Having a daughter with a speech delay was not something I would have ever imagined would happen to me.  When I was younger and dreamed of children, they were always like me: early talkers, early walkers and early readers.

But when Bear began having seizures, those dreams were threatened to the very core.  She walked late and we are still learning to talk.  But the girl is a fighter, and showing promise to be an early reader.

Because of this, we are going to begin doing some preschool homeschooling this year, and a great resource I found for this was the site: ABCmouse.com.

ABCmouse is an award winning, interactive website that allows for 2-6 year old to get extra practice in an amazing online academy.  It is ad-free and safe, making sure students get extra practice in all of the core subjects with over 2,000 games.  Here is a great video to show you how it works:

Making an account for your child is simple.  Just head over to ABCmouse and sign up.  They walk you through step by step, where you can pick a personal avatar for you and your child.  It is all bright and fun.

Another great resource that we are excited to use this year is the Letter Songs A to Z.  Bear is so obsessed with her alphabet right now, so I am looking forward to this cd teaching her more of the sounds to not only pronounce them better, but also begin building that reading foundation.  The best part is that all three children will be exposed to a variety of music styles, from folk to hip hop.

I am so happy to have ABCmouse at my finger tips as I start my first year of homeschooling with my little girl.  But whether you are homeschooling or sending your children to preschool, this resource will help to build that foundation.

Be sure to check out ABCmouse on Facebook!

Disclosure: I was provided with a one year free membership to ABCmouse as well as a copy of Letter Songs A to Z in order to facilitate this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When Lion was born, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  When the doctors told me that they suspected he had Down syndrome, I was floored.  Then, two weeks later, when it was confirmed, I went searching for every bit of info that I could.  Books, blogs, everything Internet was my constant friend.

I was very encouraged by the information that I read, and I had a list of things to be on the look out for.  One of those things to look for was sensitive skin.  The book I read even went as far as to say if you found a brand of diapers that worked, don’t switch.

Imagine my surprise when I changed his brand of diapers and everything went fine.  I thought we had sensitive skin beat, that it was something we wouldn’t have to battle.  Until I changed again…

Poor Lion broke out in a horrible rash.  And then there was this patch, that almost looked like a burn, which left a scar, which made me feel horrible.  That diaper never touched his bottom again.

And it was this that opened my eyes to how careful I need to be over Lion’s skin, even as far as the laundry detergent that I use for him.  I didn’t want a repeat of what happened from the diapers to happen all over his body, so I decided a sensitive skin detergent might be the way to go.

When I tried the Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin Plus Laundry Detergent, I found a keeper.  I love the scent and I feel comfortable using it on his clothes.  I know that the sensitive skin formula is dye free and specially made for all kinds of washers.  The light scent is perfect for our clothes, not overwhelming at all.

The true test came when Daddy Head didn’t even notice the switch.  No questions asked means he was happy about it.  And Lion tolerated the switch wonderfully.

Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin Plus Laundry Detergent also was much easier to measure out the amount needed as well.  Many brands have dark colored lids which makes finding the mark you need hard to see.  This green lid was easy to see and now I don’t feel like I am using too much detergent.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Arm & Hammer and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

One thing I learned very early as a mommy is the power of bubbles!  When we couldn’t make Bear happy or if Lion just didn’t want to do anything in therapy, we would just pull out the bubbles and there was instant attitude change!

So, imagine my excitement when I received a package in the mail the other day with all of these goodies inside:

It was almost like Christmas morning around our house!  Bubbles galore.

I think the toy we were most excited about was the Bubble Turbine:

Giving me the ability to blow bigger bubbles than my brother in laws friend can with his hands, I know that Bear and Lion will be thrilled every time we break this baby out.  It comes with two interchangeable wants, bubbles and a tray.  This is sure to provide hours of fun in our nice weather.

I am also super excited about the new Super Miracle Bubbles Glow Fusion Bubble Solution and High Beam Illuminator:

Here is a video to see how they work:

I know that this will be a hit for Bear, Lion and their aunts and uncles this summer on family vacation.  We are always looking for fun new things to do, especially once darkness hits.  This will be just the thing to bring lots of ooh’s and aah’s.

Lastly, the water balloon toys are some of my favorite.  Don’t get me wrong, I like to play with bubbles.  But there is just something about setting an ambush of water balloons on my unsuspecting family that makes me super happy.

I received the Kaos Fast ‘N Easy filler with tie-not and the Cyclops Water Balloon Launcher.

Having the ability to fill balloons, tie them quickly and launch them up to 100 feet will make for hours of fun this summer.  Watch out family!  Here I come

Be sure to check out the Imperial Toy website to see all the fun toys they have coming out for your family’s enjoyment this spring and summer.  I would also love for you to give the Imperial Toy Facebook Page a follow so that you can stay up to date on all the new products they have coming out.

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.