Busy Mom Reviews

Check out, “A Parent is Born”, a 12-episode series From Pampers that follows real-life couple Suzie and Steve, as they journey through the ups and downs of pregnancy.

No compensation was received for this post, (Though I think I may be entered into a contest, but then again I might be too late. If I win something, I'll do a giveaway. Wait, why am I explaining this to you?) I did some work with Pampers over a year ago and they brought it to my attention, I just thought you might like it.

I love Holiday Inn.

No, seriously, I love it. I grew up in it's heyday. When we went on family vacations, you always knew when you had "gotten there" when the Holiday Inn "great sign" appeared on the horizon.

I may or may not even have a small collection of Holiday Inn memorabilia. Not telling.

Anyway, things have changed a bit, but Holiday Inn is still around hosting travelers everywhere, even when travelers can't afford to get far from home. The economy is causing lots of people to vacation near home, a "state-cation", if you will.

You can save money on gas by exploring destinations near home, and there's probably a Holiday Inn whether you travel to the beach, the mountains or places in between. You can even search the Holiday Inn site by points of interest. With summer winding down, and fall break on the horizon, it's a great time of year to explore new places, or just spend the night in the big city.

I've always had a great experience at Holiday Inn, consistent, clean rooms in great locations, and they're undergoing a makeover at all their hotels worldwide.

Why not check out one near you? Better yet, take me with you.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Holiday Inn. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

I was invited to the launch of the Smart Choices food labeling system last month in New York City.

Smart Choices is a front of packaging nutritional food label system developed by an alliance of U.S. food manufacturers and retailers. Participation is voluntary and a product must meet specific guidelines to be included. Though the program is funded by the participating food companies the program is overseen (and the money managed) by a non-profit organization comprised of the American Society for Nutrition and NSF International.

They key to the program is that the symbol is meant to help shoppers make the healthier decision within a food category. For example, if you are in the market to buy frozen treats, the product with the Smart Choices check mark may be the healthiest option within that category of food.

Along with Asha from Parent Hacks, Dawn from Because I Said So, Daniel from Consumer Queen (that's his wife, just sayin'), Carmen from Mom to the Screaming Masses, Meghan from Mom Central, and one of my old blog friends Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife, we spent the day at the gorgeous Food Emporium in Manhattan with nutrition educator and dietician Wendy Bazilian, author of The SuperFoodsRX Diet. She explained the program and pointing out various products that have already adopted the new labeling.

Smart Choices is meant to encourage people to take small steps to healthier food choices and meet consumers where they are, at the grocery and needing simple, quick information. But, the program isn't without it's detractors. Some people feel it's merely a way for companies to sell more of their products, while others feel the criteria for labeling is too lenient. There is also concern that the labeling is misleading consumers and causing them not to further check nutritional facts, thinking are eating "healthy", approved foods.

There is nothing about the program that says you have free license to eat all the foods with green check marks or eat more of those foods. However, I have concern that many average consumers may not understand that. But, then again, if the green check mark causes someone to look at a label and make a better food choice, then perhaps that's good. Big changes happen in small increments.

I was invited to the launch and my expenses were paid, but I was not paid to attend. Everyone was very hospitable and I had a delightful time. There was absolutely no obligation to write a positive review of the program or the trip, or even to write a review at all.

As the wife of a teacher, and someone with a possible SONIC® problem, I'm delighted to tell you about Limeades for Learning.

SONIC® America ’s Drive-In has partnered with DonorsChoose.org, a national leading non-profit Web site to fulfill projects requested by teachers to announce Limeades for Learning.

From August 31, to October 1, 2009, when you purchase a drink at SONIC you can participate in Limeades for Learning.

When you order a drink, each cup will be specially marked with a sticker that contains a unique code used to vote for a teacher project on www.LimeadesForLearning.com. Each week for five weeks, teacher projects with the most votes will be funded by SONIC up to $500,000.00. If customers want to continue to give, they will have an additional opportunity to donate money to their favorite teacher’s projects.

The Giveaway

To encourage folks to participate in Limeades for Learning, I'm giving TWO readers a set of a $25 MySONIC gift card and a $25 DonorsChoose.org giving card.

How to Enter:

1. Visit DonorsChoose.org and look over the classroom grant requests.

2. Leave a comment briefly telling us about a request you think is important.

3. Optional: Twitter about this contest and leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet.

4, Contest ends 10 pm CST on Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

5. Winner will be chosen from the comments by a random number generator.

This post courtesy of SONIC® and Barkley PR. No payment or compensation, other than my set of gist cards as described above, was received for this post.

Old Navy has long been a favorite brand of clothing around here. As a matter of fact, when Busy Girl was a baby, there wasn't one in town, and was known to travel around to go to one.

So, when I got the opportunity to be an Old Navy Enthusiast, I enthusiastically said, "Yes!". Actually, I was standing in Old Navy when I go the call. Now, I'm not exactly sure about what the year has in store, but I'm looking forward to it.

Please know that I'm not being paid to participate (though we will get some things gratis), nor is there a requirement to blog about the brand, I really do enjoy it, and that's why I accepted the invitation. That's all.

So, to kick off the season, we were treated to a back-to-school shopping spree. One evening last week, a big black SUV arrived and whisked us off to our neighborhood Old Navy:

We were greeted by Cory when we arrived and Old Navy has fixed up a very fancy dressing room complete with snacks for us:

All 3 kids were treated to personal service, even above and beyond the call of duty:

Actually, it wasn't until this very moment that I realized I didn't take any pictures of them in their new stuff, so I guess I'll have to turn in my blogger card somewhere.

At any rate, the kids got quite a few things for around $300 (total). All three kids needed jeans. Busy D. (age 7) surprised us with his preference for dark rinse jeans, while Busy Girl (age 15) declared her new skinny jeans the "best ones I've ever had".

Busy Boy's (age 13) wardrobe was in need of some upgrading to an "older" look now that he's in 8th grade. He is kind of between boy's and men's sizes, but he got a hoodie as well as Green Bay Packers and AC/DC graphic tees. His sister made him get a respectable button up shirt for dressier occasions.

Old Navy also has great boy's polo shirts as well as khakis and school uniforms.

Do check out Old Navy for kids' back-to-school fashions and accessories. We found some great values, and my kids of all ages were very pleased with their results:

A special thanks to Cory and the Old Navy staff, we had a blast!

According to the handy dandy random number generator, the winners of the SONIC® Limeades for Learning Giveaway are comments

Comment 88, Carol Lawrence and comment 34, Holly W.

Congratulations, look for an e-mail from me!

Thanks for playing, everyone and when I get my act together, there'll be more giveaways, soon.