smelly washer review and giveaway

i remember in college my suitemates would suddenly declare something had "the funk."  if there was one thing you didn't want, it was to have something of yours pronounced as the source of "the funk."  it was like a college version of cooties.  obviously, these memories still haunt me so the last thing i want to find out is that my towels have "the funk."

unfortunately, with four kids and two adults each with their own towel, and very little responsibility among those six individuals actually to hang up one's towel, our towels very easily get "the funk."  in the past, i have tried different detergents to rid my towels of the nasty mildew smell to no avail.  i have even considered just tossing the towels and buying new ones.  while this is a great idea in theory, it isn't exactly cost-effective!

with this in mind, i was interested in giving the smelly towel cleaner ($16.99) a try.  i have been trying to make the switch to using natural cleaners and the fact that this product claimed to rid my towels of "the funk" using all natural ingredients sounded like a win-win situation to me.

after one of the most humid days of the summer, i grabbed a bunch of our smelliest towels that seemed like they were never dry and threw them in the wash with a cap full of the smelly towel cleanser.  they actually came out of the wash smelling so much better!  i have to admit that the places where my kids have rubbed their dirty hands after pretending to wash them didn't really get any cleaner, but at least the funky smell was gone.

if your towels are particularly smelly, the recommendation is to soak them for two hours first.  i think that might have helped our particularly nasty towels.  now i just use a small amount of smelly washer as a laundry booster whenever i wash my towels.

the smelly washer company has a website you can visit for lots of odor-removing tips.  for example, did you know that using fabric softening dryer sheets can actually cause towels to lose their absorbency and make them more "smelly"?  you can find out other helpful hints like this one on the website, as well as ordering your own bottle of smelly towel (they also have a product called smelly washer to help get the funk out of your washing machine).

if you are still feeling skeptical, you can win a bottle of your very own smelly towel cleaner.  just go to the website and then come back here and tell me one thing you learned about odor problems.  i will choose a winner using random.org on october 14.

i received a free bottle of smelly towel cleaner from the smelly washer company for the purpose of this mamabuzz review.  i received my facts and information from them but the opinions expressed here are purely my own.

my favorite giveaway ever!

since i started blogging, i have learned how important it is to me to have a blog background that uniquely reflects my personality. my first background was one of the few blogger choices and was okay, but not great. then i discovered lena toews' backgrounds and i feel like i always have plenty of choices to reflect my mood, my personality and my topics.


since i began using the free blog backgrounds lena offers, she has started creating premade (backgrounds) for a purpose.  after dealing with the pain of multiple miscarriages, she and her husband decided to take the path of adoption as a way to expand their family.  i'm sure you have heard, if not experiencing for yourself, just how expensive the adoption process is.  lena offers backgrounds at $5 apiece (plus $1 for photo processing) to help cover the cost of bringing home their new family member.

on her site, she offers premade backgrounds that reflect a variety of seasons and personality types.  she also has customizable premade backgrounds to raise money for her adoption.  if you are an html illiterate, she has tutorials to help walk you through your blog transformation, step-by-step.

recently, she also added premade birth announcement photo cards.  if you have been looking for a birth announcement from us, we will be getting one out as soon as we can choose one from lena's incredible selection.  she will place the photos for you and then you can take it to your favorite photo spot to print them out.

as if that weren't enough, she has premade christmas photo cards coming soon.  knowing us, we'll be getting our christmas card out about the time lilianna celebrates her first birthday!

if you can't find anything that suits you exactly, lena also does customized backgrounds and customized cards ($30).

lena's tutorials have helped me change my blog background multiple times.  i have also used them to make my own blog badges as well.  she has been incredibly helpful anytime i have emailed her with a question so i can attest to her quality customer support services!

i think that all of these options are an incredible bargain that go for an incredible cause.  lena is so generous to share her artistic talents and gifts with those of us who are not so talented.  she is also generous enough to offer you all the opportunity to win a background or photo card for yourself.  to enter to win, please go to her website and look around at all she has to offer.  then, come back here and leave me a comment telling me which photo card or background you would choose.  i will pick a winner from the comments using random.org on october 31.  if you make a donation toward her adoption (here) or purchase a premade background or birth announcement card, you can have an extra entry.  just leave an additional comment letting me know.

i am more excited about this giveaway than any of my others because i want to do all that i can to contribute to the toews' adoption.  letting you all know about it seems like a very small thing to do to help.  i hope you will do what you can as well to help the toews' reach their goal.

i received absolutely nothing in exchange for doing this post except the joy of doing something to help out someone else for a good cause...

my princess bible review

lilianna has so little to call her own, i was glad to receive a copy of my princess bible ($12.99).  this is a board book with 20 different rhyming stories in it.

each story tells about a woman of the Bible, describing her character qualities and traits, and relating them back to your own little girl and her desire to be a princess.  the last story comes from psalm 139 and describes how your little girl is a daughter of the King and specially loved by God.

at the end of each story is a place to fill in your daughter's name:  "lilianna is God's special princess."  another sentence follows that relates a moral from the story as a character trait of your daughter as a princess:  "lilianna is sad when she does something bad" (from the story of eve).

i have to admit i'm a little bit torn.  i recognize that girls have a fascination with princesses and i like for them to see a princess as something other than the disney version.  what i don't like is the "moral" that is pulled out of each story.  for example, the story of eve is a lot deeper and richer than feeling sad for doing something wrong.  i don't want my girls to miss out on the deeper truths of the Bible by looking for little morals from each story.  i would prefer this was called a "storybook" instead of a "Bible." 

i'm sure lilianna will enjoy the stories when we read them together.  i'm glad that she will be reminded of God's love for her.  we will be having longer conversations about what else is going on in these stories in the context of the greater message of the Bible, however.

this is a mamabuzz review.  i received a copy of this book from tyndale publishers for the purpose of this review.  the thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

winners! (and still champs)

the winner of ruby's school walk is...mimi!  congratulations!

the winner of the yoplait splitz prize pack is...beth!

congratulations to both of you!  for the rest of you, i have a truly wonderful giveaway coming up so keep watching!

disney on ice: the highlight of the year!

tate has been looking forward to going to disney on ice ever since the last time we went.  i was wondering about how he would respond toward the princess-themed show but nobody was disappointed.  the magic was magical, the beauty was beautiful and the awe was awesome!

our family schedules are generally so busy that we usually don't go to big events like this.  i appreciate disney on ice because when we sacrifice time usually spent in other ways, the show always delivers in terms of quality and excellence.  the show satisfies at every age level--even bill and i find ourselves catching our breath and applauding at the amazing ice skating skills that are demonstrated every time.

if you regularly attend events like this, or if you only do it once or twice a year, i highly recommend the disney on ice shows as great value for the entire family.

we received a special meet and greet dinner and tickets for the family in exchange for letting you know about the show.  regardless, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are purely my own.

monopoly winner!

and the winner of the monopoly game is...lili! congratulations! if you didn't win, there is still time for you to enter the yoplait splitz giveaway!

oh the bounteous giving! (giveaway winners!)

what fun it is to announce so many winners! for the rest of you, there are a few other giveaways still open and your chances are VERY good for several of them...

first, the winner of the pillsbury cinnamon rolls prize pack...garima!  congratulations!  i hope you enjoy your sweet sundays moment.

next, the winner of the seventh generation back to school cleaning pack is...erika!  now you can keep everyone as germ-free as you've always dreamed!

finally, the two winners of the percy jackson and the olympians movie are...holly! and erika!  i hope you enjoy the movie as much as we did!

please get me your addresses as soon as possible so i can get those mailed out to you!

again, to everyone else, there is still an opportunity to win a monopoly game and a book for going back to school. check them out...

also, i have my favorite giveway ever looming on the horizon (it's for an excellent cause!)...