Park City Mountain Resort

By now you know how much my husband and I LOVE to travel!  Well, one of the things we used to enjoy before we had my son was the snow.  I’m no Lindsey Vonn by any means, but I manage to have a great time without breaking any bones along the way!  I’m not talking about the bunny slopes but you won’t find me on any diamond runs either! My husband, on the other hand, is a great skier and would like to learn to snowboard one day.  We’d love to take my son skiing someday and it’s nice to know that there are family-friendly resorts like Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah.  It’s hard enough to travel with kids so I appreciate when a company seeks to make it a little easier for us parents.  

If you’re looking for a family-friendly ski resort, check out Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah. Thankfully they have slopes for all levels.  Here is a little more about what they have to offer from the site:  

From the tween who wants to spend all day in the terrain park, to the adults who want to ski Jupiter bowl, to the youngest getting on the lift for the very first time, Park City offers family fun and adventure.  In addition to its industry-leading Kids Signature 5 Program that guarantees no more than five kids in each class, Park City also offers great off-mountain activities. The Alpine coaster, one of only three in the U.S., is a gravity propelled ride, twisting and turning through the mountains on a mile-long track. At Gorgoza Park enjoy lift-served tubing on seven different lanes or mini snowmobile rides around a designated track for kids ages 5 to 12 years old. 

If you are a “planner,” be sure to print out a Family Mountain Tour so that you and your family can be sure to navigate the mountain based on your individual skill levels.  I always like to read personal reviews of a place before visiting.  Their Adventure blog includes useful insights from moms who have visited Park City including eating, packing, and memory making.   And while you’re there, enter to win a Family Winter Vacation for four which includes 3-nights lodging, 4-days of lift tickets and ski/snowboard school for the kids.

Bedtime Routines for Your Little Rascal!

Read to your children.  It’s one of the best pieces of parental advice given to me.  Believe me…it’s tough!  Reading to an infant is not terribly exciting…they just fall asleep on you.  Reading to a crawling baby who would much rather throw stack blocks is exasperating.  Reading to a curious toddler…who brings you book after book and looks at you with big brown eyes, desperate to know what each picture represents…makes everything before it is beautiful and amazing and so worth it.  

My son thrives on routine but it wasn’t until just a little while ago that I actually believed it.  I used to dread putting my son to sleep.  He didn’t enjoy going to sleep and that really bothered me.  I wanted bedtime to be a relaxing, enjoyable experience for all three of us.  So I decided to try to formulate some kind of bedtime routine.  After dinner, we read, drink milk, put on pajamas, and brush teeth.  We lay my son down and he babbles a little in his crib and goes to sleep.  It’s wonderful and I highly encourage anyone who is having difficulty with bedtime to start a routine.  

Rascal’s Routines, by Haydenburri Lane, is a fabulously ingenious system designed to help parents and children engage in positive routines.  Hillary Hayden Burri, the Founder and President, developed the product with her sights set towards making bedtime more enjoyable for children (apparently she knew about my son’s flagrant dislike for bedtime when the idea was dreamt up).  Here is a little more about the learning system from her site:

Moms…You CAN Have Great Skin!

I can’t tell you how many times someone’s asked me what my “skin care” regimen is.  I laugh (on the inside of course) and say that my “regimen” consists of soap and water.  Period. Most days I don’t even have enough time to wear makeup, so a splash before bed suffices.  While I have been blessed with really great skin, I am starting to notice changes including some annoying lines on my forehead! Gasp!

SkinCareRx is a site where you’ll find the type of skin care products your dermatologist would recommend or those that you would see at a professional spa. Each product line is evaluated by the company’s estheticians and staff for effectiveness. I was given the opportunity to choose a product to test out, so I selected La Roche-Posay’s Active C Anti Wrinkle Dermatological Treatment.  I started using it two weeks ago, specifically on my forehead where the lines that show how wise I am have formed!  Take a look at this cheesy picture I took of myself the other day after using this product for 2 weeks:

Ok…so I’m not the best photographer, particularly when I’m shooting myself, but this is me without makeup.  If  you look closely, you will be able to see very, very faint lines.  I have seen some improvement but they’re not completely gone.  I am hoping that long-term use will diminish the appearance, or at least prevent the lines from getting worse.  I think the best part of using this product is that my skin is so smooth!  Once you apply it, you won’t even notice it’s on your skin because it rubs in without leaving behind any greasy residue (like some products).  It is also odorless.  If you decide to purchase this product, be sure you cover the product tightly after you use it.  When exposed to light, it turns a darker color (I noticed this around the rim of the tube).

Active stable vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), has been proven to work immediately on the skin.  It has been shown to reduce the signs of aging, smooth skin texture, and improve skin radiance.  Here is some specific information about this product from the site:

La Roche-Posay Active C - Normal to Combination Skin moisturizes your skin as it protects and heals damage. It contains a special formula that binds water to polyols in order to stop the Vitamin C from oxidizing. These polyols promote Vitamin C’s penetration of the skin by retaining water molecules within their chemical structure, so that they will not contribute to Vitamin C oxidation.

The entire site is well-organized.  If you have a specific skin condition that you’d like to treat, you can search the site by that condition.  For example, I have battle scars stretch marks on my tummy from my pregnancy that I would love to mysteriously disappear.  So I did a search on the site and found the Phytomer SeaTonic Stretch Mark Reducing Cream, which I think I might have to try with the gift certificate the company gave me.

I don’t buy skin care products very often, but when I do, I try to purchase products that will produce the results I need.  I would much rather spend a little more money for a high-quality product that is going to benefit me in the long run, then a cheaper product that isn’t going to work. For more information, check out their website.  You can also sign up to receive discounts and special offers via email.

TNT’s New Season

Thanks to Beth at RoleMommy, my husband and I were able to get a first look at the new season of two hugely popular series on cable television.  Both The Closer and Trust Me premiered this week and they are on every Monday starting at 9/8 c.

I had never actually watched either of the shows but I have to say that I think I’m hooked! Here is a little more about each show, from the site:

The Closer:  Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) is a former Atlanta detective who moved to Los Angeles to head a special police department unit that solves sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Brenda is a top-notch investigator and interrogator who pinpoints a suspect, traps them in their own lies and draws a confession.

Despite Brenda’s brilliance as an interrogator, she is hopeless at LAPD politics and her many successes are contrasted with the challenges this creates. Brenda also faces conflicts with her fiancé, FBI agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney) and her parents . On the lighter side, she constantly tries to overcome her love of sweets, fighting cravings that surface each time she passes a vending machine.

Trust Me:  Set against the backdrop of the high-pressure world of advertising, TRUST ME focuses on Mason (McCormack) and Conner (Cavanagh), a pair of ad men whose strong creative partnership has served the firm of Rothman Greene & Mohr extremely well over the years. Mason, an art director, is a responsible, workaholic family man with a beautiful wife, Erin (Clarke), two children and an undying loyalty to the brands he helps sell. By contrast, his writing partner, Conner (Cavanagh), is a single, impulsive copywriter with the attention span of a teenager.  Their yin-yang relationship is put to the test when Mason is named a creative director of the agency, making him Conner’s boss. The series follows the changing dynamics between the two friends, who are better together than they are apart.

Also working in the same creative group is new hire Sarah Krajicek-Hunter (Potter), an award-winning copywriter whose forceful personality has a tendency to rub people the wrong way. Hector (Arend) and Tom (Damus) are a junior creative team with untraditional ideas that don’t always sit well with their new boss. The entire team is supervised by Tony Mink (Dunne), a man who lives and dies by the advertising business but has a growing sense his days in this young person’s business may be numbered.

Both series premiered this week but you can watch full episodes online!  If you like drama and action, you’ll love both series!  Be sure to watch the next episodes on February 2.

WW: He Should Be In Pictures

Stop & Shop’s Healthy Idea

About a year ago, my husband and I decided to be proactive about choosing healthy foods at the grocery store.  To be honest, we really prefer to shop at natural grocery stores but it isn’t always feasible.  Supermarkets (hence the word “super”) carry an overwhelming assortment of items.  Thus the challenge we face is identifying the “healthy” items, since the brands often vary.

If you live on the east coast, then you’re most likely familiar with the grocery store chain Stop & Shop.  They have recently launched Healthy Ideas, an on-shelf symbol that helps you, the consumer, identify foods that fit into a healthy lifestyle.  This is pretty ingenious because healthy food choices begin at the grocery store (unless you eat out regularly and that’s just another issue entirely!).

I am a label reader but I also took several units of Nutrition courses while I was in nursing school, so I’m not intimidated.  Many of us moms, however, don’t have the time or the desire to go through the products on the shelves reading nutrition labels.  These days, I’m lucky to get into and out of the grocery store without my toddler having a meltdown. Stop & Shop has placed the Healthy Ideas symbol on over 3,000 items and shelf tags throughout their stores to help you identify those foods that have less fat, saturated fat, and sodium.  You’ll also readily identify those foods with an appropriate amount of at least one nutrient including fiber, whole grains, calcium and minerals.

The criteria for the Healthy Ideas campaign was developed by a team of registered dietitians and reviewed by an adivsory panel of physicians and nutrition experts including Dr. George Blackburn, associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. Research played a crucial role in the development of the symbol, which uses the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the USDA Food Pyramid (Mypyramid.gov) and the USDA/FDA’s definition of healthy as a basis for its foundation.

As a mom who is concerned about the foods my family eats, I think that all supermarkets should adopt this “idea.”  I wonder what would happen to all of the packaged, processed, trans-fat laden foods, if every grocery store followed suit?  : )

To find a Stop & Shop near you, just visit their website!

Good For the Kids Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for stopping by.  The winner is Kelly Ann T.  Congratulations!

Awhile back, I won a gift certificate to spend at a very cool, mom-owned company called Good For the Kids. I used it to get my son this Melissa and Doug Deluxe Full-Size Floor-Standing Wooden Easel.

Isn’t it fabulous?

Angie started the site by selling products she already used and loved for her and her two daughters. On the site you’ll find products that nurture babies, engage children, and decorate women. She sells products from some of my absolute favorite companies including Plan Toys, Vulli (think Sophie the Giraffe), and Three Designing Women. Many of the products sold on the site are eco-friendly, natural and appropriately priced. Here are a few of my favs:

While you’re over there, be sure to check out their ginormous sale section for even further discounts on your favorite products!

Win It! One very lucky reader will win a $30 gift certificate to Good for the Kids. Simply head on over to the site and take a look around. Come back here and leave me a comment Your comment must include the name of an item from the “What’s New” category. If your comment is chosen as the winner, and a “New” item is not included in the comment, we’ll pick another winner. Comments will close on February 9, 2009 at 10 pm PST. One comment per person, please. US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

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Children’s Dental Health Month

Fact:  120 million Americans lack dental care (U.S. Surgeon General)

Unlike most people, I like going to the dentist. I don’t get nervous or squeamish and I take really good care of my teeth.  I’ve started early with my son and he actually enjoys brushing his teeth.  He grabs his toothbrush in the morning and tries really hard to brush his teeth while he says “Brush teeth! in the most adorable toddler speak ever.  You may not know this (I didn’t) but February is National Children’s Dental Health Month.  Sponsored by the American Dental Association (ADA) they aim to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Healthy habits are instilled within children at an early age.  I want my son to grow up valuing the importance of a healthy smile.  

Every year at this time, Tom’s of Maine (creator of natural oral care products) works to help families attain access to dental care through it’s Dental Health for All™ program.  A portion of all Tom’s of Maine purchases are donated to achieve dental care access to Americans.  In February, the company will award dental clinics across the country grants for oral health projects. 

Here are some of the program’s results over the past few years from their website:

• 25 school- and community-based dental clinics have received grants from Tom’s to increase patient capacity and improve or expand their patient services.
• Nearly 60,000 annual patient visits can now be scheduled.
• Over 238,000 tubes of free toothpaste have been given to underserved children and adults.

Check out some of the fabulous resources over at Tom’s of Maine including an oral health quiz and a coloring book for kids. 

For more information, please visit the site.  

Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for stopping by.  The winners are Melissa V, Steph, Reeva, Erica C, and Susan (A Happy Heart at Home).  Congratulations!

I absolutely love TLC, the popular educational network chock full of addicting, reality-based programs! We had our 5 minutes of fame on Bringing Home Baby! And now the hugely popular series, Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht is coming to DVD! Here is a little more about the series if you haven’t seen it (and if you haven’t…why not?). : ) They definitely defy the all-American 2 parent, 2.5 children and a dog stereotype!

Following the super-sized family as they tackle seemingly ordinary activities such as visiting the zoo, vacationing in Utah, going to Disney World or celebrating the holidays, the #1 show on TLC showcases how the Gosselins manage their extraordinary lives raising two sets of energetic multiples. Featuring all-new extended episodes as well as a Gosselin family music video, Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht Season 3 continues to offer insight into Jon and Kate’s unique approach to child-rearing. Twins followed by sextuplets were not exactly what the Gosselins expected, but Jon and Kate’s ambitious parenting and dedication to provide a normal childhood for their happy brood has helped the show attract a large and dedicated fan base.

Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht Season 3 debuts on February 3 from Genius Products and TLC. This four-disc set features 33 episodes will be available for $34.95.

Win It! 5 lucky readers will each win their very own copy of Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht Season 3. Just head on over to the site and tell me if you watch the series and what you like about it (if you don’t watch the series, tell me why you want to see it). Comments will close on February 9, 2009 at 10 pm PST. One comment per person, please. US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

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Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

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Escape to Chimp Eden Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for stopping by.  The winners are Renee C, Helena Batt-Vesey, Lisa Hasledalen, Leigh Nichols, and Martha H.  Congratulations!

You know how much I love to bring you great giveaways, so here is another. No monkeying around! On February 3, Animal Planet and Genius Products will release Escape to Chimp Eden Season One. And if you’re a fan of the show, be sure to tune in for Season 2, set to air on April 3 at 8:00 pm (ET/PT). Here is a little more about this upcoming release from the site:

Journey into the depths of South Africa where you’ll experience fascinating adventures at Chimp Eden. Follow conservationist Eugene Cussons, a South African rescue director for the Jane Goodall Institute’s Chimp Eden, as he travels throughout war-torn African countries to rescue neglected and abused chimps. Once brought to the sanctuary of Chimp Eden, Eugene works hands-on with these challenging chimps, sometimes putting his own safety on the line to teach them basic skills such as climbing trees and foraging for food. Be sure to catch this compelling and bittersweet series on Animal Planet.

The two-disc DVD set, Escape to Chimp Eden Season One, will be available for purchase on February 3 for $24.95.

Win It! 5 lucky readers will win a copy of this soon-to-be released DVD! Head on over to the site and take a look around. Come back here and leave me a comment with something your learned or something you like about the series. Comments will close on February 7, 2009 at 10 pm PST. One comment per person, please. US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Subscribe to my feed.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Place my button on your site. If you have difficulty, please let me know.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!

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