The lovely gals at MomCentral recently gave my family the opportunity to play-test the great new game based on the movie Madagascar, Escape 2 Africa for the Nintendo DS.

As usual the second any new game arrives, the kids made off with it immediately. I can always tell when a game is a big hit, because I have to be sneaky to get a chance to play it myself.

The game follows the plot of the new movie, and allows you to play as 5 different characters. It has great music and the game play is smooth and intuitive. I really appreciated the onscreen directions that appeared at critical junctions of the game - they kids seemed to wiz right through the levels after an attempt or two, but it took a little extra prompting for me, and I'm glad it was built right in.

There is a lot of variety as you move through the game, too... you can switch characters easily, solve puzzles, win battles, and can unlock really fun mini-games as you play. You use the touch screen and occasionally the microphone to control the game play, and while even my five year old could successfully play, the game had enough challenging elements to keep my older kids happy and playing (for hours. Seriously.) Even better, there is the capability to play mini-games wirelessly with two or more other DS-slinging players.

Activision has created a winning translation of these great characters and totally captured the flavor and sass of the Madagascar crew. We all give this game a huge round of applause.

Thanks so much for letting us test it out!

Posted by Jenny at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As a mom to three elementary school aged kids - two of them girls - we're all about Hasbro's Littlest Pet Shop over here. All of my kids love these tiny little critters and their colorful play-environments. The only problem? Well, that would be me. You see, if I step on or trip over or vacuum up one more teeny tiny plastic pet, I'm going to snap. Perhaps they don't remember the Polly Pocket mass extinction of '06. Giant comets got nothing on a mom with a shop vac and a hate on for tiny rubber clothing.

But I'm getting off track, because The Parent Bloggers Network recently emailed me and offered me the opportunity to review Hasbro's latest collaboration with EA games - Littlest Pet Shop for the Wii. When the box arrived, I opened it with a flourish and presented it to my nine-year-old daughter, who immediately snatched it out of my hands and headed to the living room, teeth tearing into the cellophane wrapper in her impatience to get it going.

I trailed her and offered to assist with set up but she elbowed me out of the way, and within moments was naming her new characters. My soon-to-be-six-year-old was also able to easily manipulate the game controls, and although it is a single player game, the kids really enjoyed working together and helping each other select fashion accessories and create names.

I'll be honest, I didn't get the chance to touch the remote. This game was such a huge hit with my kids - even my son, who normally won't play with what he considers "girlie" stuff - that I finally gave up trying and let them have at it without me. They loved the 16 different mini-games and despite repeated playing, the ability to change the difficulty of the games has kept their interest. The four different worlds that are available for game play are charming and colorful, and really capture the imagination. They are well on their way to unlocking and collecting all 32 available critters, and while at first I wished that they could play together - the fact that they can't compete with each other, and have to take turns totally rocks, now that I think about it. No bickering!

Thanks EA and Hasbro for letting us have this opportunity. To check out what other Parent Bloggers Network moms had to say - visit the round up.

Posted by Jenny at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I totally enjoy Wii Boogie - the original game, although I have some issues with the available characters and songs being a little too sexy and mature for my elementary school aged kids. So it was with glee that I fired this up and noticed a new look for the characters.

Gone are the weird animal and monster-looking people. Instead, they have a whole host of male and female characters in a variety of kid and tween friendly looks that you can customize.

The game play is different too - gone is the need for the nunchuck controller, and the moves are triggered by the movement of the Wii remote. The basic dance moves are easy to master, even for my kids, and the tutorials were fun and easy to follow. Within ten minutes of opening the box, we were having a dance-off.

I really liked the onscreen move prompts - they are easy to follow, and simple combos are possible right from the get-go. We haven't tried choreographing our own routines yet, but I like that it is an option.

My kids really get a kick out of the American Idol-style stage and contest format and judging. I love that you can select your events and song, or leave it all up to the whim of the judges. I found the karaoke portion was more challenging than I expected, but then again, these songs are current hits - over 30 songs that you will actually hear on the radio, if you get the chance to listen to anything other than The Wiggles. I'm not as up on the lyrics and songs as I could be - and I'm betting most kids and teens are going to know all of these songs well.

# Angel, Love Like This [remix], Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
# Dance Like There's No Tomorrow - Paula Abdul
# Bullseye, Like Whoa, Potential Breakup Song - Aly & AJ
# The Great Escape - Boys Like Girls
# Everytime We Touch, What Hurts the Most - Cascada
# Fancy Footwork - Chromeo
# Thnks Fr Th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy
# Glamorous - Fergie
# Elevator - Flo Rida feat. Timbaland
# I Don't Want to Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem) - Good Charlotte
# Wake Up - Hilary Duff
# Hold On, SOS, That's Just the Way We Roll, When You Look Me in the Eyes [remix] - The Jonas Brothers
# No One - Alicia Keys
# Take You There - Sean Kingston
# Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
# Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
# Shake It - Metro Station
# What You Got - Colby O'Donis
# I Don't Think About It - Emily Osment
# Nine in the Afternoon - Panic at the Disco
# Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
# Jump to the Rhythm - Jordan Pruitt
# Don't Stop the Music, Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna
# Yahhh! - Soulja Boy Tellem
# Radar, Toxic - Britney Spears
# He Said She Said - Ashley Tisdale
# Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
# Stronger - Kanye West

It did crack me up that the one song that sounded pretty familiar was Paula Abdul's new one from last year. Hahahaha. Mama needs to get caught up on some new music, I think. Boogie Superstar comes with one microphone so you can sing your heart out - or you can mumble along tunelessly like me, whatever works for you.

If you're looking for a fun, user-friendly game for your pop-star or dancing queen, this is a great place to start. I'm looking forward to getting a little deeper into the features of the game - but the fact that we were engaged so quickly, and having so much fun right out of the box, tells me that this game is going to be a big hit.

Pick up your own copy of Boogie Superstar with Microphone
here. To see what other Parent Bloggers reviewers had to say - check out the roundup post.

Posted by Jenny at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With three growing kids and a new school year just underway, my thoughts have been focused on new outfits for everyone. The back to school shopping routine has been complicated in the last two years as my kids' school schedule has shifted by several weeks. With classes beginning in the first weeks of August, there isn't a lot of motivation to stock up on the fall clothing they'll need in a few months, but they've played hard all summer in their warm weather clothes, and they all needed some wardrobe freshening.

Trying to decide what to buy now, and what to buy later... it's a challenge. That said, new socks and underwear are always on the list. So when the Parent Bloggers Network offered to outfit my kids with new socks and underpants from Hanes, I was thrilled.

My youngest wasn't quite big enough for the sizing offered for this program, but I was downright giddy to receive new boxers and briefs for my eight-year-old son, bikinis and briefs for my nine-year-old daughter and new ankle-length socks for both kids.

We're a Hanes family from way back. Early on, I'd try to save a few pennies by purchasing socks and underpants from other labels. I'd bring home packages of socks with toe seams that rubbed blisters into my kids' toes, and stretched out or wore out after just a few wearings. We've never had those problems with the socks we've purchased from Hanes - the yarns they use are simply stronger and thicker, and provide more cushioning for busy feet. The construction on the heel and toe fits better in their tennis shoes - no balling up or blisters from these socks - and best of all, the elastic ribbing on the tops of the socks just doesn't give up.

My daughter has always been finicky about her underpants - elastic that digs in or doesn't stay put causes her (and me) no end of grief. We've battled over panties for years - until once again, we found that Hanes made excellent, comfortable panties and briefs that do not ride up, and move comfortably with your kids without binding or irritating. They are 100% cotton, which is actually really super-soft and the tagless design is a huge bonus.

My son is very slender through the hips, and while he prefers boxer-briefs most of the time, he was delighted try out Hanes No Ride Up Briefs and No Gap Fly Boxers. The premium cotton and great styling - especially the tagless design and wide, covered waistbands make both of these options comfortable and non-irritating. I was really pleased to see how cleverly styled the No Gap Fly Boxers are - they allow total freedom of movement without the risk of accidentally exposing anything. Hanes, for the win!

Thank you Hanes, for allowing my family to go back to school in comfort and style!

To see what the rest of the Parent Bloggers Network reviews had to say - be sure to check out the roundup.

Posted by Jenny at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The box arrived with the usual fanfare. My dog hates delivery trucks, and started barking and leaping at the front door before the truck had banged to a stop. A quick slam of the gate later, I emerged, blinking against the bright sunlight to find a giant box sitting in the middle of my walkway, surrounded by my three children, who were hooting, doing some sort of tribal dance and drumming on the top.

As yes, the final week of summer vacation.

With the help of my kids, who were taking as much credit for the arrival of the box as a pack of Woolly Mammoth hunters would be for bringing down a furry elephant, we hauled it inside, and ripped open the seal.

See, I knew that I would be doing a review of the new M&M's Premiums chocolate candies for BlogHer, but I figured that I'd be getting a small sample, or a few coupons or something. I assumed this had to be something else.

As soon as I cracked the seal on the box and got a look, I started laughing. I had a giant box of 35 pounds of super-deluxe candies, nested in a shiny silver liner to keep them cool. I swear to you that as soon as the first flap was lifted, a chorus of angels sang and a sunbeam struck the silver liner, rendering the kids awestruck. I seized this moment of temporarily spellbound children to grab one of the end flaps on the box and started dragging that thing towards my bedroom as fast as I could go.

The kids instinctively knew that there was some high quality stuff in that box. I tried to convince them that it was rocks. Then, when they got the whiff of chocolate, I told them that it was special grown-up Lady Chocolate and not for kids.

LadyCandy. Aw yeah.

I handed each kid a random box and shooed them away. Faced with 57 remaining boxes of gorgeously colored chocolate, my mind began to work. Should I empty the boxes into a giant pile and play pirate's treasure? Should I wait until my husband came home from work and leave a trail of M&M's Premiums down the hall and into the bedroom, where I would be waiting on a bed covered with pretty little candies? Shaking the vision of doing M&Ms angels in a snowdrift of candy, I wisely decided to hold off on any drastic action.

I called my co-workers and taunted them about my giant box of candy instead. They loved that, as you can imagine, and advised me not to eat them all myself, because they were afraid the resulting sugar buzz and giggling fits could cause the earth to fall off its axis.

I really love the packaging - they have an elegant, hour-glass shape to the box, and the inner wrapper is resealable - which, as Chris noted, is so adorable. Actually, my nine-year-old is using a few of the boxes as storage for some of her little trinkets and collections of tiny things. At a generously sized 6 oz each, you can really get your snack on - and still be able to share with a friend.

One of the really distinctive things about these candies is the lack of the candy shell. I'm a girl who chews up my cough drops, and can't be bothered to let things melt in my mouth, but hand to the heavens, with the rich flavors and creamy consistency of the chocolate on these new M&Ms, I was moved to put one candy in my mouth at a time and just let it happen. And it was gooooood.

The five flavors are:

Triple Chocolate - "truly tempting layers of milk chocolate, white chocolate & dark chocolate"

Mint Chocolate - "sinfully good white chocolate mint wrapped in dark chocolate"

Raspberry Almond - "berry blissful raspberry flavored white chocolate & almond wrapped in dark chocolate"

Mocha - "simply tantalizing mocha flavored milk chocolate"

Chocolate Almond - "delightfully delicious freshly roasted whole almond wrapped in milk chocolate"

As you can see, there is something for everyone to love here. I'm partial to the mint and triple-chocolate myself.

Last Wednesday was the first day of school for all three of my kids - for the first time ever. After I returned home from dropping the kids off and settled down at my desk with a cup of coffee, it felt anti-climactic. Where was the party?

Right here. Here's a little party for ya.

I've been gleefully sharing my bounty with my family and friends - and the reactions have all been pretty dramatic - everyone is blown away by the great new flavors and beautiful gem-like colors.

You have GOT to try them.

Don't want to take my word for it? Head over to the roundup page and see what my fellow reviewers had to say!

Posted by Jenny at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When MomCentral emailed me and asked if I'd like to check out some of Walt Disney Record's new albums for the whole family, I jumped at it. My kids have grown up watching the Disney Channel, and my five-year-old is, to put it mildly, obsessed with the music on all the shows - and between them.

Remember this?

Rocking Out to Choo Choo Soul from BigSliceJenny on Vimeo.

Here we are, a few years later, and FINALLY! We have the CD in our hands. No more pausing TiVo and rewinding thirty million times!

I've been a huge fan of Choo Choo Soul since the very first video hit the airwaves, and more importantly, so have my kids. Genevieve and DC have put together a fantastic collection of songs for kids that ARE NOT CHEESY. I hear that the discs will be available August 22.

We also received They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s. Filled with the wit and bouncy alt-rock vibe they are known for, we all love this album as much as the earlier No! - and that's A LOT. Nothing gets my kids moshing around the living room, cracking up and dancing like fools like TMBG.

Ralph's World's The Rhyming Circus take a sweeping approach to genres - there's a little something from everywhere in these songs, and it is so fun to watch the kids change their movements and their attitudes as the music shifts from rock to country to oompah and back again.

The kids were excited to see Juice Box Heroes from Imagination Movers in the stack of CDs, too. This one didn't get as much airtime as the others so far, but I've got to say, I'm impressed with the catchy hooks and funny lyrics.

The final disc we received is the Disney Music Block Party - featuring classic songs from the Disney movies performed by popular artists and characters from the Playhouse Disney crowd. I was more excited about this one than the kids - they haven't seen many of the films that these songs are from, but I was really pleased with the fresh takes on some of my old favorites.

Thank you, Disney and MomCentral! If you'd like more information on this great new catalog of albums, visit Disney Music Block Party.

For more reviews, check out the round up post at MomCentral.

Posted by Jenny at 5:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The box arrived and I put it in my office, ready to unveil it on the weekend. And then I forgot about it for a couple of weeks. With 6 weeks, left until my review date - I suddenly remembered (woke up from a dead sleep in a panic, in fact) and tore it from its packaging.

We did the basic set up in less than five minutes - the instructions were clear and easily followed. I appreciate that, especially now that my kids are old enough to want to do it all themselves. After spending a good 10 minutes happily raking the growing medium into zen garden-like patterns with the miniature green rake and then patting it smooth with the miniature green shovel, we headed out to the local garden center to buy seeds for the kit.

I urged my kids to select some herbs seeds, and I wandered around selecting some other goodies for the yard. When we got home, the kids planted their seeds, and we placed the greenhouse on the counter.

Flash forward one week - we've got a few little seedlings popping up, and we followed the instructions and changed out the water.

Week two - lots of little seedlings now - we switch the water again.

Week three - the seedlings are thick now, and we weed a bunch of them out. The little sprouts are starting to reach toward the window now. We switch out the water.

Week four - wow - the plants are really starting to take off. We've got lots of leafy goodness going on.

Week five - what. the. heck. happened? The plastic greenhouse top has been knocked asunder and the sides and swiped a bunch of the little plants out of the growing medium. We replant them as best as we can, and move the greenhouse up higher. My five-year-old disavows any knowledge of the plant mayhem.

Week six - miraculously, some of the plants have survived. The morning my review is due, I grab the camera, and wander out into the kitchen to snap a photo of our little victory garden.

Catastrophe. Literally. Our little garden lay on its side, with my cat crouching over it, looking drunk. It seems that we planted catnip, instead of the oregano seeds I had help the kids select.

Um, whoops!

I opted to clean up the growing medium and throw the cat outside, rather than take a photo of the mess.

The Hydro Greenhouse was a fun, easy project for the kids - as an all-around black-thumbed gardener, I appreciated the easy set-up, and the continuously fed watering system. The growing medium was really pretty cool, and the seedlings seemed to thrive in their little plastic house.

We're going to give the Hydro Greenhouse another shot - and this time? We're sticking with oregano.

To read what my fellow Parent Blogger reviewers had to say - check out the roundup.

Posted by Jenny at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)