There is a very fun online world for children called Pocketville.  Sign up is quick and easy…and safe.  This is another one of those websites that is truly geared for younger children and specifically asks that they NOT choose their real name as their username.

Use this code: B9GX8NUDYS to get 250 Pocketville tokens!  Expires Sept. 30th (hurry hurry hurry).  Today everybody wins!

The first time you visit you’ll be taken on a tour of Pocketville…first stop, create your Avatar.  The first great think I want to mention about this site is that it totally walks you through each step then it tells you how to get back to that area anytime.  Oh, and in case you’re wondering, this site is perfect for girls OR boys!  Just keep clicking the arrows through the hairstyles to get to a boy style…there’s even boy accessories like hats and more.

Once you’ve created your avatar, it’s time to adopt your first Pocketville pet!  Please ignore the prices on the pets your first time through!  I got very hung up on that thinking that I wouldn’t be able to adopt a pet, but your first pet is free.

Once you’ve adopted a pet there are so many fun things to do and explore in Pocketville!  Grab your kids and start having fun today.  Hurry though, this code expires on Sept. 30th!

When I was contacted about this fabulous product, I was totally in love with the idea of a product that easily helps me in my effort to make workouts more effective. The Motiva Petite is easy to use and very small and fashionable.

The directions were so easy to follow, and it was so attractive to wear. I use it whenever I’m working out and it is brilliant. Why you ask…the features are absolutely amazing!

• ECG accurate heart rate, without a chest strap
• Smallest heart rate monitor on the market
• Visual indicator of exertion level based on heart rate and personal data
• Percent of maximum heart rate display based on age and gender
• Multiple timers (5)
• Patented calorie management system allowing users to track calorie intake throughout the day and calories burned during exercise, against a daily calorie target
• Can be used for MIO’s 3500 Calorie Countdown Program
• Full-featured sports watch including alarm, exercise timer, date and backlit display
• Water resistant to 30 meters
• MIO’s signature interchangeable Petite watch band (other colors sold separately)
• BONUS: One extra signature interchangeable Petite watch band!
• BONUS: MioSENSE Guide to Healthy Living

With all the different functions available in the Motiva Stride Petite, you’ll want to wear it all the time for whatever you’re doing. I especially love that it tracks daily caloric intake as well as heart rate, basic time/date, etc.

You can find out more about this great Mio product and more on their website, their Facebook page, through Twitter and on YouTube.

They have offered one very lucky reader your choice of product from their site. Be sure to visit and choose something, then come back here and leave a comment with a link to the product you would like to win in order to enter.

There are lots of great ways to get extra entries!

(be sure to leave a NEW comment for EACH extra entry!):

• Special Extra entries for this giveaway! One each for becoming a fan on their facebook page and/or following them on Twitter.
• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here. Be sure to enter by October 5th, 2009. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian addresses!

Disclosure: I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like. I was sent the Motiva Stride Petit watch to try for myself in order to present you with an informed review. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Can I just say YUUUM?  I don’t often shop in the snack aisle, I’ll admit I’m probably one of the most stingy moms when it comes to sugary foods, but if I am looking for a special treat on a special occasion, this definitely fits the bill.

As a teenager I liked to spend my fair share of time in the mall and Cinnabon was definitely one of my favorite treats to have, so the fact that it is now available as a snack bar in the grocery store is…tempting.

I have a feeling that most moms who pick this snack bar up at the store, might just be a mom who will stash it away for herself to eat in one of those very rare “me” moments.  Have I mentioned yet that each bar is only 150 calories?  Well, it is and now you know!

They sent me the following Cinnaminutes – Simple Tips for a Quick Break. To help consumers identify even more ways to treat themselves to a quick break, Marston and the Kellogg’s^® Cinnabon^® Snack Bar team developed 60 Cinnaminutes – simple ways to step back from the day in one minute or less. These short breaks can be enjoyed between meetings, waiting to pick up the kids or on the way to the next appointment. (more…)

Do you have trouble getting your kids to drink water?  Well, you need to give Wat-aah! a try.  The boys and I took the Wat-Aah Summer Challenge and I took our bottles of Wat-Aah to the county fair.

Before I get to our day at the fair let me tell you a little about the product.  Wat-Aah comes in four varieties; Brains, Body, Bones, Energy.

• Wat-Aah! Body is plain, purified water

• Wat-Aah! Brain contains added electrolytes

• Wat-Aah! Energy contains added electrolytes and oxygen

• Wat-Aah! Bones contains added calcium

All four varieties are water that contains absolutely NO sugar, artificial flavors or colors! (more…)

Campbell’s Soup has come out with some very creative and innovative ideas over the years.  Their latest is Sponge Bob Kids’ Soup and it’s very fun.

Taking Chicken Noodle soup to a whole new level just for kids, this one is “noodlier” than any others that I have served to my children.  Now, I’m not big on my kids playing with their food, but it was quite amusing to see them picking at the noodles trying to figure out what characters they were.

With plenty of nutrition for even the pickiest moms, this soup makes mom and kids happy.  I like the lower sodium content (you can taste that there is less too).

It will be hitting your store shelves soon.  If you’re looking for a fun snack for your kids, grab some and give it a try.

This month I’ve been focusing a lot more than usual on offering you great recipes and cooking tips.  Today I wanted to tell all of you about Country Bob’s,  a really great company I was recently introduced to.  They offer some amazing sauces for cooking.

Country Bob’s All Purpose sauce makes getting just the right flavor especially for hamburgers and steaks.  It’s gluten free and can be easily ordered in bulk online and the prices include shipping!  You can marinade, grill or basically use it in any way imaginable to enhance the flavor of many different types of dishes.

They also offer a Spicy All Purpose Sauce (I think my husband would LOVE this one), a Barbeque Sauce (yum yum) and a Seasoning Salt that sounds wonderful.  You can even buy all of these products in a Gift Pack to try them out!

The Country Bob’s website offers some great recipes in addition to their cookbook that you can purchase.  They also have a blog where some of the latest information can be found.

Country Bob’s has offered one lucky commenter the opportunity to win 2 bottles of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce for themselves! To enter, visit Country Bob’s and take a look at their products.  When you’re done, come back here and leave a comment telling me what dish you would use this sauce in.

Extra ways to enter…(be sure to leave a NEW comment for EACH extra entry!):

• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.  Be sure to enter by September 24th, 2009.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Disclosure:  I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  I was sent 2 bottles of the All Purpose Sauce to try in my cooking in order to present you with an informed review.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

I am forever amazed by the creative ways food is being presented to us and out children.  Recently our family was introduced to GoGo Squeeze, individually packaged squeezable applesauce packets that are recloseable and all natural!  This amazing product arrived on our doorstep the day we left to go to Great Wolf Lodge…the timing could not have been more perfect.

One of my boys decided however that it should be immediately sampled and I allowed him to do so.  He loved it.  ”It’s really good mom”.  I think the idea of applesauce getting squeezed out of a packet into your mouth made him skeptical initially, but after he tasted the product, he was sold.

This product is gluten free and is an amazing on-the-go option for busy families.  Perfect for School lunches or a healthy snack before or after sports!

They are currently available at Whole Foods stores, a variety of independent natural food stores and even in the natural foods section of select grocery stores nationwide.  I highly recommend that you grab a package next time you’re shopping and try them for your family!

These pouches come in a variety of fun and yummy flavors…Apple Peach, Apple Cinnamon, Apple Strawberry, Apple Apple and Apple Banana.  Yum!

To find out more about this product, it’s history and where to purchase, be sure to visit their website!

Disclosure:  I received samples of these products to review with my family in order to present an honest and forthright review of the product with you.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts are celebrating their 45th Anniversary, and to commemorate they have teamed up with renowned pop artist Burton Morris, who created the famous coffee cup painting that hung on the “Friends” Central Perk set!   Burton has designed five special edition Pop-Tarts boxes with his fun Pop Art designs.  These boxes can be found in stores everywhere now.

As part of the celebration Burton Morris has also came up with some great tips on how families can be creative together.  His creative tips are fun, easy and inexpensive.  You can visit www.poptarts.com/popart and click on the “Burton Morris and More” tab to get more information.  Below you will see a short clip of Burton Morris talking a bit more about his creative ideas for families.

Right now over at www.poptarts.com/popart Pop-Tarts and Burton Morris are hosting Pop Art T contest.  You and your children can create art on T-shirts featuring one of Burton’s designs or use some of his other ideas to design your own shirt.  You then can enter the shirt you designed into the contest.  You can also vote on your favorite designs.  Each week the shirt that received the most votes will receive a Burton Morris print.  Burton himself will be picking a grand prize winner.  That person will win a day with the artist to tour an art museum, visit Morris’ studio and paint an original work together that the winner can keep.  Pretty cool prize – visit www.poptarts.com/popart to enter!

Disclosure: All of our reviews are honest and forthright.  I received a sample of the product in order to ensure that I was writing about something I have tried first hand and have experience with (thus the honest review part).  You can read the full disclosure policy here.

About Shana:

Shana is a SAHM of three boys and blogs over @ www.my3wisemans.momblogcentral.com

Another item that is just a must have for back to school is labels. Now, you may be a mom who labels everything under the sun from your child’s back pack and pencils to their underwear and shoes. We aren’t here to judge you! In fact, I’m going to introduce you to another great label company, Loveable Labels, that will satisfy your every labeling need!

The last few days I’ve offered some great back to school supply giveaways, now you all need to grab some labels to get those ready for the classroom. Today we have a great discount offer that all of you can take advantage of.

Loveable Labels is a Canadian based company offering labels through their main site and through their over 400 agents throughout North America. Making this company not only convenient to shop with, but also a great home business that has no quotas to meet.

Their labels are durable, colorful, simple and fun. They are for clothing, shoes, backpacks, and just about anything else you want labeled! They make life a lot more convenient in the long run. I have spent more time than I care to admit writing our last name on every single school item for 3 kids (4 this year).

This is also perfect for sports. We already have two boys in football and since I asked that my labels all have just our last name on them, all I have to do is grab one, slap it on the item that needs to be labeled and away we go. Not even ten minutes after my labels arrived, I needed to label a water bottle for my 9 year old. We were literally running out the door, so I simply put one of our brand new labels on the water bottle and we were on our way.

Convenience is what it’s all about for me! Keeping the kids’ things marked without having to get out (or locate) the Sharpie is definitely up my alley.

Loveable Labels is offering my readers a 10% for two weeks from today. Just be sure to use the code AFROGINMYSOUP before checking out to take advantage of this discount!

Happy Back to School Labeling!

Who hasn’t grown up with Elmer’s Glue? Those little white school glue bottles are totally a trademark of all things back to school. Sure, their label may have changed (but only slightly) over the years, but it’s still the must-have and go-to product for back to school.

Seriously moms, tell me it’s something you don’t just automatically grab off the shelf when you’re purchasing school supplies.  You don’t have to look at the list, you know it’s there.  Though more recently I have had a few years where I was required to send fifty zillion glue sticks to school instead of just the traditional white glue (and you think I’m joking).

Elmer’s Glue Crew has introduced a wonderful classroom recycling program.  I love this because it’s making school supplies even more reuseable than they already are (can I hear it from all the moms who have been known to even do crayon melting inventions with all the crayon bits..).  Here’s the details…

The Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling Program, launched in 2008, encourages classrooms nationwide to actively learn about recycling by collecting empty glue bottles and glue sticks to be recycled. Starting on Earth Day through the end of the school year, teachers and parent volunteers simply take their boxes of “empties” to the nearest Walmart store and drop them off with the people greeter. From there, Walmart ensures the empty products are handled by facilities designed to recycle these specific types of plastics.

Whether you’re a big fan of Walmart or not (those who know me know my answer to that), all it takes is one bin in your classroom to collect the items and one person from that class who is willing to take them to the nearest store and hand them to a greeter!

If you love shopping with Upromise (great program, be sure to check it out), Elmer’s glue is now part of that program as well, so be sure to stop by their site to get all the details on everything mentioned here…and more!

Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling Program is offering a fun back to school pack for one lucky reader.  This pack includes one of each of the following products: 8 oz. Washable School Glue, 8 oz. Elmer’s Glue-All®, Washable School Glue Stick, Extra Strength Gel School Glue Jumbo Stick, Washable School Glue Stick, All-Purpose Glue Stick, Washable School Glue, Washable School Glue Gel, 3D Jumbo Glitter Paint Pen, No Wrinkle Glue Pen.  Whew!

Yes, I’m sort of on a School supply kick yesterday and today, but just wait there’s still so much more to come.  Today’s post obviously is going up quite late, so be looking for tomorrow’s Ready for School Feature (a discount next time) to go up a little after noon.

To enter, be sure to leave a comment telling me your favorite Back to School memory!  If that happens to include something about Elmer’s glue, I’m sure our sponsor for today’s giveaway would be delighted to hear about that.   Remember, if you are a participating blogger (ie. have our back to school button on your sidebar), be sure to leave an extra comment for that as well with a link to your blog’s home page.

Extra entries?  Sure, why not!  Be sure to leave a new comment for each entry!

• Tweet It: Just tweet this giveaway with a link to this post and make sure your comment has your twitter handle in it.
• Blog It: Write a post about this giveaway (with a link to this post of course) on your own blog, make sure your comment has a link to your post.
• Stumble It, Kirtsy It, Digg It, Submit to Mommy Blips: Submit this giveaway to any of these sites and earn an extra entry for each one…and make sure your comment has your Username.

It is void where prohibited, be sure to read my giveaway policies here.  Be sure to enter by August 29th.  This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Disclosure:  I always give honest and forthright reviews and will not present something that poses a conflict of interest &/or that I do not like.  This post was sponsored by Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling program and I was sent the same products as are being offered in the prize pack to try for myself.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.