I won an Easter Basket!!!

I won a "God Gave Us Easter" Easter Basket in the Easter Egg Blog Hop!


It was filled with 7 "God Gave Us..." books written by Lisa T. Bergren including one that she signed! , a yummy Dove chocolate bunny, A plush teddy bear, bubbles, Easter straw cup, fun markers, an Egg Dye Kit, goldfish crackers, a sand bucket, and I think that was it! :)


Thank you Lisa Bergren and Waterbrook for the lovely Easter goodies. Such fun!

HAPPY EASTER!

The Healing Carmex Kit

I received another fun Carmex kit, as a part of their blog squad team. This kit contained the new and improved Healing Lotion and Healing Cream, as well as a Carmex hoodie!


The Carmex Healing Lotion contains Aloe and Vitamin E, which is great in keeping your skin moisturized. It has a non greasy feel with an original Carmex scent, making it great for everyday use.
The Carmex Healing Cream contains 9 healing ingredients and has increased levels of lanolin in which it mimics skins natural lipid layer to maximize healing, as well as petrolatum and allantoin to soften rough skin and to lock in moisture.  Especially good for hands, feet, elbows and knees.

The Carmex hoodie is super soft and comfortable, in a bright yellow color with the Carmex logo on the chest. I'm not a usual wearer of yellow, so I wish it came in black with the Carmex logo on it instead lol. But it is a nice lounging sweater, with a zipper in the front.

One reader will win Carmex lotion. Enter through rafflecopter below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway




I was contacted & provided the above products by Carmex in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I received my Sugar 'n Spice 2013 Vox Box!!

Disclaimer: I received the following product(s) in exchange for my review. All opinions my own.
 
As part of the Influenster program, 
I received my Sugar 'n Spice 2013 Vox Box!!
 
In the Vox Box, it contains:
  • Colgate Optic White Tooth Paste
  • Colgate Optic White Mouth Wash
  • Colgate 360 Optic White Tooth Brush
  • Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer READ REVIEW
  • Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel towelettes + coupons  


I would love for you to check out my reviews! :)





I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Sprink Break Vacay!

This past week started Spring Break so I've been kinda M.I.A. due to a mini vacay with my hubby! :)

Our son stayed with his grandma for three days so me and the hubbs could have some very much us time. We enjoyed ourselves, and though we miss the lil man, our vacay could be a tad bit longer! ;) We went to different places, ate way too much, drank too much, relaxed and just rekindled that special time together.  Here are some pics of our funness!


Now it's back to reality and I haven't quite overcome the laziness ;)



{Be on the lookout for more posts and giveaways coming soon!}

Purex with Crystals Laundry Detergent

Purex with Crystals Fragrance is a new Purex laundry detergent made with a fabric softener that contains Crystals fragrance. It uses DirtLift Action that works deep into your clothes to get the dirt out, helping them stay bright, white and clean.  I've reviewed Purex Crystals for baby awhile back and it smelt super good! I also purchased the Purex Crystals in Fresh Spring Waters scent, to make my DIY Laundry Soap. They both smell equally good so you could just about imagine how good this new Purex Detergent with the pre built in Crystal fragrances smell...Wonderful! I was a little bummed that the smell didn't really linger on my clothes much...nothing like the actual crystals you pour in prewash... But if you have a sensitive nose to smells and still like the crystal fabric softener scents, 
this would be great for you!

The new Purex plus fabric Softener with Crystals can be found
 in the liquid detergent aisle at Walmart, Target, Kroger, and other Purex retailers.

Purex is holding another fantastic sweepstakes for the launch of the new Purex plus fabric Softener with Crystals, where one grand prize winner will receive $1,000 and a years supply of Purex detergent, and 500 second place winners will receive a coupon for free Purex Detergent!!

Also,  Two special readers will win a free bottle of Purex plus fabric Softener with Crystals!! 
Enter through the rafflecopter below. Good luck!! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway





This post is made possible by Purex, for allowing me to be an Insider and providing me with the supplies to test and review. 

DaddyScrubs Diaper Pack Backpack


The Daddy Diaper Pack is the perfect backpack for daddy's. It is easy to pull on and off, so if Daddy is holding baby, he can take the backpack off without struggling. The Daddy Diaper Pack is made with several pockets and compartments, great for storing all those baby needs. The Daddy Diaper Pack consists of: Mesh side pockets to hold water bottles, baby bottles, or sippy cups. A big pouch for diapers, wipes and a change of clothes. An Organizer to hold keys, money, binkies, small toys. A smaller fleece lined pocket great for holding sunglasses. And the best part... and insulated cooler pocket to hold snacks!! This backpack is made for good daddy organization!

 Though I'm not a daddy... [i'm a mama! :) ] I wanted to get a feel for this backpack for myself. Me and my son were taking a walk to the library so I got the idea to use The Daddy Diaper Pack to hold our many library books, as well as an umbrella and drink. It worked great!! When we go to the library, we always get a ton of books to stock up on for the week so the bag is always pretty heavy. The Daddy Diaper Pack made carrying the books home a whole lot easier because of it's padded shoulder straps and cushioned back lining. I loved it! My original intent on receiving this backpack, is that it would make a great daddy to be gift for my brother, expecting a baby in April... but it's that good, I just might keep it! After all, we will be working on baby #2 in our close future I hope! ;) I had my husband try it out when we went for a walk and he said it's very comfy. The many compartments make it easy for storing miscellaneous items and it's manly enough for the daddy to have his own diaper bag on daddy days out.



 You can find The Daddy Diaper Pack at http://www.daddyscrubs.com/ being priced at $69.95 and you can get a 10% discount using the Coupon code: BLOG13 It would make a great new dad or daddy to be gift!


 *One Special Reader has the chance to win your own Daddy Diaper Pack!!! Just follow the Rafflecopter entries below... Good Luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway





I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.



Campbell's Slow Kettle Southwest-Style Chicken Chili Review

Today I tried another soup from Campbell's new Slow Kettle Soup line: Southwest-Style Chicken Chili with Black Beans and Sweet Corn. The soup is filled with Chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, green peppers and more. It had a wonderful smell, as chili should, but the taste was nothing I'd eat again. My first bite tasted like it had sat in the plastic container too long. After that, I began tasting too much of the green pepper which gave it a slight bitterly smoked taste. I do not like that for chili which is too bad because I even made homemade cornbread to eat with it! The best part of the soup was the liquid of the chili...as I also found I'm not fond of corn in my chili lol.















You can get a $1.00 off coupon HERE if you would like to purchase your own Campbell's Slow Kettle Soups! Enjoy!

Thanks to Smiley360 for providing me a $2 off coupon for Campbell's Slow Kettle Soups, I only had to pay 99cents for this one!


No More Boiling Eggs!!!


If you were wanting boiled eggs, did you know you could bake your eggs in the oven, instead of boil them in water?? I didn't know this until recently and it seems to be the big thing flying around right now! lol I gave it a shot and am so glad I did. It's way easier, for me anyway, because I always seemed to under or over boil eggs when I did the traditional stove top. Plus it leaves your home smelling like muffins...until you open the oven door that is ;)

  All you do is set the oven to 325 degrees and bake the eggs for 30 minutes. You can either set them in a muffin tin, or cook them right on the oven rack. I find the muffin tin to be much easier, so you don't have to pull each egg out one by one. They end up with a brown spot on one side, and brown polka dots. Don't be alarmed, it's just from them cooking. Baking your eggs is said to give them a better taste and texture, as well as easier peeling! I used one to make me an egg salad sandwich today and it did seem to peel better. The taste wasn't much different but still pretty cool.




Simply Easy way to make boiled eggs, ready to decorate for Easter!

PHOTO ESSAY: PAAS & Heinz Egg Decorating Day!

Due to my overwhelming amount of pictures, I made a separate post to share the photos of our PAAS & Heinz Easter Egg Decorating Day. You can check out the post written HERE. And be sure to make your own digital Easter eggs at www.heinzpaaseaster.com  to help the Make-A-Wish foundation!




































 Thanks to PAAS, Heinz, and Child'sPlay Communications, me and my son got to have a fun day decorating Easter Eggs!!

Decorate Eggs for a GOOD Cause with PAAS & Heinz!

Easter is coming up very soon and PAAS has many new things to share with you! They came out with some fun new egg decorating kits which include: Volcano Eggsplosion where you use melted crayons for instant color and Touch of Velvet that allows you to stick adhesives & flocking powder to create fun shapes and designs on your Easter egg, and PAAS markers!
* Between now and March 31st, Heinz Vinegar and PAAS Easter Egg Dyeing Kits have teamed together and made an East Egg Decorator app!! This isn't just any ordinary app, this one is made to help others! Heinz and PAAS will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to Make-A-Wish, for every egg that has been created through their app. You can download their app in the iTunes App Store, by searching "PAAS/Heinz" or use it on your desktop at  www.heinzpaaseaster.com  And remember to share this with others to help the Make-A-Wish foundation!

Here are some pics of our virtual eggs we made through the PASS/Heinz App:


Heinz, PAAS, and Child'sPlay Communications sent me this fun Easter basket filled with PAAS' new egg decorating kits. Me and my son had a lot of fun decorating our eggs and plan to have a small Easter party soon to share the fun! We started off making traditional eggs, with using PAAS coloring tabs and put them in their colored egg containers, disintegrating them in Heinz Vinegar and water. Next, we tried the PAAS markers with the stencils and found the eggs were just too cold, the markers ran too much. But drawing with them, without the stencils, worked great and was a lot of fun! Just took forever to dry so the markers smeared. Then we tried PAAS Touch of Velvet and were really dissapointed. I followed the instructions through and the stickers just wouldn't stick! Which means the velvet powder wouldn't either and made a terrible mess. Lastly, we decorated with PAAS' Volcano Eggplosion kit. I was shocked by this kit because, for such a big box, it only contained 6 crayons and a sharpener (which barely even sharpened well)!! I "boiled" my eggs in the oven and while they were still hot, we sprinkled the crayon shavings on, finding it to be kind of a nuisance. Then I got the bright idea to just draw on the eggs with the crayons! This worked so much better and was way more fun. Also reduces the risk of those poor little fingers getting burned by the hot eggs. All in all, we had a lot of fun, despite the kits fails. It made for a great afternoon playtime and can't wait to make some more! :) 




 I didn't want to overwhelm this post with all the pics, so check out my other pictures from our fun PAAS & Heinz Egg Decorating Day HERE !! :)


 
I was provided the above products from Heinz, PAAS, and Child'sPlay Communications, in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Ignoring The Table

source
You ever see a piece of furniture sitting alone and abandoned, just begging for you to take it home and make it beautiful again? Living in an apartment, I see random items being put next to the dumpster that all seem to speak something to the "renew and make beautiful" inside me... but I withhold because I don't want to become a hoarder lol Not that I'd ever let myself be..I can just imagine what that ugly something could be turned into. I usually go on with my life, and leave that item there to be thrown in with the other recycled mess...thinking of the what-if's and the what-could've-been's. These past few days, there was a retro style, two tiered side table sitting out there. (similar to the pic on the side) It's not a piece of furniture I really find attractive, but every time I would walk past, it spoke to me "I could be beautiful."... "A little cleaning and paint would make me pretty" ... I just walked on by...Now that the table is gone, I keep imaging what it could have evolved into, if I just took it.

What piece of furniture has "spoken" to you lately?


Dial's New Coconut Water Body Wash


 Dial has been a trusted brand of America for 65 years! Making soaps, sanitizers and lotions, made to moisturize, exfoliate, protect, and replenish our skin! As a Purex Insider, I recently got to try Dial's new Coconut Water Body Wash. Coconut Water is found in the young and green coconuts, and is know to be rich in antioxidants and electrolytes, which help replenish hydration. So in turn, this body wash made to hydrate your skin and give you amazing showers! :) I love the smell of Coconut Water Body Wash! It smells so exotic and feels great on my skin. It also contains Bamboo Leaf Extract which plays a great role in keeping your skin healthy. I've never used a product that contained Bamboo leaf extract so I decided to do some research. The extract comes from the leaves and stalks of a bamboo plant, which is a rich source of silica, an essential nutrient to our bodies. Bamboo extract is said to improve conditions of the hair and skin, and offers anti-irritant properties that sooth the skin, as well as antioxidants that minimize wrinkles and naturally boost the youthful radiance. Sounds just as beautiful as it smells :)

You can enter Dial's consumer sweepstakes HERE as their promotion in releasing the new Coconut Water body wash, for a chance for one to win a grand prize of $1000 or 250 1st place winners win a free bottle of body wash. Also...

A Special Reader can win their own bottle of Dial's new Coconut Water Body Wash!! Just enter the Rafflecopter Below.. Good Luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway



This post is made possible by Purex, for allowing me to be an Insider and providing me with the supplies to test and review. 

MorningStar Veggie *Bacon* Review

MorningStar Veggie Bacon strips is a great substitute if you're craving bacon but have given up meat. It has a bacon-y flavor, much like the taste of bacon bits and it cooks fast without the grease build up! That was my favorite part, the no grease splatters! lol. MorningStars bacon is made with 36% less fat that real pork bacon, it contains no cholesterol and only 60 calories per serving, which is two strips. If you're a true vegan, I would suggest you look at the ingredients to these meatless items as I noticed in the ingredients, the bacon contains milk and eggs.















I think MorningStar Veggie Bacon strips are alright. It has nothin on real bacon...but it's a doable substitute. It cooks really fast on the stove top so burning happens easily. And it's hard to tell when it's finished cooking because it doesn't bubble up or change color. It has a fake candy like bacon look to it lol. But makes for a nice morning meat to snack, preferably only a strip or two. When my son tried the bacon he said "Yummy! It taste like potatoes... actually it taste more like those potato bits." I said "you mean bacon bits?" He says "Ya! Except they're more in their upgraded form." So there you have it :) Even kids can enjoy meatless meals.

UPDATE:  I FINALLY got my carnivorous husband to try MorningStar's veggie Bacon! His response? "It taste like someone took a bunch of liquid smoke and put it in Styrofoam." lol and ya know...since he said that, I can see that! haha... I can only eat a max of 3 strips of the bacon, (which is totally fine anyway) because it starts making my stomach hurt. My son loves it still though, even when he found out it was fake! :)


You can find MorningStar on their website and Facebook.


 This post is possible by Bzzagent in providing me a coupon for a discount to purchase products to test and review. All opinions are my own.

Green Indoor S'Mores

St. Patricks day is coming up... it's time to start planning some funness! :) Pinterest is a great site to get a ton of idea's off of. You can find me there at http://pinterest.com/mamat07/

I wanted to share our Green Indoor S'Mores! These are so fun and easy to make. Me and my son brought in the new year eating these :) All you need is graham crackers, green frosting, marshmallows, kabob sticks, and a candle for roasting (unless you have a cool firepit) :)


The instructions are pretty much a no brainer; you spread the frosting on the graham crackers, roast the marshmallow, and place marshmallow on grahams in sandwich style..then tada! There's your Green S'More :) Delicious.