general mills encourages kids to drink more milk (w/giveaway)

you know i'm a "mean mom" because i make my kids...

...eat the crusts on their bread.

...eat the peels on their apples.

...drink the last of their milk after they finish their cereal.

i'm starting to feel a little bit better about my "meanness" after learning from general mills that when kids drink their leftover milk from cereal bowls, they are closer to fulfilling their body's daily diary, calcium, and vitamin d needs.

to help kids feel better about finishing up those last drops of milk, certain "big g" cereals now include fun colorful straws that feature favorite big g cereal characters.  these straws are collectable, connectable and curvy!  while they have fun using the straws to drink their milk, you can feel better about helping your kids work toward stronger bones and muscles due to their calcium intake.

here are a few fun facts that general mills wants you to know...

• there are six different colorful straws you can collect.
• participating big g cereals include:  dinnamon toast crunch® (17 oz.), lucky charms®(16 oz.), reese’s® puffs (18 oz.), honey nut cheerios® (17 oz.), trix®(14.8 oz)  and cocoa puffs® (16.5 oz).
• big g cereals are made with more whole grain than any other ingredient.  combined with a ½ cup of milk, these big g cereals can provide a great start to your children's day.

still not convinced?  you can get a coupon here for $1.25 off two (2) boxes of big g cereal...

...and you know how i love to offer you all something fun for your day.  i have a package to send to someone with a box of big g cereal, a "spilled milk" shaped bowl (so fun!), two glowing cups, two tangle toys and (of course) a curvy straw.

just leave a comment below telling me your tricks for getting your kids (or maybe yourself!) to drink more milk.  i will choose a winner using random.org on may 1, 2012.  (usa residents only; must be 18 to enter.)


i received this information, a prize pack and a giveaway by general mills through myblogspark.  regardless, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

winner...

i have to say that i am still absolutely in love with the toydozer.  the toy room was an absolute mess last weekend, and we had company coming.  tessa and tate cleaned the whole things with (very little) complaining thanks to our beloved toydozer.  they did argue over who got to use it, so i can see the advantage of having more than one.  i know that $18.99 might seem a little pricey for something that you use to clean up, but i feel like, at this point, i can honestly say it is worth it.  i can foresee a lot of usage from this item in our future.

now for the winner of the one i have to give away.  the winner is...

...janie williams!  i hope your boys really enjoy using the toydozer and that your life is easier as a result!

(i have a couple other giveaways coming up, so please come back soon...)

toydozer literally cleans house! (w/giveaway)

about once a week, i don protective clothing, assume a safety position and then tell my kids they have to clean the toy room.

it isn't exactly their favorite chore.

last week i had a completely different experience.  after opening our new "toydozer," tate and tessa could hardly wait to clean up the gigantic pile of toy animals and fisher-price people that they had made earlier in the day.  i knew that they would be happy to try the new product, but i honestly had no idea that they would show much enthusiasm for cleaning up.

the tagline for the toydozer is "less cleaning. more playing!" and, for our family, this has really proven true.  this was the first time in my experience that the time spent cleaning was relatively equal to the time it took to make the mess (basically dumping out the box of toys).  tate and lilianna were both able to manipulate the two parts of the product and cleaned up very quickly with little complaining.  i should say that we used this on our hardwood floors; i'm not sure if picking up toys from carpet would be harder or not. 

the toydozer is composed of two parts.  toys are gathered with a piece that is modeled after the blade of a bulldozer.  the "scoop" is modeled after a bulldozer scoop and easily allows toys to be poured back into a container.  the concept is similar to sweeping a pile with a broom into a dustpan.  we have actually used a broom to collect toys before, but this usually collects a lot of dust and debris with the toys (of course i would appreciate your restraint in leaping to judgment about my housecleaning!).  the toydozer works a lot better for collecting toys without all the debris.  when we are done cleaning, the "gatherer" attaches with velcro to the "scoop" so they always stay together.

the toydozer is made of sturdy plastic and comes in blue, yellow or purple.  it retails for $18.99 and, at this time is only available on their website.  you can also learn more by following them on twitter  or checking out their facebook page.  you can use the code BLOGGER20 to get 20% off of your order.

i am very excited to be able to offer a toydozer to one of you readers.  just leave me a comment below telling me which of your kids' toys you would love to clean up (or, even better, have them clean up) with a toydozer.  i will choose a winner using random.org on april 23.  must be 18 to enter; usa residents only.

this post is part of a toydozer blogger outreach campaign. participating bloggers (including myself) have been provided with a complimentary toydozer to review and have been compensated for their time. regardless, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

winners...

some days i am a little less than excited to post these...i always feel disappointed for those who didn't win.  i wish i had more prizes to give to everyone!

i do hope that these posts have given you some ideas for some great products that are out there, particularly the new line of crayola products.

the winner of the yoplait prize pack is...

...lili! i don't know you do it, but you certainly seem to get the right number every time!

the winner of the crayola products prize pack is...

...karin!  i hope you find lots of ways to be creative with your box of goodies!

congratulations winners!

crayola creativity with lisa loeb (w/giveaway)

did you get to see lisa loeb talk about creativity?

if not, you can watch it at your leisure right now!


what'd you think? does lisa inspire you to bring more creative opportunities into your time with your kids?  (she inspires me to wear glasses more often!  i would love to check out her line of glasses...)

if you still feel like you need a jumpstart to get your creative juices flowing with your kids, i have an amazing giveaway for you.  crayola has sent me a fabulous package with some great new products.

i have used the my first crayola crayons before, but now the crayons are washable, and there are also markers and stampers that i think lilianna will really love using. 

as you know, we travel often to visit family so i'm really excited about the crayola mess free color wonder tiny tube.  it has over 10 ft. of perforated activity pages and a place to store markers inside and, of course, the markers work only on the paper, not on skin, car upholstery or other not-so-nice places.

we have used the crayola window markers before, but now they have "crystal effect" window markers so that an ordinary window or mirror can be a crystal canvas (we haven't tried these out yet, but they sound pretty cool to me).


of course, with warmer weather, we'll be spending more time outdoors and my kids really like sidewalk chalk.  i can't wait to try out crayola's new washable kaleidoscope chalk.  this chalk comes with 3d kaleidoscope glasses so you can see your creations in 3d (how on earth do they come up with this stuff?)

my favorite new product is the crayola dual-sided dry erase board.  you can use crayola's dry-erase bright crayons on the board that are washable, smudge-proof, odor-less and never dry out.  i can imagine hours of creative time coming with these.

you can get a pack with a sample of each of these items for yourself.  just leave a comment below telling me which product sounds the most exciting to you.  i will choose a winner using random.org on march 17.  (usa residents only; must be 18 or older to enter.)

if you simply can't wait to get your hands on these products, check out crayola's website or facebook page.  you can also follow them on youtube or twitter.

again, you can check out lisa’s book lisa loeb’s silly sing-along: the disappointing pancake and other zany songs (sterling children’s books, 2011) available at barnes & noble and amazon.com.

the crayola "inside the crayon box" prize pack, product information and prize pack for giveaway have been provided by crayola through myblogspark.  regardless, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

yoplait lactose-free yogurt (review and giveaway)

we all know how great yogurt is supposed to be for us and for our kids...but sometimes yogurt isn't an option for people with dairy issues and lactose intolerance.  i still haven't figured out what lilianna's dairy issues are, so i decided to give yoplait lactose-free yogurt a try.

i honestly couldn't notice a difference in the flavor.  we tried strawberry and lilianna really liked it.  i definitely think that this is a great option for those who have lactose-intolerance.  i still prefer buying organic yogurt, but i think yoplait makes a quality yogurt.

if you would like a coupon to give yoplait lactose-free a try* (as well as some other goodies), just leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite flavor of yogurt is.  i will choose a winner using random.org on march 17 (usa residents only; must be 18 or older to win).

the prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by yoplait through myblogspark.  regardless, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

*The coupon offer for yoplait lactose free yogurt is not valid in some states, including louisiana, nevada, new jersey, north dakota and tennessee.

inspiring creativity in my kids (a crayola streaming video chat)

if there is one thing that i hope to encourage in my kids, it is creativity.  i love when my kids have thoughts that are outside the box, when they create whole worlds as they are playing or when they want to do something that is completely different.  my fear is that i will in some way feel too harried or frazzled to encourage their creativity in all the ways that i should.

that is why i am excited about a new opportunity presented by crayola.  this wednesday, march 7, at 9 p.m. est (that is 8 p.m. for those in my time zone; the rest of you will have to do the math yourselves!), crayola and musician, children's author and mom, lisa loeb will have a 45-minute live streaming video chat on the chat on the crayola facebook page.  you may know lise for her number one hit "stay (i missed you)." during the "inside the crayon box" chat, lisa will share personal stories, practical advice and ways she brings a little creative play into every day for her daughter.  if this is something you have been thinking about, like me, you will be glad to know that participants can ask lisa questions during the event, too!

topics will include:

• why does creativity matter? creativity is not about who is the best artist or becoming an architect. it is a way of thinking that encourages kids´ original ideas and develops their confidence.
• growing up creative.  lisa will share stories about growing up in a home where creativity was encouraged.
• simple tips. easy ideas. like most moms, lisa juggles a lot. she´ll share simple, easy ways she sparks her daughter´s creativity as part of their daily routine. 

you may also be interested to know that lisa has a book out, lisa loeb’s silly sing-along: the disappointing pancake and other zany songs (sterling children’sbooks, 2011) available at barnes & noble and amazon.com.  this is a collection of fun activities, games, and recipes along with 10 silly songs on cd recorded by lisa!

here are some videos to help get you thinking about creativity:

 

i received this information from crayola through myblogspark. regardless, all thoughts and opinions are my own.