Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
We'll be taking a break from December 22nd to January 4th to spend time with family out of town. We look forward to seeing all of you again in the 2010 (wow, can it really be?).
Wishing you many blessings in the New Year!

Another Great Giveaway From Ellia C. Naturals!

This giveaway is now closed.

We're sending a big shout out of Thanks to our friend Tenille over at Feisty, Frugal, and Fabulous for hosting our final Ellia C. Naturals Holiday Celebrations Gift Set Giveaway of the season!

Holiday Celebrations Gift Set:

4 oz. Holiday Body Meringue in Holiday Spice
5.5 oz. bar of Autumn Harvest Shea Butter & Coconut Milk Soap
.15 oz. Candy Cane Kisses Lip Smoother

Head on over to Fesity, Frugal, and Fabulous to read Tenille's sweet review of our products and enter for a chance to win a Holiday Celebrations set of your own!

Sid the Science Kid Has A New Home!

Congratulations Jill! The new Talkin' Sid the Science Kid will be taking up residence at your house very soon :)

Your comment "Sid is truly awesome! I left a comment on here and on facebook. I also emailed a friend to tell her about your awesome site and this awesome promotion for Sid!
Thanks for a great site and a great contest!"
was selected by www.random.org as the winner of this fabulous giveaway.

Enjoy your prize and Happy Holidays to all of our wonderful followers!

Image compliments of PBS Kids

Sid the Science Kid {Review & Giveaway}

If, by chance, you missed my post last month about PBS's Sid the Science Kid, let me just reiterate...I love this little guy! Educational to the core with child like humor for a splash of entertainment, Sid and his friends set out to find out how the world works by creating hypotheses, performing experiments, making observations, and recording their accounts in classroom journals.

Although the show is still relatively new, it has enough time under its proverbial belt to start introducing the first round of Sid the Science Kid inspired toys...just in time for Christmas! Currently limited to plush character toys, DVDs, and some clothing, the item anchoring this growing line-up is the Sid the Science Kid Plush Talkin' Sid.

When I was approached to review this product I just had to jump at the chance. With 3 of my 4 little munchkins devoted to Sid and his buddies, I knew this product would get a thorough testing with the honest feedback that only a child can provide. Let me just say, they loved it! Even my 5 year old, who is well beyond the "doll-phase" found this toy to be interesting and interactive. Press Sid's tummy to hear a plethora of favorite phrases...not just 3 or 4 like many talking toys these days. The voice recordings sound just like the series, which is also a big plus. Too many times I hear talking toys based on a well known character and the toy is obviously crafted with somone else's voice...kids can definitely tell the difference! Sid also comes with a DVD short of one of his popular episodes on the function and importance of charts for tracking information. He's a good size for role play/imaginative play for little hands and is fairly realistic looking with respect to the animated character. All in all, this Plush Talkin' Sid get a "thumbs up" from our household. Now, I just need to sit back and patiently wait for the toy makers to introduce a version of Sid's infamous microphone, complete with amplification, applause, reverb, and echo features!

Win It!
The producers of the Sid the Science Kid Series, the Jim Henson Company, and KCET (PBS/Los Angeles) are generously giving 1 lucky Bullfrogs & Butterflies Baby reader their very own Sid the Science Kid Plush Talkin' Sid of their own...just in time for the Holidays!

Enter
Mandatory Entry: (must be completed before extra entries) - leave a comment telling me to whom you would like give this special prize

Additional Entries: (please leave a separate comment for each one completed)
1. Become a public follower of Bullfrogs & Butterflies Baby
2. Blog about this giveaway and leave you link in your comment
3. Follow us on Facebook
4. Follow us on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway.
5. Add my button to your sidebar
6. No blog? No problem! Email a friend about this giveaway and cc: me at contactus@bullfrogsandbutterfliesbabyboutique.com

Open to U.S. Residents only.
Giveaway ends 12/18. Winner selected via random.org
Good Luck!

Santa Has A Question...

Santa was gracious enough to loan us a few of his best elves this Holiday Season and it's a good thing...Ellia C. Naturals has been busy, busy, busy! Bullfrogs & Butterflies has had its share of Holiday cheer as well, but it seems like the bath & body goodies are flying off the shelves (whoo hoo!). Which leads me to wonder...

Santa Survey: What product or scent would you like to see Ellia C. Naturals carry next Holiday Season that is not in the current line-up (it's never to early to start planning, right?)?

Kudos to Good Customer Service!

After my initial disappointment with the response I received to my inquiry into the error with my web site today, I am happy to report that we are back in business again! Thank you to Kerry at CityMax for giving my reply due consideration and taking action to speed up the propagation of my domain through the system. In addition, she was able to comp me one month's hosting fee for the error. God is definitely good and as his child, people will do for me what they do not customarily do for others!

Thank you, Kerry, for a job well done.

A Sincere Apology

I am sending out my sincerest apologies today to all of my new customers, returning customers, and potential customers. It appears that due to a data entry error with my hosting company, my boutique was inadvertently taken offline earlier today. I have been assured that the problem has been remedied but it will take 24 hours for my domain to propagate fully back through the system (my response to which was to file a stern customer service complaint!).

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We will have our fabulous holiday goodies, as well as the rest of our unique lineup, back up and ready as soon as possible.

FREE shipping on orders of $75 or more. Stop by Bullfrog & Butterflies today for great gift ideas for the whole family!

Free Santa eMessage

The Holiday Season is a magical time, especially for the little ones in our lives. It seems these days that as early as Halloween, they're all a buzz with talks of reindeer and Santa's arrival. In our household, we are careful to instill the true meaning of Christmas in our children based on our Christian viewpoint and discuss with them the importance of giving over receiving.

That being said, we also like to have our share of fun and merriment. I came across this wonderful little web site (thanks, Missa!) where you can create a personalized e-message from Santa to your munchkin for free! Direct from the Portable North Pole (PNP) Communication Center, your little elf can receive a mini video letter from Santa complete with his or her name, eye and hair color, special thing he/she would like for Christmas, and other neat personal touches. I just finished creating one for each of my wee ones and they're already waiting in my email, just waiting to be opened!

Stop by HERE to enter your information today and surprise your child with a special e-message!

Thomas & Friends Holiday Giveaway

Thomas the train has been a permanent fixture in our house since my 5 year old was introduced to his first Thomas engine at 18 months of age. Now, my 2 year old (the 3rd boy in pecking order in our household) is all about Thomas and loves to play trains with his older brother who are, surprisingly, still very into them as well.

Two of a Kind Working on a Full House is now giving me (and you!) the opportunity to win the Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection for someone special this Holiday Season. How great would it be to see my little Micah Moo's eyes spring open wide after opening this gem on Christmas morning?! While I'm (not so secretly) pining away to win this prize for myself, I'm happy to share the opportunity with you too. Be sure to stop by HERE today for your chance to win!

Holiday Celebrations Gift Set {Review & Giveaway}

A big shout out of Thanks to Jessica over at The Army Wife for hosting our Ellia C. Naturals Holiday Celebrations Gift Set Giveaway!

Holiday Celebrations Gift Set:

4 oz. Holiday Body Meringue in Holiday Spice
5.5 oz. bar of Autumn Harvest Shea Butter & Coconut Milk Soap
.15 oz. Candy Cane Kisses Lip Smoother

Head on over to The Army Wife to read Jessica's sweet review of this gift set and enter for a chance to win one of your own. And don't forget to stop by and check out all of the fabulous Holiday goodies available from Ellia C. Naturals!

Shutter Buddy {Review}

Photo courtesy of Shutter Buddy (TM)

Just in time for the Holidays!

With so many photo opps approaching, the Shutter Buddy (TM) is a must have for parents of wee ones. Those of us with little ones know that getting the "money shot" from an infant can be challenging at best. With shorter attention spans and under developed visual focus and acuity, it is often difficult to capture those big baby eyes looking into the lens.

I recently had the privilege of reviewing the Shutter Buddy (TM), a unique camera accessory designed capture the attention of even the youngest subjects. Designed with baby's visual perception in mind, the Shutter Buddy (TM) is a geometric cone designed to attach easily to the front of your camera (which to my delight, it does!). Bearing a checkered black and white pattern (a pattern renowned for capturing baby's early visual interest), this unique accessory fits most digital cameras and folds compactly for easy transport and storage. I gave this little gem a run for its money over the Thanksgiving Holiday and found it to be quite effective. Rather than having to chirp like a bird, cluck like a duck, or sing renditions of any one of my famed "mommy songs", the presence of the Shutter Buddy (TM) on the front of our camera was enough to draw my little Ellie Bean's attention for quite some time. As an 8 month old whose vision has developed far beyond the black and white phase, I imagine the unique 3-D shape of this piece was as much a draw for her as anything, but I am confident that the pattern on it would be quite effective for babies in the 0-3 months range as well. I was pleasantly surprised that even as an "older" baby, Ellia was drawn to this product. I was able to take shot after shot with ease and without the usual backflips needed to gain her attention :)

We all know that the Holidays with all of their merriment can be overstimulating for little munchkins to say the least. If your looking for a little something extra in your picture taking arsenal this Season, I encourage you to give the Shutter Buddy (TM) a try!

Please Pass the Bombolini!

Photo courtesy of www.bell'alimento.com

My stomach lept for joy just reading the following recipe...Bomblini alla Nutella (Nutella Filled Doughnuts). My mouth is watering just at the mention of these decadent pillows of goodness! Check out all of the details at Paula Jones' fabulous foody blog, bell'alimento...I am sooooo making these this week :)