Wordless Wednesday- Snowbound & Stir Crazy

Share your own pictures this week at Wordless Wednesday HQ!

Before you leave, have you entered all of my giveaways?

Christmas Day Photo Recap

Merry Christmas!

I am even more behind than usual and didn't manage to get cards out this year, so consider this your season's greetings…

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday- Sacked Out

Share your own pictures this week at Wordless Wednesday HQ!

Before you leave, have you entered all of my giveaways?

Nestle Holiday Giveaways

***WINNER PICKED 1/14 WITH RANDOM.ORG***

***CONGRATULATIONS, #62tina reynolds!!!***

her comment...
My favorite memory is writing and reading the family christmas journal every year. We each write one page and then we read through it every year. I also love making cookies with the kids.




Nestle wants to give one of my readers a holiday bundle featuring free coupons from Toll House (chocolate chips and cookie dough), Carnation Evaporated Milk and Breakfast Essentials, Stouffer’s, Juicy Juice and Boost Kid Essentials, as well as products from Wonka and Raisinets. The prize will also include a 4x6 silver photo frame and the Carnation holiday recipe guide. Scroll down to see how to enter to win at the end of this post.



Be sure and enter the Holiday Memories Photo Contest at NestleFamily.com, too. Five grand prize winners will each receive a $500 gift card to make their holidays even more memorable, while 45 finalists will each win $50 gift cards. Make sure and enter your favorite holiday photos before January 4th!

To enter and win a Nestle prize package similar to the one shown in the first photo above, please comment on this post with your favorite holiday memories.


Entries will be accepted through January 13th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible.


For an additional entry, post my button on your blog (see code on sidebar), follow my blog, follow me on Twitter, fave me on Technorati or subscribe via email or subscribe via reader. Leave an extra comment letting me know what you did for each additional entry.


Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!


***Click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***

Sealy Posturepedic Giveaway

Amanda is giving away a brand new Sealy Posturepedic mattress in your choice of size! These mattresses are designed to eliminate the pressure points that cause tossing and turning. I could certainly use a better night's sleep- how about you?

If I won, I would probably have to get a nice mattress for Roo's bunk bed or Jasper's big boy bed since their current mattresses are pretty lackluster.

Ivy and Bean Giveaway

***WINNER PICKED 1/13 WITH RANDOM.ORG***

***CONGRATULATIONS, #2 Hollowsins!!!***





Roo is in kindergarten this year and the speed with which she has progressed from letter recognition to full-fledged reader has been pretty amazing. I'm glad Jasper is still little and we have a couple more years of big picture books with him but right now Roo is more excited about chapter books for big kids. Our first foray into this exotic land has been the popular Ivy and Bean series, written by Annie Barrows and illustrated by Sophie Blackall, which feature the (mis)adventures of the two grade school best friends.



The newest book in the series is Doomed to Dance. It focuses on the girls' misguided desire to sign up for a dance class and two subsequent realizations: gracefulness is not their forte and ballet classes end in a recital. Shudder. Roo loved every minute of this book since she suffered through her own dance class drama. Every time she asks when she can go back to ballet, I remind her why they call 'em tights and that until she is cool with wearing them without screaming bloody murder at me and whining that they're too tight, there will be no dance lessons. She thought Ivy and Bean's plan to evade their debut as a squid chorus in the marine-themed recital was hi-la-ri-ous. I concur.



Become a fan of Ivy and Bean on Facebook!

To enter and win your own copy of Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dance, please comment on this post with your (or your child's) first favorite book.


Entries will be accepted through January 13th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible.


For an additional entry, post my button on your blog (see code on sidebar), follow my blog, follow me on Twitter, fave me on Technorati or subscribe via email or subscribe via reader. Leave an extra comment letting me know what you did for each additional entry.


Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!


***Click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***

40 Years of Sunny Days: Sesame Street DVD

I grew up with Sesame Street so it's not a surprise to me that this year the venerable children's show celebrated its 40th birthday. It made its debut in November of 1969 and I was born the following year. Newsweek called Sesame Street “…arguably, the most important children’s program in the history of television” and I tend to agree. Decades later, I can still sing most of the songs and recite the skits. And we didn't even have VCRs in my day, sonny!



Now oldies like me can relive their childhoods with the Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days DVD set. This two-disc collection includes over five hours of Sesame Street songs and sketches culled from four decades of programming. It also includes a limited-edition hard covered commemorative book and plenty of previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage. If you order Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days online from the Sesame Street store, proceeds go back to the non-profit Sesame Workshop and their educational projects around the world. Plus you will also receive this snazzy Google Doodle t-shirt featuring your favorite Sesame Street characters:



The shirt is available in sizes ranging from toddler through unisex XXL, making the Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days DVD set the perfect gift for Sesame Street fans of all ages.

Disclosure: I did not receive a copy of the DVD to review but I've heard it's good, albeit a little heavy on the Elmo.

Presenting… the Toothless Wonder!

"The Tooth Fairy brought me a Gold Maria." (umm, a Sacajawea dollar)


"Stop taking pictures, mom! I have a gingerbread house to eat…"

Fine. I'll just go take pictures of your little brother. He still has ALL his teeth!

(And a moderately creepy rubber puppy. But that's another story.)

Say It Forward

Wow, what a big surprise: I'm the featured loyal commenter on 5 Minutes for Mom today! I've been reading their blog for ages now and always find something new or interesting there. I'm absolutely thrilled to be mentioned on 5M4M!



And now a shout-out to a few of my own loyal commenters, who have become friends and who I am so thankful for:

Mannequin

Kathleen

Candice

Erin

Jennifer

Alesha

Kim

Katja

Renee

Jingle

Allison

Kim

Kristin

***If you're visiting from 5M4M, don't forget to click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***

Skin MD Giveaway

***WINNER PICKED 1/12 WITH RANDOM.ORG***

***CONGRATULATIONS, #1 Benita (non-blogger)!!!***

her comment...
I love that it hydrates the skin and retains the moisture.



Kansas is dry. Very, very dry. Right now the winter cold combined with dry central heating has sucked the moisture out of everything in our home. The cats' water bowls dry up overnight, the plants are listless, my entire family is suffering from itchy, scratchy skin. Roo and Jasper both have pretty sensitive skin so I have tried many different lotions over the years and we keep coming back to Skin MD Natural, which we reviewed a while back. It's a shielding lotion so it not only hydrates the skin but also retains the skin's natural moisture and protects it from the environment. If you're outdoors a lot, it is also available in an SPF15 formulation.

To enter and win a bottle of Skin MD Natural, please comment on this post with your favorite feature of the lotion.


Entries will be accepted through January 6th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible.


For an additional entry, post my button on your blog (see code on sidebar), follow my blog, follow me on Twitter, fave me on Technorati or subscribe via email or subscribe via reader. Leave an extra comment letting me know what you did for each additional entry.


Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!


***Click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***

Steaz Review/Giveaway

***WINNER PICKED 1/12 WITH RANDOM.ORG***

***CONGRATULATIONS, #7 Kathleen W!!!***

her comment...
I love that these are mildly sweetened, which is why I like Republic of Tea teas so much, even though I don't buy them often. I'd like to try the Green Tea with Mint


Steaz Organic Iced Teaz are the world's first fair-trade certified, all-natural, organic ready-to-drink teas. They come in tallboy cans or 64 oz bottles and are widely available at health food stores and Target locations across the country. They are also very easy to drink!



There are six flavors in the Steaz Organic Iced Teaz range, one unsweetened and five lightly sweetened. I got to sample three of the lightly sweetened flavors: Green Tea with Peach, White Tea with Lime and Pomegranate and Green Tea with Blueberry, Pomegranate and Acai. They were all delicious but I think my big favorite was the White Tea with Lime and Pomegranate. It has a crisp, refreshing taste that reminds me of summertime. I'm also dying to try the Lightly Sweetened Green Tea with Mint.

Steaz wants to give one lucky blogger a pass to Blissdom 2010! See entry details on the Steaz Facebook page. You can also click here to print a coupon for a free can of Steaz at Target (through 12/31/09). Don't live near a Target location or can't decide which Steaz Organic Iced Teaz to try first? Click here to print a buy one/get one free coupon to use at any participating retailer. (Click here to find a location near you.)



To enter and win a sampler pack of Steaz Organic Iced Teaz like the one pictured above, please comment on this post with your favorite flavor or something you learned from their website.


Entries will be accepted through January 6th and I'll pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are eligible.


For an additional entry, post my button on your blog (see code on sidebar), follow my blog, follow me on Twitter, fave me on Technorati or subscribe via email or subscribe via reader. Leave an extra comment letting me know what you did for each additional entry.


Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win!


***Click Giveaways on my sidebar to see what else you could win!***

Quorn-fed

Quorn is an all-natural, meatless frozen food. It's been sold in the UK since the mid-'80s and is the top selling retail brand of meat-free food in the world. It is meat-free and soy-free, being made primarily from mycoprotein, an efficient and nutritious protein source derived from fungi. Yes, it's true: Quorn is made from mushrooms!



I'm always on the lookout for things that my kids might eat that aren't chicken nuggets. Quorn makes Chik'n Nuggets that fool the pickiest toddler palate. I was impressed. Impressed enough to buy a box of Cranberry & Goat Cheese Chik'n Cutlets. While not tasting entirely like poultry, the texture is very satisfyingly "meaty" and they are actually quite delicious. I baked them in the oven along with a couple of Turk'y Burgers for the kids. These mycoprotein burgers contain 50% less fat than normal turkey burgers, which are already pretty lean! I liked them most with a bit of cheese melted on top.



Here is a cross-section of the turkey burger so you can see how "meaty" the texture is. Even my cats gobbled them up and begged for more!



I'm definitely keeping some Quorn in the freezer for quick, easy and HEALTHY dinners.

Disclosure: I received a box of Turk'y Burgers from Quorn but I'd purchased the nuggets and cutlets myself. And I plan on doing it again soon.

Tea Party To Go

Mighty Leaf offers a dizzying array of teas from all around the globe, but did you know they also sell gorgeous and imminently gift-able teaware? Everything from clear glass and enameled teapots to traditional Japanese iron kettles is ready to be wrapped up for your favorite tea enthusiast. My favorites include the Bodum iced tea pitcher that features a removable infuser so you can use tea bags or loose tea and the super mod Bistro Teapot with its sleek charm. I am also thrilled with the Mighty Leaf Tea Top Brew Mug, which is essentially a double-walled stainless steel travel mug with a patented lid that allows you to pull the tea bag up and stow it so you don't have overbrewed tea. Genius!





The Mighty Leaf Tea Top Brew Mug retails for $16.95 and is also available in gift boxes with decorative tins of your favorite Mighty Leaf teas for $24.95. I recommend the Tea Top Brew Mug & Orange Dulce Gift Set.



Disclosure: I received a Mighty Leaf Tea Top Brew Mug to review, with no obligation to write about it or recommend it. I chose to do so because it's awesome. Simple but ingenious!