VTech Easter Basket Review and Giveaway

As most of my loyal readers know, I've worked with VTech several times and we love their products in our house. I'm also a big believer in limiting the amount of candy that my kids receive for holidays. Of course they'll get some candy, but I'd much prefer to stuff their Easter baskets with toys, and if they're educational toys I'm over the moon!

VTech sent me four products to review, and they all would make great basket stuffers for the munchkins in your life.

I did discover that if I was giving all of these to my little one at one time I'd need a bigger basket!

First off there's a Go! Go! Smart Wheels, which Scooter adores (even though I thought it would be too young for her). It has music and sounds and even helps teach letters!

Next is a Switch & Go Dinos Turbo, which my kids are currently fighting over. It's a dinosaur that roars and makes car noises and races across the floor. There's 6 very cool dinos to choose from, and I'm having to buy more for my kids so they can race them!

On to the two items that get the most use in our house...

The Doc McStuffins InnoTab cartridge! We adore Doc in our house, and this game is the epitome for us! It teaches reading, math, logic, being healthy and much more. It has an e-book and coloring games also, so it will work even for kids who are slightly under the recommended age group.

The other big one in our house is Sofia the First (although for some reason Scooter needed convincing to watch it at first. Princesses didn't used to be her favorite thing).

This Sofia game has so many fun things on it, including counting, colors, and the story of how Sofia becomes a princess. You can even use a photo booth game that lets you take your picture with the characters and scenes (assuming you have an InnoTab with a camera).

These are all amazing products, so if you want to pick one up for your child's basket you can find more about them here:

VTech's Website

VTech Twitter

VTech Facebook

Want to try these toys for yourself? VTech is offering one of my readers the same gift pack that I received! The winner will receive InnoTab Doc McStuffins software cartridge, InnoTab Sofia the First software cartridge, a Switch & Go Dinos Turbo and a Go! Go! Smart Wheels Vehicle. (The basket is mine, it's not part of the prize pack).

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The VTech product, gift card, information and additional gift pack have been provided by VTech.
I received the prize pack shown in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. Sanity is for those without children is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Scattered Links Book Tour and Giveaway

Thirteen-year-old Oksana lives on the streets of Russia with her pregnant mama and abusive aunt—both prostitutes. When Mama swells into labor, Oksana makes a decision to save herself from abandonment, a decision that torments her forever. But her plan fails when her aunt dumps her in an orphanage before she has the chance to say goodbye to her mama or tell her the secret that haunts her.

Scattered Links is a story of family and the consequences that come from never learning how to love. It’s a story of a girl’s inability to bond with her adopted family and the frustrations that follow.

How can a child understand the mechanics of forming a healthy relationship when she never had a mother who answered her cries, held her when she was frightened, fed her when she was hungry, or loved her unconditionally?

Only when the child meets a rescued abused horse, and recognizes the pain in his eyes, does she begin to trust again.

"CAPTIVATING! SCATTERED LINKS takes you down the street of nearly any Eastern European town, arm-in-arm with the orphaned. Michelle has captured the beauty and horror millions of children live everyday. The attention to detail is impressive. Having lived in a post-Soviet country for a time, visiting orphaned children, this fictional account rings with truth, from the heart-wrenching pain of abandonment to the realization of self-worth, and the love family and faith brings. Thank you for such an uplifting book, appropriate for the young reader, as well as adult. May your heart be encouraged, as mine was." - Kim de Blecourt, speaker and award-winning author of "Until We All Come Home: A Harrowing Journey, a Mother's Courage, a Race to Freedom"
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 “Scattered Links is a novel that pulls its characters from the gutters and, in the end, celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit.” A reviewer comment.

My thoughts:

This book is definitely not in my standard genre, but if they're all like Scattered Links I'll be changing my reading habits! The beginning of the book could almost be set anytime in the past several hundred years... a family living in poverty in a broken down area of Russia. A drunk mother who's pregnant with another child that the family can't afford to feed, and an abusive aunt who dumps the kids in an orphanage when things get to hard.

Oksana was raised in the kind of poverty most of us can't even imagine, squatting in abandoned buildings and stealing from vendors to feed her family. After she delivers her baby sister (alone) her aunt dumps her and her sister in orphanages, where Oksana's sister is adopted by a family from the US, who accept Oksana into their home.

Transition to living in the US, attending school and being expected to be part of a traditional family are very difficult for Oksana, and her and her adoptive parents struggle to find a balance in their life.

Scattered Links brought the cultural and financial differences between countries and families to the forefront of my mind. It shows how many problems children can have when their lives are drastically changed, especially if they were raised in an orphanage without love or basic compassion. It reminded me that everyone deserves to be loved and deserves a chance at a decent life. And it showed me how disorienting it can be to be given the life that children deserve if they've never had it before.

It's a wonderful story that reminds me that no matter who we are or where we're from...we're all human.

Buy the Book

Amazon.co.uk     Amazon.com     Barnes and Noble

About the Author

Michelle grew up in the suburbs of Detroit with five brothers.  She enjoys writing her novels and encouraging writers and readers alike. She is living her dream writing stories of real people searching for their dreams and confronting their fears, showing the passion of the characters' plights, often giving her the ability to show the reader the 'other' side of the story. When she is not writing she enjoys life on the tennis court and is known as “Queen of the Rim Shots.”

Her debut novel, CACHE a PREDATOR, a geocaching mystery. was launched in July, 2013 and has been an Amazon best-seller in the crime/thriller category.  Her other works include: Willow, Scattered Links, Kelly’s Story, Eclair Series, and The Vision in a Kiss.  She has won contests in both The Writer’s Journal and The Writer’s Digest. Love is Just a Word (Scattered Links) was a bronze medalist is the 2010 Frasier Contest, a 2011 semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis Contest, and won the Aspiring Writer’s Contest withe THE READING ROOM, 2013.

Follow the Author
Website,    Facebook,    Twitter,    Google+,    Goodreads

Follow the Book Tour

I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.

NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY

 

ONE LUCKY WINNER will win a $50 Amazon Giftcard

Open Worldwide

Ending on Sunday 4th May at 11.59pm EST

Enter Below and Good Luck !!

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Womb to Walking Giveaway

Welcome to the Womb to Walking Giveaway Event

This is an amazing set of prizes that you can win for whatever stage you're in!

hosted by Momma Without a Clue

co-hosted by Addicted 2 Savings 4 U

Spring is in the air, everything is blooming... It's definitely baby shower season!  What better way to bring in Spring than with a giveaway??  We've brought together some of the top baby products that you would need from womb to walking - the best for baby's first year - into a great product guide and now we're giving those items away!

Prizes include:

Combi Coccoro convertible carseat - ARV $200
BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier One - ARV $170
Ju-Ju-Be - Better Be Diaper Bag - ARV $120
$100 Gift Certificate to Mimi and Maggie - ARV $100

One month supply of Luvs Diapers - ARV $30

Classic Alphabet blocks from Uncle Goose - ARV $35

Evenflo Feeding Bottle Set - ARV $20

Baby's First Book Set - ARV $25

For a grand total of over $700 worth of baby gear!

To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  All entries are optional, but the more you complete, the better your chance of winning!

Giveaway will run from April 14th until April 28th. Giveaway is open to US only. You must be 18 or over to enter.  Winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. Winner will be notified by email at the end of the Giveaway and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  Momma Without a Clue and the other participating blogs are not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment

Good luck!


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Disclosure: Momma Without a Clue received the above items in exchange for review. This blog did not receive financial compensation or product in exchange for this giveaway. Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest are in no way associated with this giveaway. Prize fulfillment and shipping will be handled by the Sponsors.

The Muck Boot Company Giveaway

Welcome to the Breezy Ballet Cool Giveaway, hosted by Thrifty Nifty Mommy & Viva Veltoro and sponsored by The Muck Boot Company.

Spring has officially sprung! Whether you are working in the garden, playing with the kids in the yard, or taking the dog for a walk, you need shoes that will leave your feet feeling comfortable, dry, AND looking stylish! That's why we're so excited to tell you all about the new Breezy Ballet Cool flats from The Muck Boot Company! Details of the Breezy Ballet Cool flats:

• Unique XpressCool™ lining will pull moisture away from your feet and spread it across the shoe to keep you cool and dry while you're inside or out.
• With a wide variety of colors and patterns to choose from, you are sure to find one that not only fits great but looks great too!
• 2mm NEOPRENE provides maximum comfort
• 100% waterproof
• EVA Midsole
• Flexible, lightweight, rubber outsole

Viva Veltoro and Thrifty Nifty Mommy recently had the opportunity to review these new shoes and they had great things to say about them! Click here to read Viva Veltoro's review and here to read Thrifty Nifty Mommy's review.

We think every woman needs a pair of these stylish ballet flats for their spring wardrobe, so we want to give you lots of chances to win them, starting with a blog giveaway where 3 lucky readers will win a pair of Breezy Ballet Cool flats in the color/print and size of their choice!

This is a FLASH GIVEAWAY which will end at 1pm EDT on Wednesday, April 9th 2014. This giveaway is open to residents of the US who are 18 years or older. Enter using Giveaway Tools entry form below. Good luck!

Entry-Form

But WAIT! That's not all! We have MORE chances for you to win Breezy Ballet Cool flats! Starting April 9th at 1pm EDT, The Original Muck Boots Company will be giving you the chance to win another 5 pairs of flats. Contest will run until April 11th at 5pm EDT via a tab on their Facebook page. Click HERE to head over to The Original Muck Boots Company's Facebook page now. Good luck!

Disclosures: The Muck Boots Company is responsible for prize fulfilment. Please contact thriftyniftymommy{at}yahoo.com with questions about this giveaway.