Sweets for the Sweethearts

Necco's conversation hearts are a Valentine's Day staple, like teddy bears and flowers. Now the chatty candies are looking for help from all of us to come up with sweet sayings for our sweethearts.

And they're willing to make it worth your while.

Join in the caption contest at MySweethearts.com, create your own sweet sayings before May 31, and you could win a run of customized hearts worth $8,000 or other great prizes!

A Kingdom for Each Kid

At Kidlandia your child can explore, customize and then create their own magical world in the form of gorgeously illustrated maps made just for them. The smidgen of the map to the left, as a matter of fact, is one I customized for our family.

Each customized map allows for an incredible amount of input for your child--seriously, I was so impressed with just how many family members, friends, pets, sports, favorite hobbies you could enter on Kidlandia along with your child.

It's a fun way to spend the day, thinking up all the special people and things you want to include in your map. You can name rivers, valleys, mountains, towns, villages...it is, as they say, a whole kingdom for your child. There's even a legend in each map that includes your child's name as the kingdom's leader, and you can choose whether you want King or Queen, Prince or Princess, Emporer or Empress, President or...President.

That's right. I love that it's not "First Lady"--why shouldn't a little girl dream of the day when she can be President herself?!

The Kidlandia maps, and by the way there are several that you can choose to customize, are perfect for kids' rooms and make a fantastic birthday gift for, well, any kid. And "kids" means anyone 1-100 years old, because I'm mumblety mumblety old myself, and I would love one of these!

The maps are just, as I say, lush and gorgeous and I can see them becoming a treasured legacy for your child through the years to come.

In addition to just having a superior product, really the best customizable I've seen on the market, the Kidlandia artist and founder, Brian Backus, must have a heart of gold.

Because not only does a portion of the sales for Kidlandia maps go to charity, Brian has also offered a special discount exclusively to Cool Moms Rule! readers.

Just use the code "coolmoms15" at Kidlandia to receive a 15% discount, limit two per customer!

Natsume Knows What Kids (and their parents) Want

Natsume has announced their new lineup for the rest of 2009, and I just wanted to share a little about it with you because they really have settled on a list of family-friendly, kid appropriate games!

My favorite from the lineup is this game, because I just love animals:

Afrika (PS3)
Explore the wildlife of Africa in this revolutionary safari game! Players will capture lifelike images of everything from lions and zebras to giraffes and cheetahs in this breathtaking PlayStation® 3
game that features photorealistic environments and animals that move and behave exactly like their real-world counterparts. Like real-life
photographers, players will need to be careful if they want to take photos of the animals without disturbing them, and make the best use
of their equipment in order to capture that perfect shot. The photography in the game is as meticulously modeled as the animals themselves; players will need to learn to compose their photographs with the eye of a professional photographer if they want to earn top dollar. Money can be used to purchase new licensed cameras and equipment, all of which behave just like their real-world counterparts.

But there's also several new additions to the Harvest Moon game series, a fishing game, and others, all with kids in mind. You can check out the whole lineup, with a little blurb describing each of the games being offered, over at our gaming site, Fuel the Rebellion.

Win With AllStarBuddies.com!

Want your kids to play ball inside?

No?

Well, normally, neither would I. ; )

But with AllStarBuddies.com, kids can kick goals, throw passes and shoot hoops all in the safety of a virtual playground, where no windows get broken.

Designed for kids 6 and up, AllStarBuddies.com promotes a healthy, positive lifestyle through fun games, quests and social interaction. Childen can learn about problem-solving, goal setting, good sportsmanship, teamwork, fitness, good nutrition and environmental awareness by playing games, either individually or with other kids just like them!

As citizens of “Varsity Heights,” the virtual world of AllStarBuddies.com, members have their own User IDs and passwords.

Once registered, their first stop is in (where else?!) the “Locker Room” where they log in to the world and select one of seven sports-themed, animated characters as their onscreen persona, which can be changed as often as a child wants to.

AllStarBuddies.com wants you to share in the fun, which is why, just for visiting their site, they are giving away an adorable All Star Buddy plush for your child.

Here's how to WIN: head over to the AllStarBuddies.com site, then come back here and tell me which Buddy is your favorite. Be sure to include the name and the sport the Buddy represents: "Bob the Bocce Ball Player," for example (no, that's not a real buddy, but I do like the sound of it!).

You MUST use this initial entry method for that first entry into the giveaway. Also, although they will do their best, AllStarBuddies.com can't guarantee that the plush will be your favorite.

Extra entries for:

Following CoolMomsRule on Twitter;
Tweeting about this contest;
Subscribing to our feed;
Blogging about this contest; and
Adding my button (on the sidebar to the right) to your site.

Deadline for entries is Sunday, June 7th. Also, please note, AllStarBuddies.com cannot guarantee that the plush you receive will be your first choice.

Good luck!

Skinny Cow Review--I'm Milking It

I am watching my weight. I am always watching my weight, so you'd think I'd be eating healthy. And so I am.

Which is why, this morning, along with my half of a banana, I had an ice cream sandwich for breakfast.

I know you are doing a double take right now, and you've got that finger ready to shake at me. "Now, Viv," I hear you saying, "That doesn't sound very healthy to me!"

But actually, at just 140 calories, with 3 grams of fiber, no Trans Fat, and 97% Fat Free, Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches are a great choice when you're craving something sweet.

Which, with my sweet tooth, I constantly do.

I'm so glad to share Skinny Cow products with you on behalf of their Mom Central blog tour, because I've been a Skinny Cow fan for years. My Mom, who always eats a disgustingly healthy diet, introduced them to me, and they were one of the few low-fat foods I actually liked.

Now, I'm not diabetic, but it runs in the family, so I tend to look for products that are friendlier to people who are. And if you choose, as I did, the No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches, you will have eaten the equivalent of just 1 carb and 1 fat on the Diabetic Exhange. And Skinny Cow treats have also been approved as part of the Best Life Diet.

And they're delicious. In my opinion, you really can't tell the difference between Skinny Cow and any other ice cream sandwich on the market. They aren't these little wimpy bite-size treats, either. They're a real mouthful.

You can use the Cowculator on the Skinny Cow site to see how some of your favorite snacks match up in terms of nutrition. For example, you can eat an entire Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich for far less calories than a single chocolate chip cookie:


YAY! So, you know, I'm not feeling guilty. And neither should you.

Go ahead and have that Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich for breakfast.

Or, if you prefer, save it for an afternoon snack!