I really do love cooking and I’m so excited that I received a copy of The Best of Summer Grilling Parties & Potlucks. There are so many really great recipes in this magazine. It’s the kind of magazine that my husband would pick up for me at the newstand when he got groceries for me before we had kids. He used to get me all of the holiday ones to inspire me to cook something new.

We just got a new grill and patio furniture and I intend on fully celebrating summer this year with friends and family and we’re going to pull inspiration from this magazine

Best of Summer, a new warm-weather recipe collection from the editors of Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Country Living, and Woman’s Day, will help you make the most of it. You’ll find delicious ways to take advantage of favorite farmer’s market produce, great new ideas for the backyard grill, and sure-fire crowd-pleasers for your next picnic or potluck. 

Fire up the backyard grill and dig into new takes on summertime classics like burgers, dogs, and ribs, or lighten up with tasty chicken and fish recipes like Coffee-Spice Chicken & Fruit-Basil Salsa and Citrus Basil Salmon. When it comes to entertaining, we’ve got you covered, with summer favorites like Deviled Eggs (10 variations!), Honey-Baked Beans, Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob, and (for a special occasion) Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb.

Headed to a potluck or picnic? Take along our Tomato, Corn & Barley Salad, or bring a sweet treat like Macadamia Triangles, Blueberry-Spice Whoopie Pies, or Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

And there’s much, much more, like tips on choosing the  freshest, juiciest produce, and clever ideas for (almost) effortless summer parties. Best of all, every recipe is 400 calories or less, so you can eat well without gaining an ounce. 

Purchase this special edition for only $9.99 at your local supermarket or bookstore, or buy a digital edition at Zinio.com or Nook.bn.com.

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We received a sample

The area I live in home delivery is all the rage, especially for organic produce. I love getting groceries delivered it saves me so much time. This past month I had the privilege of receiving a NatureBox subscription. NatureBox is a subscription service that offers the ability to discover and enjoy healthy snacks on a monthly basis. And after trying them out they are not only healthy but mighty tasty. We tore right through the bag of peppered pistachios. YUM!

For the crunchy family….Their products are made from wholesome ingredients and are Nutritionist-approved. They abide by strict quality standards: No High Fructose Corn Syrup, No Partially Hydrogenated Oils, No Trans Fats No Artificial Sweeteners, No Artificial Flavors, No Artificial Colors. Pure goodness right?

It’s a snack a mother can get behind.

It’s a snack I can get behind, they also have a charity aspect. For every NatureBox sent out, they are helping to feed the hungry. NatureBox donates one meal for every box to feed the over 14 million children in America who go hungry every year. They believe in doing good and eating well.

They currently ship to the 48 continental states as well as FPO/APO addresses and P.O. Boxes.NatureBoxes make great gifts for your friends and family for holidays, special occasions, or anytime. College students, summer campers, teachers, coaches, new parents, and deployed service members all love to receive healthy snacks any time of the year.

The April Box

My box was the April box and it had four bags in it and they were all nutritious and had a lot of protein in them. This NatureBox is loaded with nutrient rich foods that taste great and will fill you up. That’s what is important to NatureBox. They are constantly working with nutritionists to make healthy snacks and ship them to your doorstep.

Inside my box:

NatureBox Dried Pears

NatureBox Peppery Pistachios

NatureBox Zingy Currants

NatureBox Cranberry Jubilee

Join now to start discovering healthy, hand-picked snacks from NatureBox for $19.95/month Like them on Facebook / Follow them on Twitter

We received samples for this review.

A couple months back Emily reviewed some products from Tastefully Simple. She reviewed the  Tastefully Simple’s Cozy Comfort Kit…

a convenient way to warm our bellies on a rainy fall day. The Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup was enjoyed by the whole family and the Bountiful Beer Bread made the made the perfect accompaniment to these warm bowls of soup. Nana’s Apple Cake was a real treat for dessert, but I must admit it is great for breakfast too!

Now that it’s grilling season Tastefully Simple recommended the following items

- Grilled Pineapple Right Side Up Cake

- Grilled Peaches and Pound Cake

- Melissa’s Delightful Dessert Kabobs

- Absolutely Almond Grilled Pound Cake

I picked the Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix to try out and review along with the Creamy Caramel Sauce.a rich, deliciously moist pound cake from Tastefully Simple.

The box mix of course is easy to prepare. You just add 1 cup of water and 1 stick and a half of butter melted and mix it all together until really well blended. But I had to change it up a bit so I added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips melted making it chocolate Almond Pound Cake instead of Almond Pound Cake.

And you have to top it off with the Tastefully Simple Creamy Caramel sauce.

We received samples for review.

By: Ashley

I’ve always had dogs… but it wasn’t until this week that I found an AMAZING pet bowl. – The Neater Feeder.

After growing up with dogs as pets, getting a dog with my husband years ago, and always having friends and family with dogs, one thing seems to be the same – dogs are messy eaters and drinkers. I remember my mom used to keep a towel under our dogs water bowls to soak up the splashing that inevitably seemed to happen every time they took a drink. With our own dog, we resorted to the placemat under the dishes… but still… it was gross. The smart design of the Neater Feeder has fixed all of those problems and more.

The first great thing about the Neater Feeder is the adjustable height. Larger dogs are supposed to have elevated food bowls, but that’s really tough. The Neater Feeder has various leg extenders and rubber stoppers on the bottom to prevent the bowls from sliding and sloshing around.

I also LOVE how the water bowl is deeper that the food bowl. That’s exactly what every dog needs… and the people at Neater Feeder finally got it right. You might now be thinking about the yucky factors that could come up from having food right next to water… but another act of design genius took care of that. The Neater Feeder has a two layer tray that lets any water that spills go down to the bottom level while sifting out any food that may get dropped. This keeps the mess off of your floors AND makes it easier to clean up.

I can honestly say that anyone who has pets… ESPECIALLY indoor pets, would find a lot of joy in owning the Neater Feeder. It makes the mealtime for our four-legged friends a little more enjoyable for everyone! You can even have a chance to win one for your favorite pet. Follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below! Good luck!

About Ashley: Ashley is a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and former teacher working to navigate through the mysterious world of Mommyia. Read more about her adventures at http://www.momicles.com/and follow her @Momicles2010 .

Disclosure – A product was provided for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The new Windows PC from Asus, the Asus ET2700 All In One PC fits nicely on the end of our kitchen table, on the counter top in the kitchen and in our little built in area for the computer in our loft. I can put this machine in any room in the house and all it needs is the counter space. The place in the loft is really made for an all-in-one because there is no hole for cables, now with an all in one there is only one cable, the power cord. I love no clutter, I LOVE the Asus AIO.

Computer Shopper said “The Asus ET2700 is more than an all-in-one PC; it’s an entertainment center that delivers a huge display, booming audio, Blu-ray, and an HDMI-in port” I have to say that I was surprised when I was pulling it out of the box and there was this triangular device that sits on the table attaching to the computer and to find out that it was a subwoofer was exciting. I’ve never had a computer with a subwoofer.  The subwoofer is a 10-watt external subwoofer that brings a complete theater-like audio experience. So you can watch Blu-Ray movies with the built in Blu-Ray player and listen to the thunderous sound of your media powered by SonicMaster premium sound and DTS Surround Sound UltraPC Technology along with the sub.

Of course I can just list out the Key Features:

• 27” Full HD WLED-backlit frameless MVA panel with 178° wide viewing angle and 1920 x 1080 resolution for a seamless design and a vivid HD visual experience.
• 2^nd gen Intel Core i7 processor featuring with integrated memory controller and discrete graphic support.
• Discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M delivers movies and games in Full HD.
• HDMI-in and VGA-in extends your display from compatible tablets, netbooks, or devices to the All-in-One PC display.
• USB 3.0
• External subwoofer
• ASUS SonicMaster Technology and ASUS DTS Surround Sound UltraPC employs the best codecs and delivers the most pure audio reproduction.
• ASUS Energy Intelligent technology delivers unprecedented levels of speed and performance, with up to 15% of performance boost.
• Wall Mount capability allows users to mount ASUS AIO on the wall as a kiosk or digital signage.

But wouldn’t you rather know what I loved like the programs it came with and how easy it was to use the built in video camera. The ASUS All-in-One PC ET2700INKS combines powerful internal engineering with a clean, streamlined, modern design and the vibrant brilliance of a true 27” HD WLED-backlit frameless display. So yeah, I loved the screen.

I used the video capabilities in this review: A Fantastic Kohl’s Clothing Haul: Kohl’s Hauls of Fame and I used it to create a few videos for the kids. One of them I was an alien and in another video I was a talking dog. The kids just loved it and I had fun playing with it too. The computer was fast and reliable and I trusted the kids while they used it. You may be thinking all-in-one that’s great an all but with if I want to change out memory and upgrade it. You can upgrade it, it’s not as easy as a desktop with a case, but laptops aren’t that easy to upgrade either.

This All-in-One PC is bundled with a remote control, wireless keyboard, and a wireless mouse. The center for your entertainment, the ASUS All-in-One PC ET2700INKS is your ultimate home PC. It’s perfect for me because it’s so fast and handles all my programs running at one time well and it’s great for the kids because they can play with Microsoft Paint among many other programs.

The ASUS All-in-One PC ET2700INKS features NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 2TB SATA Hard Drive, high-speed wireless N-802.11 b/g/n, 2.0 Megapixel webcam, and Windows 7 Home Premium.

It has special power saving with ASUS Energy Intelligent

•Simple power management
•Monitor energy consumption and calculate costs
•Track energy usage for selected time period

The ASUS all in one really makes me want to go out and buy a new computer for the family to use.

I was able to review the Asus all-in-one as part of the Microsoft Windows Champion program.

Last week was National Raisin Week, but we doesn’t want to leave mom and dad out! Sure, you can grab a handful of this all-purpose fruit, or better yet, grab a glass! I’m talking WINE … in case you didn’t get my hint; I made the stretch from raisins to grapes to wine, which isn’t that far of a stretch!

People seem to scoff at wine in a box. Honestly, if you pour it into a decanter, use it as a mixer, or cook with it — you and none of dinner guests would know or think about the box. CalNaturale’s wine is tasty! We added glasses of the Cabernet Sauvignon to a steak dinner one evening, and the Chardonnay made wonderful outdoor Sunday lunchtime sangria. CalNaturale is a great table wine for everyday drinking.

In fact the Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 scored a gold medal award winning 91 points in 2010 by the Beverage Testing Institute for (Exceptional) Best Buy. In 2011, the CalNaturale’s Cabernet Sauvignon also won a gold medal at the Monterey Wine Competition, Florida State Fair Wine Competition, and San Diego International Wine Competition, and silver medals at The Hilton Head Island Wine Competition and San Francisco Chronicle Win Competition. The Chardonnay 2009 boasts silver medals in the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. In 2010, the Chardonnay 2009 was also a silver medal award winner at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, World Value Wine Challenge, and Indy International Wine Competition.

You can purchase a CalNaturale’s half liter for around $7 and a full liter for $13. For this price, CalNaturale wine is simply a great value in a smart packed with a good flavor. On the outside, I love that the Tetra Pak tells me how many glasses to expect. Since 2004, the packaging is designed specifically for environmental reasons as production and transportation use half the greenhouse gasses, waste, and energy of traditional glass bottle wines. Then on the inside, you’ll find wines made from organically grown California grapes which are not exposed to pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.

Here’s what I thought: We started to drink the red with a steak dinner and finished the rest after getting the children to bed. It was a nice closer to an evening. To me, the flavor was grape with hints of wood. The white I tried before making the sangria; it was a bit bitter to me. I added some sparkling lemonade, muddled fresh mint, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and lime; fantastic sangria! We spent a week in Spain drinking liters of sangria just last October, and we were taken back there with my CalNaturale’s Chardonnay sangria … YUMMY!

My Mom Start Review Grade of the CalNaturale’s Cabernet Sauvignon wine: B

My Mom Start Review Grade of the CalNaturale’s Chardonnay wine: C
(It would be a C-, but the sangria saved it to a C.)

You can find CalNaturale in a store near you. You can also find CalNaturale on Facebook and on Twitter @CalNaturaleWine.

You may have grown up with Barbie® Dolls of the World, which has been a Barbie Collector doll for years, and now, the largest and longest-running series in Barbie Collector history is giving the new generation of Barbie fans a glamorous new global line!

My daughter is following in my shoes and at a much earlier age. She LOVES Barbie and plays with all of them. She even shares them with all of her friends outside. They run around with the dolls pretending to make them fly or well who knows what all they do. The imagination of taking care of Barbie has been going on for years and years. When the doll or Zoe arrived I made her close her eyes.

She waited expectantly

And she LOVED IT!

Along with their fab native-inspired ensembles, these dolls come in a special travel carrying case with a special pet and passport. But the real highlight of the recent line lives here where girls can play games with Barbie and learn fun facts about each country! Zoe was learning about countries in preschool before we changed teachers. So I know that she’s at the right age to learn about the countries. She enjoyed listening to it and made me read her everything on the box too.

The 2012 Dolls of the World come from all four corners of the earth, including classic countries represented by China Barbie® Doll and Ireland Barbie® Doll. Plus, the popular Australia Barbie® Doll, and series newcomer, Argentina Barbie® Doll! Zoe’s doll is The Ireland Barbie Doll.

We received Samples for this review.

As you may know, I’m a huge coffee drinker. My kids love to drink coffee with me too. Of course, they don’t get coffee they just get milk.

Portland Roasting Coffee Company sent me some organic coffee claiming they make better coffee than Seattle. I’ve had Organic coffee before and just didn’t like it. I’m not really sure what about it wasn’t tasteful but I decided to give Portland Roasting Coffee Company a chance to impress me and impressed I am. It’s bold and tasty coffee. So tasty that I’m able to drink it with just vanilla creamer. Mostly when I have coffee I drink it with extra flavored creamer and lots of it. It wasn’t needed with the organic coffee Portland Roasting sent me. I’ve been drinking it and wondering what I’m going to do when I run out. I suppose I’m going to be ordering some more as soon as I run out. That or see if I can find it up here in the Seattle area. It’s really good coffee!

This is a very well balanced Organic Mexico. Starting with a spiced honey aroma, this coffee tastes of chocolate and light citrus with a smooth, velvety body. A creamy finish closes out this pleasing organic.

Another great reason to love Portland Roasting is they are carbon-neutral, and they have been since 2007. Through his work on the SCAA Sustainability Council, Portland Roasting founder, Mark Stell, is leading the charge to help roasters worldwide join his company in adopting this business model.

A pioneer of direct trade, Portland Roasting nurtures longstanding relationships with coffee producers while supporting projects at their farms and in their communities. Portland Roasting abides by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals as a framework for these projects. In 2008, Stell launched Walk for Water PDX, a fundraiser for Water for All in which participants walk more than three miles with a bucket of water in tow, simulating what women and children in developing countries do every day. Proceeds from Walk for Water fund water wells in developing countries.

I’m a Yosicle Popsicle Ambassador this summer and we had another fun sunny day out with the neighborhood and different friends this time. So we got out a box of different popsicles to try to see how they would fair with the kids. With no doubt they were a hit again the kids were crazy about them.

You see on this particular day it was hot enough for swim suits. That’s very rare here in the state of Washington in the month of April, it was last month when we took these photos. Now it’s May and we’re hoping for lots of warm days and lots of swim suit outing, but only time will tell. For now, on that day it was perfect.

I know I gave you a little information on what Popsicle has created, but let’s dig into that a little deeper. Popsicle® is introducing two delicious new combinations, including a candy partnership and an unexpected twist – Yosicle™ – that combines a Popsicle® pop and yogurt! It’s a creamy variation on a popsicle. The one we tried on this day was the Torpedo. The Yosicle™ Torpedo!™  variety features three flavors in each low-fat pop: Purple Berry, Watermelon and Vanilla. Each Yosicle variety contains 10% yogurt.

As I was saying about the pure enjoyment, my little ham in the middle she’s doing A LOT of loving it. Plus I think the Torpedo matches her swimsuit.

We had one very lucky little boy who enjoyed his first every popsicle, and it happened to be the yosicle. I tried this flavor, I liked the Berry portion and the vanilla portion but have to admit that the watermelon portion was well the only word I can come up with is odd. It wasn’t bad it was just odd.

And as Miles would say, it’s good to the last lick

Like Popsicle on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Popsicle and follow @Popsicle on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Popsicle for trivia, jokes, product news and a chance to win Popsicle® product coupons.

As a Yo! Mom blog ambassador, I have received product on behalf of Popsicle. All opinions are my 100% mine.

Because your Mommy Loves you By Andrew Clements.

I was babysitting a group of kids and they were getting rambunctious and I pulled out the book Because Your Mommy Loves you. Aww the power of reading a book for this young age calms them all down. Sitting quietly and it’s a great book about how moms teach kids to be self reliant taking care of themselves.

About the Book

In this sweet companion book to Because Your Daddy Loves You, a little boy and his mom go on a hiking trip and camp out under the stars. Mommy is as calm and reassuring, but also goes far to foster her son’s independence in an encouraging and loving way. As heartwarming as its predecessor, this read-aloud book is sure to become a family favorite.

About the author:

Andrew Clements is the author of many best-selling books, among them the middle grade novel Frindle. He lives in Westborough, Massachusetts, and can be found at www.andrewclements.com.

About the illustrator:

R. W. Alley is the illustrator of many beloved picture books, including the Paddington Bear series. He lives in Barrington, Rhode Island. Visit him at www.rwalley.com.

Enter to Win:

One (1) winner from your site receives:

· Copy of Because Your Mommy Loves You

· Customized photo frame engraved with “Because [insert child’s name] loves you!”

Prizing valued at $42

Prizing courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Contest open to US residents only

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what something special about a mom

Extra Entries:

Use the rafflecopter and leave a way for me to verify it

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends May 21st. Please see the giveaway rules. We received a book.