As a mom of 3 girls, I jumped all over the chance to try out some new accessories for their hair. All 3 of my girls have curly hair, 2 of them being super curly. We often get compliments on their hair, but even with pretty curly hair, I love to find ways to add that special touch. I received 3 headbands from No Slippy Hair Clippy. They were all very cute pieces, but I was very happy with 2 out of 3 of the pieces.

My oldest daughter received the 5" Daisy headwrap. This is the one that I did not care for, but it may have just been the size she received. She received the girls size, when she probalby only need the 12-48 month size. She is very petite, so her head size may have accomdated the todder size best. This head wrap was to big for her head and did not stay on. I eventually just wrapped it around into a ponytail. She was dissapointed she did not get to wear a headband like her sisters. Other then the sizing factor, the headband was of great quality and very nice.

My younger 2 girls received the Large Sheer Pedel Flower headband in white and the 2" flower w/ sequins in pink. I loved these handbands. They stayed put on my busy toddlers heads. The first time they wore them, we went to church. Afterwards, they headbands were still in place. When my girls were babies, I never used headbands. I didn't like the elastic tight feeling that most baby styles have. These were soft, not tight fitting and I would have loved to had these for my girls hair.

If you looking for that special occasional headband or a few for everyday use, then check out the site. The prices are a little more then what I generally would pay for a headband, but you are paying for quality. These will last you and you will not be dissapointed. There are many of their products that I can put on my wishlist.

You've read the reviews, you've sampled it on Amazon, now its your chance to win a copy of Los Lobos Goes Disney. Just in time for the Holidays, perhaps to giveaway or keep for yourself. The CD includes the following Disney songs:

1. Heigh-Ho - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. I Wan'na Be Like You - The Jungle Book
3. Not in Nottingham - Robin Hood
4. The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room - The Enchanted Tiki Room
5. Grim Grinning Ghosts - The Haunted Mansion
6. I Will Go Sailing No More - Toy Story
7. The Ugly Bug Ball - Summer Magic
8. Cruella De Vil - 101 Dalmations
9. Bella Notte - Lady and the Tramp
10. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Song of the South
11. The Bare Necessities - The Jungle Book
12. Oo-De-Lally - Robin Hood
13. When You Wish Upon a Star/It's A Small World

Here at SSDR, we have one copy to give away.

To win: Leave a comment telling us your favorite Disney movie, or ride, or song.

Additional Entries: Leave a second comment telling your favorite Los Lobos song. And for a third entry, sign up to get our RSS via email, a reader or follow us; leave a comment telling which method you used.

Giveaway Closes: December 15, 2009

Giveaway open to US Mailing Addresses ONLY, NO PO BOXES.

">Shadow, The Curious Morgan Horse by Ellen F. Feld could become a new favorite in our house. The book was about a horse, who decided to look for adventure after hearing a story from a chicken on the farm. Along the way, on her adventure she meets different animals in the forest, some who are not so nice to her. After deciding home is the best place to be, she meets another animal who helps her make her way back. In the end, the horse got her adventure and a new friend.

The story was longer then what we read in one sitting, so I wasn't sure my girls would sit and listen to it that long. We usually read a books that are shorter in lenghth for bedtime, so I just made this the only book of the evening. It took a couple of pages to catch their attention fully, but after that they didn't move. The illustrations were done very well. They follow the story perfectly and the kids even made a couple comments on some of the pictures.

Fallout by C. L. Talmadge is the second in the mystic (I think that's the correct word) series Green Stone of Healing. I reviewed the first book, called The Vision, here. I loved them both! I lost sleep; I had quit taking books to bed because I was so tired that I was falling asleep before I'd even read a page. Well, C. L. Talmadge has changed this for me. Or at least these books kept my attention well enough that my tired eyes were able to stay open to read "just one more page". One night, my hubby got called out and was gone all night (he's a fire fighter); I read and read and read thinking he would be home "any minute" so I might as well stay up until he got home. Well, I ended up having to go to sleep because he didn't come home for 19 hours! I couldn't read that long, even if I wanted to!

Fallout is the continuing story of Helen Andros and her developing relationship with her new found father. Their relationship is tumultuous at best. It was near disastrous for more than just the two of them! The community and government system in this work of fiction is intricate and fascinating. I won't give you too many details; you'll have to read the book. However, be sure to read The Vision first and explore the website, Green Stone of Healing. On the website you will find more details about the characters, their connections to each other and about the little mysteries that might not quite make sense when reading the books.

You can purchase The Green Stone of Healing books from here and from Amazon.

A copy of this work was given to me in return for my honest opinion.

Los Lobos new Disney album was a hit in my house. Lately, we have been on a Disney kick because we are planning a big vacation there next year. We always enjoy watching anything Disney, but now having something we can listen to at home and on the go is an extra treat.

Although I haven't owned any of their cds, I loved Los Lobos song "How Far is Heaven". I was very surprised to hear that they had made an album with Disney songs. When I get used to one style of music from a group, its sometimes hard for me to switch gears to a different style. However, I had no problem singing right along with the songs. My girls must have danced to the entire album the first time we listened to it.

I also liked that there were popular songs from Disney movies, as well as some that are less known. It gives a nice mix and introduced my girls to some songs they may not have heard before. We have many of the Sing Along Videos, so I was glad to see songs from there as well.

If your looking for something different or a new cd to add to your kids collection for Christmas, this is one you should check out. You can listen to it on Amazon to get an idea of what it sounds like. This CD was provided for my review.

As a homeschooling mom, I was really excited to try IBW Books a new system to help my two oldest with learning. I'm not sure what I expected when I agreed to do this review, but when I received the material in the mail, to be honest they weren't what I expected. The books themselves were simple booklets. The books are printed in black and white and there are no pictures in the books. For my oldest, I appreciated the fact that there was no pictures. Often, I find that pictures sometime distracts her reading time. However, as we started reading the book, she really struggled with wanting to read it. My husband and I were thinking she might have been intimiated by the longer page with all words. She struggled through reading it, but ultimately did make it through. I found the English/Spanish version printed side by side very distracting to me. So, we often read with the book flipped back. I did like that the family words were printed on the back. We reviewed those before starting and that did help with reading. When we did the webscene it seemed a little young for my six year old. We went over the words and then she was pretty much done with it and ready to move on.

My 3 year old is working on identification of letters by sight. Before using the book which focused on the letters G and H, I checked out the online aspect, as well as read thru the booklet. I did not care for the webscene and was not sure that my daughter would like it either. When we did get to that part of the lesson, she enjoyed looking at it and going over the scene more then what I expected. However, when we did the book part (we did that first before doing the webscene) she did not seem to like the poem and the activity that went along with it. I think because there were no pictures in the book, she lost interest from the beginning and it was hard to get her focus on the poem. Both of my girls enjoyed playing around with the ABC-TRACE. Even though my oldest can write letters just find, she enjoyed playing around with that part of the site just as much as my 3 year old.

Overall, I think the Interactive Books are a good idea. I personally could not see doing the whole series with each of my girls. With my oldest, I think it took to much to get her to focus on the story due to the lack of pictures. The same goes for my 3 year old. Although I love that its laid out for you with a story/poem and an activity, it just seems to be missing that small little thing to keep her intersted in it from start to finish. The materials for this review were provided

 

RE-POST REVIEW:

My dh and I have lived in 8 different homes in the 9 years we have been married. I haven't had the same address long enough to justify spending money on address labels. Now in our 8th home we have decided to settle down; we bought this house (it used to be a church) and we are making it ours. As far as I know, we'll be here a good long time, so I jumped at the opportunity to review address labels from Little Lamb Design.

I chose this design.

I got to pick the colors and the large letter (of course, so that it matched my name). I am very very pleased. The labels stick well; they are clear and just the right size, even for larger envelopes where some address labels tend to get lost. Not these ones from Little Lamb Design. The H on mine stands out well!

From their welcome page:

Welcome to Little Lamb Design and thank you for stopping by! Here you will find a huge selection of personalized stationery products. We also offer custom studio and on-location photography.

What makes Little Lamb Design unique is that we have the ability to customize anything on this site to suit your needs and preferences. Whether you are throwing a huge birthday bash, or just need a unique way to label your stuff, we have or can create the perfect design for you. Please be sure to check back often as we are continuously updating the site with new and exciting products and designs.

The selection is incredible, almost too many to choose. I love that you can make each item unique though. They customize everything. I am very very pleased with this company. They are prompt, fun and friendly. The work is well done.

Thank you, Little Lamb Design, for such a great product!

Two of the newest books from Hapers Collins publishers are Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School and Marley Goes to School. Both of these books focus on going to school and are great books for the beginning of the school year.

My girls really liked the Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Hermin Parish. They enjoyed the different antics that Amelia did in the book. I, as an adult reading the book, liked reading how she took everything so literal. Every page in the book gave something for both the adult and the kid to enjoy. The illistrations in the book were great as well. My kids liked looking at the pictures while I read the book. If you are a Amelia Bedelia fan, this book will not dissapoint.

Marley Goes to School by John Grogan was an exceptional book as well. I think this has become a new favorite for our family. The illisturations on this book were done well. The storyline was fun and kept the attention of even the youngest of my children. As adults, both my husband and I have enjoyed reading this to our kids. It's one of those books you don't grumble when the kids ask if you can read it for the 10th night in a row. If your looking for a new good book to buy your child, I would recommend this one. It's a great back to school book as well. If we weren't homeschooling this year, it would be a book I would take into school as a suggestion for the teacher.

Both of these books have such great quality that I would give them as gifts. The stories were great and the quality of the pictures were fantastic as well. Any Haper Collins books that I've had the pleasure of reviewing have not failed us in those categories.

Here is a list of the winners of all the great giveways we hosted for our month long Launch Party. A great big thank you goes out to all our sponsors, all the commenters / winners and other supporters that helped us have such a successful launch!

Go Fish Guys CDs

#41 Diane

#37 Trisha

The Lads and Yancy CDs

#11 Diane

#5 Cissy

Pink Boredom Bouquet

#6 Shannon

Jeans Cream

#21 Cindy

#7 Diane

Cool Confident Clothing

# 6 Diane

Moonlight Pillows

# 7 Diane

Green Stone of Healing 3 Book Set

#2 Erika

Todoodlist

LIVE GIVEAWAY - Shawn C

LIVE GIVEAWAY - @bkokc00

#6 Erica

# 4 Wendy

# 2 Melissa

Luv Loo Mini Toy Wrangler

#4    Natalie

#5    Erica

#2    Am

Baby Bible Board Book

# 43    Can Can (Mom Most Traveled)

# 20    JDaniel4smom

Fuji ENVIROMAX Batteries

# 45    Andrea H

# 40    Crystal Allen

# 67    Huguette E

Amelia and Marley Books

#40    DG

#74    Can Can (Most Traveled Mom)

#33    Crystal Allen

Surf Sweets

# 12    Raelena

Tribute Books

# 6    Heather

Fruit 2 O

# 65    Cissy

Mabel's Labels

# 63    Can Can (Most Traveled Mom)

Piggy Paint

# 82    Erika

Little Lamb Design

#53    Crystal Allen

If Mama Apron

@bettycd

Mary K CD

@bkokc00

Ilana Jewelry

@bkokc00

Winners, you should have an email from either Kim or LaDonna requesting the information we need to have your prizes sent to you. Please respond quickly or we will be forced to draw a new winner. If you did not happen to receive an email or tweet to alert you to your win, and you see here that you've won a prize, please contact us; we are missing some contact information for a couple of you!

Thanks again; stick around we have some new and exciting stuff coming this winter and in the new year!