Review: Blessing Banks

Amazingly, it doesn't take much to convince my kids to give. They are very free with their money and I have learned a lot from them in this department. I love the philosophy of the Blessing Bank site:

Handmade keepsakes that teach children "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

Based on Jesus' words in Acts 20:35, Blessing Banks are more than a gift; they are a lifelong lesson in the blessing of giving. They are available in handcrafted hardwoods for boys and girls, hand-painted ceramic and also in a hammered, silver-plated option. And Little Blessing Bags are a convenient way for collected change to bless someone with an immediate need.

 We received one of the Blessing Banks for Girls in oak:

They also sent us one of these little blessing bags:

The wooden banks are VERY well made and a nice display piece - something that we are happy to keep out which promotes more giving because we actually remember we have it. My girls scavenge for loose change all the time to put in the bank and they love to count it. We've decided to save up to buy a goat for a family in need. We're about 1/3 of the way there already...just with pocket change!

The wooden banks are $30 each. The little bags are $2.50 each. They also have a variety of ceramic banks and silver banks at various prices. They offer free shipping on orders over $10.

Overall, a very nice idea and one I'm more than happy to promote.

Disclosure: We received the items you see above for free for the purpose of review. We made our own decision to buy the goat and are in the process of filling up the bank all on our own as well. I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Giveaway: $25 Build-A-Bear Workshop Gift Card!

I'm not going to lie. I fell in love with Build-A-Bear Workshop last summer during the blogger conference they invited me to here in St. Louis. It was a really awesome experience. Whenever I get an email asking me if I want to do another review and giveaway with them, I always jump at the chance.

So here I am, jumping at the chance again. This time they want you to know about their Valentine's Day collection of Love Bugs and Bears. Take a look at these three cuties:

We opted to make the Sweet Dreams Love Bear to bring home with us today. Here you can see her peeking out of her cute Valentine's Day box:

 

And here she is out of the box:

Cute, huh? Just in time for Valentine's Day, Build-A-Bear Workshop wants to give one of you a $25 gift card to give to the love bug in your life! Here's how you can enter:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. Who would you give a Build-A-Bear Workshop gift card to?  That's an automatic entry. 

•  For a second entry, check out Build-A-Bear Workshop and let me know which bear or other animal you might pick out.

• For a third entry, follow @BuildaBear on Twitter and tweet this: #Win a $25 @BuildaBear gift card via @MeganDunham right here: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.

• For a forth entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.

• For a fifth entry, "like" Build-A-Bear Workshop on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG Come back and let me know you did that.

• For a sixth entry, subscribe to the blog, Half-Pint House Handouts or follow it via Google Friend Connect in the right sidebar of that blog.  Note: This is a different blog than the one you are on right now. I'm in the process of switching my reviews and giveaways over there. Sorry for the temporary confusion! Come back and let me know that you did it!   

• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 7th entry!

Open to US residents only. The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Friday, February 4. The winner will be notified that weekend and will need to respond within 48 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make sure your Blogger Profile has your email address available for me to contact you. If it is set to private or otherwise not visible, you will need to add it in with your comment. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

Yay! I'm contacting you now!

Click here to see the rest of this week's giveaways and reviews.

Disclosure: We were given our own $25 gift card to make the cute bear you see in the photos above. If you are in St. Louis, let me suggest you NOT go to the store at the Holy Spirit (aka: West County) Mall on a Saturday afternoon to redeem your card as you will have to get in line behind everyone else in the city who will also probably be there on that day. I speak from experience. Ahem. But the staff were really nice, so do go there another time, just not on Saturday afternoon.  I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Win a Hoover Platinum Collection Carpet Cleaner!

Okay, this is one that *I* want to win, but I'm willing to give you a shot at it too... *grin*

Giveaway: Valentine's Pillow Pet

Say it with me: It's a pillow...AND a pet! *giggle* You've seen these all over the place, but have you seen the Valentine's themed versions of the Pillow Pets? Just in time for V-Day, they have:

Luv Pup and Luv Kitty:

And here's proof about how cuddly and lovable these critters really are (and how cuddly and lovable the other critter in this photo really is too...):

She loves it. So it's a bit disappointing that she's not the one who gets it - we're wrapping it up and giving it to my soon-to-be 9yo for her birthday next Saturday! She's going to love it too, though, because she's been begging for a Pillow Pet for a while now.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, you can win your choice of the Luv Pup or Luv Kitty for your own cuddly critter to enjoy!

Here's how to enter:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. Who would you give a Valentine's Day Pillow Pet to?  That's an automatic entry. 

•  For a second entry, check out My Pillow Pets and let me know which pet looks interesting to you.

• For a third entry, tweet this: Win a Valentine's Pillow Pet Puppy or Kitty via @MeganDunham right here: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.

• For a forth entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.

• For a fifth entry, "like" My Pillow Pets on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG Come back and let me know you did that.

• For a sixth entry, subscribe to the blog, Half-Pint House Handouts or follow it via Google Friend Connect in the right sidebar of that blog.  Note: This is a different blog than the one you are on right now. I'm in the process of switching my reviews and giveaways over there. Sorry for the temporary confusion! Come back and let me know that you did it!   

• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 7th entry!

Open to US residents only. The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Friday, February 4. The winner will be notified that weekend and will need to respond within 48 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make sure your Blogger Profile has your email address available for me to contact you. If it is set to private or otherwise not visible, you will need to add it in with your comment. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

I'm contacting you now!

Click here to see the rest of this week's giveaways and reviews.

Disclosure: We were given the Luv Kitty you see above for the purpose of review. I haven't really been that interested in Pillow Pets before this, but it really is cute and cuddly and I know my girlie is going to love it!  I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies End of January Sale!

The kids' CDs of Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame are all on sale through the end of January. You can get Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies for only $10. That price includes shipping AND a digital download. It also applies to a Slugs & Bugs Christmas CD. Sweet! You can also just get the digital download for only $8, but for the extra $2, why not go for the actual CD? I love liner notes...

One of my girls was given this CD as a birthday gift a few years ago and it's really a lot of fun.

Giveaway (St. Louis Only): Windy City Novelties

We don't do friend birthday parties for all of our kids every year - too much expense and really, too much of everything when you do that. But for my oldest, who turned 12 on December 29, she hadn't had a friend birthday party since she turned 8, so it was time. But unfortunately for her, most people are not available on December 29, so we waited until January 17 to actually have the party. When Windy City Novelties offered me a few fun things from their shop, we decided to plan the party around those items. We received this Daisy Bead Curtain:

We also got one of these retro flower table runners:

And this giant tube of glow bracelets:

Using these items I picked up a few extra things like the groovy plates and napkins and got lucky when Sam's Club sold some vintage cans of Pepsi and Mountain Dew that weekend. Score!

 

Now then, for the review itself: The party was a raging success and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We had Groupons for a local vintage bowling alley (the kind that only has 8 lanes and you have to keep score yourself) and that was super fun. The girls game dressed for the occasion and we dabbled with tie-dye that day too. Fun times.

The table runner was super cute and the glow sticks made an awesome addition to their take home treats. I also included these smiley face cookies. The bead curtain, however, was not quiet as simple as taking out of the box and hanging it. The box claims it's "ready to hang" but I present you with this:

 Yep. It was a big tangled mess that I spent waaayyy too much time getting undone. I won't even tell you how much time I spent trying to untangle this goofiness. I finally cut a lot of it apart and tried to tie it together - this chain doesn't like to be tied. Anyway, what I was sort of hoping would be something cute we could hang in her room after the party is now back in a tangled heap after we took it down that day. But that's okay.

The glow sticks were my surprise treat that I didn't really even know I would like the best. We've purchased cheap glow sticks from Target before and won't make that mistake again - they spring leaks all the time. These were nice, though, and they came with a bunch of connectors so you could make necklaces out of them. My girls have enjoyed using these glow sticks a lot over the past weeks.

The table runner was very nice too and we rolled it back up to use again another time.

So, as you can see, what they sell is novelties - stuff that is extra. But sometimes a party just needs that little extra to give it some pizazz. If I'm in the market for this kind of thing in the future, I will definitely check them out first to see if they have what I need. I'll just avoid the bead curtains. *wink*

They also sent me something to giveaway to one of you. As I don't have a shipping budget, I have to keep this one local, so if you are someone I see in St. Louis, please feel free to enter to win this Colour Changing Cube Clock:

 Groovy, huh? Here's how to enter:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. Do you have a favorite place for party supplies?  That's an automatic entry. 

•  For a second entry, check out Windy City Novelties and let me know something that looks interesting to you.

• For a third entry, tweet this: Win a treat from Windy City Novelties right here: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.

• For a forth entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.

• For a fifth entry, "like" Windy City Novelties on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG Come back and let me know you did that.

• For a sixth entry, subscribe to this blog, St. Louis, Seminary Style. Come back and let me know that you did it! 

• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 7th entry!

The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Friday, February 4. The winner will be notified that weekend and will need to respond within 48 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make your Blogger Profile has your email address available for me to contact you. If it is set to private or otherwise not visible, you will need to add it in with your comment. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

Congrats! I'm contacting you now!

Click here to see the rest of this week's giveaways and reviews.

Disclosure: We were given the party supplies mentioned in this post for the purpose of review. I was honest when I said the table runner and glow sticks were awesome and equally honest when I said the daisy flower curtain was a pain in the neck, though a cute one.  I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Review: Huggable Teddy Bears

Now *this* is what I call a huggable teddy bear. Seriously. I'm of the opinion that stuffed animals are a dime a dozen and I don't really choose to buy many (any) for my kids, but don't mind if they keep ones they are given. But I've been around the teddy bear block long enough to know that not all bears are created equal.

There are definite quality differences in the way various bears are made. And this guy? Well, he's a $40 bear. That's a bit on the high end in my estimation, but he's certainly a cute, soft, squishy bear and my girls love him. Well, the ones who have seen him love him. He's actually about to be wrapped up and presented to a certain soon-to-be-9-year-old next week. She's going to LOVE him.

The Huggable Teddy Bears website has a nice variety of Valentine's Day Bears and other Valentine's gift options as well.

I really liked how they put together some of their gift baskets. This Fun and Games Gift Basket would make any kid's day, don't you think?

The service was great and the shipping was super fast from the time my order was received. If you needed a quality gift to send to someone this would be a good site to consider. That's my honest opinion.

Disclosure: I received the bear you see in the photo above. I wasn't sure we needed another bear, but when I pulled him out of the box, I knew. He's a keeper.  I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Giveaway: Izzy's Pop Star Plan by Alex Marestaing

Izzy's Popstar Plan by Alex Marestaing is the first in a series of "devotional novels" being developed and targeted to tween girls.

The book is presented in sort of bloggish form, set up like a devotional, but read like a novel. It is being billed as a "cutting edge new product which will meet girls where they are, and girls will love following Izzy on her incredible adventure. Plus, they'll get daily spiritual food to equip them on their own incredible adventure with God."

At the risk of sounding critical here, I'm just going to say it. This book is screaming out "Hannah Montana for Christians!" I'm not a big Hannah Montana fan. There. I've said it.

You can see a sample chapter here.

Here's the deal. I know I'm in the minority on this. I know *most* moms of tweens will be thrilled to find this resource for their kids. And I also know this: some kids will really be encouraged by this book and hopefully drawn closer to the Lord. I hope that's the case.

I'm just really leary of Christian culture trying to imitate pop culture so much that sometimes we can't tell the difference. I'm not a culture-dodger by any means. But let's not check our discernment at the door, please.

Anyway. That's my $0.02 and that may not be worth much to you. In fact, you might want to win a copy to see for yourself. Be my guest. Here's how you can enter:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. What do you think about the Christian pop star theme for tweens?  That's an automatic entry.

• For a second entry, follow @TommyNelson on Twitter and  tweet this: You can win a tween girls devotional book from @TommyNelson right here: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.

• For a third entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.

• For a fourth entry, "like" Tommy Nelson on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG Come back and let me know you did that.

• For a fifth entry, subscribe to this blog, St. Louis, Seminary Style. Come back and let me know that you did it! 

• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 6th entry!

The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Friday, February 4. The winner will be notified that weekend and will need to respond within 48 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make your Blogger Profile has your email address available for me to contact you. If it is set to private or otherwise not visible, you will need to add it in with your comment. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

Congrats! I'm contacting you now!

Click here to see the rest of this week's giveaways and reviews.

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book for the purpose of review. I think I made it pretty clear in my review that I'm not that impressed. But I didn't want my own thoughts to keep you from forming yours, thus I'm still offering the giveaway.  I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Giveaway: Precious Moments Storybook Bible

Tommy Nelson is kicking off 2011 with another storybook Bible option for you. This one is the Precious Moments Storybook Bible by Sam Butcher.

I used to be a Precious Moments junkie. I collected all the figures I could talk someone into giving me and distinctly remember buying one for myself the first summer I landed a job during high school.

Confession: I still have a couple of these figures. I still think they are kind of cute.

My 7yo really enjoys reading this storybook Bible and has picked it up on her own several times already. Check out the flipbook below to get a better look:

Open publication - Free publishing - More tommy nelson

There you have it! The Precious Moments Storybook Bible.

If you already have a copy of this, be sure to snap a photo of your child enjoying it and upload it to the Tommy Nelson Facebook page. Everyone who does that is entered to win a $25 Thomas Nelson gift card!

But now you can enter to win your very own copy. Here's how:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. Are you a closet Precious Moments fan?  That's an automatic entry.

• For a second entry, follow @TommyNelson on Twitter and  tweet this: You can win the Precious Moment Storybook Bible via @TommyNelson and @MeganDunham right here: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG! - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.

• For a third entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.

• For a fourth entry, "like" Tommy Nelson on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG Come back and let me know you did that.

• For a fifth entry, subscribe to this blog, St. Louis, Seminary Style. Come back and let me know that you did it! 

• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 6th entry!

The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Friday, February 4. The winner will be notified that weekend and will need to respond within 48 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make your Blogger Profile has your email address available for me to contact you. If it is set to private or otherwise not visible, you will need to add it in with your comment. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

Congrats! I'm contacting you now!

Click here to see the rest of this week's giveaways and reviews.

Disclosure: We received a copy of this Precious Moments Storybook Bible for the purpose of review and it has become my 7yo's school reader this week. She loves reading it and I love her reading, so win-win. I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

St. Louis Giveaway: Gnomeo & Juliet Prize Pack!

Gnomeo & Juliet opens in theaters nationwide on February 11. In an nutshell, it's a fresh retelling of Romeo & Juliet as told by garden gnomes set to the music of Elton John. For more info, check out the Gnomeo & Juliet website.

For those of you here in the St. Louis area, I have a sweet giveaway opportunity for you! Included in the giveaway is:

• A family four pack of passes to the advance screening of the film on Saturday, February 5 at 10am at the Great Escape Gravois Bluffs Cinema

• Two Gnomeo & Juliet kids t-shirts and stocking caps

Because this screening is only 9 days away, this giveaway will close on Monday, January 31. The winner will need to respond PRONTO so the rep can get your tickets mailed to you in time for the screening on the 5th.

Ready to enter? Here's how to get your name in the proverbial hat:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. Share why you'd like to win the movie passes.  That's an automatic entry.

• For a second entry, Check out the Gnomeo & Juliet website and learn something new. Come back and let me know what you discovered.

• For a third entry,  tweet this: #STLouis Familes! Win a 4-pack of tickets to see Gnomeo & Juliet via @MeganDunham right here: http://bit.ly/g4IXpG #STL! - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.

• For a fourth entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway:  http://bit.ly/g4IXpG. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.

• For a fifth entry, "like" Gnomeo & Juliet on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway:  http://bit.ly/g4IXpG Come back and let me know you did that.

• For a sixth entry, subscribe to this blog, St. Louis, Seminary Style. Come back and let me know that you did it! 

• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 7th entry!

This giveaway is only open to someone who can come to St. Louis on February 5 (so sorry!) The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Monday, January 31. The winner will be notified that evening and will need to respond within 24 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make your email address available for me to contact you. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

I just emailed you!

Click here to see the rest of this week's giveaways and reviews.

Disclosure: You know what I know about this movie. I haven't seen it yet either, but my family will also be at the February 5 screening here in St. Louis. Incidentally, this is also Craig's 40th birthday and K's 9 birthday, so we'll be living it up that day with the garden gnomes. I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Baffin Sponge Clog for Kids REI Closeout

REI has these Baffin Sponge Clogs in a variety of colors on sale for $5.43. They are normally $13. And if you choose the option to pick them up at REI, the shipping is free!

Thanks, Kristen, for the tip!

Could You Use a Personal Valet?

 I know I could.




Cisco Valet wants to make someone’s life easier with the “Your Valet Life” contest where one lucky winner will win a personal assistant for six months! Imagine zipping around the house with your iPad, checking email while your personal valet runs your errands, schedules appointments and organizes your kitchen cupboards. Look for Valet on the Nate Berkus Show January 26 and January 28!

For contest details, visit their Facebook. It’s simple to enter:

1. Create a fun video explaining why you need a personal assistant in your life

2. Head to our Facebook Page by going to http://facebook.com/ciscovalet and click on the ENTER THE CONTEST button to upload your video

3. Share your video and ask your friends to vote for you.

Everyone who enters a video is automatically entered into a weekly drawing to win a Cisco Valet Plus and one lucky winner will receive a personal assistant for six months! The contest runs from January 26 – February 28.

You can also follow Cisco Valet on Twitter  and enter the “Valet-A-Day” Cisco Valet giveaway! They’ll be giving away a Cisco Valet every day from now until Feb. 18!

My Savvy Source: Bye-Bye Monster

My Savvy Source is another group-powered deal service, but this one adds a twist. It features primarily things for families/kids and donates 5% of all sales to a preschool fund for children in need.

 Today's national deal is for a Bye-Bye Monster. The deal costs $10 for a $20 value. And if you "like" the deal at the top of the screen they knock another dollar off, so you can get the deal for $9. Nice!

The Details

• Help your child deal with nighttime fears with Bye Bye Monster's award-winning toys and books
• Coupon can be redeemed towards any product on the website such as the Bye Bye Monster story book, Monster Repellent, and Barley the Friendly Monster stuffed animal
• All products are 100% non-toxic and kid-safe
• You can purchase more than one! To purchase multiple coupons, you must buy each one in a separate transaction
• Coupon must be redeemed for use by February 1, 2011!!!
• How Savvy Savings work

 The Fine Print

Coupon must be redeemed for use by February 1, 2011. A coupon cannot be combined with any other gift certificates, third party certificates, coupons or promotions, unless otherwise specified by merchant. The coupon is of no cash value. Coupon is transferable and can be purchased as a gift.

Review: Personalized Tooth Fairy Box

It's probably no big surprise that we didn't teach our kids to believe in the tooth fairy. Nope. But that doesn't mean we don't still have fun with them when they lose their teeth. Indeed, losing a tooth really is a rite of passage and our kids enjoy putting said tooth under their pillow in hopes that the "Tooth Fairy Mama" will come and reward them for pulling random things out of their mouths. *giggle*

I remember having a fun pillow specifically for the purpose of putting my teeth in when I was little and I always thought I'd do something clever and creative for my own kids when the time came. Alas, I never did. And I usually forget to put the $1 under their pillow too which leads to a really funny game of, "Now where DID that goofy tooth fairy mama leave your dollar?" game the next morning.

At least my kids understand it's just my goofiness and not any lack of interest in their big event. Or something.

Anyway, when contacted by the Baby Box people about receiving one of their sweet tooth boxes for one of my girls I was thrilled. I jumped the gun, though, and gave them the name of all of my kids and let them choose. They chose my oldest who probably isn't going to lose many more teeth. But that's okay, she still likes the box. It looks just like this only with her name:

Pretty sweet, huh? These personalized tooth fairy boxes cost $24 each. They also have personalized tooth fairy dolls, sterling silver tooth fairy boxes, and a tooth fairy pillow. All of their items are very sweet and would make very nice (VERY nice) baby shower gifts or special occasion gifts.  I think the box we received is very sweet. I wish I'd made sure they had put my youngest daughter's name on it, though, because then we would have gotten some real use out of it! Ah, well. It's a keepsake for my oldest.

Disclosure: I received one of these personalized tooth fairy boxes for the purpose of review. It's really sweet. I'm thinking M12 might still have another tooth or two to lose, so we might get a little use out of it after all. *grin* I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Free Reading Program for Kids

Are you familiar with the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons? I've used it with two of my kids and really think it's a great resource.

The authors of this book have also created a computer program, Funnix, based on the book. This program usually runs about $250, but for the month of January it's absolutely FREE.

Even if you aren't sure it's the right fit for your child, for the price of FREE, you can definitely try it out!

Giveaway: Natural Ant Killers, Organic Insecticides

Okay, here's the deal with this one: we have a natural pest killer right now and that is our 5 degree weather and heap of snow outside. We haven't had any pests to deal with in a few months, but it's Missouri and spring is on the way. The bugs...lo, they will return. And when they do, I'm looking forward to trying out some of our new organic insecticides to see how they work against the things that make us go "Eeeekkkk!"

I've tried a variety of ant killers before, so I'm really interested to see how this natural ant killer does. And palmetto bugs? Ewww. That's a nice way of saying cockroaches and stuff. I hate those. We don't have any here, but if we did I might move. Kidding. Sort of.

Here's what EcoSmart has to say about themselves:
EcoSMART Technologies, the world leader in safe pesticide solutions, is a venture-backed company with patented technology and a world-class management team. Our mission is to create the world’s safest, most effective pesticides based on natural ingredients. We have 15 years of scientific research and a wealth of patents behind us. We make the only 100% safe insecticide that is proven to work. We offer the only complete line of EPA exempt pesticides sold in the US.

EcoSmart has four different value bundles available:

• Safe Home Value Bundle
• Safe Plant & Garden Value Bundle
• Safe Picnic Value Bundle
• Safe Patio Value Bundle

So. Now you have the chance to win one of these value bundles for your very own fight against nature with that time returns. And you know it's going to...

Here's how to enter:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. Share why you want or need the value bundle  That's an automatic entry.

• For a second entry, Check out the EcoSmart website and learn something new. Come back and let me know what you discovered.
•  
• For a third entry,  tweet this: Win a value bundle of organic insecticides via #EcoSmart and @MeganDunham right here: http://bit.ly/dYPpur - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.
•  
• For a fourth entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway: http://bit.ly/dYPpur. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.
•  
• For a fifth entry, "like" EcoSmart on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway: http://bit.ly/dYPpur Come back and let me know you did that.
•  
• For a sixth entry, subscribe to this blog, St. Louis, Seminary Style. Come back and let me know that you did it! 
•  
• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 7th entry!

This giveaway is only open to the US, excluding Alaska and Hawaii (so sorry!) The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Friday, January 28. The winner will be notified over the weekend and will need to respond within 48 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make your email address available for me to contact you. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

Congrats! I'm contacting you now!

Click here to see the rest of this week's giveaways and reviews.

Disclosure: I received my own safe home value bundle for the purpose of review. So once those critters come back, WATCH OUT! I'm going to go all Clark Griswold on them, organic style. I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Giveaway: I Built It! Game

Now here's an interesting game concept I hadn't heard of before: build your own version of the classics. Check out these games:


I Built it! Memory Match & Tic Tac Toe

Instantly Build your own customized game of Memory Match and Tic Tac Toe that can change as often as your Childs imagination! read more!


I Built it! Checkers

Instantly Build your own customized checker set that can change as often as your imagination! read more!


I Built it! Jumbo Chess

Instantly customize these amazing chess sets! These familiar yet uniquely shaped chess pieces easily hold your favorite pictures. read more!





The main idea of these games is that you can customize them any way you want. You can put in actual pictures of people you know, or use baseball cards or magazine pictures, or color templates they provide for you - they sky is really the limit!

The jumbo chess game really is jumbo. I was a little surprised by the plastic nature of the pieces, but got over that pretty fast. It is a BIG game. Each piece will hold a playing card sized piece of paper which really would make this perfect for making a specialized chess baseball team or something like that.

I love the idea of putting in sets of faces your child will recognize for the memory game - such a neat idea!

We ended up sending the Chess game home with my parents so our kids could play it when we go to their house. I'm a little sad now that we did that because my 10yo has asked for it a couple of times since then. Ah well, it will be fresh and fun when we go to Oklahoma eventually.

Anyway, a neat concept. Now one of you can win your choice of the Memory Match or the Checkers game. Sweet!

Here's how to enter:

• Simply leave any comment on this post. Do you have a favorite game to play with your family?  That's an automatic entry.
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• For a second entry, Check out the I Built It website and discover something unique about what they do. Come back and let me know what you thought.
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• For a third entry, tweet this: Win an "I Built It" Memory Match or Checkers game via @MeganDunham right here: http://bit.ly/dYPpur - Come back and leave an extra comment letting me know you did that.
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• For a fourth entry, mention this contest on your facebook wall and include the link to this giveaway: http://bit.ly/dYPpur. Come back and leave another comment for that one too.
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• For a fifth entry, "like" I Built It on Facebook and mention you entered this contest on their wall, including this link to the giveaway: http://bit.ly/dYPpur Come back and let me know you did that.
•  
• For a sixth entry, subscribe to this blog, St. Louis, Seminary Style. Come back and let me know that you did it! 
•  
• Go back to my landing page for this week's giveaways and reviews. Choose one of my "review only" posts to leave a comment on and then come back saying you did that. Presto! A 7th entry!

The winner will be selected by Random.org. This contest will close on Friday, January 28. The winner will be notified over the weekend and will need to respond within 48 hours or risk forfeiting the prize to the next in line.  IMPORTANT: You must make your email address available for me to contact you. If I can't contact you, I will choose another winner. It's happened before.

Congrats to:

Congrats! I'm contacting you now!

Disclosure: We received one of each of the games you see above for the purpose of review. My thoughts are completely my own.  I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.