Wipeout 2 Nintendo DS

Guest Post –

My 4 ½ year old son, Ethan, has several life goals. One is to grow up and be an astronaut, another is to play football, and the third and most talked about goal is to become a contestant on the game show, Wipeout. So he was ecstatic when I received a new game, Wipeout 2, to review on my Nintendo DS.

Wipeout 2 offers all the same fun of the TV show- racing through crazy obstacles to beat other players and win the $50,000 prize. The game is narrated by John Anderson and John Henson, the hosts of the show on TV.

This is a fun game, but definitely not an easy game that you will complete quickly! When you first start playing, you are limited to playing as one of three characters. As you play more, other characters get unlocked and available for play. You are also limited at the beginning to just one level and you have to be the winner of the level to advance to the next level. Much easier said than done!

I appreciated that the Nintendo DS version of the game offers the ability to skip some of the obstacles. It adds time to your clock, but for me was occasionally worth it. I was a little annoyed by the fact that the game’s default is to do an instant replay of every single time you wipeout. This can easily be skipped with just the push of a button, but since I wipeout more often than not, it got a little old to constantly have to be pushing the button. The commentary from the hosts also got a little repetitive, but that’s easily fixed by turning down the volume or turning off the voiceover on the options menu.

Overall, I think this is a fun, challenging game that has kept me occupied for many hours now, and I know it will continue to do so in the future. I have a very long plane trip coming up later this month, and I will definitely be taking my Nintendo DS and Wipeout 2 along with me! Wipeout 2 is rated E10 for mild cartoon violence and comic mischief. It’s available now, as a game for Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Xbox360, and Playstation 3.

Purchase your copy of Wipeout 2 at Amazon.com for $27.46.

Disclosure: I received this product to review for myself. All opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.

Carrie is a mom to two small kids (ages 4 and 2), who spends her days trying to keep her kids out of trouble, enjoying life in Seattle, and blogging at Growing My Kids Reviews.

KRAFT MILKBITE Milk & Granola Bars

There’s a new granola bar being released on February 13th and we can’t wait! We recently had the opportunity to try out KRAFT MILKBITE Milk & Granola Bars for ourselves and the kids went through 2 boxes in just a few days. Now they’re asking for more.

Found in the dairy aisle or refrigerated case, each KRAFT MILKBITE Milk & Granola Bar combines real milk with whole grain granola and other tasty and nutritious ingredients like fruit or roasted nuts, while offering 30% of your daily recommended value of calcium.

We’re a family that’s constantly on-the-go so finding healthy snacks that the kids actually want to eat can sometimes be a challenge. Usually just the words granola bar will send them running in the opposite direction. So when we received our shipment of KRAFT MILKBITE Milk & Granola Bars I decided to try it first.

OMG. Because these bars are from the fridge they were very refreshing especially in the afternoon. The cool fruit and granola made for the perfect snack during a time when I’m usually reaching for the chips or cookies. I also liked that the bars were chewy instead of crunchy. Some of the other crunchy granola bars I’ve tried were a little too dry and always hurt the roof of my mouth. But best of all they tasted great! Being that I’m not a big fan of milk I liked the idea that these bars have 30% of the recommended daily allowance of calcium . . . and you can’t even taste it!

But what about the kids?

Yes, KRAFT MILKBITES are a hit in my home and we can’t wait to stock up when it’s released to the public. Check them out in the refrigerated section of your local grocery store.

This post was written for KRAFT who provided the complimentary product in exchange for our honest review.

Veggie Tales: If I Sang a Silly Song DVD

This has got to be one of our favorite Veggie Tales DVDs. It’s seriously laugh out loud funny and the kids just had to watch it over and over again. Veggie Tales: If I Sang a Silly Song, takes you through 20 years by showcasing their top 20 fan favorite songs.

It’s all set in a telethon-style stage where Larry the Cucumber hosts “The Silly Songs Telethon” while members of the Veggie Tales gang take phone calls from the public on what they think would make a great silly song theme. Throughout the show they count down the Top 10 silly songs from the last 10 years then the Top 10 silly songs from the first 10 years. That’s 20 hilarious songs in all!

The great thing is that even though we’re huge fans of Veggie Tales there were songs that we haven’t seen performed before. Our favorites were:

Goodnight Junior – It’s time for Junior to go to bed but he just can’t help but ask for one more thing and then one more thing and then one more thing. Sound familiar? It happens in our home all the time. In Junior’s case he wants all of his stuffed friends to join him in bed . . . one-by-one. I have to give his Mom credit for humoring him for so long. I think I would have stopped after the second request!

Sippy Cup – Larry is at a restaurant ordering his meal. However, the waiter recognizes him from a big drink spill he had previously and informs Larry that he must use a sippy cup. Larry goes on and on about how he’s learn to be more careful and deserves a second chance. After a judge agrees, the waiter brings Larry a drink of – wait for it – purple grape juice filled to the rim of a stemmed glass. Does Larry prevail or is another accident about to happen? You’ll have to watch to find out.

We loved Sippy Cup because we have had some serious stain issues with purple grape juice. So much so that I refuse to buy it anymore. So when the kids saw what Larry was having to drink they laughed hysterically. I guess it’s an inside joke but I couldn’t stop laughing as well.

Here are the other songs that are in their Top 20 silly song list: I Love My Lips, The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, Belly Button, His Cheeseburger, Endangered Love, The Water Buffalo Song, The Song of the Cebu, Dance of the Cucumber, Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps, Monkey, The Hairbrush Song, Biscuit of Zazzamarandabo, The SUV Song, Lance the Turtle, Gated Community, Where Have All The Staplers Gone?, Pants, and Pizza Angel.

In the end they reveal the silly song theme that the public have voted on which is then performed by Larry the Cucumber. Of course, in real life the brand new song is the winner of a contest that Veggie Tales held where people submitted their original work. Thousands entered but only one was chosen – Bubble Wrap. How cool to have your song on a Veggie Tales DVD for all kids – and adults – to enjoy!

Purchase your copy after February 7th at Amazon.com for $11.99.

This post was written for Big Idea who provided the complimentary copy in exchange for our honest review.

Angelina Ballerina: Sweet Valentine DVD

Several months ago, my 4 ½ year old son, Ethan, started talking about ballet and how the dancers twirl and jump. At that time, I couldn’t figure out where he’d learned about ballet, but enjoyed the ballet shows that he put on at home. The mystery was finally solved this week when we received a new DVD- Angelina Ballerina: Sweet Valentine, and I realized that he’d learned from other shows featuring this adorable dancing mouse!

Angelina Ballerina is always a show that I’m happy for my kids to watch, and this DVD was no different. Angelina Ballerina: Sweet Valentine is 61 minutes long and features five lovely episodes. There are great messages of friendship and inclusion, of helping others and of trying to make someone feel really special. And, of course, there’s lots of dancing and jumping and twirling from both boy and girl mouse dancers! We all thoroughly enjoyed watching this DVD, and it is a great addition to our DVD library.

Purchase Angelina Ballerina: Sweet Valentine at Lionsgate or Amazon.com for $11.99.

Disclosure: I received this DVD to review for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions posted here are mine and mine alone.

Carrie is a mom to two small kids (ages 4 and 2), who spends her days trying to keep her kids out of trouble, enjoying life in Seattle, and blogging at Growing My Kids Reviews.

Next Page »