The B-I-B-L-E

I remember my first Bible.  It was a purple Precious Moments Bible with my name on it that someone {maybe a relative?} gave me when I was around eight.  I treasured that Bible but can’t say that I read it much or understood what I did read.

Thankfully, my kids have grown up in an era when the Bible is translated into words they can understand.  Couple that with the creative folks at Tyndale Publishing and you have the Hands-On Bible- an interactive Bible that my youngest son, Matt, has been enjoying since it arrived in the mail earlier this week.

Here are some things I am impressed with:

• The graphics are “cool” and engaging.  They draw my son in to want to read more and learn more about the stories they depict.
• There is a feature called “Bible Hero Biographies” that really pique a boy’s interest by making the people in the Bible stories relatable and interesting.  Every boy loves a good hero!
• There are “hands on Bible experiences” throughout the Bible that my son has been enjoying.  He has already completed several in just the few days he has had this Bible. (I will share my favorite at the end of this post).  Science experiments, crafts, snack ideas, journaling…true hands-on learning is encouraged in this Bible.

I also like the NLT (New Living Translation) for kids this age.  Matt understands what he reads in a way other translations have not provided him, which is great!  I also appreciate the effort the publishers put into the bonus interactive website, My Hands on Bible, that provides parents with additional resources and ideas (devotions, music and more) for making the Bible interesting and relevant to our kids.

Before I tell you about the contest going on over at the Hands on Bible site (think pizza, Bibles and family fun), I wanted to share one of the activities Matt recently completed from his Hands on Bible.

In the Hands on Bible, it was being explained that Psalm 119 is written as an acrostic poem, except in the Hebrew alphabet.  Then the activity was for kids to make an acrostic poem of their own, using their first name and words that describe God. Here is Matthew’s (spelling errors included =)

M- Maker

A- All-Knowing

T- Tollerent

T- True

H- Holy

E- Extrordinary

W- Willing

Isn’t that awesome?  The Word coming alive to our kids? Nothing better!

So, head on over to their website and check out this awesome Bible and an opportunity to win big!  I will be heading over to purchase one for my six year old nephew!

I was provided a complimentary copy of the Hands On Bible for review.  All opinions are mine (and my child’s) and were not influenced by anyone else.  Thank you to the MOB Society for facilitating this review!

Yoursphere- Keeping Kids safe online

As a Yoursphere Test Drive mom, my boys and I have spent some time this week becoming familiar with the website and all it offers.  The registration process was fairly simple.  I did have to give my social security number which was a little off putting. 

The dashboard for parents is great. Comparing it to trying to keep track of my son’s “goings-on” with Facebook, Yoursphere makes it so much easier.  I get to see all their activity from the dashboard including friends, messages and activity. 

The only problem I have encountered is due to my laptop dying (yes, it was a sad day).  I haven’t been able to upload the boys profile pics yet and they are anxious to do that as they think it will help them get more friends (being popular is apparently important online too LOL).

The time my boys are allowed to be online is limited but Yoursphere is quickly becoming one of the sites they gravitate towards when they log on the computer.  That is a-ok with this mama.

Yoursphere is FREE.  If you want to sign your child up for a safe and fun online community, use this code:  YSMC-0054. 

I wrote this review while participating in the Yoursphere Test Drive program by Mom Central on behalf of Yoursphere. I received a free lifetime Gold membership on Yoursphere.com, Yoursphere t-shirts, and a $50 American Express gift card to facilitate my review.

Jennifer Shaw- Christian Music Artist

I love music.

According to my grandmother and mom, I always have.  I would say “put the do-do on” at a very young age (calling music “do-do” because those who loved on me would dance around singing “do-do-do-do”, etc…it didn’t take much to make me happy )

I took flute, piano and voice lessons as a girl and today I sing on the worship team at my church.

Why are you telling us this Melissa?

For a few reasons:

1. to convey how much I love music
2. to convey how daggone adorable I was as a toddler
3. to convey my love for a new CD I just reviewed

Jennifer Shaw’s Love Broke Through CD is an eclectic mix of songs…some fun and upbeat and some that showcase her background as a dramatic singer on stage.  

Not only does Jennifer have a beautiful voice and touching lyrics, she has a story to tell too.

And y’all know I love any story of how God moves in someones life!

To read Jennifer’s story visit her about page.  To listen to some of her songs click here.

I hope you will find yourself connecting with the songs as I did.

Music is one of my very favorite things and Jennifer Shaw’s CD went right on my iPod!  And I am not the only one that thinks her music is awesome- her first single from the CD, “Your Great Name”, quickly rose to the top 3 of the CMW Worship Charts!

Here is an even finer thing- the lovely folks that sent me Jennifer’s CD to review want to give one to one of my lucky readers!

If you want a chance to have Jennifer’s CD sent to you simply leave me a comment letting me know a song that has recently spoken to your heart.  I would love to hear your stories!

Details/Disclosure:  This giveaway is open to all residents of the US and Canada.  Open from 3/13/10- Wednesday 3/17/10 at 10pm. Winner will be chosen via random.org from qualifying comments and announced Thursday 3/18/10.  I was provided with a copy of this CD for review.  All opinions expressed are mine and not influenced in any way by any third party.

Thanks a Million

I mostly rely on homemade foods to feed my (always ravenously hungry) crew of guys.  But, as we all know there are days that between basketball practice, church activities and doctors appointments a home cooked meal is just not in the cards.  Rather than spend extra money on fast food in these instances, I often rely on frozen entrees, like those made by Banquet.  My family particularly likes the salisbury steak entrees.

Since Banquet pot pies and other frozen entrees frequently find their way into my deep freezer I was glad to assist in spreading the word about the Banquet Thanks a Million program.  Inside specially marked packages of Banquet foods is the opportunity to win up to $100,000 for your family.  Pretty cool, huh?

So, next time you grab a Banquet meal from the freezer section of your local grocery store, be sure to grab a specially marked package and follow the instructions at the link above to see if you are a winner.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Banquet and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Organized Grocery Shopping

With all our talk of organizing our finances in January, I turned to my favorite organizing program to get my shopping list under control.  When you use coupons, pair them up with circular ad sales and are shopping for hungry tween/teen boys, groceries can be a lot to keep track of.

Cozi makes grocery shopping a breeze for me.  Their online program {which is free by the way} has a grocery shopping component where I add things to my list as I become aware that we need them {much like the days of notebooks with a magnet on the fridge type of running list- do you follow me?}. No more sticky notes for this gal =)

One reason I love this feature is because I tend to misplace a paper list…especially when I am using it to keep a running tab of what I need at the store.  Unless I lose access to a computer, my Cozi list is always there for me.  Even if I forget to bring my list to the store Cozi is there for me {see next paragraph}

Another cool feature is the ability to text messages {to myself or the hubby}.  So, for instance, we are out of milk and I am not in the mood to go to the store.  Hubby is already out.  I can send him a text message via Cozi to pick up the milk or text him the ENTIRE list{or any other reminder…I will talk about the family calendar feature in another post}.

How cool is that?

When you log into your Cozi account you have a dashboard, similar to a homepage.  This has links to coupons.com and a search engine for recipes.  Menu planning can’t get much easier than that.

Those are just a few of the ways Cozi simplifies my grocery shopping.

Not only did I want to share the 411 on this time saving program with you but I also wanted to let you know about a HUGE giveaway that Cozi is promoting.

Cozi is giving away FREE groceries for a YEAR!  Entering is simple {click here} and you can earn extra entries by telling your friends, as well as playing their fun spin to win game.

Here is the fine print:

Cozi 2010 Shopping List Celebration: A Year of Free Groceries Sweepstakes. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: Open to legal residents of the United States, except Rhode Island, 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Entrants must be physically located in the United States. The sweepstakes begins on January 14, 2010, and ends on March 11, 2010. Limit one entry per manual email address submission (additional entries optional for each friend that clicks through on referral link sent via “tell a friend” tool on cozi.com). All entries and referrals received by March 11, 2010, will be included in a random drawing on or about March 17, 2010. Entrants are responsible for keeping the email address used for entry valid until after the drawing has been conducted to remain eligible to win the prize.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go enter to win some free groceries and check out all that Cozi has to offer while you are there.

Dentyne Review

You all are going to start thinking I have a thing for gum…it’s not me, it’s my boys.  Every, and I do mean EVERY, time I go to the store they are trying to sneak a pack of the newest “coolest” gum into the cart.  My basketball player teen swears chewing gum increases his concentration.  I just sigh and pay for the gum.

Through my relationship with Pink Lemonade I frequently get the opportunity to participate in mega reviews (where a bunch of the contributors share their opinion of the same product).  This time we all got three canisters of the new limited edition (the images on the bottles are by artist, Anthony Yankovic) Dentyne gum.

I like the bottles compared to boxes or sticks of gum because they don’t get lost in my purse. In addition, they fit perfectly in the cup holder of my car.  The bottles come in the three standard flavors of Dentyne- spearmint, peppermint and my personal favorite, Arctic Chill.

My kids (who are tweens/teens) and knew who Anthony Yankovic was thought the artwork on the bottles was “cool” and made them want to share the bottles with their friends.  I guess I’m not that cool

**I participated in this mega review as a contributing writer to Pink Lemonade.  Dentyne provided me with three bottles of gum to facilitate my review.  All opinions expressed are mine (and my kids).

OxiClean Review

As you can imagine, with adolescent boys and a hardworking hubby, there is a lot of laundry getting cleaned at the Smallwood residence.  When I was offered the opportunity to review OxiClean Max Force Power Paks I heartily agreed.  I wanted to see for myself if a product could really get rid of the grass stains from a family game of football, the mud stains the hubby gets on his work jeans and the food stains my youngest gets on the sleeves of his shirts from using his sleeves as a napkin.

I like the convenience of these power paks.  You simply toss them in the washer when you put in the detergent.  They dissolve in the water (warm water works best).

I did find that I needed two packs per load to get the stains out but that just may be because my family of testosterone is really tough on clothes. They come 18 to a pack so that means that a bag would get me through about 9 loads of laundry (aka a week in this house).

You can also pre-soak your clothes with the Power Pak to remove tough stains.  The company recommends soaking for 1-6 hours, depending on the stain.

All in all, these little Oxi Clean power paks can stand up to my mountain of laundry.  Pretty impressive in my book.  This is a brand new product so watch your store shelves come mid February for your chance to purchase them.

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of OxiClean and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Aircut Review

I am so excited to partner with Aircut and let my readers know about this innovative product.  Vacuum hair clippers…so cool.  Gone are the days of sweeping hair off the floor after my husband would use clippers on our three boys.  Gone are the days of the boys complaining of the itchy hair on their neck and shoulders- boy, do I wish these had been around 10 years ago!

In the last few years, with the whole I-am-too-cool-for-my-tween-britches thing going on in our home, the boys have been going to the hair salon.  My husband’s philosophy was crew cut or hair salon.

The fabulous thing about the Aircut is that with all the attachments and tapered 1/2″ attachment, Mike can accomodate the boy’s haircut desires without the expense of the salon.

Here is our first experience with the Aircut:

The boys were comfortable with the Aircut and the hubby wasn’t nervous.  In the past, using traditional clippers, some injuries occurred- cutting an ear by accident, etc.  You don’t have to worry about that with the Aircut as the attachments make the possibility of skin contact impossible.

Be sure to visit Aircut’s website for 10 reasons to buy an Aircut and a graph of how much money you can save by cutting your hair at home.

My husband is going to cut his hair next…be on the lookout for that vlog.

**Disclosure:  AirCut is a sponsor of Multitaskingmama.com and provided me with an AirCut to facilitate this review. All opinions are mine and not influenced by anyone.

Green glasses? Who knew…

I was recently offered the opportunity to review the new Airwear ® lenses in my glasses.  The review opportunity came at just the right time, as I had just been given a new (and much stronger) prescription at the opthalmologist’s office.

What I like about Airwear ® lenses:

They are truly light weight.  They are up to 30% lighter than standard lenses and after almost three weeks of wearing them I have certainly noticed the difference.

They are thinner than standard lenses.  The Airwear ® literature says that these lenses are up to 25% thinner than standard plastic lenses.  This is another claim that held up. I have horrible vision and have always had thick lenses that protruded from any type of frame. These don’t! Honest!

You would think that being thinner and lighter, these lenses would not be as strong as standard lenses.  Wrong! These lenses are virtually unbreakable and 12x stronger than standard plastic lenses.  In addition, these lenses provide 100% UV protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Airwear ® is concerned about the environment. This means that not only are the lenses lightweight and strong but they are also recyclable. They are manufactured using 100% recycled water as well.

Be sure to watch the video for my full review and check out Airwear’s website for more information.

Thank you to Mom Central and Airwear for this opportunity.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Airwear and received a pair of Airwear eyeglass lenses to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Trident Layers Review

Being a contributing writer at Pink Lemonade has it’s perks, especially according to my kids.  Every so often a FedEx package arrives with some kind of goody in it for us me to review. When they opened the package (before I got home I might add) they were delighted to see Trident Layers gum.

See my boys are in various stages of the lovely world of orthodontia so they don’t get to enjoy gum very often.  But, for this I made an exception, had them remove their retainers and they chomped down with delight.

Jared and Matt both enjoyed this gum, a little too sweet for this mama’s taste.  They enjoyed the layers of flavor and identifying the flavors.

Trident Layers™ is made with real fruit flavor for an unbelievable taste experience! It has three distinct and visible colored layers that make it as great tasting as it is fun to look at. There is no other gum like it!

Trident Layers received a big thumbs up from both of my kiddos!  Be sure to visit Pink Lemonade for a chance to win some.

Full Disclosure: Trident provided the gum for this review.  The opinions expressed are mine (and my children’s) and were not influenced by receiving the product for free.

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