My little Toot is ALL boy. Suffice to say that he loves trucks, motorcycles, dirt and dinosaurs. When we were given the opportunity to review Playskool’s Monty Rex Dino we were both VERY excited.

As soon as Monty arrived Aiden was ready to get down to the business of “reviewing” him. He (Aiden) is VERY serious about his job as a product reviewer!

First things first, Monty was renamed to Dodger. I’m not sure why, but we went with it. Dodger, er Monty, was an instant hit with the little man and with me.

This toy is just plain fun.

Monty stands over a whopping 15 inches tall and is animated and interactive. He moves his arms, head, tail and even walks. Roar at Monty and he’ll roar right back, stroke his chin and Monty will be your new BFF. But, Beware! If you tickle his nose, he might sneeze on you… have you ever been sneezed on…by a dinosaur? Watch out!

As a mother, my favorite thing about Monty Rex is the way he inspires my little one to use his imagination and teaches him about cause and effect. By responding to touch, Monty shows us what he likes and doesn’t like – much in the same way a family pet would, but without the messy clean-up!

I highly recommend Playskool’s Monty Rex Dino… and so does our 3 year-old-resident-expert!

We give him two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Monty Rex is available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com. Retail $74.99.

Kota and Pals: Monty Rex Dino was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received.

Who doesn’t love a good pancake? Chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin….oh, my. For breakfast, for dinner – it matters not to me! My family loves pancakes. And if pancakes alone weren’t enough to inspire, Bisquick Pancake Nation has launched a national campaign to encourage folks to reach out to those in need by holding pancake breakfasts. From now through May 31st, you can apply for a $250.00 grant to help you in organizing your very own pancake fundraiser breakfast in your community. This is an excellent way to help your favorite qualified non-profit organization while inspiring your community and delighting your taste buds. Join Bisquick Pancake Nation today and get all the tools you need to help you organize your fundraiser. You can make a difference!

About that giveaway….

Here is your chance to win an awesome Bisquick Pancake Nation prize pack! This prize pack includes everything you need to make your very own fluffy goodness at home. Included in the prize pack:

• Lodge Logic Cast Iron Griddle
• Cuisipro Deluxe Mixing Bowl
• Cuisipro Pancake Turner
• Box of Bisquick

This GIVEAWAY is now closed! Congrats to our winner, Shanna (comment #20) who was picked randomly by random.org. Thanks so much to all who entered and helped make this GIVEAWAY a success! I truly appreciate you all!

These are all awesome products. We use them for all of our pancake-makin’ and much more! You must enter to win!!! Here’s how:

Mandatory Entry

** Subscribe to my blog BY EMAIL and leave me a comment on this post letting me know you’re a subscriber and tell me what your favorite breakfast is. ** Remember this is mandatory, NO OTHER entries count if you don’t do this one first! (If you already subscribe BY EMAIL just let me know that in your comment.)**

Additional Entries– 1 entry each

• Follow me on Twitter and leave me a comment letting me know you’re following.
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (see right sidebar) –Leave a comment letting me know.
• Follow Tales of the Toot on Facebook Networked Blogs — Leave a comment letting me know.
• Tweet about this giveaway (LIMIT 1x per day) — Leave a comment letting me know you’ve tweeted about the giveaway.
• Vote for Tales of the Toot @ Top Mommy Blogs by clicking on the button on the right side bar. — Leave me a comment.

You will see that each entry requires that you LEAVE a comment to earn credit. The winner will be selected by random number selection via random.org, so I will be using numbered comments to choose a winner. Don’t forget to comment .

This giveaway is open until Tuesday, March 30th at 10:00 p.m. CST. Winner will be notified by email/Twitter and will be given 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.

Thanks so much for entering and GOOD LUCK!!!

** No monetary compensation was provided to me in exchange for this blog post. Product samples and opportunity were provided to me by Bisquick and BlogSpark**

You may recognize the name. Anothony DeStefano is the best-selling author of  A Travel Guide to Heaven and Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To(DoubleDay). Mr. DeStefano’s first children’s book, This Little Prayer of Mine, has recently been released and I am honored to have had the opportunity to preview it with my son.

The book, aimed at teaching young children about prayer, hits the mark with ease. In rhyming fashion, we learn valuable lessons about prayer. I was most impressed by the way Mr. DeStefano intertwined lessons about choices, fear, behavior and being thankful into the story, showing children that not only does God hear and answer our prayers, but is a very present help in our everyday lives.

I cannot say enough about the beautiful illustrations, by Mark Elliott. They truly draw the reader into the story and foster the opportunity for discussion with my toddler-aged son.

My son loves this book. We have read and discussed it many times over and I am sure it will be a favorite of both his and mine for many years to come.

I applaud Mr. DeStefano for this beautifully written book. It is never too early to teach our little ones about God and the importance of prayer and This Little Prayer of Mine gives us the perfect tool to help begin these important conversations with our children.

This Little Prayer of Mine was provided to me by the author, Anthony DeStefano, in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received.