Mother of 1 Princess and 2 Princes: 11/18/10

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE GIANTMICROBES REVIEW & GIVEAWAY (CLOSED)

GIANTmicrobes are stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes - only a million times actual size! They're humorous, educational, and fun!

Each of our GIANTmicrobes comes with an image and information about the real microbe it represents. They make great learning tools, as well as amusing gifts for anyone with a sense of humor.

I got to review two GIANTmicrobes products which were the Vinyl Doll Dr. Larkin and the Christmas Tree Mini Microbe Box. I could not be any happier with these cute educational products. My kids love the ornaments for the Christmas tree. They think they are so cute and can't wait to put them on the Christmas tree this year after Thanksgiving. My daughter plays with the Dr. Larkin based on the flu and the animated flip book that came with it.

Dr. Larkin vinyl figure comes with a flip book and a sticker! Each character is individually boxed and comes with an animation flip book and an action pose sticker.

The folks at GIANTmicrobes are at it again, this time introducing a line of plastic vinyl toys. These toys are departing from GIANTmicrobes usual fare in that they're more expressive characters inspired by symptoms of illnesses. There's Sniffles (rhinovirus or runny nose), Ahh-lbert (streptococcus or sore throat), Bellie (dysentery or stomach ache), and Dr. Larkin (flu). You get some nice swag with each figure, too - a sticker, and an animated flipbook. I think this is a good direction, since it gives them more markable characters. I don't know about you, but I can see Giant Microbes: The Animated Series.

GIANTmicrobes Dr. Larkin vinyl figure is $12.95

Merry Christmas Microbes! Tree Ornaments: Trim your tree with Common Cold, Brain Cell, Kissing Disease, E. coli and the limited-edition Red Amoeba, festively adorned with a Santa hat, reindeer antlers, winter scarf, candy cane, and mistletoe.

Tree Ornaments from GIANTmicrobes. 5 Ornaments dressed up for the holidays. Includes an exclusive red Amoeba available only in this gift box. Packaged in a tree-shaped gift box with window. This makes a great gift for anyone with a sense of humor. We cannot wait to hang these GIANTmicrobes on our tree this holiday season.

GIANTmicrobes Christmas Mini Microbe Box is $24.95

Visit GIANTmicrobes to see all their GIANTmicrobes Originals, NEW! Vinyl Figures and all their cool merchandise.

GIANTmicrobes is offering one Mother of 1 Princess and 2 Princes reader a chance to win a GIANTmicrobes Dr. Larkin Vinyl Figure and a GIANTmicrobes Christmas Tree Ornaments.

MANDATORY: (To Enter FIRST YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF MY BLOG) Visit GIANTmicrobes and tell me another product you would like to have.

FOR EXTRA ENTRIES: (The Above Must Be Done First To Be Eligible For The Extra Entries)

1.) Become a Subscriber. (On Sidebar On Top Right Side)

2.) Friend me on Facebook.

3.) Follow me on Twitter.

4.) Tweet this giveaway.

5.) Blog about this giveaway linking back to this giveaway and GIANTmicrobes website.

6.) "Like" GIANTmicrobes on Facebook.

7.) Follow GIANTmicrobes on Twitter.

Open to U.S. Giveaway ends December 1, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Winner will be selected at random.org and notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Please remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. GOOD LUCK!

JUNO BABY & JUNO JR. PRODUCT REVIEW

Juno Baby is a children's lifestyle brand centered around beautiful, original music. Created by classical composer and mom, Belinda Takahashi Ph.D., Juno Baby is intended to enliven young children musically and inspire them creatively.

Juno and her puppet friends sing, play and learn in a series of vignettes created to instill a lifelong love of music in children. Featuring original music performed by a live orchestra, Juno Baby addresses overcoming childhood fears, the importance of friendship, problem solving skills, and creating music from things found in the world around you.

Juno Baby

*Geared towards children, 12 months and older

*Colorful, engaging vignettes focused on music appreciation

*Teaching language development, problem solving and counting

*Emmy Award-winning

*Sing along in English, Spanish and French

Meet the cast of Juno:

JUNO - Is the main character of the Juno Baby series. She is a six-year old girl with a natural passion for music. She loves to play piano, compose, conduct and do just about anything musical. Though she enjoys music, her relationships with her baby brother, Rai Rai, and her friends are most important to her.

INDIE - Is Juno's cat and also one of her best friends. He complains a lot, and he's a big scaredy-cat. Indie loves making up rhythms, reading poetry and playing the French horn. His favorite word is "please," and he dreams of being an actor when he grows up.

MURPHY - Is a serious caterpillar with a curiosity and fascination for everything. He enjoys playing bassoon, cooking and astronomy. Someday, Murphy wants to be just like Albert Einstein and win a Nobel Prize in Physics.

RAI RAI - Is Juno's two-year-old little brother, While he hasn't quite mastered the act of talking, he's already a budding musical genius. Rai Rai's talent is a penchant for remembering all things sound. He's a true "boy," so he never parts with his beloved cape, and is often pretending to be "Super Rai Rai." Rai Rai loves his big sister, Juno more than anything.

BUNNY - Is another one of Juno's pets, and also a very noisy member of Juno's musical world. She loves to sing opera - the louder, the better. Bunny has a big appetite for life, and loves doing silly dances, wearing hats, and belly laughing.

BUZZ - Is a quiet bee, but he's always up to something fun. He loves rescuing lost animals, finger painting, playing the flute, and fairy tales. His favorite place to be is in the garden, when the flowers aren't playing hide and seek with him.

You and your child can join Juno and the gang as they discover rhythm in everyday things! Teaching both music appreciation and creative wile, Juno's Rhythm Adventure blends classical music, Latin African beats, masterful puppetry and colorful animation to entertain and inspire.

I highly recommend this Juno's Rhythm Adventure DVD. It has taught my daughter about the world around her different instruments, friendship, trying new things, conquering fears, and types of music, but supplied our family with a host of new songs to hummm and sing around the house. All together a thoughtful, entertaining and educational series of videos with beautifully written original songs and fun puppets.

Juno Jr. geared toward your growing preschooler, Juno Jr. expands on the Emmy Award-winning Juno Baby line with beautiful, original orchestral music, rich story lines and a deep emphasis on music education and appreciation.

Juno is a six-year-old girl with a passion for music. While practicing the piano in her bedroom, Juno and her two-year-old brother, Rai Rai, are transported to the imaginary, magical, musical world of Harmonia Springs. Here, Juno and her puppet friends learn all about musical concepts and the importance of friendship.

Juno Jr.

*Geared toward preschoolers

*Discover melody, rhythm and harmony

*Deep emphasis on music education and appreciation

*Full-length episodes featuring beautiful songs and rich storylines

*Sing along in English, Spanish and French

The best of all worlds: a collection of your favorite Juno Baby sing along tunes, as well as our original instrumental pieces performed by live orchestral musicians. Also, includes two bonus tracks by Handel and Debussy.

The music is really beautiful. The CD is very popular in my home right now. It's so much fun to hear the characters sing. We all think the CD is wonderful and we sing along with the characters as well.

After Bunny's "serenade stand" doesn't live up to her expectations, Indie hires her to be his own, personal "One Bunny Band." Indie gets more than he bargains for as Bunny misses the music mark time and time again. But in the end, Bunny and her friends learn how to put feelings into their music through concepts such as tempo, dynamics and articulation.

My daughter absolutely loves this DVD especially the music and fun characters.

When Bunny presses the big red button on Murphy's Shush Machine, she inadvertently silences the town of Harmonia Springs. Juno realizes that, in order to bring life back to the town, she and her friends have to create their own music through melody, harmony, rhythm and - most of all - friendship.

My daughter eyes lights up when she hears the name JUNO. The songs and music are original and these DVD's are just remarkable. I highly recommend them for anyone that has a young child.

Part of the company's mission is to provide all children access to music. Through their One for All Program, a very special music education DVD is donated to a child in need for every Juno Company product sold. Buy One. Give One. Please help them bring music to all children - use promo code WELCOME at checkout at www.thejunocompany.com and receive 15% off your purchase. Valid until 8/1/11.