If you hadn’t noticed (I tried to do some blogging in the middle), I was absent for three weeks on an amazing vacation! I flew into Las Vegas with two of the kids (my older daughter was already in Salt Lake City) and drove to SLC. We met my sister there and visited family for a week. We then drove back to Las Vegas to pick up our husbands and drive on to California. When we got to the first hotel, my son, always anxious to see the new room, fell running up the stairs! Fortunately, we did not need any bcbsnc insurance trips to the emergency room!
I grew up in California, so it was fun to take the kids to our favorite beach (Corona del Mar), the old house and schools. We then changed hotels and stayed at the Grand Californian at Disneyland for five days. That was a real treat and I will have more Disneyland tips later to share with you.
After Disneyland fun we drove to Yosemite for my family reunion. We had a blast visiting with cousins, swimming in the river and going horseback riding. Then we drove back to Las Vegas and flew home. Long, but rewarding!
There is nothing worse than a poor shower head in my opinion. We recently stayed at a very expensive hotel in California and the shower was awful! I wish that I had brought along my new Waterpik Medallion EasySelect 5 Shower Head and temporarily installed it in the shower.
Seriously, I just received the Waterpik Medallion to review and it is wonderful! My kids all WANT to take showers now. The Medallion was very easy to install. My 11 year old daughter and I had it installed in 5 minutes. It features an in-handle spray mode selector which is easy to change, even for the kids. Plus, it is designed with OptiFLOW® technology which increases water force.
There are five difference shower modes: High/Low Concentrated Center Spray, Circular Massage, Power Spray/Pulsating Massage and Misting. We have tried and enjoyed all of them. The Center Spray is perfect for everyday showers and the pulsating massage works great on your tired muscles!
The Medallion also makes it so much easier to clean my shower since it is on a five foot hose! The Mediallion comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty and can be purchased at local retailers.
I received the Waterpik Medallion EasySelect Shower Head to review from MomSelect. These opinions are mine and were no way influenced.
While I was on vacation, I was able to stop by a few antique stores. Not that I could buy anything and have it shipped back, but I love the history and the look, especially the rustic furniture. My dream is to have a house the is decorated, in a tasteful way, with period pieces and furniture that speaks history. First, though, I need to find the perfect old house to renovate!
I just received a Gruene 2 in 1 Steam Mop and Steam Cleaner to review. The product was VERY easy to assemble right out of the box and I started using it within 5 minutes. Steam cleaners are an eco-friendly way to clean your floors. You do not need to use harsh chemicals, the hot steam cleans and sanitizes the floor without them. The Gruene steam cleaner comes with accessories that make it easy to mop your ceramic and hard wood floors. Plus, the steam cleaner becomes a hand held device that enables you to clean other places. I used the hand held unit to clean around the handles and drain in my sinks (there is a lot of gunk hiding there) and the grout between my tiles in the kitchen.
Here is my video review of this great product:
If I have a choice of hotels, I always choose Marriott. They have so many different hotels to choose from and I can always find one that is in my price range. This summer, and continuing through December, Marriott is offering a “Nickelodeon Your Stay” package at participating properties. When you book a weekend stay (Friday or Saturday night) from July 1st to December 26, 2010 your will receive Spongebob Squarepants goodies! Depending on where you stay you may receive:
Plus, everyone who stays at a participating property, seven days a week, will receive a Nickelodeon branded key card, 4-page activity book, silicone bracelet with access to a secret online game and an activity placemat. Before your trip, you can even download fun games to keep the kids entertained, such as Dora’s Car Bingo, a travel journal and coloring pages.
We received a gift pack to review and my son loved it! The Spongebob Squarepants bag is perfect for him to take on our trip this Wednesday and he loves the sunglasses. He plans on taking the whole activity bag with us on vacation!
I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Marriott and received a Nickelodeon gift pack to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Zhu Zhu pets are quite the rage right now and I was fortunate to be selected by Mom Select to host a party featuring the new line – Kung Zhu. My seven year old son invited some of his friends over for a party featuring the new Kung Zhu pets and accessories.
My son's favorite - Yama
We received one dozen pets with armor that fits right over the pet. We also received at least a dozen boxes filled with playsets such as the Giant Battle Arena, Special Forces HQ, Wheel of Fire and Ninja Training Ground.
Kung Zhu Track
They played with the pets and track for over an hour and were excited that they each received a pet to take home and play with. Since we have the track, they all want to come over and play again.
The only downside, it was so much fun that you might not be able to get your kids to put the track away. With all the pieces that we had, the track did take up a bit of room. This would be a great gift to build on. You could buy your child different pieces for birthdays or other events. Overall, we loved the toys and they kept the boys (aged 7 – 10) entertained for quite a while. My eleven year old daughter even joined in the fun!
I recently tried the Wild Berry Fruit Smoothie at McDonald’s and I love it! Now you can download a coupon good for $1.00 off any fruit smoothie. They come in two flavors, the Wild Berry and Strawberry Banana. Both small smoothies (12 oz) have 210 calories which is acceptable for my weight loss diet. The smoothie is very thick and I saw them blending it in the store, so it is not just some prefabricated thing. I still want to try the Strawberry Banana, but they did not have it at my local McDonald’s last time I went.
You can download the coupon here.
It can be a scary world out there. With the threat of H1N1 still in the back of our minds, I started carrying hand sanitizer in my bag along with the new Clipa, a great way to keep your handbag off the floor where all those nasty germs are. I really don’t like to use it because it makes my hands feel sticky and dry, that is until I discovered OutLastTM Long-Lasting Hand Sanitizer. Outlast is a different kind of hand sanitizer. First, it doesn’t leave your hands with that sticky feeling. Second, it kills 99.99% of germs and third, it lasts UP TO SIX HOURS!
What I didn’t realize is that many hand sanitizers protect your hands for only about 2 minutes while germs can last for two hours. OutLastTM Long-Lasting Hand Sanitizer was developed by researchers at Columbia University Medical School and has been used by health care professionals for years. While hand washing with soap and water is still the best way to prevent the transmission of disease, using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, like Outlast, is the next best thing.
OutLastTM Long-Lasting Hand Sanitizer may be a bit more expensive, but you won’t need to use it nearly as often. OutLastTM Long-Lasting Hand Sanitizer is sold online at www.outlastgerms.com and by telephone at 1-800-716-2420.
If you are looking to lose weight quickly, a good place to start is to eat healthy. If you “Like” Bear Naked Granola on Facebook, you will have the chance to print a coupon for buy one, get one free. That is a savings of up to $5.00! Simply click on this link and head over to facebook. After you click on the “Like” button you will be able to Grab Your Coupon by allowing access.
It finally rained here today and cooled things off a bit. We have had high temperatures and humidity in New Jersey and it is nice to cool things down. Another way to cool things down is with ice cream! Although I may need to try some clinicallix after all the ice cream I have been eating this summer, I signed up for the Blue Bunny email club iScream Team anyway. They will send you a link for a $1.00 off Blue Bunny Ice Cream. I love their ice cream!
One mama duck raising three little ducklings! Join me as I find a balance in life, review great products, host giveaways and talk about living and raising kids in New Jersey!
