Shake Your Cinnabon-bon

I have a real problem with most snack bars. I'm not saying they're not good, but I find them lacking. Meaning, I want like, two. Or seven.

I have only tried actual Cinnabon cinnamon rolls once in my life and it was after having spent the night in the Kansas City airport and just before boarding a plane for Orlando. I was so tired I vaguely remember the greatness of it. That makes me sad - that I squandered away all that is Cinnabon-y goodness in a sleep-deprived stupor.

Mom Central made new Kellogg's Cinnabon Snack Bars available to try and I figured, "Hey, I'm getting ample sleep these days, why not? Maybe I can actually enjoy these." They came in the mail and I did my usual Happy Mailbox Dance of Joy when Mom Central packages arrive and then I sat the box carefully on the counter and threatened the children TO STAY AWAY FROM THE CINNABON. I'm kinda territorial like that.

The first one I tried (after holding the children at bay with an electric cattle prod) was under extreme hunger duress and all I could concentrate on was getting the package open and the food in my mouth. I kid you not, I am taking no poetic liberties or editorial privilege when I say I put a bite in my mouth, chewed, then literally stopped chewing, closed my eyes and sighed. Seriously. I was not expecting it to be that good. Shame on me for that one.

The crust is light and crumbly, the filling is rich and just the right amount of cinnamon - not too much, not too little - and the icing? Ohhhhhhh baby. It is probably ten kinds of wrong to have this kind of relationship with a snack bar, but if it's wrong I don't want to be right.

In the early morning hours a Cinnabon Snack Bar and a cup of coffee are my little bit of quiet indulgence. Okay, so it's summer and by "early morning hours" I mean, somewhere around 9:30 or 10, but hey, stop picking, you. It's still quiet and I am so indulging. And what I like best is that one is enough. They are rich enough that one makes the hungry go away and 150 calories per bar is, as my pre-teen would say, SUH-WEET. Literally.

You should go get some. Now. And then you should come share them with me - I'm out.

Big thanks to Mom Central for making this blog tour happen!

Moooooooo

I have three kids and only two of them are milk drinkers. Those two will come in from playing outside in the hot 100 degree Oklahoma summer heat and pour a big ol' tall glass of milk and chug away. And considering that my oldest is nearly 13 I am tickled that she still drinks milk with meals and hasn't developed her momma's bad sweet tea habit. That third child, unfortunately, takes after her mother and doesn't much care for milk, so when Mom Central offered the Why Milk? blog tour I jumped at it - especially after they mentioned recipes to help get your family on the dairy train.

The Why Milk? website is absolutely chock full of information. I spent some time analyzing my daily beverages and discovered that by not drinking milk I am really shortchanging myself in the vitamin department, something I guess I'd never really given much thought. I'm not saying I'm going to run in right now and drink a half-gallon of milk straight from the carton, but I am going to make a more conscious effort to include milk in my diet since I'm all like, knockin' on the ripe old age of 40's door and all. Plus, that non-dairy child of mine could use a boost as well....

Which brings me to my next paragraph: RECIPES! I am a sucker for a recipe section of a website and wasn't disappointed in the least by the selection at the Why Milk? site. Sam just got braces and a horrific, medievel-looking torture device known as a Rapid Palate Expander which basically means the little dude is on a pretty squishy diet for the next week or so. We've been trying out smoothie recipes for a week or so and we've all decided that the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup smoothie is DA BOMB and even little Kady No-Milk likes it! And Berry Dairy Dream? Ohhhhhhh yeah. It's my personal favorite. Soup-er Creamy Veggie Soup is on the list for when the weather cools off because here in Oklahoma I think it's state law you can't eat soup when the temperatures outside are this close to boiling.

I think the Why Milk? website is great and am so glad Mom Central partnered up with the Milk Council to bring this blog tour around. I wasn't aware a website about milk could be so informative, to be honest. I worry about my youngest's milk intake and am going to work harder to "sneak" some milk into her diet - thanks to the Why Milk? website I'm armed and ready!

I Wanna Rock! (Beware: the words "awesome" and "rock" are well overused in this post)

This past Christmas my son, Sam, got a dual-guitar Guitar Hero pack for the Wii and since then I have discovered that I am freakin' AWESOME. I mean, most of you already knew I was awesome to begin with, but I AM EVEN AWESOMER NOW because I can hold my own against Slash in a face-off and I can do it in my pajamas. Once, when Mom and Pops were over and Tater and I were duelling, Mom said, "Oh look, honey, Kristin thinks she's playing a real guitar! Isn't she cute?" Well, she was just discovering my awesome-ness, that's all.

All that being said, when MomCentral sent out the call for moms who wanted to review Guitar Hero On Tour for Nintendo DS I was SO. THERE. And since we own more than one Nintendo DS we got TWO - Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades and Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits - to try out. Unfortunately, for them anyway, the two older kids just happened to get their DS's taken away for fighting the morning they came in the mail, so that meant Kady and I had complete reign over the games for two whole days. I probably don't need to tell you how awesome we are and just how much we rocked out.

And before I go further - anything that includes Tenacious D is gold, baby. GOLD.

The games come with a fret adapter that has the colored fret keys like you find on a Guitar Hero guitar. Instead of using a regular ol' boring stylus, Guitar Hero for Nintendo DS comes with a "pick". Oh yes. And it's awesome. You plug the fret adapter into the DS, pop in the game card, grab your pick and proceed to get busy. I like the fact that with two DS's you can use wireless magic to duel. I totally kicked my 7 year old's butt on more than one occasion. I also managed to kick her butt while she was in the 3rd row seat of the van and I was rockin' it in the front seat. (No, I wasn't driving. Her daddy was driving, pretending he didn't know the strange woman sitting next to him strumming like a madwoman.) The wireless option is also convenient when the kids are fighting, but don't want to play themselves - they can sit in their own rooms and kick their siblings' rear end without having to look at them. Hey, it's summer and I'm a stay-at-home mom. I will take relief and peace however I can get it.

The only thing I found that was not 100% awesome about the game is that if you tend to get a little uhm....into your game the adapter has a tendency to slip out, causing the screens to go black and thus causing you to shriek and scream and force yourself to hold back tears. Or maybe that's just me with the tears.... I read in another review that she had the same problem until she just quit using the strap that holds your hand securely to the adapter. I haven't tried not using the strap yet, but logically it seems that that might work.

I think the games are great. Sam had been wanting to get one for awhile and I was leary about it, not sure how playing guitar on a hand-held game would work, but after trying Guitar Hero On Tour for Nintendo DS, I can say that it really does, indeed, rock. Literally.

Many, many thanks to MomCentral for hookin' me and my kiddos up with two games to try!