Toy Review: Educational Insights- The Sea Squad™ Puppet-on-a-Stick™ #HolidayGiftGuide2013

Meet The Sea Squad: Flipper the anglerfish, Dipper the octopus, Chomper the shark, and Bob the clam. Their googly eyes, vivid colors, and hilarious expressions will inspire all sorts of creative play in an instant. Children will flip over these silly creatures from the sea as they dive into worlds of dramatic play, while developing communication skills and practicing real and imaginary dialogue!

Pretend play and puppet shows become a splash with these comical marine friends and story time is transformed into an adventure. Our kid-approved, patent-pending design marries an easy-glide child-sized thumb lever and a chunky, secondary knob, giving kids (and adults who need a good giggle) two ways to articulate each puppet’s mouth.

Built to last through many childhoods, each puppet’s soft-touch molded body reinforce our hallmark Educational Insights quality standard. Take a swim with The Sea Squad! Grades Pre-K+ -

• Go fishing for fun; Meet Flipper, Dipper, Chomper and Bob

Aidan and Adisyn had nearly jumped out of their skin with excitement when they seen the box for the The Sea Squad™ Puppet-on-a-Stick. They fidgeted and bugged me until I opened the box and gave them their sea creature stick puppets.

The box comes with 4 stick puppets; 1 clam, 1 shark, 1 octopus, and 1 angler fish. They have an easy-glide thumb lever that fits perfectly to child sized fingers. They are very easy to push down and don’t require much hand strength.

They also have a chunky, secondary knob that gives the kid a second way to operate the puppets mouth. These puppets have already seen tons of play time in this house. The kids have re-named the puppets and create little stories and plays for them to star in.

These puppets are perfect for numerous things; story time, plays, imaginative play, etc. They are made of extremely durable plastic and bigger than I imagined they would be, which I love. They’ve already been through drops, being accidentally run over by Aidan’s scooter, and much more and are still going strong!

They are brightly colored and definitely attract and keep the attention of kids. Even my ten year old stepson Alex couldn’t resist joining in on the fun when he came for the weekend. They played well over an hour just the first night that Alex was here.

I love the fact that they aren’t only growing their imagination but learning as well. These would be perfect for any Pre-K or Kindergarten classroom. They would make an awesome addition to any Under the Sea lessons.

I am definitely thinking about buying a box for Adisyn’s class. They have different “learning” weeks. One week will be Zoo week where they learn about the animals that are in the zoo, one week is firefighter week where they learn about firefighters and their jobs. I would definitely like to see an Under the Sea week, how cool would that be.

This would make an awesome present for any kid or teacher! Get yours!

The Sea Squad™ Puppet-on-a-Stick $39.99

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Jessica Renee

Toy Review: GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars™ #HolidayGiftGuide2013

The only binoculars designed specifically for little kids! Enlarged focus-free eyepieces—more than three times the size of ordinary binoculars—and perfect-fit goggles with placement guide enable kids (even toddlers) to see up close! Grades Pre-K+

Adisyn was extremely thrilled when I handed her the GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars. She has always wanted a pair of binoculars after seeing Dora had some on one episode. These are absolutely perfectly suited for any preschooler!

Regular binoculars are expensive, hard to handle, and have tons of knobs that make it difficult for a preschooler to use. She was mighty delighted to be able to go outside with “her” binoculars and watch animals.

She has always been fascinated by birds, squirrels, and butterflies. It was always difficult for her to really see them though unless they were really close to her, and then she’d run after them! Now she can animal watch with ease!

She even walks around the house and yard looking at random stuff; grass, flowers, leaves, you name it! These have really peaked her interest in not only nature and the animals in it, but now she’s interested in EVERYTHING she sees through the Kidnoculars, She can play and explore her world while doing it.

This is another hit from Educational Insights. They REALLY do make the best toys! They definitely put themselves in a kids shoes or SOMETHING because every single item we’ve got from them my kids ADORE!

This would make an awesome gift for your little explorer! Get them!

GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars. $14.99

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Jessica Renee

Toy Review: Educational Insights GeoSafari® Jr. Animal Eye Viewers #HolidayGiftGuide2013

Take a walk on the wild side—backwards! Slip on your Shark Eye Viewer and use the rear-view mirrors to get around, but look out for your blind spot—sharks can’t see directly in front of themselves. Choose from three different Animal Eye Viewers and lots of animal adaptations and get a whole different view of the world. Grades Pre-K+

Do you see what they see? See the world through an animal’s eyes with this set of three amazing Animal Eye Viewers. Try the insect viewer—the pixelated views create dozens of mini-images. The shark viewer provides a 360° view complete with rearview mirrors, central blind spot, and ocean-blue tint. Or, try to keep your focus with two independently rotating eyeballs in the chameleon viewer.

Aidan and Adisyn were excited to open their box of GeoSafari® Jr. Animal Eye Viewers. They come with 3 animal “eyes” inside the box. The chameleon, shark, and insect. They play with them all the time, for long periods of time pretending to be the animals. It’s cute.

I love the fact that these not only inspire their imaginations, but they are educational as well. They loved seeing the world through the eyes of the different animals. After we got them we looked up and printed off information about each “animal”.

I think these toys would be an amazing addition to any classroom as well as any kids toy collection. My daughter loved the insect viewer the best because it shows the world like a Kaleidoscope- with tons of whatever you’re looking at coming in to view.

My son loved the shark. We had no idea before getting these that a shark had blind spots. The chameleon eyes are just crazy. They rotate and it’s hard to look at anything straight, lol. Educational Insights did an amazing job of recreating these animals “eyes” for us to see and learn about!

This would make an amazing gift for kids as well as teachers!

Get Yours! GeoSafari® Jr. Animal Eye Viewers $27.99

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Jessica Renee

Shoplet Medline Cleansing Products Review

Shoplet carries more than just office supplies & promotional products. This time around I was sent some Medline products; cleansing foam, nourishing moisturizer, hydrating moisturizer, and flushable wipes.

Medline introduces a breakthrough with the Readyflush flushable personal cleansing cloths. ReadyFlush is a flushable & dispersible, single patient use wet wipe made from hydraspun dispersible cloth fibers. These cloths are pre-moistened and come in a pack of 24.

These wipes are highly biodegradable. The high cellulosic content provide strength as you wipe but quickly breakdown when flushed down the toilet. The cellulosic content within the wipes are called Hydraspun and is exclusive only to Medline.

These wipes are three times larger than other flushable wipes measuring at 8x12in. The larger size allows for you to clean more space while using less wipes! Win-win! These can be used in place of baby wipes as well (for those in the NICU or if the baby has eczema or sensitive skin).

Remedy 4-in-1 cleansing foam cleanses, moisturizes, and nourishes skin in one step. One bottle contains more than 340 pumps of cleanser. It has a phospholipid base that binds both water and nutrients to gently clean and condition the skin.

This is a great thing to have on hand If you have an elderly mom or dad at home, or just brought a baby home from the hospital. It’s great because it contain ingredients from natural and organic oils that mimic the body's natural lipids.

This can also be used in the shower in place of soap, shampoo, and body wash. Olivamine is a blend of antioxidants, amino acids, and vitamins. The best thing is if you do have a bedridden elderly parent at home that has limited access to a shower, this doesn’t make them itch like normal foaming cleansers would.

You can definitely throw this in a diaper bag and use it as a wash when they wet themselves on the go. You don’t have to rinse it off, I am going to buy some of this for my really good friend who is about to have a baby! She could easily wipe this off with a wipe or paper towel.

I’ve substituted this on my kids in the bath for shampoo and body wash. It is tear free, hypoallergenic, and moisturizes really well. You don’t have to even rinse this out of their hair, like a normal shampoo (although I did). It quickly gets rid of product build up and dirt.

 

This nourishing moisturizer is amazing at keeping the skin supple, silky, and smooth. It has many healing properties, which makes it great for many skin conditions. It can be used to heal rashes, eczema, keratosis pilarisis (chicken skin), and many more!

It helps to restore the nutrients and hydration to dry, cracked skin to maintain it’s natural moisture barrier. It is so amazing because it works so well yet isn’t greasy and doesn’t leave behind an oily residue. It really puts the nourishment back into dry cracked skin. It has a hint of vanilla fragrance which I love and find pleasing!

This hydrating moisturizer creates a breathable, waterresistant film over skin as it moisturizes and nourishes. It helps to reduce the appearance of red, cracked and scaly skin while soothing dry, itchy skin. This is hypoallergenic and safe to use for people with diabetes, premature babies, and even the most fragile skin.

This is a thick cream, but isn’t oily or leave a greasy residue. It can be used like a body butter after you get done showering. I love the fact that this will help with Winter skin. My skin gets extremely dry in the winter, especially after I shave. I can just rub a bit of this on my legs and it keeps them smooth and nourished all day!

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Jessica Renee

GlamPact Makeup Palette Review

GlamPact is the first ever refillable, customizable makeup compact, complete with a rechargeable LED mirror for flawless makeup application anytime, anywhere! The makeup in GlamPact contains the best botanical and clinical ingredients that are anti-aging.

We’ve all had those days where we thought we had enough time to get something done, take a shower, do our hair, AND makeup. Then all of a sudden you look at the time and you have 20 minutes to be where you need to be and have to rush. Running out the door with wet hair and no makeup on, hoping for the best. I’m pretty sure my life is a ton of these moments slapped together.

I had a meeting with my son’s teacher, special ed teacher, and vice principal last Tuesday. The meeting didn’t start until noon, so I figured I would post a post or two on my blog before I had to get ready. I was so engrossed in my work that I looked at the time and I had JUST enough time to take a shower and blow dry my hair.

I ended up in the parking lot with 15 minutes to spare and feeling flustered. I was SO glad that I had the GlamPact Makeup Palette with me. If I hadn’t, I’m pretty sure his teachers would have thought I just woke up and came to the meeting. The GlamPact ended up being my BEST friend.

I had everything I needed to do my makeup right in this little palette. Foundation powder, eye shadow, lip gloss, powdered liner, AND the mirror lights up. I don’t know how many times I had to do my makeup in the rearview mirror and HOPE I didn’t look like a five year old had done my makeup because I couldn’t see that well.

The foundation is a powder, which is a CC (correction) powder that has anti-aging benefits. It helps to cover any redness or irritation. I wish it came with a cream AND powder inside.. THAT would be awesome. I love that it has 2 colors though, and it can be refilled again and again!

The eye shadows are both a neutral (the middle row) which is a beige and white, along with a black (that I use for liner), but I also use the purple at the top (which is a highlighter)! The lip glosses/liners help to smooth dry lips but also give them that plump look! I love that it comes with blush AND bronzer as well!

I walked in and didn’t feel that flustered, rushed feeling that I had when I left. I was super glad that I had this with me. This is ALWAYS in my makeup bag now. It has everything except mascara, I even use the black eye shadow for liner!!

You can purchase the GlamPact on Glam-It.com.

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Jessica Renee

St. Ives Purify Exfoliating Sea Salt Body Wash Review @StIvesSkin

Smooth and renew your skin’s surface to reveal healthier looking skin with the all-natural exfoliants in Purify Body Wash. This refreshing body wash works to brighten dull skin while also providing moisture. Containing mineral salt and Pacific sea kelp, which help supply skin with vitamins and anti-oxidants, the Purify formula invigorates tired, sluggish skin. Complete your exfoliating routine after you shower with one of our perfectly formulated St. Ives Lotions.

The St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt Exfoliating Body Wash is amazing! I fell in love with it the first time I used it. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Apricot Blemish scrub, so I was very excited to give this a try!

I have always had oily skin, and going to the tanning bed 3 times a week hasn’t made it much better. I have never in my life had back acne in my life until I got my first tattoo (about a week before I got the body wash). For some reason as soon as I got the tattoo, tiny little bumps popped up on my shoulder blades/upper back area.

Within the first three days of using this body wash the bumps had drastically diminished. Within the first week they were gone completely. I love the way it feels on my body! The body wash itself is thick, rich, and creamy but the sea salt is very fine. I can feel it exfoliating the skin and gosh it feels great (especially on my feet)!

Dead skin cells build up over time, while dirt and sweat get trapped inside your pores. This is what causes the acne to begin with. The small sea salt particles scrub all that away to reveal flawless, amazing skin that is not only silky to the touch but smooth and hydrated.

This is definitely the best body scrub I’ve ever used in terms of exfoliation. It truly sloughs away the rough skin *on the bottom of my feet*. I love the fact that I’ll have this in the winter, my skin gets dry and scaly, now it will be hydrated and not so dried out.

The best part is that the ingredients are natural and it’s hypoallergenic. My daughter ended up writing on her leg with a pen and the regular kid body wash I use wouldn’t get it off. I put some of the St. Ives on a loofah and a few scrubs later all the pen marks were off!

I absolutely LOVE the scent of this! It doesn’t have a real “fragrance”. To me it smells like clean laundry or what I would imagine a summer breeze off the ocean would smell like. The scent lasts a LONG time and is invigorating. I also love the fact that St. Ives is ALWAYS affordable! This is high quality for low costs!

St Ives Purify Exfoliating Body Wash:

• Deep exfoliation with the benefit of sea kelp and mineral salt
• 100% natural exfoliants
• Formulated without parabens and phthalates
• Made with natural ingredients
• Hypoallergenic
• Purify formula invigorates tired, sluggish skin

Get Yours: St. Ives Purifying Sea Salt Exfoliating Body Wash @ Wal-Mart for $4

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Jessica Renee

Rejuve Vape Juice Pen Kit Review

The Rejuve Juice Pen™ is a rechargeable, refillable, and customizable vape pen. This vape pen kit features a 650mAh premium battery and vapor technology to produce a smooth yet robust smoking experience without harmful secondhand smoke, tar, carcinogens, or lingering odors. The Rejuve Vape Pen can be refilled with any PG, VG, or PG/VG liquid vapor (aka "e-liquid" or "vape juice") including our own Rejuve Premium Vape Juice, which comes in a variety of flavors and nicotine levels from 0mg to 18mg.

I have been smoking cigarettes for awhile now. I’ve wanted to stop smoking (or at least slack down) for awhile now, but nothing has worked for me. I have tried numerous electronic cigarettes but not one of them gave me the feeling that a real cigarette does. The smoke never truly felt like it was helping me much at all.

The Rejuve Juice Pen is different than most e-cigs because it is re-chargeable and re-fillable. It also helps save battery waste in the end because it lasts so long. It has absolutely no tar, smoke, or carcinogens. It comes in a variety of flavors and each flavor offers 0mg-12mg.

The Rejuve Juice Pen Kit comes with a charger and the battery inside is a 650mAh premium that is guaranteed to last almost year. It is fully charged, so you can just put the juice in and start vaping right away. The flavor that comes in the pack is Italian Coffee and is 0mg in nicotine.

The electronic disposable cigarettes haven’t gotten many compliments, no matter what brand. Sure there were a few brands that stood out, but most were the same. Any of the “flavors” didn’t taste as they said. Most sensed a burnt coffee flavor instead of the “tobacco” flavor. Even the menthol flavors weren’t producing the “cooling sensation” that a regular menthol cigarette gives.

They are disposable, so it’s just LIKE buying a regular pack of cigarettes other than it doesn’t have the tar. This means that once they are done, they’re done. No recharging, you have to buy another pack of disposables. When I used them, they didn’t give me a feeling like I’d JUST smoked a cigarette.. it wasn’t fulfilling the “need” that smokers have.

The rechargeable electronic cigarettes are better than the disposable, but the prices are much steeper. To get a starter pack, it could be anywhere from $75-$200. Once the cartridges run out you still have to buy more cartridges. Sure they don’t contain the tar or carcinogens that a regular cigarette has, but if you are trying to quit because it’s costly—this isn’t the path you should take.

That’s the reason Rejuve Juice Pen and Juices stand out to me. It is such an amazing alternative to both the disposable and e-cigarette. They are refillable, rechargeable, and the juices are super cheap. Together this will save you 1/5 of the money you’d spend on either disposables or e-cigarettes.

The quality of the pen is amazing, doesn’t take long at all to get the hang of, and only takes seconds to refill. The quality of the vapor is also amazing, When I smoke from the Rejuve pen, it actually feels like I’m smoking a flavored cigarette. So it fulfills the “need” that I have as a smoker. It keeps that antsy feeling away because the vapor actually does feel like it enters the lungs, whereas the others didn’t to me.

The battery can be charged right from the computer. The charger has a USB plug that fits in any normal USB socket and doesn’t take hardly any time to recharge! You just screw the bottom (the battery) into the opening of the pen and the light turns red. When the battery is fully charged, the light will turn green.

I love the fact that I can mix and match the juices inside the Rejuve pen to create tons of different tastes. I loved the 2 juices that I was sent- the Bombay Mango & the Fiji Apple. Both taste true to what they are and YES taste amazing when smoked as an alternative to a cigarette.

Get YOURS: The best part IS the Rejuve Juice Pen Kit starter pack is ONLY $29.99

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Jessica Renee