Wow! Wow! Winner!

Because I had a whopping TWO entries in the last drawing I will give away TWO copies of the Wubbzy! DVD. One is missing the shrink-wrap because we watched it to review it, but hey, as long as you're not picky, it's yours. I already emailed Blondie, but Brenda S., I need you to zip me an email with your mailing address and I'll zip you off a copy of the DVD, too!

Congrats to you both and thanks for being such a great - albeit small - audience!

Wow! Wow! Review-zy! And give-zy!

Being a stay-at-home mom for over 12 years now I have become acquainted with my share of children's programming. My kids are getting older now and they're a bit harder to entertain. I'll be honest, when I got the email that I was chosen to be part of the Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! blog tour for MomCentral I was probably more excited than most 36 year olds should be. Really, the baby just loves Nick Jr. Really. The baby. *cough* But I knew that the real test would be getting the bigger kids excited. Instantly, the 12 year old opted out. Hey, that's understandable what with all the angst and drama coming from her very core of existence. When the DVDs came in the mail I did the happy mailbox dance. Again. (MomCentral just does that to me.)


Then we got the flu. No one felt like doing anything other than whining about being alive in such a pitiful state. Wubbzy was, for a time, forgotten. *cue sad abandonment music*


But today Nonner and I decided to put the DVD for some uninterrupted viewing time. Okay, really the 8 month old had nothing to do with the decision... Anyway, he loved it. And y'all? So did I. I couldn't help but sing along and man, did I suddenly feel the urge to play some kickity kick ball.

We were into the second episode on the DVD when the five school kids got off the bus. I held my breath to see if the living room would be empty after they devoured their snacks. Of course, the 12 year old took her Froot by the Foot and headed for her room, but the other four were hooked.
The 7 year old was singing along and dancing and Sam, who is 10, said, "Hey, this is really pretty good. Ya know...for a kid show." (He gave it a hearty 8 out of 10, which I thought was pretty good from a 4th grade dude.)


A Little Help From My Friends is the title of the DVD, which features six episodes involving Wubbzy and his friends that cover social skills such as getting along with others, confidence, learning to accept help, teamwork and of course, friendship. The songs are catchy and I just really was impressed with how much was on the DVD. Also, be sure to check out the website for games and activities and more information the show itself, which airs on Nick Jr. and Noggin. There's also a "Wubblog" - can it get any better?


Actually, yes it can - because the kind folks at MomCentral sent me an extra copy to give away! All you have to do to enter to win A Little Help From My Friends is leave a comment. I'm not even gonna make you jump through a hoop and answer a question (it's the germs - they've softened my hard heart). However, make sure you leave a way for me to get hold of you if the accounting firm of Diva and Associates chooses you to be the lucky winner of this Wubbalicious DVD! Tell your friends! Link to this post and get an extra entry - just make sure you leave me the link. Comments and the contest will close Monday, February 23rd and I'll announce the winner that afternoon.


Thanks for MomCentral for the DVDs and this great blog tour!

Staying Safe

Like my momma always said: You can never be too careful. Actually I don't remember my momma saying that an awful lot, but that's beside the point. It's still good advice.

And now that I'm a momma myself and I have three school-age kids who are pretty net-savvy I find myself saying and thinking that phrase pretty often. We have a computer that is pretty much set up just for the kids. They are monitored on it and can only go to sites approved by me. But still....they need to be armed with information that they'll use even when I'm not around. Because their friends have computers, too and strangely, I'm not invited to slumber parties anymore. They're so closed-minded that way.

At Abby's high school in recent weeks a group of girls got in major trouble with the DA and even the FBI when their hate page on the web went too far. Kids need to know that behavior like that is cyber-bullying and not acceptable. Back when I was a kid the only bullying we dealt with was the big kids in the back of the bus or the occasional mean girl in the locker room. Now kids are getting threatened and embarrassed and brutalized online as well - online where we parents aren't necessarily watching over them all the time.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has set up a website to educate tweens and teens on internet safety. NSTeens is just for teens and tweens with comics and videos to watch about keeping themselves safe, what to do about cyberbullying and how much information is too much to share online. The characters in the videos and comics have bios that let them seem more real and personal to kids. Abby, my tween, declared it "cool". Do you really need more of an endorsement than that?

Thanks, MomCentral, for letting us know about this informative website!

C is for Cookie

Those of you who have read my other blog for awhile know that I used to be a Girl Scout leader back in the day. When Abby was a 2nd grader and on up to 5th grade we met every Tuesday and talked badges and manners and crafts and community service and most importantly, once a year we sold .....

COOKIES!

I was a Girl Scout from 1st grade up until I was a Sophomore so I did my share of cookie-selling as a kid and then managed and organized and watched helplessly as my house turned into a Keebler tree gone wrong as an adult. But man, it was worth it. The girls learned networking skills and I was bound and determined that my daughter would learn to count back change just like my momma taught me when I was a mere 4th grader.

While we're no longer involved in Girl Scouts, I do wholeheartedly believe in the organization and what it does to empower and strengthen the women of the future - our daughters.

That being said, The Oklahoma College Savings Plan website is running a campaign allowing Oklahomans everywhere to vote for their favorite Girl Scout cookie flavor.

(Don't tell the Samoas, but I voted for the Tagalongs. I couldn't help it. The power of peanut butter is strong with that one.)

When you get to the ballot page you can read "speeches" by each cookie, extolling their very own virtues and why they deserve to be Oklahoma's Favorite Cookie.

In a recent press release Oklahoma State Treasurer, Scott Meacham, says,

"Oklahomans have until March 31, 2009 to cast their vote on the Oklahoma CollegeSavings Plan website. The winning cookie will be announced on early April in a ceremony at the State Capital and the Girl Scout who sells the most cookies in Oklahoma will win $1,000 towards an Oklahoma College Savings Plan. The sales contest ends on March 31, 2009."

So not only will a cookie forever claim bragging rights to being da bomb, but a Girl Scout gets money for college! Everyone's a winner.

Check out the Oklahoma College Savings Plan website and cast your vote for Tagalongs your favorite cookie today!

Clean is Green!

When MomCentral sent out the email for this blog tour I couldn't click the sign-up link quick enough. I have recently started using GreenWorks products here at the house and wanted to tell everyone about them!

I am a wee bit OCD, ya know, and loves me some cleaning products. I recently bought the GreenWorks glass and surface cleaner and fell in love with it. So naturally (Get it? Naturally?)the next thing would be to get MORE GreenWorks products. I bought a canister of the wipes and oh goodness gracious the cleaning I did that day! The wipes are strong and they get sticky Koolade drips off the kitche counter and hairspray buildup on the bathroom vanity and the gunk from the inside of the microwave and they basically kick butt and take names.

The only thing I would change about the wipes would be to make them disinfecting as well, but whaddaya know - the website says they are working on that! Leave it to Clorox to come up with a product that is effective and good for the environment! And well on its way to KILLING GERMS. They have MY vote!

Thanks for Clorox for not disapointing and thanks for MomCentral for making this tour available!