General Mills Cereals

Posted on by Mandy

General Mills recently announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. While that’s great news for kids, it’s also great news for us adults who enjoy our favorite “kid” cereals, also! General Mills and My Blog Spark recently provided my family with some free cereal coupons to celebrate this initiative to make some of their cereals lower in sugar.

Interesting Cereal Facts:

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less
cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters?

Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential
nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children´s diets.

Other cereal benefits: Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened
cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets.

Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s
diet today.

More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and
lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study
showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school.
Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher
on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported
discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

For more information about kids and cereals, please visit Cereal Health and Wellness.

General Mills is offering a great $1 off coupon for one of four General Mills cereals. To get yours, click here.

All Eyes On Me

Posted on by Mandy

I was already “having a Monday”. It was the kind of Monday where it’s cold and raining, and I had to muster up as much get up and go as I could to make it through the day, topped off with the mother of all tantrums from E.B. while taking him to school this morning (and all over a Pop Tart, might I add).

And that? Was just my morning.

I was relieved when it was time to leave work and go pick up E.B. from school so we could go home and relax before I had to tackle the nightly chores. I had made it through another day! The rest of the afternoon/night was smooth sailing!

And then? My car went dead in the carpool line. And not just anywhere in the carpool line. Oh, heavens no! How about right at the front door where the children come out…where there’s a covered driveway so nobody has to get wet on rainy days like this. Why, let’s block the whole front part there and make everyone have to back up, go around, and watch their little darlings get wet as they sprint out to the cars. And the teachers walking the little ones to their cars? Get them wet, too!! It’s a non-cranking dead battery 14-year-old hooptie-car free for all!

And the looks. They alternated somewhere in between…”Glad that’s not ME!”, “UGH! The NERVE of HER!! (complete with eye rolls as she sped off in her luxury SUV)”, genuine sympathy (very few of these looks), and rubber-necking stares. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die because I knew the inconvenience I was causing, and there was nothing I could do but call my Dad (who will be referred to on this blog as Super Dad from here on out).

As E.B. got situated in the car, he demanded that I “Go!!”. I told him the battery was dead. The child started crying as if I had told him a person had died, and at that point, I could have very easily joined him in the cry-fest because the day was shot entirely.

My amazing Dad showed up immediately and got us going again. By that time, carpool timewas over, so at least I could do the “drive of shame” out of the parking lot in private. I had turned the car off in an effort to try and conserve gas while waiting in line, but I guess I left the lights on during that time. Lesson learned.

Hormel Game Day Party Package Review

Posted on by Mandy

Our Super Bowl party was made even yummier thanks to the great folks at Hormel. We were sent a Hormel Game Day Package to try out on Superbowl Sunday and I was so impressed with the quality and generosity!

We received the following Hormel products to try:

Hormel® chili
Hormel® party tray
Hormel® pepperoni
Hormel® microwave-ready bacon/bacon toppings
Hormel® chunk chicken
Hormel® party ring

I made this great Cheesy Chili Dip using the Hormel chili and everyone raved over the party tray, which consisted of salami and pepperoni, crackers, and Monterrey jack and cheddar cheese.

Hormel has also recently introduced the Party Ring to their fantastic line of party foods and it consists of pepperoni with slices of provolone cheese on a deliciously crispy baguette. Just heat in the oven for 5-7 minutes, slice, and serve!

We thoroughly enjoyed all of the products provided to us and highly recommend Hormel for their amazing taste and convenient products!

Clorox “I Don’t Want To Miss…” Blog Tour

Posted on by Mandy


E.B. was out sick all last week with croup and missed many, many fun things at school. Try as we might with washing our hands and my neurotic cleaning and wiping down of surfaces, eventually the “sickies” find our home and we just have to endure it.

What would YOUR kids hate to miss out on if they were home with the flu?

Clorox is sponsoring a great video contest for school musical groups nationwide to enter.

All they have to do is follow the guidelines at http://www2.schooltube.com/Contests/IDontWanttoMiss2010.aspx and submit a music video performed to a pre-chosen song describing what teens wouldn’t want to miss out on if they were home sick with the flu. The grand prize is former American Idol finalist, Danny Gokey, leading a music class at the winner’s school!

For each entry submitted, The Clorox Company will donate $100 (up to $10,000) to the Sophia’s Heart Foundation, a charity founded by Danny Gokey in honor of his late wife, Sophia and dedicated to helping children achieve academic success via musical training, and restoring musical dreams in children.

To learn more about flu prevention, connect with Clorox on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Clorox.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox and received $20 thank-you gift certificate.

Sick Children Make For Tiny Tyrants

Posted on by Mandy


Being taken care of when you’re sick is a wonderful thing. It helps to know that when you can’t do for yourself, someone is there to step in and make sure the house is kept clean, food is prepared for you (and the rest of the healthy ones), and that all you need to worry about it getting your medicine on time and commanding the remote control.

However. HOWEVER. There comes a point in time when you know you’re feeling a little better and could do a little more than what you’ve been doing, but gosh darnit, having people wait on you hand and foot and be at your beck and call is just plain old heaven.

E.B.’s free pass on “milking” his sickness has expired. He can play just fine, climb all over the furniture, etc., but can’t bring me his cup when he wants a refill. Picking up the toys he has littered the house with “makes his arms hurt”, and disrespect is being served up to me everytime he doesn’t want to take a bath, go to bed, etc.

And I? Am done.

And he? Is doing much, much better. And it is time to nip the milking of the sickness in the bud.

Goby Create Your Own Adventure Review & AMEX Card Giveaway

Posted on by Mandy


I’ve found in the past that one of the most frustrating parts of planning a trip online is that there are just too many websites to choose from when gathering information. I recently tested out (successfully!) Goby while planning my son’s birthday trip and I can’t stop singing it’s praises! It was super fast (something busy moms and dads can appreciate), easy, and informative.

Goby (pronounced GO-be) searches more than 300 different categories of “things to do” from zoos and aquariums to playgrounds and children’s museums. Goby poses three questions: What, Where and When. By just answering two of the three questions, you can instantly receive an easy-to-read results page that includes not only detailed information about attractions, activities, locations and events, but also an interactive map and photos from sites like Google and Flickr.

Goby has generously offered a $50 American Express gift card to one lucky Mommy Cracked reader so they can plan a fun day with their family.

TO ENTER:

Visit Goby.com. Search for a perfect adventure! Leave a comment on this blog post telling me what type of adventure you are looking for and what you found.

Deadline to enter is Tuesday, February 9 at 11 PM Central. U.S. Only.

Poop On Croup

Posted on by Mandy

E.B woke up yesterday with a terrible sounding cough. It was like nothing I had ever heard before, and at first, I seriously thought it was our fat male cat Clyde hacking up a hairball. Yes, gross, I know. I can always tell when E.B. doesn’t feel well because he gets really quiet and slows down. This child was asking me to sit on the couch and watch TV with him yesterday. Do you know how often he will sit down and actually watch TV? Unless it’s a movie or cartoon, this rarely happens. And the fact that he was letting me command the remote? It only confirmed what I feared. He was sick.

This morning was more of the same, so we ventured out to our pediatrician who confirmed that E.B. did indeed have croup. He was also blown away with how much progress E.B. had made in speech therapy and couldn’t believe how much E.B. was talking. The talking? He does that in his sleep, too.

So we’ve spent the rest of today indoors and tomorrow E.B. will stay home from school because apparently this is contagious. I can’t tell you how sad he is to know that tomorrow he will be spoiled by the person he loves more than chocolate cake (his great-grandmother…who actually makes him chocolate cakes) and be forced to watch all the cartoons he wants.

OxiClean Power Paks and Max Force Gel Stick Pre-Treater

Posted on by Mandy

If you’re already a big fan of OxiClean products, you will be excited to know that OxiClean has unveiled two new powerful stain-fighting products to help make preserving your clothes that much easier.

The OxiClean Power Paks and Max Force Gel Stick Pre-Treater will be hitting store shelves in mid-February, but thanks to Mom Central and OxiClean I was given a “sneak peak test drive” of these and was seriously impressed. The Max Force Gel Stick Pre-Treater salvaged one of my white tee shirts that had been stained with spaghetti sauce. I also appreciated the fact that it was in a stick packaging, not a spray. To use, all I had to do was simply push down on the stick and the gel released, much easier for my arthritic hands than fumbling with a spray bottle.

I’m definitely sold on the Power Packs, though. Think OxiClean powder in convenient little packs that you just toss in with your laundery. It made the clothes smell fabulous once they were finished washing, and the best part was that there was no messy measuring of powder. This was my favorite of the two and I will be purchasing these on a regular basis.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of OxiClean 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.