Wee-nneeeerrr, Wee-nneeeerrr, Carpet Cleaner!!!

OK....ok...so I'm late.

I know you all have been anxiously checking back here to see who won the $100 gift certificate.  OK...actually google analytics tells me you haven't been checking back.  So maybe you all just don't care.  LOL.  Anyways....

I got 8 comments for the Stanley Steemer $100 gift certificate- 6 comments on the blog here and 2 on facebook.  And since I wasn't expressly clear where I wanted you to comment, I'm putting them ALL in chronological order and using random.org to choose the winner.  I even video'd the who proceeding to make it all "official"  :)

So...here goes nothing....

My first video blog...vlog...whatever it's called....

Did it work for you?!?!?   And the winner is......Diana!  Yeah!!!!  Email me jennifer@norch.com with you address and my friends at MyBlogSpark and Stanley Steemer will get a gift certificate to you right away!!!  Congratulations!!!!

The Gift of Clean!

May is one of my favorite months of the year.  Not only do I celebrate Mother's Day, but also my birthday!  Yes, it has been a great week at my house!  And my "great week" was made even better by a special "gift" I received through MyBlogSpark...a clean house!!

I was asked a couple months ago if I would get my carpets cleaned by Stanley Steemer and share my experience with all my readers.  Hmmm....let's think about this.  All I have to do is schedule and appointment and then sit back and let someone else clean my house??  Yep...this wasn't a tough choice for me at all!!


I was "wow"ed from the very start.  Scheduling an appointment is as easy as going to the website and choosing exactly what you want.  No annoying phone call with a "Press 1 for English" menu or salesperson trying to upsell you.  Just choose exactly what you want, and schedule your appointment right from your computer.

Speaking of scheduling...also easy breezy!!  They have 3 hour time windows on the website to choose from, and you just pick the one that is most convenient.  Convenient?  Yes, YES, YES!!!  I could have had a crew to my house within three hours. On a weekend.  That's convenient!!

When "my" cleaning crew arrived, they looked over the areas that needed to be cleaned and promptly set to work.  They moved furniture, pretreated tough spots, and deodorized.

Three kids and two dogs do a number on carpet, and so the crew had their work cut out for them.  My dog didn't make their job any easier when he peed on their work mat.  Doh!

Anyways, the cleaning process was simple and quick.  They set to work in my dining room and family room, and in about 2 hours, the carpets were fresh, clean, and protected!  You could really see a difference in the clean vs. dirty carpet.   One of the perks was that they took all the nasty, dirty water and filth with them.  No clean up for me.  No smelly water or hairballs in my drain. No stinky odors lingering around.

Don't have carpets that need to be cleaned??  There's something for everyone.  Stanley Steemer also cleans hardwood floors, tile, grout, air ducts, furniture, cars, and even boats!  And another perk?  Decreased allergens means less sneezing, less watery eyes, and less miserable allergy symptoms.

My Mother's Day and Birthday were made a little better with a clean, fresh smelling home.  And the good news is YOU don't have to wait until your birthday or next Mother's Day to have a clean home.  I'm giving away a $100 gift certificate for Stanley Steemer to one lucky reader!  No strings attached...just comment and you could win!  Any comment will do...tell me about your cleaning hassles, your favorite cleaning secret, or just wish me Happy Birthday! :)  One comment per reader each day, but you can comment as many days as you want.  I'm choosing a winner on May 25, so that's 10 possible entries per person.  Ready, set....GO!!

Time for the disclosures....the cleaning service at my home was paid for by Stanley Steemer. They are also providing the gift certificate for a lucky reader.  My opinions are provided by me.  I am NOT providing the opinions of one of my readers...cmon guys, I'm not doing ALL the work here!!

Betty Crocker Prize Pack Giveaway!!

UPDATE:  Winner has been chosen...and, drumroll please...it's Julie!!  Congratulations, Julie!!  Your profile doesn't have an email address with it, so please email me and I will have your prize pack sent to you ASAP!!  Congrats, girl!!  Enjoy your brownies and all the cute back-to-school goodies!!

It's that time of year when kids load up their backpacks and lunch sacks and head back-to-school!!

And time for us, as parents, to start looking for ways we can help out at the school and in the classroom.

One of the easiest ways you can help your school out is by participating in the Box Tops for Education program.

Box Tops for Education has been around since 1996.  Simple, easy, and convenient- it's an easy way for parents to give back to their children's school while buying and using their favorite brand products.

Box Tops for Education provides schools with earnings to buy new supplies for their schools- from games and library books, to computers and playground equipment.  Last year over $59 million was distributed to schools that participated in the Box Tops program...all because parents collected box tops from products they already use!!

Our school collects Box Tops for a variety of projects.  Recently, our Box Tops have been used to purchase new playground equipment, as well as invest in smart boards for each of our classrooms.  Way Cool, and great use of our fundraising money!!!

One of my favorite treats just happens to participate in the Box Tops for Education program, and I've been asked to (shamelessly) give their company some "face time" on my blog.  So, I'm just gonna be straightforward with y'all.  Here goes...

Betty Crocker, I love you.  I love your brownies, I love your cake mixes, and I love that you are the only brand in the baking aisle that contributes to the Box Tops Program.  Not only do you care about filling my little munchkins' tummies (and mine too!!) with warm, ooey, gooey brownies, but you care about filling their brains with everything they need for a strong education by giving back to our local schools.

The good news...The opinions above are all my own. Obviously.  However, Betty Crocker has thanked me for my time with a box of brownie mix, some cupcake shaped magnetic bookmarks, pencils, notepads, cupcake bag, and Neoprene lunch sack.

The better news...I am going to bake those brownies and share them and the other goodies with my kids' new teachers.

The best news...I am going to share another prize pack with one of you!!

That's right...it's like "Oprah's Favorite Things" here at Mommy-of-three-reviews.  OK...maybe a tad bit shy of her giveaways.  Ahem.  But nonetheless.  Whether you choose to keep the goodies yourself or pass them along to your favorite teacher, PTO president, or principal is your choice.  But remember that every time you use a Betty Crocker product and save the box top, you are passing along educational goodies to your local schools, and that makes your kids the real winners!!

The Betty Crocker products, information, and giveaway have been provided by Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark.

Wanna win a prize pack??  OF COURSE YOU DO!!!  Leave a comment on this post letting me know that I'm not the only one who could eat an entire pan of brownies by myself.  Just leave any comment about Betty Crocker.  Or brownies.  Or box tops.  It's up to you!!   A winner will be drawn on September 24th from all entries received.  Do it for your kids.  Do it for teachers. Do it for America.  Do it for the free box of brownies!!

And on that note, I'm off to indulge in some pipin' fresh brownies...err...Flaxseed. Yeah, that's it. Flaxseed.

DaGeDar Review Party!!

This past week, we received a set of one of the hottest toys to play with and review from MomSelect, a marketing team which matches moms and brands together to create some "buzz" about .

DaGeDar takes the best of some favorites like Hot Wheels, Pokemon, Skeeball and Marbles, and combines them into a fun new product that kids will love.

We set up the track and began launching our characters down the ramp.  The DaGeDar balls are unique because they have steel ball bearings inside, so they are supercharged.  Part of the fun of playing DaGeDar is finding the right launch angle that will let your ball make it around the loop and score points in the points bin at the end of the ramp.  Once you've mastered one ramp, there are add-on products at stores that let you link different tracks together to make a super long, super-ramp with jumps, loops, and curves.

But the fun doesn't stop with just the ramp.  Oh no.  There is also a launcher tool that will let you shoot your DaGeDars into a battle area, just like playing marbles.  You can crash them into each other, send them flying across the room, or simply have a launch contest from a starting line to see who can go furthest.

The DaGeDars each have their own "personality" and motivation.  With names like Mocc, Kranio, Rhinasty, and Krypt-Stx, each character has a story and personal motivation.  When you go to the DaGeDar website, you can enter a code found on each ball the learn more about your characters.  They are collectible and tradeable, so kids will really love to hang out with their friends to share and trade.

I was asked by MomSelect to host a small party to try out this product.  When our box of goodies arrived on the front step, my kids couldn't wait to find out what was inside.

DaGeDar ball sets (5 of them!!), carrying case, track, launcher, and lots of ideas for fun.

We set up the track in our living room and tested it out.  It was simple to assemble, and easy enough for all three kids to use.

The kids couldn't wait to invite their friends over for a launch party.  So, a big "Thanks" to a few of our neighbor kids, who played "guinea pigs" for me and tested out the DaGeDar products, and took home a couple of their own DaGeDar balls.

Naturally, the boys got way more into it than the girls.  They loved the characters on the balls and created "good guys" and "bad guys" teams.  Each took three turns, and whoever accumulated the most points won a special carrying case for their DaGeDars.  Congratulations to Foster!!

We really like the DaGeDar ramp and balls.  The launcher proved to be a little tough for our smaller boys to use.  The pinball-style mechanism was a little too stiff for them to use with any predictability, so we will save that for when they are a little bigger.  The ramp was perfect for Dillon and his friends- challenging enough to get that competitive blood flowing through their veins and exciting enough to hold their attention for quite awhile.  The ramp even has 2 tracks, so two DaGeDars can race head-to-head in an ultra-battle!  

The DaGeDar playsets will be coming to stores near you this fall.  Created by the same company that brought us Zhu-Zhu pets, DaGeDars are sure to be on a few Christmas lists this winter.  I hope you'll check them out and let me know if your kids like them as much as Dillon and his friends do!!

My 24-Hour Challenge

If anyone here knows me, you know I like me some Cherry Dump Cake.

I'm sure you know the recipe...two or three cans of cherry pie filling, sprinkled with white cake mix (unbaked), and then pour melted butter over the top.  Bake in an oven until top becomes golden brownish and pie filling is bubbly.  Mmmm.  Sweet.  And simple.  Perhaps one of the easiest recipes to make.

But what's not easy is the clean-up.  Baked-on, caked-on cherries and crumb topping.  It's something I absolutely hate cleaning out of my casserole dish.

So I thought I was really going to test Cascade when they asked me to take the 24-hour challenge.

Bake my stickiest, messiest dish and let the empty casserole dish sit out for 24 hours and get really dried and caked on.  No soaking. No rinsing, No pre-washing, and certainly no scrubbing allowed.  Just put the dirty dish in the dishwasher with a Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPac.  Blog about the results.  Easy-peasy puddin' pie cherry dump cake.

Dirty dish in. Clean, sparkling dish out!  Tada!  It's magic!!

I have to admit.  I seriously had my doubts.  But Cascade Complete All-in-1's were up to the task.  I didn't even have to bust out my plastic scraper to get the little food bits out of the corners after running the dishwasher.

And now I'm ready to test my theory that these ActionPacs really do work, not just in my kitchen, but in YOURS!  It's your turn!!  I'm sending FIVE of my friends and family a Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPac to try for yourselves.  And the best part is...there is NO obligation.  Take the 24-hour challenge with your stickiest dish, and decide if you like these ActionPacs or not.  Then, all I ask is that you return to this post and write a comment telling me what your stickiest dish is and if the ActionPacs really worked.

Everyone who comments will be entered to win a $15 Walmart giftcard, provided by Proctor and Gamble through MyBlogSpark.  If I sent you an ActionPac and you leave a comment, you will get an extra entry- my "Thank You" for participating.  Winner will be announced later this month, and contacted by email.

And...as you all know...my opinions are MINE, ALL MINE!!  My opinions can not be bought or sold.  So while the product information and prize pack is courtesy of Proctor and Gamble, the opinions are courtesy of ME and ONLY ME.

Yoplait Smoothies Giveaway!

So, please stand up if your 2011 New Years' Resolution didn't involve a health improvement goal...exercise more, make healthier food choices, start dieting.  Mine certainly contained all three of these health goals, along with a handful of others.

The idea of eating healthy isn't a new concept.  A healthy balanced diet and exercise are the best ways to maintain a healthy weight and remain fit.  But in these dreary winter months, it's hard to find nutritious alternatives to out-of-season fruits and vegetables.  And New Years' Resolutions fall by the wayside.

Enter Yoplait.

I was sent a coupon to try Yoplait brand frozen smoothies.

Found in the freezer section, these smoothies provide a full serving of fruit per smoothie, as well as nutritious benefits like Vitamin C and calcium.  They're easy to make, and taste delicious.  Only 110 calories in the Triple Berry flavor...it's a great snack between meals!  I love them, and my kids love them as well.

And March is the pefect time to "reinvent" those resolutions and get back to making healthy choices.  Yoplait has given me just the motivation to do this...a fitness prize pack!  This prize pack contains a drawstring bag, super cool aluminum water bottle, and a diet and fitness journal, as well as a coupon to try these delicious smoothies for yourself.

All you have to do to have a chance to win is comment on this post with your favorite flavor of fruit smoothie. It can be a combo that Yoplait offers, or some single fruit or combination that you would like Yoplait to offer. I will take entries for 1 week and then choose a winner next Thursday.

FTC disclosure: the information, prize pack and giveaway have all been provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.

Happy Health, and Good Luck to All!!

Winner!

I'm a few days late.

Wait, I should qualify that statement before my husband goes into sudden cardiac failure.

I'm a few days late announcing the giveaway winner. (I have to get used to this giveaway bit!)

There were 4 entries.

By random drawing, (performed live by Sydney on Flip Video) the winner of the boxed dinners and the gift card is.....

Nico's Mom!

Congratulations!  Get your info to me, and I'll get your goodies to you!!

Speaking of Flip Video, I'm super excited for my next promotion.  I was asked by Hasbro and MyBlogSpark to review their Candy Land game just in time for the upcoming holiday season.  

Monday morning, FIFTEEN board games arrived on my front porch.  Yes, folks, fifteen games!  Now that's a lot of Gramma Gooey, Lord Licorice, Princess Frostine and Princess Lolly, but No Fear.  I have a captive audience of three-year olds at Sydney's preschool and will be hosting a Candy Land party to share these games!

We'll be playing a real life game of Candy Land in the gymnasium and (lucky for you) you will get to see all the fun on video, brought to you by my Ultra Flip Video camera (also provided courtesy of Hasbro and MyBlogSpark- Thanks!).

Would you like to win your own copy of Hasbro's Candy Land??  Watch for my upcoming review for details on how you can win!