping guides.

The Giveaway: Two winners will receive a set of two bibs each.

To Enter: You must visit The Soft Landing and then come back and tell me another product you would love to have, besides the giveaway product.

*Bonus Entries*
-Add my button
-Subscribe to my feed
-Post this giveaway on your blog, twitter or facebook!

Please leave a separate comment for each one and what it is for!

Rules: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to me with their name and address. If this information is not received within 48 hours new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is opened to US only.

Giveaway Ends:March 25

Tactile Baby! CLOSED

Finding the perfect Easter toy to add to your child's basket can be a pain. Espcially with all the lead paint and recall scares. Tactiile Baby was created for this reason. I asked the Colleen, the owner of Tactile Baby, to share some more information about her and her store. This is what she had to say.

"I was born with the DIY gene. Even as a young girl I would go shopping for clothes and instinctively think to myself "I could make that". I learned to sew, knit and embroider when I was still in Elementary School (thanks to my talented grandmother's patient instruction).

Of course when I found out I was pregnant I went about designing a nursery. When I couldn't find any bedding I liked, it was a no brainer, I'd make my own. Well, when I was done with the bedding I moved on to a wall quilt, and a wall mural. When we couldn't find a dresser we liked we, (my husband and I), built one ourselves.

My son's first Christmas, 2007, was marked by a widly publicized lead paint scare. Each day, it seemed to me, a new toy was being recalled. My son was at the age, 9 months, where everything was going into his mouth, so in a effort to ease our concerns my husband and I decided that we would make all his gifts.

I think what makes Tactile Baby unique is that nearly all of the products I produce were first envisioned as things my son would use, and in fact, he does have one of nearly everything in my product line. A mother's care, concern and eye for the tiniest of details goes into every design."



I love the fact that all Tactile products were created by a concerned mother and the toys and items were made around children and their likes. I want to personally thank Colleen for creating such wonderful and safe products.



The Giveaway: Win a your choice of a blue, pink or yellow bunny puzzle.

To Enter: You must visit Tactile Baby, take a look around then come back and tell me another one of your other favorite toys or items.

*Bonus Entries*
-Add the "Etsy Easter Extravaganza" button on your blog
-Post about the "Etsy Easter Extravaganza" on your blog, facebook or Twitter.
-Become a subscriber to "Catch the Drift..."
-Add "Catch the Drift..." button.

Rules and Restrictions: Opened to US or Canada! Winner will have 48 hours to reply, no exceptions. We need to get these prizes ready and out for Easter!

Giveaway Ends: April 3, 2009 early morning!

http://hail2thesnowqueen.blogspot.com/2009/03/etsy-easter-extravaganza-is-here.html

Madison's Craft Nook Giveaway! (CLOSED)

I love Etsy. There are some many talented artist and crafters. Madison's Craft Nook is one of these adorable shops I found. The items at Madison's Craft Nook are mostly geared for children, but adults can't help but fall in love with these adorable softies as well. I would like to add what the creator shared with me.

"I left the factory work behind to be a stay home mother. I have been home for two years with my daughter Madison. She is my inspiration to make softies for all the little ones. I worked so many long hard hours in a factory, being home with my toddler and teenager is so different. The stress is gone and now I'm having fun designing dolls, and caring for my children. My son Jason and my daughter Madison are my biggest critics. Every design I make has to be approved by them before I list it in my shop."



Madison Craft Nook will be giving away Bentley the pig from the Amigurumi softies. Amigurumi is a Japanese art meaning to knit or crochet a stuffed animal. The Madison's Craft Nook owner learned about them on the internet, while trying to teach herself to crochet.



Giveaway: One winner will win this adorable amigurumi pig, Bentley.

How to Enter: Visit Madison's Craft Nook and look around. Come back to Catch the Drift... and tell me your favorite item. (This is a must!)

*For Bonus Entries*
- Post this giveaway on Twitter/Facebook/Blog. (Be sure to tell me where you posted, your profile or URL name so I can double check! Plus you can earn an extra entry for each of these post.)
- Subscribe to my blog (Make sure you activate your subscription!)
- Add my button
- Follow "Catch the Drift...".

Each of these can give you another entry! Please leave a separate comment for each one and what it is for!

Rules: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to me with their name and address. If this information is not received within 48 hours new winner will be chosen.
This giveaway is opened Anyone!!!!

Giveaway Ends: February 27