Glade is always coming out with new, unique ways to make your home smell great, and their newest product, Glade Sense and Spray, doesn’t disappoint. This innovative new product automatically detects when a person passes by it and instantly releases a spray of fragrance into the room. After spraying, the unit will not spray again for 20 minutes, to conserve the cartridge. Its sleek design is also made to fit any room décor.

On February 8th, Chuggington fans will be able to purchase the first Chuggington DVD ever.  This 62-minute long DVD titled "Let's Ride the Rails" by Anchor Bay Entertainment includes some of the favorite episodes aired on Playhouse Disney since the show debuted in October of 2010.

One thing I have always loved about this children's series is the strong theme of friendship and teamwork.  This DVD includes many examples of situations that preschoolers can apply to everyday social situations that come up that may require kindness, concern, and thoughtfulness.


Usually, when I review a children's DVD, I ask each of my children which part or parts were their favorite.  My children rarely have problems telling me what they loved and what they did not care for.  With this DVD, they insisted that they loved "all of it"!  I even tried to ask them again the following day and their response was the same.  It is safe to say that they are looking forward to future Chuggington DVDs from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Currently, you can pre-order this DVD, which comes with bonus Chuggington printables and coloring pages, on Amazon.com, but remember to look for it where children's DVDs are sold starting February 8th, 2011.  To learn more about Chuggington and its cast of characters or to keep up to date on Chuggington news, visit Chuggington.com, Chuggington on Facebook, and Chuggington on Twitter.

Thank you to Anchor Bay Entertainment for providing a screener DVD for us to base this review upon and for providing a retail DVD for our contest prize.

Sometimes it amazes me how deceiving a photograph can be.  For example, this photograph looks somewhat serious, but it is actually a mask painted by our 4 year old son.  It's been staring at me for a whole week patiently waiting for me to find the perfect place to hang it up.

When I was offered a chance to review the PC game Dream Day True Love, I thought that it sounded a little sappy for my taste.  I am so glad I decided to give the game a chance because it turned out to be quite entertaining.  I think the main reason for this is because, although it is considered a hidden pictures game, it is packed full of a variety of games . . . so no long drawn out storyline, but rather one interesting game after another.

The premise of the game is based on your job as a wedding and event planner to coordinate a 70th anniversary party, which takes place at the couple's old house in the country.  Each game or task presented to you is actually designed with your end goal in mind, so the game was very cohesive and not random at all.


Aside from the classic hidden picture games, other mini-games included in Dream Day True Love were:

• Following recipes
• Sorting and organizing items into a grid
• Fitting items into a space without overlapping
• Decorating and designing objects or spaces
• Spotting the differences between two pictures
• Spotting what is new in a picture
• Completing a picture with multiple choices
• Card games
• Cleaning objects with limited supplies
• Assembling puzzle pieces into a grid
• Hidden picture puzzles where you can move the items around (Example pictured below)

I found the mini-games to have a wide range of difficulty.  Some were barely challenging at all, while others were wonderfully difficult.  I must say that I even found the easy games to be engaging.  You may have an added challenge if you are not familiar with some of the objects the game asks you to find in the home decor, fashion, and home improvement categories.  I know there was one tool that I had never heard of before and I had to ask my husband for help, who only had a vague idea of what it was himself.

I think I finished the entire game in approximately 4 hours combined.  I still need to go back and complete the the more advanced level of hidden picture games in order to reveal what is inside the anniversary gifts.  I thought it was smart of the game designers to add that in because it extends the play time, which adds value to the game.  Currently the game is available to download for a free trial at iPlay.com or can be purchased for $19.95 for non-members and between $6.95 and $9.95 for members.

System Requirements:
Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7
Processor speed: Pentium III, 1000MHz
RAM: 512MB, 1024MB recommended
Video RAM: 128MB recommended
Hard drive space (uncompressed): 150MB free hard disk space
Resolution: 1024x768
DirectX version: Dir


Thank you to Oberon Media for providing a complimentary sample download of this game for us to base this review upon.

To celebrate the launch of their new line of Men's Mesh Polos, Lands' End will be giving away 50 Mesh Polos on Friday (February 4th, 2011) on the Lands' End Facebook page.  To enter the Lands' End Polo contest, you (or your man) will first need to "Like" Lands' End on Facebook.  Then the entrant must tell Lands' End what are some of the things he considers to be timeless or his "go-to" things, such as a book, a movie, a painting, a song, something that was passed down through the generations, or anything else that has stood the test of time and remains one of his favorite things.

50 entries will be chosen to receive a New Mesh Polo from Lands' End, which comes in 5 different styles.  Look for details to come on Lands' End's Facebook page soon.


I received a gift card as a thank you for helping Lands' End spread the word about this contest.

Our twin preschoolers just turned four last week.  They are both completely potty trained now, but they only just completed the last stage of potty training recently, which was wearing underpants 24/7, including during nighttime and nap times.  Our son was pretty much 100% potty trained, but he would not give up his Pull-Ups training pants when he went to preschool or when he went to sleep.  We tried to gently nudge him in that direction, but he just refused.

One day, when we ran out of disposable training pants, I had the idea for us to buy only Pull-Ups for girls, rather than a package of the boy's as well.  When it came time to get ready for bed that night, we made our move.  After his bath, we handed him a Princess Pull-Up.  He immediately protested.  So we gave him a choice to either wear the Princess Pull-Up training pants or to wear a pair of underpants.  He opted for the underpants and the rest is history.

Of course, this technique may not work for all boys.  In spite of my efforts to not impose gender stereotypes on our children, they have formed their own opinions about what should be for boys and what should be for girls.  I know our daughter has had no qualms about wearing Cars Movie Pull-Ups in the past.  Incidentally, once her twin brother switched to underpants full time, she wanted to make the switch as well.

If you try this, I would love to hear if it works for you too.

Many women use their bra as a holder for their personal items, so when I was sent a link to the site, www.theracktrap.com, I couldn’t help but want to try out such an innovative product for myself. The RackTrap is a unique bra pocket that holds everyday essentials such as your license, cash, and credit cards which keeps them safe, hidden, and undetectable. I was sent four RackTraps, which to get maximum trial, I handed out to two friends as well as tried two myself.

The RackTrap is offered in the original nude for $7.95 or in a fashion threepack which offers black lace, white lace, and nude lace in one package for $15.95. They also offer a sweat-proof, Velcro closure Sports RackTrap and a Special Edition Valentine's Day RackTrap.

Thank you to The RackTrap for providing us with complimentary product samples to base this review upon and for providing additional product for our contest prize.

Kellogg’s is a household name nowadays and comes with a product you are accustomed to being high quality. I was recently sent the newest flavor of their FiberPlus bar collection, Caramel Coconut Fudge. True to Kellogg’s form, these granola bars are delicious. They are rich and chocolaty with just enough of a hint of coconut to make them even better. Even my husband and kids liked them, and they aren’t huge fans of coconut. Plus, they offer 35% of your daily fiber, 7 grams of whole grains, and the antioxidants vitamin E and zinc. These would make a great quick breakfast, snack, or in a kids lunch. It’s a perfect, filling snack for on the go.

You can purchase Kellogg’s Fiber Plus bars at most major grocers nationwide.


Thank you to Kellogg's for providing us with a complimentary product sample to base this review upon.

Last week, the twins turned four!  On their birthday, they received birthday wishes from both sets of grandparents and their aunt and uncle.  That is more phone conversation than they usually get in a whole month.  Right from the start, it was clear who was into chatting it up on the phone and who wasn't.

Makenzie sat down and got comfortable with phone in hand and actually answered the person on the other end in complete sentences.  Luke, on the other hand, treated the phone like a hot potato.  He couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

I wonder how many years we have before Kenzie asks for her own phone?

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