Our Webkinz Jr. Party!

When I was given the opportunity to host a Webkinz Jr. party here at my home, I didn't hesitate to say yes.

Webkinz Jr. toys have to be one of my son and daughter's absolute favorite toys in the house- They have about five between them and are both clamoring for more.

Most of you are probably familiar with Webkinz- and if you have small children, you know how frustrating it can be to try and help them navigate the website.

That's where Webkinz Jr. comes to the rescue. Designed for children between the ages of 3 and 6, it's easy to navigate and requires no reading skills. The games and lessons are both educational and entertaining. And as a parent, you can even go in yourself and set the difficulty level of the games from easy to advanced. I love it, and I can't say enough good things about it.

Best of all for all of our mental health (heh), Punky could play Webkinz Jr. without needing any help from me from about the age of four on. There aren't many websites for small children that are simple enough for them to navigate themselves- This site has taught her valuable computer skills and she has been so proud to be able to figure it all out on her own.

But um. Back to the party.

As many of you know, Nashville experienced a 1,000-year flood back in May and many families in my community lost their homes and nearly everything in them. Since I'm in a unique position of knowing many of those families through church, school, and other activities, I decided to invite guests who'd lost everything in the flood. After all, I can't think of much that would be more traumatic to a child than to lose their treasured toys and loveys. How do you even explain that to a child? We couldn't replace everything they've lost, but at least they could go home with a new Webkinz pet!

As the eager hostess, Punky put out all of her Webkinz Jr. pets to greet guests when they arrived.

We also had snacks for our guests...

And a few craft projects set up in the playroom that Webkinz sent us to make our party complete.

And of course, we had brand new Webkinz Jr. plushes for our guests to choose from when they arrived! These are just a few of the newest Webkinz Jr. pets that are available.

When the guests began arriving, Punky immediately took them on a tour of the Webkinz Jr. world. To be honest, even though we had lots of other activities, all anyone wanted to do was play Webkinz Jr.!

However, we were able to entice a few of our guests away from the computer long enough to make paper bag puppets...


And friendship bracelets, while their new Webkinz Jr. pets looked on.

At the end of the party, the kids headed outside for a little backyard play...

But it wasn't long before they were back inside again, clamoring for more computer time!

Check out Webkinz Jr. for yourself here for more information. If you can't wait to buy a pet, you can purchase a pet code on the site and let your child play Webkinz Jr. on the computer. However, you'll find Webkinz Jr. pets at many major retailers, including Toys R Us (that's where we get ours). I can pretty much guarantee that your 3-6 year-old will LOVE the Webkinz Jr. experience.

After the party was over, Punky informed us that she is asking for every single Webkinz Jr. that she doesn't already have for her birthday- and that is all she wants!

And that was our Webkinz Jr. party! Does your child have a Webkinz Jr. pet? What do you think of the line?

Disclosure: Ganz sent us 10 Webkinz Jr. pets to give to our guests, as well as party favor bags and party supplies.

I chose not to identify the children at our party (besides my own) in these pictures because of the sensitive nature of their families' current situation.

Our PASS Card experience, Part Three: Reducing Your Teen's Temptation to Overspend

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of American Express and the new PASS Card for teenagers. Our 17-year-old is using the card right now and I'm writing about our experiences. You can read Parts One and Two here.

My 19-year-old has a copy of our credit card in her name. This has always been a bit worrisome to me, since she has a ways to go when it comes to money.

We gave her the card when she went off to college because we knew that she'd have certain expenses (like her car breaking down or a need for a small microwave, for example) that would go beyond her meager school budget.

However, that card has brought with it a host of small problems.

There was the time when she used our card to fill up her gas tank three times in one week, even though she lives on campus.

Hmm.

There were the times when she used our card to buy iTunes without telling us.

There was the time over the summer when I was in New York City and received a call from my husband that I couldn't use my credit card anymore because our 19-year-old had lost hers.

Ummm. TRAVELING.

These are just a few reasons why I'm really enjoying having a PASS card for my 17-year-old. We preload it each week with a set amount of money and she can't go beyond that limit. Period. We can also check her account transactions online, and so can she.

She's had it for a few weeks now. I just checked her balance and it's at $0.00. Obviously, I'd prefer for her to always have at least a few dollars on the card, however this is her budgeting lesson and she's got to learn it on her own.

I'm just thankful (from past experience) that she can never go over her weekly $50 limit. That's huge, y'all. You can have the best teenager in the world and still end up with a large(ish) bill on your credit card that you weren't expecting if you give your child a copy of your card.

The PASS card protects our 17-year-old from spending too much- and it protects our own budget as well.

In fact, I'm reminded now of a good friend of mine who in college had a little too much to drink and ended up using her father's credit card to buy everyone in the (packed) bar a round. The bill was in the thousands!

A PASS card sure would have come in handy there...

This week, I want to know about your experiences in this department. Did you ever charge too much on your parents' card when you were a kid? Have your teens ever done this to you? With all these stories in mind, are you leery of giving your teen a copy of your credit card now?

Tell me about it!

Also, for tips on having The (Money) Talk with your kids, check out www.moneynighttalk.com. That's where financial expert Jean Chatzky will be hosting a National Money Night Talk on the evening of September 16th. She'll give you the tools you need to talk about finances with your kids-- She'll even give you the words to say in the event that you're feeling particularly lost! I think this is a fantastic idea. Some of you have told me over the past few weeks that your parents never had the money talk with you and your finances have suffered over the years as a result. Put September 16th on your calendar-- It's a great, specific way to make sure that Money Talk actually happens.

Lands' End School Uniforms: We Love Them!

Punky's school requires standard school attire, which is a nice word for UNIFORM. I hate buying uniforms, but if she's got to wear them, she might as well look cute!

That's why I was psyched to review one of Lands' End's new school uniforms for this school year. We've ordered plenty of Lands' End uniform pieces in the past and I absolutely love them. They hold up really well through repeated washings and to my mind are the best affordable uniform options out there.

Punky is wearing one of Lands' End's brand-new knit jumpers. Yes! They're FINALLY making a knit jumper now! It is far more comfortable than the stiff twill versions on the market, yet Lands' End's version retains its shape and hasn't pilled in the wash. I'm so happy with this jumper that I'm buying another one in navy!

She's also wearing the short sleeved pintuck blouse, which is another big winner here. Even after washing and no ironing, it somehow managed to stay wrinkle-free, and that my friends is worth its weight in gold.

Other great features about Lands' End's school clothing and accessories line the retailer wants you to know:

· Durability: Importance of reinforced seams and adjustable waists for ultimate comfort and durability.
· Range of Sizes: A wider variety of sizes are now available for kids. Whether regular size, slim, tall, plus or husky, there are options for every kid.
· Personalization: Kids can now customize their backpacks, lunch boxes and more with monograms, embroidery, heat transfers and numbers.
· School Uniforms: School uniforms don’t have to be uncool or uncomfortable. Lands’ End offers gender-specific items including feminine tops and cardigans for boys and girls with a wide range of sizes.

Lands' End also offers lots of great discounts on its school uniform clothes. I've been getting e-mails left and right with great offers- Right now, for instance, you can get 30% off all school uniform pieces and free shipping with the code AUG30 and PIN 2074.

Sweet!

Dansko's Mommy and Me Giveaway!

Wanna know what my daughter and I have in common in these pictures?

We're both wearing Dansko shoes!

Yes, Dansko, a leader in comfort footwear since 1990, is re-launching their children’s clog collection with a range of specially engineered clogs perfectly designed for a child’s foot!

The adorable child-sized versions of the Dansko original are perfect for both school and play and carry the American Podiatric Medical Association seal of acceptance for promoting good foot health.

When Dansko offered to send a pair of shoes for my daughter and another pair for me, I was really excited to try them out. For a long time now, readers, friends, and family members have been swearing to me that Dansko makes the best-quality, most comfortable shoes around. I even know people who will ONLY wear Dansko shoes. Suffice it to say I was eager to put these shoes to the test myself.

For Punky, I ordered an adorable pair of bubble gum-pink clogs. For myself, I was crazy about a gorgeous brown leather pair of slouch boots. Let me just say right now that both of us literally could not be happier about our new Danskos.

Punky wears her clogs to school nearly every day and loves how comfortable they are- There wasn't even a breaking-in period with these shoes- She put them on and was good to go from day one.

And my boots? ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. I love them. I love how comfortable they are. I love the moderate heel, which will work with just about everything I own. I love the rich look of the leather. I will probably sleep in them when the weather gets cooler- That's how much I love them.

I'll be writing more about these boots (and others) this week over at my style blog on The Stir.

In the meantime, though, IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Dansko is letting me give one lucky Suburban Turmoil/ She's Still Got It reader a pair of Danksos for both you AND your daughter!! Or your grandaughter! Or your god daughter! Or your niece! Or the special little girl in your life!

To enter, just leave a comment telling me why you'd like to win these shoes between now and Friday, September 3rd. Be sure and leave your e-mail address in the comment so that I can contact you if you've won.

Good luck!

Our PASS Card experience, Part Two: Our Teen Has a Lot to Learn!

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of American Express and the new PASS Card for teenagers.

Week one with our new PASS Card was interesting, to say the least.

The PASS Card, for those of you who are just joining us, is a prepaid, reloadable card that American Express has debuted as a great way to teach teenagers how to manage their money- without spending beyond their limit or racking up overdraft fees. You can read part one of our PASS Card experience here.

When we presented my 17-year-old with the card, she seemed really excited about it. Since she has a job and is making her own spending money, we decided to put $30 on the card per week for a weekly gas fill-up and $20 for groceries and meals. I thought that since she's a senior and will (fingers crossed) be going off to college next year, she'd benefit from choosing some of her own food and budgeting meals on her own. That was something of a problem for our eldest during her first year of college.

I was thrilled by my stepdaughter's great attitude about her new card- She seemed pleased with the added independence that managing her own food and gas money gave her. She agreed to start a notebook to keep track of how much she'd put on the card each week, and we told her we'd add $50 to the card each Monday.

Three days later, I found the PASS card under a table in our den.

Ummmmm.

Now would be a good time to mention that one of the best things about the PASS card is that we are not responsible for fraudulent charges if it's lost or stolen- and American Express will replace any money that's been stolen from our PASS account. Our 17-year-old has some difficulty keeping up with things (I believe she's been through at least 10 cell phones so far-- YES, 10!-- and don't worry, she replaces them herself when she loses them/runs over them/ drops them in the toilet) and despite her excitement, the PASS card was no exception.

Anyway, I gave her the card again and told her to put it somewhere safe. A couple of days later over dinner, I asked her if she'd had a chance to use it yet.

"Yeah, I bought some coffee with it," she said. "But I didn't write down how much it cost and I lost the receipt. So I have no idea how much money is on the card now."

As I said, this week has been interesting.

I reminded my stepdaughter that the funds weren't for coffee or candy- they were for real, healthy groceries and meals. I suspect my gentle advice fell on deaf ears.

But one thing I um, "forgot" to tell her about this card is that I can track her charges, too! So I'll be checking up on her and finding out exactly what's going on, whether she wants me to know or not!

That's Week One! I'm hoping that by Week Seven, I'll be able to tell you all about a 17-year-old who writes down all her purchases and budgets for/buys what she needs, not what she wants.

Wish me luck!

In the meantime, do you have any good advice for me? I could definitely use it!

And for more information on the PASS Card, check out American Express's PASS Card page, which will give you all the information you need!

Our PASS Card Experience, Part One: What I Hope We Get From This Experience

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of American Express and the new PASS Card for teenagers.

My 17-year-old stepdaughter has learned a lot about money this past year.

She got her first job at McDonald's, began working 30 hours per week, and started earning some serious cash. From the start, she's been good about saving half of her earnings each paycheck-- and that really came in handy when she totaled her car a few days before school let out for the summer. Don't worry, she was fine- The car was so old that it didn't take much to total it!

She has spent the summer working and saving up to buy herself another car and I think the experience has done more to teach her about the value of a dollar than anything. Saving for a car isn't easy. Having a job without a car isn't easy. We (along with her boyfriend) were able to provide rides to and from work most of the time, but there were occasions when she had to walk the three miles to work or walk home, which definitely wasn't fun.

On Friday, the day after her first day of school, she wrote a check from her bank account and paid for her new (to her) car. I was so proud of her for saving up the money and making it happen. As she enters her senior year, I think she's right where she needs to be in terms of learning how to handle her finances.

That's why I was excited when American Express offered me the opportunity to get my stepdaughter a PASS card and write about the experience.

A PASS card is a new prepaid, reloadable card that American Express has created just for teens. It's safer for teenagers to carry around than cash and since they can only spend the amount that's been loaded on the card, it's a much better idea for them than a credit or debit card.

My 17-year-old has her own bank account with money she's saved from her job. However, we want her to be responsible with our money as well as her own, so we've opted to load her card each week with enough money for her to buy a tank of gas and a week's worth of any grocery items she might want for herself. While we try to eat dinner together as a family as often as possible, my 17-year-old has a busy extracurricular, social and job schedule, so it's a good lesson for her to make sure she has food on hand that she can prepare for herself when she comes in after dinner.

For the next two months, I'm going to be checking in with you weekly and letting you know how our PASS card experience is going. We are sitting down with my stepdaughter tomorrow evening and explaining the PASS card to her, and I'm eager to find out how she does with it. Some things I like about the PASS card right off the bat:

• If the card is lost or stolen, we aren't responsible for fraudulent charges, and American Express replaces the funds. I don't know about your teens, but ours lose things ALL THE TIME!
• My stepdaughter can't charge any more on the card than what's in the account, so we don't have to worry about her spending too much or creating overdraft charges.
• Both my husband and I and my stepdaughter can log into our PASS card account and monitor how the card is being used.

In the meantime, I hope you'll chime in with your own ideas on teaching your children financial responsibility- It's one of the most important lessons we can offer them, particularly as they get older and prepare to head for college and experience life "on their own." We had to learn some lessons the hard way when we sent my eldest stepdaughter to college last year and I'm eager to take what I've learned and do a better job with our 17-year-old. I think the PASS card will really help all of us make the transition to her budgeting money all on her own.

Until next time, I'd love to know how some of you are helping your kids budget money. Do you allow them to have their own debit or credit card, or do you make them carry cash? Are there any pitfalls of these options that you'd like to avoid? Let me know in the comments!

James and the Giant Peach Out Now on Blu-Ray!

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl was one of my absolute favorite books growing up, so as you can imagine, I was more than excited to get the opportunity to review the movie on Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack. As is typical for any Disney film, it did not disappoint!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, here's a synopsis:

After the daring rescue of a spider, a young boy named James gains possession of some magic crocodile tongues. When James spills them in the garden, out sprouts an enormous peach! Climbing inside, he meets an astonishing cast of characters and embarks on a magical odyssey full of thrills and adventure. Voiced by an all-star cast, including legendary actors Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Simon Callow and Jane Leeves, and featuring the celebrated music of Randy Newman, this classic story is delicious entertainment for the whole family!

Honestly, if you or your children haven't seen this film, I can't recommend it highly enough, particularly for those of you who are Edward Burton fans. Now that the movie has been released in HD, it looks and sounds better than ever-- my children absolutely loved it and what's more, so did I!

Blu-Ray bonus features include:

• Spike the Aunts Interactive Game – A new BD Exclusive! Inspired by the game that plays
after the end movie credits, try your hand at spiking the evil aunts with the rhino and ring up
major points!

• Production Featurette – A look at the making of the film.

• “Good News” Music Video performed by Randy Newman

• Still Frame Gallery

• Original Theatrical Trailer

James and the Giant Peach Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack is on sale for $24.99 right now on Amazon.com.

Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this movie to facilitate my review. My opinions are my own.