MOM CONFESSIONALS

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Kids all over the country are readying themselves for the first day of school.  Many many years ago, I recall this being one of the most highly anticipated days of the year.  Part of the fun was the preparation.  These days kids have an amazing arsenal of tools to get them ready.

HP’s new Photosmart e-All-in-One printers are a must have in any family’s household.  Being an HP printer household ourselves, there is no limit to what these printers can do.  Not only will the kids be able to print out all of their homework assignments and photos for show and tell, but they can also access new print apps including Crayola for coloring pages, PBS Kids for literacy, math and science activities or Disney for fun and educational after-school activities including coloring pages, games and crafts. Starting at just $99, e-All-in-Ones are also equipped with ePrint, a unique simple email address assigned to the printer that allows the sender to deliver a print the same way they would send an email message.  For some parents that are still not very tech savvy, that’s an awesome feature and still keeps us “cool” with our kids.  They’ve got a printer for every level of need, from a family who prints homework and occasional pieces of artwork and photos to the family with a professional parent who works from home or at home.

Parents will also love Snapfish photo gifts that are practical for the daily routine including personalized notebooks for keeping those notes in order (available for $9.99) or a desktop organizer to display a favorite photo of family and friends while keeping all those school supplies handy (available for $26.99).

Tired of looking at the same old book cover and locker?  Download and print free book covers and locker posters from the HP Creative Studio for FREE!  The HP Creative Studio also offers bookmarks, flash cards and mini journals to keep you on track and record your special memories from the year. In fact, while you’re out shopping for supplies, pick up a pack of HP’s Multipurpose Paper, Everyday Photo Paper or Advanced Photo Paper. With each purchase of these select products, parents can unlock the magic of Mickey & Friends to create their own collage masterpiece from the Disney Print Center presented by HP. For more, visit www.disney.com/printmagic.

GIVEAWAY: To get the school year started off on the right foot, ONE lucky winner will win a $50 Gift Certificate to Snapfish.  To ENTER, from now until September 10th 2010, fill out this FORM.  Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter@momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win $50 Gift Certificate to Snapfish @momconfessional http://wp.me/pLvfH-zj) 2nd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM again and leave a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses and must be 18 years or older. Giveaway ends on September 10th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

{ disclosure : received complimentary business card printing but the opinions expressed here are always my own }

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My husband always says without even looking at the prices I always choose the most expensive item on the menu.   What can I say other than I’ve got good taste!  When it comes to design, I’m pretty much the same way.  When it came time to think about getting new business cards I wasn’t going to get the same design as before.  I saw it as an opportunity to do something different and change things up a bit.  A new design wasn’t going to be cheap… or so I thought!

When the kind people at Uprinting.com offered me a chance to try out their printing services and dangled “square” business cards in front of me… I was drooling.  I had previously priced square business cards and they were NOT cheap.  I always got the same lame excuse, it’s a unique size, requiring a special die… as if I was the first person to think of this brilliant idea of a square business card.  Added to my idea of a double sided card, my internal calculator was working overtime.  I thought I was in for a REAL treat… getting all fancy smancy with square business cards.

As I uploaded my design with their easy to follow guidelines and handy Illustrator template, I was shocked to see how affordable they made it.  Not only was I getting square business cards, but double sided, hi-gloss, full-color with bleed too.  In laymen terms, the whole nine yards!  Each of the features individually would exponentially add to the final production price at a print shop… but not at Uprinting.com!  There is even an eco-friendly option printing with 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock.

Even more amazing is their customer service.  During the process I got a free proof (before you pay) sent to me and then a personal phone call to approve my draft for production.  Every question I had was answered and my own little quantity mistake was rectified during one of our phone calls.  The perfectionist side of me asked the graphic designer to double check the red on the back matched the red of the lips and she happily complied.  From start to finish my order took just a little over a week with standard delivery.  When I opened the box, they were perfect! and gorgeous!  It was my design come to life!  Nothing makes me more giddy than seeing my design come to fruition.  A similar order would have cost around $120 easily at another unnamed printer using one of their own single sided designs.  For approximately $33 with 3-day shipping I got the whole she-bang!

GIVEAWAY: One lucky winner will win 500 Business cards by Uprinting.com.  Your choice of 2 x 3.5”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card); 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock; Full Color Both Sides.  To ENTER, from now until September 10th 2010, fill out this FORM.  Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter@momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win 500 Business cards by Uprinting.com @momconfessional http://wp.me/pLvfH-yD) 2nd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM again and leave a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses and must be 18 years or older. Giveaway ends on September 10th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

{ disclosure: I am working in partnership with Kellogg and TheMotherhood.com and have received a stipend, but the opinions expressed here are my own }

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I don’t know about you, but morning are crazy at my house.  Even though I’m up, about and out before the kids are even awake every morning, its still shear chaos.  Every morning my routine includes things like:

• prepare my son’s bottles for the day
• set aside prepared tubs of baby food
• make my daughter’s vitamin mixed juice cup
• make her meals
• check that the nursery is adequately stocked with diapers, bibs, wipes and clothing
• wash and sanitize all of the baby’s teething toys
• make sure the baby’s medication is where it should be and ready for administration
• make a list with all my instructions for the day
• check that there is adequate entertainment for the day
• package my lunch
• fill up my water bottle
• wash and sterilize breast pump accessories
• pack up my breast pump and supplies
• pack up my school books and materials for the day
• eat breakfast if I remember to…

I’m sure some of you are looking at my list thinking, well it should get pretty routine after a while, which is true but… Not every morning is the same and there are days I notice the the baby has a developing rash, which I then want to adjust his diet, or his medications, or I notice the toddler has avoided veggies all week and I want my MIL to focus on these certain things for the day.  So by the time I think of everything I need to cover for the day, I forget to eat breakfast in my haste to make the train.  I know breakfast is the most important day of the meal, but as a mom, you often are so busy taking care of everyone else, you forget about yourself.  Most days I  wonder how I even remember it all.  I know some mornings are easier than others and the easiest ones are the ones where I do as much as I can the night before.  Lists help immensely and if they don’t change much, its great to have a starter list that gets tweaked just a little each morning.

When I was approached to try Eggo® Real Fruit Pizzas, I gave them a resounding YES!  Granted I was more excited to try it out myself and make it a part of my morning routine but I realized how perfect it was for my toddler too.  My little picky eater rarely eats fruits, let alone fresh fruit, especially if its not, say, in an ice cream disguised packaging.  Even that can be a challenge.  Strawberry ice cream becomes “pink” ice cream, because pink is one of her favorite colors.  On some days I can even trick her with pink (strawberry) yogurt, but not often.  When I saw Eggo® Real Fruit Pizzas packaging, all I could think was — Ooooh pink! Oooh Pizza!  The toddler loves pizza!  This could totally work!

One crazy morning, amidst my running around, I popped the Mixed Berry Granola Fruit Pizza in the microwave, excited to try out my favorite combination of fruit, yogurt and granola in a pizza form… and I totally forgot as I ran out of the house to catch my train.  When I got home later that evening I was thrilled to hear that the toddler scarfed it all up when she woke up, but I completely missed catching this “momentous” occasion.  I heard the defining moment of whether or not she would eat it came down to it being “purple!”  her other favorite color and my MIL threw in that she also thought Mommy left it as a special surprise just for her.  Hey, whatever works!

Trying out Pizza #2, the Strawberry Granola went on without a hitch.  Bright and early yesterday morning I asked the toddler if she wanted pizza for breakfast and of course there was her resounding, “Yes!”.  Approaching it much like frosting on a birthday cake, the toddler had to swipe a taste before I had a chance to even cut it up.  I had to even do a little negotiating to get a tiny slice of my own to try and it was delicious!  It’s no wonder she scarfed it down!  This will be another Eggo product that we’ll all be yelling, “Leggo my eggo!” and one thing less I have to think about every morning.

PROS

• Quick and Easy Breakfast in just 1 minute
• Incredibly nutritious with fresh fruits, granola and yogurt topping
• They do not skimp on the fresh fruit — yum!
• Eating it like a pizza makes it a pretty mess free meal.
• It’s delicious!

CONS

• Wish they came in a family pack.  Individual pizzas would be great for perhaps a college student, for a family, a four-pack would be better
• Would have been cool if they came pre-sliced.
• Wish there was an easy pull tab for opening the shrink-wrapped packaging.  This is not exclusive to this particular product, but over all in general.  One of my pet peeves is fumbling with scissors, or pulling off with my teeth.

GIVEAWAY: What’s your secret to a smooth morning start? Share it to win one of (5), yea that’s right FIVE – Eggo® Real Fruit Pizzas Sampler Sets.  To ENTER, from now until July 28th 2010, fill out this FORM telling us your tips.  Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter@momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win ONE of 5 Win ONE of 5 #EggoAM Real Fruit Pizzas Sampler Sets @momconfessional http://wp.me/pLvfH-vx) 2nd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM again and leave a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway ends on July 28th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

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{ disclosure: no compensation was received for this post, a sample was provided.  giveaway is provided by ZOOCCHINI }

Are you guys salivating over all my amazing giveaways yet?!  There’s something for everyone and this time something for the toddler!  Yea, she was definitely starting to feel like the forgotten child… sorry babe! When ZOOCCHINI’s Lars the Lion arrived on my doorstep in his adorable paint pail, I did not want to part with him.  He was just too cute!  I obviously didn’t hide him fast enough because the “little miss” spotted him in an instant and asked if he was for her — because you know, everything and anything wrapped (or unwrapped) is for her these days… ha ha ha!  Like all of her dear friends, if she loves you, she’d like to bath with you too.  There has been many a rescues of her little friends from the perils of our bathtub.  I much appreciate Lars the Lion as a  hooded towel and was able to reason (albeit via a little storytelling) that he was waiting nicely outside of the tub to warm her up because he secretly is afraid of bathes.

GIVEAWAY: Does your toddler want a ZOOCCHINI pal of their very own?  One of our incredibly lucky readers a chance to win their very own ZOOCCHINI Plush Pal and matching hooded towel.   To ENTER, from now until July 15th 2010, visit www.zoocchini.com and fill out this FORM telling us which is your favorite ZOOCCHINI Pal.  Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter @momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win a Zoochini Plush Gift Set @momconfessional http://wp.me/pLvfH-uf). 2nd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM again and leave a separate entry for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway ends on July 15th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.

If you simply can’t wait to get your hands on your very own, ZOOCCHINI is offering an exclusive 20% discount for Mom Confessionals readers using code ZOOC202 at checkout (expires July 31st, 2010). 

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{ disclosure: I am working in partnership with Marriott and TheMotherhood.com to cover the Marriott Tots Travel Too program and have received a stipend }

Having just endured a 13+ hour road trip with both a toddler and an infant I can truly appreciate Marriott’s Tots Travel Too program.  I was amazed to discover as I prepared and packed for our trip, that my kids luggage size now surpassed my own  — and by leaps and bounds nonetheless.  Despite my efforts to be super prepared, I of course, couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing one or two things… maybe even more. I even tried to make an excel spreadsheet listing every item going into the luggage… but at some point stopped.  I can only say that at least its a starting point for our next trip and I’ll pick up where I left off.

The complimentary Tots Travel Too program really seeks to help relieve some of the bigger stresses parents might endure by providing guests, upon request, with a travel crib and freshly laundered COVERPLAY® removable crib slipcover to ensure their “traveler-in-training” can rest comfortably.  What this means is a worry-free clean resting spot for your preciousProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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abe.  For those who are truly germaphobes, you can purchase your very own (machine washable) slipcover and bring it along on each stay at a Marriott hotel.  It’s definitely  a lot easier than hauling a cumbersome travel crib and I’ll do anything to pack a little lighter — three cheers for Marriott!  For a bit of bath time fun, they provide a complimentary animal squirt toy which I know will make my little one squeal in delight.  In addition, parents who have forgotten to pack their toddler’s essentials can contact the front desk for complimentary items, including outlet covers, nightlights, baby shampoo, and baby lotion, plus disposable bibs designed by our cult favorite, Dwell Studios, will be available in the breakfast areas.

The Tots Travel Too program is available at more than 2,500 Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites hotels in the continental U.S. and Canada.  Marriott partnered with COVERPLAY®, a company founded by two mom’s with toddlers (whoot whoot!!),  to create an exclusive slipcover design and is available for purchase on www.shopmarriott.com.

For more information on Marriott’s Tots Travel Too program please visit www.marriott.com/totsTravel2

GIVEAWAY: So Marriott wants to know what tips or tricks do you have for travel survival with a toddler.  We’re thrilled to offer to (1) of our incredibly lucky readers a chance to win a $250 Marriott Gift Card (for use at a Marriott hotel or at shopmarriott.com) & Marriott Tots Too Welcome Basket filled with travel essentials just for sharing!   To ENTER, from now until June 30th, leave a comment on this FORM with your tried and true traveling with toddlers tips.  Your tip may be featured on Marriott’s “The Ultimate Traveling with Toddlers Must-Have Tip Sheet“! Get up to (two) bonus entries. 1st Bonus – If you follow me on twitter @momconfessional and re-tweet this giveaway (Win a $250 Marriott Gift Card & #totstravel2 Basket @momconfessional by sharing your tips on traveling with a tot http://wp.me/pLvfH-tG). 2rd Bonus – If you “like” us on Facebook and share the giveaway with your friends.  DON’T FORGET to visit this FORM and leave a separate comment for each action. Giveaway only open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway ends on June 30th 2010 at 11:59 EST. A winner will be selected randomly by Random.org and notified by e-mail.