Because Kids Keep Going and Going and ...
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Monday, November 29, 2010 at 2:01 PM
TAGGED , , , ,



When family and friends started having kids, I remember them joking about buying stock in battery companies. I laughed but really didn't appreciate the true nature of the comment until I had kids of my own.

I swear that we go through more batteries in a month than we did in my entire childhood. Dang near everything our kids touch has a battery related something-or-other with it. Everything electronic obviously does but even dolls do these days. No, maybe Barbie doesn't but her car and dream house sure do.  

If you have kids, you know how it goes.  The kids keep going and going and going... until the toy they are playing with needs new batteries.  Then they are at our side asking for us to fix it.  The kids' camera, the Zhu Zhu pet, the Leapfrog toys... so many things... so many batteries.

For some things, we purchase traditional batteries but our preference became Energizer Rechargeable batteries several years ago. Whenever I have a yard sale, I have to open up all the electronic toys and retrieve the rechargeable batteries!

Last year at BlogHer, I actually received an Energizer Family Charger and love it because it allows us to charge multiple batteries, even of different sizes, all at once.

There's a progress indicator on top that shows how far along the charge is as well as whether the battery has ended its useful life.

Although the Family Charger was given to me by representatives for Energizer, most of our Energizer purchases are on our own. We regularly buy them (or Santa brings them as stocking stuffers.)

As an example, I don't know HOW we got along without the induction charging pad for the Wii controllers. Seriously, it's golden. Not needing to swap out batteries all the time is just heavenly. If a charger dies, it's usually because one of the kids forgot to put it away (on the charging station) the last time they used it.

With Christmas just around the corner and everyone in the mindset to get all the right gifts, I wanted to point out that sometimes the perfect gift is the one you don't realize you need. If you don't want to add these to your kids' lists for them, then I strongly encourage you add it to your own.

Be sure to follow Energizer or Energizer Bunny on Facebook because every once in a while, they surprise their followers with coupons!  You can also keep up with Energizer by visiting their website, subscribing to their Energizer or Energizer Bunny YouTube Channels or following Energizer or Energizer Bunny on Twitter!

Disclosure:  I received the Family Charger and some batteries from Energizer representatives (over a year ago) however all other purchases have been been personal.  This post was not sponsored and no compensation was received. All opinions, photos and comments are my own.  I simply posted this because I think it should be on every Christmas list!

Warming up from the Inside Out
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 9:00 PM
TAGGED , ,



Well, the kids are officially wearing their winter jackets every day now.  And the snowpants will be making their annual debut shortly.  I'm swearing up one side and down the other that I hate winter.

Funny thing though... When I lived in Los Angeles, I missed having seasons and was anxious to return to Iowa.  Somehow, I failed to recall how horrible winters are here.
But we make the best of it.  If the kids are out playing in the snow, they know when they come back inside that I'll fix them up a cup of hot chocolate.  Usually with marshmallows, too.  They even have their own special mugs.  As I recall, there were times last year that they went outside for about 2 minutes... just so they could come inside and have hot chocolate.  I guess I can't blame them.

This year, I'll be serving up something new.  Cold Stone Creamery branded hot cocoa.  Yeah.  Too cold outside for ice cream so they converted it into hot cocoa form so you can enjoy the delicious chocolate flavor throughout the winter.  I bought it when I first found out about it and tried it.  So when Collective Bias offered up a campaign for it, I was all over it.

However, this isn't just a standard review campaign. For this one, Collective Bias asked us to share it. You know, buy it and sit with other people while they drink it.  I opted to bring along all the fixings to introduce it to my extended family during our Thanksgiving festivities.  I put together the story in Whrrl and hope you'll take the time to share our event with us!

We started off the project by shopping at Walmart.  We picked up some Cold Stone Creamery Hot Chocolate, Gingerbread marshmallows and heavy whipping cream for making a batch of fresh cream to top off the cup.  There are a lot of options and I considered purchasing some flavored creamers to give the hot chocolate a more mature taste.  But I decided that the focus needed to be on the hot chocolate and not all the extras.

Thanksgiving was the focus event.  My niece was my designated helper.  Was pretty cool being able to have her work along-side me... we've never done anything like this before.  She was in charge of everything from measuring the boiling water to topping the cups off with whipped cream.

Her only condition, of course, was that she got the first cup!  MY only condition is that I got to take a picture of her with her whipped cream mustache!

The Cold Stone Creamery hot cocoa was a hit with everyone that had some.  One guest insisted she wasn't going to have any but after everyone else started enjoying it, she changed her mind and asked for a cup.

My nephew surprised me by asking for the Dark Chocolate flavor... I always thought dark chocolate was something only adults liked.  When he tried it, he said it was THE BEST hot chocolate he had ever had.  DH said to me later "It probably tasted really good because you made it with milk."  My reply to him... "I made it with water." Even DH was surprised by how creamy it was with only water!

Although they didn't really ask for a review, I will tell you that it is creamy and tasty and (in my opinion) much better than what we had been purchasing. AND if you use their current coupon, you can pick up a box at Walmart for 98¢ after coupon and rollback.) For that price, it's worth giving it a taste, right?!

Be sure to stop by the Cold Stone Hot Cocoa Facebook page to read about other experiences people have put together for this fun campaign!

Disclosure: Collective Bias provided compensation to purchase, document and share this experience. All opinions, comments and photos are my own.

Buy a Gift Card... Save a Buck.
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 10:52 PM
TAGGED , , ,



This time of year is so much fun if you're a bargain shopper. I'm one of those people who buys the gift cards at restaurants (or our gym) when they offer some buy $x and get a free $x bonus. If it's something I'll use myself, it makes financial sense to make that purchase anyhow and save a few bucks.

I see it at restaurants all the time and some stores but I honestly have never seen it at a gas station before.

Until this year...

Murphy USA stepped it up and is offering $1 coupon off the purchase of a gift card!  Awesome, huh?! 

It's right over there so you can print it and use it yourself.  I used mine today at the local Murphy.  I could spend a whole long post explaining the entire trip but instead I put it into story-form on Whrrl.  Please take a minute to view my Whrrl story so you can see how easy it was AND what all I was able to get for my $24 investment.

I have to say that our Murphy has great customer service.  We go in there to fill up and usually win something from the Whrrl contests going on.  The staff there never gives us a hard time even though sometimes it takes a while for our prize coupon to load.   If you haven't downloaded the Whrrl app yet, you really should!

We have a relatively small store so I'm always amazed at how much stuff they fit into that place!

In addition to the Whrrl promotions, Murphy offers different ones on their mobile site, their Facebook page, their "Cheap Gas" app or by signing up for their email alerts.  You can also find them on Twitter to see what else is going on.

The coupon above expires on 11/30 so be sure to use it soon!

Disclosure:  Collective Bias provided compensation to facilitate this purchase, Whrrl story and blog post.  All opinions, comments and photos are my own and are totally honest.

Just Like the Coffee House
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Monday, November 15, 2010 at 7:43 PM
TAGGED ,



My brother's kit car has been parked in our garage for a few months so that DH and my brother could do some upgrades to it.  When they both have time, my brother stops by and they chip away at a long list of projects in hopes of finishing it up in time to store it (elsewhere) for winter.  The last time my brother stopped by, he arrived with a coffee house mocha in his hand. 

One.  For himself.

Yeah, he got an earful.

So yesterday when he was on his way, he called about 10 minutes before he arrived.  "Hey Sis. I'm headed up the hill and am stopping by the Coffee Hound on the way by.  You want anything?"

"Oooh.  Yes, please.  I want what you had last time."

"Yeah, that's what I figured.  That's why I called first."

(Brothers rock sometimes, don't they?)

When he arrived, he had TWO cups.  One for me and one for him.  He said "I got something new if you want to try it.  If you like it better, you can have it instead."

One was the mocha just like last time.  The other was a Pumpkin Spice.  I tried it then politely said I would have the mocha.  Had my heart set on it anyhow.

What I didn't want to tell him is that I had a package of (only available for the holidays) Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin Spice coffee sitting on my counter.  I received it from Mom Central as part of a holiday-inspired blog tour.  

The tour included three holiday flavors - Mocha Mint, Vanilla Nut and Pumpkin Spice.  When I went looking for them at my local grocery store (HyVee), they weren't anywhere to be found.  I haven't looked for them at Walmart or Target yet, but I know they are available at Amazon.

Chocolate is a natural favorite of mine and the chocolate/mint combination flavor falls pretty close to my obsession with chocolate/peanut butter.  So naturally, I started with the Mocha Mint.  And honestly, I would have been perfectly happy drinking nothing but that.  I'm pretty disappointed to hear that it is only available for the holidays!  Curse you, Dunkin' Donuts!

My sweet tooth is pretty horrible and I'm actually one of those "Would you like a little coffee with your cream and sugar, Ma'am?" kind of people.  Regardless of whether it is traditional or flavored, from a coffee house, restaurant or any brand at home, I add Splenda or Truvia and creamer... if I happen to have any in the house.

When I tasted Dunkin' Donuts Mocha Mint, I first tried it black. Yes, black.  As in sans anything.  Surprisingly, I didn't think it was horrible.  But since my sweet tooth overpowers all, I went ahead and added sweetener.  Then I tried it again... more to my liking that way.  I happened to have plain creamer in the cabinet so I added that and it was okay but that dulled the full flavor of the Mocha and Mint.  So the new preference for Mocha Mint was with sweetener only.

You know that trip to HyVee that I mentioned?  I couldn't resist grabbing a bottle of International Delight Seasonal Celebration "Chocolate Mint Truffle" to add to the fridge.  Hmmm.  Chocolate Mint Truffle Creamer and Mocha Mint Coffee?  Interesting thought.  And yes, I tried it.  Both are awesome flavors separate but battle too much together.  I'll save the flavored creamer for a regular unflavored pot and have the Dunkin' Donuts Mocha Mint as described... with only sweetener.

Since I'm the only one in the house who drinks coffee, when my package of Dunkin' Donuts holiday coffee arrived, I told my friend that she would have to come over and try it out with me.  Unfortunately, I've been fighting a cold for a while and we didn't have our coffee date.  I had been making the Mocha Mint for myself daily until yesterday when my brother showed up with the cup of Pumpkin Spice from the coffee house.  Then I realized the tour ends today and I hadn't tried the other two varieties! 

So today, I brewed up some of the Pumpkin Spice.  Yes, I tried it plain and no, it wasn't to my liking that way.  I added sweetener and regular non-dairy creamer and it was excellent.  It actually tasted the same as the one my brother brought over yesterday.  Except I made it at home and it didn't cost an arm and a leg at the coffee shop!  I'll be taking that package along for Thanksgiving dinner!

What did I think of the Vanilla Nut?  Well, I got so wrapped up in the Mocha Mint that I didn't even try it.  I wasn't as excited though because Vanilla Nut is a variety I have found in other brands whereas the Mocha Mint and Pumpkin Spice were something I had NOT seen elsewhere.  I'll drink it when the Mocha Mint is gone.  Sorry... just being honest.

Dunkin' Donuts. Flavor Worth Sharing. Find YoursAs I said before, these are only available for the holidays so get them before they're gone.  I know I'll be looking for them so I can stock up before they disappear from the shelves.  And I'll cross my fingers that Dunkin' Donuts will get enough positive feedback that they'll add these flavors to their regular lineup of ground coffees at the grocery store!  My only complaint is that these don't come in Decaf because these cozy flavors would be great as an after-dinner dessert!

I'll be attending Bunco this Thursday and plan to ask the hostess if she minds me bringing some over to brew up for the ladies!  If you'll be participating in any holiday festivities, these would be a great hostess gift.  

If you decide you like them or want them in Decaf also, be sure to drop them a note!  For more information on Dunkin' Donuts packaged coffees, visit the Dunkin' at Home website or find them on Facebook! 

Enjoy... and Happy Holidays!

Disclosure:  In order to facilitate this review, Mom Central, on behalf of Smuckers, sent me a package of each of the holiday Dunkin' Donuts flavors mentioned above.  In addition, I'll receive a gift card as a thank you for participating.  All thoughts, photos and opinions are my own!

So Much for the Reminder
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7:53 PM
TAGGED , ,



Mornings with 7 and 6 year old daughters are a bit rough.  I get up, take my thyroid medicine first thing and get the kids' vitamins set out at the same time.  Then I work on getting their breakfast ready as well as their lunches while they are supposed to be getting ready for school.  Note that I said SUPPOSED to be.  Ever since DH recommended I stop micro-managing them until they were ready, it has been better. Mainly because my micro-managing technique was non-stop nagging "Did you make your bed? Did you brush your teeth? GO... GET... DRESSED!"

As they rush out the door to catch their bus, I often ask (knowing perfectly well what the answer is) "Did you take your vitamin yet?" They rush back in, grab their vitamins, complain, grab a quick drink of water to wash it down then rush back out to the bus stop.

Which makes no sense to me at all because every kid is supposed to love Flintstones Vitamins, right? We used to purchase a gummy variety of vitamin at Sam's Club but they stopped carrying it. When we switched to Flintstones, I didn't think twice about whether they would take them or not because they were Flintstones Vitamins. Unfortunately, they hate them and getting them to take their vitamins is like pulling teeth.  And when they visit the grandparents for an overnight stay, somehow they always manage to forget to take their vitamins.

As part of a campaign with the Family Review Network, we had a chance to test out SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins and the first thing that caught me by surprise was that the daily dosage is FOUR vitamins.  That's right, four.  While I thought that might be an issue for getting the kids to actually take them, I was wrong.  Not only did they not MIND taking four, but they loved it.  I split the dosage into two.  We took half (2 of them) before school and the other half (2 more) in the evening.  Part of the reason for splitting it was that the kids wanted to take them the minute they got up and I didn't want them to ruin their breakfast with four gumdrop sized vitamins.  If I happened to forget to pull them out (either in the morning or in the afternoon), I had no shortage of reminders that "We need to take our vitamins to stay healthy, Mom."
Now, what did we like about them?  Well, I LOVED that the kids took them without complaint.  I enjoyed (mostly) the reminders that they needed to and wanted to take their vitamins.  I love the fact that they contain fish oils but don't smell or taste funky. (Yes, I tried one.)  The kids love the flavor but also love the fact they get FOUR vitamins each day.

What I don't like is that they are only available online and they're pretty pricey (about $18 for a 30 day supply per child for their best package) compared to other vitamins.  However, there are some apple-to-oranges comparisons such as traditional children's vitamins don't contain fish oil and these do.  Plus, I've never experienced the joy of having my children ask to take their vitamins until we had SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins.

To make the price a little more tolerable and to encourage SahmReviews readers to test it out, they've provided a discount code just for my readers.  At checkout, type in SPsahmreviews (case sensitive) to get a 35% discount on your order!

Will we buy these again?  Originally, I would have said no because the price is such a deal breaker.  However, in the short time since we ran out, I've gone back to needing to remind the kids to take their vitamins.  We're back to the daily battle of telling them the importance of taking vitamins.  Might be worth paying a little more not just for the fish-oil benefits but also for the mental benefits that DH and I would get!

As for the reminders I used to get... since we're back to finishing up our Flintstones and Equate bottles, getting reminders from the kids is a thing of the past.  Of course, if we make SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins part of our routine again, I'm certain the reminders will return along with them.

For more information on SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins, visit their website or blog, "like" them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Disclosure:  We received one 30 count bottle of SmartyPants vitamins through the Family Review Network.  All thoughts, pictures and commentary are my own.  Opinions are those of my gummy-loving children.  No additional compensation was received.

Did You Vote? It's Not to Late!
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Friday, November 5, 2010 at 10:05 AM
TAGGED , , , ,



I'm not a political blogger nor do I like to talk politics in my posts. This is different so don't turn away just yet... Hear me out.

Did you take a few minutes earlier this week to vote? We did. Not only that, but we also brought along with us a young lady who hadn't even registered yet. She is the daughter of a good friend and had expressed an interest in the voting process so we took her to lunch (and her mom, too, of course) and we talked about figuring out how to vote.

Her main concern was "How do I know who to vote for?" Our answer - there is no right or wrong person. You learn what THEIR beliefs and attitudes are and you vote for someone who you agree with. By voting, you are saying that "These are the people who I want to make decisions on my behalf." Your vote DOES make a difference because every vote counts.

We made a difference by voting, but we also gave someone else a tool to do the same. Now, I'm taking that same encouragement and asking you to vote in the Bing "Our School Needs" contest.

I previously blogged about the entry stage before but now we're down to the voting stage. 15 Finalist have been selected and now they need YOUR votes to determine who is going to walk away with the prizes - $50,000 to the school with the most votes in each of three categories and $100,000 to the overall grand prize winner. If you are a parent to a school-aged child (or beyond), you already know how important every penny is to the school. From the 10¢ per boxtop to the fundraising to the grants, it is all important and much needed. These 15 finalists are counting on people like you... and me... to vote for whom we think should receive these prizes from Bing.

Each person can vote up to 5 times per day until they close voting on November 7th. That's only a few days from now. Have you voted? It's not too late! You still have time to make a difference. All you have to do is go to Our School Needs and login (or register if you haven't already - it only takes a few seconds), watch the videos or read the descriptions, find one that you agree with.then click the vote button. 

How hard is that? It's not. You can vote until November 7th and the winner will be announced on November 9th!  Good luck to all 15 schools and thanks to Bing for sponsoring the contest!

Disclosure: As a thank you for spreading the word about the voting phase of this contest, I'll personally receive a gift card from Mom Central on behalf of Bing. In addition, in the spirit of the contest, I'll receive a gift card to apply to a project on DonorsChoose.org.

This Halloween was Extremely Cool
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 4:57 PM
TAGGED , , ,



There are some holidays that I can take or leave.  I'm not exactly a Hallmark person.  While a lot of people say that Christmas is their favorite holiday, it is a bittersweet holiday for me.  As the kids get older, I warm up to it a bit more than I have in the past.

However, Halloween is the one day that I truly enjoy.  When we have time and space, we transform the garage into a haunted house.  Even when we lived in an apartment in California, we transformed the walkway and front porch to our 2nd floor apartment into a miniature haunted house!

Sometimes we dress up in fancy costumes, sometimes we give out handfuls of candy.  My husband and I embrace the day and have for as long as I can remember.

Well, this year it was over the top.  We were selected by She Speaks to participate in a promotion for the new Snickers Peanut Butter Squared candy bar.  It won't be available in stores until winter, but I have to say, it's awesome.  It's a cross between a Snickers and a Reese's.  Watch the videos for an idea of how awesome it was!


And if you want to know what it looks like from a kid's point of view, watch our KidCam!

If you've had a chance to try out the new Snickers Peanut Butter Squared, be sure to stop by the Snickers Facebook page and let them know what you think!

Disclosure: SheSpeaks on behalf of Snickers provided decorations along with a slew of the new Snickers Peanut Butter Squared and original Snickers to make Trick-or-Treating at our house extra special. No monetary compensation was received for this project. Photographs, videos, comments and opinions are my own.

That’s a Piece of Cake… err, pie.
POSTED BY Nicole Brady on Monday, November 1, 2010 at 9:59 PM
TAGGED , ,



When I was a young child, each year for my birthday my mom made a cake for me as well as one for my brother, whom I shared a birthday with. Once we were older, she let us pick what we wanted and without fail, he asked for her homemade cherry cheesecake. Me? Not so much. I wasn't a fan of cheesecake and preferred chocolate anything. Instead, I sometimes would put in a special request for Bishop's French Silk Pie. Bishop's was a local restaurant and one of the only places that I knew of that served such a decadent pie. Mom never let me down… if it was on my list, she picked it up and put candles on top.

Yet these days, I don't ask for a birthday cake or a pie of any kind. Instead, when we want cake or pie, we just buy it. You don' really need a special occasion to have one. Just a sweet tooth.

So when Collective Bias asked for people to do a shoppertunity and post on Marie Callender's Dinner Bakes and Pies for their #FamilyMeals campaign, I said "Piece of cake… err, pie! I can do that." While we often purchase frozen dinners like lasagna to get us through the hectic schedule, we haven't tried the Marie Callender's ones yet. But I remember their pies from eating at the restaurant when we lived in Los Angeles so I was totally excited about the opportunity to shop for Marie Callender's pies.

Halloween is my Mom's birthday so we double-celebrate the day. I thought this would be a great opportunity (AKA excuse) to break open and taste test one of Marie Callender's new pies. Mom loves chocolate so the plan was to pick up either the Chocolate Satin Pie or the I Love Chocolate Cream Pie. Because it was so similar, it would provide the perfect opportunity for me to tell my mom thanks for all those years that she went out of her way to go pick up my favorite pie. My mouth watered just window shopping on the Marie Callendar website.
DH and I set off to the Walmart nearest my home… hitting that particular Walmart was part of the shoppertunity. Check out my Whrrl story to experience the shopping trip along with me!

We were very excited about shopping for Marie Callender's pies but unfortunately, our Walmart had a horrible selection. While I like fruit pies and cream pies, my family (including me) PREFERS chocolate. We picked up a Dutch Apple Pie to try when we have a chance but it wasn't appropriate for Mom's birthday so we haven't tested it yet. And with so much Halloween chocolate around, I'm going to have a tough time winning that dessert battle.

Maybe we'll invite friends over, cook up a nice meal for all of us to celebrate #FamilyMeals then finish it off with a nice Dutch Apple Pie.

For recommendations on family meals, join the Family Meals Society on Whrrl. Visit the Marie Callender site for a list of other products as well as coupons!

Disclosure: Collective Bias provided a stipend for the time and efforts it took to participate in and document this shopping experience. All opinions, photos and comments are my own.