Jolly Mom: Recipes | Crafts | Atlanta Mom Blogger | Brand Ambassador | Product Reviews

Even though I have an iPhone, iPad, two laptop computers, and a desktop computer, I still like paper. I like to write things down. I have lists and I like the act of crossing things off my list. It keeps me organized and it keeps me motivated. That's why I always have to have a planner. A real made-from-paper-write-on-it-with-pen-or-pencil-check-things-off-it planner. My favorite new planner is from the Blue Sky Home Series--a new uber chic line of calendar-based organizing products designed especially for busy, modern households just like mine and YOURS. Created by Blue Sky, a leading maker of dated planners and calendars, the Blue Sky Home Series combines function with a chic, colorful look by notable paper designer Susan Connor of Susy Jack Contemporary Paper.



The collection includes 14 different products – most featuring dated calendars and all under $10 - that can be mixed and matched to meet the organizing needs and lifestyles of busy families. I received the Notes Mousepad, Don't Forget Door Note, and the Planner.


The Notes Mousepad is so cute and so convenient to have right by my desktop computer! I can quickly write things down throughout the day as I think of them. Love it!

The Don't Forget Door Note (also available in "Oops Almost Forgot My...") is also SO CUTE and convenient! It's perfect for hanging on the front door with a reminder of the things you don't want to leave home without that day. It's great for kids and teens too!

The Planner is my new best friend. It has a polypropylene cover so it can easily be wiped off and it's very durable. It is spiral bound, which I love because it lays flat. The layout is truly perfection. The pages are large at 8.5 x 11 and it has tabbed monthly calenders, vertical weekly calendars with tons of space to write, essential info pages which includes space for contacts, planning, travel checklists, and grocery lists, and it also includes a large notes section with blank pages for whatever you want. This planner is PERFECT for me!



With schools starting back, every household needs a method to get organized and the Blue Sky Home Series is a great choice! The Blue Sky Home Series comes in two color palettes, “Warm” and “Cool,” to complement home décor, and ranges in price from $3.99 to $9.99. Find it exclusively at Target.




The featured product{s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company.  All opinions expressed are mine. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information. 

Totsy has been on fire lately with amazing deals on products for the entire family--even the home and travel! Here are some of my favorites this week...











I am a compensated member of the Totsy Mom Committee. Affiliate links are used in the above post. All opinions expressed in this article are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information.

We all know that there is only one thing that can keep a family from going crazy on a really long road trip….A DVD PLAYER!!! There are all sorts of DVD players and entertainment systems that you can have custom installed in your car, but what we have been dying for is a portable DVD player. That way we can use it in the car, but we can also use it outside of the car as well (vacations, hotels, rental homes, at grandma's, etc). We recently got the wonderful opportunity to review the Sony BDP-SX1000 Portable Blu-ray Player and it is one of our new favorite things!



The fact that it is a blu-ray player is beyond awesome because Mike has been making sure that our blu-ray collection grows LOL. He is actually a movie buff and collector so he has even gone out and replaced DVDs with the new Blu-ray versions. Plus, all the new movies we buy are always in Blu-ray and as you guys know--not all Blu-rays come with a DVD copy so a Blu-ray player is a MUST for us!



Surprisingly, there actually aren’t that many portable Blu-ray players on the market, but that doesn't matter because this new Sony is AWESOME. Sony is obviously a name we all trust when it comes to electronics and they didn't disappoint with their Blu-ray player either! The Sony BDP-SX1000 Portable Blu-ray Player has all the features you would want. It has a huge (and I mean huge) 10.1 inch screen that swivels completely and even folds flat against the player. It also has both a standard audio/video output & an HDMI output (a lot of other portable Blu-ray players don’t come with any outputs) so you can easily hook it up a TV and a remote control as well. This is a must-have feature for us! We love to take movies with us on trips, but many places that we stay don’t have DVD players (and they never have Blu-ray players), so it was really important to us that could be hooked up to a TV and be used as a standard player. Like most portable players it comes with a charger for both the car and the home, but the Sony’s batteries also recharge to offer up to 5 hours of use. That's at least two movies! And finally one of the coolest features is the USB port so you can play other videos, movies, and music on the go.
So if you are looking for some peace and quiet on those long road trips or a portable player to take with you on vacation, then I would definitely recommend the Sony. It has become the first thing we grab whenever we go on a trip. Love it!


Retails for $299.99. Buy it online or at major retailers across the country.


 

The featured product{s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company.  All opinions expressed are mine. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information. 

This month we're talking laundry as part of the Arm & Hammer Switch and Save Blogger Challenge. I have to say that laundry is the bain of my existence. There are only three of us in my household and the laundry still relentlessly piles up on a daily basis. It is a neverending cycle of sorting, washing, drying, and folding. I honestly can't even imagine what it's like for larger families! Over the years I have learned a few tricks that help keep the laundry into a more manageable task so I thought this would be a perfect time to share my best tips.

1. Use those nifty sectioned hampers to pre-sort laundry into lights, darks, and whites. If you don't have one of those hampers, that's ok. Just make sure to sort the laundry on the day you plan on washing them. Have it in small piles ready to wash that way the process is as simple as throwing clothes into the machine. I also like to pre-sort delicates into a separate bag that way none of my delicates end up being washed by accident with regular laundry. 
2. Do one or two loads every day. This helps keep laundry manageable rather than having huge piles to get through at once.
3. Whenever possible, fold laundry right out of the dryer. It only takes a few minutes and it's done. This is much better than throwing it into a basket for "later". I don't know about you, but "later" usually comes much later than planned LOL.
4. Get clothes out of the dryer as soon as they are done. Clothes come out wrinkle-free, which means you don't have to spend time ironing.
5. Get help. I typically wash, dry, and fold. Mike puts the laundry away. If you have kids that are old enough to help, enlist them as well!

Of course, some weeks--everything I know goes out the window and the laundry turns into a looking mountainous region in my room and hallway where our washer and dryer are. C'est la vie, I guess LOL.




This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of ARM & HAMMER branded products, who is compensating me to try different products. Save $1.00 on any 2 ARM & HAMMER Laundry Detergents. And be sure and head over to the Switch & Save Challenge for the chance to win $25,000.










Image: Mantas Ruzveltas / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I'm always looking for ways to save money. I clip coupons, buy in bulk, and cook from scratch. So when I found out about Zaycon Foods, I was beyond thrilled! What is Zaycon Foods you ask? Only one of the most convenient ways for families to buy food that is both FRESH and AFFORDABLE. Basically, Zaycon Foods sells fresh meats such as chicken, beef, turkey, pork and fish and other foods by the case at wholesale prices. You order online and then pick up at one of their regularly scheduled city-by-city Savings Event. This allows them to combine the buying power of many families together, negotiate huge savings on food purchases and then pass that savings onto you.

Here's how it works...

1. Register at Zaycon Foods for your free account.
2. Choose a Savings Event in your area. If you don't see one, email Zaycon Foods and let them know that you're interested in them coming to your area. They base their events on interest so let them know. 
3. Place your order for the Savings Event.
4. Pick up your order at the Savings Event. 

Zaycon Foods gave me the opportunity to see how the process works and to try a case of boneless chicken breasts for ourselves. That's 40 POUNDS of chicken. Thankfully, we have a 2nd refrigerator in our basement! However, even if you don't have the space to store that much chicken, you can go in on a case with a friend or family member.

Another local blogger actually did me the favor of picking my chicken up for me since she lives a few minutes away from me so I didn't get to see the Savings Event for myself. However, from what I understand, Zaycon Foods comes in with a truckload of chicken and distributes all the orders. You don't even have to get out of your car and the whole thing just takes a few minutes.

As soon as we got the chicken, we began the task of portioning and putting into vacuum sealed bags. What you see below is NOT the entire 40 pounds of chicken.



This past weekend was Lucas' birthday and we had a huge party with about 40 guests, including kids. We decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to try the chicken out. We made 49 country fried chicken "Superhero" sandwiches. 49. We barely made a dent in our chicken supply LOL.





The chicken is DELICIOUS. And, here's what I love about Zaycon Foods...they only sell high quality food. Their chicken is never frozen. It comes from the farm to Zaycon Foods' truck to you. It is 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients. LOVE.





The featured product{s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. Affiliate links are also used. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information.

Thank you to Lori from Moms by Heart for compiling the best deals at CVS this week! For the full list, please make sure you stop by Moms By Heart!

Lucas just turned 4 years old and he is a sports fanatic. He is into his 2nd season of baseball already and is asking to play soccer, tennis, and football. We love that he loves sports so much. Sports are good for kids. They teach kids important life lessons and build character. However, when playing sports--safety has to be the number one priority. There has to be safety precautions, procedures, education, and the right gear. A couple of weeks ago, several bloggers and I attended the Rawlings ProtectED Event, which focused on football helmet and equipment safety in particular. However, what we learned can also be applied to just about any sport.


The cool part is that I got to bring along Lucas who was super excited to be spending quality time with mom AND going to a sports-related event! He even got to attend a football mini-camp and he got fitted for his very own football helmet.



He had a blast to say the least!



I came back with invaulable sports safety information that I am excited to share with you guys. The most important being that if you have kids that play football (or any sport for that matter), MAKE SURE THAT THEIR GEAR FITS PROPERLY. If your child's football helmet and football pads are not correctly fitted, then it will not protect your child from injuries, including concussions and other life threatening injuries. Of course, no helmet can protect a player 100% from concussions and head injuries, but for the most optimal performance--the fit has to be right on.

How do you know if your child's helmet is the right size? It should fit snugly. Your child should NOT be able to take the helmet off with one hand as is commonly seen among the pro players. A properly fitted helmet requires two hands to be taken off. Rawlings Football Helmets come with a hang tag that show you exactly how to measure your child and fit him with the right size helmet. Check out the video below, which talks about fit and also shows highlights from the ProtectEd Event...



Or, read the Rawlings Fit Guide HERE.

I also left the Rawlings ProtectEd Event knowing without a doubt that Rawlings really cares about the safety of all athletes. It was evident throughout the entire day and during the tour of their Tech Center where we got to see how they test all of their equipment and come up with new ways to protect athletes...



We'd already come to rely on the Rawlings brand since Lucas' baseball helmet is made by Rawlings. Of course, Rawlings is also the official helmet of Major League Baseball. Their new NRG Quantum Football Helmets are loaded with safety features such as:

Rawlings AIA™ – Active Impact Absorption™: A proven impact management system with a scientifically-designed spacer material allows for instant and long-lasting protection, unlike conventional foams.

Rawlings C3™ – Custom Comfort Cushion™: The inflatable C3 liner allows players to customize their helmets’ fit based on their specific needs, and Rawlings’ proprietary rate-dependent impact absorption cushioning provides maximum protection without sacrificing comfort.

Rawlings Heat Exchange™: Strategically placed to create optimum air flow, the Heat Exchange system is designed to allow maximum temperature control, protecting players from overheating.

• Level: youth, high school, collegiate and professional
• Sizes: small through extra large

If you have a child (or know someone who plays football), you should definitely check out the new Rawlings NRG Quantum Football Helmets.

Finally, I want to thank Rawlings for their hospitality! Every single Rawlings employee I met exuded passion about their job. Honestly, they are just good, down-to-earth people. No frills. No fuss. People who love what they do.

Oh, and one more thing. If you have a child that plays sports or you're the coach of a sports team, you have to get the Concussion Recognition & Response™ App developed by Gerard A. Gioia, PhD, and Jason Mihalik, PhD. We got to meet and hear Dr. Mihalik about head injuries and his new app and it is an invaluable tool for coaches and parents The app takes you step by step through a series of questions to check your child's symptoms and what you should do.




The best part is that at the end, it provides you with an incident report that you can email to your child's physician or for the coach to send to you.





For more information about Rawlings Football gear, visit RawlingsFootball.com.



**Disclosure:  Our travel and hotel costs were covered by Rawlings. All opinions expressed are mine. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information.

Thank you to Fooz Kids for providing me with an All-In-One pack to review. The opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint.

Lucas is a four year old tech junkie. He has been playing with my iPhone for a couple of years. He plays with my iPad and he is now beginning to use my laptop as well. He calls it "doing some works". One of his favorite things to do is to "write emails" to his cousins. What this really means is that I open up a Word doc for him to type on LOL. He also loves to watch videos and play games. The issue is that besides some apps on my iPhone and iPad, my devices aren't really set up for a kid so I end up peering over his shoulder every couple of minutes to make sure that he's not watching something inappropriate or breaking my computer or something equally horrifying. That's why I am so excited about Fooz Kids! It's an application or really--an entire computer and internet experience FOR KIDS. Even better, it is made BY MOMS.


Here's how it works. You buy and download the application. Once it's installed, you're able to create parent and child accounts. Then, log in to the parent dashboard and choose exactly which websites, games, and videos you want your kids to be able to access. You can do this by age and gender and then you can actually monitor the child's activity right from the dashboard.




The application also blocks ads, links and scripts from being viewed by kids. It is wonderful to not only be able to control what your kids can and can't watch or play, but honestly it's great for kids to be able to freely play on the computer without the constant peering over the shoulder. It helps them feel more independent and it allows the parent to have a moment to relax.

So, what can kids do on Fooz Kids?

The question is more like what CAN'T they do! Kids can send and receive email--even video mail.




They can set up their own avatars to look like themselves. They can even set up a "room" that matches their interests and hobbies.



There are crafts and printable projects. Fooz Kids has tons of videos with all the kid favorite characters. There are games, websites, and so much to discover. Oh, there's even a University where kids are able to practice skills they learn in school. Kids can actually earn points at the University and then USE those points for rewards like video games, gift certificates, toys, and more. It's a very cool set up!



Lucas has been using it for a few days and he is already a pro. His favorite thing to do? Write emails! It's pretty cool because I can go in and set up the people he can communicate with--grandparents, cousins, and other family. I can tell that he also loves the freedom to use the computer without me constantly telling him NO to something. I can actually tell that in the short time he's been using Fooz Kids, his computer skills have improved. Love it!


Please click here to learn more about Fooz Kids. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #cleverfooz

I'm thrilled to announce that ConAgra Food's will be continuing their Child Hunger Ends here intiative and that I will be continuing my role as a blogger correspondent. I am honored to be part of such an important cause that is helping to not only raise awareness about hunger right here in the US, but will also be putting 5 MILLION meals into the bellies of kids who desperately need it.



So, what are the US statistics?

Nearly 1 in 4 children in the United States don’t know where his next meal is coming from.

1 in 4. That's more than 17 million kids.

Those numbers are shocking to me. It's unacceptable. That's why ConAgra Foods is stepping up to help. They have been stepping up for hungry kids in the US for the last twenty years. Since 1993, ConAgra Foods has donated more than $35 million and 260 million pounds of food to Feeding America. A five-year, $10 million pledge from the ConAgra Foods Foundation is the largest donation ever made to Feeding America specifically to fight child hunger. Through the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign last Spring, ConAgra Foods donated 2.5 million meals to Feeding America and its more than 200 member foods banks.

This fall, ConAgra Foods is continuing its Child Hunger Ends Here campaign by partnering with Schools Fight Hunger, and thousands of schools across the country to donate 5 million meals to Feeding America throughout the school year. The program will rally schools to participate in a nationwide food and label drive that will result in five million meals donated to America's hungry kids.

How Can You Help? From August through December, there are two simple ways schools, parents and students can help end child hunger in their own communities:


o Food Drives – Help host or participate in school-sponsored food drives to collect food to be donated to local food banks in each community. The Child Hunger Ends Here campaign as set a nationwide goal of 2 million pounds of food for these efforts.
o Collect UPCs – Parents can help students collect UPC codes from participating ConAgra Foods brands. For each UPC collected, ConAgra Foods will make a monetary donation enabling Feeding America to secure one meal for those in need.

Participating Brands
• Banquet
• Chef Boyardee
• Healthy Choice
• Hunt’s
• Marie Callender’s
• Manwich
• Orville Redenbacher’s
• Peter Pan
• Snack Pack

Parents and teachers can visit ChildHungerEndsHere.com to register their school for the program. Every school that participates will be entered for a chance to win one of several prize packs, including the grand prize – $10,000 to fund school field trips.

As one of the blogger correspondents, I will be heading to Los Angeles this weekend to tour the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and we'll be packing groceries to donate to the food bank. Guess who will be packing groceries with us??!! Mark Salling from Glee! You can follow me and the rest of the blogger correspondents on Twitter this weekend with the #childhungerendshere hashtag.

Learn more about Child Hunger Ends Here and how you can get involved at www.childhungerendshere.com. Plus, make sure to follow ConAgra on Facebook and Twitter for news and updates.






This post is part of a compensated campaign. All opinions expressed in this article are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information.

I am obsessed with Pandora Radio. It is the best way to discover new music and to listen to the music you love--both from the past and current. However, besides on the computer, I didn't have any other way to listen to Pandora. That really stinks because I would LOVE to be able to listen to Pandora while I'm in the kitchen cooking or doing chores around the house downstairs. That's why I've had an Internet Radio on my list of "wants" for a while, but I've never purchased one because the reviews are always the same--the sound is terrible on the Internet Radios on the market. So when I was contacted to review the iPad Docking Station by Acoustic Research. I had to try it out!



The Docking Station by Acoustic Research is honestly one of the coolest products I've received to review in a very long time. It is essentially a sound station for your various "i" devices. It will work with the iPhone, iPod, and iPad--just use the corresponding adapters, which are included in the box.



All you do is set the device into place and the Docking Station will now play the device's audio through the speakers. You can control your entire mp3 music library from the docking station, listen to FM radio, AND listen to Pandora Radio! It even comes with a remote control so you can turn the volume up and down, change stations, songs, scroll through your mp3 music library, and it also controls Pandora Radio. You know what else the remote control does? It switches the iPad's position from portrait to landscape, which is such an awesome feature if you like to watch videos from your iPad. So cool!

The Docking Station also charges your devices while they are connected, which is very convenient. Oh, and it's even an alarm clock!

So, I know what you're asking..."what about the sound quality?" That's where the iPad Docking Station really impressed both Mike and I. It sounds WONDERFUL! It has a 20 watt total audio power. The sound is loud and crisp and the perfect music solution for small spaces like a kitchen or bedroom. LOVE love LoVe it!






The featured product{s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information.

Link up your giveaways!

Please make sure to link directly to the giveaway and list the name of the giveaway along with the expiration date. Don't forget to stop by Go Graham Go to link up over there as well!

It's been a summer of wild and wacky family memories for many of us so in anticipation of Labor Day and the Fall season, Latina Mom Bloggers and PapiBlogger want you to join us for a fun Twitter party themed "My Family's Best Vacation Memories." There will be five great prizes including an iPad 2 courtesy of PapiBlogger.com and Hispanicize 2012 Conference. I'm one of the hosts so I really hope to see you there!





Join me as we discuss our favorite summer family memories, our dream vacation places and more. Please dig up your favorite family vacation photos to share with us through out the party!

Party Details

What: My Family's Best Vacation Memories Twitter Party
When: Wednesday, August 31st from 8-9:30 PM EST
Where: Twitter
Hashtag: #DisneyPapi
Who to Follow: Hosts: @papiblogger @jollymom Moderators: @eva_smith, @latinomarketing @hispanicize @mcontemporanea
Prizes: Lots of fun prizes, including an iPad 2 valued at $499! Other prizes we’ll be giving out include:

A Buick Life in Motion Computer Backpack
An Elvis Presley Bobble Head Car
A Disney branded Picnic Time Solano Insulated Cooler
An Elvis Presley 30 #1 Hits CD


RSVP: To be eligible to win prizes, you must RSVP below. Just enter your Twitter handle and Twitter handle url in the linky below.

Everyone (adults included) loves games that require finding things, right? That's why hide and seek, scavenger hunts, and I spy are classics! At Find It Games, they have mastered the art of creating games that not only help kids find hidden objects, but that help them to find creativity and insight. Love that! You know who else loves Find It Games? The National Parenting Center has given two Find It Games their 2011 Spring Seal of Approval!

The first award winner is Oh, Really! It is made for kids ages 10 and up. Oh Really! is a really fun and FUNNY game in which players get to know each other a little better. Each player is asked to rank seemingly trivial items according to what they feel is most important. How about these for random, "mirrors", "spoons", "prayer", "fame", "responsibility", "food", "marriage", etc. Then just when you think you have someone figured out, they rank "fame" ahead of "responsibility", making you exclaim "Oh, Really!" It's really cute and perfect for tweens and teens!




The second game that caught the National Parenting Centers' eye is VeggieTales Find It. This game is for kids ages 4 and up and is a MUST-HAVE for travel--road trips, flights, etc. Basically, it is a highly durable tube filled with colorful pellets. Amid all of the pellets, there are little objects from VeggieTales to be found. Kids shake, turn, and flip the game to find the objects. It is such a great way to keep kids entertained and busy in the car! It's mess-free and FUN!




The top of the container lists all of the items to be found and it also comes with a little pad that you can use to check off the items as you find them.




Keeps Lucas entertained for a long time!





For more information, please visit FindItGames.com.