Family Review Network

Family Review Network recently had the opportunity to work with The Game Factory in helping to promote their upcoming release of Bratz Kids: Slumber Party for Wii. All participating members are currently giving away a copy of this game to one lucky winner. Stop by these amazing blogs and enter to win!

• A Bookworm(Mom)’s Diary (deadline: Dec 19)
• All Because Two People Fell in Love (deadline: Dec 16)
• An Island Review (deadline: Dec 18)
• A Wrestling Addicted Mommy’s Blog (deadline: Dec 12)
• Busy Mommy Product Reviews (deadline: Dec 23)
• Deuce’s World (deadline: Dec 15)
• Free Birthday Treats Blog (deadline: Dec 15)
• From Melissa’s Desk (deadline: Dec 19)
• Loving Heart Mommy (deadline: Dec 30)
• Maria’s Space (deadline: Dec 17)
• Mom Giveaways (deadline: Dec 16)
• Mommy Mandy (deadline: Dec 20)
• Mom of 2 Dancers (deadline: Dec 16)
• MomReviews (deadline: Dec 16)
• Photo Baby Bug (deadline: Dec 17)
• Red Sox Mommy (deadline: Dec 23)
• Rockin’ Mama (deadline: Dec 23)
• SAHM Reviews (deadline: Dec 17)
• Sheltered Not Shattered (deadline: Dec 16)
• She Scribes (deadline: Dec 14)
• Something Snappy (deadline: Dec 20)
• Tara’s View of the World (deadline: Dec 17)
• The Glamorous WAHM (deadline: Dec 12)
• The Mom Buzz (deadline: Dec 15)
• The Way I See It (deadline: Dec 16)
• Wish List Worthy (deadline: Dec 16)

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for your participation.
The winner is comment #57: Rosanne M.
Congratulations!

Ever feel like life is trying to get the best of you? Well, you’re not alone. And like they say, laughter is the best medicine, right? Psycho Super Mom, Lauren Mayer, has come up with a way to take all the stress, anxiety, and every day situations and present them in a way that makes them a little more bearable, a lot more fun!

From the site: “Lauren Mayer is a singer, songwriter, music teacher, comic, and sleep-deprived mom. She is a five-time recipient of the San Francisco Cabaret Gold Award, a Peninsula Arts Grant recipient, and a phi beta kappa graduate of Yale University. Her songs have been heard on A&E’s Good Time Cafe, the Dr. Demento Show, and more, she is the author of several musicals published by Contemporary Drama Service, and she is the co-founder and songwriter for Curriculum Rocks, a company producing entertainingly educational music for kids. Visit the Curriculum Rocks Website. She is the mother of 2 boys who introduce her to really cool music, who sing backup on her kids’ CDs, and who inspire her wackier comedy songs.”

The members of Family Review Network had the opportunity to review this hilarious CD set and this is what they had to say:

All Because Two People Fell in Love: My favorite song is “I Hate to Exercise Blues!” Could be because I can unfortunately relate VERY easily to these blues! The whole family was able to appreciate and enjoy this hilarious CD!! I can’t wait to take this CD to our next BUNKO party because I am certain that my BUNKO Buddies will LOVE it as much as I do!!

An Island Review: Let me say, this is one funny lady! She takes everyday ordinary situations and really makes you laugh. My favorite song is “Have Aliens Replaced My Kids?” because I think we all wonder about this once in a while, right? Right? Or am I the only one? Even my girls liked listening to some of the more age-appropriate songs.

Chocolate Fingerprints: Listen up Mamas…If you’re having a stressful or difficult day, pop Return of Psycho Super Mom into your cd player and laugh with Lauren Mayer. I really do believe that laughter is the best medicine. Last week, when I was having some trouble with mommy guilt,  this cd helped me feel better. I spend so much time worrying and agonizing over my everyday life; it was so nice to laugh about motherhood for a change!

From Melissa’s Desk: Lauren Mayer’s newest CD Return of Psycho Super Mom is not the kind of music I would normally pick to listen to. However, I don’t think its meant for everyday listening. It’s true comedy that is unique and very funny. I can relate to these songs all about mom issues. This might be a good CD to play at a mom’s party.

Here’s What I Think: This CD is so perfect for mom’s. With songs like “Grown Ups Get to Have Fun Too” and “Too Pooped to Party”, I think every mom can relate. I definitely got a chuckle out of most of the songs. This would be a perfect gift for any mom that spends a lot of time in the car, running errands and carpooling kids around.

Mom of 2 Dancers: The CD is very funny! My favorite song is Food Network. I was laughing my head off at that song. Another favorite is Environmental Envy. I know I felt that way when my girls were younger!

Our Seven Qtpies: Lauren writes fun songs about the frustrating things we go through as women and moms. It is fun to see the humor in our situations, and to know we are not alone in our psycho worlds. (to find that I am not the only one that thinks of myself as psycho was a relief!) The tunes are catchy, I’ll warn you.

Tara’s View of the World: The CD is “an autobiographical, comedic look at life, motherhood, and sleep deprivation”. I thought the CD was very witty and enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the songs “I Hate To Exercise Blues” and “Grownups Get To Have Fun Too”. Any mother will be able to relate to the pictures Lauren paints with her songs and have a good laugh at the funnier side of being a mom!

The Dirty Shirt: The song Defining Gravity cracked me up and I just loved Too Pooped To Party (my new theme song lol) And Mama’s Gonna Be Okay was funny. Lauren has an all around great sense of humor and she portrays that straight into her music touching on all the topics that we moms go through on a daily basis. I really enjoyed this album and my toddler danced to the whole thing so she liked it too!

Val’s Views: While a CD of comedic songs isn’t something I’d typically get for myself, I did enjoy listening to this one. Only another woman can relate to my feelings on a day to day battle with gravity, and Lauren captures it perfectly in “Defining Gravity”. And every mother can relate to “Tell Me Another One”, one of my favorites on the album.

Stop by Lauren’s site for the perfect stocking stuffers for your girlfriends!

Win it!

How would you like to win a copy of Psycho Super Mom, Return of Psycho Super Mom, & First Grade Rocks? To enter:

• Stop by Lauren Mayer’s site before midnight, Dec 4th and listen to some of her music clips.
• Then come back and mention in comments which song is your favorite. That’s it!
• A random winner will be selected and notified on Dec 5th.
• The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to our feed.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here and to Lauren Mayer.
• Place our button in your sidebar.

This giveaway is open to everyone world-wide. Good luck!

Tired of the cutesy designs you usually see in the shopping malls? Well, you’re going to love the cool baby clothes at Uncommonly Cute.

From the site: “Uncommonly Cute’s t-shirts and onesies not only afford babies a sense of individual style-be they a Diva, a Rock Star or a Fashionista-but comfort as well. Each garment is made of 100% combed cotton and is super, super soft. Sure to delight the babies’ no-fuss, socially conscious moms, the clothes are all machine washable, safe, durable and made in sweatshop-free American studios.”

The cool thing about this site is that it allows you to design the perfect shirt/onesie for your child. First you pick the design, then the color, size, and type of shirt/sleeve length. This ensures that you get just want you want - no compromising. And for those with twins, you can even find matching sets!

Some of our lucky members received these cool baby clothes to review. Here’s what they had to say:

Chocolate Fingerprints: I love so many of their shirts! I could go on and on about my favorites! The shirts are very soft and fit well, and the sayings on them range from timely to timeless.

Tara’s View of the World: I was recently sent THE cutest “cool chick” t-shirt for Olivia from the super cool webstore- Uncommonly Cute. I LOVE it! I just think it looks adorable on Olivia and she loves the baby chick. She keeps pointing to it and giggling.

Cutie Booty Reviews: The t-shirt is made of 100% cotton and is clearly quality material. It has a nice weight to the fabric and did not shrink in the wash. The one thing that I would suggest when purchasing is to go up a size because the clothes seem to run a bit small.

Our Seven Qtpies: I adore his shirt, and so does Sam. It is so soft and fits him so well. Sam usually likes to be out of his clothes, but he even slept in this shirt. I know it is comfortable if he is willing to sleep in anything, because normally he won’t sleep until his clothes are off.

Just a Mom’s Take on Things: Uncommonly Cute has some of the most descriptive shirts for babies and kids that I’ve ever seen. I was cracking up at so many of the sayings, like “Famous on Facebook”, “I’m kind of a big deal”, ‘”Peace, love & cookies”, and “Word to Big Bird”.  These are so very different from the generic butterflies, flowers, trucks or sports designs that you find everywhere else on kids’ clothes – it’s so refreshing and fun to see some other great options.

A Wrestling Addicted Mommy: I was able to grab the cutest Lil Democrat tee for my youngest. Now her views may change as she grows older, because let’s face it, her views right now are our views as her parents, but I just loved that she could be a little supporter for change. Their sizes range from newborn up to a size 6, which is great because I can do all my shopping for both girls and find them some hip new shirts all in one spot!

An Island Review: We found the tee to be made from a very soft cotton which was great since Baby Bug has this thing about wearing clothes. Her preference is to spend the day in just a diaper so I knew that if the shirt wasn’t ultra-comfortable, she wouldn’t wear it long enough to even get a photo of her in it. Well, judging by that smile on her face it’s safe to say that she loves it! And if she loves it then I do, too!

It’s always a major concern when it comes to feeding your baby the healthiest foods around.  That’s why Gerber has recently come out with a brand new line of 2nd Food Purees with DHA.

From the site: “Once your baby eats easily from a spoon and has enjoyed single ingredient cereals, fruits and vegetable purees, it may be time to introduce him to new tastes. GERBER Purees with DHA have 18 mg of DHA per serving to help support brain and eye development.”

Gerber 2nd Food Purees with DHA is made with 100% real Gerber fruit puree, whole grains, and no artificial flavors. Now this is something any parent would feel comfortable serving to their precious babies.

Here’s what some of our members had to say:

Mama Sparkles: “My son especially enjoyed the Harvest Vegetables with Mixed Grains and the Spring Vegetables with Brown Rice. It’s so reassuring to know that Gerber is committed to serving our little ones with the best possible choices.”

All Because Two People Fell in Love: “My friend who doesn’t breastfeed was excited about the products with DHA. DHA is naturally found in breast-milk and has been shown to support brain and eye development. So she was pleased to find a baby food with with added DHA to feed her baby. She was also really impressed that the cereal was smooth and not lumpy!!”

Tara’s View of the World: “The smell and texture were nice and Olivia seemed just fine with the flavours since she didn’t spit any of it out! I tasted a couple of the veggie ones and found that they actually tasted like the vegetable they are made from! If you have never used baby food you may not think that is a big deal, but trust me, not all baby food tastes like real food.”

What’s That Smell?: “In general, about 90% of the baby food we buy is Gerber. They have a long standing reputation and honestly dominate the market in that area. We like the quality, the price and more recently I have really been excited about their organic products and those with added DHA. I try whenever possible to serve organics to my family because I believe that the more natural a product is, the better it is for our bodies. And DHA, which is naturally found in breast-milk has been shown to support brain and eye development, so a baby food with that added is something I am interested in feeding to Abby.”

Ohana Mama: “I am so glad a big company is looking to create better foods for our babies as this is the most important time where we can start our keiki on healthy eating habits. I am equally as happy that I am able to get organic and foods with DHA that I can find right at my local grocery store without having to travel to our health foods store for her baby food…that saves me time, money and gas. Woo!”

Stop by your local grocery store and try Gerber 2nd Food Purees for yourself. Your baby will thank you!

Well, it looks like the Family Review Network is ready for Halloween thanks to the Halloween Party Store. They were generous enough to send all of us some really cool costumes for our families to try out and they looked great!

Here’s what the reviewers had to say:

Mommy Blog Reviews: What I like best about this costume is that it is put together really well. It’s going to last beyond Halloween night and become something she can wear and have fun in when she plays dress-up at home. When I can get multiple uses out of a specialty item it makes me feel better about spending that much on a costume in the first place.

My Trendy Tykes: My son is a big Naruto fan so when I stumbled upon the Kakashi costume (His favorite character) I just KNEW I had to order it. Not only was the costume a huge hit but it arrived in record time (3 days!) Of course, he couldn’t wait until Halloween so he proudly wears it day and night. I have to beg him to take it off. I can honestly tell you that the costumes are made with the excellent quality materials. (Uh, if it can withstand my lil man then you know it is made pretty darn awesome!)

Just a Mom’s Take on Things . . . : The costume came within just a day or two of ordering it – I was extremely impressed! And it was exactly as described on the site. The costume fits her absolutely perfectly.

Rockin’ Mama -  When I opened the package, my son kept saying “Bob, Bob!”  The Bob the Builder costume is authentic and made from a soft, comfy polyester fabric.  Many of the costumes on the market are cheaply crafted with itchy, uncomfortable fabrics.  Not so with this costume.

The Way I See It: I will admit I am a hard critic but I truly am delighted with the quality of the costume. It’s well made and the muscles crack me up. I ordered size 4-6 and it fits Bear perfectly.

So if you’re still looking for that perfect costume for your whole family (including the dog), stop by the Halloween Party Store. Shipping is super fast so it’s not too late to order online. They even have free shipping to anywhere in the US for purchases over $75.

Stop by and check them out today!