For all you Star Wars Fans…

 

 

Not sure for how long..

but you can get the new

Star Wars Angry Birds

for your android phone for FREE!!!

 

So hurry and get it while it is free! Not sure when and if this will change.

I know my son will be so excited when he discovers it on my phone!

Littlest Pet Shop Viewing Party:

 

 

 

 

 

Do your kids like Littlest Pet Shop? My girls absolutely love it, and couldn’t wait when they heard we were going to get a sneak peak at the newest TV show about it.

 

 

 

 

My youngest loves the Wii game of the Littlest Pet Shop we have, and thinks they are just the cutest things. She loves to look at the toys every time we go into a store. She plays with the few she has often, and so we were super excited about this party!

 

 

 

Upon the kids showing up for our party, we handed out their masks.. so they could all be a “monkey” pet. Then we popped in the disk to view the episodes. The first one is called “Blythe’s Big Adventure- Part 1”, and the second was Part 2. The girls absolutely loved the show. Many of them were bummed their was not more to watch at this time. A few asked when the next one would be on!!

 

 

 

 

After watching our episodes, we had some snacks like “Sunil’s Magically Disappearing Trail Mix”, veggies, and fruit. Then we enjoyed some punch, and lemonade. Of course no party is complete without dancing.. and some coloring. We put out some coloring pages of the Littlest Pet Shop which we got from here.

 

 

 

After we partied our little hearts out, we sent the girls home with a nice gift bag with a Littlest Pet Shop foldable hair brush, and chapstick! They were so excited!

 

 

 

My girls had such a great time, and can’t wait to have more fun with their friends again. We diffidently will be watching Littlest Pet shop again! They love it! You can tune in to HUB on Saturdays at 11am EST to watch more!

 

 

*I was given a screener disk, and product to have a party, in exchange for my honest review as part of MommyParties. All opinions are 100% mine or my monkeys.

Purex plus Oxi Review:

 

 

I know most people are loyal to one kind of laundry detergent, or they go for the cheapest. I’ve always been a loyalty person. If something works really well, then I would rather pay the little extra for it.

 

Purex is a great laundry detergent, and its kind of in the middle of the road. It works really well, but its not super expensive. I have tried all their new products, as you can tell if you read my blog. The newest one is Purex Plus Oxi, and it is the same great detergent with three stain-fighting enzymes in it to help fight stains! It is so powerful it works against over 101 different stains! That is a lot of stains! I’m sure I’ve seen at least half of those in my laundry!

 

With three kids, stains are so common in this house! Grass, dirt, grease, blood, and so much more! Grass is diffidently the worst for us, besides spaghetti sauce! So I need a super strong laundry detergent!

 

Upon receiving this, I was anixous to try it out. I had just dug out some of our winter coats from last year, since cold weather and snow was forecasted. Some of our coats got put away with mega dirt on them. I was afraid that they wouldn’t come out after sitting in a tote all summer long. One of those coats being mine.. and I don’t own many. I threw it in with all the other coats, put in my Purex Plus Oxi, and turned on the washer! When it came out I was amazed at how nice and clean it was! Just like brand new again! Love it!

 

Purex Plus Oxi can be used in both front and top load washers. (we have a front load) For the best results they recommend putting detergent on the stain and letting it sit for 5 minutes before putting them in the washer. Then add your normal amount to the washer and let it wash!

 

 

 

 

For those of you with sensitive skin, Purex Plus Oxi is hypoallergenic!  Right now the only scent you can find it in is Fresh Morning Burst.

 

 

Now for the best part! Two lucky readers can win one of my two Free Coupons for Purex Plus Oxi. a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

*Purex provided me with a sample of Purex plus Oxi so I could review it as part of the Purex Insiders. However, all opinions are 100% mine and my monkey’s.

 

 

 

 

 

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal:

 

 

 

 

• In my life this week…

We were a bit more relaxed…

Spent days at home getting prepped

for winter…

Its coming whether we want it to or not…

Got some brush down…

Chicken Coop ready…

Gardens cleaned…

Visited with some friends…

Enjoyed some time together..

 

 

• In our homeschool this week…

 

This week we did our normal studies..

Watched a local Jr High Play that some of our friends were in..

it was very cute..

Learned some stuff about local flowers for Botany from the LC Bates

Museum at Co-op….

and caught up on some History…

If you would like to see more about what we did you can go here!

 

 

• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

Take the little trips, they are always so much fun!

 

 

• I am inspired by…

My mom, she struggles everyday with taking care of a chronically ill person..

and yet keeps a smile on her face, and a great outlook on life.

 

 

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This week we are going to…

go on other hunt for a used car…

have Co-op…

see some friends..

go to 4H…

Girl Scouts..

and just plain enjoy our week!

YOU?!

 

• My favorite thing this week was…

going to the play. I love watching my friends kids doing something

they really enjoy. The kids really like seeing all the people they

know.. and we just always have such a good time!

 

• What’s working/not working for us…

Trying to limit our weeks with only a few things to have to leave the house for..

With the cost of gas going up…

we can’t afford to be gone as much..

plus mentally we can’t deal with being gone so much..

The last couple weeks have been much better!

 

• Questions/thoughts I have…

Do you school around Christmas or take the month off?

 

• Things I’m working on…

I need to start thinking about getting our next 6 weeks

of curriculum planned out.. I don’t want to spend

Thanksgiving week (while we are on vacation) doing it this time..

 

 

• I’m reading…

Nothing yet.. Getting ready to start a book a friend sent to me.

 

• I’m cooking…

We are going to go simple for dinner..

Coleslaw and Hot Potato Salad…

We have Cabbage that needs to be used up! LOL!

 

• I’m grateful for…

For so much… follow me on my Facebook Page, and you will see them all..

 

 

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

 

“Never give up on something you really want. Its difficult to wait, but more difficult to regret.”

Chris Mann- Roads Album Review:

 

 

 

If you have seen the “The Voice” then you have heard of Chris Mann. He is a singer with a wonderful voice, I must say. I’m going to be honest with you. I have never watched the Voice. So, I had not heard him until reviewing this album.

 

 

Chris Mann in the last year, has been on The Voice, and now signed to Faircraft/Univeersal Republic. His newest release is a major label debut called the “Roads". This is a classical-pop genre. He really brings a different approach to some of these classic songs.

 

 

 

About Chris Mann:

 

He studied opera (which you can tell in some of his songs) at Vanderbilt in Nashville. Originally from Wichita, Kansas where he tried to start off his singing career. Singing in clubs, and auditioning for record labels. He did some backstage singing and occasionally made it on camera on the cast of Glee.

After coming in fourth on the season two of The Voice, he got his break.

 

 

The Cd:

 

Mann singings a classical-pop version of a few well know songs like “Always on my Mind” by Willie Nelson, and “Need you Now” by Lady Antebellum’s.

“The Blower’s Daughter” is a song where Aguilera joins him. Chris Mann co-wrote two of the songs, “Cuore” (which is based on Bach’s “Air on a G String”) and “Viva La Vida”.

 

What you can find on the “Roads” available on Oct 30th!

• Roads
• Need You Now
• Cuore
• The Blower’s Daughter
• My Way
• Unless You Mean It
• Always on My Mind
• On A Night Like This
• Ave Maria
• Falling
• Viva La Vida

 

 

 

You can purchase “Roads” from iTunes or Amazon.

 

Our Thoughts:

 

I really enjoyed this cd. Its not really my normal listening music, but there was something capturing about it. His voice is so soothing. I put it on my Ipod, and listened to it before bed. I’ve turned in on my computer, and we have all listened to it while doing chores. It just seems to be a great collection.

I think my favorite is the The Blower’s Daughter. There is just something about that song. I love his voice, and the music. Aguilera even makes a nice ending to it. Their voices together were amazing!

My kids love the song “Need You Now” and they really liked his version as well. I think this CD is great for the young and old.

 

This would make a wonderful Christmas Present for the music lover in your family.

 

 

*This is a review post from One2One Network. I was provided with a copy of the album and I am eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions are 100% mine or my monkey’s.

 

Listerine Smart Rinse Oral Care #SweetSmart Challenge Follow up:

 

 

Can you believe it has been 3 weeks already?! Wow, where did the time go this month? We have finished our three week challenge for Listerine Smart Rinse Oral Care. If you don’t remember what we discussed the first time, you can find my post here.

 

Upon starting this challenge we received some products from Listerine…..

 

 

 

I won’t lie, even as excited as they were with the products we received they still had trouble getting into the swing of things. My youngest was a bit more diligent about it since she just had to get her first fillings.  

 

 

 

 

After a few days of hounding them, and reminding them to look at our chart. They started to remember on their own. Then it began to be a bit more of a routine. They really enjoyed listening to music while brushing so they knew how much longer they had to go. (I never thought of that before) Monkey Man also saw an improvement with his gums not hurting or bleeding when he brushed. When I told him it was because he was brushing more, and they are cleaner… he said he would try harder to keep up. Since he didn’t like the feeling of sore and bleeding gums.

 

 

 

Halloween wasn’t really an issue for us, since we don’t go trick or treating. I like to keep that much sugar right out of the house. They did have a few sweet treats a couple days before for Middle Monkey’s Birthday party, and they were great about making sure to brush as soon as we got back, to get the sugar bugs off! LOL!

 

My kids are getting better, but like anything it is a work in progress. I usually try to remind them when I’m going to brush my teeth too. Besides what better way to teach, than lead by example. Night time is the easiest for them, because they know it is part of their bedtime routine. Morning seems to be the toughest for them to remember. I have even had them ask to brush their teeth a few times after lunch. Of course I say “SURE”! You want to add in some extra brushing who am I to stop you!  Another thing they found fun, was a bit of a game they played themselves. One of the great effective tools of Listerine Smart Rinse is that when you use it and spit it out if there is any more particles of food in your mouth, it latches on and becomes a darker color. So, my monkeys decided to make it a challenge each time they brushed to do so good, they didn’t have any! (Whatever works right?)

 

 

Remember brushing alone does not clean your whole mouth. It actually misses 75% of your mouth. You need to brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash.

 

 

 

*Disclaimer: I received products from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNeil-PPC, Inc. and the Motherhood as part of my participation in the Listerine Smart Rinse Sweet Smart Challenge. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine or my monkey’s.

 

 

Soft Scrub Review:

I hate cleaning the bathroom… it is like my most hated chore. What is yours? I clean the entire house, but I when it comes to the bathroom, I will put it off.
Now that my kids are getting older, I’m very happy cause they can help with cleaning. Bet you can’t guess which chore I put them on the most?!

Actually I switch them off, one kid a week gets the bathroom to clean. They do general clean up each day, and then a deep clean one day of the week. I like this because they learn that everyone has to help to keep things clean.

Now, with that being said.. I’m a bit more cautious about the cleaners that I use or let them use to clean with. I like cleaners that clean well, disinfect and don’t stink horribly. I am very sensitive to smells when it comes to cleaning. Anything to strong can set off a really bad headache for me.

Soft Scrub has a new line of household cleaners out that I recently got a chance to try out. I have always liked their bathroom cleaner, but was very excited to try out their new product. I received Soft Scrub Total with Bleach, and Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl to try out. I love the new design of the bottles. You can spray using the bottle upside down, which is great when you are trying to get in the toilet bowl or in a hard to reach place.

The Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl was awesome! Its got a nice spray top, so my kids can spray down the spots they need to clean. As they start on one side, the cleaner is working on the grime in another spot. So when we get there, it is coming right off. The sparkle that comes after you clean is just splendid (even if it doesn’t last more than a few seconds in my  house).

The Soft Scrub Total with Bleach, also worked really well. While I don’t like to use bleach in every place.. the smell can be a bit overwhelming for my head at times. It works really nicely. We used it in our kitchen on the counters, and sink. Though it can be used for so much. It is safe for microwaves, counters, tile, stovetops, sinks, and more! I loved how nicely it cut through that grease on the top of my range hood. Does anyone else have this problem?

This is definitely a great product that I would recommend to anyone to use! I think it has helped us even cut down on some of our cleaning time. Since we have the bottle handy when we need it.

You can find Soft Scrub on Facebook, and sometimes they offer money saving coupons!


Best part…
You can win! I’m giving away a One Free Coupon for Soft Scrub Total to 2 lucky readers!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Soft Scrub provided a free sample of this product to try in exchange for my honest review as part of the Purex insiders team. All opinions are 100% mine or my monkey’s.