Opinions wanted

Okay Ladies I need some opinions on two different things.
First for Christmas my son wants a pirate ship playset. I have been researhing two different brands and would like to know which one is best.
1. Playmobile playsets or 2. Imaginext playsets
He is 31/2 and likes to get down and play with his toys. We have seen the pirate ship from both and the one from Matchbox but would like to know if you have it which one should we go for?

Two- how do you entertain an 18 month old on a plane~ a LONG plane ride, and she is not a t.v. watcher so I can't just put a dvd in she won't watch it :(
Any ideas to keep a little one entertained?
Thanks for any input~

Winner of the Sock Gram Giveaway

The winner of the Sock Gram is Entry #2~ Becky
Congratulations Becky~ you have 48 hours to email me or another winner will be chosen.

Personalized name tag for bags ~ Review and Giveaway CLOSED

Do you need a personalized bag tag with your child's name on  it?  Well I found the cutest tags on etsy.  I found The Blue Barn while I was searching for a tag for my daughters diaper bag.  The Blue Barn has handmade tags for either your diaper bag or your childs suitcase or backpack.   I was sent a really cute pink and green polka dot tag with my daughter's name on it and I love it.  It's unique and since it has her name on both sides of the tag I doubt my diaper bag will get lost!
The tag is circular and has a matching ribbon tied to the top, you can have both sides personalized with their name or whatever you wish.
Wanna win your own diaper bag or suitcase tag?  The Blue Barn  has offered one of my readers their own personalized tag. 

Here's FIVE ways which you can enter to win~

• Go to The Blue Barn and tell me which tag you  will pick if you win! 
• Become a follower of my blog
• Become an email subscriber
• Follow me on twitter
• Tweet about this giveaway using #name tag giveaway- once a day- 1 entry each day

Leave one comment for each entry.  Make sure your email address is visible with your comment. All entrys must be received by Thursday, December 10th at 11:59 ET.  Open to US residents only.  I will pick the winner using Random.org and winner will be notified by email.  You will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

***Disclaimer*** I was not paid for this review.  All items were sent to me free of charge.
My review is based on my own opinions.  Thanks to The Blue Barn for sending us the product to review.

Little Tikes Ride-on Rocking Horse~ Review

I was recently sent the Little Tikes Ride-on Rocking Horse from CSN STORES.  This is a really cute toy for little ones ages 12-36 months.
The Little Tikes ride-on rocking horse foot to floor with rocker base is super is easy to put together and is two toys in one.
The horse is made of durable plastic and  the horse simply snaps on to the base.  Your child can either sit and ride it like a horse, or snap it off from the base and they can roll around using their feet.
I was able to put this together in under 5 minutes.  My younger kids were fighting over it as soon as it was out of the box.  My youngest is 17 months old and she can sit and ride it all by herself.  It sits very close to the ground so I wasn't worried if she fell off.  I think she likes to ride it around better than the rocking part, but that is just her.   Any little one would get great use from this toy.  And right now you can get free shipping from CSN Stores. 
I would like to Thank CSN Stores for sending us this toy to review.
***Disclaimer*** I was not paid for this product review, this was sent to us free of charge.  All statements made are my own and my review is based on my opinion of the product.

The Snowman's Song ~Review

We were recently sent this wonderful Christmas book called The Snowman's Song :A Christmas Story by Marilee Joy Mayfield.   The book included a bonus audio CD of the book being read by the author.  My older girls really enjoyed listening to the book.  The pictures are beautifully done, and it is a really cute story.
The story is of a little snowman who dreams of making a beautiful melody with his voice.  He wants more than anything to sing at Christmas time.  With the help of a little red cardinal and a little girl the little snowman gets his Christmas miracle.

The Snowman's Song is published by Leaping Antelope Productions.  You can purshase this book online from their website.  And for every copy of The Snowman's Song that is sold they will give a copy of the book to a needy family.  They also have other items you can purchase such as matching holiday cards (they match the book), posters and other books.
Thanks to Leaping Antelope Productions for sending me a copy of this book to review.  I received this book because of my membership to The product review place.
***Disclosure*** I was not paid for my reviews all items received were given to me free of charge.  My review is based on my own opinions and was not influenced by my receiving the product.

Review of Products

What's for dinner?

This is a very easy dish, that is quick to prepare~ We had this at some friends house awhile ago and we liked it so much we eat it once a week.

Chicken in Crescent Rolls

• Shredded Chicken
• Crescent Rolls
• 1 can of Cream of Mushroom
• 1 can of milk

Follow the dirctions on the package ~ open the crescent roll and stuff it with the shredded chicken roll it up and bake according to the directions.  We serve it with a cream of mushroom sauce.  I mix the cream of mushroom with milk and heat it up.  We also eat this dish with either rice or mashed potatoes and a vegetable.

I like to buy my chicken in bulk and then cook it in the crockpot for 6 hours and then you have lots of already cooked shredded chicken on hand for any dish you may need to cook in a hurry.

So that's it less than 5 ingredients and you have a whole meal!

Friday's blog favorite

Today's favotite blog of the week is Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports.  I came across this blog when I first started entering contests.  She has a really cute page, and lots of great reviews and awesome giveaways, as well as tips, and different links to check out.   So if you are looking to enter some giveaways hop on over and check out Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports.

Safari Ltd. Review

I was recently given the opportunity to review some really fun toys from Safari Ltd.  They sent us a box of 9 different replicas to try out.  My children really enjoyed these as their was something for each of them to play with.
If you are not familiar with Safari Ltd. they sell realistic replicas, as well as puzzles, puppets, and even educational posters.   Each replica comes with a tag that tells you a little bit about the particular animal.  Each tag is written in 5 different languages~ English, Spanish, Italian, Deutsch,and French.  The tag list things such as where the animal lives, what it eats, and size.
They also have miniature dinosaurs in a tube, which would make a great stocking stuffer!
These are Not for children under 3, and I will warn you that some of them are heavy.  My son threw one a little too hard and they hurt when thrown!
They have a wide variety and they are good for both boys and girls.
You can also follow Safari Ltd on Twitter and Facebook.

Something big is happening....

My life is about to get really crazy soon~ We just found out our transfer has come through! Finally! I have been waiting a LONG time to leave the state of Texas, and it's finally going to happen! So now I must pack, try to sell the house, and homeschool the kiddos~ can you say STRESS~
But this is definitely a good stress~ and I really must get my blog reviews posted soon!

Upcoming reviews and giveaways

I am so excited for some of the upcoming reviews and giveaways that I have coming. Please pray my computer gets fixed soon- I need all my pictures that were saved there! Lesson learned - save everything to a hard drive~
But, I can't post my stuff without my computer- I am graciously being allowed to use a laptop from one of the guys my hubby works with. So hopefully soon I can get back on track with my reviews, until then~

I am going to beg~

Please ckeck out my review for Sock Grams~ Be sure and sign up to win a really cute pair of socks. This is my second giveaway and I would really lke to have a lot of people entered in the giveaway, it's no fun if no one enters! I promise I won't beg anyone again~ contest end 11/27

Here's the link to the giveaway- you can also find it by clicking on reviews at the top of my page!

What's for dinner? Homemade Mac and Cheese

Here's a really easy recipe for Homemade Macaroni and Cheese.

• 1 1/2 c. of uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp.pepper
• 1/4 c. onion (optional)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 3/4 c. milk
• 8 slices of American cheese (4 white and 4 orange)

Cook your macaroni according to box directions.Drain and rinse macaroni and set aside.

Cook and stir butter onion, salt, pepper over medium heat till onion is tender.  Add in flour and cook over low heat. stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat, stir in milk and heat till boiling, stir constantly, once it reaches boiling stage add in your cheese slices one at a time stirring until cheese is melted. add macaroni and blend together.  Put in a cassarole dish and bake uncovered at 375* for 30 minutes.  We serve this with cinnamon rolls and applesauce. 

My mom used to make this all the time when I was a kid, and I hated it, now that I am grown up :) I love it!

Computer update

I just wanted to let everyone know my computer has crashed and we are trying to get it fixed. I will get back to posting ASAP~ I have some really cute items to review, and can't wait to get them posted~ thanks for the comments left from SITS
I will respond as soon as I get back online!

Friday's Favorite Blog of the week

When I first started blogging I started entering different giveaways. And in my search I came across My 4 Monkeys.  Angie has the cutest blog design~ I think it's the first button I grabbed and placed on my blog.   When you get a chance check it out, Angie  always has great reviews and giveaways.

Technical difficulties

Have I mentioned how much I hate the computer? We have a love, hate relationship.  As you can tell my header buttons are gone, some how they weren't working properly and now I have accidentally deleted them again, no it's not my first time deleating them, so bare with me as I fix my blog AGAIN!

Wordless Wednesday

The little princess was having a BAD day!

One Hundred Butterflies~ Review

I was recently sent the most beautiful coffee table book called, One Hundred Butterflies, by Harold Feinstein.
This book is gorgeous! It is full of beautiful pictures of all different species of butterflies. Intertwined with the photos the author, Harold Feinstein has placed beautiful quotes and poetry. One of my favorites in the book is  The butterly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.  by Rabindranath Tagore

If you are a butterfly lover or know some one who is this would make a great gift, especially with the holidays just around the corner.  You can purchase this book from Hachette Book Group.

I would like to thank Hachette Book Group for sending this book for me to review.  I was given this opportunity because of my membership with The Product Review Place.

***Disclosure*** Review is based on my own opinion, I was not influenced in anyway by Hachette Book Group, nor was I paid to review this book.  I received this book free of charge.

Sock Gram Review and giveaway CLOSED

Have you ever wanted to send a unique gift. but didn't know what to get?  Then check out Sock Grams!

  
From there website: Here's a great little Holiday gift for anyone in the family - without the cavities, calories or breaking the bank: Sock Grams can be sent for as little at $9.95, and that includes shipping! 

I recently received a really cute pair of Christmas themed socks, the pair I received are black with little Santa Clauses on them.  They also came with a foot scrub.  All this was beautiful wrapped in tissue paper and in their signature blue mailing envelope.

Sock Grams has a wide variety of socks for Men, Women, Children and even babies.  They have lots of different styles to choose from.  They have toe socks, socks for different occupations, and socks for different Holidays.

Ordering is as easy as 1-2-3!

1.Shop socks or cards by recipient, occasion, or sock patterns.

2.Pick a card and add your personal message.

3.We'll add free foot balm (or stickers for the kids), gift wrap and have it delivered right to their mailbox.

Sock Grams has kindly offered to send one lucky reader  a Sock Gram.

Here's how to enter:

1. Become a follower of my blog-

                              2. Become an email subscriber-

                              3.Grab my button and post it on your blog-

                              4. follow Sockgrams on Twitter
                              5.Tweet about this giveaway daily- 1 entry each day~ tweet using #SockGram
                              6.Become a fan of Sock Grams on Facebook
That's 6 ways to enter to win a sock gram.  Please leave 1 post for each entry.  Leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.  Winners will be chosen by Random.org
Giveaway is open to U.S residents only.  All must have a vaid mailing address.  Giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, November 27th. 

***Disclosure*** The socks from Sock Grams were given to me  free.  I was not paid to blog about Sock Grams, all statements made are my own, I was not influenced in any way by Sock Grams.  To see my full disclosure follow the link under disclosure.

And the Winner is.............

Entry #2
Congratulations to
Kate Harley said...
Following your blog. Hope I win:)
katieharley81@yahoo.com


Timestamp: 2009-11-10 15:17:59 UTC

The winner was chosen using Random.org
Winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to reply, otherwise another winner will be chosen.

What's for dinner?

Here is a really good soup recipe. After my third child (the prince) was born a friend brought this over, and I love it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans of chicken broth

1 can Rotel

1 can corn

1 package ranch seasoning

1 package taco seasoning

Cooked shredded chicken

You can make this in the crockpot or stove top.  I usually cook up some chicken breasts in the crockpot and shred the meat and freeze it so I always have shredded chicken on hand.   You can substitute 1 can of the chicken broth with water, but I like using the chicken broth, it adds flavor.

Throw all ingedients in a pan and  heat it up, I usually use the crock pot so I can forget about it and go.

To serve add some shredded cheese and eat it with some tortilla chips.

If you have a favorite recipe you would like to share just email me and I will add it to my list of recipes to share.

A preview for an upcoming review

I am so excited about an upcoming review from CSN Stores.  If you have never been to there website you have to check it out!   There are 200 different stores within the main store.  I have been asked to review a product from the swing sets department.  It was hard to decide because there are so many things to choose from, plus I have 4 kids and you know how hard it is to only choose 1 thing!  But I have decided that the little princesses of the group often gets left out, so I chose something for her to test out.  Check back soon and see what we got!

Quote for the week

"Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk" this saying is an old one dating back to a proverb in James Howell's Paroimiografia (1659).
How true is this saying for you? Sometimes lifes events are out of our control, how are we going to react? When stuff doesn't go your way this week try the above quote "don't cry over spilt milk" and see if your day goes a little better than if you over react.

Friday's Favorite Blog of the week

This week I am going to highlight Lana's blog I Love My 5 Kids.   I met Lana through my local Mops group and she mentioned she had a blog and to check her out. Well she has been a huge help in getting my blog off the ground. She has taken the time out of her busy schedule to send links my way that helped guide me in my blog's design. So Thank-you Lana! And if you get a chance stop by her blog.

I entered to win......

“The Fabulous Won is hosting a great giveaway! Check out CSNStores.com for all your children’s needs from nursery furniture to toys! Giveaway ends 11/12!”

Thankful Thursday

Have you ever had a day that goes nothing like you planned? Well that's how my Wednesday was. I was hoping to do laundry and grade papers, but my 6 year old woke up and her thumb was swollen and purple (she had fallen the day before of her bike), so my day was spent going to the doctor and getting x-rays. Thankfully she only has a hair line fracture in the tip of the thumb, but no sports for 6 weeks. I really can't see that happening, as she is my athletice girl! Anyway here's hoping my Thursday goes as planned! Hope you have a great Thursday as well~

Wordless Wednesday

Let's GO YANKEES

About Me

Welcome to 1 Prince and 3 Princesses!  I am so glad you stopped by.  I am first of all a Christian, secondly a wife, to a wonderful husband, we have been married for 11 years. Third, I am a mommy.  We have 4 children.  Three girls, and a boy, thus the concept of my blog.  Somehow I managed to have my kids 22 months apart with a August and June baby, and after a three year break had another set 22 months apart in August and June, I didn't plan it that way and wouldn't do it that way again!
We are currently homeschooling, but if we get the chance to send them to a Christian school, I am ready to send them!  When I am not cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and driving the kids to activities, I love to blog.
 I am looking forward to doing blog reviews, and sharing my opinions with others.  I also love to host giveaways and can't wait to see what opportunities are ahead.
Once upon a time, before I had so many kids, I enjoyed scrapbooking, and someday I hope to find the time to scrapbook again~

My Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 12 March 2010.


This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to  http://www.disclosurepolicy.org/

Thank you to.......

Becky Squire from Creative Blog Designs. She is awesome. She was extremely patient with me, as I accidentally erased some of her items she designed for me. Check out her website for an affordable new blog makeover.

Contact Information

If you are interested in me reviewing your product please contact me. Please leave an email address with your email so I can get in contact with you.I am open to reviewing most anything family friendly. 

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Pretty Please Press Books ~ Review and Giveaway

Pretty Please Press kindly sent four of their books for my kids and I to review. We were sent Kick Block Punch, Bella Basset Ballerina, PYNX, and The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters. Here’s a little bit of information about Pretty Please Press.

About Pretty Please Press from their website~

Pretty Please Press publishes children's books that are designed to be read aloud and talked about. Each book contains a message about character and values that helps parents and children think and talk about a variety of issues. Pretty Please Press was founded in 2001 by author Laura Aimee Garn, and is now led by publisher Vera Venturi.

Pretty Please Press also offers Character Building Lesson Plans and free educational downloads, including Vocabulary Building Cards and Concept Building Cards.

My Review of the books we received~

Bella Basset Ballerina and the Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters were both written by Laura Aimee Garn.

The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters is a fun book for sisters. Both of my girls really liked it and could relate to the experiences of the book. It’s a fun story of two sisters and the challenges they have getting along. The girls in the story may squabble a lot, but in the end learn that life is no fun without each other.

Bella Basset Ballerina is a cute story of a basset hound who dreams of being a ballerina. The book teaches that through hard work and practice you can someday accomplish what you want to be. My girls really loved this book; they love ballerinas and all things dogs, so this was their favorite.

Kick Block Punch was written by Jacquie Hann. This is a story about a boy who wanted to be able to do karate without practicing. This book teaches children that practice makes perfect. In the end the character Sam learned that if you want to achieve something you must practice
.
PYNX was written by Jeffrey Greene. This was an interesting book if your kids like sci-fi and aliens. It’s a story of a creature from another planet and how she helped others. I would say the underlying theme is just because someone is different than you doesn’t mean you can’t like them or help them. My girls said this was a book for boys, but I would say that if your girls like sci-fi then they would like this book too.

Overall, I would say all the books are age appropriate for ages 5 and up.
The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters has a lot of words and is a bit of a tongue twister, but was fun to read.

Order The Books~
Pretty Please Press has a great sale on their books. Pretty Please Press offers books directly to customers at discounted prices! You can get a 20% discount off the list price for books purchased through their website, as well as buy 3 books get one free! This offer will expire on December 31, 2009.

Your discount will appear automatically when you checkout.

I was given the opportunity to review this product because of my membership at The Product Review Place
I would like to thank Pretty Please Press for sending us these books to review.
Note- I was not paid to review these books, and my review was in no way influenced by Pretty Please Press.

Pretty Please Press has kindly offered my readers a chance to win one copy of each of the books in my review.
The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters
Bella Basset Ballerina
Kick Block Punch
PYNX
4 Ways to Enter ** You must leave a seperate comment for each entry.**

1. Become a follower of my blog through email or Follow Me button.
2. Grab my button and post it on your blog.
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about contest, once a day.
4. Join the Pretty Please Press mailing list.

Contest is now closed
Giveaway Rules :
1. Giveaway is open to US residents only unless otherwise stated.
2. You must enter the giveaway by the ways stated in the giveaway accordingly. Please don't just say "I want to win" or "Pick me."
3. Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email.
4. Winner will be asked to respond with full contact information within 48 hours of being notified. Failure to do so will result in another winner being picked.

Contest will end at 11:59 EST on November 9th.

***Disclosure*** I was not paid in any way to review these products. Pretty Please Press was kind enough to send them to our family to review and giveaway. I was not in anyway influenced by Pretty Please Press. I am in no way an expert, and all statements

made by me are my own unless otherwise noted.

A weekend of firsts

This weekend was the kids first time Trick or Treating. They absolutely loved it and are already planning next years costumes. This weekend was also the first time I have gone grocery shopping alone at night. Why is this so strange? First of all I have 4 kids and going anywhere alone is a miracle. Second, I hate to drive at night, I don't see well at all in the dark, and the lights from oncoming traffic bug me. We were totally out of groceries, have you ever opened up the fridge and thought WOW, there is nothing in here, not even bottled water. That's how my fridge looked, but I was not in the mood to go grocery shopping with the kids so I told my hubby I would wake up really early Monday morning and go before the kids got up. He laughed- I am not a morning person, he suggested I go last night- it was 9:15, and I was tired, but I thought sure why not. I am definitely making it a priority to go grocery shopping at night alone. Why? The store was so quiet and empty, and I didn't have little people throwing stuff in my cart, I didn't have to take anyone potty, you get the picture!

Coming soon.......

my very first giveaway! This week I will be having my first giveaway~ make sure to check back this week and see what I am reviewing and giving away! One way to enter is to become a follower so make sure you are signed up to Follow Me!

CANDY~

We don't normally go trick or treating, but usually go to different Churches Fall Festivals. This year it seemed most places decided not to have Fall Fests or the two that we did find were charging to play the games. So at the last minute we threw together some costumes and out we went. We only did our neighborhood and wow, we have tons of candy! We ended up with two kids dressed as Lowes Workers, and a Little Miss Muffet, baby did not dress up, but around in the stroller taking in all the sights.