Febreze Delivered $10,000 plus Special Holiday Memories of Home This Christmas Eve

In early November, I had shared a Holiday contest with you hosted by Febreze on Facebook, where one lucky winner would receive $10,000 plus the opportunity to surprise a loved one who could not be home for Christmas with special Holiday memories from home.  Well on December 24th, Febreze delivered this amazing surprise to a dad who could not be home with his family.  You can watch the heartwarming video here and leave your thoughtful comments here.

I thought that Febreze did a great job choosing a winner.  There is nothing harder than having no other choice but to be away from one's family during the Holidays, especially for those with young children.  It certainly makes me feel especially lucky to have had my whole family together for Christmas this year.


I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Febreze. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.

A Special Delivery From Santa . . . Canidae Felidae TidNips Cat Treats!

Our cats are strangely picky when it comes to cat treats.  I have eventually stopped buying crunchy treats altogether since they seemed not to really like any of them.  There does not seem to be as many soft treats to choose from as crunchy treats and I had only found one soft treat that all 3 cats seemed to love.  Ideally, I would have at least two options for cat treats on hand in case history repeats itself and the cats decide they are bored with eating the same treats month after month.  Well, this year Santa granted my wish!

By Santa, I mean Chewy.com (formerly Mr. Chewy).  They had sent some Felidae TidNips cat treats by Canidae for us to include in our cats' stocking stuffers.  I was so very surprised that all 3 of our cats seem to love these treats.  Instead of turning their noses up at something new, they did not hesitate to eat them all up.  In fact, they have been circling like sharks since Christmas morning every time I walk into the kitchen.

Canidae TidNips dog and cat treats are all-natural, nutritious, and made in the U.S.  To view the varieties available, visit Chewy.com, who always offers free 1 to 2 day shipping on orders of $49 or more.  If you purchase pet food and supplies regularly, you can save 15% off your first order when you try using Chewy.com's scheduled delivery option.


Thank you to Chewy.com for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Silly Monkey Stories: Unplanned Christmas Traditions

Since we started our family, my husband and I have tried to create fun Holiday traditions for our children.  Special memories are something we want our children to have plenty of.  Some of our traditions are leaving cookies and milk out for Santa, plus baby carrots and water for the reindeer.  We also have a magic key we hang outside our door, so that Santa can get in the house since we don't have a chimney.  On every Christmas we have cinnamon rolls for breakfast after the children have opened their gifts from Santa, but before they open any of their other gifts.  On Christmas Eve, my husband reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to the children for their bedtime story.

Not all traditions can be planned though.  For example, our youngest son always eats too much at Christmas dinner and throws up during the car ride home.  We definitely did not plan that one!

Do you have any unplanned Holiday traditions?

Happy Holidays from our home to yours!

Click here to read all our Silly Monkey Stories!

3G2S "Top Picks" 2012 Holiday Gift Guide for Kids

1.  Guidecraft 42pc Roadway System($80.00) - This wooden toy by Guidecraft is a system of roads your child can build in various configurations to suit whatever scenarios he or she has thought up.  The one-sided pieces interlock much like a jigsaw puzzle.  To help you envision the actual size of this large floor toy, the width of each 2-lane road is 5" across.  Although my children do enjoy playing with trains, they much prefer playing with cars and trucks.  This roadway system is far less limiting than a set of train tracks.  Our children can build a whole town to their liking without getting bored like they did with their printed play mats.  These roads are the perfect size for 1:64 scale die-cast cars (not included) and would also likely accommodate 1:43 scale toy cars.  Use even larger vehicles if you make each road a one way street.  This toy is perfect for a child from age 2 until he or she loses interest in play with toy vehicles and action figures.

The Guidecraft Community Buildings($80.00) are also made of wood and are the perfect companion for the roadway system.  This set of 6 buildings includes a gas station/car wash, fire station, police station, hospital, school, and a store.  This is an extremely sturdy set and having real buildings that your child's own figures can enter and cars can drive through is so much better than buildings printed on a mat or a rug.  Each building stands approximately 6-1/2" high.

To learn more about either these wooden toys, visit www.guidecraft.com.

2. Lite Brix Building Toys($19.99 - $99.99) - These are light-up translucent model kits called Lite Brix by Cra-Z-Art.  Each kit comes with all you need to build a specific model, including decals, plus a battery pack, which requires 3-AA batteries.  Included in the instructions for our Lite Brix Space Trooper($24.99), were instructions to rebuild the model into an alien with the same pieces.  We used two Space Trooper kits to build the two models pictured above. These building toys are recommended for children ages 6 and up.  All Lite Brix pieces from each kit can be used with pieces from other Lite Brix kits.  They are also compatible with other popular brands of build bricks.  Since each of the parts are unique, it is fun to see what types of things my children can build using these pieces in conjunction with ones from other sets.  If you have a child who enjoys building like mine, then Lite Brix will add new life to his or her creations.  Visit www.superlitebrix.com to view all the Lite Brix kits available.  You can purchase Lite Brix toys nationwide at major toy retailers, such as Toys"R"Us and Amazon.com.

3.  Your Santa Story Personalized DVD ($29.95) - This is a DVD of a personalized message recorded to your child or children from Santa Claus.  It is meant for the DVD to be discovered and watched on Christmas morning.  The personalization includes your children's names, their hometown, names of their pets, special messages or recognition of achievements, a thank you if your child had left goodies for Santa and his reindeer, and where to find an extra surprise gift Santa left somewhere in your house.  Although this is the first year Your Santa Story is available to the public, I had the pleasure of testing it out on my 3 children last year.  I tied a red ribbon through the DVD and hung it on our Christmas tree for our children to discover on their own on Christmas morning.  You should have seen their mouths hanging wide open when they realized Santa was talking directly to them on the DVD.  There were huge smiles all around, especially when Santa got to the end of the message and told the children that they each had one more present hidden inside our shoe bench.  If you are looking for a new way to help keep the magic of Santa Claus alive, visit www.yoursantastory.com to learn more about this personalized DVD.  Since this is the first year Your Santa Story DVDs are available, please know that there are only limited quantities available for 2012.

4. Micro Chargers Loop Track($19.99) - This Micro Chargers racetrack is one of the winners of the Good Housekeeping's 2012 Best Toy Award.  It comes with a micro stunt car, a handheld charger (requires 2 AAA batteries, not included), a loop track, and a trading card.  The racetrack is easy enough for a child 7 years or older to put together.  The exclusive stunt car that comes with this set only takes 8 seconds to charge and could go up to 600mph if it were a full scale car.  Of course, the cool thing about this track is the loop, which the stunt car goes through twice, once on the way down the track and a second time when it slingshots back from the end of the track.  Last year, Santa brought our son, who was not quite 8 at the time, a slot racing set.  It turned out to be too sophisticated for him, but the Micro Chargers toys allows him to have the thrilling speed in a more age-appropriate toy.  This track can accommodate two stunt cars at once. You can purchase additional stunt cars separately.  Visit www.microchargers.com to learn more about this and other play sets.  Micro Chargers toys are available at major toy retailers, such as Target, Toys"R"Us, Kmart, and Amazon.com.

5.  World Vision Plush Farm Animals ($25.00) - World Vision sells gifts that give to benefit children and families around the world.  One of the ways World Vision helps families is by providing them with farm animals that produce eggs or dairy products.  These adorable and cuddly plush animals measure approximately 5" tall and are safe for children as young as newborns.  Currently we have Pallu the Pig, Chuma the Chick, and Gertie the Goat.  Each plush animal is sold separately.  You also have the option of purchasing Chuma the Plush Chick plus 2 chickens to donate for $50 or a Gertie the Plush Goat plus a goat to donate for $100.  Such gifts mean so much more and would be a wonderful way to teach a child about helping those who are less fortunate.  To learn more, visit the World Vision Gift Catalog.

6. Chipmunks Christmas CD($9.99) - One of our children's favorite Christmas songs is "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)".  That is why I knew that the Chipmunks Christmas CD, which is new for 2012, would be a huge hit with them.  This CD includes Holiday favorites, such as "Here Comes Santa Claus", "Up On the House-Top", "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)", "The Twelve Days of Christmas", and 14 more popular Christmas songs.  This would be the perfect first Christmas CD for a child because it is fun, endearing, and upbeat.  It would make a very nice stocking stuffer or an wonderfully affordable gift.  Chipmunks Christmas on CD is currently selling on Amazon for $9.99 with Free Super Saver Shipping or on MP3 for $5.99.

7.  The Trash Pack Collectible Trashies ($6.99 - $11.99) - Whether your child is a long time Trash Pack toys collector or wants to start a new collection, The 5-pack and 12-pack sets of Trashies would be a great way to add to or begin a collection.  Most of the Trashies in each multi-pack are hidden, so it is always a fun surprise to open each trash can to see what is inside.  Series 3 in the blue trash cans were only recently introduced and my children are so excited to see what new Trashies Moose Toys has dreamed up.  Leave it to them to turn trash into something adorable and collectible.  These Trash Pack multi-packs would make an affordable gift, plus you can always open the packages to use the individual trash cans as stocking stuffers for multiple children.  To learn more about the current series of Trash Pack toys, visit www.trashpack.com.

8.  RoseArt Art Supplies ($1.29 and up) - For any child that considers himself or herself an artist like our daughter does, a basket full of art supplies would make a delightful gift.  RoseArt does make all the basic supplies a child may need to create a masterpiece, such as crayons, markers, colored pencils, and watercolor paints, but they also offer so much more.  RoseArt makes fun and unique products, like Color Blanks, Swirl Pencils, Neon Metallic Crayons, Glitter Magic Markers, and more.  If you remember to include a sketch pad in your child's RoseArt gift basket, it will surely keep him or her busy for many hours on Christmas day and during Christmas vacation.  Visit www.RoseArt.com to view their full selection of art supplies and craft kits.  You can find RoseArt products at most major craft and office supply retailers.

9.  The Amazing Spider-Man Hero FX Glove ($14.99) - If your little Spider-Man fan likes to play pretend, then this realistic glove will provide many hours of fun.  It would make a great addition (or alternative) to a Spider-Man costume for playing dress-up.  The various sound effects can be activated by motion or by pushing the button.  Our 8 year old son has so much fun with this glove, mimicking Spider-Man's movements, and pretending to be fighting evil villains.  This glove requires 2 AAA batteries, which are included and is recommended for ages 4 and up.  You can purchase the FX glove from most major toy retailers.  To learn more, visit the Hasbro Toy Shop.

3.75" Marvel Avengers Figures and Spider-Man Figures ($9.99) - Also from Hasbro, are a wide assortment of 3.75" super hero figures from the Avengers series and the Spider-Man series.  My children want to collect them all, so I know first-hand that gifting one of these figures to a child who wants to complete a collection would be a much-appreciated gift.  Each figure comes with a fun weapon or accessory to make it unique from other versions of the same super hero.  These would make affordable gifts for children 4 years old or older and would also make very nice stocking stuffers.  You can find these figures at most major toy retailers nationwide.


Although complimentary product samples were sent to facilitate this gift guide, with the exception of one company who paid small fee instead, all opinions expressed are my own.  

Finding Balance With Asperger's: A Board Game for Building Body Awareness, Gross Motor Muscles, and Coordination

We love playing board games, and I love them even more when they teach something to build some sort of skill.  The Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes game is just such a game. This action oriented guessing game builds body awareness, gross motor muscles, and coordination skills in addition to being fun for children. Collect all eight of the body parts cards on your playing board by guessing, pointing to, and naming the body parts you need. If you get a “Wild Card” or finish your board, all players sing the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song (eyes, ears, mouth and nose as well). The game is cute, colorful, and easy to master and can be used in classrooms, therapy groups, and more.

We really enjoyed this game. It is simple and yet not so easy to guess the correct body parts from all the cards. It is not frustrating at all, even for Quinn’s low-patience. He loves getting to dance and sing and gets so excited when he guesses one right. It’s been great for getting him moving and building muscle and stamina in a fun way and it has really improved his body and spatial awareness.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

The game includes game boards for 4 players, 32 body part cards, 4 wild cards, a spinner, and detailed instructions inside the box. It can be purchased from the Therapy Shoppe for $19.99.

Thank you to the Therapy Shoppe for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Change How Your Kids Play Games in 2013 with the MG Portable Android Wi-Fi Game System

A little while ago we received the Play MG Android based pocket gaming system to try out. At the time I was very excited to have a device I could hand off to my kids instead of my smartphone. After spending some time with the Play MG I can say it performs as advertised and has not disappointed.

The Play MG comes in a clever yet simple drawer-style box with just a few items inside. The most notable item in the box is a debit card. The SpendSmart Mastercard creates a “digital wallet” that your kids can use to buy apps without pestering you when they want a new app that is not free. Once the SpendSmart card is loaded with money you can see your balance prominently displayed on the units main home page. Your kids will always know how much they have left to spend.

The next “surprise” in the box was the very noticeable lack of a charger. I spent a few moments looking about to make sure I didn't drop it someplace. After reading every word on the box I noticed it is in fact not supplied. The instructions state to use any standard mini USB adapter. Before I got outraged over the situation, I realized I had a half dozen such chargers about the house.  Anybody progressive enough to be considering a device like the Play MG probably does too and it stopped being an issue.

The Play MG looks great and feels good in your hands, just as a portable gaming device should. Although substantially smaller than traditional handheld gaming devices, the buttons and shape feel right. Although the screen is smaller than most dedicated gaming devices, it is in tune with screen sizes of similar sized Android phones (which is the point).

The screen is bright and the pixel density is superb making for a great looking experience. The performance of the unit is at least as good as any late model smartphone and keeps up with the screens quality. There is nothing worse than a great screen coupled with a slow processor, no such problem with the Play MG.

The device feels and looks like any Android smartphone using a late edition of the OS. If you have an Android phone you already know how to use the Play MG. I was up and running in minutes as a result. Downloading apps is as easy as it is on your phone, in fact its the exact same process, and I like that.

Setting up the Play MG for my kids could not have been any easier. My unit came with a plethora of pre-installed apps to get us started. In fact, my kids have yet to request anything new as they aren't through with the included apps yet! Combine the loaded apps with my existing familiarity with the Android OS and it was a total snap. I will warn you against linking any of the apps with any accounts you use on your smartphone however. My Play MG attempted to set itself up as my smartphone was, not something I want for a device primarily for my children's use, but I suppose a nice feature if I was the sole user of the Play MG.

The only issue we had was the initial version of the OS that shipped with the unit had some stability issues. I should say for full disclosure that our unit was a pre-retail demo unit and these things are to be expected. After the update was available (and easily applied) we have yet to have any issues.

Overall the Play MG is an excellent idea and a well executed product. My kids love to play it as much as my phone leaving us all much happier. This aspect alone is worth the price. In a way, the Play MG is as much of a gift for mom and dad as it is for the kids. You can currently buy the Play MG directly from PlayMG or from Amazon for $149.99. It is a bargain compared to a top tier smartphone.


Thank you to the PlayMG Corporation for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

Meet Brandi Morgan . . . a.k.a. "The Creative Princess" #CBias

In addition to spending time with my family, giving is the main source of joy for me during the Holidays.  My family has donated many toys to Toys For Tots and have taken part in adopting a less fortunate family, but now I would like to give a virtual gift to fellow-blogger Brandi Morgan.

For those who don't know, Brandi authors the blog The Creative Princess.  Not only is she talented in the areas of DIY crafts and cooking, Brandi also is a well-known couponer, an art I will likely never master.  In fact, Kristy of Mommy Hates Cooking informed me that Brandi "is an amazing woman of savings and has worked and volunteered for MoneySavingQueen.com for many years providing matchup and savings tips for those in her local community."

My gift to Brandi is to share my awesome readers with her!  Please help me with this gift by doing at least one of the following . . . 

• Visit Brandi's blog!  You could enter her giveaways or leave her a comment.  (Be sure to checkout her post about how to make cranberry oatmeal cookies and candy tree ornaments.)  Don't forget to tell her Karen of 3G2S sent you!
• Follow @thecreatvprncs on Twitter and "like" The Creative Princess on Facebook, so you don't miss anything good.
• Checkout The Creative Princess on Pinterest.  Follow one or all of her boards.  Personally, I think her Bacon board is a great place to start!

Thank you so much for your help in making this virtual gift a success!  To see more participants in this virtual gift exchange, visit the links below.

Save up to 30% off Select Appliances at Sears + Additional 5% off with Sears Card (Thru 1/5)

Not too long ago, I mentioned how wonderful it would be if I could put a new stove on my Holiday wishlist.  Well the Sears appliance sale, which started today, has made me reconsider adding that stove to my list.  During this sale, Sears will be taking up to 30% off some of their top brands of appliances.  If that is not enough to convince Santa, then he'll be happy to know that he can save an additional 5% off when he uses his Sears Card for this purchase both online and in-stores.

If Santa is feeling generous, he can feel free to bring me a new dishwasher in addition to that new stove.  (Just thought I'd throw that out there.)

To combine the sale prices with the extra 5% off for using your Sears Card, you must purchase by January 5th.  Visit www.Sears.com or your local Sears store to start shopping!


Want to spread the word?  Share this deal with your friends on Twitter . . .

"Give your Kitchen some much-needed love with up to 30% off Appliances + extra 5% w/a @Sears Card thru 1/5: http://bit.ly/ZPtqlN #Holiday2012"


This is a sponsored post with www.brandfluential.com. I am a Sears blogger, though all opinions are my own.

Holiday Gift Idea: Discovery Bay Games iPad Accessories

We are tech people, so when I found about the fun and unique games from Discovery Bay, I was excited to get a chance to play these amazing games designed for the iPad. Discovery Bay sent us four of their games, and we were quite impressed with them.

Duo Pinball takes pinball to the iPad with their unbelievable real controller. Just insert your iPad into the pinball pad, connect it via Bluetooth (instructions included) and start playing. With flipper buttons and a spring-loaded plunger for sending the ball into gameplay, this game is a must for any pinball enthusiast. This game is fun, the controller works perfectly, and it really makes iPad pinball entirely realistic. Retail price is approximately $59.99 for the controller and the game is free on iTunes.

(Click any photos to enlarge)

Atari Arcade brings classic games back to life with this new-tech spin on old-tech concepts. Atari Arcade features the “old school” controller to play Atari games such as Pong, Asteroids, Missile Command, and more. My kids loved this game and the nostalgia it brought for my husband and I was nearly as fun as actually playing. The controller is well-made and easy to use with this plug-n-play game. This one has the free app as well and the controller is also $59.99.

Duo Pop puts the fun right into your hands for up to four players. With Duo Pop and the fun, free apps (some have optional in-app purchases) available on iTunes, you compete game show style by “popping in” with your answers to fun trivia questions. With games from Highlights, Guesstimation, Saturday Night Live, and more, both children and adults alike are sure to find something they will love playing. This game is, hands down, our favorite. We love all the apps and we’ve had many hours of fun playing games together with this device. This one retails for $39.99 but is worth more than that in entertainment.

Finally, Duo Plink is a super fun way to connect with friends and family to play easy trivia games. Place your colored token on your guess to the questions and wait to find out if you’re right. Plink rotates and drops the winner’s tokens into the bank so scorekeeping and counting are unnecessary. Designed for 2-6 players or teams, this game gets everyone involved. This one is cleverly set up to interact with the iPad and it’s really fun as well. My 5 year old could easily play because it’s always a 50/50 shot as guessing correctly. Duo Plink has several free apps on iTunes as well and the device retails for $26.99.

These games are all well-made, fun for nearly all ages, and designed to interact with iPads perfectly with no lag that I’ve noticed at all. Even though most of the apps have in-app purchases available, all the apps are free to download and can be used without purchasing anything additional. All of these interact games can be purchased at Apple, Amazon.com, Target, and Sharper Image.


Thank you to Discovery Bay for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.

Shop 'n' Share: Grabbed a Last Minute Holiday Gift (for Me) from Sears.com!

Since much of my Holiday gift shopping is done by Halloween and almost all of it is done by Thanksgiving, December is usually the time when I shop for my home and my closet.  I have tried to resist all the great deals offered by my favorite retailers, but it is always futile.

Since a lot of you are not compulsive about finishing your shopping early like me, I wanted to share how easy it was for me to purchase this last minute gift for myself.  I simply browsed Sears.com for any fashion items that caught my eye.  I noticed a brand called Live and Let Live that seemed to have a style that appealed to me, so I was able to just search for that brand.  After narrowing it down to a few choices, I finally decided on this Live and Let Live Women's Dolman Paisley Top in the Zinfandel color.  It was priced at $24.99 plus I had slightly over $5 in Shop Your Way Rewards to redeem!

I am having this top shipped to me, but if you are shopping for a last minute gift for someone on your Holiday list, like with many other Sears items, you can opt to purchase online and then pick up your item at your local Sears store.  Your item is usually ready to be picked up on the same day or the next day.  Best of all, there are no shipping fees for picking up your item in-store.  I do it all the time when I shop for tools and electronics.

I received a gift card to shop and share my experience with my readers.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Holiday Gift Idea: U Star Novels . . . Classic Novels Starring You or Your Loved Ones

I think it is really cool to have our names published in a Peter Pan book.  U Star Novels lets you enter people's names on their website and replace characters in the stories of classic novels.  I got Peter Pan, but some of the other books you can get are Dracula, Frankenstein, Treasure Island, and many more.

You can replace more than one character with another name.  In Peter Pan, we replaced Wendy with my sister Makenzie, John with me (Jake), and Michael with my little brother Luke.  The name switches really went well with the story.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

On the front cover it will say the title, the author, "Starring (your name)".  It says the same thing, but also says "customised first edition" on the title page.  On the second title page, it says "This book is dedicated to (your name)" and you fill out that information on the U Star Novel website.  You also can put a special message and the date.

On the back cover, it says the title again and a description of what is going to happen in the book.  It is modified with the names of me, my sister, and my brother.

I think that it is neat that U Star Novels can turn your name or other names into characters in a classic novel. I think one of these books would make a good Christmas gift during the Holidays for a child that is really into classic novels.  I would like to get other books, like Dracula, in the future.

To learn more about U Star Novels for children, visit www.UStarNovels.com.  (PLEASE NOTE:  If you are visiting the website with your children, the sections for personalized books for men, women, and couples, may not be appropriate for them.)


Thank you to U Star Novels for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.