Purex Fabric Softener Sheets #Giveaway

Purex provided me with a sample of Purex Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets in exchange for a product review. However, all the opinions expressed here are my own.

Recently the boys have started helping me with doing laundry and one of their favorite part in helping is putting the dryer sheet in the dryer. So when we got Purex Fabric Softener in Sweet Lavender scent and the eldest son pulled the first one from the box he exclaimed "I like that, what's that smell mommy!" So the scent was a winner right off the back for both the boys and mom.

This completely makes since because in addition to reducing static cling and repelling pet hair and lint it now has a new improved formula with 3X the fragrance! That leads me another claim of Purex Fabric Softener Sheets of adding freshness and softness throughout the house, an unexpected (30 minutes heads up) visitor helped me put this to the test. Whenever we  have a visitor(s) my biggest concern is always their comfort level and the first thing I feel that makes someone comfortable is the scent of the home they enter. With that said with my unexpected visitor on their way instead of firing up my scented wax per usual, I decided to test out the Purex Fabric Softener Sheets in the cushions of the couch, on top of the refrigerator and in the emptied guest bathroom trash can. I won't say that my guest came in and woo'd and awed over the scent of my house, but once we walked our visitor out to the car and re entered our home I did experience a subtle sweet smell of lavender.

Now here is your chance to experience Purex Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets for yourself! Enter to win two coupons for FREE Purex Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets products! (One winner will receive two coupons, expires 12/31/14)

Enter to win by using the below Rafflecopter form to enter for a chance to win this awesome giveaway! Please let me know if you have any questions.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Purex provided me with a sample of Purex Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets in exchange for a product review. However, all the opinions expressed here are my own.

Center for Puppetry Arts" Rumpelstiltskin

Photo by Rod Reilly

The Center for Puppetry Arts is spinning straw into gold as Rumpelstiltskin returns this summer, August 1-September 8! This classic fairytale will delight children and adults alike; filled with fun music and all the antics of the infamous imp himself, Rumpelstiltskin! Adapted by Bobby Box and Michael Haverty, Rumpelstiltskin is performed with colorful, hand-crafted marionettes designed and constructed by the Center’s own puppet builders. Amy Sweeney, the Center’s head puppeteer, makes her directorial debut with this lively production that features veteran puppeteers Reay Kaplan and Tim Sweeney.

When:
Aug 1 - Sept 8, 2013
Previews: July 30 & 31 - 10am & 11:30am
Downstairs Theater
Recommended for ages 4 & up

Showtimes:
•Thur-Fri: 10am & 11:30am
•Sat: 11am, 1pm & 3pm
•Sun: 1pm & 3pm

“My daughter can spin straw into gold!” brags Kate’s father. Held captive by the greedy queen, Kate must now find a way to make good on her father’s boast! A mysterious little man appears and offers his magical assistance…but at what price? Based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, these marionettes will spin grins onto the faces of kids and adults alike.


Puppetry Style:
Marionette

Create-A-Puppet Workshop:
Make your own Blue Bird Rod and String Puppet!

Single show tickets, which include Create-A-Puppet Workshop and Museum:
Member - $9.25
Non-Member - $16.50

Purchase tickets online at  tickets@puppet.org or call the Ticket Office at  404.873.3391.

Back to School with Famous Footwear BOGO 1/2 OFF #MyVictory

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be invited to an awesome blogger event at Famous Footwear hosted by Krystyn a fellow blogger. The event was held at one of Famous Footwear newest stores located at The Avenues at East Cobb. They invited us all there to allow us to experience their family- friendly store and to help spread the word about the BOGO 1/2 Off sale that will be running until September 14th. 

Immediately when you enter the store you'll notice the ease of the layout from the wide aisles to the prominent signage, as a mother these things are important since my motto when shopping with the kids is to get in and get out as quick as possible. 

Since the point of this shopping experience was to become more familiar with Famous Footwear I left the little ones at home. Seeing howI was free of the stress of monitoring my sidekicks, I was able to really explore and check out the wide variety of shoes, socks and backpacks including their exclusive styles. There were a ton of high end shoes at reasonable prices. You may be surprised what you will find when you visit I sure was.

During our time their not only were we all treated to a gift card to shop the BOGO 1/2 Off sale, but three blogger were selected to do a Shoe Crazy Shopping Spree were they won all the shoes they could grab within a 30 second time frame. It was really exciting to watch, but the most exciting part is that the dollar amount of the merchandise they gathered which was well over $700 was than donated to a charity that supports local communities and families in the Atlanta area!

Video courtesy of J@Monkey

When you go visit your local Famous Footwear, as I am sure you are, make sure to sign up for their rewards program!

Get social with Famous Footwear on Facebook & Twitter!

Disclosure: I was compensated by Famous Footwear with a gift card. As always all opinions are my own. 

What Makes You Smile? #FABSmile #Giveaway #Sponsor

Disclaimer: This is a compensated post as part of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network . All opinions are my own.

There are many days I want to stand in the middle of my living room and SCREAM, but than my lil/big guys does something and that immediately makes me smile and all of a sudden all is right with the world again. Allow me to share  my most recent favorite photo that make me show off my #FABSmile every time I see it! I actually made it my screen saver. Although the hubby isn't showing off his pearly whites I know him and I know he is swelling up with pride, because he is the father of these two loving little boys whose favorite place to be is on the back of there hero! 

As a mom it is my mission to create a solid foundation for my children, which includes creating healthy habits. Taking care of those pearly whites ranks high up on that list whether that be brushing regularly and/or eating the proper food to sustained their healthy smiles. FlossAndBrush.com  has come up with an awesome system to help make my mission a little easier!

The American Dental Association recommends replacing your toothbrush every three months. FlossAndBrush.com makes it easy to always have new toothbrushes every three months. How? By paying just $1.00 per month, per person in your family, every three moths FlossAndBrush.com will ship a box of fresh, quality toothbrushes and floss to your home – one for each member of your family. 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FLOSSANDBRUSH.COM


Want to learn more about FlossAndBrush and their awesome services? Check them out on their website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter! 

GIVEAWAY!

Prize:
The giveaway is valued at $107 and includes the following:

• 1 Free Annual FAB Membership (every three months, a new toothbrush and 3 month supply of floss will arrive at your doorstep)

• 1 Free Annual FAB + White4Life Memberships (this includes not only a toothbrush and floss every three months but each shipment will also include FAB’s professional grade whitening to be used in custom whitening trays)

Requirements:

• Visit FAB’s Pinterest page and repin an image from any one of the “Smile Boards” that makes you smile. Include a description in your pin that explains why it makes you smile. Include the #FABsmile hashtag in the pin.

• OR,  Pin your own image to Pinterest of something that makes you smile. Be sure to include the description along with the #FABsmile hashtag.

• OR, Post a photo to Instagram and describe why that photo makes you #FABsmile. Include the #FABsmile hashtag in your Instagram update. 

• Come back here and share the link to the pin/Instagram photo in order to enter for a chance to win.

• Sign up for FlossAndBrush.com’s mailing list: http://bit.ly/17Tjoof

This giveaway ends July 23rd at 12:00am

Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Festival #Giveaway #Win

Follow my blog with BloglovinIt's officially summer here in Atlanta, and what better way to kick off the season than with a local festival that offers something for the whole family?!  This weekend, June 29th and 30th, Atlanta will be host to the inaugural Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Festival, featuring more than 125 artists, many of which are from right here in Georgia!

O4W is one of Atlanta's hidden gems, and is home to a wide array of locally owned shops, restaurants, and more, making it a great place to celebrate our local talent.  The Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Festival is taking place in the new Historic 4th Ward Park, one of the first completed urban park elements of the Atlanta Beltline Project.  This modern park is beautifully constructed with bike and walking paths surrounding the pond, and a very cool playground for the kids.

From the Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Festival website: 

"The historic Old Fourth Ward Park area is rich with diversity and one of the most enthusiastic art communities in the Atlanta area. This event will feature up to 185 fine painters, photographers, sculptors, leather and metal craft persons, glass blowers, jewelers and more! The Festival will also offer visitors the opportunity to view artist demonstrations, enjoy live entertainment, participate in hands-on arts activities, and enjoy festival foods and beverages.  The Festival benefits a scholarship fund for local artists administered by the Georgia Foundation for Public Spaces."

Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Festival

When: Saturday, June 29th 10-6; Sunday, June 30th 11-6  

Where: Historic 4th Ward Park
             592 N. Angier Ave. NE
             Atlanta, Georgia 30308 

Food trucks: Roly Poly, Williams Brothers BBQ, Happy Belly 

Live music: Neil Cribbs, Jeremy Wayne Dean, Caleb Warren and The Perfect Gentleman, Russell McLaughlin, Wesley Cook, Jesse Tyler, Radio Birds, and more! 

Local artists:  125+ booths (participating artist list) 

Cost: Free admission & parking (Atlanta Bike Coalition will also be onsite offering bike valet services)   

Information: www.oldfourthwardparkartsfestival.com    

Children's Entertainment: Inflatables, sand art and face painting (activity tickets are required) 

Pets: Dogs are welcome to join in the fun too, just be sure to bring a leash and pick up behind them! 

Sounds pretty cool right? You can spend the whole afternoon strolling through the artist booths, munching on local food, listening to music and letting the kiddos play on the playground.  And did I mention there will be adult beverages available for purchase as well?  It's sure to be an awesome way to spend the weekend with your family!

***Giveaway Alert***

The folks over at the festival have even given me and several other Atlanta bloggers a $110 Festival Prize Pack to give away to one of our readers!  It includes $50 in Artist Bucks, 2 lunch vouchers (meal and drink), and up to 4 children's bracelets for unlimited inflatable play!  The giveaway ends at midnight on Thursday 6/28, use the form below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway 
Want more chances to win?  Be sure to follow the Old Fourth Ward Park Arts Festival on Facebook and Instagram, as they'll be giving away $50 in Artist Bucks to spend at the festival every day this week!

Disclosure - I was compensated for promoting the festival and giveaway.  As always, all opinions are my own.

Cascade Platinum Pacs Review #MyPlatinium #Sponsored @MyCascade

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating. 

My four year old, Romee, is super observant and apparently had noticed when I slipped a Cascade Platinum Pacs into the the dishwasher instead of the normal liquid detergent he is accustomed to me using. So when I opened the dishwasher after the first time of me using Platinum he rushed over and proclaimed "the dishes are so shiny and clean". All I can do is laugh because I was thinking the same thing. But the skeptic in me crept in and I reminded myself that I did a pretty extensive pre-wash before I put the dishes in the dish washer, as I am accustomed to doing with my normal detergent. So I made a mental note to NOT pre- wash on the next load to see if we (Romee & I) would still be impressed with the results. 

As you can see in the picture below I loaded my dish washer up with some pretty filthy dishes included baked on biscuit remnants on the baking sheet to the right of the pick and baked on cheese in the circular glass baking dish to the lower left of the dishwasher. So I was all set to be let down cause I thought I hadn't given the product a fighting chance. Well, to my surprise the picture on the right is what I saw when I opened the door shiny and clean dishes AGAIN! But, this time I must same Romee wasn't too impressed I guess he was sold on round one. 

What I liked Most is that it did what it promised.

 CASCADE PLATINUM PACS

• Delivers Cascade’s best clean with a premium, advanced triple action formula that helps prevent residue on your dishes, and even filming on your machine.
• Scrubs away tough 24 hour stuck-on food.
• Eliminates the need to pre-wash dishes.
• Has the Grease Fighting Power of Dawn. Source

I must say that any product that can get me out of the kitchen and back to my family faster is definitely a winner to me!

Cascade Platinum Pacs Commercial

***CONTEST***

#MyPlatinum Instagram Contest

In addition to sharing with you about this awesome new product there is a great contest in progress on Instagram right now and I've entered and so should you!

Every week two people will win a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher and a six month supply of Cascade!  Not only that, but one grand prize winner will win a $10,000 KitchenAid kitchen make over!

To win you must register and then take your themed photo post it on Instagram with the hashtag #MyPlatinum and tag @MyCascade.

Here are the themes:

Week 1: My Platinum Plate (Entry Period: 6/3-6/9) - Show your best dish styled from the sparkling plate up.

Week 2: My Platinum Bite (Entry Period: 6/10-6/16) - Show your best bite and most creative use of sparkling silverware.

Week 3: My Platinum Clink (Entry: 6/17-6/23) - Show how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses. Cheers.

Week 4: My Platinum Table (Entry Period: 6/24-6/30) - Show your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations.

Remember in addition to to weekly winners someone will win the grand prize!

***TIPS***

Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine magazine, Gail Simmons, has partnered with Cascade to discuss why presentation is just as important as preparation. Here is a few tips from Gail that will not only help you with entertaining our guest, but when you are taking pictures to upload to intstagram! 

• It’s more than just a great-tasting recipe, but also perfect presentation. Sparkling dishes, shining flat ware and spot-free glasses truly let you put your best food forward with culinary creations that pop!

• “The easiest recipes pop with unexpected, gourmet presentations.  Drizzle bright sauces on sparkling white plates or layer desserts in crystal-clean glassware. Keep your presentation sparkling with Cascade Platinum, which keeps dishes perfect for anytime entertaining and impromptu guests.”

Make sure to get social with Cascade so you can be in the know!

• Cascade Website
• Cascade Facebook page
• #MyPlatinum Instagram Contest

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Spring in Your Step with #Children'sClaritin

I am excited to share the news that I am part of the Children's Claritin Mom Crew!  I love to share products/services that work for me and my family and enjoy having a direct line of communications to other moms who share some of my experiences as a mother. Unfortunately my husband and eldest son both have pretty severe allergies, but fortunately we are able to alleviate a lot of our little mans symptoms with Children's Claritin and it definitely helps that the taste is kid friendly!

As a member of Children's Claritin Mom Crew I was sent sample products, hot/cold packs and awesome literature filled with great recipes and tips on staying prepared in every aspect of your life to share with my friends. My "Mommy Party" was held during the days with our kiddies in tow so not only did we discuss keeping a "Spring in Our Step", but one in our children's as well. We held a backyard water party were our children and ourselves could not only cool off from the heat, but get in our 30 minutes of physical activity while we played. And what better way to keep a spring in yourself than to surround your self with lively preschoolers!

We all know as mothers that the the best way to avoid sickness, tramas, dangers, etc. is to plan and be prepared. So for this day not only did we make sure to coat our little ones and ourselves in sunblock, but we also planned for the inevitable crash that came after all the backyard fun and lunch, with a group nap!

As the children napped we took this opportunity to share our tips on preparing healthy meals for our families and the things we do to reduce stress. Some of the meal tips included substituting white pasta with whole grain pasta and swapping beef for turkey as an healthier alternative. We all found that we do some form of decompressing at the end of the day in order to reduce stress, whether it was via a hot bath, reading a book or a private moment of meditation. We also discussed the 2013 Preparedness Checklist & Tips that Children's Claritin provides for us make sure to click the image below to find helpful tips and resources to help keep you and your family prepared and safe year round.

How do you bring a moment of Zen into your life?

As a member of the Children’s Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit.  No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience.

Soft Scrub #4-in-1ToiletCare Review and Giveaway

I recently became a Purex Insider which I am super excited about! As a Purex Insider I am afforded the opportunity to try out new products and review them.  I recently received the new Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care, a toilet cleaner that cleans and freshens for up to 4 weeks.

Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care comes in two scents, Alpine Fresh and Sapphire Water. I received the Alpine Fresh scent.  It cleans, prevents build up, fights toilet ring and  freshens for up to 4 weeks – all this for less than $2.00 and is available at Walmart. Since I regularly shop at Walmart and keep a close eye on my families budget, this product was right up my alley.

Unlike other toilet bowl rim hangers that don't stay in place or that dissolve too quickly, Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care provides long lasting cleaning and freshening thanks to its unique design and advance formula.The plastic cage keeps the product in place and allows water to activate the cleaner with each flush. So make sure you place the product in the "stream" of water for the product to work its best.

When  I first opened the package I was concern that my entire bathroom would smell like a pine tree for the next 4 weeks. Luckily once it was installed the "Fresh" part of Alpine Fresh prevailed. I hadn't told my hubby about the product and he loved the smell of the 4- in-1 Toilet Care. I have been using this product for over a week now and although I started with a clean toilet so I can't attest to it's ability to clean the toilet it certainly has prevented buildup and keep our toilet fresh! 

As my frequent readers know I have two young boys who are very inquisitive so I opted to reserve this particular product for our private master bath. Although the product is incased in plastic I would recommend you use caution when using it around young children.

Purex Insiders, Soft Scrub and Your Unexpected Beauty would like you to be among the first to try Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care or any of their other products and have generously offered two of my readers a chance to win ONE FREE PRODUCT COUPON (valued at $3.39)! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

The Soft Scrub brand provided me witha sample of Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care in exchange for a product review. However, all opinions expressed are my honest opinions.