Smart-E Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to

Ann W.

Winner of the Smart-E Giveaway (she chose the Cat)

Check back often for more excitement at DoubleBugs!!!

Avon Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to
Lynne B.
Winner or the Avon Reed Diffuser and Color Palette.
Check back often at DoubleBugs for more fun opportunities!

Game night for New Years Giveaway!

Christmas is Just about here and that means New Years is right around the corner. If you are anything like our family we tend to ring in the new year having fun at home. The restaurants are always packed, and we aren’t big party fans but we love to be around family. We are hoping that 2009 brings good health and happiness for everyone.
My favorite thing to do is a game night on New Years Eve. It is so much fun to get all your favorite snacks and drinks, watch the New Years specials like one in Times Square and just enjoy each others company. Put on your comfy clothes and have fun.
So to get ready for New Years I have put together a fun bunch of goodies to give my readers to have their own family fun night. It beats getting out in the cold and is a great alternative so everyone can enjoy.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!
Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful comments and recipes!

Family Fun Night Package Will Include:
*Uno Flash Game (this is such a fun game!)
*2 Free 1lb bags of M&M’s
*Two boxes of Orville Butter Popcorn
*The Mummy Movie (new release)
*Canon SD PowerShot 1000 (perfect for capturing movies, pics and memories)
*400 Free Prints for Snapfish

Heres what you gotta do!

Leave me a comment on what your favorite family thing to do is along with a fun snack recipe.  Let me know what your New Years Resolution is!

Leave me and email so I can contact you if you win

Contest Starts December 18, 2008 and Ends December 28 2008

If the winner does not respond within 2 days a new winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

Cheekeyes Winner

CONGRATULATIONS

TO

Cindi H.  Winner of the Cheekeyes Giveaway!   She chose the African Animal Set!

Check back often for more great ideas, musings and giveaways on DoubleBugs!

Joobles to Delight Your Little One This Holiday

I often  think that simple toys are the better choice for little kids.   It allows them to use their imagination and they don’t tend to overstimulate their little brains.   Sometimes less is better.   I am a huge fan of eco-friendly toys, not only because they are safer for the environment, but more importantly, safe for our children.   I think this world is exposed to enough chemicals!

I am always eyeballing all those cute little knit toys that I see.  Some of them are just too expensive for my budget, or are poorly made.   I was recently introduced to Joobles, and they are adorable!   Each with a little personality of their own, these cute and cuddly critters are a perfect snuggle companion for your special little someone.   Bubs, the youngest of my twin boys, is my snuggle bug and the one who takes his blanky to bed.   When I first got “Cally the Cat” he was very quick to give it a nice big hug.  I love Joobles!, they are soft, and so squishy which makes snuggling up with them irresistible.  They have just the right amount of stuffing, and are so well made and you can just tell they were handcrafted with all the important details.

About Joobles

Where do Joobles come from? Started by a Peruvian family — a mom, a dad, and their daughter — this company provides work and hope to hundreds of rural and urban Peruvians all over the country. Small groups of impoverished workers are trained to run their own small businesses making hand-knit clothing and accessories.  In addition to providing much needed employment, they train workers throughout Peru in such valuable skills as quality control and production planning. Fair Indigo also works with this company’s charitable arm by donating free breakfasts and school supplies to children of the workers

Each incredibly soft animal is made with eco-friendly dyes and organic cotton grown in Peru. Calley the Cat stands 11” tall (as all the friends do) with adorable whiskers and a huggable green and yellow body. For parents hunting for eco-friendly toys, all of the Joobles are made with cotton grown without the use of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, or other chemicals. Eliminating these chemicals is not only better for baby, but also for workers and for the environment.

Cute Cuddly and Smart…Smart-E Bear

My boys are just at the age where they are interested in music and singing songs and are growing leaps and bounds in their development. Sometimes with their short attention span it is hard to hold their interest to any one thing for very long, before they are on to the next. So any toy that holds their interest for longer than a few minutes is simply at the top of my list.

I am a huge fan of toys that inspire imagination or toys that actually teach the boys something so it is a learning experience. So many toys today have batteries but I swear they are there only to annoy parents rather than provide anything useful. I was recently introduced to SmartE Bear and I instantly fell in love with him and everything about this soft, smart, cute and cuddly bear. This bear is simply brilliant (literally!).  Designed by Intellitoys in a joint effort with Kids Preferred, SmartE Bear combines a little bit of the traditional with technology and brings your child a fun and interactive toy that can tell stories, play simon says, or even sing them to sleep. Together they created the newest software tucked in a very soft bear, dog and cat. These technology-friendly pals are simple to program and easy to customize.  You simply connect SmartE to your computer and you can download songs, stories and a whole lot more!

One of the boys’ favorite songs is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” so I went in and downloaded it onto the bear and played it for them. Neither one of them wanted to put it down after that, and well when I put “Jingle Bells” on there, Mommy had a hard time getting the bear away long enough to adjust the volume.

This one is definitely a keeper and well I found myself playing with SmartE well after they went to bed.  It is just so much fun!  This would make a really fantastic gift for the holidays and is sure to put a huge smile on any kids face.   I know my two just love it!

Smart-e-bear • $79.99 • Ages 2+
Designed primarily for non-reading 2 to 6 year olds, smart-e-dog, cat or bear encourages children to discover and explore through a library of literally thousands of award-winning songs, interactive stories, educational games and other content that parents can selectively purchase through the Internet and download to the toy with a super-easy USB connection. Measuring 13” tall, this plush pal utilizes electronics about the size of a deck of cards. The squeezable, adorable animals will enchant little ones with their “smarts” from hearing a song to reading a story to playing a game. There’s always something for kids to discover as the software changes and grows with the child’s interests from the nursery to kindergarten.

DoubleBugs is offering its readers the chance to win a SmartE Bear, Dog or Cat of their choice!

All you have to do is visit SmartE, take a little tour in the Learn more section and check out all the fun things you can download.  Come back here and leave me a comment on what you would download if you won a SmartE and which one you would choose.

Leave me an email so I can contact you if you win

Good Luck

Deadline is December 17, 2008

Mom Central Holiday Gift Guide

I know with Christmas fast approaching, I am in a scramble to get everyone’s gifts. And usually my problem is what to get everyone and I am almost inevitably searching for the perfect gift idea. And with having twin two year olds to look after in the mix, it can make finding gifts even more stressful. That’s why it is so nice to have a place where you have gift ideas all in one place for everyone!

Mom Central has done all the brain racking work of finding the perfect gift in their 2008 Gift Guide. They have reviewed hundreds of products for everyone on your list right down to your favorite furry friends in your life. You are sure to find something that will put a smile on that special someone’s face this holiday season. Mom Central will also give away thousands of dollars worth of prizes in multiple daily drawings!

To be eligible to win the daily prizes, participants must register on Mom Central, log-in, and leave a comment on the post. In addition, if participants tweet or email friends about the giveaway, they can earn another entry! In order to earn the entry, they simply go back to the Mom Central Review blog and leave a second comment letting them know.  Plus, Mom Central is such a cool place to be a part of!

Head on over to Mom Central and save your sanity by making your holiday gift buying a breeze!

Avon Beauty For You and Your Home

I have always been a huge fan of Avon products.  I can remember them from when I was child, so they have been around for a long time which tells you something about their products.   I love to get their catalogs and especially during the holidays, because they offer such a wide variety of things that can be given as gifts or just to pamper yourself.   The prices are reasonable too, which is a big plus, when you are on a tight budget.   They have things for the home, cosmetics, stuff for the kids and for the men in your life.

Around this time of the year, I am a huge fan of all the sights and smells that surround the holiday season, and I have always been a fan of lighting candles throughout my home.   I have just recently been introduced to the reed diffusers, and have always seen them in the stores but have never tried them personally.  I was very excited to try Avon’s Botanical Reed Diffuser (19.99).  Natural bamboo reeds absorb scented oil and diffuse fragrance throughout your home and the scent isn’t too overpowering.   I love the Summer Blossom scent.  It actually brings warmth into the home when it’s cold outside.   Avon’s reed diffuser, is perfect for a housewarming gift, a gift to yourself, or for holiday giving.

Not only can you beautify your home, but  you can have all your personal beauty essentials all in a compact location with Jillian Dempsey for AVON Essential Beauty Palette ($7.99). This fabulous palette includes 2 lip colors, 2 eyeshadows, 1 blush and a 2 sided applicator and mirror. This is perfect for your purse and for those quick touch ups when you are on the run. They are available in both cool and warm palettes. They are also great for gift giving and stocking stuffers!

DoubleBugs would like to offer it’s readers, the chance to win Avon’s Botanical Reed Diffuser and an Essential Beauty Palette! Also for all your shopping needs by entering the code JINGLE30 you will be entitled to free standard shipping with a $30 order when you shop with an eRepresentative. This offer expires on January 1, 2009.

Here’s all ya gotta do:

Visit the Avon site and let me know what your favorite product or products are and leave me a commant here.

Please leave me an email or way to contact you if you win.

If the chosen winner does not respond in two days, a new winner will be chosen.

Contest starts December 2,2008 and ends December 16, 2008.

Good Luck!

Cheekeyes and Oompa Toys

When you have young children, you undoubtedly have a whole myriad of toys laying about.   I have one room in the house designated for their stuff.  I found in the boys’ two short years, that there are toys that just aren’t going to last and ones that I know will be around for a long time.   Of my most favorite things, are their wooden toys.  I’ll admit I am a sucker for them.   There is something about the quality of wooden toys, when you first open the box and get a glimpse of them.  I find myself wanting to put them up on my mantle or hording them like my prized possesion.  They aren’t the toys that you just give away.

With wooden toys there is something magical about them for children.  They are usually fairly simplistic in design, but my kids seem to play with them the most.  Not only that, they encourage them to use their imagination, whether it is making a tower or a tunnel, or making walls or making their wooden lion roar.  For me, that is worth it’s weight in gold, because this day and age, it seems like we encourage that less with television, and toys that are battery operated.  Wooden toys are such a refreshing change from that.

When I was offered the opportunity to review Cheekeyes, I immediately snatched up the offer.  I love to see what is out there with regards to wooden toys.  These totally too cute wooden toys are not only durable but are made from eco-friendly rubberwood.  Handmade and partially painted, each of the Cheekeyes is unique; there are no two the same. From the hands of Dutch designer Rogier van Zijp emerged Arctic, African, Forest and Farm animal sets plus Dinosaurs, these animals sport a distinctive red cheek and painted eye (reflected in their name, Cheekeyes) that will endear them to children and caregivers alike. They are very smooth (as all wooden toys should be) and they have paint only on the sides.  When I told my Dutch husband about where these toys came from, he seemed rather proud. The 2009 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio has given Cheekeyes its prestigious Platinum Award for one of this year’s best preschool toys.

We received the African Animals set, which included whimsical interpretations of a lion, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephant and giraffe.  Cheekeyes also has various wooden scenery additions such as rocks and trees to make your little ones animal menagerie complete.  I found myself making the giraffe eat the imaginary leaves off the trees, and the rhino took a nap on the rock.  The boys got such a kick out of mommy playing with them and what a great way to spend family time.  These will be around for a very long time to come and the boys simply adore them already.

Forest Animal Set ($29.99)
The Forest Animal set comes complete with a bison,
wild boar, wolf, goat, and grizzly bear. Cave and tree
sets sold separately, $16.99 each.

African Animal Set ($29.99)
The African Animal set makes a charming collection
of inhabitants for your desert terrain, which includes a
lion, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephant and giraffe.
Tree set and rock sold separately, $16.99 each.

Arctic Animal Set ($29.99)
The Arctic Animal Set includes all of your
favorite polar critters, including an orca, seal,
whale, penguin and polar bear. Icebergs sold
separately, $16.99 each.

Farm Animal Set ($29.99)
The farm animal set includes all your favorite
barnyard critters, including a sheep, pig, goat,
cow and horse. Fence set and tree sets sold
separately, $16.99 each.

Cheekeyes are available online at Oompa toys and would make a perfect gift for this holiday season for your special little someone.  What a perfect way to make their holiday light up.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED!!

Would you like to win a set of Cheekeyeys animals for your own special someone this holiday season.  DoubleBugs and Oompa toys are giving away one set of your choice to one lucky winner!

Here’s all ya gotta do!

Just visit Oompa Toys and tell me what set of Cheekeyes you would like and something else you like about the Oompa site.

Leave me an email so I have a way to contact you if you win

Winner has two days to respond or another is chosen.

Contest Starts November 24, 2008 and Ends December 8, 2008

Good Luck!!!

Ready Set Shop (Winner!)

CONGRATS TO JACK T.   WINNER OF THE READY SET SHOP GIVEAWAY!

Thank you to all who entered, come back often for more great offers!!!

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