Can you believe that when you wake up tomorrow it will be 2010!!!
Remember the hoopla of Y2K?

Yikes! I do! Every one was sure that the world was going to end…yet here we are starting the end of the 1st decade…amazing!

I thought it would be fun to look back on 2009 and revisit some of favorite reviews, photographs, features and articles.

During this year…I have created and posted over 2000 articles and today I gave myself the task of narrowing down my favorites. I am sure your favorites may be different but for various reasons…these are my favorites from 2009! I did not have the energy or the heart to put them in any particular order. They are randomly listed.

I have had the honor and privilege to work with some of the greatest companies, PR firms, literary publicists, publishing houses, social media forums and sales personal that exist. I am deeply grateful for a fantastic year for the IE Mommy.

So….”CHEERS and Thanks” to everyone….you guys ROCK!

Happy 2010!!

Christine

P.S. If I forgot to thank anyone …with all my heart…I’m sorry!

My Faith:

1. Let Go Monkey
2. My Hands
3. A Pounding Heart
4. You Can’t “Wing” Jesus
5. …and so She Slept
6. Reading With My Heart
7. I’m Trying to Remember
8. Thorny Ground
9. I Am Weak
10. Goodbye Vacation
    

Sing Along Sunday:

1. You are Holy – Michael W. Smith
2. Mighty to Save – Laura Story
3. One Reason – Chynna & Vaughn
4. Slow Fade – Casting Crowns
5. Closer to Love – Mat Kearney
6. More Beautiful You – Jonny Diaz
7. Bring It On – Steven Curtis Chapman
8. He Is With You – Mandisa
9. Do They Know It’s Christmas? – TV AllStars
10. Christmas Don’t Be Late – Alvin & The Chipmunks
    

Word Filled Wednesday:

1. Many Waters
2. Living Water
3. Firmly Planted
4. My Footprints
5. Whose Son? – 1 Samuel 17:58
6. Taste – Psalm 34:8
7. I Am – Exodus 3:14
8. The Gate – Matthew 7:14
9. Plans – Jeremiah 29:11
10. Our Words
11. No Fear – Isaiah 41:10
12. Flowers Fade
13. Psalm 89:9
14. Walk with Me
15. Psalm 27:8
    

Best Shot Monday:

1. Weathering Rough Times
2. Dreaming of Prince Charming
3. Pink Sprinkles
4. Courage
5. Paradise
6. The “Eyes” Have It!
7. Here, Kitty…
8. Pride
9. What Santa Did Not Bring
10. Drenched
11. Prayer
12. Wings
13. Eyes of an Angel
14. Too Soon for Fast
15. Something about Blue Eyes

Wordless Wednesday:

1. Too Cold?
2. Dear Santa…
3. The Season of Summer
4. Me and Mini Me
5. Who Me?
6. Don’t Like Painting?
7. Sweet
8. Please
9. Beauty
10. Hungry?
11. Yum
12. Deep in Thought
13. Swinging Away
14. Why???
15. Dance With Me Already!!

You Capture Photo Challenge:

1. Happy
2. Still Life
3. Happiness
4. Up Close
5. Something New
6. Food
7. Peace
8. Black & White
9. Shapes
10. Summer 2009
11. Emotions
12. Nature
13. Family
14. Sweet
15. Letters

The IE Twins – Giggles & Grins:

1. Is It Ovenable?
2. A Kids’ Soap Opera
3. What Kids Say
4. Half Mexican & Half New  York
5. Handle Bar Mustaches
6. Kohl’s in my Stocking
7. Out of the Mouths of Babes
8. Build A Bear for a Diamond Ring?
9. The Mystery Girl
10. Straight to the Point
    

The Twin Kitchen:

1. Fruit Salad
2. Chocolate Pretzels
3. Making a Gingerbread House
4. Uncle Guy Cookies
5. Reindeer Food

Professor of Protection:

1. ICE Your Mobile Device
2. How Thieves Make $300 in Under 4 Minutes…
3. Why You Should Never Use A Combination Lock
4. 3 Reasons to Retire “Stranger Danger”
5. The Last Zebra
6. Missing Child…Who’s Fault…Mom or Dad?
7. Jessie James Reveals “All”
8. Mysterious Piece of Metal That Protects Your Registration Tags
9. 2 Types of Distraction Crimes That Suck You In
10. Don’t Make These Mistakes When You Have A 9-1-1 Emergency

TotalBeauty.com:

1. Quiz: Is Your Skin Clean Enough?
2. Best and Worst Celebrity Looks for Curvy Girls
3. The Best Mascaras. Ever.
4. Top 10 Drugstore Acne-Fighting Products
5. 11 Hairstyles We’re Sick Of
6. 10 Worst Drugstore Shampoos
7. Are These Celebrities Lying About Their Age?
8. Celebrity Mother-Daughter Duos We Love Most
9. Can You Spot Trends?
10. Holiday Tipping Cheat Sheet
    

Aloha Fridays:

1. Dora Anyone?
2. Who Are You?
3. What Would You See?
   
4. Low Rise?
5. What Did you Dream?
6. Favorite Blog?
7. Jury Duty
8. MEN!!
9. Time to Shop
10. What Would Others Change about YOU?
    

Book Reviews:

1. Waking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo
2. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
3. Voices of Christmas by Nikki Grimes
4. Halfway to Each Other by Susan Pohlman
5. Mortal Friends by Jane Stanton Hitchcock
6. Daniel X – James Patterson
7. The Noticer by Andy Andrews
8. Along Came You by Karona Drummond
9. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
10. The Princess and the Three Knights by Karen Kingsbury

DVD Reviews:

1. The Strawberry Shortcake Movie: Sky’s the Limit
2. Hotel For Dogs
3. Dive Olly Dive
4. Hero of the Rails – Thomas the Train
5. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs – Diamond Edition
6. Wow Wow Wubbzy – Wubbzy Goes BOO
7. Wow Wow Wubbzy – Christmas Adventure
8. Happy Holidays WordFriends – Word World
   
9. Word World – Lots of Letters
10. My Little Pony Twinkle Wish Adventure

CD Reviews:

1. Imagination Movers
2. Jonny Diaz – More Beautiful You
3. Baby Banana by Debi Derryberry
4. Harry Connick Jr. “Your Songs”
5. Michael Buble – Crazy Love
6. Bari Koral Family Rock Band
7. Sweet ‘n’ Treats by Tracey Singer
8. My Baby Loves the 80’s
9. Hannah Montana 3
10. Los Lobos Goes Disney

Exercise & Health Reviews:

1. PowerHouse Hit The Deck
2. Spin Gym
3. Banglz from FitnessUWear.com
4. SPIbelt
5. Moving Comfort
6. Hippie Rehab
7. Break Pal
8. Coursing Around
9. KINeSys
10. VICKS & Braun

Children Product Reviews:

1. Elfing Around
2. Daisy Greenway Interactive Camper
3. FairyTale Wishes
4. Karito Kids’ Dolls
5. Bendaroos
6. Safety Tats
7. Zhu Zhu Pets
8. Flipper
9. Crayola
10. V.Smile Motion Active Learning System
11. 50’s Diner by Step 2
12. PLAY-DOH
13. Build A Bear Workshop
14. PlayMobile
15. AniMagic

Food & Restaurant Reviews:

1. Chiquita Smoothie
2. Minute Rice
3. Fruit 2 Day
4. Guyot Designs – Squishy Bowls
5. Sonic Drive Thru
6. Nature Valley – Nut Clusters
7. Molli Coolz Shakers
8. Restaurant Favorites
9. Giant Fortune Cookies
10. Cake Vase

Gadget & Tech Reviews:

1. Days Ago
2. Ifrogz Ear Pollution Crew
3. RocketLife
4. Pink Tooth by ChicBuds
5. EcoGear
6. Internet Password Organizer
7. CASIO EX-S5 DIGITAL CAMERA
8. RCA SMALL WONDER
9. Skooba Design
10. CoverBee
    

Home & Family Reviews:

1. Nature’s Notebook by Courtney Noelle
2. Union 28
3. The Glory of Christmas
4. Bibleco.com
5. Days Steps Personal Lifestyle Planner
6. Ecostore.com
7. Busy Body Books
8. Sun & Earth
9. 1-800-Flowers
10. Cape Clogs
11. Disney on Ice
12. Festival of Children
    

Jewelry Reviews:

1. Timex Ironman Watch
2. Lauren Nicole
3. West Coast Jewlery.com
4. Fumi – Purse Hanger
5. Affirmation Jewelry
6. BLISS LIVING
7. Penelope Poet
8. SouthPaw
9. Phenominoes
10. Bead Trends

Hair, Makeup and Skin Care Reviews:

1. Clarisonic
2. Hana Flat Iron
3. Exact Eyelights by Covergirl
4. Morrocco Colors by Dazzle Dry
5. Caress Skinwear
6. Dimitri James & SKINN
7. Barbar Hair  3800 Ionic Charger Blow Dryer
8. Ageless Perfume
9. Proactiv Solution
10. Lumiere Cosmetics
11. Vaseline Sheer Infusion with Stratys-3
12. Adovia

A Mom in Red High Heels (Makeup) Reviews:

1. Gillette Venus Embrace
2. L’Oreal Paris HiP Jelly Balm
3. PCA Skin Brightening Therapy with True Tone
4. RAW Minerals Active Mineral Foundation
5. Goldfaden Skincare’s Daily Gem
6. Crabtree and Evelyn Cleansing Body Polisher
7. Estee Lauder’s High Gloss
8. Korres Natural Mascara
9. L’Oreal Paris HiP Eyeliner
10. EOS the Evolution of Smooth

Shoes, Accessories & Clothing Reviews:

1. SlimPressions
2. Topless Undershirts
3. Stop Staring
4. Slim Perfect
5. T.J. Maxx & Marshalls!
6. 191 Unlimited
7. Joey Junior
8. Kokopax
9. My Hip-T
10. Vincent Shoes

Holiday Showcase 2009:

A huge thanks to all the companies that made it a success!

1. Things Remembered
2. Zonderkids
3. WowWee Toys
4. No Slippy Hair Clippy
5. Get Healthy Hands
6. Play Doh
7. Peace Toys
8. Karito Kids
9. Dittany Baby
10. ProActive
11. SheerCover
12. Skinn by Dimitri James
13. CleanLogic
14. Stop Staring
15. Hasbro Toys
16. Thomas & Friends
17. EA Games
18. Build A Bear Workshop
19. Bob the Builder
20. Klutz
21. Scholastic
22. Spin Master
23. Nature’s Notebook
24. Now That’s Music
25. Little Debbie Snacks
26. The Give Card
27. Minute Rice
28. Dazzle Dry
29. Debi Derryberry & Baby Banana
30. Liv World Dolls
    

The IE Mommy

Holiday Showcase!

Woohoo!! Our List is Growing and Growing…reserve your SPOT TODAY!!!

Want to know what the Hottest, Greatest and Most Fabulous Finds of the Season are?

The IE Mommy has them for you!

Join us November November 22nd to November 28th as we highlight and showcase ONLY the Best!!

Giveaways and Reviews that will knock your socks off! We want to you to get your Holiday Shopping list crossed off quicker then ever!

Check out the list of phenomenal companies, PR firms and individuals that will be a part of the first ever Holiday Showcase at The IE Mommy!

Want to know why “YOU” should be a part of this fantastic opportunity?

Drop me a line at theiemommy (at) gmail (dot)com or use the contact form below!

Review Opportunities provided by the above companies and/or their affiliates:

Zondervan

Thank You, God, for Rain

Mona Hodgson

Synopsis:
For those who think the desert is a lot of hot sand and cactus, here’s a reminder that it’s also teeming with God’s creatures! Another entry in the I Can Read™ series of books for early readers, Thank You, God, for Rain reminds youngsters that we should be grateful for even the simplest things. Intended for level-two readers, Thank You, God, for Rain is peopled with a variety of desert critters—from owls, wrens, and roadrunners to jackrabbits, lizards, and crickets—all of whom have reason to be thankful for a cool summer rain. And the clever twist at the end—they pile into a play swimming pool filled with rainwater—is sure to delight young readers!

What does the IE Mommy Think:

What a sweet and adorable book. This is a perfect book to read to pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. It starts off with the animals being miserable in the heat. With out any air conditioning in the desert they are miserable but then the rain comes! One by one they animals gather the rain.  My girls were wondering aloud why they were doing such a thing until the end of the story clearly indicates their reasons. What a fun reason too!

For myself and the girls…the story line clearly implied the God is interested in the smalletst things in our lives. He is not only there for us during the deepest, darkest hours but even when the little things occur.

In the end, each of the desert animals praise God for the blessing of the Summer storm.

**Information obtained from the Zondervan Press Kit and/or Website.

*The IE Mommy blog has been compensated in the form of payment and/or product to provide opinion and/or reviews on services, companies and products. Even though the owner of the IE Mommy may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.

Review Opportunity Provided by Zondervan/Zonderkids

Zondervan / Zonderkidz

Zachary’s Zoo – I Can Read! Series

Mike & Amy Nappa

Synopsis:

Feeding the dog and letting out the cat might seem like boring household chores, but not for imaginative zookeeper Zachary. Zachary’s Zoo inspires children to give thanks to God for allowing us to help take care of his creation.

What does the IE Mommy Think:

I have found the I Can Read Series to be enjoyable and easy for my twins to follow along with while I read aloud to them.   Zachary’s Zoo is no exception. It is an easy to read, easy to learn and follow book.  I enjoyed that Zachary’s Zoo was very explicit in it’s love for the Lord’s word regarding animals plus the clear illustration of how wonderful a child’s imagination can be. Zachary may have a lot of animals…in fact he has a cat, dog, bird, lizard, turtle and fish but to Zachary they are a bear, tiger, sharks, eagles and so much more!

My girls were amused by his imagination and enjoyed Zachary’s display of love and affection for each of his animals.

Zachary’s Zoo is a fun book for both girls and boys and clearly illustrates that responsibility and fun can go hand in hand.

Review Opportunity Provided by ZonderKidz

ZonderKids/ Zondervan

Howie Goes Shopping/Fido Va De Compras

Sara Henderson

Synopsis: Howie’s shopping spree gets out of hand, and trouble abounds. Early readers will learn that no matter how bad things get, families stick together and love each other. Howie Goes Shopping will keep My First–level readers turning the pages to find out what happens next.

La salida para ir de compras de Chispa se ha descontrolado, y los problemas abundan. Los primeros lectores aprenderán que sin que importe lo malas que estén las cosas, las familias permanecen unidas y se quieren los unos a los otros. Chispa va de compras mantendrá a sus lectores de primer nivel volteando páginas para saber lo que sucede luego.

What does the IE Mommy Think:

I thought it was kind of interesting that I received a bi-lingual book because I don’t read, write or speak Spanish. So it was a bit of a challenge when the twins insisted that I not only read it in English but also in Spanish.

Regardless of my mispronounced words we had a fun time reading about Howie’s mishaps and adventures.  I believe that I have known a few doggies like Howie in my time. Dogs that are full of love “AND” trouble.

Shopping is definitely not for Howie. My favorite part of the book was the optimistic and caring response that the owner and the others had toward Howie’s mishaps.   If only the “real” world was so kind as the characters in this book.

We enjoyed meeting and Howie and look forward to learing more of his adventures. This was a perfect book to have your children test out their reading skills. Easy to read, easy to follow and understand. Repetitive words help your child grasp meaning and intent of simple words.

Definitely a great new readers choice.

**Information obtained from the ZonderKidz Press Kit and/or Website.

*The IE Mommy blog has been compensated in the form of payment and/or product to provide opinion and/or reviews on services, companies and products. Even though the owner of the IE Mommy may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.

Review Opportunity Provided by ZonderKids

Zonderkids

Mad Maddie Maxwell (I Can Read Series)

Stacie K.B. Maslyn

Mad Maddie Maxwell is a delightful book to read to your children, especially if you have more then one child.

Maddie is clearly upset at that fact that “someone” has taken her jump rope. She is quick to jump to conclusions, accusations and anger when she can not find her beloved toy.

Thankfully her older sister is there to help straighten the situation out.

Reading this to my twins came me an opportunity for some great teaching points.

1) Your family loves you no matter how grumpy you can be.

2) Your family is there to help you and forgive you

and 3) God always forgives a repenting heart.

This is a wonderful read to pull out when your children are being temperamental or argumentative with each other. Mad Maddie Maxwell is a perfect “any” child and children can relate. I know mine did.

A LITTLE ABOUT MAD MADDIE MAXWELL:

Maddie’s jump rope is missing. When she doesn’t find it in all the usual places, she gets angry. She blames each member of her family in turn. Through familiar rhyme and repetition, simple text, and delightful illustrations, this level-one I Can Read Book provides support for the earliest readers.

Zondervan

Dandi Daley Mackall

Synopsis:

In Ali Cat Finds a Home, Katy hears a strange sound when she’s taking out the trash—which turns out to be a stray kitten. Katy learns about responsibility from the kitten she names Alison J. Cat.

When Katy discovers a scraggly cat in the trash can behind her house, she knows she’s found a friend for life. But as she takes on the care and feeding of her new friend, it becomes clear that Katy’s gotten a lot more than she’s bargained for in this delightful level-two reader.

I really enjoyed reading this book to my twins. They love animals. Not a day goes by where they do  not request a pet. Whether it is a simple Goldfish or an exotic Cheetah. They want a pet and they want it badly.

But…they are not ready for the responsibility and neither was Katy.

The story line is simple, straight forward and very clear in it’s message.  We all have responsibilities in life and it is our duty to fulfill them to the very best of our God given abilities.

I had to chuckle at the way Katy’s mom handle the situation was glad to learn that my daughters understood the correlation between the fun of a pet and the responsibility of one.

Ali Cat was truly a gift from God but Katy had to first learn what her part in that plan was…to care for Ali Cat.

Cute book that can be enjoyed even by a toddler.