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Banquet Fruit Pies!

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (1)

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

I’ve mentioned before I am not a baker. Morgan is the baker of the family. She makes beautiful breads, cakes and pies. I ruin those things. I forget about them and over cook them. Baking is not my thing.

I sure do love a tasty pie though.

I just realized that Banquet made fruit pies. I had no idea!

When I think of Banquet I think of hanging out at my grandmas eating a Turkey or Salisbury Steak T.V. Dinner. Banquet has come a long way since those days and remains a freezer staple in most American homes.

The Fruit Pies resemble their traditional Pot Pies. They are perfectly sized individual pies. We picked up some of these a few days ago. We picked Apple and Peach. I tried a little of both and was pleasantly surprised! The Apple was awesome! I love Apple pie! The Peach was pretty darn tasty too and was lil Miss. Emma’s favorite.

As with the pot pies, you can either bake them in the oven or the microwave. Well, since this is Texas and it is so hot I am not turning my oven on unless I absolutely have too. I mentioned a few months ago that I did not own a microwave. We have since broke down and bought one. I realized this summer that we really did need to have one. The heat caused by the oven was just too much and left overs were being wasted…so to make better use of what we have I broke down and gave in. So yea, we prepared ours in the microwave and they were still super yummy! I do think that oven preparation would make them even better though!

This is something that I think I will keep in my freezer for special nights and those cravings that tend to hit at the oddest hours. I recommend you giving them a try. The price is right for these little pies!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Banquet and received free coupons to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Eggo Real Fruit Pizza

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Friday, July 23rd, 2010

We always have Eggo waffles in our freezer, I prefer Blueberry! Perfect for quick morning breakfast that doesn’t come in a bowl. I had never heard of the Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas until recently when Mom Central asked me if I would like to give them a try. Of course I wanted to try them!

We prepared ours as a mid-day snack. You can prepare them in the microwave, but I don’t use one so we made them in the oven. Even in the oven it was quick.

Oven cooking time is only 5-7 min. Ours was ready in 5! I made both and used a pizza cutter to cut each one into 8 mini slices. This gave all of us girls 4 mini slices each.

They are topped with real fruit and crunchy toasted granola. They come in two flavors right now which are Mixed Berry Granola and Strawberry Granola. My favorite was the Mixed Berry Granola, but it was a close tie! They both were pretty tasty!

Overall preparation was easy, taste was yummy and most importantly…it was a hit with the kids! Kids love pizza, so of course they would love pizza that they can have for breakfast!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Eggo Real Fruit Pizza and received a sample of the product and a $20 Amazon gift certificate to facilitate my review.

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Checking out OurWorld on Yoursphere

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (2)

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

We are still exploring and loving Yoursphere. If you have not signed your kids up yet, I really wish you would check it out! I see so many young kids on Facebook and Yoursphere is a much safer, suitable online community and social network for your kids.

You can sign your kids up for their own free account by clicking here and entering YSMC-0002 in the referral box.

OurWorld is another awesome feature on Yoursphere. In Our World you can create your own avatar. The skin color, face shape, eyes, hair and clothing! Morgan had a great time designing her avatar. Once you have your avatar designed you can check out the many game choices they have. Morgan has a few favorites. I’ve listed her favorites below:

Cake Mania 2
Create a mall
Jane’s Hotel
Ultimate Leprechauns

While playing the games you can earn coins and flow. The coins can be used to purchase items for your avatar such as…

Clothes
Condo Decor
Cars
Hair
Skateboards

Flow can be used to level up, spin the prize wheel and win the daily jackpot.

Overall, Morgan enjoys spending time in OurWorld and would really like some of her friends to join her on Yoursphere! Remember, it is FREE and you as a parent have access to your parent dashboard to be sure that your child is being safe online.

I wrote this review while participating in the Yoursphere Test Drive program by Mom Central on behalf of Yoursphere. I received a free lifetime Gold membership on Yoursphere.com, Yoursphere t-shirts, and a $50 American Express gift card to facilitate my review.

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Have You Tried Pringles Multigrain Crisps?

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (0)

Friday, June 11th, 2010

I love Pringles! They are my all time favorite brand of potato chips. I especially love them now that they have Dill flavored chips, ohhh yea!!! Anything pickle flavored makes me giddy!

So anyhow, Pringles has Multigrain Crisps now! They come in three awesome flavors! Truly Original, which is just like the regular Pringles you have always enjoyed , but with a multigrain twist! There is a Creamy Ranch that my girls absolutely loved and then my favorite was the Cheesy Cheddar.

The Multigrain Crisps have more crunch to them than other chips that I have had. I have to say that I enjoy them more than traditional Pringles and other chips. They just need to make a Multigrain Dill one now! Mmmmmm, crunchy multigrain pickle flavored crisps! What do you say Pringles? Think you could hook this girl up?

Pringles is doing some great work with charity right now with your help!

New Pringles® Multigrain and Share Our Strength® have teamed up, making it easy to make a difference. For every UPC (12-digit number on can) entered, Pringles Multigrain will make a $1* donation to the Share Our Strength® No Kid Hungry campaign.

Share Our Strength is a national organization that seeks to make sure no child in America grows up hungry. Through fund-raising events, education programming, and corporate and state partnerships, Share Our Strength works hard to do more than just raise awareness of childhood hunger-they work hard to end it. Visit www.strength.org to learn more and find out how you can get involved.

If you are looking to add in more multigrain foods and snacks, you definitely will want to try out these crisps. There are some recipes on the site as well that look pretty darn tasty!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Pringles Multigrain and received a tote bag with samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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I’m a Tropicana Juicy Insider Ambassador!

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (1)

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

My family drinks a lot of Tropicana Juice. I’m excited to announce that I am a Tropicana Juicy Insider Ambassador! Did you know that we can earn rewards for buying and drinking Tropicana! You may have noticed that the new packaging on Tropicana products has a reward point value on it. This points add up to earn you some great rewards!

First I want you to go sign up for your own Juicy Rewards account by clicking here. To get you started on collecting points Mom Central wants you to use the following code immediately after registering to receive 1 free point right from the start! MOMCE-NTRAL

After getting your account set up be sure to become a fan on facebook. Do this right away and earn another free code to enter into your account! This is only valid within 6 hours of setting up your account. Sadly I was too late on this one. Don’t forget to follow on Twitter as well!

Tropicana1 Now you are on your way to earning rewards from brands such as Adidas, Coleman, EA Sports Active, Massage Envy, Harrah’s Resorts, Kennedy Space Center and many many more!

The rewards I have earned so far were easily located under the caps on the juice container. Simply log in and enter these codes into your account. Watch them add up and spend them on the rewards you want. You will be hearing more from me on this and what I will be redeeming my points for!

I wrote this review while participating in the Tropicana Juicy Insiders Ambassador program by Mom Central on behalf of Tropicana. I received 12 free Juicy Rewards points and a $50 Visa gift card to use in redemption of the points and to facilitate my review.

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Banquet Thanks a Million

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (0)

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Lately I have some days where I just don’t feel like preparing a whole meal. Thankfully my family loves the Banquet Salisbury Steak. I keep a few of the family packs in my freezer just in case. All I need to do is prepare a few sides and it’s on. Everyone is happy and full and I am not stressing.

I remember eating Banquet meals when I was a kid. Usually at my grandmothers house. I would always have the Turkey. I remember it like it was yesterday. TV Dinners is what we called them and we would in fact eat them in the living room while watching weekend movies. Usually an old black and white. Those are good memories. It’s cool that banquet is still around after all of these years as other products come and go.

Right now Banquet is hosting a giveaway! The Banquet Thanks a Million instant-win game could get you a $100,000! Who couldn’t use that? I know I would love to win. banquet_logo

How do you play you say?

To play the Banquet Thanks a Million Instant Win Game, look inside specially-marked packages of Banquet Single Serve Dinners for a winning game message. If your package contains a winning game message then you win the prize indicated in your winning game message! You may also request a free game piece by visiting the game site.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Banquet and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Categories : Contests

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A Great Baby Shower Gift!

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (4)

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

I usually always give the same thing at every shower I go to. I base it on what the most useful things I ever got at a shower were as well as what I wish I had gotten. Practical useful items.

One thing I always start off with is a small Laundry basket. Usually a small wicker one, or a very small round plastic one, such as the organizing ones you find at a dollar store. Then I buy Johnson & Johnson baby products. Johnson & Johnson are one of those companies that we are all familiar with and associate with babies. I usually pick the traditional Pink Baby Lotion, Gold Baby Shampoo, Head-To-Toe Wash, Baby Powder, Baby Oil and Desitin. I also usually add a baby detergent for washing the babies clothing . I always include baby hangers! Baby hangers are one of those gifts that no one thinks of. I fill it with a few more small items, line the basket with a nice baby blanket for a nice completely useful baby gift.

Did you know that you can also use the Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder for deodorant for you and even to help you out when you don’t have time to wash your hair? The powder will help get rid of that oily look. Trust me…new moms have a hard time finding time for a shower!

Oh! Did you know that Johnson’s recently expanded its Bedtime line with a new Bedtime Bubble Bath & Wash? It’s formulated with Naturalcalm essences which is a unique blend of soothing aromas to help babies sleep better. I wish they had developed that when I had my babies! It smells soooo good. In fact, when I am done with this post, this mama is taking herself a Naturalcalm essences infused bath…I need it!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Johnson’s and received samples of Johnson’s Baby products to facilitate my review.

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Sing Along with Barbie DVD

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Monday, February 22nd, 2010

My girls have tons of the Barbie movies. I think they love them so much because of the songs. They know them all by heart. Imagine how excited I was when I learned about the Sing Along With Barbie DVD! A DVD with all their favorite Barbie songs! Awesome!

When the DVD arrived the girls were anxious to get it on. Immediately my house was filled with the happy singing voices of my two youngest girls. The songs get stuck in your head.

In fact, on occasion you will hear the J-man singing “‘Cause nothin’ can break this, nothin’ can break this, nothin’ can break this time. Connected, connected inside.” As soon as he belts it out he is joined in chorus by Emma and Lauren. Cracks me up every time. Just between you and I….occasionally I get caught singing it as well….shhhhhhh……..

I figured a video of the girls would show you first hand how excited they are over this DVD. So, make sure your speakers are on and grab your little ones to watch as well! Listen close at the end, you can hear Emma sigh because she wore herself out singing and bouncing around!

I am sure you can tell from the video just how much my girls love this DVD. This video was taken after probably 50 plays of the DVD, the excitement doesn’t seem to be wearing off quite yet! It gets 2 thumbs up from us!

Featuring 12 songs from popular Barbie movies of the past, the DVD has easy-to-follow, on-screen lyrics, making it possible for children to take part in performing favorite Barbie movie songs. Whether your child likes “All for One” from Barbie & the Three Musketeers or “I Am a Girl Like You” from Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper, they will find extended versions of many Barbie favorites to turn into family room performances.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mattel. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Airwear Lenses

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (1)

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

I’ve got new glasses! I have been going without glasses for several years now because I’m not so good about taking care of me. I hate to spend money. Well, I got the chance to do a review on some lenses from Airwear! I used it as an excuse to go get my eyes checked. Apparently I have one pupil that is larger than the other. Now I will stress that I have a tumor or something in there even though they said it didn’t seem to be that big of deal.

Afterwards, I bought a pair of $9 frames and then quickly sent them off for the lenses. I was so happy to finally take care of me. When the glasses came I was a little shocked. My old glasses always made me feel weird. I don’t know how to describe the feeling. I can tell you that these feel like nothing. I mean yea, I can tell I am wearing glasses and I see better, but they feel like looking through nothing. Does that make sense? I’m guessing it is because they are so light. I’m not sure how that works, but they definitely nicer than the lenses I had many years ago.

Airwear lenses are 43% lighter and 10 times more impact resistant than standard plastic lenses! 43% is a huge difference! The impact resistance is a huge plus because I seem to be quite the klutz.

The key benefits of Airwear lenses are:

Lightness
Durability
Impact resistant
Scratch-resistance
Improved appearance
100% UV Protection

Since they are virtually unbreakable they would make a good lens choice next time Morgan’s RX changes. You should definitely check into them if you have children that wear glasses. I am wearing them as a blog this and everything is crystal clear!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Airwear and received a pair of Airwear eyeglass lenses to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Mom Central Twitter Party Today for the New Out of Office blog!

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Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Join Mom Central today from 3:00-4:00pm EST for a Mom Central Celebrate-the-Launch Twitter party for the new Out of Office blog! There will be lots of great prizes, shipping tips, and ideas for cool, creative projects this December.

Click here to find more information from Stacy DeBroff. You can use the hash tag #FedExBlog to join the conversation! I hope to see you there!

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FedEx It’s a Wrap party

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Thursday, December 17th, 2009

This past Tuesday, Morgan and I went to a Mom Central Event at FedEx in Dallas. It was called the FedEx “It’s a Wrap” party. Who knew going to FedEx could be so fun? FedEx has started a new blog called “Out of Office” that talks about other non-business activities and solutions that FedEx Office offers. Trust me, FedEx does a lot more than just ship packages!

It was great meeting some local bloggers as well as some of those awesome Mom Central Ladies! I even got to finally meet Stacy DeBroff and I got a great action shot of her swinging her hair. She is totally like Wonder Woman or something. All of the ladies were so great and nice!

We got a total run down on who started FedEx, it was really interesting. The idea originated from a term paper that Fredrick Smith had written in college. I believe we were told that he got a C on that paper, since it was something that was so outrageous…you know…the idea of delivering a package overnight. Wow, I bet that professor was shocked when Mr. Smith put his plan into action!

Federal Express was the original name. It started out with only 8 planes, 186 packages and covered only about 35 – 40 cities. When he first started up the company he worried about payroll and to help the struggling company cover expenses, Mr.Smith flew to Las Vegas and managed to win enough hands of blackjack to keep the business going. Isn’t that crazy? I mean you see this huge company like FedEx and how successful it is, but do you ever wonder how they started out?

FedEx is now one of the largest international shipping and delivery services in the world! Did you know they process and deliver more than 7.5 million shipments for express, ground, freight and expedited delivery services each day? That’s a whole lotta packages! Since FedEx serves over 220 countries and territories, including every address in the United States, it is a great choice for getting your packages where they need to be!

The key to safely shipping packages, proper packing! Use Bubble Wrap to create a cushion around your entire item. Use packing paper or plastic shopping bags to pack into the empty spaces around your item. This will prevent the pack from slipping around during shipping and give it some more cushion against impact. They have packing professionals at FedEx that can help you with this.

If you have some last minute gifts to be shipped, head on over to FedEx to be sure they get there it time. Check out these shipping tips to make sure you got it covered!

Tips for Shipping for this Holiday Season

Check the weight limit on the bottom of the box you plan to use; this will tell you how much the box can safely hold.
If you are sending a gift or electronic item that includes batteries, tape them to the outside of the gift package to prevent your item from turning on during shipment.
Given the volume of packages shipped around this time, help your package arrive sooner and more directly by using the extra 4-digit code at the end of your zip code.
Put an extra label on the inside of your box as well as the outside. This will help ensure delivery if the outside label gets separated.

For other great shipping tips and hints visit a FedEx Office Print & Ship Center or visit them online!

In a recent survey on Mom shipping habits, Mom Central found that:

Moms rely most on FedEx when time is of the essence and when they trust their packages will arrive on time.

51% of Moms polled chose FedEx over the three other leading shipping carriers when under time constraints.

With 49% of Moms waiting until less than 2 weeks before the holidays to ship their gifts, they know they can trust FedEx to get their packages there on time.

Many Moms are under the misconception that FedEx is a pricey option used for business-to-business transactions.

In reality, FedEx prices are comparable to, if not lower than, other well-known shipping companies and methods.

I wrote this review after attending an event on behalf of FedEx. I received a holiday food item and complimentary FedEx shipping for it to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me note cards and a store credit to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Munchkin Math Review and Twitter Giveaway Info!

Posted by: Brandy | Comments (0)

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Lauren is 5 now and math has sparked her interest. She is counting her toys, grouping things that are alike, practicing subtraction with her food, asking what time it is and asking about money!

Money really interests her. I was thrilled to be able to review the Munchkin Math DVD called Counting Money. It is aimed at ages 3-9 and both my 3 year old and 5 year old were very interested in it. Lauren retained everything she watched the very first time.

She searched the house for spare change, gathered everything she could find. She began sorting the change into groups and then went on to explain to me what they were all called. I was pretty much amazed at how quickly she absorbed the information from the DVD and has held on to it.

I definitely think the series would be great for any child to help them learn and I plan on getting the Telling Time DVD as well.

Mom Central will be running a Twitter giveaway between December 9 and December 16. Anyone who posts using the hashtag #Munchkin Math will be entered to win one of three Munchkin Math DVD sets, which include all three Munchkin Math titles.

For example, you could tweet:

Give you child a head start in math with Munchkin Math DVDs. RT to enter to win 1 of 3 prize packs! #MunchkinMath

Giveaway: Kids get a head start in math with Munchkin Math’s Shapes, Telling Time, and Counting Money DVDs. RT to enter! #MunchkinMath

Don’t miss out on the chance to win this great learning tool. Great for Homeschool Families as well as Traditional Schooling families.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Munchkin Math and received a sample DVD to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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