Are You a Veggie Eater? Do You Know Some?

I don't know about your kiddos but with mine, vegetables are the typical challenge. Getting them to vegetables, that is. They will look at them, touch them, pick them out at the store, heck, they will even serve them to their sibling but put it on their plate, yeah, well their enthusiasm takes a serious nose dive.

Of course, not all adults eat their veggies either. I am not one of them. I love that not only can they taste good but they are chock full of healthy vitamins, nutrients and fiber! For those (like my hubby) who are not fans of veggies, their is a great campaign underway, designed to help them regain their popularity.

The makers of Hidden Valley® Salad Dressings have now created the Love Your Veggies™ campaign to help children develop a life-long love of vegetables through activities at home, at school and in the community. Although eating vegetables is a true necessity, the Love Your Veggies™ campaign is designed to make the experience more enjoyable by focusing on education, exploration and understanding of healthy eating.

The Love Your Veggies™ campaign works to better educate parents on how to introduce and involve kids in every aspect of a healthy eating experience: education, gardening, meal planning, shopping, and cooking. The Love Your Veggies™ grant program works to support increased access to, and consumption of, fresh produce during school meals. Now in its third year, the grant program will award $15,000 nutrition grants to 10 elementary schools nationwide who demonstrate creativity and innovation in their proposed vegetable programs, as well as a financial need. I remember the vegetables from my school days quite vividly and they were anything but fresh!

There is also a "Search for Veggie Champions Contest" where ten lucky moms will be awarded the opportunity to have in-person training on these subjects. Winners will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Chicago to attend a retreat hosted by chef Art Smith and some other serious experts where they will learn how to help not only their own children but their communities increase their appreciation and enjoyment of vegetables. These moms will also receive $5,000 to start or maintain a community vegetable garden in their hometown - that can be some garden! For the rest of us, all of the advice, tips and recipes from the retreat will be made available on www.LoveYourVeggies.com.

So head over to http://www.loveyourveggies.com/ and sign up for the Love Your Veggies contest plus find out more about the promotion from Hidden Valley.

Thanks to Mom Central for sharing this terrific campaign!

Love+Veggies

They Are Making a List and Have Checked it Twice...Mom Central, that is!

You probably know that I am lucky enough to work with those wonderful folks over at Mom Central from time to time on Reviews and such. Since I began working with them, I have made a point of reading their newsletter and visiting their blog every month to see all of the wonderful things they have in store. Stacy and gang over there really do care about women and moms especially. I know they took a poll to see how many of us were having financial concerns regarding spending during this Holiday season and a whopping 91% of the moms who replied say yes! Well, Mom Central to the rescue!

If you have not yet visited Mom Central, especially their Holiday Giveaways, then you are in for a real treat! Just like their press release says...

"“Making a list and checking it twice” serves as the mantra of the Mom Central team as
they alleviate the burden on Moms to research gift ideas by introducing their First Annual
Holiday Gift guide. The staff at Mom Central has done the homework for Moms,
evaluating hundreds of products in the following categories: for him, for her, for
baby/toddler, for tweens, for teens, and even for pets. The Mom Central team assesses the
quality, availability, the claims each advertises and, of course, if it will put a twinkle in
the eye of the receiver.
Since Mom Central receives some of these products before anyone else, providing Moms
exclusive access to new and innovative gifts. Products include affordable gift ideas from
Sony, Philips, Nautilus, Casio, Playskool, Baby Einstein, Netflix, Hasbro, Razor, A&E,
and more.
Mom Central will also give away thousands of dollars worth of products in multiple daily
drawings. Each provides the chance to win an entire gift package that includes gifts worth
hundreds of dollars – a great way to combat financial stress this holiday season."

Now the giveaways may have started December 1st but you have f-a-r from missed out! Take a look at what they still have planned!

Day 7, December 9th: Toys for Toddlers Gift Package
Day 8, December 10th: Little Book Lovers Giveaway
Day 9, December 11th: Being a Kid - Boys' and Girls' Gift Packages
Day 10, December 12th: Furry Friends Gift Package
Day 11, December 13th: For Tweens - Boys' and Girls' Gift Packages
Day 12, December 14th: Teenage Fun Gift Package
Day 13, December 15th: Health and Wellbeing Gift Package
Day 14, December 16th: For Him Gift Package
Day 15, December 17th: For Her Gift Package
Day 16, December 18th: Family Night Gift Package

WOW!!
So hurry on over and visit
Mom Central's First Annual Holiday Gift Guide,
visit http://www.momcentral.com/gift-guide/

On an additional note, I am often asked how to get started doing Reviews and Giveaways. The answer I give is to start reviewing what you have at home already and blogging about it. That gives you experience and might just get you noticed. Secondly, keep your eyes open for opportunities to join in testing and reviewing communities like the one HERE at Mom Central because you just never know where that might lead.

Good luck and Merry Christmas! See ya over at Mom Central!




Mom+Central

This Mama's Got the Magic of Clorox 2 - Review & GIVEAWAY

I don't know about the rest of you Moms but I have been totally astonished at just how much laundry my little family of 5 can produce. And it is Never Ending! Sheesh! Of course, looking on the bright side, that means I get all kinds of opportunities to try out new method for providing my family with a beautiful, clean wash.

Mom Central has let me be part of the Clorox 2 blog tour to try out one of those very new methods. Give your clothes a boost. Clorox 2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster is specially formulated to lift stains and contains brighteners to give colors a boost. It is designed to be safe for all loads – add it to every load with your detergent for cleaner and brighter clothes.

In short, Clorox describes it and it's benefit's as...

• Effective formula removes dirt and many stains
• Brightens colors and whitens whites
• Can be used in both standard and HE (front loading) machine
• New concentrated formula is better for the environment

Of course, my own personal favorite thing about it is this... I can use it in my cool front-loader washing machine...something not all products can say!

Of course, what really counts is how does it do on the clothes, right? Well, I really feel like it is making a difference in the whiteness and brightness of my laundry. I have been using it for the last couple of weeks and feel like I can comfortably say that I happily recommend Clorox2 for whitening and brightening your laundry!

The fine folks at Clorox believe in their product so much that they will even give you your money back if you are not satisfied. Now you cannot beat that...or can you?

You Bet! Want to Win Some FREE Clorox 2?

~ GIVEAWAY ~

Enter to win a coupon good for one FREE 44oz liquid or 49.2oz dry of CLOROX 2 Stain Fighter and Color Booster (4 WINNERS!)

Entries for this Giveaway Have Now Closed. Watch for the Winners to be announced shortly.

How to enter:
Go visit Dare to Be Colorful and look around.

Come back here and leave a comment telling me what you saw/learned/liked.

Want to earn extra entries?

• Subscribe to our updates - 1 extra entry
• Tell me about your greatest stain success story. - 1 extra entry
• Blog about this giveaway with links back here AND to The Game Factory (all links must be clickable) - 5 extra entries.

• Twitter, Digg, or Stumblethis Giveaway - 5 extra per method used (up to 15 extra entries!!)

Please be sure to leave separate comments for EACH additional entry.

Giveaway ends on Friday, December 12th at 12 Noon central time and is open to the US.

Thanks to Mom Central for this terrific opportunity!



This is the FINAL WEEK to enter the GIVEAWAYS both here and on 3 P's in a Pod for Because It's Christmas! Don't Miss out!

Clorox2+Laundry

Is Shopping Making Your Season Sour?

So, you have everything bought, wrapped and mailed, right? Nooo? Well, let me tell you about someplace I just learned about, thanks to Mom Central - SHOP.COM.

SHOP.COM is a comparison shopping site specifically designed for women that allows you to shop from over 2,000 merchants all in one place. Purchases can be conveniently made using one universal "shopping cart" to buy everything at one time or by clicking over to participating merchants' sites.

Now we all know that every Mom is a busy Mom and SHOP.COM gives busy Moms an opportunity to ease the stress of holiday shopping with tools to help us figure out what to buy, find recommendations, and pinpoint which stores really have the best price. With a combined total of over 20 million products, we can stop running from store to store to find the best deal or the perfect gift for the impossible-to-shop-for relative. Additionally, SHOP.COM provides expert advice, shopping tips, and articles, while giving easy ways to save money via price comparison tools, coupons, and rebates.


Thanks to Mom Central, I was introduced to Shop.Com. This site will be the answer to so many shoppers prayers, especially those that don't like to deal with the crowds of the holidays.

Here is how they describe themselves:

SHOP.COM is a new kind of shopping comparison site that offers the most comprehensive shopping experience on the web.

Compare.

Search for the products you love from the best stores on the web and see them side by side. Decide which price, shipping method, and delivery schedule options work best for you.

Learn.

But we don't stop there. Unlike other shopping comparison sites, we offer you a variety of tools and expert advice to help you make informed buying decisions and to find the best product to suit your needs.

Share.

You don't have to take our word for it. Share your opinions through tools like product reviews and My Shop, a place to keep track of your favorites.

Shop!

And when you're ready to buy, we give you options. You can use your secure SHOP.COM account to make purchases across over 800 OneCart® Trusted Merchant Stores, all backed by SHOP.COM's 100% satisfaction guarantee, or you can make your purchase directly from the web sites of one of hundreds of our Partner Stores.

At Shop.com you can find everything from a hard to find Nintendo Wii set to that exquisite pair of Stuart Weisman Patent Leather Pumps and from that adorable little Asian Marie Osmond doll, to exactly-what-he-asked-for iPod Nano.

Since I am a huge bargain shopper I was mesmerized by their Sale section and how could you not just love their Christmas Shop! It includes areas such as Toys for Kids, Gifts for Her, Bestselling Gifts, Gifts for Him, Electronics, Gifts for Teens and my personal favorite ~ 50 Gifts Under $50.00, and let's face it, who doesn't need to save money this year?

The best part of Shop.com is that their stores span everywhere from the biggest chains, like Best Buy, to unique smaller retailers you’ve never heard of. Need a Nintendo Wii a few days before Christmas? Shop.com is a good place to check without spending all night scouring the web.Here is a short list of just SOME of the retailers involved:

eToys, PETCO.com, Fossil, Lucky Brand Jeans, MaxStudio.com, Lamps Plus, CHEFS Catalog, Cooking.com, Brookstone, Frontgate, Harry and David, SmartBargains.com, Smith & Hawken, Hammacher Schlemmer, CompUSA, Sur La Table, Sharper Image, Sierra Trading Post, and One Hanes Place.

So if you are not into fighting the crowd or just can't find that perfect gift, drop in at Shop.com. I can almost guarantee you will find exactly what you are looking for - I sure have!

Circus, Circus...Discount and Giveaway!

"LA-DIES and GENTLEMEN, BOYS and GIRLS, WELCOME TO THE GRRR-EATEST SHOW ON EARTH!!!"

I can remember hearing those words like it was yesterday. My Mom grew up with a love of the Circus so my parents always made a point of taking us to see it whenever possible. To me as a child, when I thought of the word Circus, it only meant one thing - Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, The Greatest Show on Earth! Of course, my favorite parts were always watching the animals but I will never be able to forget the time I got to be 'in' the Circus myself!

A couple of years ago, my parents decided to start my children off right in the circus tradition and took P1 to see The Greatest Show on Earth when it came to Dallas. She LOVED it and still talks about it years later. Each time she sees the ads come on TV that they are coming to town, she does everything in her considerable power to convince us to go. Of course, with shows like this, who can blame her?

Fun like that is not to be missed! And it can be such a great Family Tradition. Attending a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus provides more than just a night out. It creates a memory that lasts a lifetime and a tradition that can be carried on from year to year and generation to generation. And as one Mom Central Mom recently said, it is "worth every smile and mesmerized stare."

I checked the current ticket prices and was pleased to see that they really are still moderately priced but I can do you one better - I have a discount code for you from Mom Central!!

***Get 20% off your Ringling Bro. Circus tickets for the cities listed below***
Code: MCC

Now, check this out - they may still be coming to a town near YOU this season:

Grand Rapids, MI - Sept. 18-21, 2008
Denver, CO - Oct. 2-13, 2008
Boston, MA – Oct. 8-13, 2008
Cleveland, OH - Oct. 24 - Nov. 2
Chicago, IL - Nov. 6 - 30, 2008
St. Louis, MO - Nov. 6-9, 2008
Auburn Hills, MI - Nov. 12 - 16, 2008
Highland Heights, KY - Feb 27 - Mar. 1, 2009
Cincinnati, OH - Mar. 4 - 8, 2009

So why not start now making those traditions that will last a lifetime. I know P1 has talked about the Circus so much that P2 now cannot wait to go!

Isn't she cute in her little clown nose?

GIVEAWAY:
If you would like a clown nose for your cutie, I have 4 to give away so leave me a comment below with your favorite memories of the circus. Entries will close 9/24 at 11:59pm. Open to the US and Canada.

~~This post was done in conjunction with those fine folks over at Mom Central!~~

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
Ringling Brothers+Circus

Responsibility - What's YOUR Policy?

RESPONSIBILITY. One of my favorite words. One of the most underused and overlooked words in the English language in my opinion. Something our country and our citizens are often sorely lacking in.

Remember this commercial? I sure do. It made a big impact on me. I was so thrilled that someone was promoting paying it forward and human kindness. Well, this little commercial led to something called The Responsibility Project.

That little commercial by Liberty Mutual that grew into an overnight sensation. Seeing it made the public aware of how doing the right thing, just because, could change the world little by little.

The Responsibility Project now has a website showcasing short videos where garden-variety folks like you and me , both adults and children, have made the choice to do the right thing. Stop in and watch them and I think you will find these stories as touching and inspiring as I did. They said there,

"We believe the more people think and talk about responsibility, the more the world becomes a better place."

Sounds good to me.:)

At the top of this post I mentioned how I find our world is so lacking in these basic human traits. This site can help parents know how to share the idea of personal integrity and responsibility with their children through videos, discussion guides, and blog posts.

So I ask you, when it comes to responsibility, what’s your policy?


This post was written in conjunction with Mom Central.

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
Responsibility+Project

Share and Share Alike

What I Found: I was recently sent a game from the cool new Hasbro/Playskool game that is part of the Noodleboro collection called the “Learning to…Share Fun Park Game”. My daughter P2 took one look at the brightly colored box and she could not wait to play it.

What I Liked: It took a few minutes to assemble all of the parts but in no time, we were ready to get started. Since the big focus of the Noodleboro games is to reinforce Social Skills, they had provided some real bonus items - A book that has a story relevant to the game and sharing as well as an audio CD that is filled with fun stories and songs. P2 was excited to hear the new CD and loved the music and she could not wait for me to get to the end of the story so she could, "see what happened!" Too cute!

The game itself is made for ages 4+ and has pieces that are sturdy and made to be handled. There are short, easy to understand instructions that are written in both English and Spanish. The game was quite fun for both of us. Designed as a Fairground, my daughter really loved rolling the die, collecting the tokens and doing the different activities.

What I Didn't Like: The instructions say that the game is designed for 2 to 4 players. I found that having only 2 players actually decreased the impact of the lesson in sharing. We were both getting tokens and neither of us really were ever in need so there really was no impetus to share. When we played again later with 3 players, the lesson came across much more clearly.

What I Say: With birthdays and the Holidays fast approaching, I would certainly say that the Noodleboro games are true keepers! You cannot beat having your kids learn the lessons you need them to while have loads of fun.

If you hurry, Mom Central is raffling 200 Noodleboro games off to Moms who sign up here.

They retail for $24.99. You can also find many Noodleboro products online at Hasbro as well as at Target and Walmart stores.

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
Noodleboro+Games