My family debated on getting some kind of tablet for Christmas for the family to share. Nutty uses them at school, Tottie plays with Grandma's when she visits, and I would love to have one to tote around to blog meetings and conferences instead of hauling around my large laptop. Ultimately, however, we decided that we would spend our money on things for our boat because that's how we spend time together as a family in the summer. As luck would have it, a few weeks ago I fell into contact with a marketing rep from Staples who offered a Nexus 7 32GB Tablet from Google for my family to review. I don't know who was more excited, me or the girls! Our Nexus 7 Tablet arrived from Staples at the perfect time. The girls were heading to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the long weekend which meant that I had time to play with it and set it up before the girls stole it got their hands on it. Set up was a breeze! Since my cell phone runs on the same operating system (Android 4.1 Jelly … [Read more...]
LEGO® Official YouTube Channel PLUS $1000 Giveaway #LEGOChannel
I loved LEGOS® growing up. This past Christmas my girls got a ton of LEGO® Friends and are finally sharing in my love for the tiny little blocks. My girls and I also love watching videos on YouTube. It's fun to see what you can discover on it (with supervision from mom of course!). LEGO® now combines two of our favorite things with their Official LEGO® Channel on YouTube!There are over 500 videos on the Official LEGO® Channel with more being added daily. What's best is that they are all kid-friendly so you can feel ok leaving your children to surf the channel while you look away for a few minutes (i.e. get the dishes or laundry done, or if you're really lucky, close your eyes for a 15 minute nap!).We could have spent hours building a playlist off of this channel. Nutty loved the LEGO® Friends Music Video, Tottie loved any of the LEGO® Monster Fighters videos (yes, she's my little monster lover), and I liked the short little LEGO® City clips. We all liked the videos that fast … [Read more...]
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies–Guest Post
People have become aware that more children nowadays have what is called a gluten intolerance. The National Institutes of Health, Univ. of Chicago Celiac Disease Center reported in 2012 that between 5% and 10% of all people suffer from a gluten sensitivity of some form. Many bakeries have also become aware of the growing need for different options of baked goods and have started providing gluten free alternatives. As parents, chances are that we all have at least one friend of the family who's child has a gluten sensitivity. It is a good idea to have ingredients and a recipe on hand for playdates. Below is a gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe that all kids can enjoy. This recipe makes 3 dozen cookies. Ingredients 3/4 cup softened butter 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract 1/4 cup egg substitute 2 1/4 cups gluten-free baking flour mix 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 12 ounces … [Read more...]
Fisher Price® Moments of Joy Sweepstakes and Giveaway!
What are the moments that bring you joy with your children? Have you captured some of them on camera or video? Do you have a story that will forever be ingrained in your memory? Fisher Price® would like to share those moments with you.They have developed a site called "Moments of Joy" where parents can share the real and candid times of childhood. Playing with Grandma and Grandpa, the first time doing something, caught red-handed getting into trouble...these are moments of childhood joy. I got a sneak peak at the Moments of Joy site and was able to upload a few of my favorite stories and photos from my children. It was so fun to go through old photos and reminisce. It was also a lot of fun to look through other people's photos and videos and to read their stories. What an uplifting site (and a site that makes me realize that, yes, my children are normal!) Now it's time to share your moments of joy! Fisher Price® would love for you to upload pictures, text, and videos that are … [Read more...]
Make Your Thanksgiving Easy with P&G and Katie Lee–Giveaway
Thanksgiving is only one day away are you ready? We've got some last minute tips and products to help your Thanksgiving and the rest of your Holiday season go as smoothly as possible.I had the great privilege of conducting a phone interview with the famous food critic, best selling author, and entertainer Katie Lee last week. It was a fun interview filled with ideas not only for making things easier on yourself during the holiday time, but also for getting your kids involved in the process.Kids can easily help you get ready for your celebrations using P&G products that Katie Lee uses herself!Swiffers are much easier to use than a bucket and mop and kids find them fun! Let them wash the kitchen floor before your guests arrive!Let them help out washing the table cloths and/or the place mats with Tide Pods. Katie said that not many of her friends knew how to do laundry when they moved out of their parents' house. "Teach your kids how to do laundry early!"Let your kids spray … [Read more...]
Operation Christmas Child
"Mom, I want to respect the world.""What do you mean?""I want to help poor people mom."That was a true conversation I had with Nutty just a few days ago. I'm not sure where it came from, but I am so glad she wants to give back, and I had just the thing to help her "respect the world."I discovered Operation Christmas Child a few months ago. It is a non-profit organization that inspires people to pack shoe boxes with Christmas gifts for children in developing countries around the world. Filling a shoe box is the perfect way to teach your children values such as compassion, kindness, and generosity. After telling Nutty and Tottie about the shoe box gifts, and showing them some Operation Christmas Child videos (because they just couldn't quite understand it with a simple explanation), they were all excited about packing their first box! We ran to our local Dollar Store and Target to find some gifts that not only would fit in a shoe box, but also that my girls would love to have for … [Read more...]
