Monday, March 26, 2012

Miracle-Gro Expand 'n Gro Giveaway

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Expand ‘n Gro™

If you have a garden, whether it's flowers, vegetables, fruits, or a combination of any of these, you will absolutely be anxious to try this new product!

I am not a professional, by any means, so I am grateful for any help with our gardens.  We do fairly well each year, mainly with all kinds of peppers, sunflowers, a few other flowers, tomatoes, green onions, and cucumbers. But when it comes to watermelon, pumpkins, blueberries, strawberries, and LOTS more, I seem to fail every year!

I am still a novice when it comes to this, but I want to learn and love to try new products. Especially products from reputable companies, and I already use their products and have had amazing results! (I owe it to Miracle-Gro for the abundance of peppers and flowers and tomatoes we have had)

Expand 'n Gro Concentrated Planting Mix, is different then basic potting and garden soils. It's a unique blend of Miracle gro plant food and coconut coir fiber. Lightweight, easy to carry, easy to store, and produces 3x"s the amount of flowers and vegetables, (compared to native soil), these are all the reasons to try and grab a sample of this amazing stuff!!

Miracle-Gro Expand 'n Gro Concentrated Planting Mix, is here to save the day! Expand 'n Gro, retains 50% more moisture then basic planting soils, and releases the water as plants need it. Tilling this planting mix into native soil, can reduce the soil's bulk density making it 40% lighter, and creating up to 90% more air space.

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The result is more workable native soil with better water holding ability, moisture distribution, and drainage, all of which ultimately creates an improved rooting enviroment for plants.

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**Expand ‘n GroTM is available at lawn and garden retailers in the Midwest, Northeast and Texas. Please visit expandngro.com for in-store availability information. Also available at Amazon.com.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you would use Miracle-Gro Expand 'n Gro for, and what you planted or will be planting in your garden

One lucky winner will receive a free sample of Miracle-Gro Expand 'n Gro!

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Review of Lemon Curd by Homa Pourasgari

This book re taught me a valuable lesson, one that we try and teach our kids on a regular basis. But even though we teach our children, we sometimes forget how important those lessons are in our own lives.
I do love to read and I have been trying to get reviews, by many different authors, different genres, and this specific book, didn't seem as interesting to me as it ended up being. I was more interested in the author, and was anxious to read her books. (Luckily, I received 2 books from this author, both of which ended up being 2 of my favorites and will be re read again!)
This story follows Anna Lisa, through her career, boyfriend, who she for some reason adores, (you will either relate through a relationship of your own, or through a friends odd admiration for such a jerk! Lol!) and her day to day life, as a very busy career woman. Sounds a little boring? I thought so to, but it starts to get much more interesting, pretty quick in the book.
Neil Scott Whittaker, a rude, British, executive from her firm's London office, comes to Anna Lisa's firm to share her office and her client. Not only does he come off as a well, jerk, he also shares her love for Lemon Curd. (Anna Lisa's first encounter with Neil Scott Whittaker, where he practically steals the last jar of Lemon Curd from the shelf) I wish I could've shared my citrus curd recipe with her;)
The story goes through a few months of their lives, Neil's rich and spoiled brat fiance, (another you can possibly relate to knowing), Anna Lisa and her job, family, boyfriend, ugh, Paul, Paul's "mistress", another type I am sure most can relate to knowing, and to make it worse, both Paul and Kimberly, work at Anna Lisa's office.
This book is one of those "not able to put down" books. If you're anything like me, you will get angry at the boyfriend, and Neil and Neil's fiance, well and Kimberly will just get your blood boiling! I read this book in 2 hours, maybe a little less, and I have never read a book like this one, so I surprised myself.
I do thoroughly enjoy Homa's way of writing. She keeps it interesting, doesn't overdo it, and seems to have a very natural way of getting her point across, conveying all the feelings to the reader,all without even trying. She reminds me a bit of 2 of my favorite authors, V.C Andrews and John Saul. (not the same types of stories, but what I have gotten from their books, I have from Homa's as well)
She also grabs your attention many times in this book, (which I must add, is her 1st novel!) and when you think your nerves are calmed down a bit, Paul or Sarah (Neil's fiance), do or say something else to make you want to scream!
At the same time, Anna Lisa learns to never judge a book by it's cover, I learned the same, again. I didn't expect what I read from the short description, and seemingly simple cover, and Anna Lisa, didn't quite expect what was happening in her life, all due to that rude, annoying Neil.
Between lots of craziness, mishaps, and heart breaking moments, the inevitable happens, thank goodness, and you will end up happy for your new friend, Anna Lisa.

Homa is a fascinating person, not to mention, I share most of her political and life views. I enjoy reading her blog, and I am looking forward to her next book!
Head over to Homa's website to learn more about her, and her amazing books!
You can also visit her blog here.

About Homa;


Homa Pourasgari resides in Los Angeles, California. She received a degree in Business from Loyola Marymount University, after which she left to live in Paris for one year and attended the University of Sorbonne, focusing on literature. Multilingual, she has been traveling since the age of 5 and has experienced many different cultures. Homa has worked in various industries such as marketing, retail, banking, accounting and fitness but has always returned to her true love – writing. She is currently working on a new book. Lemon Curd is her first novel.

You can also follow Homa on Twitter here!
Want to win a copy of Lemon Curd for yourself? Stay tuned for up and coming details on how to enter our giveaway!!

**I received a copy of this book in return for my review**

Saturday, March 24, 2012

My Kids Really Eating Fruit While Watching Copy-Kids Eat Fruits and Vegetables

This is very awesome! It is also very rare, but this has been a regular nightly deal around here, thanks to Cai Dixon and Bella's Copy-Kids Eat Fruit and Vegetables DVD!!
Can you imagine your kids actually begging for broccoli and bell peppers? I couldn't, but now it's been a habit;)



Please read our review here! And watch the Youtube video sample of this very amazing DVD here!

You can also like Copy-Kids on Facebook here!
Make sure to check back, as we will be starting a giveaway for this DVD for your children, very soon!!

Copy-Kids Eat Fruits and Vegetables DVD Review

In a perfect world, my kids would love to eat fruits and vegetables with every meal, and even as snacks!
But we are not in a perfect world, and my kids definitely don't go out of their way, (maybe a couple times a week), to eat fruits and vegetables. We have tried all kinds of things, more recently, I explained to them that when they are hungry and would like a snack, they could have the freedom of eating certain foods when they want, and without asking, This caught on for a couple days, and then nothing. I have fruits and vegetables within reach, cut up, in the fridge, bananas on the counter, (those are the fruit all 3 will eat up pretty good). They were/are allowed to have celery and peanut butter, apple wedges, bananas, oranges, broccoli, cucumbers, different colored peppers, and lots more, when they want. I also included yogurt with this deal, and certain dry cereals, but it didn't last long.
School night snacks are only fruits and vegetables and yogurt, and of course a side of certain dry cereal, but there are times when they get sick of it and just say they won't have a snack!
They will help with the gardens, and grow all of these vegetables, and they love to pick them, and they will to a degree, eat peppers and things that are in their dinner, but after this, they want cookies, fruit snacks, and crackers.
I received an email from Cai Dixon, the mastermind behind this life saving DVD, with an offer to review Copy-Kids Eat Fruits and Vegetables, and I even told the 3 little ones, and they smiled, Aaron, our 8 year old, said, " I think we should review it, you never know, it could work!" Lol! So, I immediately replied and started to imagine my kids eating healthy snacks.
The day this DVD arrived, we waited for Aaron to get home from school, and all 3 went in the living room and turned it on. I figured I will get a few things done, and then come in and check the DVD out. Well, what happened next, was the most shocking and amazing thing I had ever witnessed!
I was only in the kitchen for maybe 5 minutes, and I heard arguing between Genevive and Aaron. They were saying things like, "I want to see strawberries!" and "No! I want to watch the kids eat broccoli first!" I thought, what in the world? They had the oranges segment on, and Deegan was in front of the tv pointing at a little girl eating oranges, and having a fun time doing it, and he just kept giggling! The other 2 were still arguing, but stopped just enough, to ask for oranges. I said, 'Well, of course! But you have to eat them! I'm not going to peel oranges for you to throw around at each other!" (which is what normally happens in there during school night snack time). Their reply? "We want oranges! " OK!!
So, I went back to the kitchen and started peeling oranges, and overheard the argument again, this time it was between bell peppers and carrots.I started thinking, Oh no!! I hope we have all the fruits and vegetables that are in the DVD! We didn't, but we had quite a bit.
I took the plates of oranges in the room, and they had already set up their little yellow table and blue chairs, and Genevive asked if I could wash and cut up strawberries. Genevive? Strawberries? She never eats those! But Aaron, who does eat them, asked next, so I went back in the kitchen and started getting strawberries ready.
Aaron yelled, "Do we have any bell peppers?" Wow!! Of course we did, I add colored peppers in almost every meal, so I gathered some peppers, and took those in as well.
This went on, and on, and I spent the better part of the afternoon, washing and peeling and cutting apples, bananas, peppers, a whole POUND of strawberries, 3 oranges, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and I threw in some pear pieces,and some grapes, and all 3 of them sat and watched and ate and giggled at the little blue bird that flies around at the beginning of each segment.
I took pictures of this event, and even called for their dad to come in and witness this amazing event!
We had to laugh while they watched a DVD of literally, just kids, eating fruits and vegetables and ate a few plates full of cut up healthy snacks!
It was over after a while and then they had their dinner, eating all of the colored peppers, again, and asked when they could watch it next.
This has become an almost daily event at our house, and they are the ones who ask to watch it and Aaron, is always interested in knowing what fruits and vegetables we have in stock lol! He also told me, "Mom, you know, if you want us to do something, or eat something that we don't eat, tell that lady who sent us this DVD, and maybe she can make a movie for us and I promise, we will do it!" Wow! (That's all I have been able to say about this DVD. Standing a little behind Aaron, is Genevive, saying, "Yeah! If you want me to eat fruit, put the movie in! If you want Aaron to brush his teeth, ask the lady to make a movie with other kids brushing their teeth!" (We fight with Aaron, to brush his teeth, lol, as I'm sure a lot of parents do!) The good thing about that? There IS a DVD coming, all about tooth brushing!! I am more excited about this release then I am my favorite bands new album! Cai Dixon's warning, "Just be sure you have these foods at home-because your kids are going to want to eat what the Copy-Kids are eating.", wasn't recognized until AFTER their first viewing, but I had the same warning when discussing with friends and online. So Please, make sure you have most if not all, of the fruits and vegetables covered in this DVD.
Other up and coming Copy-Kids DVDs include, Tooth Brushing, Exercising, Tying Shoes, Letter and Number recognition, plus more healthy eating, all taught by kids!
There is also a section on the DVD for parents, an interview with renowned pediatrician, Dr. Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP. and author of, Good Food Today, Great Kids Tomorrow. This is also very informative and he discusses the brilliance behind Cai Dixon's life saving creation!
One more thing! How did Cai Dixon, come up with such an awesome idea/ Her daughter, Bella, was more willing to eat fruits and vegetables when she saw another child eating them, kids do like to copy, especially other kids. So, thank you Bella, and Cai!!
The post below is a Youtube video preview of what you will find in this DVD. It is so simple, and yet, it has the strength to make my 3 little ones actually WANT to eat fruits and vegetables! Do you want to grab a copy for yourself? You can buy one here.
We will also be announcing a giveaway where you can win a copy of this DVD for your kids!!
Keep checking in for more details in the next few days!!
In the meantime, check out the site,
maybe have your kids watch the Youtube video, and again, Please make sure you have several of the foods that are in this DVD before viewing!!
Who do we recommend this too? ALL KIDS!! We will be taking this DVD to Genevive's preschool to share with the other kids, and I offered it to our oldest daughter, for her boyfriend, lol.
If you have seen this DVD, or if the Youtube video made your kid want some healthy snacks, or if you buy it, please comment below and let us know what you thought! Did your kids eat fruits and vegetables?

Copy-Kids Eat Fruits and Vegetables

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Incredible Shrinking Bully Book Review


Have you ever had a bully bother you in school? Has any of your children? A friend, relative? If so, this story was written for all of you!
This is a big problem, around the world, especially in our own country, and in your child's school. We have had our fair share of bully incidences, with Aaron, our 8 year old, and even though the situation was stopped in it's tracks, it was still a nightmare.
We recently had the pleasure of reviewing a story, Holy Cannoli! Chick-E Gets A Job, by Mona Schmitt, and we giggled like crazy at that wonderful book! This story is written by the same author, and again, teaches a very valuable lesson! We have all become big time Mona Schmitt fans and I was especially thrilled to receive a coupon code for this story, in exchange for a review.
This story really hit home, as I am pretty sure it will for several of you. The illustrations are very cute, and drawn with such emotion, the pictures can tell the story to your little ones! Genevive and Deegan, of course are to young to read, but they love to hear stories and they were especially fascinated with the pictures in this book. Aaron, of course, thought they were funny;)
This story starts out introducing you to Bart and Frank. Frank is the enormous, mean, name calling, bully, and Bart is, well, "Bart the fart".
When Frank calls the other kids names, and picks on them, he grows bigger, and the other children, shrink. (I thought this was a brilliant way to get the point across, and later of course, gets much better!!)
The part when Bart's friend, Kelly, gets picked on, is a key part in this book. Bart sees Frank being mean to her, and she shrinks. So, Bart gives her compliments, and Kelly starts to get bigger!
It 's easy to get a little bit emotional during this story, especially if you have had similar situations happen to your own children. But the sad part doesn't last long! Bart starts to think about how he can put an end to this bully, and the constant name calling and picking on his friends and classmates, one night, and tries to come up with a plan.
The cool part? Bart doesn't have to "hit back". he comes up with a better plan!
Bart ends up becoming a "hero" and saving his friends and himself from this mean bully! He stands up for himself and yells back and as he stands up for himself and defends his friends, Frank starts to shrink, and Bart gets bigger!
Aaron was ecstatically happy with the outcome of this story, and it taught my children that you can stand up for yourself, like Bart, and you can do it without violence.
This story is written very well, it covers all the emotions that go through your head when you are bullied, and is very easy for children to relate too.
We like Mona's writing style, and the values that are taught through her stories. Courage is a very important lesson to teach and she does this exceptionally well through a very cool, and yet somewhat simple book, that is easy for kids to understand and learn from.
Aaron will be reading this to his classmates, and I am certain they will love it. It explains, teaches, instills, one of the key elements of being a good person, a child growing up, and it is cool, all at the same time.
Mona also has some talking points at the end of this book for you and your children, and these are a perfect addition!
This is one of those stories that I believe will end up being a long time favorite for many years to come. Teachers, Home schoolers, parents, grandparents, Librarians, should all have a copy of this book to share with the children in their lives.
We all recommend this story for all ages! Especially kids!!
Please let us know what you think! Have you had a problem with bullies? What did you do to put an end to it?
You can view a sample of this book here, or make a purchase, and read it immediately!

**Please read our disclosure statement here**

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Juppy Baby Walker Review and Please Vote!!

Have you seen this baby walker yet??
I was quite amazed with this very unique, terribly easy to use and pack, and fabulously comfortable, Juppy Baby Walker, and I am amazed with how well it works!
What a simple idea, and yet, nobody has thought of putting this together, making it, and selling it, until of course, somebody, thank God, finally did!
The brilliance I think is what amazes me the most. I mean, why have I been using the regular old, giant, plastic, expensive baby walkers, that were hardly easy to pack and take along, and always had snacks stuck in the cracks, under the noisy, flashing lights and thingamajigs, that my kids always kind of just grunted at?
not to mention, what about the dangers behind these old, goofy plastic things, that barely fit through our doorways? It seems to be more work behind these regular, traditional walkers, then just picking the baby up yourself, and holding him up in front of you, right?
Well, that is the thing! With this Juppy walker,



the strain on your back, legs, the pain from bending down, and walking goofy, behind your little one, is gone!!
I am anxious for my granddaughter to arrive, yes, I will be a grandma at 38, and our younger children, Deegan, will be a 2 year old uncle, and genevive, a 5 year old aunt and Aaron, an 8 year old uncle! But we are excited for this event, and can not wait to meet Lillian!! I will also be ordering a Juppy, in pink, and with her pretty little name, monogrammed! (Another cool thing about The Juppy!)
We did receive one of these in return for our review, and since Deegan, our youngest, had already started walking pretty well, I knew somebody close to me who would love to have the chance to use this for her little boy, Kambell.
Genevive's preschool teacher, has a cutie pie, Kambell, and he has been having the time of his life, using The Juppy! His mother is especially delighted, since she actually has tremendous back pain, and sees a Doctor, regularly for her back.
She has been grateful and has seen an improvement with Kambell, and also recommends this product to anybody!
Deegan, definitely could have used this walker, had I known that this existed, I would have bought one!
Deegan was born with club foot, and has been wearing casts and boots with his Ponsetti bar, since day 1. He did have his surgery at 6 months, and has been recovering quite well, however, he still has a few tiny issues, and he still sees his foot Dr. He was not "supposed" to walk already, they said he may be behind, but he started walking quite early, at least earlier then what they thought. This is why I would recommend this to any parent, especially those with a child with any kind of developmental issues, or club foot!
You have to check out the neat way this baby walker fits in the adorable, colorful carrying bag, and how cool is that, that is can fit in your purse?
The straps are wide, the little leg holes are roomy, and it is the most comfortable thing for the tiny ones!
Walmart is having a very cool promotion right now, and it would be real neat to walk into my local walmart, and see this product on their shelf!
It is for small business owners, to have a chance to have a space on Walmart's shelf!
Please check the contest out here, and vote to get The Juppy on their shelves!!
If you can not get online everyday, to vote for The Juppy, you can also use your cell phone and text: 933 to 383838.
Check out The Juppy on Facebook here.

Monday, March 5, 2012

My Latest Addiction....Clipix.com!

I recently came across this website and I really can't get enough of it! I am absolutely positive that ANY busy mom, busy dad, grandma, teen, anyone, really, will agree, as soon as they start "clipping".If you are anything like me, then you know exactly what it's like to find something very interesting, cool, neat, helpful, online, and try to remember the site, you write it down, you try and save it, but then of course it's lost or forgotten. Until you need it again of course!

I often come across recipes, crafts, printable worksheets, blogs, sites, things I would love to purchase but need to wait to buy, and this is a daily problem for me. I can never remember the site for more then half of these things!

No matter how many "to do lists", notes, or lists that i make, I often can never go back to the specific candy mold I found, or the cute ruffled skirt that I would love to check on each week for a sale price!

Clipix.com, literally, will be saving my life! How? By letting me "clip" everything I find online that I know I need to get back to, and saving me tons and tons and tons of time in the process, which will in turn, free up more time for me to get all I have to get done, done. If everything else would be as easy.....

clipix

The possibilities are truly endless, I can't think of anything I can't clip on clipix! I have a clipboard of candy making supplies, blogging tips, help, recipes, crafts, printables, deals, sales, books I need to read, toys for my kids, (I go crazy trying to remember all of the things they want and need so bad! lol!) it just goes on and on! I should make a clipboard of things i have to clip! Honestly, I feel as though a weight has been taken off my shoulders. This is really an amazing site that I am going to be using on a daily basis.

Talk about simple, this is so easy to start!

You can create an account through Twitter or Facebook, clipix.

Add the 'clip" button to your bookmarks bar, and when you see anything you want to go back to, you simply click on the clip button, and select which clipboard you would like the page to appear on.

Imagine all of the possibilities, and what you can do with your free time.

There is also an iPhone app, so you can "clip" on the go!

With the help of Mutiboards, I can also organize my clipboards and place them in groups! That's really going to be useful.

Then there are Synchboards, a very neat way to share with friends and family. you can all add to these boards, and you can see what they clipped, in real time!

This is a picture of a couple of my clipboards that I started with, I love it!

You will be thanking me for this later, unless you are already a clipper!

Please leave me some comments and let us know what you are or will be clipping.

Happy Clipping!!

 

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Where are my Paragraphs???

I am really having a rough time with both of my blogs this past weekend, and part of last week! It seems that no matter what I do, or how I do it, all of my sentences run together, and all of the paragraphs are gone!! If anybody knows how to fix this, please, please, please comment here!!!

Upcoming Reviews

There are lots of good reviews coming up! I am very excited for all of these and with most, of course, we will have giveaways!! There will be a Juppy Baby Walker review coming up, and hopefully another Sneakpeeq giveaway with more gift cards!! There are also some book reviews, and those, as well as the Juppy Baby Walker, will all have a giveaway!! I am looking to fill in April and start with May, so if anybody knows of a small business, author, your own business, who would like to have reviews on my blogs and social media networks, and/or host giveaways, please leave a comment or contact me!! There are also a few reviews coming up that are for amazing crafters, I found the best crocheter, and I also bought some very cute photo frames for my 3 youngest, from a very sweet girl! I will post pictures, and a review for those frames as well!! We also have a "mom group", and we also have a blog for that group, www.notjust4moms.blogspot.com. We review products for different companies and brands, and I am still working on getting this blog together, but we will be posting our pictures and reviews individually, for the brands and items we sampled! Our last meeting was Saturday March 3rd, and we had the opportunity to have a Huggies Pull Ups party, and had coupons, cute things for the kids, inflatable guitars, progress charts, and cute little door hangers, and a DVD of the "Potty Dance". We also had an awesome time with Vocalpoint's Stylefind P&G party! This was fun and they were very generous with the samples, and even included a full size Cover Girl Lashblast mascara!! Unfortunately, we were not all together at the meeting, and some had to leave early, and I ended up being late, as usual, lol. But everybody was able to grab their bag of fun samples and coupons, and I look forward to our next meeting! Next month so far for our group, we have Annie's Organic Pizza, and Stonyfield Farms Yo Baby Yogurt!! So this will definitely be a fun and pretty tasty meeting;p The next review will be on both blogs, (I normally post on both, a few days apart), for an awesome website, www.clipix.com. This is super fun, and I am so happy to have found this site!! You just have to check it out!! I am already thrilled to have already found some free time, due to my clipboards!!