Busy Mom Reviews

Did you know that the good folks at Ashley Sleep work hard to provide mattresses to kids in need?

Founded in 2010 by Ashley Furniture HomeStore, A Hope To Dream seeks to provide less fortunate children a mattress set that is essential to a good night's sleep.

For every mattress sold, $5 will be donated to provide mattress sets (twin Ashley Sleep memory foam mattress, foundation/ frame & comforter set) to local children in need.

Ashley strives to make a difference in communities where they operate, and a good night's sleep has a positive impact on all areas of a child's life.

Refer a child in your community to be considered for the program by completing the A Hope to Dream online application.

Disclosure: I received one of the twin bed mattress sets from Ashley. It's a really nice, solid set that anyone would be proud to have. I'm under no obligation to post about the program, but my opinions are my own, and this program does wonderful work!

More than a few moons ago, not long after I graduated from college and got my own place, a bed and a mattress appeared from out of nowhere.

My mother wanted to make sure I started my adult (OK, adult-"ish", you win) life with a proper bed and mattress. Being 21 at the time, I didn't fully appreciate it, but looking back on it, I see what a great gift it was, that stuff is expensive, and it's not likely something a new graduate would buy for themselves.

However, until this past spring, I could still "look back" on that very same mattress because I was still sleeping on it. Yeah, I'm not sure how that happened, either, but you can be pretty sure that no matter how good the mattress is, it's not really meant to be slept on for twenty-*cough* years.

So, yeah. The mattress thing was at a crisis point, here and we weren't entirely sure what we were going to do about it since the budget wasn't really allowing for one anytime soon.

Enter my saviors from Ashley Sleep.

You may recall I went to visit the good folks at Ashley Sleep to learn about their mattresses, and I updated you on life after sleeping on the iAshley 1000 mattress for a while.

Well, I'm pleased to report that things are still going great with the mattress.

(Side note: it's tough to convey the qualities of a mattress in writing, even tougher to take a meaningful picture!)

Having this mattress has really been amazing.

You may recall we picked out a Ashley Sleep gel mattress, and it's been different from the inner spring-type mattress we've always had.

At first, it was a little odd to get used to, there's no bounce, but that's turned out to be a great asset because it's really let us get a more through night's sleep without waking each other up when we keep different hours.

As I also said before, when you change to this type of mattress from an inner-spring one, at first, it feels hard to move around, and you sort of feel "stuck". Just give it a few days, and you get adjusted to the difference.

Now, we don't even think about it, the new mattress is just part of life, now and I can't really imagine having to go back to the old one.

I didn't realize it until a month or so into having it, but I don't wake up with a sore back like I used to do on occasion. While I'm not saying it's cured all my ills, this mattress has definitely made a difference.

I've also realized that I get a more restful sleep, now. While I've never been the greatest sleeper in the world, things were getting sort of bad, even for me. I couldn't stay asleep and I was up and down a lot during the night. I just chalked it up to being busy and my mind racing at night, but now I know that it had a lot to do with the old mattress.

All that to say, we've been thrilled with our Ashley Sleep mattress, and I now realize the importance of a good mattress and replacing it properly.

This time of year, college graduates are striking out on their own, and I now understand what a wonderful gift a good mattress is.

Whether you're giving one to a new grad, furnishing your first home or in need of a replacement like we were, remember that one of Ashley Sleep's goals is a "Better Sleep at a Better Price", and it's definitely worth checking them out, even if you're on a tight budget.

We really like the mattress, please feel free to ask me any questions you'd like about it!

Be sure to see if there's an Ashley Sleep retailer near you and check out the Ashley Sleep Facebook Page.

Disclosure: Ashley Sleep paid for my trip to Las Vegas for me to learn about the products, and I received 2 mattresses (one was a kid's twin mattress) to facilitate my review. However, my opinions and my absolute amazement at how awful our old mattresses were are my own.

I'm a Verizon Wireless Ambassador, and I've been checking out the Droid RAZR by Motorola for the past few weeks, and I've learned so much about it.

First, the call quality has been great. We live in a bit of a digital black hole and there are spots where we simply can't get reception, and the Droid RAZR has come through with a connection where some other phones just haven't.

Secondly, the Droid RAZR has been great for me as I stay on the go a lot.

I have several email addresses and since it's easy to add accounts, I can keep up with them while I'm out and about. I have a fairly new job where I'm out of the office and away from my computer and desk a lot, and the Droid RAZR has been helpful to me for responding to emails and calls so they aren't piled up and waiting for me upon my return.

I can also stay up on current news and with some apps, I can even get alerts when big news happens. (This was invaluable during March Madness, just sayin').

Another thing that's been so helpful is mobile banking. Using my bank's app, I can check balances, transfer money and even give my kids their allowance when I'm out and about.

Do check with your bank to see if they have mobile banking and an app on the Android platform, you'll thank me.

I've also been traveling from college to college lately since I have a graduating high school senior. We've been in some unfamiliar cities, and with the mapping features on the RAZR such as VZ Navigator and Google Maps we've found our way around roads and campuses for miles. It's really nice to be able to check your location just by looking at your phone.

One of my favorite on-the-go features of the Verizon Droid RAZR is it's mobile hotspot capability. The phone can act as a wi-fi hotspot (this feature must be on your plan) that you can connect up to 8 devices.

I can't describe how useful this has been on our aforementioned road trips and at the soccer field. It's been great to be able to work online and/or entertain kids while on the road. It's also been a huge help between soccer games when you're trying to keep a bunch of 10 year olds still to conserve energy between games.

The Verizon Droid RAZR is much more than phone calls (though it does that well), it helps you stay productive and is great for accessing information when you're away from home.

Disclosure:I received a wireless device and phone/data plan free of charge to use for review and evaluation. No other payment or compensation was received, all opinions are my own. I like gadgets, so I think this stuff is fun.

Get Kids to Listen Without Nagging, Reminding or Yelling

What does it take to get your kids to listen? Nagging? Reminding? Yelling?

Parenting expert Amy McCready will teach you easy-to-implement strategies to correct misbehavior and reclaim the calm voice you had before kids. Discover proven tools for your most frustrating discipline dilemmas and the secret for consequences that work!

FOR: Parents of school age kids to teens
DATE: Thursday, April 19
TIME: 2 PM Eastern or 9 PM Eastern
COST: FREE! Compliments of Invisalign!

Webinar seating will be limited so learn more and RSVP now!

About Amy McCready

Parenting expert Amy McCready is the Founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and the author of If I Have to Tell You One More Time. . .: The Revolutionary Program That Gets Your Kids To Listen Without Nagging, Reminding, or Yelling
.
She is a frequent guest on The TODAY Show and has also appeared on Rachael Ray, CNN, Fox & Friends, MSNBC, and elsewhere. In her most important role, she plays mom to two teenage boys.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Invisalign Mom Advisory Board

I've often said over the years that we go through a lot of orange juice in our house because I have one kid who's 97% orange juice, so I'm delighted to be able to work with Tropicana.

Tropicana orange juice is a great way to start the day or to have any time of the day. It's great on it's own, or in a smoothie or even in recipes.

We already talked about how Tropicana is celebrating it's Pure Premium juice being made from 100% Florida oranges (be sure to look for it on the label), but did you also know:

- Tropicana is the single largest buyer of Florida fruit, purchasing approximately 11.6 billion
oranges from Florida each year.

- Tropicana uses groves in 22 different Florida counties, primarily in central and southern Florida.

- The different microclimates and soil types mean that fruit reaches peak maturity at different
times, allowing Tropicana to harvest ripe fruit throughout the entire growing season.

- The two major orange types in Tropicana Pure Premium are Valencia and Hamlin. Valencias
typically have more intense color and flavor, while Hamlins can be sweeter. They each add
unique characteristics to the TPP blend.

- Many Florida growers sample oranges by cutting them into a cup shape, allowing for drinking
juice directly from the fruit.

- Tropicana’s roots in Florida go back a long way. Some of its current grower relationships date to the 1960s.

- Oranges have been grown in Florida since the 1560s, approximately 147 years before any other U.S. state.

- Oranges are actually native to Asia, with the first New World plantings recorded shortly after
Christopher Columbus’ arrival, in 1493.

Tropicana also has a new 89oz. clear package with the same orange juice you know and love, (an 8oz. glass gives you 100% of your daily vitamin C requirement) but now it's in an easier to pour container:

Be sure to visit the Tropicana Facebook page to get an up close look at Tropicana's Florida groves where many of Tropicana Pure Premium's oranges are grown.

Also, From March 19 through April 20, 2012, visit Tropicana’s Facebook page for the “Tropicana Perfect Pick” Sweepstakes.

Just "pick" two oranges off the tree to enter to win one of 100 prizes!

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The Giveaway

Prize: One (1) winner will receive One (1) $100 Target gift card

1. (Required): Tell us (leave a comment below) when or how you enjoy orange juice during your day.

2. For an extra entry: Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter (I'm @busymom).

Be sure to leave a separate comment telling me you've done so.

3. One (1) winner will be picked randomly via Random.org from the comments.

4. Contest is open to all U.S. and Canada residents 18 years or older

5. Winner has 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise another winner will be drawn.

6. Hurry! Ends April 24, 2012 at 10 pm CST.

Disclosure: I have a formal relationship with Tropicana Pure Premium as a “TropiMomma” blogger. I was compensated for this post. All opinions remain 100% my own.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of being invited to a tasting for Cultivate Wines at Tavern along with some Nashville blogging friends.

Cultivate is a wine maker that sources grapes from around the world to create premium wines at the best value possible. We sampled four different Cultivate wines along with some tasty, properly paired food for each one.

We tried Double Blind (an Italian Pinot Grigio), Dream Walking (a California Chardonnay), The Feast (a California Red) and The Gambler (an Argentinian Malbec).

Now I'll be the first to tell you that my wine knowledge is limited (my favorite is whatever you serve me), but even a wuggle ("wine muggle", duh) like me could tell that these were all something special. I mean, Chardonnay's not my favorite and Dream Walking was really good.

But, what's even more special about Cultivate is that their mission is a "fulller life for all". They pride themselves on on creating relationships by creating wines meant to share with friends while you celebrate life. In fact, just by holding the tasting, they enabled Nashville bloggers to see old friends and meet new ones.

Additionally, Cultivate shares with those in need. Through their program, The Give, Cultivate gives 10% of their sales to causes related to education and basic human needs.

They gave us each 2 bottles to take home to share. I chose The Gambler and Double Blind.

When I thought a bit about sharing and living a full life like the Cultivate philosophy says, I immediately thought of my friends both near and far. I don't see either group as much as I'd like to, so we cherish any time we do get to spend together.

Sometimes, we go through phases where we only see each other at the "milestone" events since we are usually required to go to these types of things. What's missing, though is time just spent together between those events. Everyone stays so busy, or the distance is great (or both) and it's easy to put getting together on the back burner.

However, this is a big year for quite a few of us as our first born children will be graduating high school and going on to college. There's a lot of excitement and a bit of the fear of the unknown ahead for us, but I can't express how much it helps to have good friends going through the same thing.

This is a really stressful time of year for people with high school seniors. As tempting as it is to just down the two bottles myself, I'm saving my wine for when plans become a little more in focus, and we can get together.

I will share one bottle with my friends here in town, and the other will be for friends I only get to see once a year or so.

After all, it's a new phase in our lives, too and that's going to be extraordinary.

Be sure to check out @CultivateWines on Twitter, and visit the Cultivate Wines Facebook page.

We drink a lot of orange juice in our family. As a matter of fact, I've often surmised that my youngest kid may actually be 97% orange juice. The boy. He is a consumer. So, it was a natural fit when I got the opportunity to work with Tropicana.

Due to issues with orange supply because of hurricane damage, Tropicana has had to supplement their juice with oranges from other parts of the world.

But, now? It's all 100% Florida oranges, and Tropicana is celebrating.

I love how Tropicana has personal relationships with the Florida orange growers and their groves like Ed Pines from Lorida, FL.

Be sure to visit the Tropicana Facebook page to get an up close look at Tropicana's Florida groves where many of Tropicana Pure Premium's oranges are grown.

Also, From March 19 through April 20, 2012, visit Tropicana’s Facebook page for the “Tropicana Perfect Pick” Sweepstakes.

Just "pick" two oranges off the tree to enter to win one of 100 prizes.

Prizes include:

• 99 one-year supplies of orange juice in the form of twelve (12) 59oz Tropicana Pure Premium containers
• One trip to a Florida orange grove for a grand-prize winner and three (3) guests, which includes:
o Round-trip airfare for four (4) to Florida
o Three (3) night stay at a hotel in Sarasota
o Behind-the-scenes experience at one of the Florida orange groves with the opportunity to meet growers, tour groves and discover the origins of their favorite OJ

Stay tuned, I'll tell you more about Tropicana and there'll be a chance to win

Disclosure: I have a formal relationship with Tropicana Pure Premium as a “TropiMomma” blogger. I was compensated for this post. All opinions remain 100% my own.

You may remember a while back, I received the Ashley Sleep iAshley 1000 mattress, so now I'm updating you on how it's been with our new mattress.

If you'll recall, we had our old mattress set for something like 28 years. It served us well, but was getting to the point of us wondering if a spring would pop through at any moment, and we knew we had to do something, but were procrastinating a little (Procrastinating? Us? I know! Hard to believe...not.)

So, our new mattress has been much different for us, and we had no idea what we'd been missing all these years by venturing beyond an old inner spring mattress.

They told me when you change to this type of mattress, you'll love it, but it takes a few nights to adjust to the differences.

The first night, we hopped up into bed, since this set is higher than our old one. Now, we don't notice, but it was pretty amusing the first night. Immediately, we noticed that there was no bounce, it was more of a thud when you got settled in bed.

"How will this work out?" we wondered.

As it turns out, that part was pretty cool, since you're not waking the other person with your movements or getting in and out of bed. As a matter of fact, when I was visiting Ashley Sleep, they demonstrated that a glass sitting on the mattress didn't turn over or spill when someone jumped on it.

Another difference is that you kind of "squish" into it which is different from being on top of the mattress like we were used to. I actually felt a little "stuck" when I moved around, but I adjusted fine after a couple of nights.

While it felt different at first, the foam layer on the iAshley 1000 is actually what gives you support and helps the mattress conform to the sleeper's body for comfort and support.

I understand that sometimes, memory foam mattresses can feel hot (I've never had one before) since the foam conforms to your body. At first, I did feel warmer than usual, but one of the great things about the iAshley 1000 is the gel infusion that helps you "sleep cooler" than other mattresses of this type, and now being too hot isn't an issue at all.

As we were told, it took a couple nights of figuring the mattress out since we were new to this type, but now that we have, I can't imagine going back to our old one!

Stay tuned to find out if we're still enamored with it after a few weeks of sleeping on it!

Disclosure: Ashley Sleep paid for my trip to Las Vegas for me to learn about the products, and I received 2 mattresses to facilitate my review. However, my opinions and my absolute amazement at how awful our old mattresses were are my own.

I'm a Verizon Wireless Ambassador, and I've been checking out the Droid Razr by Motorola for the past few weeks.

Remember when the RAZR was the ultimate in cell phones, and the pink one was the hottest thing EVER?

Well, the RAZR is back, and it's a Droid, now.

Here's my thoughts, so far:

Looks: The first thing you notice right out of the box is how thin it is! At 130.7 x 68.9 x 7.1 mm, it doesn't take up a lot of room. In fact, I've had trouble locating it in my purse before.

Come to think of it, that may say more about the state of my purse than the phone.

Anyway, it's sleek, a lovely gunmetal gray and looks great.

Durability: The Droid RAZR sounds like it's built to last. It's got a Kevlar back plate, and Gorilla Glass from Corning to resist scratches.

These are both very important, since I'm a serial phone abuser. Not on purpose, it just happens.

It's light (127 grams or 4.5 oz), but it feels solid.

Screen: It's purdy! It's big and bright and 4.3 inches.

Speed: This thing is fast, I noticed that right away. It has a dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and uses 4G.

Battery: I haven't done any formal test on it, but so far, the battery seems to be pretty typical of a smart phone. I can be a heavy user and this phone has so many features, they can be a battery drain.

I'm just conditioned to having a charger with me, and plugging it in at night, I don't really think about it a lot.

Initial use: It was easy enough to get set up. I'm new to the Droid platform, (though one of my kids has one), so I had a little learning curve to become familiar with the motions and menus, but it wasn't a big deal.

The calls have been clear, service has been good and the pictures are nice (more on that later) and I've gotten some fun and useful apps. It's been handy to have with me!

Disclosure:I received a wireless device and phone/data plan free of charge to use for review and evaluation. No other payment or compensation was received, all opinions are my own. I like gadgets, so I think this stuff is fun.

With 3 kids in lots of different activities, we're on the go and out late a lot, and it can be hard to eat meals at home.

I believe it's important to have dinner at home with our family as often as possible, so I'm always looking for meals that are easy and quick to make.

Publix wants to help and they are having a “Best Meals Happen at Home” event from March 8 through March 14. You can find great savings on some of your favorite brands during the event. Look for the coupons at your local Publix store to help you save through March 28.

Be sure to check out BestMealsatHome.com where you'll find recipes for meals that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, coupons and more!

Here's one I'm going to try:

Chipotle Ranch Taco Salad
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20 Minute(s)
Cook Time: 10 Minute(s)

Ingredients
6 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder, divided
1 can (15.5 oz.) low sodium red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Wish-Bone® Ranch Dressing, divided
8 cups torn romaine lettuce leaves
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese (about 2 oz.)

Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange tortilla strips on baking sheet. Bake, stirring twice, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Reserve handful of tortillas for garnish.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef with 1/4 teaspoon chile powder in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove skillet from heat, then stir in beans and 1/4 cup Wish-Bone® Ranch Dressing; set aside to cool.

Layer 3 cups lettuce, 1/3 of the tomato and onion and 1/2 of the beef mixture in trifle dish or deep glass bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the tortilla strips and 1/2 of the cheese; repeat layers. Top with remaining 2 cups lettuce, remaining tomatoes, onion and cheese. Sprinkle with reserved tortilla strips.

Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon chile powder with remaining 1/4 cup Dressing and serve with salad.

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Giveaway

Prize: One (1) winner will receive One (1) $25 Publix gift card

1. (Required): Tell us (leave a comment below) which recipe from BestMealsatHome.com you'd like to try.

2. For an extra entry: Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter (I'm @busymom).

Be sure to leave a separate comment telling me you've done so.

3. One (1) winner will be picked randomly via Random.org from the comments.

4. Contest is open to all U.S. and Canada residents 18 years or older

5. Winner has 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise another winner will be drawn.

6. Hurry! Ends March 21, 2012 at 10 pm CST.

Disclosure: The Publix gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark

You may recall I'm part of a Blogger Fitness Challenge with Omron.

I've been wearing the Omron HJ-112N Pocket Pedometer for a few weeks now with the goal of increasing my steps each day.

I've really been amazed at how much (or little) I walked in an average day. Tracking my steps makes me much more conscious of walking more and moving more in my day to day activities.

I've even been pretty consistent in reaching the recommended 10,000 steps daily! It's interesting what you can do when you concentrate on it!

My good friend, Bob Greene, answered a couple of questions for me about getting more activity in during the day.

For real, THE Bob Greene, and he was TALKING TO ME!

He gave me some suggestions for being more active when I spend a lot of the day at work or at kids' activities.

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The giveaway:

Prize: Omron Blogger Gift Pack valued at $150, which includes a digital pedometer, a heart rate monitor, an iTunes gift card, an Amazon.com gift card and a copy of Bob Greene’s book, 20 Years Younger.

1. (Required): Tell us (leave a comment below) your best tip for staying active, even on the busiest of days.

2. For an extra entry: Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter (I'm @busymom)

Be sure to leave a separate comment telling me you've done so.

3. One (1) winner will be picked randomly via Random.org from the comments.

4. Contest is open to all U.S. and Canada residents 18 years or older

5. Winner has 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise another winner will be drawn.

6. Hurry! Ends March 19, 2012 at 10 pm CST.

Be sure to follow @OmronFitness on Twitter and like Omron Fitness on Facebook, they have a great sweepstakes going on.

Disclosure: I’m being compensated to write this post by Bookieboo LLC in a blogger campaign with Omron Fitness.

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BUT, WAIT! I have another contest going on, enter to win a $25 Publix gift card.