Go Graham Go: Parenting | Recipes | DIY | Brand Ambassador | Product Reviews | NC Mom Blog

Graham and I have a little weekly tradition of heading over to Chick-fil-A for lunch and play time.  He really enjoys the food and it is perfect for these cold rainy days we have been having.  We have been supporters of Chick-fil-A before we even had kids just because of the strong family values the company stands for.  Several friends even worked there in high school and received college scholarships by doing so.



If you frequent Chick-fil-A you know that they generally have pretty good prizes in their kids meals in my opinion.  You will usually find a book or even a CD (way better than a plastic toy).  Graham has really enjoyed the comic book series they have been offering lately.  Well, from now until January 1st, Chick-fil-A will be featuring Cranium games in their kids meals.


There are a total of nine games available:

* The travel game series features game packs of easy-to-hold question cards that encourage teamwork and quick thinking.
1. “Creative Cat” cards ask players to draw and identify pictures.
2. “Data Head” cards test logic.
3. “Star Performer” cards instruct players to act and hum.
4. “Word Worm” cards test players with puzzles, spelling and categorizing.


* The board game/game pack series features a variety of questions and activities to keep parents and children interacting for hours.
1. The Cranium Family Edition Board Game includes a miniature game board, activity cards, a die and tokens for players to race to the finish line by correctly answering creative, data, performer and word questions.
2. The Cranium Family Edition Game Pack puts players into two teams that attempt to successfully complete creative, data, performer and word activities in less than 60 seconds.
3. The Kid Cranium Board Game includes a miniature game board, activity cards, a die, tokens, a crayon and paper. To win, players must correctly answer solo or partner questions to place four tokens in a row on the board.
4. The Kid Cranium Game Pack comes with a spinning wheel and activity cards featuring solo and partner challenges.
5. The Whoonu Game Pack helps players get to know each other better. The pack includes word cards and point cards that the “Whoozit” uses to identify his or her favorite things for the other players to guess and earn points.



While you are there, make sure to pick up your "cowlendar" that features pictures of the Chick-fil-A Cows in various reality TV roles!  It is hilarious!  The best part: THE COUPONS for FREE FOOD! Only $6 while supplies last.  Also, have you tried the Hand-Spun Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake?!

This product was provided free of charge by Chickfila. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can not stand behind. Please see my Terms of Use for more info. Subscribe to Go Graham Go as well as follow us on Twitter!

I love the Plum District Deal for today!  You can create a personalized story book for your child or someone you love From FlattenMe for only $19.  They are regularly $39.95.  You can personalize with the name as well as face!  There are also some cute personalized cards you can choose from.  What a great Christmas gift idea that will be a keepsake.

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 Here is a fun and different spin on holiday cookies!  This one uses Pringles and was created by Chef Kyle Shadix.  It Yeilds 2 Dozen cookies.



What You Will Need:
1 can Pringle's “The Original”
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fruit preserves, raspberry or mixed berry
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven at to 350 degrees and place Pringles, flour, baking soda, and spices in a food processor, and puree until the consistency of corn meal; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until slightly fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the Pringles spice mixture into the bowl and mix for 1 minute; place dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets, and bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
6. In a small bowl, combine fruit preserves and ginger (if desired, ginger is optional); spread 1 teaspoon onto a cookie, and top with another cookie. Instead of crystallized ginger can swap out 2 teaspoons of powdered ginger to the jam.

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You may remember a past post about Maukilo Toys.  I love this place because it is a one stop shop for all things quality.  HABA toys are some of my favorite because they are safe for kids and have proven to be long lasting for us.  You can find so many wonderful HABA toys to choose from at Maukilo.





We were sent the Technics Wooden Blocks Basic by HABA for review.  This impressive set is a great starter pack for the Technics products.  If you have a child that loves to put things together and likes to figure out how things work, this is the toy for them!  Because it is from HABA the blocks are completely wooden and use safe paint.  The add-ons help your child connect the blocks in various assortments as well as add wheels to get them moving!  Two of the blocks already resemble a car or vehicle type shape and would be great for younger kids getting started.





In my opinion, these are so much better than Leggos for Graham's age category (4).  Because the pieces are big there will be less frustration when your child starts to assemble things.  The add-ons are easy to put together and take apart and there are several different ways to configure them.  Not only will your child have fun putting these together, but you will find yourself experimenting and playing (I know we did)!





The Technics Wooden Blocks are a great way to foster a child's imagination as well as motor skills.  They retail for $62.99 at Maukilo.com. 


This product was provided free of charge by Maukilo. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can not stand behind. Please see my Terms of Use for more info. Subscribe to Go Graham Go as well as follow us on Twitter!

Have you heard of Expressionery.com?  It is an excellent resource for all things stationary, journals, bag tags and more.  What you may not have known is that they also offer adorable personalized plates that are gorgeous for gift giving and won't break the bank!



We were sent the AkHiggins Calligraphic Black Plate for review a few weeks ago.  For $25 you will receive a plate in the design of your choice with the personalization you are looking for.  In this case, we went with the letter "C" for our last name.  It is a melamine plate which means that it is sturdy and dishwasher safe (do not put them in the microwave).  This will be perfect for the next get together I have!  A great idea would be to get the two other colors and mix and match for a dinner party.








The Personalized Plates from Expressionery are great gift ideas for Christmas, anniversary's, birthdays, or hostess gifts.  For only $25, this is an affordable and unique gift idea.


This product was provided free of charge by Expressionery. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can not stand behind. Please see my Terms of Use for more info.
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Christmas this year is going to be more fun than any other year so far I think. We now have a little boy who is starting to get the idea of Santa Claus and everything that goes along with it. We have also been very careful to try and express the true meaning of Christmas to him as this season goes along. So, the other day when he started asking about when Santa was coming, I was reminded of a little countdown calendar I made when I was about his age that really helped me out. It was to countdown the days until Santa arrived and I remember taking a link off every night thinking that the day would never come!

I decided to do this for Graham, but take another spin on it. I wanted his countdown calendar to not only give him a perspective on Santa, but to give him a perspective on what Christmas is all about. So, I made a Nativity topper for the calendar that features Luke 2:11-14 from the Bible which announces Jesus's birth!






This Christmas Countdown calendar can be a great craft activity for the entire family! As you create your calendar, have someone read about Jesus's birth from the Bible. If you have younger children like me, I really love the book Who is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate. We read this one to Graham to talk about the birth of Jesus. It is sweet because it is the perspective from the animals in the stable. At the end we always sing "Away in a Manger."






You can also use this craft as a learning tool. Have your child write the numbers into the stars to practice numbers as well as have them measure and count the strips that will become the links. For younger children, you can have them practice their fine motor skills by having them color the stars and help with the glue. Practice counting as you attach each link.

Materials:

• Countdown Calendar Templates. Click HERE for the Nativity and HERE for Santa and HERE for the stars
  
• A yellow crayon or marker
• Sharpie or black marker
  
• Colored construction paper, card stock, or scrapbook paper cut into 24 inch wide strips
  
• Small piece of cardboard or back of cereal box cut to fit the calendar topper
  
• Ribbon or yarn
• Hole punch
• Scissors
• Glue Stick

Instructions:

1. Print off the Countdown Calendar Template of your choice (Nativity or Santa and the Stars)
2. Cut out the calendar topper and glue onto cardboard piece
3. Write numbers 1-24 with Sharpie on the stars and color with yellow crayon or marker
4. Cut out the stars
5. Punch a hole at the top and bottom of the Calendar Topper in the middle
6. Insert a ribbon into each hole and create a loop by tying a knot
7. Attach the links by gluing each end of the construction paper together. Start by attaching to your bottom ribbon loop
8. Add links until you have all 24 attached.
9. Glue the numbered stars onto the links with 1 at the top and 24 at the end of the links
10. Hang on your Christmas tree, wall, or door and take one link off each day starting 12/1 to countdown the days until Christmas!



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We have a tradition of getting our tree on Thanksgiving while listening to the first Christmas music of the year.  We will generally pick up one or two new Christmas CDs for our trip.  This year Graham got in on the Christmas Music action with Ben Rudnick & Friends It's Santa Claus album.



We were sent the It's Santa Claus album for review and I can tell you it is one everyone will enjoy.  The album features one original song by the band (It's Santa Claus) and  7 other Christmas classics.  Graham enjoys the upbeat and fun rhythms and we appreciate music that isn't so "kiddy".

You can purchase the CD online for only $9.95 and start singing about the guy who's "sipping milk and chewing cookies"!

This product was provided free of charge by Ben Rudnick & Friends. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can not stand behind. Please see my Terms of Use for more info.
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Oh my, we LOVE Cracker Barrel and we especially love it at Christmas time!  Who can beat the food and the atmosphere?  This is the time of year when they usually have the big fire place roaring and the Old Country Store is stacked full of fun things for just about everyone in our family.  Each year we generally end up picking up a few things from the Cracker Barrel store for stocking stuffers and gifts.  They have unique finds that are under $20 usually (perfect for our budget).



Here's something I didn't know... Cracker Barrel also offers FREE gift wrapping of presents and shipping in the contiguous US!  They even make custom gift baskets if you ask an associate.  This is not just during the Christmas season, but all the time.  I have honestly been visiting Cracker Barrel for years and had NO idea about these complimentary services!  I just thought they had great food and cute gifts (and a really great fire).  Now I have a new reason to frequent.  I'm sure you are aware of the excellent food items that they offer in their gift shop, but if I could just recommend their boxed pancakes (seriously, they do not taste like pancakes you just add water to).  Also, the Mint Chocolate Barrel of Fudge is up high on my list of favorite sweets!



Save More and Stay in the Loop!
So, this holiday season, when you stop off for some home cooked southern food, get your Christmas shopping done too!  By the way, if you have an iPhone you can download the FREE Cracker Barrel app to find the store where ever you go (it helped us located one on our way to see the Bristol Motor Speedway Lights this past weekend)!  You can keep up with all of the specials at the Cracker Barrel News page or by signing up for the newsletter or text alerts. 


Cracker Barrel provided a gift card and gift basket in order to thank me for writing this post. These are my honest opinions on Cracker Barrel as it is one of my family's favorite places to eat!  I do not post reviews on products I can not stand behind. Please see my Terms of Use for more info.

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It is just a reality now that I have to use a planner.  Sure, I have an iPhone that I find very convenient, but I am the type of girl that out of sight is out of mind!  It generally works better for me to make a concrete, written list so that it is in front of me and I can cross things off.  The same works for a calendar.  I love the idea of an online calendar, but the reality is that I would forget to check it!



Even though I know that there are several out there like me that need a real life planner and pencil in their hands, we all have different tastes on what our calendar should look like.  What works best for me is a monthly planner.  I like to be able to see everything that is going to happen in one month at a glance.  I have friends and family members who prefer a weekly calendar.  No matter what your preference, Quovadis Planners has you covered!  You can customize your planner until it is perfect for you.


For the review, I went with the Monthly 4 Planner in the cover Club with color Bamboo.  This is an 18 month planner that goes from July 2010 to December 2011.  I love all of the space to write on each day as well as the tabs to keep me flipping to the correct month without a bookmark.  I chose the fun, bright color, but you can always go with a more traditional color as well as choose from leather options.  Because the binding is sewn, the planner lays flat when opened (a huge plus for me)!  There is room for notes, addresses, as well as annual calendars for 2011 and 2012 and Maps.  My only complaint would be that the weeks are listed as Monday-Sunday.  I prefer a Sunday-Saturday layout.





With all of the different options, a planner from Quovadis would be an excellent Christmas gift idea for the person who has everything.  Find a store near you or purchase online.


This product was provided free of charge by Quovadis. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can not stand behind. Please see my Terms of Use for more info.

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I am so excited that it is time to start thinking about Christmas.  I have always loved Christmas and enjoy decorating for it.  Our tradition is to travel out and find and cut our Christmas Tree on Thanksgiving, then come back home a decorate!  Part of that has been to hang our stockings by the fireplace.  I have been longing for personalized stockings ever since Matthew and I first got married, but we decided we would wait until we had children and get matching stockings.



I started my hunt for the best deal on personalized, quality stockings back in October.  The Knit Personalized Stockings from Personal Creations were what I found to be the best bang for your buck this Christmas season.  For only $15.99 a piece you will receive a full sized stocking with your choice of personalization (up to 12 characters).  I received four of them for review from Personal Creations.






Everyone who has seen the stockings so far has commented on how pretty they are.  I was more than pleased once we received them in the mail.  Because the stockings are knit, I was worried that they may have picks or places where holes could develop easily.  What I have found is that the knit is a pretty tight weave and the embroidery of the names is done on the top lip that is folded over.  That means that the personalization should hold up a lot longer as well.  The loop for hanging the stockings is nice and long and will be great once
Santa fills them full!  You can choose from two different colors (red or green) and two different designs (snowflake or argyle).  My one complaint would be that one of the stocking's personalization was off center.  Even still, it is adorable and hardly noticeable when hanging.





So, if you are on the hunt for personalized stockings for the family, believe me when I say that I have looked and this is the best deal for your money in my opinion.  The Knit Personalized Stockings usually retail for $19.99 and are on sale for only $15.99 a piece.


This product was provided free of charge by Personal Creations. These are my honest opinions on the product. I do not post reviews on products I can not stand behind. Please see my Terms of Use for more info.
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Since the first year we got married, my grandparents have sent us a personalized ornament for Christmas with the name of each family member on it. It's been so much fun to see what designs will be coming next, and fun to look at the ornaments from years past and see how our family has changed.

So when I was asked to review a few ornaments from personalizedfree.com I didn’t hesitate. Browsing through all of the ornaments, I saw so many I loved!

There are quite a few fun family ornaments for families of all sizes. I just love that you can commemorate the year with the names of each of your family members!
I also love the idea of the different themed ornaments. This would be a perfect gift for your child's teacher or coach!
There is a great selection of kids’ ornaments too. What child wouldn’t love these, especially seeing their own name on them as well? I know quite a few who would be thrilled to see these on their tree!
Can you see why I had such a hard time choosing which ornaments I wanted? I finally decided to get an ornament for my 2 youngest boys.

Isn’t this the cutest? I love that we’ll always remember his birth stats and how tiny he was for his very first Christmas.

And as soon as I saw this motorcycle ornament, I knew I had to get it for my 3 year old.
He loves motorcycles and will be so excited to see this on the tree, with HIS name on it no less! I haven’t shown him yet, as I want it to be a surprise, but I have no doubt it will be difficult to keep it on the Christmas tree and not being played with!

These ornaments are great quality, not just in looks but in material as well. While they are not extremely heavy, they are made from good quality material that I don't feel will break easily- a relief since we have young children who will be "helping" decorate the tree!

So if you’re looking for a unique Christmas gift, or just something fun and new to add to your own tree, head on over and check out the selection of ornaments available at personalizedfree.com. They have over 1300 personalized ornaments, so you're sure to find something perfect!

You can purchase the motorcycle ornament I reviewed for $11.95 and the Baby's 1st Christmas ornament I reviewed for $12.95. Shipping is always free on orders over $60, and they are currently having a huge sale, so be sure and head over now!

Alesha was born and raised in Arizona, where she currently resides. She was married in 2003 to her wonderful husband, and God has blessed them with 4 beautiful children. She is blessed to be able to stay at home with them, and has recently begun homeschooling.

Alesha has devoted her life to the Lord, and lives daily for Him. She is very involved with her church, including volunteering as a Jr. Youth Group leader and as a Bible School craft teacher. She also sings in the choir and writes the news for the church newsletter. You can find her at The Jacobsen Family or on twitter @JacobsenFamily.

This product was provided free of charge by PersonalizedFree.com to Alesha. These are her honest opinions on the product.  Please see my Terms of Use for more info.


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With the fantastically fun designs at Hi There Press, you are inspired to get those pictures off of your computer and turn them into gorgeous works of art that can be displayed in your home as framed canvas prints or even on mousepads and water bottles.



Even better, Hi There Press allows you to spread Holiday cheer throughout the world when you send your own smiley Holiday cards to friends and family--with so many options, you are bound to find the perfect card to feature your yearly family portrait!




I was very impressed by the design choices found on Hi There Press. In homage to their favorite city (Seattle!), Hi There Press creatively breaks down their products according to style—Madison Park (fancy, schmancy), Fremont (cute and whimsical), SODO (hipster & mod), B-Town (edgy, gritty, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, or maybe indie).


I had the opportunity to experience Hi There Press first hand when I reviewed their 14x11 wall art. While I decided on a framed canvas without one of their unique graphic borders (a tough decision, believe me!) I chose a vertical picture over a traditional horizontal picture.



I was so pleased I did! Hi There Press alleviated all my fears before I ordered my framed canvas. Their handy product builder will automatically let you know if the image you are using is not of high enough resolution and their excellent (and speedy!) customer service people will help you with any questions or suggestions you may have. 

Speaking of speedy, Hi There Press has an incredibly fast turn around service, getting your ordered product to you in record time. Their fast shipment, however, does not mean they go easy on quality--on the contrary, i was very impressed by the high quality of my new canvas art.
 All of  Hi There Press wall art comes ready assembled in a great black frame--I tried to capture  the depth of the frame so that you can see how it really stands out from the wall. I wasn't sure if I'd like it based on their online pictures but I really love how it defines my picture and looks great on my wall.


The staff at Hi There Press want to make sure that you always have a great experience with them--even if that just means browsing their website. They're committed to you as a potential customer from perusing their products to ordering it and receiving the shipment quickly to enjoying your product when you get it. If you are looking for a special gift or unique cards for this holiday season, Hi There Press is your one-stop shop!

After stints of living in the Midwest, Northeast, and England, the Monkey's Mama (AKA Allie) currently resides in Atlanta with her wonderful husband of 7 years, "J". Together they have two daughters.

The Monkey's Mama takes great joy in being a Christian Stay-at-Home-Mama. In her spare time, she loves to run and race competitively for her local track club, read mystery novels, and walk her cats Churchill and Thatcher outside on leashes!

You can find her on twitter @monkeysonthebed.