Hapari Swimwear Review

Disclosure: I received a gift certificate in order to review Hapari swimwear. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are my honest opinion of the product.


As the weather gets increasingly warmer, I know that it is a sign that summer will be here before we know it. While I enjoy going to the beach during my summer vacation, as well as heading to our local water park, the one thing I do not look forward to is wearing a swimsuit. It is not easy to find one that feels comfortable and makes me look good in it as well. Fortunately, Hapari swimwear helps me with both criteria. Here is a little information about Hapari from their website:

It's our mission at Hapari to help women everywhere feel attractive in their swimwear by offering stylish tankinis, bikinis, one piece swimsuits, and bottoms. No matter what your body shape, you will look and feel great in our modest swimsuits that enhance the curves you love while hiding those you don't. Since we offer an impressive selection of plus size swimwear and junior styles, you will always be able to find the perfect size.

My thoughts:

Two years ago, when I wrote my first review for Hapari, I chose the Black Aloha S.O.S Tankini, black cover up shorts, and a black cover-up. When it first arrived I loved my new suit, and even after two years, I am still impressed with the quality of Hapari swimwear.

This time I chose the Sport Cancun Tankini and the Tummy Tuk Short Black Bottoms. Although I have not had the chance to wear my new swimsuit out in public, I love how comfortable it feels on me, and I like how it looks as well. Part of the reason I believe that I can find that perfect suit at Hapari is the option to mix and match the tops and bottoms. This way I can customize my swimwear to help me look my best.  Another great feature of most of their swimwear is the fact that there are three ways to wear the strap! I forgot about this with my first bathing suit and have always worn it halter style. This summer I can't wait to try both my old and new suits in one of the other two strap styles.

Overall, I have been impressed with the quality of Hapari Swimwear. So if you are looking for that perfect suit, I would definitely recommend that you check out their site.

The Trash Pack Review

Do you ever feel like your kids' toys take over the house? I have to admit that when Christmas and birthdays roll around, I love it when the kids receive movies or small toys that I know will not take up a lot of space. It is for that reason that I have encouraged my boys' latest obsession with the Trash Pack. Trashies, are miniature collectible figures, known as "The Gross Gang in your Garbage." 

My middle son loves them the most, so he was excited when we were sent a Series 3 5-pack to review. In the 5-pack we received Sick Garlic, Smelly Onion, Scaboon, Waste Worm, Oily Ointment, and Broken Blender, as well as two little garbage cans and one larger one. As I was checking out The Trash Pack website and looking at all the Trashies, I learned that each Trashie is characterized by a series (such as Series 3), a team (such as the Grubz), a finish (such as classic), and how rare they are to collect. I also learned that each Trashie comes in three different colors.

Over time, Trashies have certainly kept my boys' interest, so they were excited when I recently bought them a new product called Ultimate Fighting Trashies (UFT). My oldest son wanted these because his father likes the UFC, and the pack includes a few weapons for the Trashies to fight with. You can also buy a spin launcher, as well as a battle arena. 

Overall, I can say that my boys really love their Trashies and look forward to adding more to their collection. In their opinion, Trashies are awesome!

Disclosure: I received a Series 3 pack to review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are my honest opinion of the product.
 

Math Blaster Review and Giveaway

"Disclosure: I was provided with a membership good for Math Blaster and Jumpstart at no cost by Jumpstart in order to test the products' abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided."

For those who know me well, they know that I am a math geek. I was hoping to inspire my kids to love math, but I am having trouble with my oldest. While looking for ways to make math fun for him, I was excited to find the website Math Blaster. Not only does this site encourage kids to practice their math facts, but it is set within a space theme which is my oldest son's passion right now.

My boys have been trying out Math Blaster for over a month now, and once they start playing they do not want to stop. At the beginning they had fun creating their own avatar, choosing a name, and spending time with their pet. In order to keep their pet happy, they are responsible for taking care of his needs such as feeding, grooming, and playing.

I have to admit from watching them play and trying it out myself, you can get caught up in the virtual world without ever trying a math game. There is so much to do on the site, it can be overwhelming. However, once they tried a math game, they realized how much fun it can be. Their favorite game, as well as my own, is called Hyperblast. In Hyperblast you can choose to work on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, or standard form. You also can choose how hard or easy the problems should be. As you play, you travel throughout the game in your spaceship trying to avoid any obstacles in your path until you reach an alien robot. In order to pass the robot you must answer the math problems correctly.

Another area they really enjoy is Morph Madness, where your child plays the role of a scientist, mixing ingredients together to create a formula which will turn other blasters into monsters. Since my oldest son loves science, this part of Math Blaster really caught his interest.

Final thoughts: My boys really enjoy playing Math Blaster. When they are playing, however, I do need to keep an eye on them to make sure they are taking advantage of the math games the site has to offer. If not, they can get caught up into taking care of their pet or else spending too much time in Morph Madness. While I do not mind them trying out these other parts of the virtual world, my main goal is to have them practice their math facts. Another part of Math Blaster I liked was their blog, which not only keeps you up to date, but also provides worksheets you can use with your children as well.

I do not like it when my children spend too much time on video games. However, at Math Blaster I do not feel guilty if they spend a lot of time on the computer. As long as they are brushing up on their facts, the time is well spent. If you are looking for a way to spark your child's interest in math, I would encourage you to check out Math Blaster. To get you started, watch the video below for a short tour of the Math Blaster World:




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Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out DVD Review

Since my boys are Star Wars fans and they love their LEGO video games, I knew that they would be excited when our review copy of LEGO® Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Out™ DVD came in the mail. Here is the synopsis:

Your favorite characters are back to save the galaxy in LEGO® Star Wars®: The Empire Strikes Out™. The heroes of the Rebel Alliance including heroic Luke Skywalker, swaggering Han Solo and steadfast Princess Leia have no time to celebrate their victory over the Empire as a new Imperial threat arises. But as Jedi-in training Luke embarks on this next mission, he discovers that his celebrity status as a "Death-Star-Blower-Upper" can be a double-edged lightsaber when he's constantly mobbed by crazed fans. So much for secret missions! Meanwhile, Darth Vader and Darth Maul are locked in a hilarious "Sith-ling" rivalry as they compete for the Emperor's approval. It's an action-packed comic adventure that's out of this world!

Our thoughts: When the DVD arrived in the mail my boys were excited to watch it and my oldest was thrilled that it came with a Darth Vadar mini figure. This is a cute cartoon and is perfect for young kids, with a recommended age of 6 and above. My boys favorite characters are Darth Vadar, the Emperor and Yoda, so they definitely enjoyed watching this DVD-they only wished that Yoda's appearance could have been longer.  And of course, they thought that Darth Maul's eight lightsabers were awesome!  Even though it was geared towards kids, I did let out a chuckle here and there as well. The only downside to the film is it seemed too short at 22 minutes. So if you are looking to share your love of Star Wars with your kids, this might be a great way to start!

Disclosure: I received a copy of the DVD to review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are my honest opinion of the product.

Birthday in a Box Review

March has been a hectic month for us and among the busyness we needed to find time to plan two birthday parties. While birthday parties can be fun, there is some stress involved when planning one. I used to go to multiple stores trying to find the perfect party supplies, but that always took up so much time. I now love to shop online instead. This year my son requested a Space Party, which I found to be a more difficult theme to work with then in the past. For his party supplies, he wanted to make sure the plates, cups, and napkins had planets on them. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to accommodate this request until I checked out Birthday in a Box.

At Birthday in a Box you will find a large variety of themes to help you plan that perfect party. Whether it is tableware, decorations, party favors, toys and gifts, invitations, pinatas, balloons, or games and activities, you will find it at Birthday in a Box. They offer personalized items as well. To top it off, their prices are reasonable, which is important to me when I am looking to keep the cost of a birthday party down.

As we browsed their website, we chose the Space Party theme. Although there are different size kits you can buy, we decided on the Deluxe Party Kit for 8. The kit contained 8 plates, cups, spoons, forks, and knives, 16 napkins, a table cover, birthday candles, and  purple and blue streamers. It was nice to find all of the supplies we needed in one kit, and at $22.99 I felt it was very reasonable. 

If you have decided on a theme, but need some additional ideas to help you plan your party, Birthday in a Box offers party ideas as well. Under the Space Theme idea page, we found a great idea to offer Space Ice Cream as favors. My son decided on chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and I felt it made for a very unique party favor. 

Last weekend was the birthday party and the supplies looked great! My son loved his Space Party and I loved that shopping online at Birthday in a Box made my job of planning the party just a little bit easier. So if you are looking to plan a party, check out the wide selection of items that Birthday in a Box offers.

Disclosure: I received a Deluxe Party Kit to review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are my honest opinion of the product.