2010 August — MomStart

Still Using Camelbak Water Bottles

August 19, 2010 By Momstart 6 Comments

Our oldest Camelbak water bottles are in need of replacement so we ordered 3 more off of the 0.75 liter size from Amazon. (Different colors, but the same size).

Since the kids like them so much we thought it’d be a great idea to just switch to them for water and not use sippy cups anymore. So we also ordered 3 of the new kids size for Miles and 3 for Zoe.

Miles (dinosaurs, pirates, and blue/blue)

Zoe (butterflies, pink/pink, and flowers)

We love using the Camelbak water bottles. I thought I wrote about the Camelbak water bottles but I can’t seem to find that old post. We’ve been using Camelback water bottles for about two years now, maybe even closer to three. They are dishwasher safe, and easy enough for the kids to use, once they have mastered the straw.

Filed Under: personal, review Tagged With: Camelbak, reusable water bottle, water bottle

Wordless Wednesday – Mommy Daughter

August 17, 2010 By Momstart 19 Comments

Filed Under: personal, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: Wordless Wednesday

Suave Beauty, Win Emmy Swag, and My Own Makeover

August 17, 2010 By Momstart 7 Comments

So at BlogHer, one of the events I was invited to was the Unilever Penthouse event. There we were able to sample many of the different Unilever brands and one of those being Suave. Thanks to Suave, I was able to get my hair done and I think the transformation was beautiful.

I never knew that Suave could lift my hair and hold it all night long!

The Emmys are just a few weeks away and Suave is styling nominee Sofia Vergara of ABC’s “Modern Family” on the red carpet. Suave and Sofia are asking America to vote on the hairstyle that Suave Professionals Celebrity Hairstylist, Jenny Cho, should create for her to sport on the red carpet. You can vote www.Facebook.com/SuaveBeauty to review the three hairstyles in the running for the superstar’s exciting night and “Like the Look” that is the favorite. After voting, you can enter to win a red carpet swag bag and the chance to attend this year’s Emmy awards! I wish Suave would take me too!

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: blogher, Blogher 2010, fashin, hair styling, makeover, Suave, Unilever

I Love O-Cedar ProMist Wet or Dry Floor Cleaning System Giveaway

August 16, 2010 By Momstart 663 Comments

I’ve been struggling to clean my floors for a while. The Swiffer Wet Jet has not been my friend, and my neighbor told me that he’s been having trouble with his too. So much so that he pushed so hard on his that the snapped it in half. The problem is, it doesn’t scrub the floor it only wipes it off. I have the same problem and figured that I’ll be spending the rest of my life on my hands and knees getting those stickier messes off of the floor.

Then, O-Cedar sent me the ProMist Wet or Dry Floor Cleaning System for free to review. I like it for quite a few reasons, the biggest being that it CLEANS my floor without me having to get on all fours.

The other reasons:

It does not use a battery to spray.

I can use my own solution, and I like to use hot water and soap. We’re only supposed to be using soap and water on our hard wood floors so it’s nice to know that I’m taking care of our floor.

It does Dry mopping and wet mopping

There are different kinds of pads

The pads are re-usable

My neighbor liked it too and wanted to know where you can buy it. So I wanted to make sure that I included that information in this review. It can be purchased at quite a few locations Costco, Kmart, ACE, Target, Walmart, Winn Dixie, and Wallgreens. Of course the location list goes on.

The only negative is that the spraying isn’t consistent. But I still love it!

Enter to win:

2 winners

Promist Wet Dry Mop

To Enter:

Give me a cleaning tip for cleaning the floors

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This giveaway ends September 6th, I also received a Powermat to facilitate this review and giveaway, All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: cleaning product review, Cleaning supplies, floor cleaning system, O-cedar, Pro Mist Cleaning System, ProMist, Swiffer

Charging with Powermat Portable Mat Giveaway

August 16, 2010 By Momstart 910 Comments

I received a Powermat Portable Mat for free to review right before I went to BlogHer. I wasn’t sure how well it would work and if it would even work with my cell phone but I did know that it would work with our Nintendo DS. Not only did it work with the DS but they were kind enough to send us an attachment that attached directly to the DS. This attachment allowed me to just drop the DS onto the Powermat and viola, it charged. You can charge 3 devices at one time.

The basic Powermat comes with quite a selection of adaptors that make charging your electronics a piece of cake. We can charge our e-readers, our phones, our games, I loved being able to take it with me to BlogHer and using just one plug to charge my devices. Look at all of the photos I took:

The traveling case:

Charging the DS:

All Folded Up:

How I hooked up my phone:

Universal Powercube Receiver with the default Mini USB tip

Save:

I’m really happy with the PowerMat. It was everything my husband and I were hoping it would be. The only thing I have to make sure that I tell everyone is that you have to make sure that it makes contact. When I hooked up my phone it didn’t charge the first time. Once I reset my phone, turned it on, then I hooked it back up and it made a cool acknowledgement sound and then it worked. So now, whenever we put something down on the device we make sure we hear the acknowledgement sound.

The Powermat retails for 99.99.

Enter to Win:

Powermat Portable Mat

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me which item you look forward to charging.

Extra Entries:

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PowerMat Portable Mat (AVR 99.99) #Giveaway http://bit.ly/c2jz0G

This giveaway ends August 30th, I also received a Powermat to facilitate this review and giveaway, All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: blogher, portable charging station, portable powermat, Powermat, re-charge

Zero Water Pitcher Giveaway

August 16, 2010 By Momstart 197 Comments

The Zero Water pitcher is the only filtration system that meets the FDA Standards for Purified Bottled Water. I used to be a water snob and would only drink water out of my favorite brand’s water bottle. Then they changed their water bottle to a greener water bottle and I feel that it changed the taste of the water. So I’ve become less of a water snob, but I find that filtered water is better than water out of the tap. This new system is the only gravity fed filtration system that brings the number of total dissolved solids (substances like lead, mercury, hydrogen sulfide, chromium, aluminum, zinc and iron, chlorine, which are also responsible for the bad taste in your water) down to Zero!

This is the first time ever this has been done and users can confidently replace bottled water with water that is absolutely pristine, fresh and delicious. ZeroWater filters have been certified by independent laboratories (including NSF International and the Water Quality Association). The value of a pitcher and one filter is $35.00.

I received one to use it as a donation for the East Side Domestic Violence Center in my community. I’m using my blog to make a difference in my community.

Enter to Win:

Zero Water Pitcher of your own.

The Pitcher comes with the following products:

One ZeroWater® filter cartridge that removes contaminants that cause water to have an unpleasant taste.
An independently made TDS Meter to give you peace of mind that your ZeroWater® filter cartridges are working properly. It also lets you know when to replace the filters. When your water starts reading 006 it’s time for a change.
The one-chamber Pitcher with lid has a pour spout, exclusive in-fridge push button dispenser and a special storage compartment for the TDS Meter.
More complete filtration than ordinary carbon filters
Clean, crisp taste
Includes one Pitcher, one filter, and one TDS meter.

To Enter:

Visit Zero Water and tell me one face about the water filtration system

Extra Entries:

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Zero Water Pitcher #Giveaway http://bit.ly/adsCsd

This giveaway ends August 30th, I also received a pitcher to facilitate this giveaway, All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: filtered water, giveaway, water bottle, water filtration, Zero Water Pitcher

Look What I found in the Laundry Basket

August 15, 2010 By Momstart 11 Comments

We were doing laundry together and he just decided to be one with the laundry. He was having a great time and if I can get a little work done while he’s having fun it’s a match made in heaven.

This is what we did today, we cleaned the house and decorated his room. I’m still not done with his room, it’s probably going to be a work in progress for the next 16 years.

I let him put up some of the pictures himself, and if you know me very well at all it’s really hard for me to let the kids be kids. I’m a work in progress too and I’ll be the first to admit I am not perfect.

The theme of his room is robots.

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: miles

Brenda Novak White Heat Book Giveaway

August 15, 2010 By Momstart 568 Comments

White Heat is the first book in Brenda Novak’s new Department 6 Hired Guns trilogy.

Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop are operatives for Department 6, a private security company, and they’re going undercover to expose a new and dangerous cult.

This group has taken up residence in the Arizona desert, in a ghost town called Paradise. Members worship at the feet—and in the bed–of its charismatic leader, Ethan Wycliff. On his orders, they tried to stone a woman to death. And they’re implicated in the disappearance of a teenage girl.

To expose the Church of the Covenant, with its arcane rituals and debauched practices, Nate and Rachel must pretend to be married. That’s the only way they can get in—but being Nate’s “wife” is the last thing Rachel wants. She and Nate have a one-night history that’s just an embarrassment to her now. But they don’t have a choice. Wycliff has to be stopped.

About Brenda Novak:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has three novels coming out this summer – WHITE HEAT, BODY HEAT & KILLER HEAT. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she’s raised over $1,072,000. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.

Other Book Covers:

Enter to win:

Prizing for MomStart

· $25 Visa Cash Card

· White Heat Lip Gloss (made exclusively for the book! $22 retail)

· Copy of White Heat

To Enter:

Tell me what you find most interesting about the book.

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

#Win a 25.00 Visa Gift Card @momstart Brenda Novak #giveaway #contest http://bit.ly/byypNW

This giveaway ends August 30th, I also received a copy of the book and lipgloss, All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Body heat, Brenda Novak, giveaway, Killer Heat, lip gloss, Visa Gift Card Giveaway, White heat

What does your child want to be For Halloween Annie’s Costume Giveaway

August 15, 2010 By Momstart 540 Comments

Annie’s Costumes

Annie’s Costumes is part of the Extreme Halloween Network. The amount of costumes to choose from is huge.

Since 1996, we have provided customers the most unique adult costumes, children costumes and costume accessories that add detail and will make your costume so memorable! We have thousands of costumes to choose from. Our child costumes range from size newborn to teen. With every kind of costume from Care Bears to Nickelodeon characters to Disney characters and, of course, those classic costumes such as fairy princesses, pirates, witches and cowboys, we sell children costumes they will play dress-up with all year! Our adult size costumes range from petite up to 3XL. Adult selections include costumes from every period in time from biblical to the futuristic fantasy realms, movie and television characters and every costume style in between.

I want to know what everyone wants to be for Halloween. What’s in this year?

Zoe wants to be:

Jessie the Cowgirl (Toy Story)

Snow White,

Sleeping Beauty,

Cinderella,

Jasmine,

Fiona,

or Tiana

She is a princess through and through!

Miles wants to be:

Buzz Light Year

Shrek

Woody

Fiona

What does your child want to be this year for Halloween?

Enter to win:

50.00 to use at Annie’s Costumes

To Enter:

Tell me what you predict will be the most popular costume this year!

Extra Entries:

Become a Fan of Annie’s Costume on facebook

Follow Annie’s Costumes on Twitter

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Halloween Costume #Giveaway @momstart & @anniescostumes http://bit.ly/9cMX9d

This giveaway ends August 30th, All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: annies costumes, giveaway, Halloween, Halloween costumes, Halloween costumes and dress up ideas, Princess Costume

I Saved over 100.00 at Albertsons: Here’s How

August 14, 2010 By Momstart 9 Comments

I haven’t been clipping coupons like I used to. I’ve just been too busy with my blog. I know how much I can save when I’m serious about clipping so I sat down the other day and clipped some coupons while checking out the Back To School grocery ads. Albertsons makes it the easiest for me to save money, especially when General Mills is giving Albertsons a kick back and Albertsons shares that kick back in an extra savings event.

For every 10 items you purchase within the General Mills savings event, you receive and additional 5.00 off in savings. I ended up saving 111.81 with combined in store sales and grocery coupons. I spent 51.27 and had five paper bags packed to the brim with groceries.

All five bags:

This is couponing at it’s best. How do I do it? I sign up for coupons at every turn. I sign up for free product coupons when they come out on facebook, or on all of the freebie sites. You could spend a lot of time hunting everything down yourself, or just do a few searches on-line and you’ll find places that do all the work for you. The Coupon Mom does some of the stores for you and shows you how to get everything for free. She isn’t very big in the Pacific Northwest but she does do Safeway, Rite Aid, and Walgreens.

The coupons I used were just from the Sunday inserts in the newspaper, and a few peelies from products in-store. Peelies are the coupons that you find on package inside the store. Boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes ended up being 50 cents a box and so were Old El Paso refried beans. We eat burritos a lot so I just stocked up my pantry on these items that we use often. Making yourself familiar with brands that are under a particular manufacturer also help when trying to maximize your savings for events like this. For more on this topic see Matching ads with coupons!

Filed Under: personal, savings Tagged With: Albertsons, Back to School, Rite Aid, Safeway, Walgreens

Miles (dinosaurs, pirates, and blue/blue)

Zoe (butterflies, pink/pink, and flowers)

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