Relief for a Common Winter Problem

Winter can be so beautiful, but it can also be rough on our bodies. We try to smile our way through it, but it's hard when we get dry, cracked, painful lips. I've tried many products. Every form of lip balm has been used here....gels, sticks, creams....you name it, we've tried it. They all seem to give some relief for a short time, but they don't solve the problem.

Recently I received some Neosporin products from Mom Central. I accepted a 3 Day Challenge to see how the Lip Health Overnight Renewal Therapy and the Lip Health Daily Hydration Therapy could help my family deal with this painful wintertime problem.


Poor Alexa had such a severe crack in her bottom lip, right down the center. It was painful and bleeding. We applied the Lip Health Daily Hydration Therapy right away. Alexa is 7 and can be, shall we say, "choosy" about lip products. She's always afraid they'll either taste bad, burn, or just feel wierd. She had no problem with this product. She applied it herself, as I watched. Within a minute or so, she completely forgot about it. And I know this was a 3 day challenge, but Alexa's lips were already looking so healthy only a few hours after the initial application! Although my lips weren't cracked and bleeding like Alexa's, I still applied the Daily Hydration Therapy at the same time she did, because my lips were quite dry. They looked and felt so much better within a few hours.

I continued to use the product, to give my lips a chance to completely heal and it worked wonders. Alexa, too, continued to apply the Daily Hydration Therapy a few times a day, sometimes only once a day and now she looks like she has healthy summertime lips! The Lip Health Overnight Renewal Therapy was a huge help, too. It worked so well to just put it on before bed, then overnight it renewed the damaged tender skin on the lips. The Daily Hydration Therapy has an SPF of 20, so I'm thinking we'll probably use this product year round, especially during the harsher months.

For more information about these products and the 3-Day Challenge, head on over to this Neosporin Website!

TTFN
~Tina

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Neosporin and received a sample of the Lip Health Overnight Renewal Therapy and the Lip Health Daily Hydration Therapy to facilitate my review and a $20 thank-you gift certificate.

A Meal the Whole Family will Love.....(and it's healthy, too....shhhh)

We really want our kids to have a balanced diet full of healthy foods. But that's not always easy. And as the video below shows, sometimes we moms will do just about anything to get our kids to eat healthy.
Watch the video here. If you are a mom, I'm sure you can relate. :-)

Okay, so the "supermom" in the video really goes to extremes, but we do try hard to convince our kids to make healthy eating choices. Our family loves pasta. It's warm and cozy for this time of year, especially. And it's one of the few meals that ALL of my kids will actually eat AND enjoy. I love that. Pasta has always been an easy sell in this house, but with Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta, it's actually a nutritious choice for dinner, too. But, would my kids enjoy it? That's the real test. I made some Ronzoni Smart Taste Spaghetti for dinner last week with our favorite sauce. It was so good! Not just to me and my husband, but to ALL of the kids. They loved it! You can find more about Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta here.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by MomCentral on behalf of Ronzoni Pasta and received a sample of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta to facilitate my review and a $20 thank-you gift certificate.

I Like This Idea

We now have a teenager in the house. Taylor's been acting like a teen for a while ;-) and now it's official. We are always looking for ways to teach her responsibility. There's a new card out to help teach teens financial responsibility. It's called Current by Discover. It works as a debit card, with the parents setting the spending limits on the card every day, week or month. It also enables you to track your teens spending online. I love the idea that Taylor wouldn't have endless amounts of credit at her disposal. And that it's up to her to keep track of how much she is spending. I wish I had known about this earlier. It would have come in handy for the birthday party that Taylor is planning for herself. I gave her a budget to follow, and she's doing well, but with the Current card, I would know for sure that she only spent the allotted amount. And it would force her to budget, while giving her freedom to make important spending decisions for herself. Oh, and these cards come in some really cool "teen" designs. You can check them out here. For more information and to sign up for a Current by Discover card, click right here.

TTFN

~Tina

Friendship Movie for Preschoolers

Evan loves the show Wow! Wow! Wubbzy. He's just so drawn to it. So when Mom Central asked me to review the new Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! DVD, I couldn't wait to get it in the mail and play it for Evan. I knew he'd be thrilled! The new DVD is called A Little Help From My Friends and it has 6 episodes. Each of these episodes holds Evan's interest to such a degree that he watches it without moving an inch! He's enthralled with that little Wubbzy character and his friends. The stories on this DVD teach valuable lessons, too. The value of friendship, being yourself, and asking for help when you need it, are all taught in fun stories that are just long enough to get the point across without boring him. This DVD also features two bonus episodes, a music video, and a Kooky Kostume game. And for more Wubbzy fun, you can go the Wubbzy Website (Evan loves the printable coloring pages) or watch it on Nick Jr. and Noggin.

TTFN

~Tina

Plant a Seed

I'm sure there will be a lot of really interesting commercials aired during the Superbowl. Sometimes those ads can be quite entertaining. But there is one ad, in particular that seems interesting to me. It's not so much the commercial itself, although it is creatively done. And it's not about a particular product, it's about a project. This project, by Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes program, is a way for you or I to have a hand in helping rebuild some of America's playing fields. All you have to do is go to Frosted Flakes Plant a Seed website, and nominate one of your local ball fields that is in need of repair. Then you can take part in the voting for your favorite field. Around 50 playing fields will be renovated across the United States! So tomorrow, as you enjoy the big game, look for the "Plant a Seed" ad from Kellogg's Frosted Flakes® and then check out the website to find other ways to get involved and "plant a seed" of your own.

Tomorrow's the big day!
TTFN
~Tina

It's That Time of Year Again

With the onset of cold weather always seems to come the illnesses. We, like most other people, get the vast majority of our viruses in the Fall and Winter months (although we had our share this past summer, too).

I know viruses just have to run their course, and there's not much we can do, other than fluids and rest, to help them along. But sometimes we get sick from infections, and sometimes those infections can be dangerous.

I recently found out about something called MRSA.

"MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a type of Staph bacteria found on the skin and in the nose that is resistant to antibiotics. More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly MRSA infections every year and in 2005, nearly 19,000 Americans died from MRSA infections. More deaths are linked to MRSA infections than AIDS."

The above quote is from the website stopmrsanow.org. This site is full of information that we can use to educate and protect ourselves and our children against this deadly infection.

This site also gives the following tips on how to prevent the spread of MRSA:

Scrub up - Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 15 seconds - the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice - or use an alcohol-based hand rub sanitizer.
Wipe it down - Use a disinfecting bleach solution to wipe down and disinfect hard surfaces. Make sure to use clean cloths to avoid spreading MRSA from one surface to another. (1 tablespoon of disinfecting bleach diluted in 1 quart of water)
Cover your cuts - Keep any nicks or wounds covered with a clean, dry bandage until healed.
Keep to yourself - Do not share personal items, like towels or razors, that come into contact with bare skin.
Use a barrier - Keep a towel or clothing between skin and shared equipment.

Getting sick is an unavoidable fact of life, but it only makes sense to take steps to lessen our risks, especially for the potentially serious stuff. So, please take a minute to stop by this site to get more valuable information on MRSA.

Hope you are having a happy (and healthy) holiday week!

TTFN

~Tina

A Sweet Movie About Friendship

My girls have always been into the Barbie movies. Way back when they first came out with Barbie in the Nutcracker, my girls loved them. Back then it was Taylor and Skylar, now it's Skylar, still, but Alexa loves them, too. There is always drama, humor and some cool animation. And the Barbie character always plays a sweet, genuine girl.



The latest Barbie movie is Barbie and the Diamond Castle. When Alexa saw this one advertised, she was freaking out excited! Sky thought it sounded pretty neat, too. But Alexa was just so thrilled with the fact the one of the main characters shares her name!

We received the movie, and the girls couldn't wait to watch it! I wanted it to be fun for all of us, so I had to make them wait until late evening. We all got into our jammies and watched it together, even Taylor and Evan.

This is such a sweet movie, especially for young girls! It held my interest, as an adult, with some of the humor, and the animation. Alexa and Sky were just totally drawn into it and loved it! But what surprised me, was that Evan sat there, almost the whole time! He's an active two year old boy, but he was drawn in by the animation and the fact that there's a dragon in the movie, too.

And then another surprise is that Taylor, who is twelve, thought it was pretty cool, too. She was surprised at herself, actually. Taylor does theater, so she was very drawn into the singing. There is a good amount of singing and harmonizing with the main characters, but it's not overdone. The songs are catchy and have you singing them the day after you watch the movie! Taylor also enjoyed the interaction between the young men and young ladies. It was funny and believable, but definitely not the main focus. This movie is mostly about friendship and overcoming adversity together.

So what started out as a movie for me to watch with Alexa and Sky, became a family movie that we all enjoyed together! That was such a nice surprise! So if you are looking for a princess movie, that your boys might just like, too, I would check out Barbie and the Diamond Castle. We are so happy to own it, because it has been watched many times since that first viewing.

They have a new one coming out, too. We are going to have to check it out. It's called Barbie and A Christmas Carol.

TTFN

~Tina

A Fun New Website for Kids

One of the blessings of blogging is that when we come across a great idea, or a toy the kids love or a recipe we enjoy, we can share so easily. Lately, Skylar has been really enjoying a website called Woogi World. One of the things that makes it unique is that not only does it teach the child through fun games and activities online, they get rewarded for things they do in the real world! Since Skylar has started playing at this site, she has given me many "parental hugs". The children get rewarded online for doing community service type things offline, in the real world. There are so many parts of Woogi World to explore and countless things for children to learn, play and do. It even teaches about internet safety. Skylar is having a blast with it! It's free, so check it out sometime to see if it's something your child might enjoy.

TTFN
~Tina