Eating Healthy and Natural Bear Naked Soft-Baked Cookies

By Summer:

Child eating Bear Naked CookiesI’ve been trying to stay within my calorie count for each day as I’ve been actively trying to reach my weight lose goals using Lindsay Brin’s 60 Day SlimDown. So lucky for me, Bear Naked offers deliciously, natural cookies you’d swear are homemade had you not just opened the box. The bonus over homemade is having the calorie count and other nutrition statistics on the box, and you won’t eat half the cookie dough while you cook (when I make cookies it becomes “two spoonfuls on the tray and one in the mouth”). To Bear Naked, my mouth (and waistline) thanks you … and kids like them too!

The Bear NakedTM 100% Pure & Natural Soft-Baked Granola Cookies are offered in two flavors: Double Chocolate and Fruit & Nut. Like all Bear Naked’s products, these cookies are made with minimal processing and contain NO high fructose corn syrup, NO artificial preservatives, NO Bear Naked Cookies Sampleartificial flavors, NO cholesterol, NO hydrogenated oils, and 0 grams trans fats. Calling their cookies pure means you can read, recognize and pronounce all the ingredients in Bear Naked’s 100% Pure & Natural Soft-Baked Granola Cookies. All the cookies can now be purchased in major grocery stores nationwide as well as online. An 8-count box is $3.19 SRP. These high quality treats offer the nutrition of 10g of whole grains and simple ingredients for natural energy to fuel the everyday lives of active people.

clip_image005So here’s the deal … REALLY A DEAL!!! You can join the Bear Den FREE and you’ll also receive 5% off every online order. You’ll get 100% YUM for less! Joining The Den will also connect you with other healthy, active people. Keep up with Bear Naked on Facebook and Twitter @LiveBearNaked to stay up to date on the latest.

Lastly, let me leave you on a green note (as would be my nature). Bear Naked has taken a proactive environmental stand by continuing to serve you even after your snack is gone. Bear Naked has partnered with clip_image007TerraCycleTM to reduce the amount of bags that end up in landfills by repurposing them into products such as backpacks, shower curtains, umbrellas, and t-shirts. When you help Bear Naked with their Sustainable Packaging Project you also get to either earn points to get repurposed gear of your own, or earn cash for a school or organization of your choice.

In order to write of this post I was given full box samples of each cookie variety.

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.

What is your favorite Food You can’t Live without? Monday Mingle

Happy Monday Mingle:

Welcome to Monday Mingle, where we chat over video answering questions. It’s fun and the more video you do on your blog the more comfortable you will be in front of the camera. Want to participate? Monday Mingle is a Meme over at Eighty MPH Mom. Go over to her site, find the questions, take a video of the answers and post them to share. Then visit everyone that linked up and have fun getting to know each other.

Current questions {week of 1/24/11}:

1. What is one food or drink you cannot live without?
2. Are you a foodie? Do you like to cook or are you a food blogger?

3. What is your one easy family friendly recipe, or amazing supersecret recipe that you are known for? Share it here if it isn’t a closely guarded family secret.

So I said that chocolate is the food I can’t live without, if you know me then you guessed it right off the bat. I love to cook and I’m not a food blogger but I do blog about food. And my recipe is one that I cook a lot.

Innobaby Keepin’ Fresh Baby Food Storage Solution Containers Review

By Summer:

We’re a family always on the go! We sleep in late and then we have to run to toddler group, preschool, MOMS Club events, or play dates. In the midst of all this we … ok, I … need to get these bottomless pits fed.

clip_image002It seems like foods these days come in only two sizes of packaging: bulk or snack. Though I have been collecting my snack size packages to recycle with Terracycle (you might remember them from my Bear Naked review), I find it to be a better deal to purchase in bulk. In bulk I typically get less packaging and best monetary value. The problem with bulk foods is size! I need things smaller for little fingers, transportation, portion control and storage. I found an answer with a Chicago based mommy-made small company, innobaby.

clip_image004I was asked by innobaby to review their Keepin’ Fresh baby food storage solution containers. I said yes because it’s something I knew I’d use all the time, and I liked the look of their hinge design locking seal tops which are airtight and leak proof. I also appreciate that their plastic materials are BPA, phthalate, PVC, and lead free. (You might be sold already. I know I was!) So I got my 2 pack stage 1 (90ml sized) packages and they are the PERFECT size for my needs.

clip_image005The innobaby Keepin’ Fresh system is made for moms like me! The containers are stain resistant so no scrubbing needed. Just add them to the top rack for safe dishwasher cleaning which by the way is more eco-friendly than hand washing dishes as it uses less water, and who really has the time to hand wash dishes anyway. The Keepin’Fresh system is freezer safe and microwave safe too (though you need to remove the lid). For storage they are also space-saving as they are stackable. (Don’t confuse them with innobaby’s Packin’ Smart which is an interlocking stacking storage system; though they look awesome and would be highly functionally for the snack-a-holic children like mine.)

clip_image006The innobaby Keepin’ Fresh system is also available in stage 2 (100ml) and glass (150ml). In addition to the Keepin’ Fresh and previously mentioned Packin’ Smart systems, innobaby makes stainless steel beverage containers, platters and bento boxes; bottles; straw cups; organic crib sheet toppers; and bamboo seat toppers for strollers and car seats. They all have cute little names like Keepin’ Fresh, Din Din Smart, Nursin’ Smart, Sleepin’ Smart, and Sittin’ Smart.

My opinion is these are a great buy! Innobaby containers are something for your own needs or for the mom-to-be on your shopping list. Use them at home or on the go. No more crushed snacks, soggy food, or open holes and escaping food from snack traps. Innobaby Keepin’ Fresh baby food storage solution containers are perfect for purse transport as I’m a fan of not carrying my diaper bag and purse. (I’ve never been a mom who could combine the two for the super-hybrid as other moms have done.)

You can find innobaby products for sale on their site, through other innobaby online retailers, or at a store near you. You can also stay connected to innobaby on Facebook and on Twitter @innobaby.

For the writing of this post innobaby supplied me with one package of two Keepin’ Fresh Stage 1 (90ml) baby food storage containers.

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.

God Gave Us the World Children’s Book Review and Giveaway

From the mouth of Polar Bears comes the story of how everyone in the world is different. God Gave us the World is a story about different bears, different places, and the same world all from the same wonderful Creator. I read God Gave Us the World to my children and enjoyed reading from the perspective of Little Cub. Little Cub reminded me of how many questions Zoe likes to ask me every day.

One of the most pertinent questions to me was when Little Cub asked his mom, “Why would any bears want to live anywhere else?”

Our world is so big and there are so many different places to live. Take me for example, I used to live in Texas and grew up in the land of the sun. Now I live in the land of the rain. I would love to go back to such a warm sunny place, but my husband being from here really loves it here. And it’s a lot easier to be cold and wear a coat than be hot and not able to take anything off. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that we are all different. God made us this way and it’s important to learn about differences and diversity and to be able to adjust for others. God gave us this big world to live in and to share!

This is a cute story that will help children learn about diversity on their level!

 

More About God Gave Us the World:

 

clip_image002God Gave Us the World by Lisa Tawn Bergren, Illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

Little Cub is learning about all the different bears in God’s big world, and asks Mama Bear to help her understand God’s creativity and her unique place in his creation.

Little Cub learns the importance of God’s diversity, that his creation is a gift to us, and that each bear is special to him.

About the Authors/Illustrator

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than one million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Heaven is Lisa’s fourth children’s book, following in the tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She makes her home in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Laura J. Bryant studied painting, printmaking, and sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She has illustrated numerous award-winning children’s books, including God Gave Us You, Smudge Bunny, and If You Were My Baby. Laura lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Enter to Win:

A Copy of God Gave Us the World and The Dragon and the Turtle

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Leave a comment on this post.

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Leave a comment on The Dragon and the Turtle Review.

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This giveaway ends February 21st.  All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

We received a copy of God Gave Us the World from WaterBrook Press to facilitate this review, our opinions are our own.

Interview with Bethenny Frankel From The Real Housewives of New York City to Pampers Ambassador

_MG_4046.jpgLast week I had the opportunity to interview Bethenny Frankel over the phone. Bethenny is a new mom to a 7 month old girl named Bryn, she has been learning how to juggle being a mother while maintaining a career as a famous business woman. Bethenny is widely known for her role in The Real Housewives of New York City and for being a natural foods chef who has a no nonsense attitude about feeding your children healthy home made food.

I really enjoyed interviewing Bethenny, I found her responses real and relatable as a mother of two children myself. I haven’t seen a single episode of The Real Housewives in any city, can you believe that? So because I live under a rock, I had no idea who Bethenny was until Pampers introduced her to me. To me, she’s another busy mom with great advice on how to juggle being a mother and a career.

Check out her great responses on feeding your children natural home made food, juggling parenthood and a career and learning how to deal with much less sleep. Oh and I love how she said that Pampers Baby Wipes are her most used item with Bryn. I have to say, we use a LOT of Pampers Clean ‘N Go Wipes.

 

Pampers Gifts to Grow is a rewards program for purchases of all the diapers and products you use from Pampers. When we first started using diapers, programs like this were on a hiatus and I’m so excited that Pampers brought it back. I love rewards programs. For every package of Pampers diapers you purchase you can enter the rewards points to use when you reach a certain amount towards different items you may want. If you check out the Pampers Facebook page you will see that a Radio Flyer is valued at 5,075 points. Pretty cool!

 

I’m a member of the Pampers Baby Board and I was under no obligation to publish this post or interview!

Zoe Knows about Creation: The Read and Share Bible Review and Giveaway

Zoe ExcitedI’m so impressed with The Read and Share Bible published by Thomas Nelson because Zoe has been learning the Bible stories and uses The Read and Share Bible to teach them to her brother. This is a story about Zoe and Miles learning about night and day!

Miles woke up one morning and said it’s dark outside daddy! Why is it dark outside?

It’s dark outside because the sun went down.

(Zoe ran to her room to grab the Read and Share Bible)

Miles looks at his dad and said, Why?

Daddy said, “Because God made it that way”

In comes Zoe…

“MILES! Let me show you something”..she has the Read and Share bible in her hands, “The sun went down because God told it to go down, so it’s dark, the sun can not come back up until God says the sun can come back up.”

Simple right?

Well to the mind of a 3 year old and 4 year old, it’s simple to trust that God made the day and the night and he controls when they happen!

The Read and Share Bible is perfect for sharing the amazing joy and wonder of God’s Word with little ones in a whole new way. Some of the Bible features include:

· More than 200 beloved Bible stories in short-form, which is ideal for the attention span of younger children

· Bold, bright illustrations

· Discussion starter with each story

· Stories adapted from the International Children’s Bible

· Ideal for guided learning

I’m very impressed with the Read and Share Bible because my kids want to read it every night. Not only do they want to read bible stories, but they sit, listen and learn the stories. They are able to tell me what they learned the next day just from reading the stories. Zoe with her very inquisitive mind asks so many questions as we read each story. It’s a great bible for toddlers!

Enter to Win:

The Read and Share Bible from Thomas Nelson by Gwen Ellis

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite bible story is.

Read and Share BibleExtra Entries:

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This giveaway ends February 21st.  We received copies of the Bible to review. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

A Butterfly Craze Beautiful Decor

This Giveaway was Closed Early Due to the Sponsor’s request! I apologize.

Last week I was introduced to a beautiful site that my daughter adores: Butterfly Craze! Butterfly Craze has the cutest costumes, room décor and Princess Party Ideas that I have ever seen. Well, in all honesty, I see them every day I see my daughter because she has quite a collection of butterfly wings, fairy wings and princess dresses just like the ones you can find at Butterfly Craze.

Considered a great stop for giftware and decorative accessories, Butterfly Craze is a company dedicated to offering the latest in trendy stylish and whimsical treasures for anyone young at heart. Each year they search endlessly for fresh and unique ideas traveling far around the world to bring you the special magical wonders that tickle your heart – the kind of things that give you “butterfly feelings”.

Butterfly Craze Chantella DressButterfly Craze and Modnique have teamed up with Mom Start to offer a reader giveaway in honor of a flash sale that is going to start February 3rd. We have this beautiful Chantella dress to offer as a giveaway.

This Chantella dress has flowers and pearls adorning the neckline and strands of tulle making an adorable dress for ages 1 to 8 years old. With 100 % tulle this dress creates quite a twirl with a modest full length under skirt from the shoulder to below the knee. It seems like a very magical dress that would transform girls like Zoe into an enchanted fairy princess.

Enter To Win:

Chantella Dress in Size of your choice

Size Chart:

Size: Age: Measurements:
Sclip_image001 1yr – 2yr 19″ W x 24″ L
Mclip_image001[1] 3yr – 4yr 20″ W x 28″ L
Lclip_image001[2] 5yr – 6yr 22″ W x 30″ L
XLclip_image001[3] 7yr – 8yr 24″ W x 32″ L
From shoulder to hem.
*White Chantella (M, L, XL): $39.99

To Enter:

Visit Butterfly Craze and tell me what your favorite item is from there.

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This giveaway has ended early, I apologize.  All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Peter Rabbit Organics Veggie Snack Pouches Review

By Summer:

I’ve been a mom who just hasn’t gotten with the whole snack in a pouch thing. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to I just hadn’t. But what was my excuse; there should be a good one for not getting them. There’s so convenient and healthy, and I’m all about working smarter not harder!

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Peter Rabbit Organics offers drinkable fruit and vegetable snacks in four ounce BPA-free pouches. I think I might just be in love; my boys can eat the squeeze pouches in the car and their getting 100% organic goodness for their growing bodies and I get 100% cleanliness in my backseat! Peter Rabbit Organic pouches make great travel companions as they fit neatly into diaper bags, picnic baskets, glove boxes and lunch sacks. They’re easy to open with no scissors or snipping required. They reseal with a twist of their no-choke cap for simple storage. Just be sure to refrigerator once opened to preserve the organic fruits and vegetables, and enjoy opened packages within 48 hours as Peter Rabbit Organics does NOT use preservatives in their snacks.

BUT perhaps the best part is there isn’t a maximum age limit, so parents can enjoy them too! Since these snack pouches don’t need to be refrigerated before opening you can throw one right into your gym bag for some post-workout nutrition. That’s an easy and painless way to get veggies into your own diet.

clip_image004If you are familiar with Peter Rabbit Organics you will know their popular fruit snack pouch line of Apple and Grape; Strawberry and Banana; and Mango, Banana and Orange. Now Peter Rabbit Organics offer a NEW vegetable line* of pouches: Sweet Potato, Corn and Apple; Pea, Spinach and Apple; and Carrot, Squash and Apple. Our favorite was the Carrot, Squash, and Apple.

You can find where to purchase Peter Rabbit Organics by the pouch from Starbucks when you stop by for a latte, on line at OrganicDirect.com, or at your local grocery store. You can also purchase Peter Rabbit Organics pouches in cases of ten online at Amazon, Babies R Us, and Diapers.com. I highly recommend Bing Shopping for comparing the best online price.

clip_image006You can find out more about Peter Rabbit Organics on their website or follow them on Peter Rabbit Organics on Facebook or Twitter @PR_Organics.

I think Peter Rabbit Organics pouches would make a sweet Valentine’s Day treat in replacement of all the sugary snacks kids love to trade. Purchase a case of each the Sweet Potato, Corn and Apple, and the Strawberry and Banana (as their packages are red and pink) and then simply make a personal handmade valentine from your child.

The possibilities are endless … Where will you take Peter Rabbit Organic pouches?

*In order to honestly and accurately review this product I supplied with one pouch of each vegetable variety in the Peter Rabbit Organics new line of products.

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.

Sound of Music 45th Anniversary 3 Disc Blu-Ray and DVD Combo Packs

The Sound of Music Cover ArtThe Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies and I’ve seen it so many times I can quote the whole movie. We watched a lot of family safe movies when I was working, most of them were animated so it was so nice to have one that was more for adults. When we received the Sound of Music on Blu-ray we were pretty sure that it couldn’t look that much better. We were wrong!

The scenery was outstanding and looked so good. The opening scene and the mountain was beautiful the skies were rich with color and it was amazing! Doesn’t everyone love The Sound of Music, in anticipation of the 45th Anniversary Soundtrack, there was a local sing a long played. My MOMS Club went as a very large group, I think almost 20 different moms went in to watch this and sing a long. How fun was that? I wasn’t able to go but I found the whole thing to be very exciting. As this movie appeals to so many different people.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment released the five-time Academy Award winning Sound of Music to Blu-ray last year. I just received a copy of the DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to review and I found it mesmerizing. This is a movie that my husband and I like to watch together with the kids. Starring Oscar winner Julie Andrews in one of her most memorable roles, the film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical follows Maria, a spirited young woman who leaves a convent and becomes a governess to seven unruly children.  Her charm and songs soon win the hearts of the children and their father but when Nazi Germany unites with Austria, Maria is forced to attempt a daring escape with her new family. 

The Sound of Music was meticulously restored and re-mastered and as I’ve said three times already, just looked amazing. The Sound Of Music 45th Anniversary Edition  is presented with new 7.1 audio and offers BD-LIVE: Live Lookup Powered by IMDb; Your Favorite Things: An Interactive Celebration featuring a Sing-A-Long, behind-the-scenes images, trivia and a location quiz; A City of Song with a virtual map of filming locations and interactive tour of the movie’s locale of Salzburg, Austria; vintage programs including a hilarious send-up of The Sound of Music from Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews herself; an enchanting interview with the real Maria von Trapp on The Julie Andrews Hour; and, for the very first time in home entertainment format, a spectacular full-length documentary, Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of American Music, hosted by Mary Martin; and much more. Directed by Robert Wise and co-starring Christopher Plummer, the film garnered five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. A heartwarming story full of cherished songs such as “My Favorite Things,” “Sixteen Going On Seventeen,” “Edelweiss” and the title song, the film graces six different Top 100 lists by the American Film Institute including Musicals, Songs and Movies. 

Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals Contain New Martha Speaks Books Set Giveaway

Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals offer Children Books from the Hit PBS TV Show “Martha Speaks”

By Summer:

If you’re a parent of a child who watches the Public Broadcast System (PBS) you’re familiar with the TV show Martha Speaks (even if only by name). Martha, a character created by Susan Meddaugh, is a dog who was fed alphabet soup one time by her owners and instead of the soup going to her stomach it travels to her brain giving her the ability to talk. Kids love Martha! She was first published in 1992 and became an educational program in 2008 and is still currently a hit PBS show.

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clip_image004Martha Speaks can be found in books for all levels of readers: chapter books, early readers, and picture books. Currently Chick-fil-A® (one of my FAVORITE restaurants) is giving Martha Speaks books free inside their kid’s meals. Books you won’t be able to get anywhere else: Helen’s All Thumbs, Martha Gives Advice, Best in Show, Martha Plays Favorites, and Firedog Martha. But if you and your child are a clip_image006viewer you might recognize each book as they are based on the PBS teleplays by Raye Lankford Martha Speaks. While supplies last, you can collect all five to add to your library but only at Chick-fil-A® restaurants.

These special Martha Speaks books further your child’s skills to grow on such a vocabulary and social issues. New vocabulary is repeated throughout each story like inside Martha Plays Favorites children will learn about “exclude” and “notice”, or inside Martha Gives Advice children will learn about “advice” and “opinion”. At the end of each book there is also a simple definition for the selected vocabulary. Each story offers solutions to complicated childhood problems like moderating electronic device usage, being yourself, self-worth, love and friendship, and individual contributions to a team effort. Remember, all of these stories and lessons are best learned with the assistance of an adult, so be sure to discuss with your child the topics presented in Martha Speaks.

My sons and I enjoyed these Martha Speaks books. (And you know I love Chick-fil-A, I already shared that! So go get your Kid’s Meal.) Reading all of them has been time well spent with my four year old in particular; I love the quality time of reading. I honestly can’t wait until we read them again soon.

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If you’re interested in keeping up with Chick-fil-A and their other offers say up to date with their quarterly Chick-Fil-A e-newsletter or their Chick-fil-A press room, connect with Chick-fil-a on Facebook, and Twitter @ChickfilA.

In order to write this post I was given all five of the Chick-fil-A PBS Martha Speaks books. I hope you and your kids enjoy them as much as we have been.

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.

Enter to Win:

All five Martha Speaks books from Chick-fil-A

To Enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling us about your little reader

Extra Entries:

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Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals offer Children Books from the Hit PBS TV Show “Martha Speaks” #Giveaway http://bit.ly/eOJ6yO @Chickfila @Momstart

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This giveaway ends February 21st.  All rules can be found under giveaway rules.