Beat Cancer Boot Camp Powered by Yurbuds

Yurbuds®, the leader in sports earphones designed by a triathlete and 23-time marathoner, has teamed up with Chris "Macca" McCormack, "World's Fittest Man" and two-time Ironman Champion to host the first-ever two-day Beat Cancer Boot Camp Powered by Yurbuds in NYC at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers.

Although this event is free to the public, a suggested $5.00 donation will benefit the Entertainment Industry Foundation's (EIF) Revlon Run/Walk for Women, which helps raise funds for multiple beneficiaries dedicated to cancer research, early detection, and support.

Each boot camp will be led by Anita "Sarge" Kellman, founder of the national Beat Cancer Boot Camp program, and hosted by a Yurbuds-sponsored athlete from the Ironman World Triathlon Corp., which endorses Yurbuds earphones, available at Apple stores, Best Buy, Sports Authority and more.

WHEN: Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

11 a.m. to Noon Beat Cancer Boot Camp Workout

Yurbuds Host: Chris "Macca" McCormack, two-time Ironman World Champion, World's Fittest Man

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Beat Cancer Boot Camp Workout

Yurbuds Hosts: TJ Tollakson, 2011 Lake Placid Ironman Winner and Kyle "Epic" Mendoza, freerunning and parkour expert

WHERE: The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers

Pier 60 at the West 20th Street Crosswalk, New York, NY

Please use the entrance located at the East end of the Pier

By Cab: Enter at 23rd Street & West Side Highway (11th Avenue)

REGISTER: Sign up now at www.yurbuds.com/beatcancerbootcamp!

MORE: Donate $20 or more to receive a pair of Yurbuds Iron Man Series headphones($59.99 value). For more information please visit www.yurbuds.com and http://www.facebook.com/sportscenteratchelseapiers.

Shainsware Review and Giveaway

Shains: Say It, Wear It, Mean It

While attending the Sweet Suite event at BlogHer11, I saw groups of grown women huddled around a table with bowls of colorful buttons which had either letters or symbols printed on them. It looked like they were making friendship bracelets. I decided to give it a try and see what all the fun was about. I must admit I had fun making a bracelet for my daughter. I found out that the company that was responsible for all the giggling, lively chatting, the colorful bracelets and little buttons is Shainsware.

Shainsware is the newest and coolest way to say and wear what you mean. Shains are customizable ec0-friendly fashion accessories for people of all ages and all walks of life. You can customize bracelets, necklaces, key chains, hair bands, belts and much more by arranging interchangeable letters and icons (called elements) to express yourself. They are also made from recycled and recyclable materials.

From the company:

Shains are recycled accessories that encourage and empower people to make their own statements and change them whenever they want! Shainsware, the company, is dedicated to producing eco-friendly products that are useful and empowering. We donate a percentage of net profits to environmental organizations. Shains products are made of recycled and recyclable parts and everything Shains produces is certified lead free. Shains packaging is also recycled and recyclable.

Everything Shains produces is tested and passes all US and European safety standards.

Shainsware has a full product line. My kids and I had so much fun personalizing bracelets and a

notebook. The notebook and bracelets are soft and very pliable. The elements are easy to put in and very colorful. My kids have gone swimming while wearing the bracelets, the elements don't come loose!

My 7 year old son loved the Jane Goodall Save the Animals Kit. This kit comes with the bracelet and 50 formerly endangered species icons.

My 4 year old personalized a bracelet with the Starter kit. This kit comes with a bracelet and 60 elements which includes the entire alphabet and 7 cool icons.

My 12 year old wanted to customize a notebook he can use to jot down ideas and quick sketches. The Notebook kit comes with a notebook with 50 sheet of unlined recycled art quality paper and 60 elements. The Shains Notebook has been names Winner of 2011 Creative Child Kids Product of the Year!

I'd like to share this great product with you with not just one, but 3 giveaways! So that means 3 chances to win and 3 winners!! You get your CHOICE OF:

1. Bracelet Starter Kit with 60 Elements (the entire alphabet and 7 cool icons)

2. Jane Goodall Save the Animals Kit with 50 Formerly Endangered Species icons

3. Notebook with 60 Elements and 50 sheets of unlined paper.

To enter, you must complete the Mandatory Entry Requirements and leave a comment after each requirement is completed.

1. Follow me @SprMama on Twitter

2. Join this site via GFC

3. Visit Shainsware site and tell me what you like best about Shains.

4. Follow @Shainsware on Twitter

5. Leave a comment and tell me which one of the 3 sets you would like if you win

6. Like Shainsware on Facebook (No Facebook account? State in Comment section)

7. Tweet about this giveaway

This Giveaway will end on September 2, 2011 at midnight PST. The winner will be drawn via random.org and notified. The winner will have 2 days to respond. Otherwise, a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck! I know you will love Shainsware as much as we have!

**I was given the three products featured in this post for review by the company. All opinions expressed are mine.

Wordless Wednesday

This school year, son #2 will be receiving his First Holy Communion. Next year, my daughter will be starting kindergarten. And in two years, son #1 will be starting high school. Although I love watching them grow, I wish I could keep them little and carefree forever.

Wordless Wednesday:

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

A year and a half after bridging into Boy Scouts, he is now a Star scout. This is what my 12 year old son's Merit Badge sash looks like.

Time Island Review and Giveaway

Time Island is an educational online game aimed at children 6-10 years old. My 7 year old son received an awesome bag filled with stickers, wrist bands, a bandana, tattoos, and a pair of sunglasses as well as an opportunity to try out the game.

This virtual learning game takes place on a deserted island inhabited by Goggs. The goal of the game is to outsmart the Goggs and survive by completing certain tasks and solving mini-riddles. Before starting the game, my son created his avatar and named it. As he played, he explored other island habitats like beaches, caves, and lagoons. He not only had to outsmart the Goggs, he also had to take care of his avatar. He had to maintain his avatar’s hygiene, feed it, and clean his hut. He was also able to earn Time Chips in order to buy clothes, decorate his avatar’s house and other items which are needed to survive on Time Island. Although Time Chips are great to have to purchase items, the game encourages your child to find items through exploration and ingenuity.

There is also an option for your child to interact with other players on Time Island in a monitored and safe environment. They can communicate with other players using emoticons, pre-defined sentences, or regular chat (if you allow it). Curse words are also automatically removed. You, as a parent, can even create an account to track your child’s activity on Time Island.

I really love the graphics and colors in the game. What I loved most about Time Island is that the games are designed to teach skills like hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, and logic. Since it is still in its early stages of development, there were a few glitches. The game, at times, was a bit slow to load and it wasn’t always clear what to do next. This games has great potential and I can’t wait to see how it is improved.

To learn more about the game, visit

Time Island on Facebook

Time Island on YouTube

Now for the fun stuff...the giveaway! You can win the same swag bag my son received: green drawstring bag with the Time Island logo on it filled with Time Island stickers, tattoos, wrist bands, a bandana, and a pair of sunglasses. This giveaway will close at midnight (PST) on 8/23. The winner will be announced here and notified via email. The winner will then have 48 hours to claim the prize, otherwise another winner will be drawn. The Mandatory Entry must be completed first, otherwise the Bonus Entries do not count. Please leave one comment per entry. Leave your email address so you can be notified if you win.

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Time Island and let me know what you or your kids like best about the game.

Bonus Entries:

1. Follow me publicly via GFC

2. Follow me on Twitter

3. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link to the tweet in the comment box:

@SprMama giveaway: Win a Time Island game prize pack http://bit.ly/qMexxf

4. Like Time Island on Facebook.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a prize pack in exchange for reviewing Time Island online game. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Brain Boosting Reading Games by Kabongo

Studies have shown that students lose over two months of knowledge over the summer. This is why I love games and activities that engage my kids. I was elated when I heard about a site called Kabongo. GoGo Kabongo is a free online learning game developed for kids 4-7 years old.

What does GoGo Kabongo teach?

Kabongo games do not teach with “right” and “wrong” answers. Instead, they guide children toward better thinking by using an exciting, engaging game design. Children use a wide variety of critical-thinking and problem-solving strategies to play and progress.

Kabongo consists of brain-boosting games which help kids become confident readers by building cognitive skills such as attention and focus, memory skills, processing, comprehension, visualization, and planning.

I signed up my 4 and 7 year old kids to play Kabongo. They were both mesmerized by the game's sounds and colors, a well as the customizable characters. Kabongo has three different games in each habitat, each with six levels. My 4 year old is beginning to read, so I was afraid that she may get frustrated with some of the games. Not so. I quickly discovered that the game advances at my child's pace.

In Kabongo, as my kids played the reading games, they had fun looking for fun-loving characters. They explored different habitats and discovered gags, treasure hunts and surprises. They were able to decorate their own tree house by filling it with cool collectibles that they earned as they played. They earned stickers then used them to make their own comic book. My 7 year old figured out how to add pictures and audio bubbles to customize certain scenes.

I personally love the Parent Dashboard where I was able to access my kids' activity reports and printable activities like mazes, connect the dots and coloring pages. My kids are having so much fun playing Kabongo, they don't realize they are actually learning! I have noticed a lot of improvement in my 4 year old's reading skills. Although my 7 year old was already an advanced reader when he started playing Kabongo, I found that he was applying his critical thinking skills when he played the games.

You want to know the best part? Your child can start playing GoGo Kabongo today for free with full access to the Laughter Lake habitat. For a very reasonable one-time cost of $4.95 each, you can expand your child's learning with two additional habitats: Galaxy Gardens and Twister Top. If you sign up now, you get Galaxy Gardens for free. You only have to pay $4.95 for Twister Top. But you have to hurry because this is a limited time offer.Head on over to GoGo Kabongo and sign up for your free subscription. Don't forget to add on Twister Top for only $4.95. And while you're at it, check out Kabongo on Facebook and Twitter.

*I did not receive financial remuneration for this review. I did receive a product sample for evaluation purposes.