Emily and her friends think they’ll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn’t right.  Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live in fear.  Emily is soon escorted to the Academy, where she’s expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Coucil, a group of the most powerful Stonekeepers.  But as the number of competitors gets smaller and smaller, an awful secret is slowly uncovered – a secret that, if left buried, means the certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.

TJ loves any book that has something to do with animals or reptiles, especially if the subject of dinosaurs. He is a walking encylopedia  when it comes to dinosaurs.  Unfortunately it is hard for me to get him to pay attention to other types of books. When Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi arrived in the mail, I set it on the table. TJ happened to see it and picked it up. Amulet Book Four: The Last Council is a graphic novel written for children ages 9 to 12 years old. It definitely caught TJ’s attention because he took it in his room and spent some of free time reading Amulet.

TJ’s Thoughts

I really liked the graphics. At the beginning I could tell that something happened before this book. Some parts were boring  at first but it did pick up. It seemed like it was three stories in one. I could imagine what was being done in the book, like a movie in my head. It was funny and serious at some points . They were a lot of characters I didn’t expect like the stuffed bunny, dragons and the robots.  I want to read the three books before this one so I can see how it all started.

I am really happy that TJ found a book he is interested in.I plan on looking into more graphix books from Scholastic.

You can buy your own copy of Amulet Book Four: The Last Council at Amazon for $8.41. For more information visit  http://www.boltcity.com/amulet and http://www.scholastic.com/amulet.

Now it is time for the giveaway!! Five 1Stop Review Spot readers will win a copy of Amulet Book Four: The Last Council

We were sent the book 101 Reasons To Shop by Jessica Waldorf to check out. Would you believe Kayla, 9 years old, was the first to grab it?

101 Reasons to Shop is a small book with includes fun reasons to shop with illustrations to match. You can easily flip to any page and find a reason that will make you smile.

Some of our favorite reasons are:
#20 – If you don’t buy it now, someone else will!
#75 – If we only bought what we needed, millions of people will be out of a job.
#56 – Friends and family discount baby!

This book is such a fun and light read. I found a few reason that I have said to myself at one time or another. When people see the book in my car or house, they can’t help but pick it up. Before you know it they have read the whole thing!

This book would be perfect for a shopper you know.

Buy it!
You can find 101 Reasons to Shop over at Amazon for only $13.25

This book was provided for review purposes by the company. All opinions are 100% mine own as always.

We recently were able to review one of the newest additions to the Veggie Tales family, Veggie Tales Princess and the Popstar.

Princess Poppyseed’s life on her family’s farm is far from the glamorous but lonely world of her favorite pop singer Vanna Banana.  On a chance meeting at a playground, Vanna and Princess cross paths and realize that they look almost exactly alike—which leads to the crazy secret plan where they decide to switch lives!  As each girl realizes that the life they longed for doesn’t fulfill all of their dreams, they learn that the life God gave them is the one for which they were uniquely and lovingly designed.

The message of this movie is the grass is not always greener. It is so easy to get caught up with other people are doing and the things they have. Because you don’t actually live in their shoes, you don’t have the opportunity to see the good and the bad. Kids naturally experience this. In a fit of anger they may say “I wish Jill’s mother was my mom, she gets to do anything she wants”. As adults we know that being able to do whatever you want with no boundaries is not a good thing. Princess and the Popstar is a perfect example of a young girl who is happy with her life, but wanted more.  I think this teaches a good lesson about how everyone is different and that is what makes them special.

If you have not seen the trailer of the Princess and the Popstar, you can check it out below.

The DVD includes the following bonus features:

• Audio Commentary
• “Astonishing Wigs” Silly Songs Sing-Along
• “Right Where You Belong” Sing-Along
• Behind the music with Francesca Battistelli and Friends
• Princess Poppyseed’s Points For Being Uniquely You

I am very happy that I get to offer you guys a chance to win a copy of Veggie Tales: Princess and the Popstar!!

The above product was provided for review and a giveaway by the company. The opinions are 100% my own.

We were sent two boxes, one was cheese and the other was pepperoni. TJ loves cheese and the other kids like meat so it was something for everyone. Each box includes four pizza stuffers. They are packaged together by twos.

You have a few options when it comes to cooking Totino’s Pizza Stuffers. There is the regular oven, toaster oven and microwave.  When they are warmed in the microwave, it is ready in a matter of minutes and the crust is soft. For a crispier crust, use the oven. This will take longer, around 20 minutes or so. It is more of a personal preference.

My kids were impatient so went the route of the microwave. Everyone enjoyed them. TJ said it perfect for when he is hunger for man than a few pizza rolls. The girls agree with him.

Thanks to the great people at Totino’s, I get to host a giveaway for some Pizza Stuffers. 5 readers will each win a coupon for a box of their own Totino’s Pizza Stuffers.

The above product was provided for review and a giveaway by the company. The opinions are 100% my own.

Once the gift arrived, I was not disappointed.  Patches came in his own little dog house which was too cute and he even has his bone that is also a rattle!

After I took Patches out of his home, right away I noticed the attention paid to the details. My cousin’s name is My’Asia and the blanket was personalized with that. There are tiny little paw prints the go around the blanket towards the bottom. The inside of the blanket as well as the outside is made of this beautiful chocolate satin fabric. Patches and the blanket are very soft and you can not resist rubbing your hands against it. 

I know that my cousin will grow to love Patches more and more as she grows up. I am very happy with the quality and uniqueness of this gift. It is not something you will see around a lot and will definitely be around for a long time.
    
You can buy you own Baby Aspen “Patches” Plush Puppy Lovie in Adorable Dog-House Gift Box for only $20.  There is a promotion going on right now for free shipping on everything! You do not need a code or have to make a “minimum” purchase.

One lucky 1Stop Review Spot reader will win a $25 gift card from My Baby Clothes Boutique.

Visit  My Baby Clothes Boutique and leave me a comment about something you found that you like

Follow 1stopmom on Twitter

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This giveaway ends May 22, 2011. It is open to U.S. residents only. The winner will contacted via email. You must leave an email address in your comment. This way I can contact you if you win. Leave a separate comment for each entry, including the extra ones. If you are already a follower, fan, subscriber, etc don’t forget to leave a comment for your entry!!

A review sample was provided to 1Stop Review Spot for free. The opinions are 100% my own as always.

The second garage sale I had, I did things a little different. I sorted stuff the week before. Found a much better location (my house is on a dead end street, so I chose my grandma’s house which is on a busy street). I set up tables, grouped like items together and even put up balloons. I made much more money this time but between my grandma taking stuff to give to her friends and my aunt choosing stuff she wanted, it was a little hard to focus. Oh and I had my four kids with me.

As you imagine, when I was asked to check out Ava’s Guide to Garage Sale Gold, I jumped at the chance. My kids are getting older and we have accumulated a lot of stuff. I am ready to try it out again. I want to involve my kids in it more this time too.

Ava Seavey, the author of this book, is an organizer. Even when she was younger Ava helped to organize everything from a neighborhood fun house to contests. Once Ava became an adult, she began a career as a professional direct marketer and advertiser.

Ava: “One day I had an epiphany when I realized that there was a correlation between Direct Response advertising and garage sales, that could maximize your profitability and efficiency when throwing a garage sale.”

The first chapter of this book asks do you really have a garage sale. This is an important question because I can definitely tell from experience that a garage sale is not just something you can do on a whim. It is work and you need a plan. Ava points out some great reasons to have a garage sale:

• to make some extra money(that is always good)
• to help declutter your home
• recycling (by find a new home for you things is a great way to not add to landfills)
• get rid of gifts that don’t fit your style

These are reasons that have popped into my head at one time or another. How many of our homes are cluttered with things that we do not use or want, that work perfectly? I can definitely raise my hand on this one!

I am really glad that I had a chance to read this book. It covers everything that could make a garage sale successful. The topics that are covered include:

• what to call your sale (rummage,tag,moving,garage,yard or estate)
• how to price all of your things
• the best day of the week and time of day to have your sale
• how to advertise your sale
• how to organize all of your things
• the best way to display everything
• what to do after the sale is complete

It is always good to have a reference guide that you can refer to when you have questions and this one is definitely one of those. It answered questions that I wondered about as well as supplying me with information that never would have crossed my mind.

You can find Ava’s Guide to Garage Sale Gold on Kindle at Amazon for $7.95 and for $12.95 at the Garage Sale Gold website.

1 Stop Review Spot was provided with a review copy of this book. All opinions are 100% my own as always

Clothing for kids can be expensive, especially if you are not a savvy shopper. I know school clothes for my four can easily break the bank if I don’t plan ahead. When my 12 year old, Nannah, first started school I was beyond happy when the school decided to require students to wear school uniforms. It has been a while since my children had the opportunity to wear uniforms and I definitely miss those days. It is a lot less expensive to buy five tops and bottoms instead of a new wardrobe. I was recently able to review a shirt and pair of pants for TJ from French Toast which carries official school wear.

TJ was sent a long sleeved dress shirt in size 12. This shirt costs $10.98. It is offered in 3 colors: yellow, white and blue. I chose the blue for him. I usually get shirts for TJ in a size 14 and was a little anxious while the shirt was on its way to us. I was very happy once it arrived because it fit TJ well. My main concern is being long enough in the arms and this was not a problem at all. An added bonus is the expandable collar. It provides a little more room if he needs it. Along with the shirt we were sent a pair of pleated dress pants in size 12. I liked these pants because they came with a belt and they really fit TJ. He was comfortable when he tried them on. There were no complaints that the clothes were too tight or anything.

I have purchased uniforms in the past from French Toast and I am happy to say that their company still offers affordable kids uniforms.

When it comes to boys school uniforms, there are quite a top choices to allow your child to switch it up a little.

Of course there are lots more options with the girls school uniforms. You can choose jumpers, scooters, skorts, shorts or pants. There blouses with different collars: lace trim, pointy, buttoned down, detailed stitch and more.

One lucky 1Stop Review Spot reader will win 2 bottoms and 2 tops of their choice from French Toast.

Visit the French Toast Uniform website and leave me a comment about something you like or learned

Follow 1stopmom on Twitter

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This giveaway ends May 12, 2011. It is open to U.S. residents only. The winner will contacted via email. You must leave an email address in your comment. This way I can contact you if you win. Leave a separate comment for each entry, including the extra ones. If you are already a follower, fan, subscriber, etc don’t forget to leave a comment for your entry!!

The uniform from French Toast was provided to 1Stop Review Spot for free to review.

Dinosaur Train Cake Decorating Set:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Prize Pack:

Rachel D and Latessha I will be contacting you through email shortly

Karmin 3G Salon Pro

Frigidaire Store $30 Gift Card

I will be contacting you through email shortly. Congratulations again.

Along with the show are great products to help your kids interact with Dinosaur Train at home.  I was recently sent a Dinosaur Train Hatcher to check out.

Dinosaur Train Hatchers allow your children to grow their very own Dinosaur Train Character at home. It is very easy to use. You carefully remove the egg from the packaging. You don’t want to break it. Next you place the egg in a glass of room temperture water. All that is left to do is wait for the egg to hatch. It should take  24-48 hours for the egg to begin cracking but ours started around 18 hours. Tiny starts off very little but grows four times her size! After the egg has hatched, you throw the shells away.  Once Tiny is taken out of the water, she will return to her normal size.  When you want her to grow again, just put her back in water. You can find Dinosaur Train Hatchers at Toys R Us for only $4.99

Both of my smaller kids, TJ and Kayla, loved the idea of this. It was hard to pull them away from watching it every minute. They have already started talking that they hope they get a few in their Easter baskets!

If you are interested in mixing in a little Dinosaur Train into your baking, then try the Dinosaur Train Cake Decorating set or the Dinosaur Train Cupcake Rings. 

Could you imagine the look on your child’s face if you whipped this up? This would be great for a Dinosaur Train themed party.

One lucky 1Stop Review Spot reader will win a a set of Dinosaur Train Cake Decorating Set and Cupcake Rings from Decopac

Leave me a comment telling me who you want to win this set for

Follow 1stopmom on Twitter

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Take me with you. Add 1stop Review Spot to your sidebar with either a link or grab my button (10 extra entries)

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Add this giveaway to any giveaway linky. Leave a comment with link. (5 extra entries for each linky)

Become a Google Connect Friend

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This giveaway ends April 28, 2011. It is open to U.S. residents only. The winner will contacted via email. You must leave an email address in your comment. This way I can contact you if you win. Leave a separate comment for each entry, including the extra ones. If you are already a follower, fan, subscriber, etc don’t forget to leave a comment for your entry!!

The Dinosaur Train Hatcher was provided to 1Stop Review Spot for free to review.