Sorry for the lull...

I have been busy with the craziness that is back to school time. But never fear, I will have some fun reviews for you this week, including an awesome giveaway. So keep your eyes peeled and keep me in your readers. I can't wait to share with you.

Cover Girl Outlast Lipstain

As a BzzAgent I was able to try Covergirl's new Outlast Lipstain. When approached about a possible trial of this product I was definitely curious. I usually prefer a glossy look lipstick, avoiding the drying effects that you usually get from a long-lasting lip color. I was sent the Color Cinnimon Smile.

When the product arrived I was shocked to see that it looked a great deal like a marker (yep like those markers you would use to make posters and art projects) and the application is similar to using a marker. You simple line the outside of your lips first then fill in the centers. The product has a delicious scent and dries quickly. After drying the color, although not dramatic (atleast in the color I chose) lasts for hours. I usually added a bit of gloss for some shine, but it was not necessary. The lipstain gives a great, natural color without making your lips drier than is natural.

You can get your hands on one of these for the low price of $7.29 and they are available wherever Cover Girl products are sold (and check your Sunday newspaper as they often include dollar off coupons for Cover Girl products). I plan to snag a few more of these next time I am shopping for make-up. The price is great and the results are awesome.

Another WINNER in the Trix giveaway!

My Blog Spark is so awesome! I just found out that I can pick a second winner in our Trix Swirls giveaway, so without further ado, here is your random number for our second winner:

Here are your random numbers:

19

Timestamp: 2009-08-18 04:43:29 UTC



That is cstironkat who said:
cstironkat said...

I like to swirl peanut butter and maple syrup together.
August 4, 2009 9:48 PM

Congrats! Please email me with your name and address within 72 hours (You should have received an email from me but if you can't find it, you can send me a message at kissyjensen at gmail dot com)

Trix Swirls Giveaway WINNER!!!

Wow! Thanks for the wonderful response to our Trix giveaway. I had over 100 responses. I hope you all come back regularly :)

Now for the winner....Drum Roll Please......

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

43 

Timestamp: 2009-08-17 13:34:59 UTC

That is :

idahodad7 said...

Chocolate and banana

August 11, 2009 7:28 PM

Congrats idahodad7, I am off to send you an email. You have 72 hours to respond with your Name and Address or a new winner will be chosen.

Disposable Furniture?

I have five very young children...children who believe that furniture is meant purely for their enjoyment (IE as a a mountain for them to climb or as a canvas for their artistic masterpieces). This can be very frustrating when you want to go for a look other than 1970's Salvation Army. Enter IKEA...the world of inexpensive, assemble-it-yourself furniture.

Our first home was furnished almost entirely with furniture from IKEA. Most of their furniture is on the modern side, but if you are willing to spend the time meandering the labyrinth that is IKEA, you are bound to find a few treasures. Take this Lack end table for example...for just $7.99 you have a great, functional end table. The best part is that if your children happen to be budding Picasso's and create a magnificent work of art on the surface (or legs, whatever is their pleasure) that you don't want on permanent display, you simply head to your nearest IKEA (grab a plate of meatballs in the Restaurant while you are there, they are Delish!) and pick up a new one! Sure, this is not the most "green" plan for home furnishings, but it's better to toss an $8 end table than to have to replace a $300 one, right?

We just purchased our third set of Lack end tables, this time choosing the black/brown color pictured above. It is amazing the face-lift a set of new end tables can give to a room.

Here are the specs on the Lack end tables (courtesy of the IKEA website):
Length: 21 5/8 "
Width: 21 5/8 "
Height: 17 3/4 "

available in 8 colors (birch effect, black, black-brown, light blue, red, walnut effect, white, and yellow

This is NOT a solid wood end table (what did you expect from an $8 end table??) it is made up mainly of particle board.

Disposable or not, these end tables are a great solution for the family with aspiring mountain climbers or future artists.

The Anybodies by N.E. Bode

I want to share one of my favorite books with you. I was walking down the aisles of my local library one day, about four years ago. I was in need of something new to read, and my children were happily searching through the picture books in the children's section of the library. I love to read books written for the young reader. I find that the stories are entertaining and I like that they are usually lacking in bad language and sexual content. So, I scanned the shelves of young readers and saw a book sitting on the shelf called The Anybodies by N.E. Bode. The illustrations (by Peter Ferguson) caught my eye and when I read the synopsis on the back I was intrigued. I knew that The Anybodies would be going home with me that day.

The Anybodies is about a girl named Fern. Fern loves to read novels and has a vivid imagination...her parents love to read instruction manuals for appliances and call her imagination an "overactive dysfunction". How could such boring parents produce such an imaginative child? The only answer:she had been switched at birth. We follow Fern through many adventures as she meets her real father and learns that she has a special gift. The book is full of adventure, references to classic children's books and comical interjections by the narrator.


The suggested reading level for this book is ages 9-13.

You can pick up your copy from Amazon.com by clicking on the link below:



Want to learn more about The Anybodies, and three other books about Fern? Head to http://www.theanybodies.com/ Fun and adventure await!

Back to School Deals at Old Navy!

If you are looking for some deals on Back to School clothes, check out Old Navy. They have many items priced at or below $10. We went to today picked up some great Jeans for my kids for $10 a piece! Great quality Jeans at Discount Store prices; that's what I call a bargain.

If you have super hero fans in your house, you will love their new line of Marvel Comic Tees! These are made from a soft cotton and have great images of your favorite Marvel Comic characters. They are available in Mens, Boys and Baby Boys sizes. We picked up one of these Super Man shirts for each of my older two boys for back to school:
At $10(regular price is $10.50, on sale for $10) each, they are cool and won't break the bank either.

Land's End Back to School Twitter Party

It's back to school time again, and many of you will be looking for tips about back to school shopping. I shared a favorite tip of mine with you last week (and will be sharing a bit more before the end of the month), but you may be looking for more.

On August 20th, Lands End will be hosting a Twitter Party with experts on hand to answer your back-to-school questions. And to add to the fun, co-host 5minutesformom.com will be offering more than 20 product giveaways! You won't want to miss out on the fun. Here are the details :

Date: Thursday, August 20th
Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location: #landsend

Are you looking for some fun to pass the time while you wait for the Twitter Party to start??? Head to sc.landsend.com/packland/ and you can create your own dream back to school backpack! Watch out though, it can get addicting. Here's my fantasy pack:

Trix Swirls Gift Pack***Giveaway***

Trix has a new cereal on the market!

Trix Swirls^® combines two mouthwatering fruity colors into every fun puff that will satisfy kids´ taste buds and spark their creativity! A good source of calcium and vitamin D, the Trix Rabbit won´t be the only one who can´t resist these fruity combos, which include lemony green, berry berry blue, and rasporangey orange! *

Our family had the opportunity to try this fun new cereal from General Mills, and I have to say it was definitely popular in our home. The fun swirly colors combined with the familiar flavor of Trix cereal made for a fun breakfast. My nine year old daughter said. "This is delicious!" after taking her first bites of Trix Swirls. It was the cereal of choice two mornings in a row (with five children, that is as long as a box of cereal will last in our home)! I am sure that I will be getting requests to purchase it in the future as well.

How would you like to try this new cereal AND get some awesome art supplies for your family? MyBlogSpark has been kind enough to offer one of my readers a Trix Swirls Art kit just like the one pictured above! If you are the lucky winner of this giveaway you will receive:

1 box of Trix Swirls cereal
a colorful apron (with super fun front pockets :))
a box of watercolor pencils
water color paints
brushes
a sketchbook
and an art supply box

My children spent hours playing with the paints and sketch pad contained in this kit.

So you want to be my lucky winner, do ya? Here is what you need to do (leave a comment for each entry):

(MANDATORY) What two flavors would you like to swirl together? Chocolate and caramel sauce? Strawberries and Raspberries? What is your ultimate flavor combo?

Extra Entries:
1-Follow my blog publicly
2-Post on facebook with a link to this giveaway (leave your facebook user name)
3-blog about this giveaway (make sure you link back to this post) and leave a link to your post in the comments

Giveaway will end August 16th at Midnight MST. Winner will be contacted by email and announced on this blog. Winner will have 72 hours to respond with their contact information or a new winner will be chosen. I MUST be able to contact you if you are my winner. If you are chosen as a winner and you have NOT left an email address in your comment (or your email address is not available in your Google profile) a new winner will be chosen. Thanks :)

* Product information, product and giveaway prize all provided by MyBlogSpark
I received a free Trix Swirls Art Kit in order to provide a review. I did not receive any monetary compensation. All opinions expressed in this review are my own (or my children's) and truthful.

Thanks to http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/ for posting about this giveaway

24 cent Crayons

The weekly ads call to you with $.15 notebooks and $.24 crayons; they lure you into their stores offering deals too good to miss. You walk through the large doors and see before you colorful papers listing all of the "essentials" of back to school. The are so well organized, listing supplies based on grade level. If it's on the list your child must NEED it.

Honestly, back to school time is one of my favorite times of the year. The fresh, never sharpened pencils, notebooks waiting to be filled, crayons itching to be used call to me from across the store. I can't go to a super store in August without taking a stroll down the school supply aisle, but a stroll is where it usually ends. I admire the shiny new folders and notebooks but leave them on their shelves for others to heed their call.

Why? I have five children, three who will be going back to school this month. Don't they need everything on the brightly colored lists so kindly provided by office supply and super stores? The answer is usually NO!

Most teachers will provide you with a list of supplies that your child will need for the school year. Luckily, my children's school holds their back to school night a week or so prior to the start of school, so we can find out ahead of time what our students will need for the year. Even if you do not get this information before the start of school, it will usually be given on the first day of school (along with all of the other paperwork that usually comes home in that first week).

By waiting until you know exactly what they will need before purchasing your school supplies you can save a great deal of money by not buying unnecessary items. A book bag, a few pencils/pens/erasers, and a small supply of paper or a notebook are all your child should require for the first day of school.

-Christine

*image from google image search