3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

The past couple of months, our 6yr old has been a real challenge. I know it's natural for him to go through stages of testing us, but he really has tried his best to ignore the clearly set rules of this house. As you can imagine, after two months of this, the atmosphere in the house has been very tense and negative.

In honor of National Children's Dental Health Month, I've decided to feature a different dental-related product each week. My oldest son just turned 6, so he is approaching the time when he could potentially lose his first tooth. Oh the pressure! Trying to keep the magic of Santa and the Easter Bunny alive is hard enough. Now I have to be the tooth fairy too?

The whole experience of creating his own pillow was almost as important as having the actual pillow delivered to our front door. On the CurlyQ Cuties website, my son could choose the color of his tooth, the eye shape, eye color, and mouth shape. He tried all different combinations and could not make up his mind. Then he decided he really liked the green one shown at the top of the CurlyQ Cuties site, except he changed the eye shape to make it his own. I also paid the additional $5 to have my son's name embroidered on the back. He was able to choose the font and thread color himself. The Fairy-Tooth itself is $15, so mine would cost $20 to order with the embroidery (not including shipping charges).

I was extremely happy with the final product, as was my son. The 7" x 6" tooth looked exactly like the online drawing of the pillow he had personally designed. The anti-pill fleece and the downy filling made this pillow extremely huggable. My son even slept with his Fairy-Tooth the first night. It's also nice to know that if I had to, the pillow is machine washable on the delicate cycle and can be air dried. My son has gotten sick in his bed more than anywhere else and we've had to get rid of our share of plush toys. I hope that this special Fairy-Tooth will last many years.

CurlyQ Cuties' product selection is not limited to Custom Fairy-Teeth. This company also offers a variety of 12" custom monsters. I think I might have my 6yr old design one monster each for his younger twin brother and sister for Christmas this year. It would mean a lot more than just having him pick out a toy at the store.

To learn more about CurlyQ Cuties custom tooth fairy pillows and monsters, visit CurlyQCuties.com .

Thank you to CurlyQ Cuties for sending us a custom Fairy Tooth pillow free of charge to base this review upon.

Many times, when our 3yr old twins are suppose to be napping, I hear them chatting with each other instead. It is extremely interesting to listen to their conversations because they think that nobody can hear them through the walls.

The whole thing just made me smile. Meet Uncle Matt . . .

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I own many reusable shopping bags, but I think this one has got to be my favorite, even of all the Envirosax tote bags I own. Not only is it extremely roomy and folds up compactly, but it is in my favorite color . . . red! It's too nice to use for groceries though, so I keep this one in my purse for trips to the mall. Can you guess how many shoeboxes can fit in this bag?

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

I suppose it is a reflection of the economic times that I received a noticeably large amount of requests at the beginning of 2010 to review books and other products having to do with teach children how to handle money responsibly. This storybook appealed to me because my husband and I have been discussing starting an allowance for our 6yr old son.

Three Cups by Mark St. Germain is a children's book based on a true story, which tells about how a 5yr old boy learned to be responsible with his money in such a way that it stayed with him through college all the way up until he had his own 5yr old son. The lesson is based on the simple concept of the three cups, of which one represents "savings", the second "spending", and the third "charity". We have actually adopted a similar system with our own son's birthday money and other monetary gifts, except there was a fourth category for investing. I think we might just eliminate that fourth category because it makes the system too complicated for a young child.

I have to say that this is an excellent book and the story is well told. Having said that, my son was very resistant to sit down and read it with me because of the style of illustration. He said that it looked "boring." April Willy, the illustrator, did a great job evoking a timeless feeling with the cover and the pictures inside, but they are not appealing to a younger child like mine, who would prefer something more whimsical. My husband ended up reading Three Cups to my son as a bedtime story and my son actually apologized to me afterwards for being so resistant. He ended up enjoying the story very much, so I had to use the "You can't judge a book by its cover" line on him.

Ultimately, this book does a good job explaining several financial concepts to a child my son's age. It talks about savings accounts, deposits, and earning interest. It also shows the reward of saving for something one really wants and how nice it is to be generous to others you know and those you do not through donating money or goods to worthy charities.

At only $10.00 for a hardcover copy, this book would be an excellent gift for any school-aged child. I highly recommend this book for a child who is starting to receive an allowance for the first time. I am going to decorate three cups with my son especially to adopt this simple system because I think he is ready for an allowance.

You can purchase this book right on the 3 Cups website. You can also find it on Amazon.com where it happens to be eligible for Super Saver Shipping.

Thank you to Three Cups, LLC for providing us with a review copy of the book to base this article upon and for also offering a book as the prize for this contest.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive their own hardcover copy of Three Cups by Mark St. Germain.

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:
Leave a comment telling me something your child would like to save his or her money to buy (or you can tell me about something you are saving up for yourself). You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND 3CupsBook.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing: Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Something to look forward to this spring is the upcoming debut album of 4 Troops, a foursome of young military verterans who have joined together to form a musical group. Members include Former Cpt. Meredith Melcher, Sgt. Daniel Jens, Staff Sgt. (Ret.) Ron Henry and Former Sgt. David Clemo.

Look for the 4 Troops debut album beginning May 25th, 2010. You can also look for airings of their February military base concert during the summer on participating PBS stations.

Thank you to Sony Music for providing the information used in this article. No compensation was received for sharing this information with my readers.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and all the DVDs stemming from this Playhouse Disney children's program have become a staple in our house. My youngest son, who just turned 3, is the biggest Mickey Mouse fan ever. In fact, he sleeps with a plush Mickey Mouse doll that he received for his birthday.

Between February 9th and April 6th, 2010, you can purchase this DVD with a bonus Minnie Mouse set of magnets and picture frame right inside the specially marked package. You should be able to find this DVD at the Disney Store and most places where Disney DVDs are sold.

Thank you to Click-Communications for providing us with a sample DVD to base this review upon and for providing a press release with information about this DVD and WDSHE.

Hey look! I finally remembered to change my outdated Weekly Winners badge. (It only took me about a month.)

I think I was lucky in that several photo opportunities presented themselves last week. I love it when that happens because I don't always have the time to go looking for them. Which one is your favorite?

"Sweeter Than Sweet"

"Double-Fisted"

"An Artist's Tools"

"Small, But Huggable"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus at Sarcastic Mom.

Since our last all-in-one inkjet printer failed, my husband and I thought we could get by with just a good quality black and white laser printer. We figured that any color print jobs we had could be sent to the local FedEx Office or photo place. As our children have grown, our needs have changed. We don't just need to print birthday invitations once a year anymore. Instead we also have children's artwork, potty charts, and reward certificates to print. On top of that, I want to start updating our framed photos and photo albums more often than once a year, so the answer for us seemed to be a high quality photo printer.

2) Although I like the sleek versatile look of the printer in black, it is a dust and pet hair magnet (but so is my laptop, our television, and any other black electronics in our home).

3) Having a built-in WiFi and Ethernet connection gives us the option of going wireless, which is extremely convenient. This way, we can print from our laptops from anywhere in the house. I still have to connect my laptop with a USB cable to print on our laser printer. With this Epson you have the option of using a wired or wireless network.

4) The disc that comes with this printer supports Windows 2000, Windows XP and XP Professional, Windows Vista, and Apple Mac OS X. If you have Windows 7, you do not need the disc to set up your printer. Instead you will need to go to Epson's Microsoft Windows 7 Support page to download the drivers you need.

5) After that, printing is easy, even for various sizes of photos. For printing photos quickly you simply select your paper size, desired print quality, paper type, and whether you would like your computer to auto-fit your print project to the frame size.

6) I have to say that I love that the 2.5" color screen on top of the printer tilts foward. No more leaning over the top of the printer trying to read the options. This is especially nice if your printer is located on a shelf or high up in a hutch.

7) Another practical feature I like is that the paper tray not only retracts, it also folds up and latches. This is a huge space-saver and helps to keep unwanted debris from entering the interior of the printer.

8) If print speed is important to you, then you will be happy to know that this printer prints documents almost as quickly as our laser printer. For a 4x6 inch color photo, it takes about 20 seconds to print one from edge to edge.

9) I was pretty happy with the smooth feed of the paper on this printer. One time, I forgot to push the guide over when printing a 4x6 photo and it still printed without any fuzziness or having the paper move or jam.

10) This printer can print documents and photos without going through your computer. It takes all types of memory cards (including xD, SD, MS Pro, and CF) and USB flash drives. The LCD screen serves as a little computer monitor to assist you in printing and viewing your projects. It is not intuitive to me that the slot on the left has three spaces inside for the different types of smaller memory cards. Once you realize it, then it is easy to use.

11) This printer has the capabilities of photo enhancement. This is nice if you are not capable or do not have the time to use photo-editing software to edit your photos yourself. You must make your selection, such as "fix red-eye" prior to printing.

12) This printer also has the ability to restore old photographs that have faded or perhaps discolored. This is a wonderful feature for anyone who has taken on the project of scanning their old family photos and saving a digital copy of these photos for themselves and to share with friends and family.

13) The function of "Fix Photo" is great to use as a default function, except for two circumstances that I will explain below. This function brightens and sharpens your photos all on its own. As you can see below, it works great on most photos.

I did not find the "Fix Photo" function to be helpful when there was a lot of red and brown or a lot of white in the photo. On this photo, my daughters eyes look a lighter brown than normal, but the "Fix Photo" actually gave her red-eye. It also made her face a washed out pink.

On this next photo, the "Fix Photo" again enhanced the red-eye and turned my son's orange pants into red. It also washed out the white in my son's shirt, so many of the details of the fabric that were once seen in the original sharp photo disappeared.

14) If you have children (or impatient adults) in your household or office, then you will be as thrilled as I am about the DURABrite Ultra Ink used in this Epson. It dries immediately on documents and just after a few seconds on full color photos. This ink is smudge-free and water resistant. Not only is this great for important projects, but wouldn't it be nice if your children could color with markers on coloring pages you printed for them without the lines smudging when wet with a marker?

15) One other important thing you should know is that this Epson printer is eco-friendly and more cost-efficient. It is ENERGY STAR qualified, designed to be recycled, and the quick drying ink allows you to print on both sides of your paper without worries of smudging.

Aside from the effects of the "Fix Photo" feature on photos with lots of white, red, and brown, I am extremely happy with this printer. I have not had it in my home for long enough to speak about it's durability. I can only say that it appears to be well-constructed and solidly built, right down to the paper tray. This printer also comes with bonus Arcsoft Print Creations software, which allows you to create invitations, cards, photo calendars, and other personalized projects.

To learn more about this printer, click on this link to view the Epson Stylus NX515 Printer specifications. You should be able to find this printer, which retails for approximately $149.99, at most major retailers of computers, office products, and electronics, as well as on the Epson website.

Thank you to Epson America, Inc for providing a printer, ink, and paper samples for us to base this review upon and also for providing facts and product specifications in a press kit.

I rarely have time to enter giveaways, but I sneak one in once in awhile. I'm so glad I did this time.

Valerie, a member of our blogging community, recently took the initiative to create a new review network devoted to all types of gaming called the Game Review Network. This network covers PC gaming, console gaming, handheld games, phone apps, and may soon be branching out to DVD and board games.

I am honored to be the first member featured on GRN's Friday's Featured Member. If you have time, click on the link to learn something about me that you may not have previously known.

Lea Industries, a division of La-Z-Boy Furniture devoted to youth bedroom furniture, will introduce a new line called "Nickelodeon MyRoom" this month. This is the first licensed furniture line for children that I've seen that comes from a higher end furniture brand, as opposed to plastic or thin particle board RTA (ready-to-assemble) furniture that comes in a box.

We won't be buying new furniture for the twins until we can move to a larger house and they can each have their own bedrooms, but it's fun to think ahead about how we might decorate each room. I believe that children are much better off when their bedrooms are a happy, inviting, and safe place to be. I think Lea Industries is on the right track.

Although I was only supplied with these two photos to share with my readers, I do believe this new line will also include other Nickelodeon characters, such as Spongebob and iCarly. I look forward to seeing these sets in person when they finally hit the furniture stores in my area.

Thank you to Bender/Helper Impact for providing the information for this article. I did not receive compensation of any kind to share this information with my readers.

It is that time of year again . . . time to nominate a child you know for the Build-A-Bear Huggable Heroes scholarship! The main requirement is the child you nominate must have given back somehow to his or her own community or to another community worldwide.

Ten children will be selected to each receive $7500 in an educational scholarship plus $2500 to go to the 501(c)(3) charity of the winner's choice. Each winner will also be invited to St. Louis for a 2-day, 1-night stay, where they will be honored for their achievements in community service.

To qualify, the child must be between the ages of 8 and 18. Anyone age 8 and up can nominate another child or themselves. You can either download and print a Huggable Heroes nomination form or pick one up at your local Build-A-Bear Workshop store location. You can also submit your Huggable Heroes nomination online.

The 2009 Huggable Heroes

All nominations must be received by February 26th, 2010. Please visit the Huggable Heroes website to read the official contest rules.

Thank you to Build-A-Bear Workshop for providing the information to help me with this article. I did not receive compensation for sharing this information with my readers.

Angela Kinsey, the current spokesperson for Clairol products, has 5 easy tips for any woman who needs to get ready for a special event on short notice. It does not need to be a red carpet event, but could be a last minute invitation to be someone's plus one at a wedding or a charity dinner.

1. Pick a light-colored nail polish for your manicure—not only does it dry faster, but if it chips before the big night, it’s less noticeable. Try and do your nails the day before so wet nails won’t be an issue on event night.

2. Skip the false lashes and try a great lengthening mascara like CoverGirl LashBlast Length. (Hey, I use LashBlast!)

3. Choose a long lasting lip color—only one application and it lasts the whole night, all you need is a glossy touch up!

4. Make sure your roots are kept at bay – for busy gals like myself, try coloring your hair at-home with Nice ‘n Easy the week of the event to brighten your look and ensure shiny color. (I use Rich Burgundy No. 132!)

5. EAT! On event day, choose something light but filling so you’ll still feel like your fabulous self when you get into your evening attire.

Thank you to Marina Maher Communications, Inc. for providing the information shared in this post. I did not receive compensation to share this information with my readers.