Giveaways

Fun at-home Science Experiments (and a Giveaway!)

July 9, 2013 by Sandra 18 Comments

Sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Even though school is out, learning should still be in, right?

I say, “Absolutely!”

Learning should be going all on the time, especially during the summer months when most kids are not in school. But the difference between learning during the school year and learning during the summer months is that we can make things a lot more fun and relaxed when it’s hot outside.

Summer Brain Games
One way that we’ve kept the learning going in our home (*cough* besides making the kids do SOME school since we homeschool) is with the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s Summer Brain Games.

Summer Brain Games is a fun and free online science program that helps keep kids learning during the summer and prevents “summer brain drain.” You simply sign up for the program on the website, and then receive an email where you can download your FREE Summer Brain Games kit.

DIY Science Experiments
Each week’s online kit will feature an experiment or science challenge that can easily be performed at home with your kids. If you have teens, they can probably manage these experiments on their own.

My kids had a blast with the Balloon Racer that we made by following the instructions in the Summer Brain Games kit. It’s made out of simple materials you can find at home, and I honestly can not describe in words how much fun we had with this project.

The best part was the seeing the look on their faces each time the balloon’s air was released and it raced across the string hung across the dining room, flinging our LEGO mini-figure wildly in the air. Just thinking about the fun we had makes me smile.

Homemade Tetrahedral Kite
Besides the balloon racer, we made a homemade tetrahedral kite. And it turned out awesome!

Making the kite was more challenging than the balloon racer, but what an experience this was. The kids were proud of their accomplishment when it was finished, and we’re waiting for a windy day to take it out and fly! We’ve been dealing with rain and humidity lately, but I’m sure we’ll be able to better try it out later this week or the next.

To get the instructions on how to make the balloon racer and the tetrahedral kite, all you need to do is sign up for the Summer Brain Games program on the museum’s website.

Here’s what our homemade kite looked like:

Two pieces of advice, if you try out the Summer Brain Games program:

Read over the kit and make sure you have all the materials you need before starting an experiment. I had to make a trip to the store to grab a few small items.
Be patient, let your kids take charge (as much as possible depending upon their age), and have FUN!

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

ONE very excited reader will win a FAMILY FOUR PACK of tickets to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry! This four pack is valued at $76, and the tickets are valid until the end of 2013.

If you are not living in the Chicagoland area but will be visiting before the end of the year, be sure to enter! 🙂

How to enter the giveaway

Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from now until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (JULY 9TH). The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is offering a fun and free online science program called Summer Brain Games. The eight-week program lasts from June 17, 2013-August 12, 2013 and features a weekly experiment or science challenge that can easily be performed at home with kids of all ages.

Visit msichicago.org/summerbrain now to register for Summer Brain Games and download your free Summer Brain Games kit. As an added bonus, registering automatically gets you a pass to come to the Museum for free this summer.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Memories: My Unforgettable Diaper Experiences with Baby #5 (and a Giveaway!)

June 22, 2013 by Sandra 35 Comments

This is part of a sponsored campaign with Latina Bloggers Connect and Huggies®. Babies R’ Us has provided me with a $50 gift card to supply to one reader for a giveaway. I have been financially compensated to provide my opinion and review of the products. Even though I received compensation for this post, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on the products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines, 16 C.F.R Part 255.

Having five children has certainly made my family susceptible to unforgettable experiences when it comes to diapers.

If you have children, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. It’s the worst when those experiences happen in public and your diaper bag isn’t in arms reach. Or worse, if you’ve forgotten the diaper bag at home and have to clean baby up and wrap her in a blanket. 😉

Unforgettable Diaper Experiences
All of my kids have had their fair share of diaper ‘moments,’ but I think, for our family, the diaper moments that we became familiar with when it came to our fifth baby completely beat out all the rest. Thankfully, most of the time, her ~~explosions~~ diaper ‘moments’ happened either in her high chair or her swing — at home.

I don’t know what it is about babies, but somehow, when they fill their diaper, it literally defies gravity, goes UP, and comes out the backend of their diaper and, well, creates a big mess that mommy or daddy has to change. It doesn’t stop there, though, because then you have to wash baby’s clothes and clean up the area where the incident occurred.

Solution to Our Problem
As you can imagine, when these types of humorous diaper ‘moments’ keep happening, you have to search for a diaper that’s going to make a difference and work for your family, so that gravity-defying moments like the ones I mentioned happen less frequently or not at all. One diaper that we literally bought by the case because it offers great long-lasting protection that we can count on is Huggies Snug & Dry.

Huggies Snug & Dry offers these benefits so that you can focus more on your baby and less on the mess:

New SureFit* design with up to 12 hours of leakage protection

SnugFit* waistband for an all-around fit

A ‘closer-to-body’ fit to move with baby’s twists and turns

A Softer outer cover (Love this!)

And now for the GIVEAWAY!
ONE very excited reader will win a $50 Babies R Us gift card to buy their own Huggies Snug & Dry diapers! 🙂

How to enter the giveaway
Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from June 22nd – June 25th at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

What’s the most memorable or funny adventure you’ve experienced with your baby? Why is being “snug and fit” for better protection important to your family?

Easy Sandwich Recipe: BLT, Mushrooms, and Avocado (and enter to win the ULTIMATE Sandwich Kit! 3 winners)

June 18, 2013 by Sandra 30 Comments

A special thanks to Good Cook for the great Ultimate Sandwich Kit that I received to share with my readers
and facilitate a giveaway for them.

Today I’m sharing a recipe for a BLT sandwich — with a twist.

This super easy sandwich recipe is a BLT made with cooked baby bella mushrooms and instead of mayo, I use an avocado spread. This sandwich is perfect for lunch or dinner, and it’s a real ‘Dad’ and/or ‘Husband’ pleaser. 🙂

It’s manly and delicious…everything guys are looking for in a sandwich, right?

Why Mushrooms?
Well, my husband is a huge fan of mushrooms, because they’re healthy and can be used in so many different recipes. When I was talking to him about creating a sandwich recipe that dads would love, he naturally thought baby bella mushrooms would go well in a BLT, so we gave the mushrooms a try and ended up with great results.

Here’s the recipe for a Whole Wheat BLT with Mushrooms and Avocado spread:

Whole Wheat BLT, Mushroom, & Avocado Sandwich

Ingredients

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil (could substitute another oil for the grapeseed oil)
baby bella mushrooms, sliced
avocado
whole wheat sandwich bread
bacon, cooked (*pre-cook the bacon ahead of time or cook while the mushrooms cook in a separate pan)
romaine lettuce slices
tomato, sliced
sea salt
pepper

Instructions

In a pan, heat the grapeseed oil over medium heat, then add the sliced baby bella mushrooms. Cook mushrooms all the way through, stirring as needed.
In a small bowl, mash the avocado and add a pinch of sea salt and pepper, then stir.
Toast the whole wheat bread in a toaster or the oven, then lay the bread slices on the surface where you'll assemble the sandwiches.
Spread the mashed avocado on both sides of the toasted bread.
Layer the ingredients on the sandwich - bacon, lettuce, tomato, mushrooms.
Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt and pepper on the sandwich before putting both ends of the bread together.
Repeat the process to make additional sandwiches.

https://thesensiblemom.com/2013/06/easy-sandwich-recipe-blt-mushrooms-and-avocado-and-enter-to-win-the-ultimate-sandwich-kit/

Here’s what the inside of this manly ‘dad’wich looks like:

My #1 TIP for Creating a GREAT Sandwich
The best tip I can offer for creating a great sandwich is this:

Don’t be afraid to ~~get a little crazy~~ experiment when you have an idea for a sandwich.

Great sandwiches come from simply experimenting with different ingredients and finding what tastes delicious to you and your family.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!

THREE very excited readers will win their very own Good Cook Sandwich Kits! These aren’t just any sandwich kits, either. They’re the Ultimate Sandwich Kit, including everything pictured here:

Here’s what my Good Cook Ultimate Sandwich Kit looks like:

How to enter the giveaway
Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from June 18th – June 30th at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winners will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winners an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winners must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner(s).

Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

…

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda: Review and Giveaway!

June 11, 2013 by Sandra 7 Comments

A special thanks to ALL YOU magazine for the fabulous Arm & Hammer Gift Pack & issue of ALL YOU that I received for review purposes and to facilitate a giveaway for my readers.

Today hasn’t been the best day, but it’s slowly starting to get better.

The least of my problems was accidentally leaving a $7.50 package of bacon in the car for 3 hours. The whole wheat BLTs are going to have to wait for another day…and new bacon. The biggest problem of my day, well, I’m not going to mention it here, but it just brought my mood way down. This day started with my plans going out the window, worked up to an unexpected incident coming out of nowhere, and then the bacon thing just sent me over the edge. 😉

I went to grab the bacon to prepare it, so that I could create sandwiches that I was going to share in a later blog post. But the bacon wasn’t in the refrigerator. It was still in the trunk of our car.

Finding My Way Back to Happiness

Anyway, in spite of all of this, I’m starting to feel better, because I’m getting to talk about one of my favorite products today — baking soda!

Specifically, I get to talk about Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and the many ways you can use it in your home. Baking soda is wonderful because of the plethora of ways you can make use of it. You can use it to make homemade air freshener and then you can use it to clean your bathroom.

Just this past weekend, I used it to clean my bathroom counter, and you can see for yourself the terrific result of using Arm & Hammer:

*I’m sparing you the “before” picture. Trust me. It wasn’t pretty.

I used the designer Arm & Hammer shaker for sprinkling baking soda and a damp sponge (or rag) to clean the counter and surprise my husband with shiny bathroom sinks when he got home.

There’s no shortage of ways to use baking soda, and if you’re wondering how else you might use it, there’s even a book with simple recipes and tips for how you can use baking soda more often in your home.

DID YOU KNOW?

Baking Soda is the most versatile product in your home, and ARM & HAMMER™ is the most recognized brand.

ARM & HAMMER ™ is the original, enduring household staple, trusted for more than 165 years.

Baking Soda offers effective cleaning, freshening and deodorizing that’s also natural and gentle.

Baking Soda is inexpensive and offers environmentally sensible household solutions.

More about Arm & Hammer:

The “magic” power of ARM & HAMMER ™ Baking Soda is that it’s gentle and non-abrasive, but still substantial enough to lift away dirt. And when it comes to odors, think of ARM & HAMMER™ baking Soda as being on the perpetual “search and destroy” mission: it travels to the very source of odors to completely neutralize and eliminate them.

You know that Baking Soda is great for cooking and baking. Now discover more than 100 ways to save time and money with Baking Soda, from cleaning your carpets to getting rid of pet odors, making laundry sparkle, and even enjoying a spa-worthy pedicure.

ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda is a naturally occurring mineral that comes… …from the earth. It’s real scientific name is bicarbonate of soda natural buffer for maintaining PH balance. It naturally deodorizes, cleans & whitens. It’s so safe that you can even bake with it!”

ARM & HAMMER baking soda is probably the one cleaner that really does do it all!

And now for the GIVEAWAY!

ONE very excited reader will win their very own Arm & Hammer Gift Pack! It includes a 5 lb. bag of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, a 101 uses for Baking Soda book, and a designer shaker! How great is that? 🙂

How to enter
Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from June 11th – June 18th at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What’s your favorite way to use baking soda?

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