Well, actually it is not coming to a town near me, but it IS coming to a town near many of you!

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey have been putting on the “Greatest Show On Earth” for as long as I can remember.  I love the memories I have of going to the circus.  I was very very young, but there are some very cute pictures of me snuggled up in my bed with all the fun circus fare my parents purchased for me when we attended.

There are some truly great deals available right now for families who would like their children to experience this amazing event.  Be sure to visit their website for a lineup of all the cities the circus will be visiting this year.

There are some amazing offers available right now when you use the code MOM while purchasing your tickets.  Be sure to tell all your friends about it too and share the code with them as well since it will not be publicly advertized, except through this blog tour.

Ringling Bros. circus is also all about tradition and to encourage families to create their own great memories through their Baby’s First Circus program. This program allows babies to receive a free ticket voucher that can be exchanged for a free ticket to any Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performance, anytime, anywhere. No expiration date!  Make sure you visit the site for more information on claiming a ticket for your little one.

Without further ado, feel free to read on for the offers available using the code I mentioned earlier as well as a list of the cities the offer is available in. (more…)

Ovarian Cancer … two words that mean sadness and loss in my family.  Four years ago, ovarian cancer took the life of my Aunt, leaving my cousin very alone.  She had already lost all of her grandparents and had even lost her father several years earlier to a tragic accident and as an only child, this was absolutely devastating.

Ovarian Cancer is the leading cause of death from a gynecologic cancer.  It is so difficult to diagnose, and far too many women aren’t able to get a diagnosis until the cancer has progressed too far.  Needless to say, I’m on board for anything that will support research,  finding a cure, and especially finding a tool for early diagnosis!!!

So, when Mom Central contacted me about Electrolux and their new campaign with Kelly Ripa to donate money to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF), I instantly asked them to count me in!  Every time you send a virtual cupcake Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF!!!  What a fun and easy way to support an amazing cause!

I have had a lot of fun sending these virtual cupcakes.  They are so sweet and and pretty and NO calories .  I definitely encourage all of you to head over to the site and give it a try.  Knowing that you’ll be supporting such a wonderful cause is reason enough, but blessing a friend also is even better!

Their sign up process is quick and easy, and so worth it!  Once you’re signed up, have fun making and sending as many cupcakes as you want!

I just want to say that with Valentines Day quickly approaching and the cupcake campaign, timing couldn’t be better for Electrolux to introduce their “Red Hot Red” washer and dryer (pictured above).  Aren’t they just so fun?! 

Well, guess what … Mom Central is giving away one of these great Washer/Dryer sets!  Just send a virtual cupcake and go HERE to enter to win (if you aren’t a member of Mom Central, sign up is quick and easy).

Oh, and one more thing … Kelly Ripa is so passionate about the OCRF campaign that she has even designed a great t-shirt that you can all purchase!!!  Quantities are limited and ALL proceeds from the sale of this shirt will go directly to OCRF!

Be sure to check out Electrolux and their amazing appliances HERE!

Find out more about Kelly Ripa and her campaign with Electrolux and OCRF HERE!

And all the latest information about Ovarian Cancer and OCRF can be found HERE!

I truly feel honored to be able to introduce all of you to some truly amazing products throughout the year.  Through giveaways and simple personal reviews I love bringing all my readers the best available product information.  My very favorite thing though is to bring you products that are helpful, will last and are affordable.  Anything to help you meet or beat your budget is what I look for in particular.

As I was looking back over the items I discovered, used and loved most for my home and family, I thought I’d take a moment to mention some of my very favorite ones to all of you.

Favorite Menu Planner: Most of you know that I believe that many of our monthly expenses can be pared down by simply planning a good menu (and only buying things that you KNOW you need NOW).  This isn’t always easy and, let’s face it, moms are busy and it’s nice not to have to think of everything on our own all the time!  Recently I was skipping around the web and happened upon a site offering one year menu planners.   Intrigued I read more, and it looked like an excellent idea.  Having a much larger than average family though, I decided to email the site owner (and menu planner) to ask her opinion on if it would work for us.  She was super fast to reply and said that most of the meals were made in casserole dishes or in the crockpot so only a few would need to be modified to work for us.  I promptly placed my order.

I will tell you right now that it has changed my life.  Ok, maybe not really changed it, but it has made a huge difference in meal planning!  Seriously!  About now you’re starting to talk to your computer screen to tell me to stop gushing about it and give you the link already …… fine!

It’s called My Family Meal Planner and it plans out 4 meals per week for one year for your family to enjoy.  It is true that most of the meals are enough to feed our family of 8, so smaller families will enjoy having some leftovers the next day.  Every single family member has LOVED almost every meal, so you can be encouraged that they are indeed “kid friendly”.  Keep in mind while considering purchase that the price is for an entire YEAR of planned meals with recipes and shopping lists.  You can also purchase a combo with a separate weekly shopping list, but I actually think that using the list in the planner is enough since you have to rewrite the lists anyway.  Oh, and if you’re a single parent or it’s just you and your hubby, there’s a planner for two.  Also if you are planning on getting healthier, she also offers a “Light” meal planner.

I know I need to move on, but there’s one last thing I want to mention (as if you weren’t already over on the site placing your order by now) … this is the FIRST meal planner I have found that plans the ENTIRE meal for you.  Entree, side dish, fruit &/or veggies.  I’d say that this fact (combined with all the other conveniences of having everything in one planner) is what really made me fall in love with it.

Favorite Natural Household Products: I’m blessed that the nearest grocery store carries a very decent selection of Natural and Organic products.  My very favorite ones for household cleaning and laundry is by far Mrs. Meyers Household Products.   For dishes, I like Seventh Generation.

I can’t think of anything else at the moment and as I think back over all the products I reviewed last year it is honestly overwhelming to try and consider the “favorites” among them. But here’s a few reviews that stand out in my mind ….

Safety: My Precious Kid (huge variety of safety products for children)
Baby Variety/Mom-Owned Shop: Micah & Co. (Prices are good, the owner is so sweet and the products are very nice)
Chore System: Mom Can I Help Around the House? (get an extra chore book for each child – comes with one)
Educational/Learning: Wiggle Giggle Learn (complete preschool education)
Baby Product: Evenflo Symphony All In One Car Seat (affodability, safety and durability all in one product)

Maybe the next thing isn’t a discovery so much, but while I’m listing my favorites, I simply had to mention this one last favorite …..

Favorite Book – I absolutely cannot choose just one, so you will see my list from each genre at Froggy Reviews soon.  If I was forced to choose one favorite among all the wonderful books I have reviewed it would be …… Before the Season Ends by Linore Rose Burkard.  I am absolutely looking forward to the release of it’s sequel this spring .

I have been having a lot of fun checking out and reviewing this site!  Cozi offers families a way to connect in one central place to share information, schedules and more.  Completely private this site can definitely become a mom’s best friend.  Since we are definitely in the middle of our craziest time of the year as a family, I can sincerely say that is has been wonderful to use this site. 

I was asked by Hybrid Mom Bloggers Network to review Cozi and I’m so glad I took them up on it!  Making mom’s life easier is something I’m always on board for.  The immediate benefits I could see with this site (besides the privacy) is that my husband can access our family calendar from anywhere he has internet access.  So if he has a meeting that might conflict with one of the boys’ schedules, he knows what’s going on and to let me know.  Allowing him to be able to work around a schedule is only the beginning.

Trying to schedule 6 boys and their various sports, appointments and other needs can be complicated even with a great calendar at home.  Add to that the occasional appointments and other events for my Hubby and I and you could have pure pandemonium if you aren’t careful!  So, using a system like this truly does make life a lot easier.  Smaller busy families will benefit just as much, especially families with teens. 

I think it’s great that the entire family can have access to this calendar.  For parents of teens I see it as a great way to have better communication as a family.  They have access to the entire family calendar and can see at a glance even simple planned things … for instance Family Night????  So, if a friend asks if they can hang out or do something with them on a certain night, they can know what to say without always having to bug mom or dad about an already scheduled day!  How nice.

Anyway, I encourage all of you to try it out even just to see what it’s like.  Did I mention it’s Free???? Ok, so there went your last excuse ……

I was asked a while back if I would like to review some of the CDs recently released as part of Disney Music Block Party Tour. My little ones love many of the performers during Playhouse Disney programming, so I was quick to say yes.

When we received the collection of cd’s the Twinks had just gotten up from their naps. So as they watched me open the box in anticipation I was curious to see their reaction. I wasn’t disappointed.

The second they saw the Imagination Movers cd they (particularly Monkey) went nuts. I don’t mean giggling-and-clapping-their-hands-in-glee nuts …. noooo … I mean shaking-screaming-jumping-up-and-down-like-a-teenage-girl-getting-a-backstage-pass-to-personally-meet-the-Jonas-brothers nuts!! Seriously!

It was hilarious! I couldn’t get them out fast enough for all the grabbing and excitement. They did finally settle in to listen to one of the CDs (though “settle” is very relative in this case since toddlers simply cannot sit still to listen to Imagination Movers).

A couple days later Monkey kept asking me for the birthday present and I was very confused. It took me a while, but I finally realized that he meant the cds and had thought they were a present just for him and his twin brother and I had to laugh. Nevermind the fact that their birthday was several months ago, nope in his little boy mind, the powers that be had decided it was his turn to receive the present of the century (if only we were all that easy to please).

Enough with the story already …

If you have a little one who enjoys watching Playhouse Disney, they will LOVE these cds!! You can get tons more information on the release of all of these cd’s by visiting their website!

This collection includes music from: They Might Be Giants, Imagination Movers, Ralph’s World, Dan Zanes, and Choo Choo Soul … just to name a few!  The collection has one cd that is a compilation of the Block Party and features many of the aforementioned names as well as Wayne Brady singing The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room which has recently been featured often through the programming on Disney.

Just thought maybe you’d like a mom to mom recommendation this week .

I love Compassion International and all they do around the globe, and I’m excited to share a great opportunity with all of you!  I know that sometimes finances are very limited and although you may want to sponsor a child in need you may not be able to, so I want to tell you about another opportunity to help – Bite Back. 

Malaria is a HUGE problem in Africa and one of the simplest things that can mean the difference between life and death for a child costs us $10.  A mosquito net can change lives, something so simple, but so big all at the same time.  We don’t think much about diseases like Malaria, in fact many of us know little about it, but it takes the lives of 750,000 children each year (that’s one every 30 seconds). 

The use of mosquito nets has proven to be effective against these horrible disease spreading mosquitos, so if you have the resources, please join me and Bite Back by participating in this campaign to purchase 300,000 mosquito nets for poor families in Africa.

I have been trying more and more to be conscious of the foods and products I purchase for my family.  I have to admit that although I feel great about the many little steps I’m taking to live a healthier and more environmentally conscious life I sometimes feel overwhelmed and lost since it isn’t something I’m used to. 

Going Organic does NOT only apply to food!  You’d be amazed at all the products we use each and every day that have chemicals in them that aren’t the best for our family.  You can truly go organic in virtually every area of your life today, but if you’re anything like me you simply need the right information to get started!

Today I’d love to share that information with you in an eBook called Organic Living.  Please feel free to click on the link below to access it and the best part is . . . it’s totally free!  Enjoy!

Here’s a fun video for you today! I finally decided to add one to my blog LOL!!! After seeing so many out there I finally went to www.youtube.com and looked around their site for videos. It was a little confusing and overwhelming at first, but I found this really fun one from Barlow Girl and I love what it has to say! The name of this video is BarlowGirl: Never Alone I hope you enjoy it too!

On Friday I posted several great parenting books and websites – well, I left a couple out (I know, crazy but true!). I couldn’t believe how remiss I had been and had to come back to Post a couple more:

I LOVE:

• Family Fragrance: Fill Your Home With the Aroma of Love (Heritage Builders (Chariot Victor)) – This is my favorite book as a mom and usually the mood-setter for our home! Creating an atmosphere that makes your home a peaceful comfortable place!
• Boyhood Daze: An Incomplete Guide to Raising Boys – The hilarious side of raising boys!!!!! I have had this book for many years and it is always a great place to go for a good laugh – a roll on the floor crying good laugh sometimes!

I am starting to read:

• Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too – Even our wonderful Family Pediatrician recommends this one! I am hoping that it will give me a couple more strategies to help my boys when relating to one another!

Well, there you have it! I just couldn’t leave out those gems, nor could I wait until next Friday – after all I may want to do another subject for my Fun Finds!

I hope you are having a blessed weekend!