I own one of those fancy sonic toothbrushes. You know what, I love it. Every time I brush my teeth, it feels like I just left the dentist office. But at my last dentist appointment, despite high marks for cleanliness everywhere else, there were some spots on my molars that I just wasn't hitting.

Thanks to a promotion by Mom Central, I received a Preserve Toothbrush in the mail to try out. My first impression was summed up well by my mother-in-law, "A toothbrush made from recycled materials. Eww." Then I started to think about it... there are a lot of products given new life.

I don't proclaim to be a green person. Yes, I recycle. Yes, I bring canvas totes to the grocery store. I even use eco-friendly dish detergent, but not exclusively. I don't go out of my way to find eco-friendly products and I don't like spending extra for it. But if I find a great product that's effective and affordable, I figure why not?
Recycline makes toothbrushes and razors out of recycled plastic, including Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups. Their line of tableware and kitchen products were mentioned in the August 2008 issue of Better Homes & Gardens (pg 59 in my issue) as well as several (other major publications) recently.

Now, here's the part where Recycline shows their true colors. Using the postage paid mailer on Recycline's website, send your used Preserve toothbrush or razor back to be recycled into plastic lumber. That means the park benches, decks and other useful products being created through this process are on their third life. First as a Stonyfield Farm yogurt cup, then as a Preserve toothbrush or razor, finally as plastic lumber. That's right. Recycline will pay the postage to help you be a little greener. That's commitment.

If you're considering trying these out, you can find Preserve products at Target, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods for about the same price (or cheaper) than other toothbrushes. Their current price is $2.04. Preserve Kitchen products are currently sold exclusively at Whole Foods Market. Before you go, print a coupon to make it even more affordable!
What did I think? Remember my dentist appointment? The Preserve toothbrush had a comfortable grip and the perfect angle to reach those trouble spots pointed out by the dentist. Now, I use the Preserve toothbrush in conjunction with my electric toothbrush for teeth that are clean... and green.

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Once again, I would like to thank Beyond the Bomb for their generosity in sponsoring this giveaway. If you are in the market for bath bombs, a baby shower gift or a bridal shower gift, be sure to stop by Beyond the Bomb to see what they have to offer.

Thanks to random.org for supplying us with a winner:
#15 Jessica

Well, Jessica - Thanks for entering. But you didn't provide an email and it isn't available on your profile. Please activate your email in your profile by tomorrow afternoon so I can confirm your win! Otherwise, I'll need to move on to the second random number. As soon as I confirm your win, you can make your email private again on your profile.

Runner-up:
#38 Cupiedollie

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First of all, I want to point out that this picture of all the ingredients was taken by 5 year old Miss M, our budding photographer. I took a picture first then she asked for the camera. I regret, I mean I'm proud to say that her picture turned out better than mine.

The ingredients in the picture are for a project the girls and I made. I really like it when they help me makes something... just like my mom did when I was young.

At the girls' age, I do most of the measuring and they do the pouring and mixing, but everyone has to start somewhere. By getting them involved in cooking and helping with our garden, I believe I'm empowering them to make healthy decisions as they grow up.

When I heard about the Snacktivate blog tour from Mom Central Consulting, I realized it would be another opportunity to emphasize the importance of healthy eating. When I checked out the site, the first thing I thought of was a superhero cartoon from way back when. "Wonder twin powers...SNACKTIVATE!"

Funny how silly phrases from your childhood really stick with you. I recall a lot of interesting things from my childhood. Like when my uncle caught my cousin and I eating sugar straight from the container. By the spoonful. We were supposed to be making iced tea or something. (Yes, we both grew up and ended up with weight issues in our adult lives.) Oh yeah, and that it is okay to not like liver and onions... but you still have to try it. And, of course, how cooking with mom was always fun.

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...You're featured on 5 Minutes for Mom!

In my case, my Beyond the Bomb giveaway is listed in their weekly "5 Minutes Around the Blogosphere" feature!  Technically, I don't feel like I've "made it" but I have a great deal of respect and admiration for 5 Minutes for Mom.  So I am excited at any reference or acknowledgement from them.

While I'm certain most people are aware of 5 Minutes for Mom, I'll provide a little information for anyone who has been living underneath a rock in bloggyland.  5 Minutes for Mom was created by twin sisters, Janice and Susan, while trying to balance motherhood and a profession.  In addition to 5 Minutes for Mom, they successfully run the online stores A Rocking Horse to Love and Pedal Cars and Retro Collectables.

What started off as a basic site has evolved into much more.  Despite the name, it has become more than just a site for moms.  5 Minutes for Mom includes an extensive selection of blogs, mom-owned stores and mom-run websites. They even recently launched several sister sites including 5 Minutes for Special Needs, 5 Minutes for Parenting, 5 Minutes for Going Green and 5 Minutes for Books.

Just like "5 Minutes around the Blogosphere", 5 Minutes for Mom offers their readers a continuing list of quality weekly features.  Excellent reading on a number of different topics.

And since it is the reason I ended up being featured, I can't omit the immense number of giveaways and reviews they offer.  Either through their site or through reader blogs like mine. 

So if you are new to blogging, be sure to check out all the helpful information that 5 Minutes for Mom has to offer.  If you're looking for new reading material to add to your favorite RSS reader, don't forget to check out all the reader blogs.  If you're old hat to 5 Minutes for Mom but haven't been there lately, go check out all the new things that are going on.  At 5 Minutes for Mom, there's something for everyone.

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When I was growing up, my brothers and I would often pool our allowances to get my folks some nice birthday or Christmas gifts. I also enjoyed when my dad would take me shopping with him to "help" pick out something for my mom. Whenever I could, I would stand in front of the glass display at one of the local Hallmark stores - carefully examining the Precious Moments figurines and reading their titles until I found the perfect one.

Fast forward to today, proudly displayed in my hutch are a variety of figurines, including the large Precious Moment that was my wedding cake topper and one that was gifted to me by my grandmother. Now that I'm a mom, I don't much think about peering into the Hallmark cases. Once I had kids, I would only step near such breakables when my children were not with me.

So when BSM Media offered to send a figurine to help promote Precious Moms, I was overwhelmed by flashbacks of those childhood shopping outings.

Thanks to PreciousMoments.com, I can peer through the virtual looking glass at all the wonderful figurines. Sans kid related bull in a china shop fears.

But there is more to the story. Precious Moms isn't just about figurines. Actually, it's nothing like that. The site is a wealth of useful information such as listings of volunteer programs that parents can do with their kids. Or how to prepare an emergency kit for your car. BSM Media even put together "The Precious Party Package" containing recipes, activities and a party checklist to take some of the stress out of planning a birthday celebration. Precious Moms has adult themed cheat sheets too. There is even a message board to interact with other Precious Moms!

Well, just like twins, Twinkies and buy-one-get-one-free offers... good things come in twos. The great folks at BSM Media and Precious Moments sent a second "Birthday Wishes With Hugs And Kisses" figurine along for one of my lucky readers.

The Prize
One "Birthday Wishes With Hugs and Kisses" figurine valued at $37.50

Rules:
Participants -
... must be able to provide a United States mailing address.
... must provide an email in the comment or have email accessible from their profile. If winner cannot be contacted immediately upon drawing, I will move on to the second random selection.

On August 2, a winner will be chosen at random from all comments left.

How to enter:
For the first entry -
(1) Stop by Precious Moms and see what they have to offer.
(2) Come back here and post a comment about something you found helpful, useful or interesting. Feel free to post the URL in the comment so other people can go see it! Irrelevant comments will be disqualified.

For additional entries -
(a) Add my button to your sidebar, as well as a Precious Moms link. Come back here and leave an additional comment stating that you did so.
(b) Publish a post regarding this contest and link back to it. Come back here and leave a comment providing the link to your post.

Thanks again to BSM Media and Precious Moments for providing the prize for this contest and for putting together a great new site, Precious Moms!!

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My oldest child is just starting kindergarten this year and I'm very excited. Well, honestly I'm petrified but that's neither here nor there. Fact is, she's growing up and I'm about to experience the life of a grade school parent. Since she attended preschool through the school district, I got a little taste of some of the things to come. For example, I have some ideas as to the fundraising requirements and programs like Box tops 4 Education.

When Mom Central Consulting announced a new Blog Tour to promote "Rock Your School", I giggled like, yes, a school girl. (A really old school girl.) I thought "Hey! Miss M begins kindergarten this fall and what better way to start than being responsible for an avalanche of Box Tops. And a concert to boot! She would certainly win Student-of-the-Year. The kids would love her because they won a concert with Radio Disney Star Jordan Pruitt and the administration would love her for the 100,000 bonus Box tops valued at $10,000!"

Yes, I really did think that.

I'm sure you're saying to yourself "I want MY child to become Student of the Year! What do I need to do?" That's the really good thing. It is totally easy to enter. Log on every day through September 15, 2008 - it only takes a second each day to submit your entry. (Check out the official rules for specifics.)

The Box Tops 4 Education program is a wonderful program. It allows schools to earn a dime for each Box Top turned in. The Rock Your School promotion gives the winning school a windfall equivalent to $10,000. What would your school do with such a prize?

Thanks to Mom Central Consulting for the opportunity to help publicize this awesome sweepstakes! I only take on assignments that I believe in and this one hit the nail on the head!

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Every once in a while, I let my girls take a bath in the master tub. It is larger than theirs and has whirlpool jets that create a ton of bubbles if any amount of soap has been added to the water. This is a special treat for them when they've been extra good.

I was quite surprised several months ago when they inquired about some bath oils that I had next to the tub. I wasn't sure how the strong scent would go over, but I threw one in the water just to see. The girls thought it was pretty cool and over the course of the next few "special" baths in my tub, proceeded to use up my entire stock.

So when Trisha at Beyond the Bomb contacted me generously offering a giveaway for my blog, I was all over it. You see, Trisha got started in the business of this bathtub delight because of her kids. She must be a better mom than I am because she proceeded to create from scratch some really cool bath bombs for her family. Not just little round balls, either. Bath bombs shaped like glass slippers, footballs, cupcakes, cookies and popcorn. Even her gift baskets for baby showers contain bath bombs shaped like rubber ducks and baby bottles. Of course, she has a regular supply of normal shapes for adults. If you're accustomed to only strong perfumy bath products, you're in for a treat. Beyond the Bomb offers fat-free, calorie-free chocolate truffle scented ones, too. She even has one with a description of "Bath party without the hangover with this coconut scented bath bomb." What's not to love about that?

But enough of my jibber-jabber... here's the scoop on the contest.
The Prize:
Prize will consist of Four bath bombs to one winner. Those four are: one large (9 oz.), one medium (6.3 oz.), one small (4 oz.), and one heart bomb.
Retail value: $25

Rules:
Participants -

... must be able to provide a United States mailing address.
... must provide an email in the comment or have email accessible from their profile.

On July 24th, a winner will be chosen at random from all comments left.

How to Enter:

For the first entry:
(1) Stop by Beyond the Bomb and see what they have to offer.
(2) Come back here and post a comment about what you think is the cutest, coolest or even the most unique item (or product description) they have in their boutique. Feel free to post the URL in the comment so other people can go see it!

For additional entries -
(a) Add a Beyond the Bomb button to your blog in addition to a link to this post. Come back here and leave an additional comment stating that you did so. (Code for the button is on the sidebar at BeyondtheBomb.com.)
(b) Publish a post regarding this contest and link back to it. Come back here and leave a comment providing the link to your post.
(c) If you are an existing Beyond the Bomb customer, provide a product review on their website regarding the product(s) you've tried. Come back here and leave a comment that you did so!
(d) Stop by the Girl Indie Blog before July 20th and vote for Beyond the Bomb in their 2008 Designer Chick Contest. The Beyond the Bomb entry is #7 (Champagne Glasses) under the "For Mom" section. Come back here and leave a comment that you voted for it!

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I love to cook but I also love to NOT cook. Although I research recipes online and have tons of cookbooks, I tend to fall back on the same recipes over and over. Thank goodness I maintain a stock of frozen pastas to get me by on the days that I forget to thaw something out. My family loves them and they always go over well. The only pitfalls are that the family sized ones I purchase take an hour to cook and they don't always cook evenly.

A few months ago, Dana at The Dana Files ran a promotion on one of her blogs and I won a coupon for a Free Tuscani Pasta Meal from Pizza Hut. There are two varieties - Creamy Chicken Alfredo and Meaty Marinara. I'm a huge Alfredo fan so I called the other day and placed an order for it. For $11.99, you get a 3 pound family sized pasta with 5 bread sticks. They boast that it can feed a family of four. It came in a 9x13 dish and was ready for pickup in under 15 minutes... just about the amount of time that it took for me to gather my purse, find my keys and get there.

Just to clarify, I'm doing a review because I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I'm not getting paid for it. I'm not earning any kind of credits. Yes, I won it and it was free but there was no requirement for me to post an opinion.

With that said, here's what I thought... I loved it. As I said, it was very quick. Unlike the frozen kind, it cooked evenly with no over or undercooked sections to contend with. The chicken was a normal consistency, compared to a little chewy in the frozen ones. Don't get me wrong, the frozen ones are great but the Pizza Hut Creamy Chicken Alfredo was even better. What my family thought? We all loved it. Miss M, my 5 year old, loved all the extra cheese on the top and claimed that dinner was delicious. The side of bread sticks was a nice bonus to the pasta and something I would not have done for homemade or frozen! How many does it really feed? With two small kids, we ended up with enough leftovers for two adult lunches.

In my opinion, Pizza Hut Tuscani Pastas are a must-try. I'm looking forward to trying out the Meaty Marinara one... even without a coupon!

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