Fireworks Light Show In My Room by Uncle Milton Review

Here is some fun from Uncle Milton to get your holiday started!  Although it is going to be a long winter, you and your children can enjoy the fun of a 4th of July fireworks show in your own home all year long!  Introducing Uncle Milton Fireworks Light Show In My Room.  This is very simple, but brilliantly made, handheld device that projects images of fireworks onto walls or ceilings.  Included to make the experience more authentic are booming sound effects.  And, you can easily change up the fireworks display by simply rotating a disc to choose the image you want.

This is also a great toy to have on hand for bedtime or those rainy day indoor picnics.  Mason and I love to have indoor picnics in the family room and what better what to end any picnic than with fireworks?   It works best in a dark room so you can fully appreciate the colors in the fireworks display, but even in not ideal conditions, Mason loved all the colors and the booming sounds.  After showing Mason how to pump the launcher and pull the trigger, he was easily able to create his own fireworks.  What you will see is a firework bursting and expanding on the wall or ceiling, accompanied by a realistic sound effect, including the fizzling sound at the end when the firework disappears.

This toy does require 3 AAA batteries, which are not included.  Although Fireworks Light Show in My Room is recommended for ages 6, I think this could be appropriate for a child as young as 4 (with parental supervision of course).   It retails for about $34.99.

Note: There is a warning on the toy not to look directly into the beam of light.  Doing so can cause serious and irreparable eye damage.




Uncle Milton provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

TransFormers Dark of the Moon Cyberverse: Autobot Ark

Any Transformer fans out there?  I know in my house we watch the movie every time it is on TV.  My husband also loves to make the typical robot "transforming" sound whenever he gets a chance!  And of course he is teaching Mason how to "transform" the Transformers with appropriate shape shifting sounds.

We have been having so much fun playing with Hasbro's Transformers Dark of The Moon Cyberverse Ark Set.  Since I love toys that are all-inclusive, this is on my list of great toys for this year.  This set transforms into a Moonbase, which is pretty much the whole play set.  With fewer steps to transform the toy, this is a great starter set, especially if you have younger children. 

The Autobot Ark is just about ready to be played with right out of the box.   It transforms pretty easily as all you really have to do is pull on each wing to get it to changes shape pretty much by itself.  The ship flips and pulls out easily to transform into a space station, which turns the ship into the command base or the Ark.     

Once the Autobot Ark is transformed, there is a jail for holding Decepticons, a repair bay, a launch ramp for the lunar rover, and guns for defense.  Mason loved the lights and the cool rocket sounds the Ark made!  Since I always worry about little pieces, I was glad to see that there are not too many little pieces to find all over the house.

Included in this set is a small Transformer that changes from robot to lunar rover. I like that it came with a Transformer so Mason was able to start playing with the set immediately. The Transformer can be made into a lunar rover vehicle in a few short moves. Although it is for ages 5 and up, with help Mason was able to get it to transform with some help. This transformer is not as complicated as some of the other sets I have seen my Nephew, Luke, play with.

Overall, the TransFormers Dark of the Moon Cyberverse: Autobot Ark easy to use, lightweight for moving, and is pretty durable.  The plastic seems like it will stand the test up to little hands and rough play.  It does require 2 AA batteries, which are not included.   I also love toys that foster imaginative play and the set lends itself to just that. With all the attention to detail, there are endless possibilities of play.  I also love the educational value of this play set as it allows the child to use their imagination, and transforming the play set helps to develop eye and hand coordination.

 

Hasbro provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

The Middle

This guest post from Hong Alexander

I have never seen a show that embodies the true verve of the American family as much as The Middle. Two working class parents and three children in suburban Indiana? It doesn’t really get any more American than that. The parents struggle to meet deadlines, put food on the table, drive their kids to activities, maintain some semblance of a social life, and nourish their marriage. That…is a lot to do. The thought of it actually stresses me out a little bit. And yet it’s amazing—they do it with aplomb. They do it with a sense of humor…I don’t understand it. I mean, sure there are episodes where the obstacles seem almost insurmountable, and Frankie (the mom) is a bit of a neurotic mess, but it all gets sorted out by the end of the thirty minutes. While I don’t think the resolutions are always realistic, I do think it’s fun to watch people who are doing the same things we’re all doing every day, but who somehow find a way to make it much, much more interesting. Tune in to The Middle the next time you see it on direct tv unionsville. I think you’ll love it.

Littlest Pet Shop Walkables by Hasbro Review

Here come some of the cutest toys I have reviewed for the 2011 Holiday Season!  With the help of my Niece, Anna, I discovered just how much fun playing with the new Littlest Pet Shop Walkables.  In case you are not familiar with the Littlest Pet Shop, the Walkables are the first of the motorized Littlest Pet Shop characters you can collect that move by themselves.

Anna and I had a blast making these Pets walk all over the floor.  They are so easy to play with too.  All you have to do is take them out of the box and push a button to see your pet set in motion to walk!  If you can remember back to the days of a wind up toy, it kind of reminded me of that, but there is no winding on these toys.  These toys are battery powered and can be replaced when the batteries run out.  The Pets do come with 2 batteries included, which is a nice feature. 

We were lucky enough to play with the Littlest Pet Shop Walkables Seal Figure and the Littlest Pet Shop Walkables Spider Figure.  Anna was already a fan of the Littlest Pet Shop, so she instantly fell in love with these Walkables.  We tried all different surface types to see where the Walkables would "walk" best and found that a smooth surface really is the best place.  Some Pets get around by moving their legs and others use wheels to "walk" around.  Already on her Santa list are the Littlest Pet Shop Playsets so she can have even more fun.

Other Littlest Pet Shop Walkables are available and include the Ferret Pet, the Baby Tiger Pet,  the Dog Pet, the Snail Pet, the Hermit Crab Pet, the Cat Pet, the Fish Pet, the Inchworm or Caterpillar Pet, the Dragonfly Pet, Littlest Pet Shop Treehouse Playset that includes a Chipmunk Walkable Pet, Walking Butterfly Playset, Walking Pets Themed Pack - Walking Dog Playset and so much more!  Pets also come with instructions to help you get going.  Each Walkable and playset is sold separately.  The Walkables are recommended for ages 4 and up and retail starting at about $8.99 each.

Hasbro provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Graveyard Treat: A Dessert for Halloween

I know what I will be making for dessert this Halloween!  I guess after all the trick or treating, you don't really need more sweets, but who can resist? 

Graveyard Treat

Ingredients

• 2 and 1/4 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine or butter, melted
• 1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cubed and softened
• 1 tub (12 ounces) Cool Whip, thawed
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 package (8 serving size) or 2 packages (4 serving size) Jell-O Brand Orange Gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water
• Ice cubes
• Rectangular or oval shaped sandwich cookies
• Decorator icing
• Candy corn and/or pumpkins

Directions

1. Mix 2 cups of the cookie crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the melted margarine with fork in 9x13-inch baking pan until crumbs are well moistened.  Press firmly onto bottom of pan to form crust.  Refrigerate.
2. Beat cream cheese and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl with wire whisk until smooth.  Gently stir in 1/2 of the whipped topping.  Spread over crust evenly.
3. Stir boiling water into gelatin in a medium bowl for 2 minutes or until completely dissolved.  Mix cold water and ice cubes to make 1 and 1/2 cups.  Add to gelatin; stir until slightly thickened )consistency of unbeaten egg whites).  Remove any remaining ice, Spoon gelatin over cream cheese layer.
4. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm.  Spread remaining whipped topping over gelatin just before serving.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cookie crumbs.  Decorate sandwich cookies with icings to make "tombstones".  Stand tombstones on top of dessert with candies to represent a graveyard.  Cut into squares and serve.

Get this and more ideas from the Frightfully Fun Halloween Recipes cookbook.

Twirl 'n Top Pizza Shop Play-Doh Set Review by Hasbro

Who hasn't played with Play-Doh as a child?  I had so many containers of it, I couldn't keep track.  We made everything our imagination would allow out of Play-Doh!  Mason is finally at the age where he is really into playing with Play-Doh.  I started him off with one can and now he has the Play-Doh 24 Pack of Colorson his Christmas list.

I was thrilled that we were lucky enough to try out the Play-Doh Twirl 'n Top Pizza Shop.  This is Mason's first set and he was as excited about it as I was!  He immediately recognized it as a Pizza play set and since he LOVES pizza, I knew this would be a hit.

Set up of the set was a breeze.  All I had to do was attach the cheese sprinkler to the oven by snapping the two pieces together, making one play set.  Next, I placed a pizza dish under the cheeses sprinkler and I was ready to start making pizza with Mason.

Mason started his pizza with making the crust.  I helped him get an appropriate amount of brown Play-Doh and he put it in the pizza pan and put it in the oven.  He easily pulled the handle on the oven, creating the pizza crust.  We put the pan in the pizza dish under the cheese sprinkler and added some Play-Doh to the sprinkler.  I attached the cheese grater handle and showed Mason how to turn the handle so we could grate the "cheese".  Mason then created his pizza toppings of mushrooms, green peppers and pepperoni.  He did need some help getting the toppings out of the mold since they were small.  I used a couple toothpicks to help get the Play-Doh out with no problem.  Mason happily added his toppings to his pizza and I helped him slice it up.  He handed me the first piece and said, "Here you go, Mommy".  He was so proud of himself!

Overall, this Play-Doh set was lots of fun and so easy to use!  Mason loved making pizza to share with me and even told his Daddy all about it when he came home from work!  With some adult help, it is a great set for children 3 and up.

From a parents perspective, I think this set will stand the test of time and it seems durable enough to be played with often.  Clean up of the Play-Doh out of the molds was easy.  I also love that this set is all inclusive.  It comes with everything you need to get your own pizza shop started.  Included in the set is the oven, cheese sprinkler, sprinkler handle, dish, server, cutter, pan, instructions and 3 two-ounce cans and 1 five-ounce can of Play-Doh.  It is recommended for ages 3 and up.  It retails for about $16.99.  I think this makes it a great buy for the price!





Hasbro provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Use What To Clean Your Diamonds?...and a Great Recipe!

VODKA!  Yes, Vodka is the answer.  I always run out of jewelery cleaner, so I decided to find an alternate method of cleaning my diamond wedding rings.  Not only is vodka something most people have on hand in their in-home bar, it is much, much cheaper than traditional jewelery cleaner.  That being said, remember, vodka is not for all jewelery.  This is for diamond jewelery only!  Also, if your diamond jewelery is really dirty, you can use a soft toothbrush dipped in the vodka to clean it.  It will help remove tough dirt without damaging the stone.

So, now that I have a whole bottle of vodka, what do I do with it?  I don't drink vodka, so I researched a bit and found a great recipe by Rachael Ray.  I have made this in the past and it is delicious.  I think I will have to add it back into my arsenal of  "oldies, but goodies".

"You Won't Be Single for Long" Vodka Cream Pasta
Recipe Courtesy of Rachael Ray
From: The Best Burger in America Discovered

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Serve with: crusty bread

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. 
2. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots
3. Gently saute shallots for  to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. 
4. Add vodka to the pan (3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup)
5. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add chicken stock and tomatoes.
7. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked al dente.  While pasta cooks, prepare salad or other side dishes.
10. Stir cream into sauce.  When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat.  Drain pasta.  Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves.
11. ENJOY!