One of the delightful things about having a grand daughter is buying clothes for her. She’s an active little sprite that rarely sits still so her clothes need to be of good quality. At times she’ll put those clothes to the test…a bit like the test crash dummies do to cars!

That is one of the reasons we love shopping at Tea Collection. The clothes are absolutely adorable and most importantly well made. We also love the thinking behind Tea.

“Hello world. We’re Tea. Welcome to caring and creation. Discovery and exuberance. Welcome to inspiration and connection. Welcome to our world. Welcome to your world. Like you, we were born to explore it, to experience it with every bit of our souls.”

Our 6 year old grand daughter loves to wear dresses. Her active antics however make it necessary for her to wear something beneath her dresses. What could be cuter than the Lotus Flower Playdress and the Skinny Capri Leggings from Tea’s new Bali inspired Collection.

How adorable is the Mistica Pajarito Tee? I love the ruffles that accent Kennedy’s sassy little attitude. Perfect for busy days in kindergarten.

(Tea Collection images)

The Dancing Fern Dress and Lotus Vines Dress are part of the new Bali inspired collection. Paired with leggings or worn alone, these are both tropical favorites.

(Tea Collection image)

Katut’s Motorbike Tee and  French Terry Cargo Shorts are rugged with a touch of adventure for young boys who are on the move.

(Tea Collection image)

And my all time favorite is the Little Citizens Hoodie. It’s available in a variety of colors for children and babies.

Sign up for email alerts on the Tea Collection website to stay on top of sales and new merchandise. You can also follow Tea Collection on Facebook and Twitter and their blog.

Now…wouldn’t you like to win a $100 gift certificate to buy some adorable outfits for your own “little citizen of the world”?

Giveaway!

 One lucky Simple Sojourns reader will win a $100 gift certificate for Tea Collection.

 1. Required entry – Tell what your favorite item is from Tea Collection.

2. For extra entries:

3. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

4. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our new Facebook page.

5. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

GIVEAWAY! Tea Collection – Children’s Clothing $100 gift certificate http://bit.ly/zWcu5D #giveaway #win @teacollection @SimplyCathi

7. One extra entry if you Stumble this post.

8. One extra entry if you G+ this post

9. One extra entry for following Tea Collection on Facebook.

10. One extra entry for following Tea Collection on Twitter.

11. One extra entry if you subscribe by email to the Tea Collection blog.

* This giveaway will close at midnight Thursday February 21, 2012.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

 No compensation was received for this post. We were provided us with a gift certificate from Tea Collection to facilitate our review.

A few days ago when we dropped our grand kids off at school, I had to beg Cody to put down his new book and get out of the car. Morning school traffic was backing up behind us. We had taken more than our “get out of the car and move out of the way” time allotment.  This delay was unusual for Cody for he LOVES his before school recess time.

But Cody also love story books and he was completely taken away with the antics of the characters in his new book, The Sneezy Wheezy Day. And for good reason!

The Sneezy Wheezy Day is the newest book in the Cougar Cub Tales. It’s a delightful story of two little cougars. Brother cougar isn’t feeling well so sister cougar thinks they need to seek advice from their critter friends who live in the woods.

First they visit with the wise White Owl who prescribes “care-berry pie” for brother cougar. When the pie doesn’t help brother cougar feel better, the little cougars seek out the Royal King Stag, the Canadian Goose, the Red Fox, the Razorback Hog and my favorite, the Grizzly Old Bear.

The Grizzly Old Bear thought the boy cougar had too much hair. His advise was to “trim it as short as you dare”! Absolutely hysterical!

The Sneezy Wheezy Day is an adorable story where the cougar cubs discover that all they really need is each other! The Sneezy Wheezy Day is the third Cougar Cub Tale written and illustrated by Sharon Cramer. It’s available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Now through Saturday (1/28) you can get a FREE ecopy on Amazon!

Learn more about the Cougar Cub Tales by visiting the Talking Bird Books website, Facebook page and by following Sharon Cramer on Twitter.

Giveaway!

1. Required entry – Tell who you would like to win The Sneezy Wheezy Day for.

2. For extra entries:

3. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

4. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our brand NEW Facebook page. (We’re undergoing big changes)

5. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

GIVEAWAY! “The Sneezy Wheezy Day” storybook. http://bit.ly/AoIAlg #giveaway #win @sharonjcramer @SimplyCathi

7. One extra entry for following Talking Bird Books on Facebook.

8. One extra entry for following Sharon Cramer on Twitter.

* This giveaway will close at midnight Thursday February 16, 2012.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

No compensation was received for this post. We were provided us with a copy of  ”The Sneezy Wheezy Day” to facilitate our review.

We have books in almost every room of our home. A great many of the books were our childrens’ books that we used to read to them.  Now we read them with our grandchildren. One of the wonderful things about narrated books is the opportunity children have to read them alone and to hone their own reading skills while following along with the words.

The newest addition to our library is Bad Kitty. We’re delighted with how much our grandchildren love this story narrated by award winning actress Vanessa Williams. Our daughter-in-law has even wished a time or two that the kiddos didn’t like the book as much as they do. Seems they read and listen to Bad Kitty over and over and over again. Now that in itself is asign of a good book.

Bad Kitty is the story of a cat gone berserk – four times over and in alphabetical order each time. Kitty is not happy when she’s told that her favorite foods are all gone and all that’s left are Asparagus, Beets, Cauliflower, Dill…and 22 other equally unappealing vegetables. So she eats homework, bites grandma, claws the curtains, damages dishes, and so on, all the way through the alphabet to the letter Z. Only when tastier things to eat arrive, anchovies, buffalo burritos, chicken cheesecake … does kitty change her behavior.

Just the other day six-year old Kennedy was reading Bad Kitty to her 18 month old cousin Fiona. And guess what? Fiona was just as intrigued with the escapades of the bad little kitty.

2. For extra entries:

3. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

4. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our brand NEW Facebook page. (We’re undergoing big changes)

5. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

GIVEAWAY! “Bad Kitty” storybook with CD narrated by Vanessa Williams http://bit.ly/wvyFLA #giveaway #win @SimplyCathi

* This giveaway will close at midnight Monday February 6, 2012.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

No compensation was received for this post. Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners provided us with a copy of  “Bad Kitty” and is providing the giveaway prize.

The holidays are over and it’s time for regular routines and back to school for the kiddos. Sam’s Club wants to remind everyone to continue collecting Box Tops 4 Education to help out your school of choice. We collect Box Tops for our grandchildrens’ school.

Sam’s Club and Box Tops for Education want to make both life and collecting Box Tops as easy as possible. That’s why they’ve collaborated on return-to-school deals and promotions. Progresso soups, Nature Valley granola bars, Yoplait and Hamburger Helper are all sporting multiple Box Tops.

For extra entries:

2. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

3. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our NEW Facebook page. (We’re undergoing big changes)

4. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

5. Earn one extra entry if you Google + this giveaway.

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

“GIVEAWAY! Box Tops & $25 Sams Gift Card http://bit.ly/x7Tace #win @SamsClub @BTFE @SimplyCathi #MyBlogSpark”

7. Earn one extra entry for following Sam’s Club on Facebook.

8. Earn one extra entry for following Box Tops on Facebook.

9. Earn one extra entry for following Sam’s Club on Twitter.

10. Earn one extra entry for following Box Tops on Twitter.

* This giveaway will close at midnight Monday January 30, 2012.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 72 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

No compensation was received for this post. Sam’s Club provided us with Sam’s Club gift card (to facilitate this review) and is providing the giveaway prize through MyBlogSpark.

The holidays are all about family and traditions. Old traditions and new traditions. You take the happy traditions you grew up with and instill them into your own family and make-up new ones as the years go by.

One of the new traditions we started a few years back takes place on Christmas Day. It all started with the little ones going upstairs to watch from the loft. Then the adult family members all simultaneously opened ready-to-go sponge dart guns. The excitement started immediately and it was “Game On”! Before too long the grandkids were caught up in the action and teams were formed. The action lasted hours. A tradition was started.

(HearthSong image)

This year every single family member, from grandparents to the kindergartner, will each be opening a Flying Space Monkey from HearthSong. I know these adorable monkeys will be flying all over within seconds of escaping the confines of thier wrapping paper. We can’t wait to see the different games and competitions the kids and grandkids create with the ultimate goal of their monkey winning.

The Flying Space Monkeys are sold individually or in sets of four. Each monkey has metallic colored silver moon boots, a matching space pack and space helmet. As you look through through the bubble of their space helmet, you’ll get a glimpse into their true characters. Blue has a big toothy grin. Brown has a cute cheeky smile. Pink has red lips and long eyelashes. And Red looks a little (or a lot) apprehensive about flying!

Ready, aim, fly!

It’s as easy as putting your fingers into the monkeys front mitt pockets and pulling back to release for blast off! I think aiming will be the big test. Like … what will the kids and grandkids be aiming at? Hopefully not Grandpa and Gramma!

Are you ready for a traditional game of competition on Christmas Day?

Giveaway!

For extra entries:

2. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

3. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our NEW Facebook page. (We’re undergoing big changes)

4. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

5. Earn one extra entry for Google + this giveaway.

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

GIVEAWAY! HearthSong Flying Space Monkey http://bit.ly/thg1oY #giveaway #win @hearthsongtoys @SimplyCathi

7. Earn one extra entry for following HearthSong on Facebook.

8. Earn one extra entry for following HearthSong on Twitter.

* This giveaway will close at midnight Wednesday January 3, 2012.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

We did not receive any compensation for this post. We did receive Flying Space Monkeys from HearthSong to facilitate our review.

In our family the holidays and parties go hand in hand. It seems we’ve been making treats and sharing them with family and friends almost everyday for the last month. Even longer if we include Halloween.

I recently had the opportunity to make and share several different varieties of Chex Party Mix. The recipes were incredibly easy to follow. So much so that my 6-year old grand daughter helped. And It was wonderful quality time we were able to spend together.

These delightful recipe cards are perfect for getting your party started.

We decided to make Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch and Chex Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blast.

We gathered our ingredients and started mixing!

Per Kennedy’s request, we added some Multi-Grain Cheerios which actually gave our Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch a festive look.

Kennedy may have over done it a bit with the mini marshmallows and M & M but we went with … “the more the merrier”!

For extra entries:

2. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

3. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our NEW Facebook page. (We’re undergoing big changes)

4. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

5. Earn one extra entry for Google + this giveaway.

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

“GIVEAWAY! Chex Party Mix & $25 Sams Gift Card http://bit.ly/uUbjGy #giveaway #win @SamsClub @OriginalChexMix @SimplyCathi #MyBlogSpark”

7. Earn one extra entry for following Sam’s Club on Facebook.

8. Earn one extra entry for following Chex Mix on Facebook.

9. Earn one extra entry for following Sam’s Club on Twitter.

10. Earn one extra entry for following Chex on Twitter.

* This giveaway will close at midnight Tuesday January 2, 2012.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

No compensation was received for this post. General Mills and Sam’s Club provided us with Chex Mix cereal and a Sam’s Club gift card (to facilitate this review) and is providing the giveaway prize through MyBlogSpark.

 Our granddaughter is honing her reading skills in kindergarten. She loves to “show off” and read to us every chance she gets. However … she still brings us books and snuggles up on our laps so that we can read to her. Even though we hope there are still many years of snuggling with books in the future, sometimes we aren’t available in person to share a book with her. These are the times that precious books narrated on CDs can be the perfect gift for little ones like our granddaughter.

1. Required entry – Tell us who you want to win the Fireside Gift Basket for.

2. For extra entries:

3. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

4. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our brand NEW Facebook page. (We’re undergoing big changes)

5. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

GIVEAWAY! Plow & Hearth Fireside Gift Basket http://bit.ly/u1BOKK #giveaway #win @PlowandHearth @SimplyCathi

7. Earn one extra entry for following Plow & Hearth on Facebook.

8. Earn one extra entry for following Plow & Hearth on Twitter.

* This giveaway will close at midnight Tuesday December 20, 2011.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

No compensation was received for this post. Plow & Hearth provided us with a Fireside Gift Basket and is providing the giveaway prize.

We have a special verbal game we play with our grandchildren. We call it our Adventure Story. It’s interactive and everyone can participate. It’s a “to be continued …” story where we travel wherever our imaginations take us and we have a remarkable time. Anyone and everyone can be in our Adventure Story. (Recently Britt was there carrying Yoda in her backpack!) We leave it to Cody, our 8-year old grandson, to make our Adventure Story pure magic!

Patricia Babuka and Scott Schaefer of Grandcamp Adventures have brought an adventure story to print in a delightfully illustrated book. Written by Walter Sorrells and illustrated by Victor Tavares, Here We Go! is the story of eccentric (in a fabulously fun way) grandparents who take their grandchildren on an exciting adventure around the world.

While Papa and Grammie are on holiday around the world they find that many of their precious treasures have been lost through a hole in the baggage compartment of their plane.

The adventure begins when their grandchildren, Savannah, Luca and Aiden, arrive for a visit.

Papa and Grammie explain the “disaster” that has happened and then they all set off on an adventure traveling the world over to find the lost treasures. Using a magic compass, their travels take them to castles in England, the jungles of the Congo, the beaches of New Zealand, Chinese New Year in China and a local family gathering in Venzuela.

Before the family arrives back home, they’ve experiencing fabulous customs and tradtions of various different cultures. It truly is an Adventure Story of a lifetime!

And there’s a lot more to Grandcamp Adventures. The website includes wonderful references for traveling with grandchildren, music & toys for purchase along with games and activities to do with your grandchildren (or children!).

I’m head over heels in LOVE with Grandcamp Adventures! We’re big on travel and in the last month have been to both Shanghai and London. We’re looking forward to taking our grandchildren along with ua sometime soon.

Giveaway!

Congratulations to our winner #3 Christine in California!

One lucky Simple Sojourns reader will win a copy of Here We Go! and Shake It Up activity cards.

1. Required entry – Tell us one exciting place you’d like to take your children or grandchildren.

2. For extra entries:

3. Follow @SimplyCathi on Twitter.

4. Become a fan of Simple Sojourns – Our brand NEW Facebook page. (We’re undergoing big changes)

5. Subscribe by email to Simple Sojourns (right sidebar).

6. You can earn one extra entry each time you tweet (once a day) about this giveaway:

GIVEAWAY! “Here We Go” storybook and “Shake It Up” activity cards from Grandcamp Adventures http://bit.ly/tcBI05 #giveaway #win @SimplyCathi

7. Earn one extra entry for following Grandcamp Adventures on Facebook.

* This giveaway will close at midnight Friday December 19, 2011.

* The giveaway is open to US residents only.

* One set of entries per household.

* The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to the winner notification email.

No compensation was received for this post. Grandcamp Adventures provided us with a copy of “Here We Go!” and is providing the giveaway prize.