Bissell Power Sweeper Review

Bissell sent us a Power Sweeper to try and review.  We've had it for a couple of months, and it's great! We left out the middle section of the handle when we put it together, so it's the perfect height for the girls to use.  E(2) can even us it with one hand behind her back :)




And with a piggy bank in one hand!


The Power Sweeper turns on easily just by pressing your foot to the button on the base.  It is cordless and rechargeable. The girls use it to sweep the floor and rugs almost every day. It is easy to empty the dirt catcher. Overall, it's a great way to get kids easily involved in cleaning the house.

The Power Sweeper was sent to us to review at no cost to us. I was not paid for this review, and the opinions expressed are my own.

A Review of Icosoku Jr.

I am excited to review our first item for the Timberdoodle Blogger Review Team! I LOVE browsing the Timberdoodle catalog and website, so I'm thrilled to be a part of their review team.

Our first item that we are reviewing is the Icosoku Jr. I've been reading about the Icosoku for more than a year, but I didn't think O(5) was ready for it. So, I was very excited to see the Icosoku Jr come AND even more excited that Timberdoodle sent us one to review!

I put the Icosoku Jr. in a basket with the triangle pieces off, so that it is ready at all times :) To play the Icosoku Jr. you randomly place the number buttons on the ball, and then match the dotted tiles to the buttons. This is harder than it looks, but it's lots of fun!

O calls herself a "mathematician," so she was initially thrilled with the Icosoku. I explained what to do, but then I left her alone to finish the puzzle. She was easily frustrated with me not right there to help her. Since then we've played with the Icosoku Jr. together many, many times, and now she says she "LOVES it!"

Now that she has gained confidence in herself, she enjoys it more and plays it more independently.

This is a great travel puzzle (game, toy,...whatever you want to call it), and I'm looking forward to taking it with us on our upcoming vacation.

While E(2) is much too young to understand the number concepts on the Icosoku Jr., she really enjoys snapping the number buttons and tiles into place. I watch her VERY closely because it wouldn't surprise me if she decided to put a number button in her mouth.


This is a great fine motor excercise for both girls, and they are fine tuning their concentration skills and their ability to pay attention to details as well. O also is working on her addition and logic skills. So many things are going on when completing this puzzle... You can watch a video demonstrating the Icosoku here.

Timberdoodle sent the Icosoku Jr. to review at no cost to me. I was not paid for this review, and the opinions expressed are my own.

Giveaway UPDATE with Pics and BONUS Giveaway!

Just in case you missed the addition to my giveaway post, I wanted to let you know that I've added pics of the items up for giveaway. Also, Cherilynn was so excited by the response to her shop that she's offered another set (winner's choice) for giveaway!!! So, if you didn't comment because you don't have a size 6 girl, go on over and leave a comment now! The additional items are a mob cap and apron set OR a Paul Revere shirt (can be made in sizes 4 to 10). The apron/cap set OR Paul Revere shirt will not be shipped until after November 1. Have a look!

"Old Time" Dress Review AND a Giveaway!!! UPDATE with Pics AND a Bonus Giveaway!

My O(5) LOVES to play dress-up more than anything in the world. She loves to dress in "old time" clothes and actually spends most of her time (at home) wearing "dress-ups" of some sort.

So, for her 5th birthday, my bought a gorgeous colonial style dress for O to wear while on our family vacation to Colonial Williamsburg. O LOVES her dress and wears it often. She has a matching dress for her Kaya (American Girl) doll, and it is just adorable.

Since I don't like to show my children's faces on this public blog, taking pics that do the dress justice was a little difficult. I did my best, and here they are...

The pocketbook and mob cap came with the dress (she bought the straw hat in Williamsburg with her birthday money). O wears the mob cap EVERY night to sleep (in order to be like Mary and Laura Ingalls who wore nightcaps to sleep)...it is adorable.






Along with the dress, Cherilynn from Ashley's Attic sent a couple of buttons to start O's button collection. O LOVES collecting buttons, and she was thrilled with the buttons that started her collection.

Both of our girls will be receiving pioneer nightgowns for themselves and their dolls for Christmas. I can't wait to see their faces when they open them...I think these nightgowns will probably be their favorite Christmas gifts!


Cherilynn is generously offering a giveaway as a part of this review.

To enter the giveaway, go to Cherilynn's Etsy shop, Ashley's Attic. Come back to Chasing Cheerios and leave a comment telling me which item in her shop is your favorite. The winner will win a beautiful pioneer dress with an apron and bonnet for a little girl (size 6). A winning number will be randomly drawn on Friday, Sept 30, so please leave your comment by then!

Here are few of my favorite things from Ashley's Attic...
this Victorian nightgown is gorgeous! O would LOVE to have this, but I'm pretty sure I'd never get her out of it! This Little House on the Prairie dress is beautiful! I also love this pioneer dress! The wonderful thing about these nightgowns and dresses is that they are heirloom quality. After my girls grow out of them, I plan to save them for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren!

Cherilynn sent pics of the dress for the giveaway AND she's offering a 2nd item for a 2nd winner!!! Here they are...


This dress is a size 6.




This Paul Revere shirt can be made in sizes 4 to 10.


A mob cap and apron


I will choose the 2 winners on Friday, Sept 30.

We LOVE Inchimals!!!

The girls' grandparents gave them a set of Fat Brain Toys Inchimals for Christmas, and we LOVE them!

Here is some information on Inchimals from the Timberdoodle website (LOVE that site!)...


Features 12 Wooden Inchimals Blocks
Dry Erase Marker
100 Puzzles in a Spiral-bound Erasable Book

More Ways to Explore With Inchimals...

Sequence the Inchimal blocks from the shortest to the longest.
Practice counting & learn about numbers as you explore the individual segments, numbers and dots on each Inchimal block
Learn addition and subtraction concepts!
Discuss the animals pictured on the Inchimal blocks and their relative heights/lengths.
Use Inchimals as puppets to invite creative thinking, dialogue, and dramatic play
Stand the Inchimals blocks side by side or stack them neatly on top of one another to promote fine motor control
Introduce vocabulary related to measurement (shorter, taller, longer, height, length, distance, perimeter)
Designed to be used at home, in the classroom or on the go!


Manufacturer's Information
Manufacturer: Fat Brain Toys
Made In: China
Mfg Item #: FA038-1
Recommended Age: 3+

And here is how we like to play with them...

First, we lined the inchimals up from shortest to longest. O(4) pointed out that they look like stairs, and the girls marched around the room and pretended to climb the inchimal stairs.


The girls gathered toys, and we measured them using the Fat Brain Toys Inchimals. We guessed how long they would be before measuring them. We've also had fun measuring our feet, hands, furniture, etc.


O and I took turns making addition problems with the Fat Brain Toys Inchimals. We made and solved 2 digit and 3 digit problems.








O loved writing out the math problems that she created and solved.


We then opened the book to solve some of the problems there.




Here are some other pages from the book.




Fat Brain Toys Inchimals are another product that I really wish I'd had at least 2 years ago (the other one is Montessori at Home). They make learning math SO much fun! I highly recommend them, and we are so appreciative to O and E's grandparents for gifting them with this wonderful resource!

Links to Amazon are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting this blog by buying through the links. Links to Timberdoodle are not affiliate links. Timberdoodle is a wonderful site full of great educational products. If you have not taken a look, you should! I just requested the new catalog, and I can't wait until it gets here!