Picky Kids? Share and win $1000!

26 Mar By trisha haas

Even though I cannot bake worth a, well, a cookie, meal time is always a center around this family. Probably all families.

It’s the one time that everyone can come together and sit down, turn off the TV (or eat in front of it in some cases) and have a common get together moment. And while we are not perfect and most definitely make going out to eat choices and I am sure suffer from bacon overload on occasion (like last night), having my kids in the kitchen and learning to prep food is important to me.

Growing up my mom cooked a lot of homemade meals and as a result, I do the same thing as often as time and brain power will allow.

cooking-with-charlotte

And even though my daughter has been helping me in the kitchen since she was very young, she is relatively picky about her food. She was nearly 2 before she would move on from jarred puree. It was the only thing she would eat. She would sit in with a spoon and eat only Gerber.

I still laugh out loud when I watch this video of us trying to get 3 year old Charlotte to try Avocado:

Success with her? It’s been slow coming, but we do keep requiring her to TRY things. We do not make her eat full plates of stuff (trust me, tried and ended up with more gagging than I could contend with) but she is at an age where she cannot get up till she makes an effort. I hope as she grows up, her taste buds will get some refinement.

Luckily my son doesn’t have the same aversions. He would share a bowl with the dog (and probably has) if you would let him. While I do not need wild stories and airplanes that zoom into his mouth, having a little fun in the kitchen never hurts either!

In fact, you can get a funny plate right now with Tyson

Even though I grew up mainly on home made food and prefer to cook for my family, there are times that I need a break.

And when we are having a day where Charlotte is being picky and mom (that is me) is too tired to deal with it, I do sometimes turn to meals like Tyson to get the job done. With all natural ingredients and no chemicals, I can feel less guilty than going out to eat, that is for sure!

WIN WIN WIN!

Now that I’ve shared how I got my picky eaters to eat balanced meals, share your success story for a chance to win a $1,000!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Tyson Chicken Nuggets. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Filed Under: All About Trisha Tagged With: Chicken Dinner, Mom Blog, Natural Ingredients, Picky Eaters, Tyson Chicken, win, Win Win Win

Win Justin Biebers Autograph Here!

13 May By trisha haas

I admit it. I’m a fan.

I wouldn’t say Justin Bieber is my new Backstreet Boy, but he is most definitely my daughters.

Charlottes best Bieber Impression:

And she probably wouldn’t want me to disclose this, but she TOTALLY kissed this poster. That’s a whole other parenting topic I dont want to get into right now.

Personally I love music, all music, good music, music that makes you rock to the beat. I own 3 Justin Bieber albums and I would like to tell you they are Charlotte’s, but the truth is they stay in my CD player around here.

My favorite songs are Never say Never and Love Me, which reminds me of 6 Pence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me“.

Am I dating myself?

But I really love this remix with Rascal Flatts…Le sigh.

The point of this note is not to smoosh Bieber Fever all of my site, but to tell you his new movie came out today and that I have a copy of it for you too! Charlotte and I watched it earlier this week and honestly, I really liked it. Really. It was inspirational. If you do not know Justins story, he would upload videos to Youtube and over time gained an audience and then an agent and it wasn’t long till Usher (and Justin Timberlake) was at his door. That apparently worked out for him.

Its the dream so many wish for…from social media guru to Celebrity Super Star.

I can’t help but really like the kid for that initiative and parts of the movie made me all motherly proud for him.

About Never Say Never:

The captivating and inspirational story of a small town boy who became a pop phenomenon through sheer talent and determination takes the stage when the feature film JUSTIN BIEBER: Never Say Never debuts on Blu-ray/DVD Combo and DVD Friday, May 13, 2011, from Paramount Home Entertainment. JUSTIN BIEBER: Never Say Never follows Bieber’s journey from his early years to his rise from break-out internet sensation to global superstar, culminating in a sold-out show at the famed Madison Square Garden. Incorporating personal home footage that chronicles Bieber’s prodigious talent from early childhood, the film also features all-star musical performers. JUSTIN BIEBER: Never Say Never is the highest grossing concert-themed film ever in U.S. history, having earned more than $72.2 million at the domestic box office, surpassing the lifetime domestic grosses of Michael Jackson’s This Is It.

Also check out the Never Say Never Weekend website for updates about the release.

As a special bonus for Justin Bieber’s devoted fans, Paramount Home Entertainment is creating 500 Purple Tickets that will be randomly inserted into JUSTIN BIEBER: Never Say Never Blu-ray and DVD packages, which will be released on Friday, May 13. Lucky recipients of the Purple Tickets can redeem them for a 5×7 film cell personally signed by Justin Bieber and an exclusive t-shirt.

JUSTIN BIEBER: Never Say Never Blu-ray/DVD Combo
The JUSTIN BIEBER: Never Say Never Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with English 5.1 Surround and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The Digital Copy is presented in English Stereo with no subtitles. The Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack breakdown is as follows*:

Blu-ray:
o   Feature Film (HD)
o   Concert Dance-Off (HD) – Justin and his crew showcase their incredible dance moves
o   Favorite Girl (HD) – Live performance from Madison Square Garden
o   Giving Back (HD) – An extended look at Justin’s team surprising lucky fans with free concert tickets
o   R.I.P. Hair Flip (HD) – The cameras were rolling when Justin cut his famous hair

DVD:
o   Feature Film
o   Digital Copy

JUSTIN BIEBER: Never Say Never Standard DVD
The single disc DVD is presented in English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround, Spanish 5.1 Surround and English Audio Description with English, French and Spanish subtitles. The DVD includes the following*:
o   Concert Dance-Off
o   Favorite Girl
o   Giving Back
o   R.I.P. Hair Flip

WIN A SIGNED COPY

of

NEVER SAY NEVER HERE

I have my DVD, do you need one still? Win one here and not just ANY DVD.

I have a SIGNED COPY.

Signed.

SIGNED.

You will be the HERO.

The bestest-coolest Mommy/Aunt/Grandma/Best Friend/Daddy/Uncle/Grandpa on the planet for atleast a week.

How to Enter:

Just tell me why you or the special girl or boy in your life wants to win the Never Say Never Signed DVD Copy…thats it!

(Note: If you are new to my site, your comment may go into moderation. When I sign in, Ill approve it and it will appear)

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Extra info: You may enter as often as you want for any girl in your life, but only once each person. So lets say you have 4 daughters, by all means enter 4 times for those 4 daughters explaining about each one.

Ill pick a winner when I get back from Mexico and email you. You have 48 hours to respond before I will pick a new winner.

Disclosure: I received a stand up JB and a copy of the same DVD as part of this promotion.

WINNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: bieber, blu ray disc, blu-ray, cd players, consumer electronics, copy, dolby digital, dvd, dvd combo, electronic engineering, electronics, giveaway, high definition television, high end audio, human interest, justin, justin bieber, justin timberlake, love music, never say never, rascal flatts, Sidebar News, signed copy, storage, win

Take Bissell’s Sock Test and Win!

2 May By trisha haas Leave a Comment

It’s a time for hardworking moms to kick back, enjoy brunch … and brave a visit from the in-laws. The kids love seeing Grandma, but meeting Mom’s high cleaning standards can be stressful – She’ll notice hard-to-reach dust on blinds, spots on the tablecloth and dirt in the carpet. If your readers are among the 70 percent of women stressed by mothers-in-law, help them prep for Mom’s visit with two simple, at-home tests. These timely tasks can be done before company arrives – and they’re so easy, kids can help too!

Pass the white glove test: This iconic test is an old standby for catching dust – Use it in your home to catch spots you don’t clean every week. Have kids use a glove (or an old white t-shirt) to “inspect”’ for dust hidden in areas like blinds, dining room chairs and wall paneling. Follow closely behind your little detective to remove the dust before your mother-in-law finds it!

Pass BISSELL’s White Sock Test (and win prizes!): Your home may be hiding dirt you’ve never noticed – each square foot of carpet can hold up to a pound of dirt before it’s visible! BISSELL’s White Sock Test reveals deep-down dirt vacuuming may leave behind. To take the test, have your kids put on a clean, damp white sock and do “the twist” in a high-traffic carpeted area for 30 seconds. The carpets’ grime will be revealed in the socks – If it’s not pretty, make sure to deep clean carpets before Mom arrives.

(Here is mine!)

(this is about 2 minutes of dancing to Youtube)

Meanwhile, adults can upload a photo of those dirty socks to Facebook.com/bissell, and be randomly entered to win a $15,000 home makeover. You can also visit BISSELL’s Facebook page daily for instant-win prizes like Visa gift cards and BISSELL deep cleaning systems. (Cleaner carpets and a home makeover? Mom will be so proud!)

You can visit Bissell.com/socktest for more details.

The White Sock Test

Your socks know how much dirt is lurking in your carpet. Do you?
If you vacuum your carpet regularly, you probably think it’s clean. But if you don’t deep clean, it’s probably not. Don’t believe us? Take the BISSELL White Sock Test and find out for yourself.

Wet a clean white sock.
Do “the twist” in a high traffic area of your carpet for at least 30 seconds. (Really get your foot in there!)
What’s the sock look like now?

Take the White Sock Test and enter for a chance to win a $15,000 home makeover, plus get daily chances to win instant prizes like a BISSELL deep cleaner or $25 Visa gift card.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Filed Under: Sidebar News Tagged With: bissell, carpet, challenge, cleaning, clothing, deep cleaning carpet, dirt, dirt vacuum, fashion, floors, home makeover, home tests, reveal, sock, socks, test, testing, vacuum cleaners, white gloves, white sock test, white socks, win

This mothers day…give the gift she WANTS

16 Apr By trisha haas 6 Comments

Being a mom has become the most special thing in my life. I honestly always knew I wanted a child (read, child, not children as I will shortly be blessed with) but I never realized how incredibly fulfilling it would ultimately be.

I realize we have had moments like ….oh…..this:

And This…..

And, oh yes, This……

But without those moments I would be less of a “mom” blogger and more of a ….out of the house worker with a life.

Snort.

Now according to Hallmark, or the monthly calendars atleast, we have this little holiday called “Mothers Day”. Its the day we are supposed to sleep in (by sleep in I mean like… 7:01), eat bon bons, take long bubble baths..and…oh heck with it, take us to a hotel, drop us off, and pick us up on monday!

Well, Rayovac has come up with a fantabulous mothers day GIFT for all of you husbands, spouses, and significant others that struggle with showing the mother in your life that picking the boogies for their child is special.

WIN A YEAR OF FREE MAID SERVICE

Yes, you heard/read me right. Free. Maid. Service. So mom can focus on the important things like cooking and caring and sex…wait a minute.

This isn’t sounding like its a good idea.

I jest. I jest. Honestly, I would take a free year of maid service over just about any other prize. Can you imagine going to bed in a clean house? Getting up in a clean house? Leaving for the store and still having your house….clean?

Its like the impossible dream.

SO here is what you do…leave this post up, leave the contest up, if your spouse is dense, put little sticky notes on your computer with miniature arrows…heck even enter for yourself, but ENTER.

Let me say again.

iOMG.

That is all.

~trisha

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*momdot is a rayovac sponsored blog.

Filed Under: Sidebar News Tagged With: batteries, child reading, day, domestic work, facebook, for a, giveaways, maid, maid service, maid services, maids, mom, Mothers, mothers day, mothers day gifts, rayovac, win, Win Free Maid Service for a Year, year

Blast Zone Big Ol Bouncer – bounce house GIVEAWAY

8 Apr By Kim

Contest Closed- Winner was

HERE

(if this is you, you can claim on www.AccidentalMommies.com and you won on a comment that was actually on MomDot. Kim will be emailing you shortly for your address.)

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WIN A BOUNCEHOUSE!

With summer fast approaching, outdoor fun has become a priority for many families and Blast Zone has a great solution that gets kids moving and lets them have an unlimited amount of fun!

Blast Zone Big Ol Bouncer bounce house is a 12′x15’7′ inflatable bouncer moonwalk that is twice the size of the traditional residential bouncer.

About the Big Ole Bouncer bounce house from Blast Zone:

Why Parents love the Big Ol Bouncer Moonwalk:

Safety: Safety netting encloses all side of the bouncer. Affordable: Compare to rentals that cost as much, but you will use this bouncer over and over. Durability: The bounce house is designed for strength and longevity. This Jumper is made of top-quality, interwoven oxford cloth, with an inner air membrane for support. The UL listed continuous airflow blower continually pumps air into the bouncer, which leaks out of the porous material. The Big Ol Bouncer is very easy to set up and take down, and will last through many parties.

What do I get?

Each Blast Zone inflatable includes the inflatable unit, a UL approved blower a carrying case, stakes for the blower and stakes for the bouncer. The inflatable unit rolls up to about the size of a medium to large sleeping bag (depending on bouncer). Most of our inflatable toys ship via UPS in one box that includes everything. To set up the bouncer, just unroll it, hook the inflation tube to the blower, turn on the blower and stake it down. The blower runs continuously while kids play, and air escapes through the seams and fabric.

Features

Dimension:Approx 12 x 15 x 7 (including front step/slide)

Bounce Floor: Approx 12 x 12

Max Occupancy:6

Max Weight/User: 100 lbs

Recommended Age: 3+

Carry Case: Yes

Safety Netting: Heavy Duty

Product Weight: 50 lbs

Deflated Size: Rolled Sleeping Bag

Slide: N

Inflate Time: Less than 2 Minutes

Stakes Included: Yes

Where to buy

The Blast Zone Big Ole Bouncer is available on the Blast Zone website for $499.99 (shipping is free) or EXCLUSIVELY at Toys R Us. And get this. If you buy it from Toys R Us, you can save $100 because their price is $399.99! For more information, visit Blast Zone.

Your kids can have a ton of fun!

And the amazing thing is that we have a Blast Zone Big Ol Bouncer to give away!

To enter, head over to What’s That Smell? and follow the instructions for entry.

A little hint, commenting here gets you extra entries over there so you might want to do it before you head over.

Filed Under: Sidebar News Tagged With: blast, blasting, bnc, bounce, bounce house, bounce houses, bouncer, bouncer bounce, bouncer moonwalk, bouncers, entertainment, fun, giveaway, giveaways, inflatable, inflatable bouncers, inflatable structure, ol, outdoor fun, play, public safety, recreation, review, security, security guards, win, zone

Win a Bounce House Obstacle Racer Here Now!

15 Nov By trisha haas

With winter coming in I am always looking for ways I can spend time with Little C that still allows her to get exercise without freezing my tail off. I am a mom…hear me whimper in the cold. Now there are always the regular things like riding a bike, going for walks, and going to the park, except that can get boring quickly-especially if you live somewhere where the temperature falls below 50…which is pretty much everywhere but the way way south.

Enter Bounce Houses Now.

What to be your kids hero? Enact some exercise year round in your own yard? Make your house the coolest place on the block? Charge admission to all the neighborhood kids?

Kidding.

When we received the Obstacle Racer Bounce House from Bounce Houses Now it came in a white box that had no pictures on it. C is quick though. She recognized it as something that could potentially be hers.

“Mommy…what’s in the box?”

“It’s a bounce house”

silence.

“CAN WE OPEN IT? LETS OPEN IT! CAN WE OPEN IT NOW???”

And so we did.

C turns into the worlds most helpful child when its something that will benefit her. Its like selective cleaning. So Big C towed it outside, to the front of the house so all the neighbors could see of course, and pulled it out.

SET UP:

Compared to the Shark Park Bounce house and water slide combo we own, this one had more technological upgrades that made it all around a better bounce house. While we loved the Shark Park, we are in love with the Obstacle Racer. The first change that was noticeable to me comparatively was the blower. The blower had a handle on it, which made transition around the yard much easier and less bulky. Second was that the yellow tube that inflates the bounce house had a strap that fed into the blower. Our last bounce house had a string you tightened. While they both work just fine, having the strap makes it a quicker and more precise process.

This obstacle course also had safety handles and Velcro that made it safe on the slide:

(Charlotte helping out)

Features:

Two Tunnels
Two Push Throughs
Two Climbing Walls
Two Slides
Includes – Blower, Stakes, Carrying Case and Patch Kit
Unit Weight without Blower – 65 lbs
Number of Bouncers – 1-4 Kids
Weight Capacity – 400 lbs
Indoor and Outdoor Use
Not for Commercial Use

Problems:

The only issue we had with it isn’t something that was related to the bounce houses usage. When you take down a bounce house its not so easy to get it back into a box or bag. It certainly doesn’t fold as nicely as it does from the manufacturer. The bounce house comes with a special bag but so far we are just adding it back into the box it came shipped in and sliding it in our storage area.

Make sure you have a garage space or storage to put when you are done.

Worth Noting:

It came with patches for every color. As you can see its splashed with some beautiful bright colors, and it comes with patches for every area “just in case”.

Once we had it up:

Charlotte insisted on racing.

Because it has two obstacle areas, its a great chance for your kids to race, parents to relay, neighborhood kids to come over and Live. It. Up. Charlotte loves racing as long as she is winning.

She will trip you up and throw you into the wall to win.

I have no idea where she gets that from.

Although its worth mentioning that the bounce house has a max weight of 400 pounds (they say 100 pounds per person), it held Chris, myself, and Charlotte just fine with no problems.

We bounced, raced, ran, and fell over.

[learn_more caption="About Bounce Houses Now" state="open"]Bounce Houses Now features one of the largest online catalog of Inflatable Bounce Houses, Bouncer Slide Combos, Water Slides, Inflatable Slides, Inflatable Obstacle Courses, Inflatable Games, Toddler Bouncers, and Inflatable Accessories. We have carefully selected the manufactures we sell on our site to ensure that our customers receive the highest quality products in the market place. We feature the entire product lines from Blast Zone Inflatables, KidWise Outdoors, Ninja Jump, Magic Jump and Island Hopper. [/learn_more]

If you head to their site, can check out the rest of the different and amazing kinds of bounce house for sale (also their swing sets for sale) and get ready to have some WINTER exercise all season long. Just like i mentioned on our summer giveaway, a bounce house isn’t just fun for a short time, its great for parties, holidays, neighborhood meetings, families large or small, and just to give the gift of adventure.

Every Christmas you give your kids a “big” gift…consider being the coolest parent ever this year by gifting them a bounce house that will keep them giggling (see child above or below) all year long.

[box type="bio"]KidWise has awarded BounceHousesNow.com and BuySwingSets.com with the Platinum Dealer Award. This is the highest level awarded to any KidWise dealer for superior customer service and sales. Buy with confidence.[/box]

WIN ONE HERE NOW

(giveaway close and winner picked November 29th, 2010)

Would you like to win this exact Obstacle Racer Bounce House from Bounce Houses Now which retails for $549?

Of course you do! We have been fortunate enough through the generosity of Bounce Houses Now to give one away to a lucky winner this past weekend on Brandcation, receive one for my family to test, and now to offer one for my blog visitors.

To enter:

Required Entry: We want to know which bounce house or bounce house/slide combo is your favorite on Bounce House Nows website!

Additional Entries:

Twitter and Facebook:

After completing your initial entry, you can gain additional entries by tweeting this giveaway (@MomDot @BounceHouses) or sharing with your facebook followers. Every time you tweet or share, you will gain one entry up to ONE per day per social site. (that means you cannot spam your followers 02384029340283 times a day..thats not cool).
MY FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
Just come back here and leave a note in the comments with your tweet or face book message.

Blogging

You may blog about this giveaway, including links to the company and to this giveaway, for a total of 5 entries..just leave your link in separate comments so they each get counted. We apprieciate bloggers because it helps wonderful companies like this get known by parents that are looking for Bounce House products.

Subscribing

See my graphic below…if you subscribe or are already receiving my feed in your box or reader, you gain an entry for being so loyal! Please note that I DO check so if I pull your name and dont see your email that you left here, I will redraw. Don’t lie.

If you want to enter once or 1000 times, that’s up to you! Winner will be pulled by the choose the winner plugin on or about November the 26th. Winner will be notified via email (I also try to tweet you if you win by a tweet entry or facebook you if you win by a facebook entry) and have 72 hours to claim their prize before it is redrawn. I reserve the right to end the contest early or late if I need to do so. Also, your comment may hit spam before it publishes. If you dont see it, no need to re-enter. I will check and pull them all out each day. You wont lose your spot.

US shipping only.

Questions? Email me at trisha (at)momdot(dot)com. Products for this post were provided by Bounce Houses Now.

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Winner was chosen by an autoplugin called And the Winner Is. And the Winner is chose:

Winner will be notified by email and has appropriate time to claim before a new winner is drawn. Thank you all for your entries.

Filed Under: Sidebar News Tagged With: bounce house, bouncehousesnow, charlotte, fun, giveaway, review, Sidebar News, win, win a bounce house

Do you have a cute kid? Want to win $10K?

20 Apr By trisha haas 5 Comments

bigbubblinstarsj

If you have been hiding under a rock, you haven’t heard about this contest, but just in case, dont forget to enter the Johnson and Johnson Baby contest on YouTube.

They are looking for the cutest baby bubble bath and giving you a chance to win $10K while also scooping up the opportuinity to host the Johnson and Johnson Youtube Channel. Unfortunately Charlotte and I couldn’t enter cause she isnt a baby-and she is too old to be putting nude in a tub on youtube as it is.

But that just means one less competitor out there!

Contests like this are great because less people enter video contests and as a blogger, you can encourage your blog visitors to vote for you, upping your chance to win. This is how I won a $6K Walmart Card during the Walmart Youtube Contest in December. It sure makes shopping at Walmart a lot more fun when its free.

So upload your bubble bath and try for your chance on $10K! I am so jealous I can’t enter.

Trisha

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: 10K, big bubblin stars, bubble bath, johnson and johnson, win, youtube

Earth Day ideas? Win $422 on 4/22

17 Apr By trisha haas 1 Comment

planetearth-150x150 Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd, in just a few days, and to celebrate there are a few sites pulling out all the stops to generate great ideas for the environment. I am mentioning this contest because I am sure there are lots of MomDot girls that could use some extra cash for the upcoming summer!

How do you enter?

In 200 words or less simply write how you would use the $422 dollar prize to improve the environment. At iBuyPhones.com we reuse and recycle thousands of old cell phones every year. What can you do? The opportunities are endless – get creative! Be green and you can win some green!

iBuyPhones / Earth Day Contest 411

1. Come up with a brilliant idea that will improve the environment.

2. Register on this page

3. Once registered, you’ll receive a verification email in your inbox

3. Click on the verification the link in your inbox, which will take you to the login page

4. Login with your registered name and password

5. Once logged in, Click on ‘Add New’ and submit your idea (in 200 words or less)

6. All done writing? Click PUBLISH!

Look…its a save the environment while stimulating the economy contest. GO ENTER!!! If you win cause you saw it here, I fully expect a starbucks gift card thankyou.