Milkshake - Review and Giveaway!

As some of you may remember, all that my son Brendan wanted for Christmas this past year was a guitar. Music is his "thing". He gets it. He loves it. If you ride in my car, you will more than likely be listening to some sort of childrens CD. We have a variety to choose from, from the Little People Nursery Rhymes to the Doodlebops. I knew that when I was asked to review the Milkshake Band's CD and DVD, that Brendan would be thrilled to see this come in the mail! From the minute I hit play, the music captivated my boys. Milkshake sings about things that children can relate to. It catches their attention and the lyrics are catchy! By the time I heard the songs for the second time, I couldn't help but sing along! ... "We got a band yah yah... singing na na na na na na hey hey hey".

A little bit about Milkshake:

Milkshake is a band on a mission: to create great rock music for kids. Led by singer Lisa Mathews and guitarist Mikel Gehl, whose songs for grown-ups have been featured in movies and prime-time television, and whose indie rock group Love Riot garnered critical praise during its 10-year run, Milkshake has won over preschoolers without compromising songcraft, stagecraft or their authentic rock&roll spirit.

Milkshake's new CD, Play has 12 wonderfully playful songs on it! You'll be sure to love their style. You can even sample their music on their website, which is a wonderful feature!

1. WE GOT A BAND


2. IMAGINATION NATION


3. PIRATES


4. SUPERHERO


5. BOWLING WITH YOU


6. HOME ON THE RANGE


7. GO WILD


8. PLANT A GARDEN


9. PARADE


10. BASEBALL


11. MAGIC RIDE


12. PLAY

Their DVD, Screen Play, is fun on a whole other level! My boys love to dance around to the music in the living room and play their instruments just like the band does. The silliness just does not stop as long as the music is playing!

The first DVD from Milkshake! Featuring live action videos, animations and backstage interviews with the band. Bonus tracks include two videos created for PBS KIDS, and in-concert footage of the Noggin hit "Bottle of Sunshine."

Get your copy of the CD Play!, DVD Screen Play, or any of their other fun stuff today by going online and ordering through Milkshake's online store. For a limited time, you could receive a FREE Milkshake Beachball Baseball with your order!

How would you like to WIN a copy of both the CD Play! and the DVD Screen Play?!?

• To enter, first go to Milkshake's website and come back here and tell me either one of the band member's names, or if there is a show playing soon in your area (date and location).

After you have your initial entry, you can do the following to earn extra entries (please post a seperate comment for each entry):

• Tweet about this (1 entry per day)
• Blog about this (3 entries)
• Follow my blog (1 entry)

Make sure that your email address is either in your profile (Blog owners) or included in your comment.

This contest will end on February 13, 2009 and the winner will be randomly chosen.

The Importance of Fiber

With my new weight loss goals, I want to learn more about healthy eating habits so that I don't end up re-gaining the weight that I lose again like I have in the past. I'm trying to create a good balance of foods for me; something that I can stick to and not feel deprived. I know that fiber is a very important ingrediant to any healthy diet and I have found a delicious way to help me reach my daily fiber goal!

Have you all tried the Fiber One products lately? One word - YUMMY!! My favorite are the Fiber One Oats & Chocolate Bars. They each have a whopping 9 grams of fiber in them, which is 35% of the recommended daily fiber. They are so chewy and chocolatey that I was sure that they were absolutely sinful when I first tried them. After I checked the nutritional values on the back I was stunned! How can something that tastes so good, be good for you? That was a breakthrough moment for me in my new venture! I realized that healthy choices doesn't necessary mean eating bland and boring food. Check these out the next time you go to the grocery store, you definitely won't be disappointed! Oh, and for all you Weight Watchers gals (and guys), they're only 2 Points! What a great option to keep in your cupboard for when you crave something sweet.

In addition to the Granola Bars, Fiber One offers a variety of wonderful, high fiber products including:

• Cereal


• Yogurt


• Ready to eat muffins


• Toaster Pastries


• Pancake Mix


• and More!

Don't Make Me Do It!

One of my New Year Resolutions this year (and every year it seems) is to lose weight. I finally stepped on the scale yesterday. It's time to be accountable for the un-healthy choices that I've made. I'll spare you the number, but it wasn't pretty :( Be sure to stay tuned for posts about my weight loss journey. I'm going to shed 50-60 lbs this year and get healthy and fit! I'll need all the support and motivation that I can get to help me through this as well. Anyone want to be a cheerleader?

I REALLY want a new flat iron!

I have what I call "high maintenance" hair. It's thick, naturally wavy and requires some sort of attention daily. I can't just get out of bed and go. I can't just pull it back in a pony tail either, because it's too short to do that now. My cousin does wonders with it at the salon, but I'm on my own every other day of the month. If only I could take her home with me to be available to me each morning as I roll out of bed. There I go dreaming again! LOL! I think that one thing that would help me is getting better products. I just upgraded my blow dryer (Thanks MOM! for the wonderful Christmas present) and now the one thing I covet is a new flat iron. I need one that gets much hotter than the one that I already have. My current iron only gets up to 395 degrees, and my hair needs 450 degrees to get that nice smooth consistency that I desire.

MomDot is hosting a giveaway through Misikko for a new Hana Elite Flat Iron and I want it soooo bad! Check this bad girl out! It's got everything a girl could want and more. Seriously. I NEED this flat iron! Here is a list of it's features:

100% Solid Ceramic Plates Never Peel or Degrade
Large Integrated Ceramic Heaters with Full Plate Coverage for the Most Consistent, Conditioning Far Infrared Heat Possible
Ceramic is naturally hygienic, protects color & retards fading
Unique black ceramic plates won't discolor with use of products or hair dyes
1.5" plates make it easier and faster to straighten & style longer, thicker and unruly hair types
Adjustable Temperature Dial - 5 Settings from 140-450° F for All Hair Types
Flash Heats in Seconds with Instant Compensation for Heat Loss
Safe to use on Damp to Dry Hair
Beveled Edges mean Easy Curled, Flipped, Spiked or Straight Styles
Ergonomic Handle Design with No-Slip Grip
Smooth Grooves Keep Hair Strands Separate and Snag-Free
Sleek luxury matte finish
Tangle-Free Salon Quality Cord Swivels 360°; Convenient Hanging Loop
Energy Efficient at 38 Watts
Independent On/Off Switch
Includes Luxe Heat Proof Storage Pouch, Heat Proof Silicone Mat, & Special Edition Tin Case
Made in Korea
Two Year Warranty

Dreaming...

As I sit here watching my two boys throw pieces of their dinner onto the carpet, I dream about being chosen by MomDot to be a Dyson Domestic Diva! I'm in dire need of a new vacuum cleaner, but can't seem to convince my husband that the Dyson is worth the money that they cost. I would LOVE to be able to test out the Dyson Animal so that I can show my skeptical hubby how wonderful and magical these machines are. I'm of course hoping that the vacuum will live up to my every expectation, as I have never actually used one. But in my dreams, the Animal is light-weight and glides across the room with little effort picking up every piece of dirt, food and lord only knows what else off of my floor. In my dreams, the Animal is fearless, taking on any job large or small. In my dreams, this vacuum can actually keep up with the continuous mess that my children make, and makes the dirt and grass that my husband brings in on the bottom of his work boots disappear in the blink of an eye! Oh Dyson Animal.... please make my dreams come true!

Are my expectations too high? My husband thinks so. I would LOVE the chance to prove him wrong (insert sinister laugh here)!

Bloggers Give!

Have you all heard of the wonderful charity that MomDot has set up called Bloggers Give? Wow! What a way to give back to the community! I applaud them and all of their sponsors in their efforts!

As a review blogger, how can you help? This is simple!

• For every product that you request to review or get offered for review, ask the company to send you a second product and tell them that it will be donated to Bloggers Give. Trisha Haas, the owner of Bloggers Give and MomDot, has even derived a letter for you to send to sponsors, after you've made the initial contact with them. She's worked with so many different sponsors and realize that it may be hard or awkward to ask for additional items for review. But, when the sponsors hear about what a great program Bloggers Give is, they'll definitely want to get involved!

Every time Bloggers Give receives a product donation on behalf of your blog’s giveaway or review, we will do the following:

• Promote the giveaway on your site of participating product in a post we run once a week
  
• Promote the review on your site of participating products in a post we run once a week
  
• A list under our Blog Listings that is permanent
  
• The blogger who donates the most product throughout the month will receive our Blogger of the Month award and be permanently listed on our sidebars the rest of the year
  
• The blogger who donates the most product at the end of the year will be awarded a $100 gift certificate to any store of their choosing

As a sponsor, how can you help?

• Contact Trisha Haas through the Bloggers Give site and let her know that you would like to participate in this wonderful cause!
• I would love to offer a review of your product. If you are interested, send me two items and I will do a full review on my blog of the item and send the second item to Trisha personally.

The companies that dropship an extra product to Bloggers Give will
receive:

• A link listing permanently under our donating companies
  
• A 125/125 banner on the sidebar (if sent to us) for the month they donate
  
• The Companies that donate the most product via a blogger per month will recieve a banner ad that rotates throughout the 4 Bloggers Give blogger sites (Mom
  Generations, Simbaco Lifestyle, MomDot and Accideintal Mommies)

Free Parents Magazine Subscription!

If you're anything like me, you love a great parenting resource. I've had a subscription to Parents magazine since I was pregnant with my first son. The articles and advice in this magazine is always helpful!

How would you like a free 2 year subscription to Parents magazine? Click here for details. Hurry, this offer won't last long!