Summer time means lemonade, ~ and a chance to win!!

Do you like lemonade? I love a good, cold glass of fresh squeezed lemonade! Summer time is the perfect time to enjoy lemonade!
Even if you don't like lemonade, you will probably like what Electrolux is doing with lemonade!Kelly Ripa is teaming up with Electrolux to kick off a virtual lemonade stand campaign to help support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, a cause close to Kelly and to women everywhere. This summer, exclusively at electroluxappliances.com, you can design and open your own virtual lemonade stands and even pick the flavors of lemonade you want to feature. For every lemonade stand opened at Electrolux Appliances, Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF. In addition, you can help the cause even more by selling virtual glasses of lemonade to your friends and family; 100 percent of the proceeds will go to OCRF. And to help spread the word, Electrolux is giving away an elegant new French Door Refrigerator with Perfect Temp™ Drawer !! I know I could use a new refrigerator! Ours has been seeing it's last days. I love that Electrolux has offered this fantastic way to help support Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and supply a great refrigerator for a contest prize! Everyone you know can contribute to this great cause and be eligible to win the fantastic Electrolux refrigerator.
Just for opening your stand, and then again every day that you log in and visit your stand, you will be entered to win a new French Door Refrigerator from Electrolux - perfect for storing your own pitchers of lemonade. When others donate to your stand, they will also have a chance to win. The new French Door Refrigerator by Electrolux has some cool new features that make it a great refrigerator for entertaining. There is the Perfect Temp Drawer™, which provides storage for any number of items that you want to keep at the ideal temperature. It's also a large enough refrigerator to store everything from party platters to juice boxes. The French Door Refrigerator also offers double the ice so there is always enough ice on hand to fill your pitchers of lemonade. Go and set up your lemonade stand, support a great proceed, donate, and enter for a chance to win from Electrolux! Ends June 30th!

Making Life Better

Trying to be creative, and getting ideas for supper isn't really a strength of mine. Sometimes I am inspired with a new concoction, but I usually look online or in a recipe book. My family loves new meals, and I was thankful to check out MakingLifeBetter.com.
Unilever, the consumer package goods company, has spent a great deal of time thinking about how to make everyday life better and help us find ways to create great meals and do more with less. The company's Web site, www.MakingLifeBetter.com, features delicious recipes, affordable meal ideas and tips that stretch your budget and save you time. I have always been one to try and "stock" the shelves with the pantry staples so I can be prepared. I know I will be checking out Making Life Better to get new ideas for our meals. Here are a few great ideas from the site:
· Wish-Bone Italian Dressing can do double-duty either as a delicious salad dressing or a great-tasting marinade for chicken, pork, beef and fish. For fast indoor cooking when an outdoor grill isn't available, try a grill pan to create an inside grill - a great solution for those with cold and snowy winter days like we experience in Minnesota.
· Need a budget-friendly meal? Try Baked Pasta Primavera with Ragu Pasta Sauce, which costs less than $2 a serving. Ragu Pasta Sauce has a full serving of veggies in every half-cup of sauce, so this recipe is a great way to sneak veggies into your kids' diets.
· I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! has new Cooking & Baking sticks that bake and taste just like butter! Even better is that they have 50% less saturated fat than butter, 0g trans fat per serving, and provide an excellent source of Omega 3. More importantly, this is a simple change that we can make to help our families live a healthier lifestyle.
· Your family can also enjoy a perfectly seasoned Pizza Meatloaf that you can prepare in no time with go-to ingredients like Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix and Ragu Pasta Sauce. With two Lipton recipe mix envelopes in each box, your family can enjoy pizza meat loaf one night, and onion burgers the next!
· And definitely look for Bertolli Oven Bake Meals, such as Stuffed Shells, in your grocery store's freezer. These restaurant-quality Italian classics can be prepared by simply opening the package, pouring the ingredients in your own oven dish and baking. What a great way to skip the Italian restaurant and enjoy a night in - especially if the kids are gone for the evening.
· Polish off dinner with a glass of great-tasting and refreshing Caribbean Tea Splash, made from Lipton Green Tea Bags, pineapple juice and cream of coconut (for less than a $0.25 a serving!)

Here is the recipe of the week: Creamy Asparagus Tart
Pastry for single-crust pie
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small sweet onion or leek, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 lb. fresh asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (about 4 oz.)
1/2 cup Hellmann’s or Best Foods Canola Cholesterol Free Mayonnaise
2 eggs
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375°. In 9-inch pie plate, arrange crust. With fork, pierce bottom of crust. Bake on heated cookie sheet 15 minutes or until golden; set aside.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook onion, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until tender. Add asparagus and cook 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Turn into pie plate, then evenly top with cheese.
In small bowl, with wire whisk, blend Hellmann’s or Best Foods Canola Cholesterol Free Mayonnaise, eggs, mustard and pepper. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth; pour into pie plate. Bake, on heated cookie sheet, on lower rack in oven, 25 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
~~YUMMY~~
I loved the recipes, and will be trying them out for sure! I think my family willenjoy a new variety. Thanks to MomCentral, I was able to be introduced to this great site, and share this information with my readers! MakingLifeBetter.com is a great website for every busy mom to get ideas from! There are other great ideas on their site covering information on beauty and style, home and family, vitality and wellness, tips, news and offers! What a great site to cover so much helpful information!

Current by Discover Card (just for teens and parents)

It is so important to teach our children the value of money management and wise saving/spending. I was really excited to learn more about the new card program, Current by Discover Card. This is a "credit card" designed for the tween/teen (ages 13-18). What makes this credit card appealing is the parent has some control and knowledge of the card's usage. Kids want freedom, and want to spread their wings toward adulthood, and I think the Current by Discover card can be a good tool. It is too easy to spend all the savings teens get, or spend their allowance/check as soon as they get it. The Current Card helps us teach our kids born in a digital age how to manage spending. Like car companies that allow you to set the maximum speed limit on your teen's car, Current by Discover Card puts parents in control by letting us set (daily, weekly, monthly) spending limits, block certain merchant categories (like ATMs and liquor stores) and track your teen's spending online or through email and text message alerts. Plus, because it's a debit card product, the card stops working when the limit is reached without incurring any additional fees, which protects your teens from overspending. I think all credit cards should be designed this way, actually!
As parents, we have the responsibility to discuss wise spending habits as a family. Discover Card created an online resource, Current by Discover card, to help us talk with our kids about managing and spending money, and the importance of setting limits. Experience often serves as the best teacher. The Current by Discover Card provides kids with access to money in the way they want it while still giving the parents what we need - independent spending by our kids without debt or incurring hidden fees. No more surprise credit card balances from your teen's "minor" shopping spree.
Membership Benefits
**Safer than cash
**$0 liability guarantee means that they will reimburse 100% of any fraudulent charges made with your teen's card
**Disable a card if it's lost, and easily enable it when found
**Because it's not a credit card, there will be no effect on you or your teen's credit history
**Add funds from your Discover Card or other major credit card
**Add funds from your checking, savings account or direct deposit
**A smarter way to manage money
**Teens can access tools and tutorials that help them learn to spend smarter
**Teens can directly deposit their own paychecks
**Security meets value
**Membership is only $5 a month. See Fees
**No minimum balances, loading fees, or credit check
Thanks to Mom Central for tis information to pass on, and thank you to Discover for helping our teens have an access to learning how to spend/save wisely and more safely!

Norton Online Family: Free Trial

When I my generation was younger, we didn't have the technology like kids do now. We looked in encyclopedias, and went to the library for research. Now kids are using computers and the Internet for everything from talking with new friends living halfway across the world, to playing their favorite online games and researching subjects for homework. The Internet is an endless tool in the hands of our kids. So, we need to make their online world safe for them, because there are so many lurking dangers online. I have a difficult time allowing my son to just sit down and work on the net.
To help families facing this dilemma, Norton, a trusted provider of Internet safety products, has developed Norton Online Family. Unlike most products that simply block or monitor kids' Internet activities, Norton Online Family is an online service that connects parents to kids' online lives.
Key Norton Online Family features include:
Simple, One-Time Set Up: Create an account online and customize each family member's profile based on age and maturity level.
Easy to Use and Access: Check a child's activity or modify a child's profile, preferences, or time allotment anytime and anywhere using any Internet-connected device.
Clear Reporting: All activities are reported in chronological order and only show the Web sites a child intended to visit - eliminating all the extra URLs, like ads, from Web sites.
Helpful Search Insight: Easily view what words and phrases a child uses to search and where those searches lead online.
Convenient Web Site Control: Control the Web content that flows into the home by prohibiting more than 40 topic categories.
Secured Personal Information: Track, report and prevent personal information that a child may purposely or accidentally try to send via e-mail, IM or social networking site.
Access to Social Network Information: Monitor activity on social networks like Facebook and MySpace with the ability to see how kids represent themselves, when they login and how often.
Real-time Messaging: Built-in messaging allows parents to have real-time discussions with children about activities and better understand their intentions when visiting a Web site.True Transparency: Children are able to view the "house rules" they established with parents at any time and are notified when Norton Online Family is active, so there is no "stealth" mode.
Custom Alerts: Parents can customize e-mail alerts to address urgent events so they know immediately when a child has reached a time limit or visited a blocked site, etc.
Useful Time Management: An easy-to-use time management feature that - if parents find it necessary - gives each child a "curfew" that will limit computer usage.
Norton and Mom Central have made it possible to participate in a free Sneak Preview of Norton Online Family. You can sign-up for a sneak peak at the Norton Online Family application just click HERE.
I signed up for this service, and I am excited to see how it monitors the online usage in our home. I know that I can't protect the online threats 100%, but I am thankful that Norton has created a service to help protect our children's usage and activity.

Disney On Ice (Discount tickets)

Ever since I was little, I have wanted to go to a Disney On Ice show! I love watching Ice Skating, and I think that watching Disney Characters put on a show~ on ice~ would be so entertaining! Now that I have young children, it is one wish that we can go to a Disney On Ice show as a family. Feld Entertainment's Disney On Ice live touring performances feature iconic Disney stories, characters, and music, providing audiences with a high quality, fun experience the whole family can enjoy together. Interactive Disney On Ice shows feature exciting action, romance, comedy, athletic world-class skating, beloved Disney characters, and favorite Disney songs to which kids can sing and dance along. Their rich colors, costumes, bigger than life atmosphere, music, lighting, choreography and humor all contribute to making the experience one that builds childhood and family memories for years to come.
For these reasons, Mom Central has partnered with Disney On Ice to provide a special family ticket package offer.

Offer #1: Get 4 tickets for just $44 by entering the code "MOM" at select ticketing channels*. Offer good on all performances, minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each. Offer not valid on Gold Circle Seating, Front Row and VIP seating or can be combined with other offers. Other restrictions may apply.

Offer #2: A select amount of Front Row and VIP seats have been reserved for you to buy before they go on sale to the public - just enter the code "MOM" when purchasing those seats.Dates and cities where families can use the national MOM code are as follows:

Houston

Disney On Ice presents Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey

April 15-April 19

Dallas/Ft Worth

Disney On Ice presents Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey

March 18-March 29

Sunrise/Miami

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy

March 26-April 5

Toronto

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy

March 18-March 22

Kansas City

Disney On Ice presents Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey

April 1-April 5

Denver

Disney On Ice presents a Disneyland® Adventure

March 12-March 15

Phoenix

Disney On Ice presents a Disneyland® Adventure

April 9-April 12

Chicago/Rosemont

Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic

Sept 8-Sept 13

To learn more about Disney On Ice shows touring the country this year, visit Disney On Ice and visit TicketMaster to use the 4 tickets for $44 code, MOM. Please let all your friends and family know about this special offer, and give them the MOM code. Everyone can go on www.disneyonice.com and type your zip code to find the shows and purchase tickets online with the code.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey = Family Traditions!

I love the circus! The animals (especially the tigers), the acrobats, the clowns, ~is non-stop action. It is such a fun place to go for great, live entertainment for the whole family. I was fortunate to attend one Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show when I was younger. It was a fantastic show~ like no other! Since then, I have been to local circus shows. The local shows are great, but they are no comparison to The GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!
According to the national survey that Mom Central did last year, found that 88% of Moms regarded Ringling Bros. as a "not to be missed" childhood experience, and, from the enthusiastic feedback they received, they wanted to provide us with another special opportunity to see one of the three incredible, entirely different Ringling Bros. productions with our family. The Mom Central team recently had the pleasure of checking out the newest production from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in Orlando, FL and they were blown away by the energy, music, dancing and really outstanding illusions found in ZING ZANG ZOOM. The show features magical Zingmaster Alex Ramon, a grand illusionist.
With the economy posing a challenge for many families, the value of a night out at Ringling Bros. is high, as the experience includes the All Access Pre-show, a fun opportunity to meet circus performers and dress up in clown costumes, which happens one hour before each performance. They have extended the following special family offers:
Offer #1: Get 4 tickets for just $44 by entering the code "MOM" at select ticketing channels**. Offer good on all performances, minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each. Offer not valid on Circus Celebrity Seating, Front Row and VIP seating or combinable with other offers. Other Restrictions May Apply.
Offer #2: A select amount of Front Row and VIP seats have been reserved for you to buy before they go on sale to the public - just enter the code "MOM" when purchasing those seats. Dates and cities where families can use the national MOM discount code this spring are as follows:

Newark/East Rutherford/Uniondale/NYC
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents ZING ZANG ZOOM
March 5 - April 13
Offer not valid on performances from April 10 - 13 at Madison Square Garden

Washington D.C./ Fairfax, VA/ Baltimore, MD
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® proudly presents Over The Top
March 18-April 19

Philadelphia
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents ZING ZANG ZOOM
May 13-May 25

Phoenix
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents ZING ZANG ZOOM
June 24-June 28

Houston
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® proudly presents Over The Top
July 15-July 26

Anaheim/LA/Ontario
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents ZING ZANG ZOOM
July 8-August 2

San Francisco
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents ZING ZANG ZOOM
August 12-August 23

Dallas/Ft Worth
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® proudly presents Over The Top
July 29-August 16

Sacramento
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents ZING ZANG ZOOM
August 27-August 30

Kansas City
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® proudly presents Over The Top
September 16-September 20

To see which Ringling Bros. tour is coming to a town near you, visit Ringling.com. And visit Ticketmaster to use the 4 tickets for $44 code, MOM.
Please spread the MOM code around to friends and family near those cities. They can simply go on www.ringling.com and type in their zip code to find the shows and purchase tickets online with the code.

To help start the family traditions early, the Baby’s First Circus program allows babies to receive a free ticket voucher that can be exchanged for a free ticket to any Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performance, anytime, anywhere. No expiration date!

Johnson's celebrates 50 years!

For as long as I can remember, Johnson's baby products have been around. Actually, they have been around even longer than me! They are celebrating 50 years! My parents are celebrating 51 years of marriage next month. That is a long time! When I think of the basic necessities for my baby and toddlers, Johnson's bath products are on the list. I love the way that they clean, the way they smell, and the way that they are gentle on my children's skin. I was asked to review a few of Johnson's bath products on behalf of Mom Central and Johnson’s. With three young children, I was happy to partake in this review! Plus, Johnson's is one of our favorite bath time products!
I love the new Foaming Wash that Johnson's came out with! We use the regular bath wash, but my kids have so much fun with the foaming wash. They like to pump the soap into their hands and wash themselves. I think that the foaming wash is easier for kids to be more conservative with how much soap they use.
What I really like about the Foaming Wash, is it is in an easy, convenient pump-and-foam form. The bottle is specially designed to allows moms and caregivers the flexibility of using only one hand to dispense the product while also providing substantial lather for cleansing babies.
This works great when I give Cole his bath~ he is my newborn! It is so hard to hold on to new babies anyway, and bath time can be a bit challenging. I feel much safer with the pump, than trying to hold onto my newborn and putting soap on a cloth.
Johnson's Baby Bubble Bath & Wash is another great product! I love the scent of it! I love that the Johnson's Baby Bubble Bath & Wash is soap-free, dye-free, hypoallergenic, dermatologist and pediatrician tested, and is gentle enough for the newest babies. The bubbles from this product are bigger, and the kids love playing in the bath water!
You can find these products in your local retail and grocery stores~ available January 2009.
You can upload pictures and videos of your babies and see videos of other babies at Johnson's Baby Channel on You Tube. It is a great resource for learning and sharing with others about bath time, nap time, and more! It is a great place to "show off" your baby!
Happy 50th Anniversary Johnson's! Here's to another 50 years!

Valentine's Day isn't over yet....Electrolux Love sent~and chance to win!

It is definitely the month of Love!

Electrolux has teamed up with one of America's favorite moms, Kelly Ripa, to spread a little love via a charitable social media campaign. On the Electrolux Web site, you can create and send a unique virtual cupcake to friends and family during February. I had a fun time creating a delicious looking (and sounding) cupcake, and sending it to a few friends. I made a peanut butter cake, in a lavender foil, with lavender frosting, chocolate drizzle frosting, and peanut butter cups on top. No, it isn't calorie free, but it is for a great cause! For every cupcake sent, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) as part of their half million dollar commitment to help support this worthy cause. Which means each virtual cupcake will go a long way. What's more, everyone who logs on and sends a cupcake will be entered for a chance to win the newest front-load Washer & Dryer (an estimated $3,600 value) from Electrolux, the appliance brand used throughout fine homes in Europe for 80 years. Talk about a great cause all around!

Kelly Ripa also designed a custom "Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve" T-shirt, the perfect Valentine's gift for friends and family, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting OCRF (also available on electroluxappliances.com).

This contest started on February 10 and will end on the 28th of February! So, hurry over there, support a great cause, and get your chance in to win the washer and dryer from Electrolux!

Visit electroluxappliances.com today.

Game Stop's “Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body.”

I am so ready to start off this new year with the motivation to get healthier and losing my extra body insulation! The holidays tend to be magnets for pound acceleration, and now is the perfect time to accelerate in the weight loss!

Going to the gym is not in my budget, nor something I am able to do with 3, almost 4, kids. I do know that exercise is a crucial element to getting healthy, losing weight, and feeling more energized, though. I love the creative ways that video games have come up with ways to entice us to get motivated to exercise. I love playing on the Wii Fit and my Dance pad, because I don't really feel like I am "exercising." I enjoy fun gaming, but burn calories while doing it. Plus, I can enjoy a great work-out with family and friends.

Playing popular video games like My Fitness Coach or Dance, Dance Revolution make exercise fun, while games like Brain Age or Crosswords DS give your brain a workout. GameStop stores offer these titles and more and have associates on hand to help you find a good fit for you and your likes. GameStop stores offer some many fun games that your whole family can enjoy. This January, they are offering a "Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body" initiative for the whole month that includes a special incentive to discover active gaming.

As a special incentive, all shoppers who spend $35 or more on designated products will receive a free 12-month trial subscription to their choice of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping or Esquire. So you can stop by a local store and demo a range of titles that match your interests and skill level, then you can get out of the "poundage slump" and get into shape. GameStop sells new and used games, gaming gear and movies. You can trade in your used/new games, gear and movies and exchange for other titles. I have had good buys there, and found titles that I couldn't in other local retailer stores.

Thanks MomCentral for letting me know about the "Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body" initiative from Game Stop!

Feeling the need to get organized?

If you are like me, organizing is something that doesn't come very naturally, actually it may be a big struggle to be organized! I have been introduced to a great website, from MomCentral that will help keep me and my family more organized. This great site is called Cozi.com, and it is a FREE web service that helps busy families manage crazy schedules, track shopping and to do lists, organize household chores and stay in communication, all in one easy-to-use solution. Cozi not only provides a shared family calendar, but also includes customized shopping lists, quick messaging tools, mobile phone access and a family journal. With Cozi, busy moms can get shopping lists and schedules on any mobile and everyone one in the family has access to the same information. Cozi even syncs with Outlook.
In addition to the ways that moms can get their shopping lists and calendars already on any mobile phone via text message and using our toll free number, Cozi now has a mobile version especially for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones. Families can now sign-in and access their Cozi account using their mobile web browsers. They can add and edit shopping lists and view and edit their family calendar using the mobile version of Cozi right from their iPhone. This is a new feature! You can learn more about it here: Cozi mobile
I think this new site is very helpful and beneficial to busy homes and helping us moms stay organized in our busy "forgetful" times. We have much to juggle between kid's appointments, schedules, birthdays, and trying to make sure our families have food in the house. Thanks to Cozi.com, we can gain some time by keeping our "things" organized.
You can enter a big contest! From December 31st, 2008 through February 4th, 2009, everyone who signs up and tries Cozi will be entered to win a two-day home organization makeover with professional organizer, and incoming NAPO President (National Association of Professional Organizers), Laura Leist. In Laura's two-day visit, she will makeover either the kitchen or home office in one lucky winners' home; a service with a retail value of $5,000. Now that is what I am calling an excellent contest!

Smart Phone~ what a great invention!

One of the products that is very high on my "wish list" this year is the all new Windows Mobile Smart phone! The Samsung Omnia is one of the Smart Phones that really looks great to me!
If I was so lucky to get the Windows Mobile Smart phone, I would be able to stay connected and organized while on the go, with 3, almost 4 kids! Because Windows Mobile smart phones run on the same Windows system as PC computers, our computer and phone applications sync together easily. More than 77% of people who take pictures with their phones never download them onto their computers. I would fit into that category! I can't believe that I would not share those precious photos, but leave them in the phone! With Windows Mobile, you have the ability to easily e-mail photos from your phone to your PC or post them directly to the Web. This is great with blogging!
The newest touch screen Windows phone, the Samsung Omnia, conveniently combines the features of a smart phone and a digital camera into one slim, compact device. I love the idea of not juggling the multiple digital devices to capture holiday enjoyment~ I have enough to juggle with my kids! Only Windows Mobile lets you shoot pics, crop, post to your blog, and send images to loved ones directly on your smart phone. The Samsung Omnia is a great all-in-one gift at the reasonable cost of $199. The professional auto-focus camera features panorama capture, cropping capabilities and smile/face recognition. In fact, a National Geographic photographer took the 5.0 megapixel Omnia on photo shoots to Easter Island and Peru and found that his photographs rivaled those taken with a professional camera. For more information on the Omnia, please visit http://www.windowsmobile.com/.
You can buy a Smart Phone to your special someone this Christmas...or get one for me! :)

Norton PC Tune-Up Service: Review and 3 Giveaways!

Thanks to Mom Central I received a trial version of Norton PC Tune-up Service. I was very excited to help test this service out, with as much as I use my computer. I got a card in the mail with the Norton Symantec phone number to call. Then I talked to an advisor, and he asked me for some information about me and my computer. Then, I told him I had a promotional code for the Norton PC Tune-up Service. After we got all set up, Jesse (my Norton Advisor) logged into my computer on a secure internet connection. He stayed on the phone with me the whole time, but if we happened to get disconnected, I did have a chat box available to ask any questions. I have to say, it was nice to see how he cleaned up my computer. If my computer is running slow because I'm running too many programs, or takes a long time to start, I can call (experts are available 24x7) and have it analyzed over the secure internet connection. They service covers a full scan to find issues affecting performance, protection and security and they will recommend steps to ensure performance. I was able to watch everything he did, and could stop the session at any time. Once I moved my mouse, just out of habit, and he couldn't move his. It was pretty funny actually. There was no danger in letting him take control.
He checked a few locations to see what may be making my computer run slower. He checked my desktop, and cleaned up my start menu allowing only needed programs that are necessary start when the computer turns on. You would not believe how many programs start up in the back ground even though you are not running them!
After Jesse helped me clean-up my computer, he said I have a Norton Report Card center that I can go to and check up on my computer. Over all, it was a nice experience and I learned a lot about my computer. I think everyone can use a tune-up on their computer, especially if you are an avid blogger. Lucky for you SassyFrazz readers, I have 3 Gift Cards for a Norton PC Tune-Up Service (a $69.99 value)! The give away is open until Decmber 19th, at 7:00 PM. To get your first entry, tell me something you appreciate about the online world. You may come back each day and enter (again) after you do the first rule, just leave a comment about what is one of your favorite websites. Click here to see how you can earn extra credits to win, and click here to see guidelines and the official rules.
This contest is open to everyone; however, if you are in another country, I will not mail the card, I will email you the phone number and promotion code. You need to be able to dial an 877 phone number. I am not responsible for any phone fees you might incur. Just be sure to leave your e-mail address in your comments.

How do you eat your veggies? (enter a contest)

It can be a huge challenge getting kids to eat their fruits and veggies. One way that helps in our home, is to serve some Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing with the veggies. My kids love the Ranch dip, and so I encourage them to dip their carrot/celery in it.

The makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings launched the Love Your Veggies campaign soon after a 2006 study by the University of California Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and the Butte County Cooperative Extension revealed that kids ate 23% more vegetables when they were served with ranch dressing. To help moms encourage their kids to eat more vegetables, the Love Your Veggies campaign teaches families how to eat healthfully, purchase and grow the best veggies, and find innovative ways to serve them with the following: a Web site full of information at http://www.loveyourveggies.com/, a school grant program to provide students with better access to fresh produce a mom retreat hosted by celebrity chef, Art Smith.

Right now you can sign up for the Search for the Veggie Champions contest. In partnership with Chef Art Smith, the makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings want to identify, help and reward moms who are true vegetable advocates through the Love Your Veggies"Search for Veggie Champions Contest." For 10 lucky moms, Chef Smith and other experts will lead a two-day retreat aimed at learning and sharing tips and tools on planting, harvesting, cooking and eating vegetables with children. These moms will also receive $5,000 to start or maintain a community vegetable garden in their hometown. Find out more about the prize package here. They are looking for community members who are committed to children's health and wellness to submit their brainstorms for a community garden. 10 winners will be chosen to have their gardens grown in their community.

Mom Central introduced this great promotion/contest, and I am happy to share this with you! What a great contest, and one we can be confident to help support! We all want our kids to eat and love their veggies!

Baby Einstein celebrates 10 years!

Baby Einstein has products that cover a wide range of developmentally appropriate products for babies and toddlers. Baby Einstein products are created from a baby's point-of-view. The videos use real world objects, music, art, language, poetry and nature, providing you an opportunity to introduce your baby to the world around them in playful and enriching ways. The DVD are great to watch with your child to talk about what is being shown.
Mom Central is working with Baby Einstein to promote the celebration of their 10 year Anniversary! I was sent the 10th Anniversary Special Edition Baby Mozart DVD, Touch and Feel Farm Animals board book, and the Lullaby Classics CD for review. I love the classical music in the DVD and CD.
The Lullaby Classics CD has 17 classical music selections and you get 35 minutes of great music to share with your baby. The board book, Touch and Feel Farm Animals, was a hit with my kids. They loved talking about the animals, and feeling the sensory pictures. Our family loves books, and Baby Einstein's was loved. The Baby Mozart (10th Anniversary) DVD was another fun watch for my kids. We talked about all the shapes, and colors in the DVD. I think my kids liked the puppets best. The puppets are entertaining and engaging with the kids.
We think that Baby Einstein's products are fun! A great way to build communication with you and your baby. It is also a great way to spark questions and imagination with your tots!

Ultimate Party Meatball recipe: in time for the holidays~

Making meals for all the family gatherings around the holidays can be stressful and overwhelming! I was so excited to try out the new Ultimate Party Meatball recipe with Mom Central! I just tried the recipe last night, and I can say it was very tasty! Not only was it tasty, it was super easy, too! I was sent a can of Cranberry sauce and a bottle of the HeinzChili sauce. I just mixed the two together in a pan on medium heat. Then, I added frozen, pre-cooked meatballs, and we had a great coarse of our meal done. I am sure I will use this recipe for any upcoming events, because it is so easy! Being a mom of almost 4 kids, I need a little more simplicity to my life! The Ultimate Party Meatball website offers several recipes, entertaining tips, party enhancements and is offering a sweepstakes right now! With this pregnancy, I have craved French Dip like crazy, and I saw that the Ultimate Party Meatball website has a great sounding recipe for Saucy French Dip Sandwiches with Barbecued au Jus, and I may need to try that. Thanks Mom Central for guiding me to a new recipe and website!

SHOP.com ~ get shopping!

Are you feeling the stress of Christmas shopping? Maybe you don't like to be in the busy crowds at the stores or malls? I like some shopping in the stores, but I know that it can be overwhelming. There is a super website called SHOP.com that offers a great shopping from the convenience of your own home. It is great to see prices, do comparisons, and make decisions without feeling the pressure of sales. You can shop from over 2,000 merchants all in one place. Shop.com offers over 20 million products, and you can shop for the best deal or the perfect gift and save gas! SHOP.COM provides expert advice, buying guides, shopping tips, and articles, while giving easy ways to save money via price comparison tools, coupons, and rebates.
When I was checking out the site, I found out that I can purchase from SHOP.com, or other participating merchants' sites. What is really great, is that I can compile all of my purchases into one "shopping cart." You can't do that at the mall. Shop.com offers such a great variety of products like clothing, shoes, kids & baby, electronics, home, beauty, gifts and more. They even offer a selection of "green" products for the "eco-friendly" with tips on how to save money! SHOP.com also offers specialty shops like the music shop, Christmas shop, and my shop.
SHOP.com also holds contests and giveaways! This week they have a contest to win a Nintendo Wii Fit (ending today). They are having a daily contest to win a great holiday gift until December 14th! Check out SHOP.com today!

Help Stop MRSA!

I am a hand-washing freak...at least I have been told. I also like to make sure my kids practice good hand washing techniques. I know that so many germs and bacterias like to lurk on our hands, and we use them so much~ especially to put things in our mouths. I like to think that with good hand washing, many sicknesses and diseases can be avoided.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a type of Staph bacteria found on the skin and in the nose that is resistant to antibiotics. More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly MRSA infections every year and in 2005, nearly 19,000 Americans died from MRSA infections. More deaths are linked to MRSA infections than AIDS. There are two known types of MRSA. You may have heard of Health care-Associated (HA-MRSA), which occurs in hospitals and nursing homes, but a newer type of MRSA is Community-Associated (CA-MRSA), which has recently begun to spread in public settings like gyms, locker rooms, households and schools.
People can carry MRSA and not have any symptoms. These "carriers" can also transmit the bacteria to other people. can be easily spread through skin-to-skin contact and by touching contaminated items. This is why it is crucial to take measures to help reduce the spread of MRSA using these practical steps.
Scrub up - Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 15 seconds - the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice - or use an alcohol-based hand rub sanitizer.
Wipe it down - Use a disinfecting bleach solution to wipe down and disinfect hard surfaces. Make sure to use clean cloths to avoid spreading MRSA from one surface to another. (1 tablespoon of disinfecting bleach diluted in 1 quart of water)
Cover your cuts - Keep any nicks or wounds covered with a clean, dry bandage until healed.
Keep to yourself - Do not share personal items, like towels or razors, that come into contact with bare skin.
Use a barrier - Keep a towel or clothing between skin and shared equipment.
MRSA, like other staph bacteria, can cause a skin infection such as pimples, rashes, abscesses, boils or what can look like a spider bite. These infections are usually warm, painful, red or swollen. Those are symptoms to really watch for and to let you Doctor know about. Reading about this disease makes me even more firm about hand washing, and making sure my kids wash up well! Help spread the word about this bacteria, and the MRSA Website to help prevent it!
You can Help Stop MRSA by joining the coalition...and it is free!

Dust, dander, and other allergy loomers...BE GONE!

My husband and I suffer with so many different allergies. I am pretty much allergic to most things outdoors (hay, ragweed, pollen, etc.) and I am also allergic to dust, some dogs, and most cats (unfortunately). I was anxious to try the new Clorox anywhere anti-allergen fabric spray! MomCentral offered this sample for review, and I was excited to try it out since it would benefit our household! When I was cleaning today, I vacuumed the couches. After I vacuumed them, I sprayed them with the Clorox anywhere anti-allergen fabric spray. There isn't any scent to the spray, but it does seem fresh! Our dog jumped up on the couch after about 20 minutes, sniffed around, and sat down. She didn't seem bothered by it, either. I really like that this Clorox anti-allergen spray is gentle enough to use around kids and pets, is safe on most fabrics (see label), and is fragrance/dye free while neutralizing up to 90% of allergens (including dust mite matter, dog and cat dander). I have only tried this on my couch cushions, but I know that we will use this on our mattresses, and carpets. Clorox Anywhere Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray is made from pure water and refined sodium hypochlorite. Clorox Anywhere Anti-Allergen Fabric Spray is a pH-balanced formula of pure water and refined sodium hypochlorite that helps neutralize allergen proteins, changing their structures to render them inactive. Neutralized or denatured allergen proteins are not recognized by your body, reducing their ability to trigger allergic reactions. I think this is a super product, and will be a much-used product in our home.

"Get Back to the Table Month" campaign: Libby's

Making it a priority to have our family dinners together has been something that Terry and I are proud of. I can honestly say we eat 99.9% of the time together in the evenings and weekends. We rarely have something that we will allow to interfere with our family dinners. I am so thankful for that. It is a time we can all depend on to reconnect from our busy days! Life is really busy, and as the kids get older, there are even more activities that demand their attentions.

In an effort to help families make time for dinner together, Libby's has launched its "Get Back to the Table Month" campaign. The site provides family dinner planning tools, time-saving tips, healthy recipes, and grocery shopping and money-saving advice. The campaign also highlights important benefits of establishing a regular family sit-down dinner-children who eat regular family meals tend to:

Perform better in school~Have a lower risk of smoking, drinking, and drug use~Have higher self-esteem~Develop stronger interpersonal relationships~Eat healthier, and~Teenage girls develop a healthier body image.

Libby's Back to the Table Month website has a lot to offer, and they also have a coupon on there to save on their canned vegetables. They also have a contest right now to win a dinner backstage with Sara Evens!

I am a firm believer of having one meal a day together as a family! How does your family do with having a meal together? Is this campaign something that can encourage you to do?