Product Review: Canopy Bedding

Thanks to Walmart and the wonderful Canopy team, all Elevenmoms got a set of Canopy Bedding. I picked the model you see but in beige and I love it!

Let me start by saying that my husband is the ultimate thread count snob. He won't consider sleeping in anything that is less than 800 thread count. So when I received this set I didn't share with him this little secret. Canopy sheets are made of 300 thread count Egyptian Cotton. I am not going to lie and say he didn't notice because he did BUT he also didn't complain and taking it from the complete snob that he is that is HUGE!

I loved that the fitted sheet has very deep pockets. We have a very thick mattress (21 inches or so) and none of our other sheets fit it very well. But the Canopy sheets actually had room to spare. So if you have a thick mattress chances are these sheets will fit it well. The flat sheet is also nice and big. The pillow cases are for king pillows which our regular pillows are not so I had to fix those myself. But that's a straight seam with a sewing machine. Sleeping under the comforter is very comfortable, not too cool or warm.

In conclusion, I am very happy with this set of sheets. They fit nicely my mattress. My husband was happy with them and I am happy they seem durable. Thank you Walmart for giving us a chance to try the Canopy Bedding.

Product Review: Fisher Price's Kid Tough Portable DVD Player

So the folks at Fisher price thought it would be a good idea to let my three year old test drive their Kid Tough Portable DVD player. It came just in time too, as we were getting ready to travel and we needed distraction for my son during the two two-hour flights we were about to take.

The Kid Tough Portable DVD player really is made tough. When you take it and hold it, you appreciate that it is made of durable plastic material. There's nothing flimsy about it. The buttons are kid friendly and my son had no trouble mastering how to use them in no time.

What I liked about this player is that I am confident in can withstand the heavy use a three year old can give to it. It is portable ans easy to carry by a small child. One thing as parents we need to be careful of is that the player allows children to change the DVDs all on their own. You may need some parental supervision when this goes on to make sure your child doesn't damage any of his/her beloved DVDs.

Thanks to Fisher Price and Walmart for letting us sample this top 12 toy pick for the 2008 holiday season.

Product Review: V Tech V Motion

Thanks to Walmart and V-Tech my almost four year old has had a chance to check out this toy. The V-Tech V-Motion is a learning system that through play encourages children to learn. For parents it is very easy to set up and for children it is very easy to Play. The control can be used as a joystick or it can also be used based on motion. This is a very good feature for children who are not able to maneuver a joystick well but can play the game by just moving their arms.

The games are entertaining and promote interactive learning. My son is not quite there yet so some of the games are a little bit ahead for him since they may require simple addition and subtraction skills. Your child will look forward to playing them because they feature popular characters such as Mickey mouse, Kung fu Panda or Dora the Explorer.

As a mom this is what I like about this toy: as parents we are trying to keep our children away from video games. Unfortunately my son is exposed to them when he visits older cousins or friends. I feel this system provides him the opportunity to feel included in what the older children are doing while promoting learning. I feel this is a very smart substitution. You just need to be careful when you pick games to make sure they are for your child's age otherwise the child may feel frustrated and lose interest.

Thank you Walmart and V-Tech for letting us check out such a great toy.

Product Review: Flip Mino Camcorder

I recently received a Flip Mino from the very generous folks from Pure Digital. The Flip Mino is their latest product. The Flip mino holds 60 minutes of HD quality video. It is also a very light weight and slim camera that easily fits in your pockets or purse. It is very easy to use with its one touch recording and digital zoom. The built in USB arm makes downloading your video into your computer super easy and its Flipshare software makes video editing a snap.

The Flip Mino is not cheap but it could make a great gift for the electronics buff or the parent who wants to capture his/her kids' spontaneity wherever that happens to occur.

I am giving away a Flip Ultra on my other blog, make sure to stop by and sign up.

Winner of Oprah's Big Book Giveaway

Congratulations to Debbie Dirmeyer, winner of Oprah's Big Book of Happiness. I hope you like it as much as I did.

If you are not a winner this time. Stay tuned as I have a really cool toy to giveaway next week. If you thought the night goggles were cool, this toy is even cooler.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Product Review and Giveaway: Ecobrain

Image source: ecobrain.com

By now you may have figured out that I love books. I am also concerned about our environment which is the main reason I signed up to be part of Green & Clean Mom's Mommy Go Green Blog Tour. As part of this blog tour I jumped at the opportunity to review Ecobrain.

Ecobrain is a website that offers E-books and Mp3s about the environment and other environment friendly topics. You know that you are helping the environment with every book you read in this format because you probably just saved a tree. Ecobrain also offers a free download for you to check out their content. This selection changes every two weeks so you continually get free content. Also, now through November 11th, you can get $5 credit when you sign up for a free account. More details here.

This is what I loved about Ecobrain: their sustainable concept of providing books that are environmentally friendly. I also like that they provide a free book on a continuous basis. Finally, I think Ecobrain is a great educational source for homeschoolers. I noticed the free E-book contained lessons for children to complete based on the content on the book.

I would love for you to be able to get another free E-book. You can win the free Ebook: Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth By Jim Merkel. You can read a review for this book here. All you need to do is enter your name and email address in the form below to enter for a chance to win. You must be 18 years or older and have a U.S. mailing address.

The giveaway ends on Saturday November 8th @10:00 AM CST. At that time I'll select the winner using Random.org . I will contact the winner via email and provide 48 hours to contact me with their address. If I don't hear back after that time period the prize will be forfeited and I will pick another winner randomly again.


Good luck!

Winner of Eyeclops Nightvision Goggles

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Product Review and Giveaway: Oprah's Big Book of Happiness

Image Credit: Amazon.com

Oprah's Big Book of Happiness encompasses the best of Oprah magazine. That is to say more than 100 powerful and compelling articles from contributors such as Dr. Phil, Suze Orman, Barack Obama and Richard Branson among others. The content of the book is divided in three main sections:
Your Mind/Your Body: Here topics such as diet, exercise, aging, confidence and faith are touched on.
Dating, Mating, Relating: Includes articles on couples, sex and family.
Dreaming Big: Includes articles on working, making friends with your money and encourages you to take action.

The first thing that I love about this book is its content. You will fall in love with the stories in this book. I am not a subscriber to O magazine; this was my first foray into the content of that magazine and I am utterly impressed. The stories in this book will move you: they are touching and inspiring. The informational articles are empowering: they will arm you with tools to make better decisions.
I love that the book is practical. I don't have to thumb through old magazines trying to find the articles that I loved reading. Instead I can head to this book and find those articles in one place.
Those who love Oprah will love this book. Those who are not familiar with Oprah will also love this book. I am not a big Oprah follower. I have probably watched her show a handful of times and have perhaps read her magazine once. But I have fallen in love with this book. This is a book I would highly recommend to anyone who would like to learn tools for self-improvement and the achievement of happiness. I don't normally give grades to the products I review but this book gets an A+ from me.

I am very happy to be able to share the wisdom in this book with someone. I have a copy of this book to giveaway. All you need to do is enter your name and email address in the form below to enter for a chance to win. You must be 18 years or older and have a U.S. mailing address.

The giveaway ends on Friday November 7nd @10:00 AM CST. At that time I'll select the winner using Random.org . I will contact the winner via email and provide 48 hours to contact me with their address. If I don't hear back after that time period the prize will be forfeited and I will pick another winner randomly again.

This giveaway is now closed.

Check out other book giveaways at Bookroomreview Book Giveaway Carnival.

Good Luck!

Giveaway Winners Announcement

Congratulations to the following people:

• Lydia Bowers is the winner of the book "Good Deals and Smart Steals"
• Tami Lewis and Rita Tubbs won $25 each.

I have contacted the winners via email and if I don't hear back from them I will select another winner randomly.
If you are not a winner, stay tuned I will have two more giveaways this coming week. Thank you so much for visiting my review blog and entering my giveaways.

Product Review and Giveaway: Eyeclops Goggles

The Eyeclops Night Vision Goggles are also one of the toys that I get to check out as an Elevenmom. Since its arrival this toy has been confiscated by my husband and my son. This is possibly one of the coolest toys for boys this year. Their actual infra-red technology allows visibility up to 50 feet in a completely dark environment. You actually get to choose whether you want a black and white or green night vision. My husband has had a lot of fun walking around our backyard in the evening and checking out what's out there. They are easy to use and seem durable while also being lightweight. This makes them comfortable to wear. While the view in the dark with them is awesome, they provide limited depth of perception. These goggles are an awesome toy, that would make exploring fun.

I am giving away a pair of these googles. What do you need to enter? All you need to do is sign up to get blog updates via email by entering your email address in the form below. You MUST activate your email subscription in order to be successfully entered in this giveaway. If you are already subscribed to this blog you are automatically entered in this giveaway.

Not only will you enter for a chance to win one of these night vision goggles for FREE. But you will also get notice of any future reviews and giveaways I hold. You must be 18 years or older and have a U.S. mailing address.

The giveaway ends on Sunday November 2nd @10:00 AM CST. At that time I'll select the winner using Random.org . I will contact the winner via email and provide 48 hours to contact me with their address. If I don't hear back after that time period the prize will be forfeited and I will pick another winner randomly again.

Enter your email address:

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Good luck!

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

Product Review and Giveaway: Good Housekeeping Good Deals & Smart Steals

This little book (6.9 x 5 x 0.6 inches) packs a serious wealth of information. It provides useful tips to help you save money on virtually anything. It starts by going over how to be a smart shopper at dollar stores, warehouse clubs, yard sales or auction sites among other places. It provides tips for taking advantage of store deals and rewards programs. It then moves on to how to get a good deal when buying items for your home, services or travel among others.

Whether you are a seasoned bargain shopper or you are just getting started this is a great reference book and that's what I really liked about it. Sure, there's a lot of information on the internet but sometimes I just wish there could be a place where I could look it up easily without having to scour the internet for it. The book categories make it easy for you to look up information. I recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a handy reference guide full of easy and practical money saving tips.

I am giving you a chance to win this handy guide. How do you enter to win? Just enter your name and email address in the form below.

The giveaway ends on Saturday November 1st @10:00 AM CST. At that time I'll select the winner using Random.org . I will contact the winner via email and provide 48 hours to contact me with their address. If I don't hear back after that time period the prize will be forfeited and I will pick another winner randomly again. US addresses only please.

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you.

Good luck!

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

Product Review and Giveaway: Buzzillions

These days we all want to stretch our budget and one great way to do that is by making sure that anything we buy actually works as intended and is worth spending the money on. This is the reason I started this review blog. However, and as much as I would love to be able to always help you, my resources are limited.

This is why a site like Buzzillions is an an excellent tool to help you save money. At Buzzillions you can find thousands of product reviews submitted by users like you and me. They actually collect 8,000 reviews everyday, so you run a pretty good chance that a product you are researching may have a review available. What is great about Buzzillions is that it will post reviews whether they are positive or negative. See, they can do that because they are not trying to sell you the product.

These holidays instead of wondering whether a gift you are thinking will work as intended, head to Buzzillions and find out from other people whether you should be spending your money on that item or not.

To give a chance to test their service Buzzillions is giving away $25 to two winners. If you wish you can use this money to buy an item and check out reviews on said item.

How do you enter to win? Just enter your name and email address in the form below! How easy is that?

The giveaway ends on Friday October 31st @10:00 AM CST. At that time I'll select the winner using Random.org . I will contact the winner via email and provide 48 hours to contact me with their address. If I don't hear back after that time period the prize will be forfeited and I will pick another winner randomly again. US addresses only please.


This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for visiting.

Good luck!

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

Winner of Girl Gourmet Giveaway

Congratulations to Stephanie from Confessions of a Coupon Junkie, she is the winner of the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker.

If you are not the winner don't let this get you down. Next week I will have not one but FOUR giveaways. Possibly five if I find the time to do all five product reviews this weekend. So make sure to stop and consider subscribing to this blog as well.

Product Review and Giveaway: Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker

As part of my ElevenMoms involvement, I am getting a sneak preview of Walmart's 12 Toys of Christmas. One of the toys is the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker. As soon as my three year old saw it he wanted to make a cupcake for his daddy, so we decided to try it. If you take time to watch our video taped test trial you can see it is very easy to use the cupcake maker. It comes with four cupcake mixes (chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and Cinnamon sugar) and four frosting mixes. It also comes with recipe cards and decorating ideas.

This is a FUN and entertaining toy for an eight year old (or older) girl (or boy) who is curious about cooking and making things on her own. The cupcake cooks in 30 seconds and the frosting only needs water mixed, having said that don't expect gourmet flavored cupcakes. Buy this toy for the experience it will provide your child.

This toy is currently on rollback at Walmart for $24.88. Amazon has it at this same price too and if you spend more than $25 you can get free shipping. At Toys R Us you get it for $29.99 and you get a free Cupcake Refill mix ($6.99 value).

How about YOU get to try one for FREE as well? I am giving away a brand new Girl Gourmet Cupcake maker. I am also including 4 refill packs in each flavor as well. That's more than a $75 value you could get for FREE!

How do you enter to win? You can earn up to eight entries to this giveaway:

1. You get one entry by filling out the form below with your name and address
2. You earn TWO extra entries if you subscribe to the Common Sense with Money blog's feed here or by email here. When you subscribe you will have access to the secret message (It will be at the bottom of each blog post in blue color font). For a second and third entry, enter again your name and address and secret message in the form below. If you are already a subscriber you have earned three entries automatically. Just make sure you fill out the form three times.
3. You can earn FIVE MORE entries by blogging about about this giveaway on your blog (if you have one). For this additional entry fill out the form again and copy the link to the post where you blogged about this giveaway. I will add your additional entries after I verify the link you provided.
   

The giveaway ends on Thursday October 23rd @10:00 AM CST. At that time I'll select the winner using Random.org . I will contact the winner via email and provide 48 hours to contact me with their address. If I don't hear back after that time period the prize will be forfeited and I will pick another winner randomly again.

This giveaway is now closed.

Good luck!

About Me and this Blog

Hi! I am Mercedes from the blog Common Sense with Money. I am a bargain shopper mom who likes to spend her money wisely.

I am often approached by companies who would like me to review their products and share my thoughts on their product with my readers. The purpose of this blog is to provide a channel for these product reviews. It is my goal to provide my readers with honest feedback on these products so that they can avoid wasting their money on a product that didn't provide them with what they needed.