Mott’s New Juice Line

This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Mott’s blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.

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Juice has long been seen as a healthy way to get some liquids in your kids. Kids love juice because it’s sweet, and parents like it because it comes from fruit. Both of these assumptions are true most times, but sometimes the fruit in juice drinks isn’t really there and there is more sugar than anything else. Keep an eye on your juice and juice drinks in order to differentiate between the haves and the have nots.

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A few new juice drinks by Mott’s are good options to pick for your kids beverages. They are Mott’s Fruit Punch Rush and Mott’s Wild Grape Surge. There are many reasons some of which are: These juice drinks contain 40% less sugar* than fruit juices, contain no artificial sweeteners, are made from real fruit juices, and contain 100% daily value for vitamin C. Flavorwise Wild Grape Surge and Fruit Punch Rush are perfect, sweet and fruity without being too sweet either. This doesn’t mean the sweetness is toned down and diminished because of the reduction in sugar; the juice drink is just as sweet as other juice drinks and feels twice as good giving to your little ones. My personal favorite is Fruit Punch Rush, there are three different juices blended together to make a wonderful flavor that satisfies and quenches your thirst.

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Zoku Slush and Shake Maker

Disclosure: The Zoku Slush and Shake Maker was provided for me in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.
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With summer in full swing I absolutely love to have something cold to drink. I am a huge slush fan and couldn’t be more excited to be able to try out the Zoku Slush and Shake Maker.

About Zoku:

Zoku is dedicated to providing unique products for the home. We are a collective of creative individuals who create things that will make our lives better through intelligent design and engineering.

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About Slush and Shake Maker:

You can now make a slush fast! This high-performance, design driven slushy maker can make healthy slushies, milkshakes, frozen alcoholic drinks, and fruit smoothies in as little as 7 minutes on your countertop. The possibilities with this item are truly endless.

The Slush and Shake Maker is designed to store easily in your freezer so it is always ready to use. To use, remove the frozen inner core from the freezer and place it in to the outer sleeve, pour in your ingredients, mix & scrape the cup with the included spoon, and watch as the slush freezes before your eyes!

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Sometimes, You Gotta Get Away. Take these with you!

Disclosure- I received the below in order to facilitate my reviews. All opinions are my own and honest.

So you are taking a trip with the kids.  Whether you are taking a road trip or hopping on a plane, you will need to keep the kids , safe, occupied, and at least a little bit quiet if you plan on staying sane.  Here are some fun new take-alongs for your next trip.

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First up comes the packing.  If you are like most parents, you become a pack mule, dragging luggage, laptops, and lovies all over creation.  Do it as easily as possible with something lightweight and durable, like the Delsey Helium line.  In 3 sizes, with 4 wheels that pivot and turn in all directions (which makes the lugging oh so much easier) it is “featherweight” luggage.  This is easier on your back, as well as great for packing, since we all know the airlines are fairly evil about the weights of baggage and trying to get every nickel out of you that they can.  Take that, TSA!  In both standard and brightly colored styles, it is quite durable.  My bag made it on 16 flights, 9 boats, and almost 20 trains and still looks pretty good.  The split book opening makes packing easy, and it comes equipped with a TSA approved lock.  From $160 and up on http://shop.delsey.us

Norway, Packing, Products (canon small cam) 215The Day Traveler line from Eagle Creek is and has been a favorite of mine- durable, lightweight, and easy to tote around, there are tons of options and your money is well spent- these bags LAST.  My new favorite, won’t leave without it bag is the Site Seeing Tablet Courier, which you can pack a surprising amount into.  Water resistant, so no worries about spilled drinks or rainstorms, lockable, and with RFID blocking technology ( which protects your personal information), it makes it so easy to travel light.  It has 3 pockets that zip of various sizes and depths, and can carry phones, tablet, wallet, sunglasses, and more.  It’s just a perfect size bag for all your travel needs. $45 at http://shop.eaglecreek.com
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Pack Light With Land’s End

Disclosure- Some of the products in this post were given to me in order to facility this review, others were my own.  All opinions are mine and honest.

6 20 14 and waterparks 217Recently, we went to Europe for a few weeks.  I had to pack light, and be able to make what I packed count.  No one wants to be lugging many suitcases around, and it’s best to make everything that you bring able to mix and match, getting the most from each garment. One of my favorite places to shop has always been Land’s End, because clothes are versatile, durable, and long lasting.  They are also great with exchanges, so if you don’t like an item it’s easy to return- even if you have worn it. I love that about a brand, because so often you don’t know how things will fit or wear properly until you actually wear them.  Catch 22, but Land’s End makes it easy and worry free.

Norway, Packing, Products (canon small cam) 033I exclusively packed Land’s End clothing for my trip.  With the exception of my sneakers, walking sandals, and bathing suit, it was all Land’s End, all the time.  Sticking with the brand made it easy, since all the colors matched, the fabrics worked well together, and I really do like the durability they commit to for travel (and everyday wear as well, but I can be abusive to things when I travel).  I chose to stick with the primary colors of navy blue and black, with colors and patterns that matched the basic items I already owned or purchased.  I was also given several new review items from this season’s new line, which complimented what I already owned beautifully. All of the items are well made, pretty, easy to wash and wear (even on the go), and fully functional as well as classically stylish.  Very easy to love, and the reasons why I come back to Land’s End again and again.
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Vtech Kidizoom Smartwatch

The newest piece of tech which is blowing across the nation would be smart watches. With a simple touch screen interface and the ability to access apps from your wrist, the smart watch is being hailed as the next big innovation. Of course, in the world of innovations, why should adults have all the fun? Vtech thinks kids should learn how to use these new interface devices and get to have the most fun with them. That is where the Kidizoom smart watch comes in.

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The Kidizoom is one part watch (of course) one part still camera, one part video camera, and one part app launcher. Put it all together and you have a fun little learning experience for your little one in a rough and tumble design meant to take most things your kids can dish out.

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The Kidizoom sports a 1.4 inch color touch screen, camera for taking pictures or recording video, a voice recorder, special photo editing software, 4 games, a drop proof bump resistant design which is also splash and sweat proof and comes in four colors- blue, pink, white, and green. It also has 50 different built in clock faces, an alarm clock and tones and animations, a timer, rechargeable battery, and access to more apps and games through the Learning Lodge app store.
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EatSmart TravelWise 3 Piece Packing Cube Set

Norway, Packing, Products (canon small cam) 375As you all know, we travel a lot, so it’s always great to find products that make packing easier, quicker and more organized.
EatSmart has recently released the TravelWise 3 piece packing cube set, which is great for organization and keeping things where they belong. This is helpful during the packing stage, but more so during the “finding” stage when you are at your location and you need to find your child’s underpants, STAT, or in the morning when you need your vitamins. They always, always fall to the bottom of the bag. (The small bag is so good for vitamins, medications, and toiletries, and makes finding them fast and easy, and found quickly during TSA checks as well.)

You can organize as you choose, keeping kids clothes in one and yours in the other, or pants in one and shirts in another- whatever works for your method. It has open mesh so that you can see what is where without guessing, makes security checkpoints easier (if that is possible!) and dry quickly in case your child feels the need to stick his sippy cup into one to “help” you while you are busy packing the rest of the bag.
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Win Prizes! RSVP for #SilkProteinFiber Twitter Party 7/29 #ad

 

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Silk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

In the mood for something delicious and better for you then soda? Check out the #SilkProteinFiber twitter party on 7/29 from 2:30pm-3:30pm EST. Host: @goodLifeEats Co-host: @HaveSippy
Prizes: 1 $125 Visa Giftcard, 5 $75 Visa Giftcards

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Did you know?
– Protein + Fiber is an almondmilk fortified with 5g of protein and 5g of fiber in every serving!
– The party will give tips on how to incorporate Silk.com Silk Protein + Fiber into your daily life, come tweet with us and learn more!
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Dutch Wonderland Theme Park

This time of year, one of the best ways to escape the summer heat (and tedium if you are home with kids) is a day at a theme park.  One of our semi-local favorites is Dutch Wonderland, home to Duke the Dragon (whom my son loves). Located in Amish County, in Lancaster PA (another favorite place of ours) it’s a great place to spend a holiday as well.

6 20 14 and waterparks 102Dutch Wonderland has tons of rides and games, as well as many food and drink stands. Some favorites are the “Panda Party”, which is an adorable ride in which the kids ride in Panda Bears and go around the beehive in circles, the Leapin’ Frogs, which bounce around causing the kids to erupt in giggles until the ride hops to a stop, and the Double Splash Flume, a classic ride with two drops (but not too scary or steep that would frighten the kids).

6 20 14 and waterparks 101New this year is Exploration Island, where you can walk among more then 20 dinosaurs the roar and move as you view them.

“Exploration Island is a rediscovered island of adventure and fun where guests will have the opportunity to walk with over 20 lifelike dinosaurs, dig for fossil remains, take a spin on the newly relocated and lengthened Turnpike ride and travel the Island canals on the classic Gondola Cruise.
This once under-utilized area of the Park has been re-purposed to house not only our dinosaur families, but our Turnpike ride as well. The Turnpike was one of the four original rides at Dutch Wonderland when it opened in 1963. We have moved this classic ride to Exploration Island and more then doubled the ride length in the process giving guests more spectacular views of dinos and the surrounding farm landscape.
We’ve also discovered dinosaur fossil remains and set up a permanent archeological dig at Dino Dig, where young explorers can unearth the fossil remains of dinosaurs. Brushes, buckets and diggers are available for use.”

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Other things to try while at Exploration Island are;
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