Sigg Water Bottles *review*

During my walks in the evenings, I always tend to bring a water bottle with me and I also find that I am switching out my plastic water bottles frequently for various reasons.  I have found over the years that water bottles often take on the taste of your dish soap, or develop an odor and I wind up tossing them.  Plastic just never really holds up if you intend on using it regularly and who wants water that tastes like something other than that?

With all the BPA scares with children’s products, it had me wondering about my own actual water bottles that I was drinking from.  Now, I am not someone who walks around paranoid, but the safer a product is to use, the better.  I was recently sent a really pretty (The Strawberry Kiss) and a really cool water bottle from Sigg for review.  This isn’t just any old water bottle either.

About Sigg and Their Bottles

SIGGs are extruded from a single piece of pure aluminium for seamless, leak-proof durability. Our liner is one-of-a-kind and the true secret of the SIGG bottle. It is a proprietary formula – containing no BPA – which is baked on for the life of the bottle and remains flexible and crack-resistance despite how dinged up the outside of the bottle might get. Basically, if your SIGG takes a licking, you can keep on sipping.

The Bottle body

• Extruded from a single piece of pure aluminum, no seams
• Highest stability with lowest weight
• Rich colors achieved with a solvent-free coating powder
• 100% recyclable

The internal coating

• Guaranteed to be taste-neutral and resistant to fruit acids and isotonic drinks according to an independent testing institute (Nehring, Germany)
• Fulfills FDA requirements (Food & Drug Administration USA)
• Elastic and unbreakable
• Will not peel off, even if dented on the outside

SIGG produces approximately 100 different shapes and styles of water bottles with new designs coming every year. The SIGG brand is highly respected amongst outdoor enthusiasts with style that is extremely appealing to young, healthy, active people.

Despite all the wonderful features of the Sigg water bottle, there are some really cool designs for it as well, so you can have something really fun, cool and exciting that exudes your personality while on your walks or hikes. There is nothing bland about these bottles and they even have customized skins that you can make for them! Hot cool is that? They have some really fun accessories for them too, which include a wrap around with a clip to hook. The best feature though for me, was that after continued use and washings, my water still tasted like water and not lemon dish soap and it had absolutely no odor. I also like the fact that by using Sigg water bottles you are being kind to the environment. Sigg is a proud member of 1% For The Planet, donating 1% of our worldwide sales to protection of the environment.

I could have a whole collection of these wonderful bottles for the family and they make them for kids in just about anything you can imagine. If you are tired of the same old smelly plastic, you ought to take my word for it and get yourself a Sigg water bottle. I love love love mine and I will never go back.

**Thank you to Sigg for sending me this product for review**

Ponds Face Cleansing Towelettes *Review*

Office Max Get Your Child Organized For Back To School

It’s that time of the year again when all the kiddos are heading back to school.  When I was a kid, it was always exciting getting all those new school supplies and heading off to school all organized.  It always seemed like everything stayed organized for the first few weeks and then it always seemed to fall apart.

Recently I was able to participate in a web cast  with organizational guru Peter Walsh just in time for back to school.  He was giving some wonderful tips on how to get your child organized for school and how to keep them organized, using some wonderful tips and supplies from Office Max and their new Schoolio Von Hoolio back to school line.  Everything in this new bright and cheerful line can help your child get organized and stay organized while focusing on the more important things in class.

Peter Walsh offered up some fantastic. tips to help your child stay organized.  Color coding can be a great way to teach your child how to stay organized.  By color coding, it makes things easy for your child to recognize and to put things back in their place.  He also stressed how important it is to lead by example, as this sets a solid foundation for your child to learn organizational kills that will carry through into their adult years.

Whenever I watch Peter Walsh, I start to look around my house to see what I can attack in the way of cleaning.  I find myself walking by the kitchen junk drawer and the next thing I know, I have completely reorganized all of my kitchen drawers.  I have always found that being organized in your home makes being organized in your finances, work, and everything you do, so much easier.  I have also discovered that whenever there is clutter around me, I can’t even think normally, because it is a distraction.  The same thing probably holds true for kids.  Sure they can function in clutter, but I think they can perform even better when things are organized.

Here is a recap from the web cast

TIPS FOR HOME
1) Find the Vision you have for a Space
2) Make Organization a Family Value
3) Use the Right Tools for Great Organization

TIPS FOR ORGANIZING YOUR CHILD
1) Show that you Value Organization
2) Establish Clear Limits and Routines
3) Always ‘Finish the Cycle’ (Complete a Task)

TIPS FOR THE CLASSROOM
1) Establish Clear Routines
2) Involve Kids with Classroom Organization
3) Use Words, Pictures and Color to help Organize

You can see Peter’s web cast here!

So get organized and get back to School with Peter Walsh and Office Max!

**Thank you to Office Max for providing me with some wonderful school supplies form their new line!**

What To Expect Healthy Home Growth Chart

When I first became pregnant with my boys, I was a bundle of nerves.  Not only was I first time parent, everything was new to me, so I always felt a little overwhelmed.  I quickly gathered as many books as I could to help ease my mind and to feel like I was as prepared as I could be.

One of my biggest things is maintaining a germ free and healthy home and encouraging my kids to take steps to minimize the spread of germs and bacteria.  My best tips come from being persistent and developing routine with my boys.  Some of the simplest tips in helping to maintain a healthy home, are hand washing after playing in the dirt, after going potty, and before meals.  If you develop routine with kids they will carry this with them.

One of my favorite books was What To Expect When You’re Expecting books, answered a lot of my questions, and explained my pregnancy month by month.  I used this book daily and carried it with me throughout the house.  Recently I was introduced to another great resource. The What to Expect Foundation (which takes its name from Heidi Murkoff’s best-selling What to Expect series) just developed the “What to Expect Healthy Home Growth Chart” with a grant from The Clorox Company and it’s free for you to download!

The Healthy Home Growth Chart, offers insider tips to help Moms keep a healthier home over the course of their child’s first five years. Moms can find tips to coincide with the developmental stages children go through, such as:
•    Disinfecting hard toys at 3 months
•    Baby-proofing the house when they start walking around 1 year
•    Removing allergens from stuffed animals for play dates starting at the age of 2
•    Making hand washing and no-shoes a rule after coming in from playing outside around age 4

There is a ton of useful information in this guide, and I love that it breaks it down into your child’s first 5 years and presents common instances where you can teach your children how to keep germs and bacteria to a minimum.  I know we can’t protect our kids from everything and make them live in a bubble, but teaching yourself and them along the way to maintain a healthier lifestyle will help minimize the spread of germs and possibly expensive trips to see the doctor.

I know as a new Mom it is often hard to remember everything along the way and having as many resources available, are always a huge help.  The What To Expect Healthy Home Growth Chart presents some good information that is simple to follow and can maybe even give new parents and existing parents another resource to gain valuable information and quick tips to maintain a healthier home.

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox and the What to Expect Guide and received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.” And of course disclose that Mom Central has asked you to review the guide in connection with the tour**

Mrs Dash Makes Creative Cooking Healthy *Review*

As a stay at home mom, I do a lot of cooking.  Sometimes it isn’t always easy coming up with new ways to make scrambled eggs, or new ideas for that frozen chunk of chicken sitting in your freezer.   I have spent many days just staring into the pantry or fridge wondering what I could whip up for dinner that night.

After awhile you just have to find ways to be creative in preparing the same old chicken breast or steak.  I have spent days where I pounded chicken, breaded it, boiled it, you name it, just to make it interesting.  A few times, it wound up in the trash or I got some “what is this?” look from all members of my family including my twin toddlers.

I am always looking for healthy ways in which to prepare our meals and I usually tend to use a lot of butter or something to compensate for the lack of taste in some of the things I have made.  I have found, that using the right seasoning can make a world of difference when you are preparing a meal.  You can often give chicken a totally different taste based on what seasoning you use.

I recently received a bottle of Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning and I was more than eager to give it a try.  When I saw that it was Fiesta Lime, I automatically thought of a meal with Mexican flair.  So I cooked up plain old chicken breast and sprinkled a little of this on it.  We made some spanish rice, cut up some fresh tomatoes from the garden, lettuce, and warmed up some soft tortillas.  It gave the chicken a southwest flair and wasn’t overly spicy either.It was delicious and the only thing I added to the chicken was Mrs Dash!  The whole family devoured everything on their plate and my sons were asking for more.

Mrs Dash has no salt or MSG which makes it a nice healthy alternative to overloading your food with sodium and butter.  It was as if I created an entirely new meal and the only thing I added was a different seasoning.  It was a refreshing change from the ordinary yes using familiar ingredients which made meal preparation easy.  Mrs Dash has a whole collection of various seasoning you can try and they aren’t just good on meat.  You can sprinkle a dash here ans there on your salads vegetables and even soups.  It is a great addition to your spice cabinet and can make ordinary meals you have prepared over and over have a new an exciting taste without adding a bunch of unhealthy ingredients.

Thank you to Mom Central and Mrs Dash for sending out a sample for me and my family to try.

Pillsbury Simply Refridgerated Cookies

We love cookies in our house and one of my most favorite snacks has to be chocolate chip cookies and milk. They are the best when they are out of the oven, but I am not always in the mood to go though the whole spiel of making homemade cookie dough.

I have always been a fan of baking and usually steer clear of pre-made cookie dough. I try and make things that have natural ingredients especially when it comes to sweeteners. It seems like so many things these days contain high fructose corn syrup and not just normal sugar. Everything is ok in moderation, even sugar, and it’s actually probably healthier than the modified high fructose used to sweeten just about everything these days.

We were given the chance to try Pillsbury’s new Simply refrigerated cookie dough and the boys and I were very excited to bake them. The new cookies come in two flavors, Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter. They are made with wholesome ingredients like flour, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla and have zero grams trans fat, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors or flavors and no preservatives. They are just “Simply” made with all the good stuff that makes them taste homemade without the mess of making the dough yourself.

I made the cookies with my boys and it was nice to include them. They had fun putting the cookies on the baking sheet to go in the oven. They were very eager to eat the cookies, so they were really excited to see that they were done in just about 13 minutes. The chocolate chip cookies were so good and we polished a dozen cookies off by the end of the day between the four of us. The next batch I make, I think I will have to hide them. Pillsbury Simply cookies taste just like homemade without the mess, so I will definitely keep a couple packages on had for those sweet tooth cravings.

Thank you to My Blog Spark for giving us this wonderful opportunity to try Pillsbury Simply Cookies!

Would you like to try Simply cookies for yourself? DoubleBugs and My Blog Spark are giving readers a chance to win a fabulous prize pack that includes A coupon for free Simply cookies, a cookie jar to put these wonderful cookies in, a notepad for your grocery list, and a reusable canvas tote (perfect for your grocery shopping trip to get your cookies).

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!

Pillsbury is also offering a coupon for $1.25 off Simply cookies if you “simply” must try some now!

Here’s What You Gotta Do!

Tell me a way in which you simplify cooking or your everyday life and leave me a comment about it

Additional Entries

Tweet about this giveaway

Blog about this giveaway (5 additional entries)

Add me to your technorati favorites

Add me to your twitter

Subscribe to my feed

Contest Starts August 7, 2009 and ends September 7, 2009

Good Luck!

*winners chosen via random.org*

Wendy’s Boneless Wings

As a busy mom to twins I don’t always necessarily want to cook three meals a day, 7 days a week.  You tend to get burned out really fast.  For me it is a treat when my husband brings me home something, or makes a late night run, or when we can all just grab something that doesn’t require me standing in the kitchen.

One of my favorite things to eat are chicken wings, but the worst part about them, is the fact that they are all bone and not enough of the good stuff and tend to be rather messy.  I like mine a little on the hot and spicy side but I also love  barbeque wings as well.  To my surprise, Wendy’s now has new boneless chicken wings.  Made with 100% whole chicken breast,  hand tossed in one of three sophisticated flavors: Bold Buffalo, Honey BBQ, and Sweet & Spicy Asian Chicken you are sure to find one that you will love.  We really enjoy going to Wendy’s especially for their Frosty’s in the Summer, and I love the fact that you can get more than just a plain burger when you go.

In addition to a great menu, I also feel like Wendy’s offers a healthier selection of food.  I can’t wait to try their new Boneless Chicken Wings!  I might be sending my poor husband on more late night runs to Wendy’s.  You gotta love cravings!  You are sure to find something to please all members of the family, and it is a great way to give Mom a break from the kitchen to let the whole family indulge in something they all love.

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog and giveaway campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Wendy’s and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.**

Pom Wonderful *review*

I recently was given the opportunity to try Pom wonderful juice.  I had always walked by the refrigerated beverage aisle and often saw those fancy looking shaped bottles of pomegranate juice but never actually picked on up.

I was really excited to try this juice because I am always hearing about the antioxidants in pomegranates and benefits of them in your diet.  I don’t know if its all true, but I thought I would give it a try to see if I actually like the flavor of it.  I vaguely remember trying the actual pomegranate fruit when I was younger and just remember it being these little tiny bead like fruits that came from it, that you could eat.

The juice itself was a little tart for my liking and is probably meant to drink in smaller amounts.  It isn’t a beverage that I would just guzzle down on a hot day, I don’t think.  They have some flavor combinations such as pomegranate blueberry and one with tangerine too.  I actually really lliked the pomegranate tangerine and had no trouble finishing off the bottle.  The tangerine in it seems to negate some of the tartness making it something I might readily go to if it was in the fridge.

All in all I would say the juice is good in small amounts but it is definitely a little tart, but if you are one that likes a little of that than Pom Wonderful may be something you might like to try!  Even in moderation you can still get some of the health benefits from drinking it without downing an entire bottle.

Keurig Platinum Brewer *Review and Giveaway*

We are huge tea and hot chocolate drinkers in our house, and I like to enjoy the occasional decaf flavored coffees.  I know that we are lightweights here in the house, but we always have coffee available for our family members when they come to town.   My one big problem with a coffee maker is that it makes a whole pot of coffee, or you don’t get to have any options on what you get to make.  So when you have guests in your house or you and your husband drink something different you are confined to making large batches of coffee, or making separate messes in the kitchen for two small cups.

I was recently given the chance to review the Keurig Platinum Brewer and I must say that I already love the functionality of this coffee, tea, and hot chocolate brewer.  Yes, I did say all three!  What is so wonderful about having the Keurig Platinum Brewer is that you can choose what you are having and brew your own individual cup and then the next person that comes along can choose something totally different.  I can remember over the holidays having a large amount of family here and all of them drank or preferred a different kind of tea or coffee and I surely needed the Keurig then, but I didn’t even know that such a thing existed.  When I received the Keurig Platinum Brewer and tried it out I was excited that I had a way to make myself my hot chocolate or tea and then my husband could have something different if he wanted.

Another great feature is that you can pick which size cup of coffee or tea you want to brew and it even has an option for making an iced beverage.  You can set your brewer to turn on or off when you want it too, so that makes it nice for when you get up in the morning.  The brewer is incredibly easy to use, and you will have a fresh cup of tea or coffee in less than a minute.

Nothing about the Keurig Platinum Brewer is difficult, right down to cleaning the unit.  I haven’t done what they call a purge on the system yet but that looks like a fairly easy task.  You can remove the drip tray and put it in the dishwasher, and the k-cup holder is easily removed to clean it.

Features

The Platinum offers the full spectrum of features including Auto On/Off, Digital Clock, Adjustable Temperature Control and the “Set Your Favorite Cup Size” option. The largest available 60 oz. removable water reservoir holds up to ten cups before refilling and the removable drip tray allows for easy cleaning and the use of travel mugs. The sleek, award-winning design is a unique footprint among Keurig’s line of home brewing systems and includes both a blue lit water reservoir and blue lit LCD display.

• 5 cup sizes 4 oz, 6 oz, 8, 0z, 10 oz and 12 oz cup size options
• Removable 60 oz water reservoir
• Fully Programmable Features
• Blue Backlit Display
• Quiet Brew Technology
• Award Winning Design

About Keurig

The word “keurig” is derived from the Dutch word for excellence. Excellence guides everything they do at Keurig from their patented single-cup brewing technology, to the gourmet brands of coffee and tea that are packaged in their K-Cup^® portion packs, to their customer service.

Today, Keurig^® is the leading single-cup brewing system in North America-for both At Home and Away From Home. Now, you can enjoy a fresh cup of gourmet coffee or tea, and hot cocoa Keurig Brewed^® in less than a minute, without any set-up or clean-up. Keurig’s popular coffee, tea and hot cocoa brands offer hundreds of K-Cups^® to choose from, so everyone can have their favorite variety.

I was amazed while browsing their site at the huge selection of coffees, teas and hot chocolates, and they also have some really nice accessories to go with your brewer as well.  They have water filters available, racks to hold all your k-cups so they are nice and neat and easily accessible on your counter, and they even have a special My K-Cup adapter so you can brew a cup of your favorite tea or coffee that you are used to drinking.

I love the versatility of the Platinum Brewer because you can make several cups of anything you choose and you don’t have to worry about the mess or making more than you can actually drink, just to enjoy one cup of coffee or tea.  It is incredibly easy to use and I love the blue backlit display because it makes it easy to see.  The temperature preference is also nice because you can pick how hot you want your drink to be, I am one of those people who likes it somewhere in the middle.    The one thing that you have to be careful with is to remember to have your cup in place before you start brewing or you will have a mess to clean up.  I would definitely recommend chucking that coffee pot for a Keurig Platinum Brewer because it is a one man show when it comes to making hot beverages for yourself, for your husband or for visitors.  You’ll never have to rinse out the coffee pot to set it up for something different ever again.  I get excited just to go make a cup of tea or coffee now. I LOVE IT!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!

Would you like to win a Keurig Platinum Brewer? I know you would.

Keurig would like to give DoubleBugs readers a chance to win a Keurig Platinum Brewer of their very own!

Here’s What You Gotta Do

*Mandatory For Entry*

Visit the Keurig website and tell me what you like about Keurig and what kind of K-cups you would like to try

For Additional Entries (leave a separate comment for each)

Tweet About this Giveaway

Blog about this giveaway with a link to my site (5 additional entries gained)

Add me to your technorati favorites

Add me to your twitter

Subscribe to my blog

Add my button to your blog

Contest Starts August 2, 2009 and Ends September 7, 2009

Good Luck!!!

*Winners Chosen via Random.org*

Kellogg’s Cinnabon Snack Bars *Review*

I have always  loved Cinnamon rolls of almost any kind and I usually have to refrain from eating them, otherwise I tend to over indulge.  I had always walked by the Cinnabon stores in the local malls, but never actually stopped to give them a try and I finally gave in on a day where, I was starving and had a craving for something sweet.  I sat down with my drink in hand and this huge cinnamon roll, and took my first bite.  That was when all those happy joy endorphins started partying like it was 1999 and I had found one of the best cinnamon rolls I had ever had.

I love to head to Cinnabon when I can, but that isn’t always possible with our busy schedule and having two toddlers, makes it next to impossible to just head to the mall whenever I feel like it.  I was delighted to find out that there was a way to enjoy that favorite Cinnabon flavor in a snack bar.  Mom Central offered me and my family a chance to give Kellogg’s Cinnabon Snack Bars a try so, I quickly accepted because I was eager to see if they tasted just as good as the Cinnabon rolls that I bought in the mall

The Kellogg’s Cinnabon Snack Bars can be eaten right out of their package or warmed slightly in the microwave.  I prefer to eat mine a little warm so I microwaved mine for about 10-15 seconds.  After taking a bite, I was pleasantly surprised.  Although, they aren’t quite like a sticky gooey Cinnabon Cinnamon roll, they are pretty yummy.  They are perfect for the kids too, and excellent when you want to give them a snack, or you need something to bring when you are on the go.  They are a little heavy on the cinnamon which I don’t mind since I love cinnamon, so the more their is the better.  Each bar is an amazing 150 calories, so  you can indulge and not feel guilty about having a treat.

If you haven’t tried them yet, they are a perfect treat to share with the family or keep to yourself.  I found them in the breakfast isle next to all the granola bar type snacks.  Kellogg’s Cinnabon Snack Bars are a really yummy alternative to the same old boring granola bars.

« Previous Page — Next Page »