A virtual teenager in a box.

I wish I looked even remotely as cool as my MyLife avatar. As a teenager I was kind of awkward, had a very "unique" sense of style, and certainly never had a dog as cool as Melos (my MyLife dog and real dog of course).

MyLife is a hand held virtual life simulator which reminds me a bit of a tamagochi combined with a gameboy dipped in hot pink. With a surprisingly large color LCD screen, and a fairly decent set of speakers, at first look its unlike anything you have seen previously in the virtual life hand held genre.

The virtual world inside of MyLife is expansive, rivaling many of the other "sim" games you may find on more complex gaming consoles. Seeing as the MyLife console with a purchase cost that virtually the same as you would pay for a decent sim game for any other game system its actually a great deal to get your own hand held game that though the big brother might secretly want to steal but its hot pink exterior and tons of hearts will keep him away and keep any fights over the game system under wraps.

I've been playing with my MyLife console for a little over a week now, and minus the fact that I had a small helper in my testing process and our first attempts of playing the game was more about sight seeing than doing "errands" to earn money and the fact that my first MyLife character never got a bath or really made any money you can only wonder why we had to start over. heh. Needless to say regardless of its very addictive game play it actually teaches young girls responsibility to some extent. Characters must sleep, bathe, eat, walk the dog, and do errands to make money to buy things they want in the MyLife world.

The only real downfall, MyLife doesn't come with batteries and I would have loved to see it come with a rechargeable option. There are also expansion "cards" that provide new outfits to keep the game going which is great but they do cost extra.

For more info including a tour of the game visit the MyLife website. You can also get your own MyLife over at Amazon!

I have a MyLife console to give away to one of my readers!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out MyLife and tell me what you think is cool about MyLife.
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end Oct 15th at midnight!

Too delicious to pass up!

The new Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker by Jakks Pacific is just the ticket when it comes to holiday shopping for those future chefs in the making. Its so cool in fact that you might find yourself fighting your kids for who gets to decorate the next cupcake, or stealing it for those last minute cupcake emergencies that come up way to often for parents. Personally my biggest cupcake emergency is those insane chocolate cupcake cravings I get when I'm PMSing but school parties will do it too. heh.

The Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker allows girls 8 and up to make their own cupcakes, using a microwave oven. Making the cupcakes is just the beginning, the cupcake maker itself makes icing the cupcakes the funnest part of all. Actually it does a better job than I have ever done when it comes to putting that perfect little swirl on top of the cupcake. Mine always end up looking like someone sort of dropped some icing on them. From cooking to icing the cupcake maker makes the whole process incredibly easy. With available flavors such as red velvet, chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon you might just find yourself begging your child to make you one while they are at it.

The only real downfall is that you have to buy the refill packs. There are two choices a basic refill pack which has just enough batter and icing to make four cupcakes for around $5.99, or the deluxe kit which has enough batter and icing for six cupcakes, and new frosting tip to make new icing designs for around $11.99 so either way you go about it the finished cupcakes cost between $1.50 and $1.99 each. That's about the cost of an entire cake mix at the grocery store but the big difference is you wont need an oven, or the risk of the kids burning themselves, for this one. So I think that's fairly reasonable for some safe oven free fun, just maybe not every night.

The product in the new Gourmet Girl line though that really got me going was the Girl Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwich Maker. It includes a ice cream sandwich mold, some instant mixes for cookies, and all you need is some ice cream! You just add the mix to the mold, add any sort of ice cream you want, and put it in the freezer. Before you know it you will have handmade shaped ice cream sandwiches that your kids made themselves. I checked out the kit in detail and I think if you were creative you could also find a way to use that ice cream mold that's included to make some homemade ice cream treats of your very own with or without the mixes as well. It might be something fun for mom to play with to come up with her own creations.

I'm really excited about this line and I just have to share it with someone. One lucky reader will get their own Girl Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwich Maker to try out for themselves!

The Girl Gourmet line is available at most major retailers and on Amazon!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Jakks Pacific and tell me which of the toys they make you'd want to put on your Christmas wish list?
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end Oct 15th at midnight!

Acting Out Dress Up is Fun, Pretty - and Musical!

Sophia was incredibly lucky enough to receive a Blue Waltz Dress featuring the music of the Blue Danube from this hip new company called Acting Out Dress Up. Ok, I have to say, at first I was wary. I thought this dress up may be annoying, itchy, poorly made. Man, was I wrong. This is the coolest dress up product out there. I was completely impressed with the quality of the items. They are not cheaply made. They aren't itchy. They are satiny smooth and well stitched. The colors are bright and modern, and there is attention to detail. So right there, it's worth it. But as a bonus, this dress up line plays music - and it's not that tinny sounding music box music either, it sounds like a CD playing inside the dress. Granted a small CD, but the song is good quality, which was also really impressive.Upon further research, I found that the story of its inventors was pretty interesting too.

Anna and Andrea began Acting Out five years ago as an "ah ha" idea while watching their "princess" girls dancing around in their dress-up. Why not add music to the skirts? Anna ever the dreamer and idea person forged ahead with turning the dream into reality. At the time, Andrea was winding down her career as the Director of New Business for a musical instrument company. While commuting to work, Anna would call to discuss her idea of the day. Valuing Andrea's opinion, Anna knew that Andrea would be truthful about each invention and when Andrea loved the musical dress-up idea it was "game on". Anna was extremely persistent in asking Andrea to be her partner. She knew without Andrea this idea could only go so far. Well one month later, Andrea gave into Anna's persuasion and came on as a full partner and has never looked back.

Turning the idea into reality involved sourcing manufacturers in China. Andrea will never forget the day; Anna wrote that $15,000 check against her personal line of credit for the first order. They had never met their skirt manufacturer. He was sourced over the Internet and all communication was via email and one phone conversation. This was a huge amount of money for her and her family -but it sealed the deal of their commitment of turning this from an "expensive hobby into a profitable business".

When Acting Out began Anna was working part-time as a hairdresser. It was tricky business, maintaining a career, being a mom and starting a business. They made many mistakes along the way. One of the reasons the partnership works is they both buoy each other up when one person is down. They never dwell on the mistakes and do their best to learn from them (and hopefully not repeat them) and most of all, they have fun!

Andrea and Anna are both NJ natives (I'm a Jersey girl myself now!) and residents. Andrea has two daughters Haley (10) and Anja (7). Anna has three children Max (9), Carolyn (7) and Ava (5).In the beginning, they sold their products through craft shows and out of the back of their cars. By December of that year (after only two months of business) they had 100 accounts. Acting Out is in almost 1,000 stores, six countries and major retailers such as Target online, Costco.com, QVC, Toys r Us online, Hearthsong, Highlights, Young Explorers, Toys to Grow on and Sensational Beginnings. The ladies have won and come close to winning many awards such as Family Fun Magazine Toy of the Year Finalist 2005, Finalist in Family Fun Toy of the Year, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum winner. They have appeared on HSN, QVC, and were featured on The View – Mom Inventors.

I know there are alot of you out there who have great ideas like this, savvy minds for business, and a knack for getting things done. It can happen for you too, moms. These ladies put their minds to it and their hearts into it, and created and marketed a sensational product that I would be proud to give as a gift to even the pickiest little princesses. Is it time for you to get your ideas out there and make them work for you? Think about it. I have a really cute video of the kids dancing to "Blue Danube" here.

While you are thinking about it I have great news. The Ladies at "Acting Out" have given us one Can Can skirt to give away.

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Acting Out Dress Up and tell me which of the items from their collection are your favorite!
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end September 30th at midnight!

Kisse Girl Products for our Little Ladies!

Hi, Stacy again, here for some girlie input. Sophia is at a weird age right now, and I don't really know how to put my finger on it. Too old for baby things for sure, but also starting to get too old for pre-school things now, she tends to toggle between Barbie slash Polly Pocket things, while keeping one foot firmly planted in princess dress up. Now, there is the addition of a new love - make up, lotions, and lip gloss. Especially lip gloss and anything that is made to look like liquid glitter you apply to the body. My little girl is growing up and becoming more self aware, but also, she loves to sing along to Dora with her brother just as much as stealing my makeup.There is a wonderful line of young girl bath and body products called Kisse Girl. We tried out the Pineapple flavored gift set and Sophia is hooked. I was really impressed with the gentle scent, the quality of their lip gloss ( complete with sparkles and cool brush applicator!) and their deliciously creamy body lotion. Their bubble bath and lip balm are also great. Most of all, after looking at their web site, I was moved by the message Kisse Girl's creator conveys to our young girls:

• "Kisse Girl™ was created November of 2006. One year later, the product line was launched. I grew up with very little confidence and low self esteem. It took me years to overcome these issues. My sole mission is to provide girls with products designed to help them feel good about who they are. When you smell good, you feel good, when you feel good, you look good and that makes you a Kisse Girl! All of the products are made by me. The lip balm, lip gloss, dry oil spray, body splash, and the body icing are all made from scratch and do not contain any preservatives, harsh chemicals or petroleum which means they are all natural. I want every girl to know that no one can replace you. You are special and your existance matters. Nobody can walk in your shoes but you. BE YOU!"

Isn't that nice? Kisse Girl products come in a wide range of delicious flavors and offer such items as "The Athletic girl's bath soak", and "Skin Dessert" - that one looks like a Banana Parfait ( and probably smells like it too). Here's the best thing... the price for all natural products like this can't be beat as Christmas approaches. Hook your favorite little lady up with some really high quality skin products today at Kisse Girl.

It's like the Baskin Robbins of Girls Clothing - maggie delaney

Set aside a chunk of time when you visit maggie delaney's website, because it transforms you into the designer of your very own masterpeice. Sophia loves zebras and zebra prints, so, that part, she picked. I love polka dotted anything. That touch is mine. And their "Lacey Candy Aqua" fabric, a big seller, is a delicious touch to any style dess. So, here you see Sophia in her custom made maggie delaney dress, and oh, what a dress it is. Fun to make. Fun to wear. Countless possibilities. Bright, high quality fabrics in many styles and colors, detailed edging, and a perfect fit. I am highly impressed with this site and this product.

Now a little bit about them. Just design a dress or design a skirt on their interactive online clothing design website, in three easy steps: 1. select a style. 2. choose your fabrics. 3. pick a size. Your custom girl's dress is made in the United States and will be shipped to you in 2-3 weeks. With custom dress design and custom skirt design, you can coordinate maggie delaneys for family events or photographs. When you design a dress or design a skirt on their online clothing design website, you choose the style that best suits each girl and fabric combinations from funky to demure to match each girl's personality.

Other great options:

SEND A GIFT CARD FOR A CUSTOM DRESS OR CUSTOM SKIRT

maggie delaney dresses are perfect for a baby girl gift, a birthday gift for a girl, or any special occasion. Not sure what to order? Choose a maggie delaney gift card and let the young girl in your life design a dress or skirt on our online clothing design website.

BUY DRESSES OR SKIRTS:

If you need the perfect girl's dress or skirt for a party, birthday, or family reunion right away, you can also order ready-made maggie delaney girls' dresses and skirts in our online store.

HAVE A DRESS DESIGN PARTY

You can host a party in your home. Or find maggie delaney at upscale arts festivals. Create maggie delaney designs day or night at the maggie delaney interactive online clothing design website.

Stop by maggiedelaney.com to create your dress today!

The Poofy-est Poof in All of Poofdom!

If you are looking for the best girlie poof tutu out there, look no further. Not that I have had alot of experience with tutu's yet, as my daughter isn't in ballet - I know a good poof when I see one. And so does Sophia. Sophia is the dress up QUEEN. I call her Emelda Marcos because she has about 25 pairs of dress up shoes alone. And when she saw this tutu come out of the box, I thought she was going to stroke out. This girl knows her Poof. And so does Prissy Poofs.

PrissyPoofs became a reality in 2000 when a precious three-year old named Annie Hope requested a Pink Party, and demanded tu-tus for all of her guests...You know how persuasive three-year olds can be. The first "Poofs" were unveiled to sixteen three-year olds, and the response was overwhelming! As a result they can offer the same fantastically fabulous "Poofs" to you! Each is beautifully handcrafted with yards and yards of tulle. Take a look through their site to see how they have changed the way you look at dress-up!

Now onto the kid tested, mother approved section - Um, Sophia squealed and refused to take it off for bed after her bath. She spun, twirled looked at their colorful catalog and.... wait... what's that? OH NO! Annoying little brother is here to wreck my day!

Off the Poof, Hellspawn!

Go check out Prissy Poofs today and see the huge selections of Tutu's they have. They have them for special occasions, themes, tiny babies, bigger kids, and even Halloween! You will amazed like I was, when you take this beautiful, well made tutu from the box - and I assure you you wont be disappointed with the poof factor!!!!!

- Stacy @ Sagan's Universe - Contributing Writer at Seven Dogs and a Baby!

Girl Stuff Review : Skipping Hippos

As girlie things go, I am more of a quality nut that a froo froo nut. My daughter, at only four and a half, is a fashionista. Clothing is her hobby, looking nice, a priority... well at least when she goes out. Around the house, she is usually in a bathing suit, even in the dead of winter, or a dress up outfit, complete with tu-tu.

Thats why when I put this gorgeous coat from Skipping Hippos on her, a huge smile came across her face. She instantly twirled around and declared herself "fancy". It had to be worn with only her "fancy" shoes, and a nice dress. Ironically, this dress coat can be worn as just that, a dress coat. the buttons pull together nicely, are sewn well, and the cut of the coat favors anything from a frock to a pair of leggings. The corduroy is that really soft cottony kind, and it was the first think I noticed - the utter softness of this coat. The retro appliqués along the bottom ( I think its lotus petals?) give it a sweet, pulled together look that just screams high end fashion. The lining is a cotton, polka-dotted material, with silly, feminine colors that are a subtle but perfect Mod accent.

The best thing is even though it is slightly long in the arms on my daughter, I can roll up the sleeves to get that cute cuff look, and it will fit her for two more years. That to me makes this coat worth it. It is not particularly warm even though it is of a heavy quality, so its perfect with a turtle neck for the crisp new England Spring!

So if you have a little Mary Tyler Moore in the making like me and you want a stylish coat people will notice when you walk into church this Easter, Target, or even a playgroup, I reccomend this unique coat for any occasion.

- Stacy & Sophia

Thats right folks we have a new writer here at Seven Dogs... Stacy and Sophia will be joining us on occasion to review girlie products that I just cannot (though I wish I could) force my son to test. LOL

Want one?
Skipping Hippos not only sells these fabulous coats (I personally want one in my size), but they are known for their great Ponchos. There are rumors they will be coming out with a boy's coat soon too and we are waiting on pins and needles!

Win it!
Skipping Hippos has been so wonderful, they sent us over one of their fabulous Ponchos to give away as well! The Poncho in question is a 12-24m in the Gretta style.

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Visit the Skipping Hippos collection and tell me which is your favorite. No "i want to win" stuff without a little effort (and I do mean little!)
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
  
• Please US entries only.
  
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
  
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
  
• This contest will end Feb 22th at midnight!

Toy Review : This is Me! - T.I.M Dolls

Ok, honestly, when was the last time you picked up a girl's doll that made you feel good about yourself? I know at least when I was growing up... it was pretty slim (possibly Rainbow Brite and Punky Bruster were about as close as I got as a young girl to having dolls that made me feel good about being a girl). This is Me! Dolls are different, they are fashion dolls with absolutely gorgeous hair and great outfits, but instead of teaching little girls to be shallow and be only concerned about their looks, they come with storybooks that teach manners, good values, pet care, and even recipes! All of the dolls are soft and pozeable so even the littlest girls can get in on the action. Honestly.. I'll admit one feature that really attracts me is that the girls come with their very own dogs. (yes ok I know, I'm a sucker for a dog.. even in doll form)

All week I have been playing with these dolls and honestly It makes me wish a bit that I had a little girl to share them with. (maybe next time!) We won't tell his dad.. but Connor seems to like them too.

I am so excited to be able to offer one of these stunning dolls to one of you! Jessie is all packed up with pooch and is ready to come live with one of my readers!

Want One?
T.I.M dolls are available on Amazon as well as you can search for retailers on their webpage!

Enter to Win :

• Leave a comment on this post. Go visit T.I.M's webpage and let me know which Doll you would most like to have and why. No "i want to win" stuff without a little effort (and I do mean little!)
  
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com)
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• This contest will end Jan 28th at midnight!

Review : Oopsie Daisy & Giveaway

Oopsie Dazie - Hairclips

Its products like these that truly wish I had a little princess to spoil. I stumbled across Oopsie when I was looking for a birthday gift for one of my little cousins and fell in love with her stylish designs. I'll admit that I was a total tomgirl growing up and you would never catch me dead wearing anything frufru but as I get older I've discovered my inner princess and she wants out!!

Oopsie's ribbon choices are gorgeous, fashionable, and many of the designs are mod friendly for all of those mod lovers out there! All of her clips and barrettes come with little buttons attached which honestly I'm not sure what is cuter the ribbons or the buttons.

I received two to sample, a baby clip in a very fashionable black and white ribbon with a beautiful little black and white button attached. I was a bit concerned about the button at first as I know anything Connor gets a hold of goes strait into the mouth (see past review of sally's books to see what I mean!) and I'm always freaked out that he will choke on things. I abused the poor clip in every way I could think of to try to remove the button (sorry Cindy!) and to my pleasure it stayed put. Both the baby gator clip (0-2 yrs) and the spring clip (3+ yrs) are heavy duty which is great as I know growing up I had one too many barrettes that would fall apart after just a few wears.

Cindy sent me a little blurb about her company I thought you might enjoy : "I am a SAHM of two, and I couldn't find any unique hair accessories for my daughter who has lots of thick, naturally curly hair. All of the big clips that she needed were geared more for adults. So, I bought some materials, and made some cute clips for her, then added baby clips, pony holders, headbands, and Oopsie Dazie was born!"

The best part about these clips is that they are super reasonable! With the most expensive clip being $3.00 any mom on a budget can afford to have a entire wardrobe of clips for every outfit!

Here is the best part. Cindy has graciously offered to give away two of her fabulous clips/barrettes to one lucky reader. Read the directions carefully to enter!

How to enter : Visit Oopsie Daizie and check out her ribbon choices. Come back here and leave me a comment saying which two you would choose for your little girl (or a little girl in your life). Make sure you leave me a way to contact you (ie your email must be available either on the post or in your blog profile) Do not just leave me a comment that says "I want to win". One lucky winner will be chosen from the eligible entries! If you would like to earn to entries post about this contest on your blog with a link back to us! Because of the Christmas holiday this contest will be open until 12/25 at 11:59 central time!