Giveaways » Four Against Two

A Madagascar Valentines Day DVD Review And Giveaway

Contests, Entertainment, Giveaways, holidays, Reviews, Stuff 15 Responses »

Jan 222013

Win This DVD!!!

Madagascar has been one of those movies that sticks around with specials and sequels, and I don’t mind it at all. Many a movie I wish they would have stopped after the first, but Madagascar is quite funny!

The new Valentines Day short flick, Madly Madagascar is no exception. It will hit the store shelves January, 29th. I loved it, the kids loved it and I get to give one away! YEAH!

To enter, simply leave a comment about your favorite African animal. Earn an extra entry by liking my Facebook page and leaving a comment that you did so. Contest is open to US and Canadians and winner will be contacted via email for a snail mail address. The DVD will be sent to you via the media company. Easy and fun I tell you!

Contest is open from January 22nd – 31st midnight, 2013. Winner will be announced on January 31st or close to that date. Good luck!

ThinkJam the PR company who gave me this giveaway opportunity has also shared the below Valentine’s Day gift guide!

Valentine’s Day Gift GuideInspired by MADLY MADAGASCAR, coming to DVD January 29

Your favorite Madagascar pals are back in an all-new adventure! Alex’s favorite holiday, Valentine’s Day, brings hilarious surprises and excitement for the entire gang. Melman plans a big surprise for Gloria, Marty tries to impress a new friend and everyone wants to get their hands on King Julien’s love potion. You’ll fall in LOVE with MADLY MADAGASCAR!

Deciding what to give your friends and family for Valentine’s Day can be a tough job. However, this handy guide will make this Valentine’s Day a breeze! Here, we’ll provide helpful suggestions of fun and unique gift ideas that kids and grownups alike will enjoy this V-Day!

PERSONALIZED LOVE COOKIES

Looking for a nice way to send your love to your friends and family this Valentine’s Day? Consider baking them special love-themed cookies to send to them at work, school, etc. Kids will appreciate a fun, extra treat to share with their friends at lunchtime, and mom and dad will love the heartfelt sugary snack made from scratch. Simply look up easy sugar cookie ideas, use a heartshaped cookie cutter, and then frost in white, red or pink with personalized messages. You can even use Pinterest for more awesome decorating ideas!

CUTE PLUSHIES

Kids will love waking up to a cuddling Valentine’s Day stuffed animal! V-Day plushies come in a huge range of different creatures, both real and mythical! Stuffed animals aren’t just for kids, either; adults can display them in their offices or cars as an extra way to show that someone was thinking about them on this special day.

COUPONS FOR A FAMILY NIGHT IN

Homemade coupons are always a hit with moms and dads, and this Valentine’s Day we suggest creating a coupon for a night in with your family! These cute coupons are simple to make – all you need is some colorful construction paper and markers. Parents can help kids write out a personalized coupon promising to spend a fun night in with their families. You can even list suggested activities for the night in such as playing board games, watching movies or cooking a family meal.

MADLY MADAGASCAR DVD

Kids will love the new MADLY MADAGASCAR DVD this V-day! They can spend the holiday watching their favorite, hilarious characters from the film enjoy all the splendor of this romantic holiday. Make this fun Valentine’s Day present into something more by hosting a mini viewing party for your kids and some of their friends – they can watch the film, make festive treats, and decorate their only Valentine’s Day cards.

EVERYTHING RED GIFT BAG

Make a unique gift bag for your family and friends this V-Day! All you need is a plain red bag, and then fun, red items to fill the bag with (e.g., lip gloss, candies, toys, jewelry PJs, etc.). You can make each bag unique by finding something red for each member of your family or your friends – try to find things that are meaningful to them or fit their personality for an extra special touch!

Check out this card!

(Disclosure: I was given a free DVD of Madly Madagascar to review and host a giveaway. My opinions are my own. The gift guide is from written by ThinkJam, though I find the ideas cute myself!)

Scholastic Teen Book Giveaway!

Books I Have Read, Education, Entertainment, Giveaways, Reading Challenge, Reviews, Summer Fun, Teendom 9 Responses »

Aug 212012

Now that school bags are filled with new paper, folders and pens the homework and reading assignments will begin again. The Scholastic Summer Challenge is still going strong through August so keep your kids registering their reading minutes to help Scholastic get an amazing number of read minutes. The record was broke earlier this summer for over 76 million minutes logged!

To celebrate the new school year and the amazing summer of 2012, Scholastic Books sent me three great teen reads that I get to give away. YEAH!

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Border Town #1: Crossing the Line by Malín Alegría

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

I gave Meg The Eleventh Plague to read and she is just about done with it and tells me she really likes it. It’s set in a post-flu-ravaged America where Steven and Jenny are teenagers trying to survive. The setting is a popular one for the time for sure, and the book has been giving the following review from Suzanne Collins: The Eleventh Plague hits disturbingly close to home…an excellent, taut debut novel. This review tells me I might want to read it when Meg is done!

Mita was given Bordertown #1 Crossing The Line. At first look it reminded me of the teen scene books I read as a middle-schooler but after reading the first chapter I laughed, hard at the comical writing. I haven’t finished the book, but Mita really likes it. It does have subjects to do with growth and development, so not a read for a typical 9 or 10 year old for sure. I like how real issues of the day are in this book: minorities, immigration, bigotry.

The third book I am giving away is The False Prince. The first book of a trilogy, it lays the foundation for an exciting story that I’m sure Meg is going to want to read. I have just started it and have been swept up in the life of Sage, an orphan who is being trained to possibly portray the king’s long lost son. Good stuff here!

Want to win books for a lucky kid in your life? Don’t have any tween kids to give the books to, but can donate them to a worthy cause? Maybe you are not a tween, but want to win and read the books yourself? Here’s how it will work:

*Leave a comment telling me the name of the best book you read all summer or the name of the book you wanted to read all summer and didn’t have time to (then find the time when the kids go back to school!). One entry.

*You can earn a second entry by Liking my page on FaceBook. I have 32 Likes and would love to hit 50 by the end of the year! Just tell me you like me and part of your Facebook name so I can double-check the entry.

Giveaway starts August 21st, my kids’ first day of school and ends next Tuesday, August 27th at noon EST.

(Disclaimer: I was asked to give an honest review of and hot a giveaway for these three books by Scholastic, and received a copy of each book for my time.)

St. Patty’s Day Giveaway! Cheryl’s Cookies and The Popcorn Factory *3 Winners

Giveaways, holidays, Reviews, Stuff 8 Responses »

Mar 072012

I love sugar cookies. I hate to make them, but I love to eat a fluffy, soft, melt in your mouth sugar cookie with the sweetest of frostings…. Cheryl’s Cookies anyone? If you have yet to try a Cheryl’s Cookie you have to find one right now and gobble it up. They are just that good!

This Cheryl’s Cookies Shamrock Treat is just $5 with shipping included. It also has a $5 rewards card included for future purchases. A sweet, inexpensive way to tell someone….what do you tell people on Patty’s day? Oh yeah to tell them: Kiss Me I’m Irish and I sent you a cookie.

Another fun St. Patrick’s Day gift is a tub of green pop corn from The Popcorn Factory! Green Butter Popcorn is sweet, salty and buttery so you cannot go wrong satisfying your cravings. This sells for $9.99.

I used to not do much for St. Patrick’s Day other than put green food coloring in the toilet (told the girls that the Leprechauns peed in it!) and when the girls are in Kindergarten they make Leprechaun traps. Years ago I started buying Hubby Guinness beer though and I think he likes this tradition! I may have to step it up a notch and start sending out these fun cookie cards and popcorn tubs to friends and family as well.

Or maybe I will just order them for me and eat them while the kids are at school. Baahaaahaaa!

Do you want to win a St. Patty’s Day Cookie Card and Green Butter Popcorn? Simply leave a comment telling me what you find attractive about Leprechauns. For an extra entry you can like Cheryl’s Cookies and Brownies on Facebook, please come back to this post and let me know you did.

Giveaway is for US and Canada addresses only and you most likely will not get your treats in time for the St. Patty’s Day Party you are planning. Three winners will be chosen random.org. Contest runs March 7th until March 11th at noon. Thanks!

(Disclosure: I received a sample of the above products and no other compensation for my time and opinion.)

Scholastic Book Thanksgiving Weekend Giveaway!

Books I Have Read, Giveaways 16 Responses »

Nov 252011

Books under the Christmas tree?! Have you ever heard of such a thing? At our house it is the NORMAL to get at least one book for Christmas. Books are my favorite gift to give I must admit.

My friends at Scholastic are giving me two books to give away in time for Christmas. Whoo-hoo and yeah!Look at the books we are giving away:

Book #1

Can You See What I See? Toyland Express written and illustrated by Walter Wick and published by Scholastic. The Can You See What I See? books are great for pre-readers and early readers and are both boys and girls seem to really like them. They are fun, colorful and full of life. I have to admit that when Elle was at the peak of her Can You See What I See? books I would hide them occasionally, just every once in a while, mind you ;)

Book #2

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo and published by Scholastic

I have yet to read War Horse, but I cannot wait to read it as the description sounds great:

“In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey’s courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer’s son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?”

Scholastic.com is having a great sale right now! Use the coupon code HOLIDAY for an extra 20% already great prices :)

To enter just leave a comment telling me what book you would like to win. Mandatory!

*Extra entries:

1) Like Scholastic on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

2)Follow @Scholastic on Twitter and leave me your Twitter Handle so I can follow you as well! I am @FourAgainstTwo btw…

Winners will be chosen on Cyber Monday at noon by random.org and US addresses only please (sorry). Good luck!

My Three Shutterfly Cards

Giveaways No Responses »

Oct 212011

5×7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

5×7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Here are a few of the cards I recently designed with Shutterfly! Have you entered my giveaway yet? I’m giving out three sets of 25 cards!

(Disclosure: Shutterfly gave me free cards to show you all my Christmas card selection and codes to give away to you all. I love Shutterfly and would have shown them anyway…shhh don’t tell them!)

Shutterfly Card 3 Winner Giveaway!

Giveaways, Reviews 13 Responses »

Oct 162011

A few weeks ago I showed you a Shutterfly Christmas card I had designed and ordered. Now you can start designing your own card as I’m so pleased to be able to give away three sets of 25 Holiday Cards from Shutterfly!

Here is the card I have already designed!

As I like to have several different cards each year, so I am thinking of these other cards as well:

I really like the bright colors this year against the black. Colorful, simple and a bit retro. Hmmm.

The compare feature Shutterfly offers is easy to use and seeing my favorites side by side helps me make the best decision on which card(s) to order. Simply check the box that pops up when your curser hits the card you are looking at and when you are ready to compare cards, look in the upper right hand corner for the word compare.

If you are not ready for Christmas Cards just yet Shutterfly also has a nice selection of Halloween and Thanksgiving cards.

Every year I get my mom a Shutterfly Calendar full of our family pictures. It’s a great way to share pictures that I haven’t had the chance to show her and my dad.

I also like to give Hubby a Desk Calendar with the girls on it so he can see his favorite faces while working.

I’ll let you know if I make different cards!

Thanks to Shutterfly I have three sets of 25 cards to giveaway! Simply leave me a comment telling me if you send traditional cards or if you are more into e-cards?

Extra Entry: Like FourAgainstTwo on Facebook and then come back and leave a separate comment saying you did so!

Giveaway is from October 17th – October 31st at noon.

Winner will be chosen via Random.org.

Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

(Disclosure: Shutterfly gave me a code for free cards and codes to giveaway, and asked me to share cards I made.)

TheraBreath Review and Giveaway!

A Mom's Job, BlogHer11, Giveaways, Reviews 6 Responses »

Aug 172011

Bad breath is something we all struggle with occasionally. It does no good to deny it as I will not believe you! Sometimes, it is more than occasional however. Bacteria, enlarged tonsils, post nasal drip are just a few reasons that can cause chronic bad breath.

Elle has giant tonsils and can have quite the stinky breath at times. Like me, she isn’t into the heavy minty taste that tooth paste and mouth wash can have. I have been using TheraBreath mouthwash for over a year now and love it. It works well without burning my mouth. TheraBreath is a oral hygiene line created by Dr. Harold Katz. This line was created to treat the cause of bad breath and also works for people with chronic canker sores.

At BlogHer11 I was able sample Therabreath’s mouth lozenges. They are great for dry mouth and bad breath. They taste light and again don’t have that heavy mint taste that simply covers up the bad breath. I like the Mandarin Mint flavor. Save $2.00 on the Lozenges at TheraBreath.comwith the coupon code BPREF210. If you have a real problem with bad breath you can also get a free copy of Dr. Katz’s Bad Breath Bible to help you out.

Elle uses the mouthwash as times, but really loves the lozenges. I now keep them in my car and my purse for those times I realize my kids forgot to brush or didn’t do such a great job at brushing. I admit that I don’t always get out of the house having checked all of their breath, it happens with four kids. I’m lucky to get out of the house at all really!

TheraBreath has been awesome and sent me a sample of the mouthwash, toothpaste and lozenges. I’m loving the toothpaste, which I had not tried before.

Want to win a pack of TheraBreath mouthwash and toothpaste to try? You have up to three chances to win:

1) Like TheraBreath on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

2) Follow TheraBreath on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did so as well as your Twitter handle so I can follow you to!

3) Leave a comment telling me about a time you had really bad breath and could have used a TheraBreath Lozenge!

Giveaway is for US addresses only. Contest ends on August 25th, 2011 at noon EST. Random.org will be used to find the winner.

(Disclosure: I received product samples in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was given to me.)

What Valentine’s Day Means To Me (Shutterfly Giveaway!)

Giveaways, holidays, Stuff 5 Responses »

Feb 012011

“Love goes toward love. “

– William Shakespeare

Valentine’s day means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Traditionally it is a romantic holiday, for lovers only, but I challenge that train of thought. Love is not just for the romantically involved. To me Valentine’s Day is another day to remind me to show those I love that I love them in a special way.

I love my girls, my parents, grandparents, my brother and sister-in-laws, my nephews and nieces, my friends as well as my Hubby. So why just leave Valentine’s Day for dates and school parties? Those of you who know me, know that I love celebrating the little moments. Valentines Day presents itself the perfect opportunity to tell my girls that I love them with a cute little something (this year, heart necklaces). I also like to do little things for my friends and family. Candy, cards anything that spreads the love. Little love notes to the kids at breakfast or in their lunch boxes are great ways to celebrate Valentines day. A phone call with a Happy Valentine’s Day message will always be welcome to any loved one.

Of course I think that Valentine’s Day is a bit commercial and that people spend a lot of money when they don’t necessarily need to. I do, however, refuse to become pessimistic about the holiday. So I celebrate Valentine’s Day. I make sure that one more time my loved ones hear those three magic words.

Now that I have told you what Valentine’s Day means to me it is your turn! Simply comment on this post about what Valentine’s Day means to you and I will randomly draw a number and give away 25 FREE Shutterfly cards just in time for Valentine’s Day! You all know how I love Shutterfly. They make great, quality products that are really fun! Check out their V-Day cards here.

One Valentine’s Day I gave the girls luggage tags from Shutterfly with their pictures on them! They loved it and still use them years later! Check out photo gifts from Shutterfly here. Also look at their selection of thank you cards. It is always nice to have Thank You cards handy when you need them.

Giveaway Rules: Leave one comment answering the following “What Valentine’s Day means to me…” by February 5th Midnight. I will use Random.org to pick the winner. Winner has 24 hours to get back to me, after that I will pick another winner.

Extra Entry: Follow me on Twitter @FourAgainstTwo and leave a comment saying you did and your Twitter handle.

Good luck!

Disclosure: Shutterfly is giving me 25 free cards to keep and 25 free cards to give to one lucky reader in exchange for my post about what Valentines Day means to me and sharing the Shutterfly links posted above. I, of course, love my Shutterfly and was happy to write this!

Clipart Credit

Mandy’s Game Corner Giveaway

Games, Giveaways, Reviews 27 Responses »

Sep 032010

At BlogHer10 this past August I met some fun people from a fun company. Pressman Toy Corporation has been around a long time (since 1922) and their classic game MasterMind has a new version for younger kids. When perusing there website I also saw some Vampire Diary games for you vamp lovers out there!

Animal Mastermind Towers continues with the codebreaker concept of MasterMind, but is for ages six and up. I was watching my children play it tonight and noticed how playing the game really helped my five year old with directional words like above and below. My ten-year-olds also enjoyed playing the game as they like using strategy and beating one another! Animal MasterMind Towers helps your kids learn logical thinking skills while having fun. Here is a simple run down of the rules:

“ Both players secretly stack their animal tiles in their towers. Now the challenge and fun begins. Who can guess the order of their opponent’s tiles first. On your turn you ask a yes/no question like “Is the lion below the giraffe?” Be the first player to guess the order correctly and you win!”

The animals are cute and my favorite version. They also have a SpongeBob SquarePants MasterMind Towers game for the SpongeBob fans out there! Disney Fairies, Disney and Looney Tunes versions are also in the works.

You can find Animal MasterMind Towers on Amazon, in Walmart or on the Pressman site.

Fours:

*The game is inexpensive at around $12.

*Smaller box and the few pieces make this a great travel game.

*Easy to learn for young ones, but still fun to play for the older kids.

*Games are better than TV any day!

Against:

*I honestly cannot think of any cons with this product and encourage all families to play!

Would you like to win a MasterMind Tower game? Of course you would!

You have three chances to win. To enter simply leave a comment telling me if you have a family game night and what games you play. For two more changces simply Like Pressman Toys on Facebook and/or follow them on Twitter and leave a comment below saying you did! Easy-Peasey! So do it now and maybe you will win!

The contest will run from September 3rd through September 17th at midnight. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Winner will be contacted by me via email and mailing address will be given to the company for direct shipping.

My reviews are listed as Four (or pros) and Against (as in cons).

Four Against Two…Get it?!

Mita and Elle enjoying themselves.

(Disclosure: I received an Animal MasterMind Tower game for an honest review on my blog and no other compensation was given. Links are not affiliate links. Your email will not be sold, traded or given to any company!)

Four Against Two

A Madagascar Valentines Day DVD Review And Giveaway

Scholastic Teen Book Giveaway!

St. Patty’s Day Giveaway! Cheryl’s Cookies and The Popcorn Factory *3 Winners

Scholastic Book Thanksgiving Weekend Giveaway!

My Three Shutterfly Cards

Shutterfly Card 3 Winner Giveaway!

TheraBreath Review and Giveaway!

What Valentine’s Day Means To Me (Shutterfly Giveaway!)

Mandy’s Game Corner Giveaway

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