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Sonicare for Kids
This is a compensated review from Sonicare for Kids and BlogHer.
I'll be honest. I always thought that the people who spent mucho dinero on toothbrushes that came in a box were insane. I mean, the dentist gives you a free one every six months. What did I need with one of those crazy Sonicare toothbrushes. More so, why would my kids ever need one?
People, Sonicare has made me a believer.
At first I was worried about whether or not my kids would go for it. Sonicare for Kids does not come shaped like a princess or a mermaid. It does have interchangeable panels for the front of it, but they're definitely more generic than your grocery store toothbrush. I wasn't sure I could get my girls to switch.
However, when it came, it was red and my girls liked that right away. It also came with two different toothbrush heads which was perfect considering one was for 4 year olds and the other was for bigger kids, 8+. My girls are easily able to tell their toothbrush head apart since one is red and the other is blue. They quickly learned how to pop their toothbrush head onto the Sonicare and get busy.
Right away, I fell in love with the Sonicare for Kids and it's special feature to make kids brush longer. Every minute, for four minutes, the toothbrush plays a little part of a song. When you complete the entire time, it plays the entire little tune. We went from brushing for only seconds to brushing for the full time overnight and I know that will make a big difference in their oral health.
The toothbrush comes with two settings and the girls can easily turn the toothbrush on with their recommended intensity by themselves. I thought it would take some time to get used to the Sonicare for Kids, but it has become a wonderful addition to our family and the girls' brushing routine.
I can speak for myself on this issue, as I also received a Sonicare FlexCare to try. It is like visiting the dentist every single day, twice a day and it's amazing. The clean that you get from it is completely unlike any other toothbrush I have ever tried. My teeth feel silky, the way they do when you leave the dentist. In fact, when I visited the dentist last week and told them we're using Sonicare's now, they were thrilled! They said they notice a big difference in their patients who use Sonicare's.
My only criticisms of the toothbrush are that one needs to be really careful with little ones. The toothbrush head for my 4-year old doesn't stay on the way it did when we got it. She says she didn't drop it or anything, but whatever held the head on tightly doesn't work anymore. Now we have to hold it on until we get a new toothbrush head. My only other criticism is that the Sonicare is pretty intense and one needs to make sure that when you turn it on, the toothbrush is in your mouth! If not, the spray from the toothpaste is going to make cleaning your vanity a daily thing. I happened to spray myself in the eye the first day I used it; but people, let me just tell you that you only make that mistake once. This shouldn't be a reason to prevent you from getting one yourself.
A Sonicare for Kids starter package starts at around $69.99. The package comes with two brush heads, three interchangeable plates for when your kids get bored with the looks of the toothbrush, a plug-in charger and complete instructions. You can find brush head replacements for around $21.99 for a package of two. A Sonicare for Kids toothbrush would make a great Christmas gift for kids.
I never understood why people would spend so much money on a toothbrush, but I now know that the family and I will be life-long converts. Thank you Sonicare and BlogHer for the opportunity to review these wonderful products!
You don't have to be a BlogHer reviewer though, to try the Sonicare. You can enter for one of eight chances to win a $100 Visa card or a Sonicare prize package below. You can also check out the other reviews simply by going here.
If you'd like more information, directly from Sonicare, please click here.
Contest Rules:
To enter to win a $100 Visa card, leave me a comment below and tell me "How do you handle your kids' dental hygiene?" – or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin at 9:00 a.m. (PST) 10/15/2009 and will end 5:00 p.m. (PST) 11/15/2009. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.
Rules:
- No duplicate comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
- This giveaway is open to US-residents, 18 years of age or older
- Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
- You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
- Please see the official rules here.
Winners will be chosen with this random generator. There are eight reviewers which means you have eight chances to win a $100 Visa card so you can buy your own Sonicare for Kids. And, there's also the Sonicare prize pack. Visit the link above for the complete round-up! Good luck!
BBM gives the Sonicare for Kids. . .
L’Oréal Paris Color of Hope-Now YOU Can Help!
This is a compensated review from BlogHer and L'Oreal Paris.
When I first "met" Lisa aka Clusterfook, it was online. She was writing a blog called "Not the 'C' word" for our local online newspaper, and I was publishing a syndicated version of my own blog at the same place. My visitors were frequently unfriendly, as our area is not known for having the nicest people; but Lisa became a visitor and left me a friendly comment which prompted me to visit her blog.
I started reading her archives and realized she had been through quite an ordeal. Recurrent ovarian cancer was her diagnosis and she was finally free from it. . . or so she thought.
As I began to follow her main blog, "Clusterfook" I realized that her battle was just again beginning. Lisa went through months of surgeries, missed diagnoses, and pain before she finally decided that her fight was over. No matter what she did, her cancer got worse. No matter how her readers hoped and prayed, it wasn't going to bring a cure.
I met Lisa at Tequila Con in Philadelphia and was amazed at her sunny outlook despite her diagnosis. It wasn't long though, before going places like Tequila Con couldn't happen anymore. Lisa entered hospice care.
That's Lisa with the glasses.
When I don't know what to do for someone in this situation, I cook. So when Karl came to visit Lisa to get her blog in order before she passed, I cooked up a ton of food and sent it back to her house with him. A few weeks later, I cooked up a storm again and delivered it myself. It was just three days before Lisa passed and although really difficult, after she was gone, I was glad that I was able to see her one last time, squeeze her hand and tell her goodbye.
Before, all I could do was cook. Now I can do something else and you can help too.
L'Oréal Paris has partnered with the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF), and has created a "Color of Hope" make-up line to help raise money for research. The purchase of individual items (including eye shadow quartets, lip sticks, lip glosses, and nail polishes will result in a $1 donation per purchased item. The prices of these individual items start at just $4.99 and go up to about $9.99.
As with the ovarian cancer bracelets that Lisa used to make in pretty shades of teal, L'Oréal Paris has also created a beautiful quartet of teals and blues, as well as collections in mauve and plum. There is something for everyone in this collection.
If you choose instead to purchase the make-up bag you'll get eye shadow, lip gloss and lipstick (a retail value of $50) for $29.95. The L'Oréal Paris Color of Hope Cosmetic bag will be available for purchase beginning in September 2009. Purchases can be made online via www.lorealcolorofhope.com while supplies last. L'Oréal Paris will donate $5 from each cosmetic bag purchased to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF).
I've had about a week to try the colors out myself. The mauves are just beautiful and the "Color of Hope" lipstick has to be my favorite, tied with the lip gloss. Unlike most lip glosses that have a small want, this wand is soft and helps you to avoid looking "goopy" when you put it on. The teal shadow took some practice at first, but it too is just lovely. Applying it with a q-tip allows for more precise application and that made all the difference.
Because every girl needs some new fall make-up to match the new season's colors, I hope you'll pick up a make-up bag or some of the individual products today. This is a great way to help future generations of women so they don't have to have their lives cut short the way Lisa's was.
For more information and other reviews of new products, check out BlogHer's special offer page for more information.
If you would like more information about L'Oréal Paris' "Color of Hope" program, please visit the L'Oréal Color of Hope site for more information.
BBM gives the L'Oréal Paris Color of Hope line. . .
Have you or any of your friends and family been affected by Ovarian Cancer? What do you think of L'Oréal Paris and their 12 year committment to help the OCRF?
“Daniel X: Watch the Skies” by James Patterson & Ned Rust
If you're looking for a teenage friendly alien hunter, you're not going to find any better than Daniel X. Daniel returns in this sequel to the first alien hunting book, on the hunt for Space Alien #5. His journey is not your typical Star Wars-ish adventure.
Set in "Holliswood" and reeking of aliens and society's current craze with reality television, Patterson and Rust have created yet another enjoyable and adolescent friendly novel that both boys and girls will enjoy. The best thing about these books is that there is no shortage of aliens, which means the series will surely continue on for quite a while.
What's great about Daniel X books is that they are smart, entertaining, and seem to relate well to younger generations without seeming contrived. Patterson and Rust are good at nailing the sarcasm of a teenager without sounding mouthy. And what parent can resist a main character who conjures up his parents for advice whenever necessary?
An added joy in this book, at least for me, was the mention of martial arts several times. Although it only stayed on the surface and didn't delve any deeper than that, the mere mention of Daniel X using martial arts techniques to defeat evil aliens made me happy.
My only potential criticism or more of a concern actually, is that over time, the books and Daniel X's adventures could become a bit formulaic. But for now, it works so read away.
Although in the first book, Daniel X only has an imaginary girlfriend, in this book we have a bit of a love story that is super sweet, but not over the top. With electric eels, electric first kisses, and electri-charged aliens, this book is one you'll want to put on the list for your kids. With manageable chapters and a fast-paced story, Daniel X: Watch the Skies is another Patterson success. Thanks to Mothertalk.com for the opportunity to review this book!
BBM gives Daniel X: Watch the Skies. . .
Chex Mix Snack Bars
I am not the "bar" kind of girl. I guess this is probably because I'm one of those people who has always preferred it when my foods don't touch. I don't like the mixing of ingredients in most cases. This has always baffled my children, seeing as how they practically live on breakfast bars, yogurt bars, fruit bars. . . I could go on. In fact, if I could have found meat bars at the points in their lives where they were protesting protein, I'm pretty sure they would have eaten them.
Chex Mix Snack Bars are obviously a bit hit in this family. My husband and the girls have devoured them, pretty much without chewing, since they arrived on our doorstep.
We tried the Chex Mix Bars in the "Turtle" variety. They include Caramel-Covered Corn Chex pieces, Wheat Chex pieces, Chocolate, Peanuts, and Pretzels. Maybe my whole aversion to anything "bar-related" had to do with the fact that there was never any chocolate involved, because these bars are definitely worth a try if you have snackers in the family.
Despite the fact that there's also this messy stuff in them, the bars stay together very nicely when eaten and I think they'll probably remain a staple snack in our household from now on. When something with chocolate in it says "Good Source of Whole Grain!" on the box, I'm in.
If you'd like to try them in your house, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me how you like to unwind at the end of the day. What's your favorite comfort food? Three readers will be chosen to receive two boxes each of the Chex Mix Bars.
BBM gives the Chex Mix Bars. . .
Thanks to MyBlogSpark for letting us try them!
Trip Flix Winner
The winner of the Trip Flix DVD, which was determined in a random drawing, is. . . .
Darcie!
Congratulations! We'll be in touch to get your prize to you soon!
Check back for more great giveaways throughout the summer!
Getting Rave Reviews
BlogHer Review
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