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GIVEAWAY-Personalized Fruit Roll-Ups!

June 10, 2008 By

I don’t know what it is about flat, sticky, rolled-up sheets of fruit puree, but my kids love Fruit Roll-Ups. Thanks to the website My Fruit Roll-Ups, now you and your kids can design your own for almost any occasion. The fun, interactive site has you choose a layout of either two or three images plus text if you want, arranged in a checkerboard pattern. You choose images from a big selection of clip art in categories like Animals, Sports, Hobbies, and Special Occasions. There are hundreds to choose from, and you can start over as many times as you want until you pick just the right image and text. You can print your designs, too, so you can let your kids play around on the site and then print out their special creations.

If you have a birthday party coming up and you are looking for unique goody bag items, you could make Fruit Roll-Ups that say Happy Birthday (Your Child’s Name)!, pick an image of something they like, and voila, an inexpensive treat for everyone! Just make sure to leave enough time for the shipping, which takes about 15 days. It’s $30 for a box of 30, which yes, is more expensive than the grocery store, but I think it’s worth it for a personalized treat that your child can help design!

Thanks to Parent Bloggers Network, I received a code to use for a free box of 30 personalized Fruit Roll-Ups! Nathan chose a baseball with flames shooting up from it because, he says, “it’s cool”. He also had me type “Nathan Rocks” for the text :) We played around with a few different designs and text options, as well as looking at different color options, but to me, it made sense to stick with the original red. Once we had it just the way we liked, we used a special code that PBN gave me to get the $30 box for free! Thanks PBN!

I’ve got one code to give away to a reader for a FREE BOX! This is valid in the U.S. only. Please visit the My Fruit Roll-Ups website (link is the bolded words) and then come back here to let me know which design you will choose if you win. Enter before Wednesday, June 18th when I will choose one valid comment at random and then email you the code to use to order your free Fruit Roll-Ups. Comments that do not include the design information will not be considered valid. Retail value of this prize: $30.00. Good luck everybody!

Filed Under: Contests, Giveaways, PBN Tagged With: , , , ,

PBN Review: Kinzin-send and share your photos

May 22, 2008 By

When Ryan was born in 1996, I took his picture about a dozen times a day-ooh look, his eyes are open! Now he’s sleeping! Now he’s still sleeping! I always got double prints when I developed the film-yes, FILM-, so I had plenty of extras to share with adoring Grandparents.

Now that I only use a digital camera, it’s much harder to share photos with family. My father in law uses Flickr, but my Dad and Stepmom can barely send email. I could be having my digital photos printed out at Target or Walgreen’s, I know it’s easy to do, but I just don’t. All these great photos of my adorable kids and no one in my family is seeing them!

KINZIN TO THE RESCUE!!! Parent Bloggers Network asked for volunteers to try out this new service called Kinzin, which is not only extremely easy to use, it’s also private AND inexpensive. Kinzin sends ten printed photos that either you select or randomly pulled from your Flickr page to three addresses, EVERY MONTH. And the best part is, it only costs $2.99 per address per month, PLUS, you get the third address FREE. $5.98 to send three different family members ten photos a month! Perfect!! If you have family members that don’t use the Internet or just like having printed photos, you really need to check out Kinzin.

Start by going to the Kinzin website and signing up for a free account. Using Kinzin’s unique “These Are My Kids” feature, you’ll create a page for each of your children with a recent photo as well as a “What am I Up To?” blurb called a Kidstream. You’ll fill in the names and addresses of the three family members who will be receiving your photos, and then choose the photos you want to send. You can add captions to the photos as well. I checked with my Stepmother and she confirmed that the photos are printed on quality paper and are 4×6 size.

You can also add the Kinzin application to your Facebook page as well as join the Flickr group, so if you do have family members online, they can see the photos there, too. I’m just so happy to know that my Stepmother, my Grandma, and Chris’ Dad are all getting printed photos of my kids each month. I just need to remember to upload new photos every month to my Kinzin page so they don’t keep getting the same ten photos over and over :)

Seriously people, check out Kinzin. For the price of a combo meal at a fast food place, you can send out ten photos a month to three different addresses and show your friends and family just what your cute lil’ punkins are up to. I guarantee they will be thrilled and so will you! To see other reviews of Kinzin, check out the posts from the other members of Parent Bloggers Network.

Filed Under: PBN, Website Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

PBN Review-Were You Raised by Wolves?

May 12, 2008 By

The introduction to Christie Mellor’s Were You Raised By Wolves? Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood is titled “Hello, Brand New Grown-up!”, but her advice is so practical, even not-brand-new grown-ups can benefit from it. Her goal is to demystify the brave new world of moving the heck OUT of your parents’ house already by dispensing practical wisdom on everything from basic cooking and cleaning tips to how to dress both in the workplace and just how to dress so that you don’t, you know, embarrass yourself.

Mellor begins with the absolute basics-what the new grown-up needs to know to live on their own. How to make a bed, for example, with a drawing showing exactly how to tuck in the corners. How to clean a toilet, 20 amazing uses for baking soda (seriously, it’s unbelievable how many uses there are for baking soda and yet it’s still so cheap to buy), how to really deep clean before company comes. Useful kitchen tips include how to make coffee that is drinkable, how to hard-boil eggs, make basic soup and salad dressing, even how to make homemade mayonnaise. I turned down the corner on the page for how to poach chicken, because it never occurred to me to add bay leaf and peppercorns to the liquid!

Her chapter title “You, in the World. Not Being an Embarassment” has advice on how to tip, how to be a good party guest, how to be an even better houseguest, and how to handle situations involving alcohol. She even has a detailed drawing on how to build a cool little outdoor bar for your patio. But my favorite chapter title has to be “Put on Those Big Boy Pants!”, with advice on how to act like a real grown-up by throwing a dinner party, arranging flowers, and making a hostess gift.

I’m telling you, if someone you know is graduating from college this year, or moving out of their parents’ house and getting their first apartment, be a good friend and get them this book. It’s not just a boring list of “things you should know”. It’s written in a casual, friendly, well-meaning style and it is chock full of really useful information. I could have used a book like this when I first lived on my own!

The book is available on Amazon.com. Buy a copy, put it in a gift box along with some dishtowels and potholders, and you’ve got the perfect “congratulations on getting your first place” gift! To read what other reviewers thought, stop by the Parent Bloggers Network blog to get links to other reviews. Thanks again, PBN!

Filed Under: Book Reviews, PBN Tagged With: , ,
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