Winner!!

The winner of my Win and Give with Betty Crocker and One Laptop per Child giveaway was comment #7

mverno said...
we take out grown clothing to the salvation army its a great learning experience for the children

Winner has been contacted and has 48 hours to respond. Thanks to all who entered! Keep you eyes out for my week long Earth Day event coming in April!

Lands' End Harbour Island Twitter Event

Lands End and the Bahamas??? I will be there how about you???

Join Lands' End and representatives from the Islands Of The Bahamas and iexplore.com for a Twitter Event to celebrate the Lands' End's Bahamas Adventure to Harbour Island promotion at The Hub www.landsend.com/thehub. The site features engaging content focusing on travel through the summer as well as the chance to win a trip for four to the pink-sand beaches of Harbour Island.

Be a part of this exciting Twitter Event and tweet with representatives from Lands' End, the Islands Of The Bahamas and iexplore.com. The event will feature more than 25 fun giveaways ranging from Lands' End luggage, beach towels, travel kits, beach bags and gift cards.

Lands' End Harbour Island Twitter
EventDate: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CSTLocation:
#landsend Join the fun and follow:@LEprMichele, @LEprMolly, @LEprLibby, @VisitTheBahamas, @iexplore and @iexplore_Amanda

See you at 7:00 PM my time!! Oh that is CST!!!

Their almost here.....

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alvin and the Chipmunks. All opinions are 100% mine.

Guess what movie is coming out on March 30, 2010 on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download? Any guesses? Well...seeing as I hate to play the guessing game AND it is mentioned up above I will tell you...."Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel". It is going to be available on Double DVD Pack that includes "The Squeak Along" Bonus Disc, with more music, mayhem and all-new singalongs! It's TWICE THE FUN for the PRICE OF ONE! I know my youngest will be so excited he thinks he is one of the Chipmunks and at times tries to talk like them, cracks me up. This would make a GREAT Easter Basket item instead of the traditional candy!

I adore Alvin and the Chipmunks, I always have! They were one of my favorite cartoons to watch as a child and I watched them religiously. I have to admit I avoided seeing the first movie a few years back. I have issues with old things being made into new movies HOWEVER when I did break down and watch it with the kids, I laughed so hard... I LOVED IT! I am very much looking forward to seeing this one and know my boys are as well. EVERY TIME the commercial comes on I am told "we need to get that movie mom" I love how my children are able to enjoy the Chipmunks as much as I did as a child and just like the first I know this will be just as awesome!

Guess what?? You can Munk yourself HERE, I did it and my youngest laughed so hard I thought he was going to pass out from not breathing!

You can checkout more fun stuff at More Munk Mayhem , the Chipmunks web site. Interested in purchasing your own copy when it hits the shelves? Visit here to buy it now

Leapfrog helped us celebrate National Math Day!

Did you know this past Sunday, March 14th was National Math Day? No? Don't feel bad either did I, but Leap Frog did and to celebrate they sent us a copy of their newly released DVD Leapfrog: Math Adventure to the Moon. Math is one of if not the most important subject that is taught in schools. I remember saying "Why do I have to take Algebra? I'll never use it" Boy was I wrong, i use it almost everyday in my job. We are huge fans of Leapfrog and have been since our oldest was born. We own many Leapfrog toys and DVD's and this DVD lives up to Leapfrogs reputation as brand parents and educator trust. Were you aware that Leapfrog has over 120 million educational platforms, books and games, something for every child!

My youngest loves anything to do with outer space and math so he was excited when I showed him the DVD, both in one DVD. He enjoyed it but I feel he might be a little advanced for it as he is doing 2nd grade math in Kindergarten! It did capture his attention and he did interact with it, which was funny as he was yelling at the TV. I wanted to video him but batteries were dead in my video camera! Another moment missed because of my lack of planning.

Movie Synopsis:

Join Tad and Lily as they blast off on an exciting educational adventure! Tad and Lily need the perfect collection of things to take to school for their math assignment. When they finally decide on moon rocks, there’s just one problem — how will they get them? With some magical help from their firefly friend, Edison, they board a rocket ship to start their quest. Soon the twins learn that math is everywhere, even in outer space! Watch as they use their skills in counting, sorting, skip counting and recognizing patterns to overcome obstacles, find new friends and make the trip back to Earth!

DVD Special Features

-The Sorting Game-help Tad and Lilly sort crystals into their correct groups

-Four sing along songs

-Alphabet song from Let's go to School

The DVD retails for $14.95 and can be purchased here and you can view the trailer for the movie there as well. I highly recommend adding this one to your Leapfrog collection.

I revived a copy of Leapfrog-Math Adventure to the Moon DVD to help in my review. The opinions are my own and I was not paid for my review.

Winner!

The winner of the Soap Nuts and Coconut Fiber Scrub Pad was comment #39.....

jennem said...
Public follower as jennem.Jennifer,

Winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen!

Thank you all who entered and keep your eyes out for my week long Earth Day event coming in April!

Winners!

I have been so busy at work and life that I totally FORGOT to pick winners for the Rainbow Brite CD ROM giveaway!

Here they are: comment #3, #6 and #14 were the lucky numbers that random.org picked

#3 BUSY BEE said...
I am a google follower #2.

#6 AEKZ2 said...
Google friend follower 2.

#14 Saebbe said...
My son has my Rainbow bright doll that my grandma crocheted for me when I was little. He wants me to go back to the site now so he can look around some more. LOL

All winners have been emailed and have 48 to respond. Thanks to all who entered!

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey Review/Giveaway

Oh how my 6 year old LOVES Curious George, in fact we call him our little monkey because he is just like him. ALWAYS into mischief but always with good intentions. So when I was offered the opportunity to review a copy of the new Curious George movie Curious George 2-Follow that Monkey I was excited as I knew my so would do his excited dance. Trust me when I say he did not let me down! He cracks me up. As I child I loved all the Curious George stories, we did not have the moves or TV shows WAY BACK THEN so I do enjoy watching them with him.

I popped the movie in for him and I will admit I did not watch the whole thing with him as I took advantage of the TV sitter to get dinner ready. I did hear giggling and belly rolling laughing coming from the living room and at one point I even heard a VERY familiar voice, Matt Lauer. I knew he was "in" the move but did not know what character he voiced until that moment. I busted out laughing as he voiced a TV anchor by the name of Hark Hanson, HILARIOUS I tell you hilarious! I am sure his children got a HUGE kick out of that! This movie did not disappoint, he LOVED it and claims it is his new favorite movie of all time. That is huge in his world.

From the back of the DVD:

The world’s most beloved and inquisitive monkey is back in Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, the fun-filled sequel to the hit animated movie. Join Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat as they set out on a madcap cross-country adventure to reunite Kayla, a homesick elephant, with her family. This unlikely trio faces all types of comic calamities and colorful characters and in the end learn that with family, friends and determination you can achieve anything. Featuring the voices of Tim Curry, Matt Lauer, Jamie Kennedy and Jerry Lewis, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, “proves that family, friends—and curiosity—are number one.” (Francine Brokaw, Los Angeles Family Magazine)

Here is the trailer for the movie:



Just watching that little bit makes you want your own copy, doesn't it? Well one lucky reader will win one!

So..here are the pesky rules we make you follow!

YOU MUST DO THIS FOR ALL OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT!


-Visit Curious George's web site and tell me what other movie your little monkey would love. While you are there check out the cool games and activities for your little ones. If you do not do this your entries will not count! Also if you do not have a way for me to contact you through your blog or you do not have a blog PLEASE make sure you leave your email in your comment so if you win I can contact you!

For additional entries which of course are ALWAYS optional:

-Follow Curious George on Facebook yep he is on there! :)

-Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway make sure you use @my2boyz and in tweet Leave link in comment (you can do this once a day-leave daily comment!)

-Follow me on Networked Blogs (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)

-Follow my blog (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)

-Comment on another blog post of mine, let me know what one in comment (4 additional entries-leave 4 comments)

-Giveaway ends on 3/31/2010 at 11:59 PM and winners will be chosen by random.org.

-Winners will have 48 hours to respond to email or new winner/winners will be drawn

-Limited to US Residents only

Thank you and good luck!!!






I was provided a copy of the DVD for review purposes only, I received no money for the review. My opinion are just that MY opinions.

Try Something New Tuesday...Polish Dill Pickle Soup (Zupa Ogorkowa)

Welcome to this weeks instalment of Try Something New Tuesday.

One of the fondest memories I have as a child is the smell of my Babcia's (Grandmother in Polish) cooking. The smell of Polish food would flow from her kitchen and most of the time I was excited to dig into whatever dish she had prepared. I say most of the time because there is a short list of things I never tried and still at almost 40 refuse to try, that could be a blog post in itself!

One of the things she would make was Dill Pickle Soup, I know it sounds odd but trust me those who had never heard of it and tried it LOVE it! My husband and best friend are included in that bunch. When I would visit my Babcia as I got older she always made sure she had made some for me. I could never make it as good as she could until this past weekend! I had a craving and tried my best once again and this time I was SO CLOSE....I actually impressed myself! This is super easy to make and very inexpensive as well. You can add less or more of the ingredients, it is all in "the taste" as Babcia would say.

Polish Dill Pickle Soup (Zupa Ogorkowa)

6 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock (I use chicken)

4 large refrigerated dill pickles chopped

1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 -3/4 cup pickle juice from the pickle jar
3 cups chopped potatoes
1 small onion chopped (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup sour cream

Fresh Dill

In large pot melt butter add pickles, onions and flour. Saute until pickles are limp (5 minutes or so)

Add stock, pickle juice, potatoes and some fresh dill (about 1-2 Tablespoons-I just use kitchen scissors and clip until it looks like enough)

Simmer until potatoes are done, take about 2-3 cups of soup out of pot(mostly liquid) and let cool a few minutes. Add the sour cream to the soup you removed and whisk, slowly add back to pot. This will prevent the sour cream from curdling.

That's it! If you try this I would love for you to tell me about it!

Me vs Carrot

We have a new favorite show in our house, a show the WHOLE family can watch which is very refreshing, The Middle on ABC. If you have never watched it I HIGHLY recommend you do. It stars Patricia Heaton as the mother of 3 very quirky children a high schooler, middle school er and grade schooler. It is from the mom's point of view, I can relate to so much of what goes on it scares me sometimes. Kudos to ABC for having family friendly comedies.

So...Last week we sat down to watch the episode titled "The Bee". OMG!!! We were laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes. While we were watching I was eating carrots. This turned out to be a VERY bad idea as I was chomping away when I started to laugh...I started to choke on that darn carrot. Got it out but I ended up "cracking" a rib, more like a hairline fracture, cracking sounds so tough! :) Let me tell you if you have never had rib injury you have never felt pain. It hurts to breathe, sit, bend, twist, lift....you get it, it hurts no matter what I do.... IT SUCKS!

But the very kind Dr prescribed me Vicodin. Now I am all doped up on Vicodin and some anti-inflammatory which I think I am allergic to as I start to itch all over about 30 minutes after taking it, drives me crazy but I continue to take it as I want to heal. So for the time being I feel no pain at all and I itch like crazy.

Needless to say I will never eat ANYTHING while watching The Middle, it can be hazardous to your heath. Not only could you choke to death but you could "crack" a rib! But I say DO watch it just don't eat while doing so.

This week on General Hospital

This week, Sonny is already suspected of a murder he did’t commit, but wants his son’s approval. Sonny is driven to tell the truth about Claudia’s real killer. If Dante finds out the truth, what will he do now?

What do I think??? It is hard to say with so many twists and turns to this story line. Sonny is caring man, don't let the tough guy cover fool you! He cares for his family and would do anything to protect his children. So what do you think will be gained by telling Dante that his brother killed Claudia in self defence and not his long lost father the mob boss Sonny.

I am not sure where they are going to go with this...I totally thought I had it figured out but I was so wrong....so tell me what do you think will be gained by telling Dante the truth? Will he try to get to know his father? Will he protect his brother when he finds out the truth??? Can't wait to see how this turns out!

WHAT?? You do not watch General Hospital...well I suggest you do. It is not like your typical daytime soap, it is so much sore then that. I truly think if they tried it prime time it would be a hit!

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

Win and Give with Betty Crocker and One Laptop per Child

Kids know how much fun it is to win, but they also understand the importance of giving to others and want to help make a difference in the world. Now they have a chance to both win and give with Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks.

With specially marked boxes of kid favorites - including Fruit Roll-Ups, Gushers, Fruit by the Foot, and Stickerz & Shapes - your child could win one laptop to keep and Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks will donate another to a child in Africa.

Each day from now through May 30, 2010, one laptop prize will be awarded to a U.S. winner. For every laptop won, one laptop will be donated to an African child through One Laptop per Child, an organization that creates educational opportunities for the world´s poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. For your chance to win, simply enter the unique online code printed on participating Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snack packages on www.WinOneGiveOne.com.

Thanks to My Blog Spark we were sent 2 boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks AND $25 was donated in my name to One Laptop per Child. My boys were just as excited about the fruit snacks as they were about the codes in the box. They were so cute putting in the codes from the specially marked boxes and were truly disappointed they did not win. At first I was taken aback thinking they were upset that THEY did not win, turns out they were up set that they did not win one for someone else! A very proud Mom moment! So....how would you feel if I offered you the same thing, 2 boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, specially marked boxes of course and a $25 donation in your name to this WONDERFUL organization? Well today is your lucky day!

I have 2 specially marked boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks and $25 donated in your name.

Here on the rules for this giveaway....

You must do this in order for all other entries to be valid-

Tell me what have done to encourage your children to give back....I can tell you we have encouraged our children to give 1/4 of their allowance to charity, one of their choice.

For additional entries which of course are ALWAYS optional:

-Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway make sure you use @my2boyz and in tweet Leave link in comment (you can do this once a day-leave daily comment!)

-Follow me on Networked Blogs (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)

-Follow my blog (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)

-Comment on another blog post of mine, let me know what one in comment (4 additional entries-leave 4 comments)

-Giveaway ends on 3/25/2010 at 11:59 PM and winners will be chosen by random.org.

-Winners will have 48 hours to respond to email or new winner/winners will be drawn


Thank you and good luck!







I was sent 2 boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks for my review thanks to my affiliation with My Blog Spark, I received no money for this review.

Eco-Friendly Wednesday~Soap Nuts and Coconut Fiber Scrub Pad Review/Giveaway

Welcome to Eco Friendly Wednesday this week I have one of the most fascinating natural products I have ever come across, Soap Nuts Laundry Soap. Now the name is slightly deceiving as first they are not nuts. They are a fruit from the Sapindus tree that grows in Nepal and India and they are so much more then laundry soap. When my Soap Nuts arrived I was so excited as I was quite intrigued by the fact that berries could clean my clothes plus my floors, my counter tops, my stove and so much more.

Soap Nuts can be used as is in your Washing Machine, simply throw 4-5 of the berries into the small muslin bags that are provided, toss into wash. When wash is done remember to make sure you remove them before putting clothes into dryer. My real test of the Soap Nuts were to try them with my smelly kitchen towels, I was just thrilled when they came out of the wash not smelling AT ALL! They really did stink! You can also take 10-12 whole soap and boil in 6 cups of water for about 30 minutes. You can use this as a cleaner, which I LOVED, it left my stove top clean and streak free, I was really impressed. Take 1 Tbsp of Soap Nut liquid and 1 Tbsp of vinegar add to 2 cups water and you have a window cleaner, again streak free, loved it.

What I personally thought was so amazing about Soap Nuts is their MANY uses. From toothpaste, shampoo, body soap, erasing lines on the face and of course cleaning products and so much more. I have psoriasis and it is recommenced to use soap nuts as a body soap, I have not tried this as of yet but intend to boil some down tonight for that purpose. Bottom line is they are AMAZING, NATURAL and cause no harm to the environment! I am hooked and will be purchasing them for sure!

How on earth can a fruit clean? Very simple...the outer shell of the fruit contains substances called saponins which have a detergent effect when water is added.

I was also sent a Coconut Scrub Pad, I loved that little scrubby so much was great for getting stuck on foods off my baking dish and it was scratch free. I used it all the time. Then one day I made dough for pretzels in my bread machine, it did not turn out, I used the scrubby to clean up the mess and the dough totally stuck to it! UGH!!!!! I had planned on letting it dry out then chipping it off but someone, not me, thew it away. I was sad!

I have some WONDERFUL NEWS! I have a 500g bag of Soap Nuts AND a Coconut Scrub pad to give away to one reader thanks to Buy Soap Nuts. Of course there are rules to follow..so here they are..

YOU MUST DO THIS FOR ALL OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT!

-Visit Buy Soap Nuts site and tell me what you found fascinating about Soap Nuts! If you do not do this your entries will not count! Also if you do not have a way for me to contact you through your blog or you do not have a blog PLEASE make sure you leave your email in your comment so if you win I can contact you!

For additional entries which of course are ALWAYS optional:

-Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway make sure you use @my2boyz and in tweet Leave link in comment (you can do this once a day-leave daily comment!)

-Follow me on Networked Blogs (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)

-Follow my blog (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)

-Comment on another blog post of mine, let me know what one in comment (4 additional entries-leave 4 comments)

-Giveaway ends on 3/17/2010 at 11:59 PM and winners will be chosen by random.org.

-Winners will have 48 hours to respond to email or new winner/winners will be draw

-Limited to US & Canadian Residents only

Thank you and good luck!!!




This was not a paid post and my opinions are my own. I received Soap Nuts and a Coconut Scrub pad for my review. Big thanks to Buy Soap Nuts for this opportunity.

Try Something New Tuesday...Kogel Mogel

Welcome to this weeks Try Something New Tuesday. Growing up my Grandfather who was from Poland, would make me something called Kogel Mogel. What is that you ask? Kogel Mogel is a dessert that is made with raw egg yolk and sugar. I know raw egg yolk, gross right? Well in the 1970's when I was a child we did not worry about things like semolina in eggs and thought nothing of eating this yummy dessert. My grandfather or Dzia Dzia as we called him would add all the ingredients into a coffee mug and whip it with a fork for what seemed like FOREVER, it was more like 10-15 minutes, until the yolks and sugar were the PERFECT consistency, pure heaven. Well we then learned that raw eggs were bad and some where along the line he stopped making it.

A few months ago I was at my local grocery store buying eggs when out of the corner of my eye i see "Pasteurized eggs" I stopped dead in my tracks! Davidson's Safest Choice Pasteurized eggs to be exact I almost screamed out loud!! The VERY FIRST thing I though of was Kugel Mugel and how my beloved Dzia Dzia would make it for me. I grabbed them and threw, I mean placed them in my cart.

I waited until after dinner to tell my children about Kogel Mogel and how I was going to make it for them later. My youngest was excited my oldest seemed a little grossed out. After dinner was cleaned up I grabbed the eggs and sugar and placed them into my coffee mug from Poland and grabbed a fork and began to whip away, i whipped and I whipped and I whipped, it seemed like forever. After about 15 minutes I was excited to be taken back to my childhood. I took a bite and tears filled my eyes, it brought back such wonderful memories of my Dzia Dzia. My youngest LOVED it, my oldest pretend like he liked it just for me as he has never requested it again but my youngest has. I went to the store the other day and they did not have them anymore! OH NO!!! I have another store to look at I do hope they are there otherwise I am going to contact the store I found them at originally and request they stock them!

Kogel Mogel

2 pasteurized large egg yolks
3 teaspoons honey or 3 teaspoons sugar

Put into coffee mug and whip for 10-15 minutes...enjoy!

I was not compensated in any way from Davidson's Safest Choice Eggs. I was just THRILLED to find them! :)

Rainbow Brite CD-ROM game review/giveaway

A few weeks ago I was asked by Mom Select on behalf of Hallmark to review the new Rainbow Brite CD ROM filled with fun games, puzzles, and so much more! I had a flashback to my childhood and said YES! Now I have 2 boys thus the name of my blog so I was hoping that MAYBE my 6 year old would try the CD ROM out and maybe enjoy it. Well....I was very mistaken. When I asked him he screamed "Those are for girls" so I tried to bribe him, no luck. So I gave it to my good friend who has 3 children 2 being girls ages 10 and 8, the girls were thrilled!

So here is the report.....

Eight year old girl LOVED it played for quite a while and keeps asking to play. I asked her what she thought was the best part...her response...ALL OF IT! Great help she was. But considering she does keep asking to play maybe she does like all of it! She did go the the Rainbow Brite web site and had fun watching the mini episodes.

Then the year old girl played for a while and lost interest fairly quickly however she did say she did enjoy playing the mini games but it at that age where "she is to grown up for those kinds of games" I swear she thinks she is going on 20.

Then the 12 year old boy decide to give it a try...his conclusion was....it was scary! How funny is that?

Thanks to Hallmark and Mom Select I have 3 CD-ROMS to giveaway to 3 readers!!! How Fun is that??? If you remember Rainbow Brite from your childhood and have a little girl in your life how exciting will it be to introduce her to Rainbow Brite?

Here are the rules.....

You MUST visit the Rainbow Brite site and tell me what looks fun and exciting to you! If you do not do this your entries will not count! Also if you do not have a way for me to contact you through your blog or you do not have a blog PLEASE make sure you leave your email in your comment so if you win I can contact you!

For additional entries which of course are ALWAYS optional


-Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway make sure you use @my2boyz and in tweet Leave link in comment (you can do this once a day-leave daily comment!)


-Follow me on Networked Blogs (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)


-Follow my blog (2 additional entries-leave 2 comments)


-Comment on another blog post of mine, let me know what one in comment (4 additional entries-leave 4 comments)


-Giveaway ends on 3/15/2010 at 11:59 PM and winners will be chosen by random.org. Winners will have 48 hours to respond to email or new winner/winners will be drawn


-Limited to US Residents only

Good Luck!!!






I received of copy of the Rainbow Brite CD ROM from Mom Select and Hallmark for my review.

Winner!

The winner of my UPrinting 250 custom label/stickers giveaway has been choosen.....ramdom.org picked #20.....

Donna M. Clark said...
1. I follow via google friend connect.

Winner has been emailed...thank you to all who entered!