Skinny is yummy

I am not a big ice cream fan, but I have a tween who loves ice cream more than she loves shoes and that is a LOT. (When I told her that I had been chosen to be a part of the Skinny Cow blog tour from MomCentral the child did a cartwheel. Seriously.) Now, please don't misunderstand me - I may not be a big fan of ice cream in general but don't you dare deny me access to ice cream sandwiches when I get a hankerin' for one. Just don't.

My sister actually discovered Skinny Cows when she started Weight Watchers several years ago because the chocolate and vanilla ice cream sandwiches are have 2 Points apiece. The woman had a deep, meaningful relationship with Skinny Cows that year. I was skeptical about them because, well, let's just be honest: Sometimes low-fat food doesn't taste all that great. Either it's got a funky whang to it or it's devoid of all flavor. That is not the case with Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. I really do like them! They don't taste any different than regular ice cream sandwiches in my opinion. Each sandwich has 140 calories and 2 grams fat - in my mind it's guilt-free indulgence! The diet experts say you have to treat yourself occasionally - Skinny Cow products allow you to treat yourself AND stay on track!

It's heating up here in Oklahoma and let me tell ya, trying to find your favorite flavor of ice cream is difficult, so the day we took the coupons to Walmart the only flavor ice cream sandwich available was vanilla. No worries. I hadn't backed my van out of the parking space before the kids had already broken into a package and were scarfing them down. They seemed satisfied. Now, because I am a mother I have learned that keeping my mouth shut is essential when it comes to food and children. I waited until the last drip of ice cream was licked from the last finger before I asked the kids how they liked their low-fat treats. A few seconds of silence ensued while they decided if they still liked what they had just devoured or if they were going to get all weird about it. The unanimous decision was WHO CARES.

We managed to demolish the two packages in a matter of about 28.3 hours and today when we got about halfway home from grocery shopping Sam whined, "Mom! We forgot the Skinny Cows!" So we'll be making another quick trip into Walmart to pick up more this evening.

Thanks to Skinny Cow for making watching our weight a little easier and tastier!

And thanks to MomCentral for the opportunity to try out the treats!

Ragu to you, too!

From the time my kids were little their favorite thing to eat has been spaghetti. It used to drive my mom crazy that I'd just dump their spaghetti on their highchair tray and let 'em go at it - she said they would grow up to be savages. I'm happy to report, though, that none of them wear loincloths and they all three know how to use a fork. Savages, HA! I just taught them how to really enjoy their food.

And speaking of enjoying food, when MomCentral sent out the call for volunteers to try out Ragu's two newest flavors - Sweet Tomato Basil and Margherita - I put down my loincloth and signed right up. The store was out the first time I tried to buy them and then here in northeast Oklahoma we had to start drawing up a blueprint for an ark and lining up the animals in pairs, so I've been behind schedule on trying them out and then posting about them, but I'm happy to report I'm back in the saddle again and we have scrapped our ark-building plans.

Let me just be completely honest when I say that normally I buy the cheap spaghetti sauce and then doctor it up to make it taste good. I probably spend more in spices than I would to just buy Ragu, but I'm rather daft that way sometimes. It was so refreshing to make spaghetti and not have to do anything more than pour in the sauce and serve it. We opted to use the Margherita on our spaghetti and then we sampled the Sweet Tomato Basil with some cheese bread. The kids loved the Margherita and I've gotta say, it was my favorite, too. It was rich and thick and everyone had seconds. I froze the remainder of the Sweet Tomato Basil to use the next time I make my Party Pasta Bowl. The Ragu website also has recipe suggestions and meal planning ideas to help us busy ark-building mothers.

And even though my children may be borderline savages, they had over a full serving of veggies every time they ate a serving of Ragu the other night. That made me happy since only one of them is a vegetable lover - the other are very anti-veggie. Savages, indeed.

Thanks to Ragu for making something as simple as pasta sauce healthier for my crew and thanks to MomCentral for making this blog tour available!

And now I'm off to herd those dang animals back to the wild....

Mildew - EW

MomCentral sent out the email for the X-14 Mold & Mildew Stain Remover blog tour just about the time that I had waged war on the mildew stains in my two showers.

The main bathroom is a veritable Woodstock for mildew with a propensity to party hardy because there is no window, no ventilation. Like, peace, love and mildew, man. In other words, it's disgusting.

Abby's bathroom is Mildew Central because well, she's 12. She is the child that just last week found a petrified piece of popcorn chicken in her dresser drawer and thought it was hilarious that I freaked out. All I can say is, I hope she either does a whole lot of changing before she becomes an adult or that her husband is a very tolerant person who enjoys cleaning.

When I finished doing the Happy Mailbox Dance (packages from MomCentral always induce the dance) I waged war on the mildew in my bathrooms.

I had just attacked the week earlier with another major name brand bleach-based cleaner with very poor results. Oh sure, the stains faded some, but I wanted them GONE. To be honest, I was skeptical that X-14 could do any better - HOWEVER, X-14 Mold & Mildew Stain Remover has a bleach level that is generally 60% higher than similar products on the market. And let me tell you something:

The mildew is gone. As in GONE. No more. And I'm incredibly impressed at how they are staying gone. The packaging boasts that surfaces will stay stain-free for up to two weeks. So far, I have yet to see the stains come back. The mildew hippies must've known how mad I was. Now, be warned, the higher level of bleach in X-14 Mold & Mildew Stain Remover means that the smell of bleach is well, about 60% stronger (if I were a betting woman). I highly recommend using fans and open windows when using it.

All in all, I'm giving it two very non-mildewy thumbs up. Thanks to MomCentral for making my bathrooms happier places!

Twisty - a review

MomCentral once again made a super blog tour available to us reviewers - Eggo Bake Shop Twists. When I was telling my cousin Courtney about getting ready to review two of the flavors she said, "It's from Eggo so it's bound to be good." She was right.

I was sent coupons for two free boxes, one strawberry and one apple. I made one of each flavor, cut them into pieces and then set the plate in the middle of the floor and backed away slowly as my family jumped on it like a bunch of hungry wolverines. Pastry in my house is always cause for excitement.

Sam declined to particpate in the review seeing as how he's insanely picky and completely unopen to trying new things, but of the four of us wolverines who partook, the general consensus is that the strawberry is the best. I personally prefer the apple, so YAY the remaining three in the package of apple flavor are all mine.

The pastry is fluffy and rich, the filling is just the right amount and it doesn't get much easier than 25 seconds in the microwave. I do think that $2 for a package of four is a little more indulgent than I tend to get for breakfast pastry, so I'll probably just hide the next package I buy in the back of the freezer and break 'em out after the kids go to school. They can continue eating generic cereal like always. I'm giving like that.

Big thanks to MomCentral for the coupons and the opportunity to try Eggo Bake Shop Twists!

Pain-free and Germ-free - my two favorite frees!

When MomCentral sent out the email for the NEOSPORIN® blog tour, this interesting fact was included: 40% of homes have an expired topical antibiotic in the medicine cabinet. Reading this prompted me to immediately go to the medicine cabinet and check.

My NEOSPORIN® expired in 2006. The tube in the first aid kit in the van? Expired in 2004.

Yes. I am serious.

Of course, I internally wrestled with the decision - throw it out now or wait for my free samples to arrive in the mail? I mean, what if all three kids suddenly had bike wrecks that afternoon and needed wound care? Then I realized, if the tube I had in my hand had expired in 2006 it probably wasn't going to do anyone much good anyway, so I tossed it.

A few days later my brand new, totally not expired samples came in the mail and I was ready to take on splinters, bike wrecks, skinned knees and any other minor cut, scrape or bump that might occur. The box of samples from MomCentral and Johnson's included a tube each of NEOSPORIN® + Pain Relief Ointment and Cream AND a handy dandy NEO TO GO!® First Aid Antiseptic/Pain Relieving Spray. At the risk of sounding WAY too excited about a pain relieving/antiseptic product, I am going to say this - THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! I mean, everyone knows that NEOSPORIN® is the best way to prevent infection in minor cuts and scrapes but the + pain relief is a total bonus, especially for minor burns.

Last Saturday Kady went to a birthday party at a gym for kids that beheld seven - yes SEVEN - gigantic blow-up bouncy things on which the children bounced and bounced and bounced and bounced....you get it, right? Well, in addition to the bouncing, there was also friction burning. Kady came running to me with tears in her eyes, holding her arm out going, "IT BURNS! OWOWOWOWOWOWOWWWWW!" My initial thought was to get a wet paper towel for her to hold on it, but then I remembered my NEO TO GO!® I whipped it out of my purse, sprayed her arm and sent her on her way. I sprayed her four more times before we left the gym and every time she was instantly soothed. This past week we went on vacation and Paul got a splinter in his hand at the zoo. After I pulled out the splinter I sprayed it with my NEO TO GO!® Oh, and Sam's hangnail? Yeah, I sprayed it, too.

I am unstoppable.

I am the keeper away-er of pain and germs.

I am Mom.

I have NEOSPORIN® and I'm not afraid to use it.

I challenge you, dear readers, to go to your medicine cabinet right now and check your tubes of NEOSPORIN®. If they are expired, TOSS THEM and go buy some new tubes along with a NEO TO GO!® for your purse. Then you, too, can be the unstoppable keeper away-er of pain and germs. We could even get capes.

Thanks to Johnson's and MomCentral for the samples and the wake-up call to check my medicine cabinet!

Mmmmmm fresh!

We have three kids and we live in the country, plus there are always extra kids running in and out of our house at any given time. Friday I think there were 8 of the little hooligans in my yard and in the house. I say "I think" because really, with that many why bother to keep count?

Needless to say, my carpet is in need of a pick-me-up from time to time; maybe more often than I need one. When MomCentral sent out the call for people to test and review Carpet Fresh Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator I couldn't wait to jump on the chance. The first time I used it I sprayed it on the living room and entryway carpet just before I went to bed on a night Paul was working until midnight. He woke me up to ask why the house smelled so good. Now, I could take it that our house is normally stinky, but I prefer to just take it that he admired my mad housekeeping skills and actually noticed I'd done something. Yeah.

The sample I received from MomCentral is the Morning Rain scent and it's a nice spring-y scent, not too overwhelming and very clean-smelling. I will be buying more because I think I may have developed an addiction. It's a quick-dry foam, a feature I love because with an 8 month old sitting, laying, scooting and otherwise drooling on my floor 5 days out of the week I don't have time to sit and hold him for a couple of hours while some smell-good stuff dries on my carpet. In fact, I was amazed at how quickly it dries! It says you can "Just spray and walk away!" and really? You can! I don't always have time to vacuum, but I do have a few extra seconds (occasionally) to spray my carpet and give my house a little burst of fragrance.

Make sure you check out the website, investigate the fragrances and then download a coupon for your very own can of Carpet Fresh Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator!

Thanks for MomCentral for making this blog tour available and sending out a sample!

Wow! Wow! Winner!

Because I had a whopping TWO entries in the last drawing I will give away TWO copies of the Wubbzy! DVD. One is missing the shrink-wrap because we watched it to review it, but hey, as long as you're not picky, it's yours. I already emailed Blondie, but Brenda S., I need you to zip me an email with your mailing address and I'll zip you off a copy of the DVD, too!

Congrats to you both and thanks for being such a great - albeit small - audience!

Wow! Wow! Review-zy! And give-zy!

Being a stay-at-home mom for over 12 years now I have become acquainted with my share of children's programming. My kids are getting older now and they're a bit harder to entertain. I'll be honest, when I got the email that I was chosen to be part of the Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! blog tour for MomCentral I was probably more excited than most 36 year olds should be. Really, the baby just loves Nick Jr. Really. The baby. *cough* But I knew that the real test would be getting the bigger kids excited. Instantly, the 12 year old opted out. Hey, that's understandable what with all the angst and drama coming from her very core of existence. When the DVDs came in the mail I did the happy mailbox dance. Again. (MomCentral just does that to me.)


Then we got the flu. No one felt like doing anything other than whining about being alive in such a pitiful state. Wubbzy was, for a time, forgotten. *cue sad abandonment music*


But today Nonner and I decided to put the DVD for some uninterrupted viewing time. Okay, really the 8 month old had nothing to do with the decision... Anyway, he loved it. And y'all? So did I. I couldn't help but sing along and man, did I suddenly feel the urge to play some kickity kick ball.

We were into the second episode on the DVD when the five school kids got off the bus. I held my breath to see if the living room would be empty after they devoured their snacks. Of course, the 12 year old took her Froot by the Foot and headed for her room, but the other four were hooked.
The 7 year old was singing along and dancing and Sam, who is 10, said, "Hey, this is really pretty good. Ya know...for a kid show." (He gave it a hearty 8 out of 10, which I thought was pretty good from a 4th grade dude.)


A Little Help From My Friends is the title of the DVD, which features six episodes involving Wubbzy and his friends that cover social skills such as getting along with others, confidence, learning to accept help, teamwork and of course, friendship. The songs are catchy and I just really was impressed with how much was on the DVD. Also, be sure to check out the website for games and activities and more information the show itself, which airs on Nick Jr. and Noggin. There's also a "Wubblog" - can it get any better?


Actually, yes it can - because the kind folks at MomCentral sent me an extra copy to give away! All you have to do to enter to win A Little Help From My Friends is leave a comment. I'm not even gonna make you jump through a hoop and answer a question (it's the germs - they've softened my hard heart). However, make sure you leave a way for me to get hold of you if the accounting firm of Diva and Associates chooses you to be the lucky winner of this Wubbalicious DVD! Tell your friends! Link to this post and get an extra entry - just make sure you leave me the link. Comments and the contest will close Monday, February 23rd and I'll announce the winner that afternoon.


Thanks for MomCentral for the DVDs and this great blog tour!

Staying Safe

Like my momma always said: You can never be too careful. Actually I don't remember my momma saying that an awful lot, but that's beside the point. It's still good advice.

And now that I'm a momma myself and I have three school-age kids who are pretty net-savvy I find myself saying and thinking that phrase pretty often. We have a computer that is pretty much set up just for the kids. They are monitored on it and can only go to sites approved by me. But still....they need to be armed with information that they'll use even when I'm not around. Because their friends have computers, too and strangely, I'm not invited to slumber parties anymore. They're so closed-minded that way.

At Abby's high school in recent weeks a group of girls got in major trouble with the DA and even the FBI when their hate page on the web went too far. Kids need to know that behavior like that is cyber-bullying and not acceptable. Back when I was a kid the only bullying we dealt with was the big kids in the back of the bus or the occasional mean girl in the locker room. Now kids are getting threatened and embarrassed and brutalized online as well - online where we parents aren't necessarily watching over them all the time.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has set up a website to educate tweens and teens on internet safety. NSTeens is just for teens and tweens with comics and videos to watch about keeping themselves safe, what to do about cyberbullying and how much information is too much to share online. The characters in the videos and comics have bios that let them seem more real and personal to kids. Abby, my tween, declared it "cool". Do you really need more of an endorsement than that?

Thanks, MomCentral, for letting us know about this informative website!

C is for Cookie

Those of you who have read my other blog for awhile know that I used to be a Girl Scout leader back in the day. When Abby was a 2nd grader and on up to 5th grade we met every Tuesday and talked badges and manners and crafts and community service and most importantly, once a year we sold .....

COOKIES!

I was a Girl Scout from 1st grade up until I was a Sophomore so I did my share of cookie-selling as a kid and then managed and organized and watched helplessly as my house turned into a Keebler tree gone wrong as an adult. But man, it was worth it. The girls learned networking skills and I was bound and determined that my daughter would learn to count back change just like my momma taught me when I was a mere 4th grader.

While we're no longer involved in Girl Scouts, I do wholeheartedly believe in the organization and what it does to empower and strengthen the women of the future - our daughters.

That being said, The Oklahoma College Savings Plan website is running a campaign allowing Oklahomans everywhere to vote for their favorite Girl Scout cookie flavor.

(Don't tell the Samoas, but I voted for the Tagalongs. I couldn't help it. The power of peanut butter is strong with that one.)

When you get to the ballot page you can read "speeches" by each cookie, extolling their very own virtues and why they deserve to be Oklahoma's Favorite Cookie.

In a recent press release Oklahoma State Treasurer, Scott Meacham, says,

"Oklahomans have until March 31, 2009 to cast their vote on the Oklahoma CollegeSavings Plan website. The winning cookie will be announced on early April in a ceremony at the State Capital and the Girl Scout who sells the most cookies in Oklahoma will win $1,000 towards an Oklahoma College Savings Plan. The sales contest ends on March 31, 2009."

So not only will a cookie forever claim bragging rights to being da bomb, but a Girl Scout gets money for college! Everyone's a winner.

Check out the Oklahoma College Savings Plan website and cast your vote for Tagalongs your favorite cookie today!

Clean is Green!

When MomCentral sent out the email for this blog tour I couldn't click the sign-up link quick enough. I have recently started using GreenWorks products here at the house and wanted to tell everyone about them!

I am a wee bit OCD, ya know, and loves me some cleaning products. I recently bought the GreenWorks glass and surface cleaner and fell in love with it. So naturally (Get it? Naturally?)the next thing would be to get MORE GreenWorks products. I bought a canister of the wipes and oh goodness gracious the cleaning I did that day! The wipes are strong and they get sticky Koolade drips off the kitche counter and hairspray buildup on the bathroom vanity and the gunk from the inside of the microwave and they basically kick butt and take names.

The only thing I would change about the wipes would be to make them disinfecting as well, but whaddaya know - the website says they are working on that! Leave it to Clorox to come up with a product that is effective and good for the environment! And well on its way to KILLING GERMS. They have MY vote!

Thanks for Clorox for not disapointing and thanks for MomCentral for making this tour available!

Drugs.com

Any time my kids go spend the night with Tater or my mom they both sigh when I pull out the gallon size ziplock bag full of my kids' medications. I can't help it that one has chronic allergies, one has asthma and the other has GERD! That's the way God made 'em, is how I look at it.

That being said, the site Drugs.com is my new best friend. It's an informative website chock full of prescription and over-the-counter medication information - even herbal supplements. There's a "pill-finder" feature where you can browse by pill color and shape, you know, in the event you find a rogue pill somewhere in the house and need to identify it. There's also useful medical information and news as well.

The best part of the site, however, is MedNotes. It's a great way to keep all my kids' medication information in one place and it's also helpful in researching medications. You can list all current medications and their dosages, past medications, conditions and allergies and the thing I liked the best - you can print a pocket-sized report of all medications, allergies and conditions for each person listed. Kady's the asthmatic and I printed off her report and stuck it in her backpack with her inhaler so if, God forbid, she ever has an attack at school and her very understanding and aware teacher isn't available, whoever is close can look at that report and see what she needs and what's going on.

The site will also email me when the FDA issues a statement or warning about any of the meds the kids take. To me, this is just peace of mind.

Thanks to MomCentral for turning me onto this website!

Baby R'Minder

When I started this review site it was mainly to keep track of my Mom Central reviews, but I also wanted to be able to review products, movies, books and anything else on my own as well. Occasionally a product comes along that really makes sense and it's even more awesome when that product is the creation of a family member. I'm proud to let y'all know about this product, the Baby R'minder.

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We are a busy society. We are probably too busy for our own goods. I know I personally meet myself coming and going on a regular basis. My kids are all vocal, verbal and frankly, they never hush while we're in the car because they are in grade school and middle school and are therefore obnoxiously all up in my business, but what about a baby? Babies are most usually lulled to sleep by the rocking motion of the car. Infants in rear-facing car seats become almost invisible once they drift off to sleep - they are silent and not in your direct line of view. So, while we don't think it will ever happen to us, it's easy to see how sometimes babies are forgotten in cars.

We've all heard the tragic stories of busy moms and dads who have forgotten to drop their child off at the sitter or have forgotten them in the car while they go into a store. Statistics show that because of front seat airbags, the incidence of child death due to hyperthermia (body temperature getting too high) has risen dramatically. Children and infants aren't placed in the front seat anymore and because of that they are at a greater risk of being accidentally left in the car.

I babysit my cousin's baby and the first day she brought Nonner in with the Baby R'minder on his carseat I wasn't sure what to think, but what she said makes sense - if you have a visual, tactile, solid reminder of your baby the chances of a tragedy like leaving them in the car decreases. The Baby R'minder hooks at one end to the child's carseat and at the other end to your keys, tethering you to your child and giving you a visual reminder of them even if you can't see their adorable little face. When your keys come out of the ignition the strap connected to the carseat reminds you that your precious cargo is in the backseat.



The Baby R'minder comes in your choice of colors and the length is adjustable. We've used it in a Chevy HHR, a Dodge Ram pickup, a Chevy Impala and a Dodge Caravan - we've run the gambit as far as vehicle sizes and have never had any problems with running out of length.






The Baby R'minder sells for $14.95 with free shipping. I've done some looking around online and I haven't found another similar product as versatile and affordable as this one. And I'm really not just saying that because my Aunt Janet came up with this product - I found a carseat alarm/reminder system online for $275, but if you have an infant you probably don't have $275 just lying around the house. (And if you do, please let me know your secret.)

If you are interested in purchasing a Baby R'minder or would just like more information email me and we'll do our best to answer your questions and take care of your order. theredneckdiva[at] gmail [dot] com) Eventually we'll get a shop set up on Etsy.com, so be on the lookout for that because, of course, I'll announce it on here!

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None of the parents that have accidentally left a child in a car are bad parents and like my aunt, the inventor of Baby R'minder said, "People who aren't busy probably don't need one of these." You know as well as I do, though, that we're all busy. And we all could use a gentle r'minder.

Plum Crazy

The other day as my aunt and cousin were getting ready to leave my house my aunt asked if I had ever read a Janet Evanovich book. As she held Foul Play out to me I said, "Oh that reminds me - the other day I got an email from Janet Evanovich's 'blog monkey' declaring me to be one of their favorite blogs." It was at that point my Aunt Janet's jaw hit the ground and my Cousin Courtney jumped from her car. Aunt Janet nearly screamed, "YOU GOT AN EMAIL FROM JANET EVANOVICH???" I clarified: "No. Her blog monkey."

I hear blog monkeys can be very flattering - this one had me at "one of our favorites."

After much fast talking from them both I took the book so I could partake of the reading wonderful-ness they were both gushing about rather excitedly in my front yard. I'm halfway through Twilight right now, but with all the snow days we're forecasted to get this week I figure I'll start Foul Play tonight. And no, up to this point in my life, I have never read a Janet Evanovich book, even though my friend Trishia has been trying to get me to for years. I know. I should probably be flogged or something.

The newest book in the Stephanie Plum series coming out January 6th is Plum Spooky. While you wait for January 6th, have a gander at this Preview of a New and Exciting Book/Holiday Greeting YouTube from Ms. Evanovich herself. (Or maybe her blog monkey. Or blog rhinocerous since the blog monkey takes care of emailing. Just a thought.)

And the winners are.....

I apologize for not posting the winners last night. I'll be real honest with ya when I say that I was literally asleep here on the couch, laptop on my lap, chin on my chest, by 8:30. Yeah, I'm that much of a party animal.

So without further ado, the winners - picked by Random Number Generator - of the Norton PC Tune-ups are:

1. Lori
2. "Aunt Janet"
3. Wanda

Congrats ladies! Stop back by the comments section to see what they have to say about their tune-ups!

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The winners for the Clorox2 coupons - also picked by Randon Number Generator - are:

1. Tiff
2. Nancy
3. Courtney

I don't have blog links or emails for these winners of soon-to-be happy laundry, so Tiff, Nancy and Courtney, email me your address and I'll send them your way!

Dare to be Colorful!

I have three kids, therefore I have laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. And because most of that laundry is generated by children I have dirty laundry. All three of my kids were spitters when they were babies, but when Abby was a baby my mom found me one day crying over her pretty pink bibs and how stained they were. She promptly went to Walmart and brought me my first box of Clorox2 and folks, my laundry hasn't been the same since. There are a lot of things I buy store brand, but when it comes to my laundry it's Clorox all the way. There is simply no substitute to make your laundry the happiest it can be.

I put a cap of Clorox2 in all of my light-colored loads, the dark ones if they're really dirty, and in my towels where I can't use regular bleach. I've literally been a user of Clorox2 for 12 years, so when MomCentral announced a blog tour and free coupons for it I nearly broke my toe on my washing machine trying to get in on it. Clorox2 has a new formula that is not only a non-chlorine bleach but also a color booster. Basically that means YAY! Happy laundry for everyone!

Tough stains? Ones that slipped by you in the wash and you don't dare dry them and set in the stain? No problem - soak the stain in Clorox2, then re-wash and voila! Again with the happy laundry! This is a product that I could go on and on even if MomCentral hadn't given me a coupon for a free bottle AND coupons for four of my readers. Yep, COUPONS! The economy's takin' a dive, but people, we're all gonna have awesomely happy laundry - four of you are gonna have that happy laundry for FREE!

Leave a comment telling me the worst stain you've ever had to get out of your laundry and you're automaticaly entered to win a coupon of your very own. Giveaway is open until this Friday. Tell your friends!

Big thanks to MomCentral!

A Review and the Giveaway

Once again MomCentral has made a product available for reviewers to check out and tell the universe what they think. Even though my laptop is only a year and a half old, I jumped on the opportunity to be a part of the Norton PC Tune-up blog tour because hey, we all want our computers to run even better, right? At least, I don't think it's just a geeky thing that only I get excited about....

Today we had absolutely nothing going on around the house (except for some serious Laser Tag between my son and husband) so I grabbed the phone and called the toll-free number. I was immediately connected with Peter who was obviously Canadian and every single time he said "aboot" instead of "about" I giggled with glee. The info included with the promo code said the service takes about 30 minutes. Whether it was due to my slow internet connection or El Nino or the fact that Venus is in retrograde, the whole conversation, start to finish, took just right under 55 minutes. Not that it bothered me (Frankly, I was enjoying everything aboot it) but I'm just saying it did take a bit longer than I anticipated.

He took remote control of my computer, but didn't warn me before he did it. I knew he was going to because I had read a few other blog tour particpant reviews, so I was expecting it, but to someone completely clueless that might a little disconcerting. While he was zooming my cursor all over the place he proceded to show me the inner workings of my blessed laptop. I have geeky aspirations, so any time I get to see someone tweak around on a computer I nearly get light-headed. (My dad and brother run and hide when they see me coming because they know I'm going to ask them if I can sit at their knee and watch them work.) Peter the Canadian showed me the unnecessary files that were bogging down my computer, showed me how to create a new recovery point, suggested I add some RAM sometime soon, explained why he was doing everything and making sure I was okay with it before he did it. He was just generally professional, humorous and courteous. I think the $69.99 price is a little steep for the service, even though I think it truly is a neat service. However, he explained everything he did so well I can now do it on my own as I need to in the future. That's worth a lot, but I'm not sure it's worth $70.

That all being said, because MomCentral is so gracious and giving right here at the holidays, three of you are going to get to try out the Norton PC Tune-up service FOR FREE! Free is always a good thing, right?

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here, telling me what kind of computer you have. Easy as pie, right? (Actually, I find making pies time-consuming and messy, but that's just me...)

If you shout me out on your blog, linking to the link here on my review site, I'll give you another entry - just leave the link in the comments so I can check it out. (Jesus knows if you're lying and so will I.)

The contest is open until Wednesday, December 3rd at 7ish PM.

Gimme a boost, wouldja?

I have two kids still in booster seats, so when MomCentral announced a blog tour for a device that makes boosters not so wobbly and unstable, I nearly broke my "reply" button trying to get included in the tour. I was tickled beyond belief when they announced that everyone who responded got to be a part!

Enter SeatSnug.

If you have kids in boosters you know how they seem to sliiiiiiide toward the front edge of the car's seat or how they somehow always manage to be off-kilter. We drive a Dodge Caravan with bucket seats in the middle row and oh, how those bucket seats hate my kids' boosters. There are honestly some days I wonder if them just sitting in the seat would be safer. Check out the SeatSnug website and watch the video of the test done at parking lot speed and ... oh heck, you probably see that every day in your rearview mirror if you've got a child in a booster seat. I know a booster puts them up where they need to be, but it doesn't keep them there very well at all.

Before I go further I need to say that installation was very easy. I put it on while standing on my driveway in my pj's and sock monkey slippers in 40 degree November weather and it only took about 5 minutes. My fingers weren't even numb by the time I finished. (In Oklahoma that is a feat sometimes.)

Kady's booster so longer slips, slides and aways; it stays exactly where I want it to stay - right under her hiney. No tipping, no wobbling, no more me having a panic attack when I look in the rearview and see her seatbelt across her neck because her booster has slid out from under her. It's also easy to turn off when you have a non-booster-using person in that seat. A simple push of the tab either way, to turn it off or on, and it's done.

A big thank you to the makers of SeatSnug for giving parents a product to keep our kids safer and big thanks to MomCentral for making it available to review. Be sure to check out both websites!

Barbie, sparkles and snugglin' with my kids

With the excitement of Halloween and various other things that get in the way - namely LIFE - the kids and I just had the opportunity to sit down tonight and snuggle up to watch our newest DVD, Barbie and the Diamond Castle. MomCentral gave me the opportunity to watch and review the movie and let me tell ya, Kady has been in near fits since the day we got it in the mail (you know I've mentioned doing crazy, joyous dances when the UPS man brings me my happy boxes - Kady is as excitable as her momma, obviously).

Barbie and the Diamond Castle is the latest in the ultra-cool, amazing CGI-animated, let a little girl's imagination go wild videos. Now, Abby is 12 and SO above watching a Barbie video, but Kady is the prime age for Barbie-watching. From the minute it started, that baby was glued to the set and when she'd catch me checking email or answering a text on my phone she'd whisper "Momma! You've got to LOOK! At the TV!" Toward the end, when the two heroines find the diamond castle their dresses turn into fancy, sparkly gowns I'm telling you, the child literally gasped.

The story is about two best friends, Liana and Alexa (played by Barbie and Teresa) who don't have much in the way of posessions or money, but their friendship is more than enough to see them through. Because of her kindness to a stranger, Liana comes to own an enchanted mirror which is actually the unfortunate home to a displaced muse, Melody. Of course, there's plenty of adventure as they search for the Diamond Castle and a way to release Melody. Lydia is a perfect villainness, along with her bumbling-but-eager flying serpent, Slyder. And along the way the girls meet up with a set of guy twins ( when they were transformed into their sparkly outfits at the end, Kady looked at me and said, "Hubba hubba!") and a pair of cute puppies that also get sparkly at the end of the movie. Sparkly is always good at this house.

I actually enjoyed watching this one, whereas some of the earlier Barbie movies have been a little hard to watch for me. Kady loves them all, of course, but she seemed to be way more engaged in this one. Sam also watched it with us ("Because I, ya know, want to give you a man's perspective, Mom") and he laughed when it was funny and declared it to be "not as yucky as some of Kady's DVDs" so I think all in all, Barbie and the Diamond Castle gets six thumbs up from the Diva family!

Christmas is coming - if you've got a Barbie fan in your family I think this one is a winner. Check out the official Barbie and the Diamond Castle website.

And don't forget to check out MomCentral!

Sniffle Sniffle Sneeze: A Review

The awesome folks at MomCentral offered up a blog tour awhile back for Clorox Anywhere Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray and let me tell ya, I jumped on it. Sam is a constant sniffler and Kady has asthma. Both are on daily medication for their allergies and as a teen, I took allergy shots. Yeah, we're just a big ol' allergic, snotty family.

The day I got my bottle in the mail, after I finished doing a happy dance (as I always do when I'm chosen for a blog tour and I get goodies in the mail) I took off on a fit of spraying throughout my entire house. I sprayed beds, stuffed animals, carpets, furniture and if Paul would've held still long enough I'd have sprayed him, too. It smells great and what's better - Sam's not sniffling as much!

Here's how it works: The formula works by changing the structure of allergen proteins, rendering them inactive. Seriously? I don't know how much more awesome this stuff can get. Well, if it produced money every time I sprayed it and magically removed the dust from the ceiling fans AND kept my kids from fighting it would obviously be more awesome, but well, ya know...the folks at Clorox are wonderful, but not magicians.

Clorox Anywhere Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray neutralizes up to 90% of allergens (dust mite matter and pet dander) on fabrics. While we don't have any pets in our house we have LOADS of dust and I'm sure, dust mites. Iew. Why do I feel like I need a shower now?

Check out Clorox Anywhere Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray if you're a family of snotty snifflers!


And also check out MomCentral!