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Kylie Minogue - "The Abbey Roads Sessions" Review

I received complimentary products to provide this post. All opinions are my own.
 


I love doing these types of reviews. I am a complete music nerd. And I have a passion for awesome vocals and in Kylie Minogue's new album The Abbey Roads Sessions, she is stripped of her high-end pop production, the emotional resonance of Kylie’s songs has never been clearer, and her voice has never sounded better. The orchestral arrangement is beyond beautiful.
The beautiful Kylie Minogue


The Abbey Road Sessions features sixteen tracks, all radically reworked, spanning Kylie’s incredible twenty-five-year career. It was recorded in London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios with Kylie’s band and a full orchestra. The album features many of Kylie’s best-known hits and previously unreleased tracks. One previously known hit that stands out for me is Can't Get You Out of My Head.




Did you know?
Kylie is a breast cancer survivor and donates her time to the American Cancer Society.
Kylie’s latest single “Flower” is a song she wrote several years ago following her battle with breast cancer, to the child she wishes she might one day still have. This song is beautiful and truly heart touching.


Want more Kylie?
HERE is an album sampler on YouTube.
You can also follow Kylie on Twitter.
Or 'like' Kylie on Facebook.
You can also buy it on iTunes or Amazon.


***Disclosure: I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. ***
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Perfectly Simple by ZONE Perfect Review

I received complimentary products to provide this post. All opinions are my own.
 
Apparently this week, is review week. I didn't plan for it to happen this way, but it kind of did. I love writing reviews so hopefully you like reading them! :)



I received the opportunity to review these Perfectly Simple Bars by ZONE Perfect through Bloggy Moms. These bars have only 6-10 ingredients, 10 grams of protein, and are gluten-free! They are available in Cranberry Almond, Peanut Crunch and Toasted Coconut.

The Cranberry Almond just burst with flavor in your mouth! A perfect on-the-go snack. Now I didn't try the Toasted Coconut as I am allergic and we honestly didn't care for the Peanut Crunch. But the Cranberry Almond is a must try! Now although I didn't care for the Peanut Crunch in bar form, maybe if I tried it in one of ZONE Perfect's many recipes like this Cranberry Apple Crisp I'm sure I would have enjoyed them more.

Interested in purchasing ZONE Perfect products? If you sign-up HERE, you can become a ZONE perfect V.I.P., where you can receive exclusive members updates on samples and coupons!

Disclosure: Although I received these products for free, all opinions are my own.
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Farm Rich Appetizers Review + Giveaway


I received complimentary products to provide this post. All opinions are my own.
 


I was so excited to get invited to do this review. I don't know if y'all remember that I bought Farm Rich Appetizers at the end of September, but I did and loved them. It's really funny how that worked out because I had already planned on buying them that week when I was asked to do this review. Although I had never tried any Farm Rich products, personally, I had heard great things. And then of course you know I bought the Farm Rich Appetizers last week to do this review. These appetizers are seriously AH-MAY-ZING!



We tried the mini quesadillas (my favorite and pictured below), mozarella bites, mozzarella sticks (featured picture above), and the stuffed pretzel bites. Everything was amazing yumminess in every bite. And everyone in the family loved them!

I think if you have any football fans, these would be great for a Super Bowl party. My daughter's birthday is December 9th, and I have plans to serve a variety of Farm Rich appetizers at her party.



I am also very excited about this review opportunity because Farm Rich was kind enough to offer TWO FREE PRODUCT coupons (up to $6.99 value) to a very lucky reader! All you have to do is fill out the RaffleCopter below.
All entries are verified but the only required entry is commenting on this post. Please leave some kind of name that resembles your Rafflecopter name/email so I know who you are. :)

Can't wait to see if you won to try the yumminess? Sign up for the Keep em' Happy club and get a $0.75 off coupon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
If you are having trouble viewing the Rafflecopter form for some reason,
go HERE instead.

***Disclosure: Although I was given FREE product coupons from Farm Rich to do this review, all opinions are my own.
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The Mom Connection



I am teaming up this week with Naptime Review and Two in Diapers for this exciting NEW series about motherhood.

We are always wondering how other moms handle certain issues or dilemmas,
so each week we are going to tackle the questions of motherhood.

 Next week we will discuss
Siblings and sharing: Where do you draw the line between requiring sharing and allowing for personal space with certain toys?

If you have some thoughts or advice on next week's topic please email
We would love for you to be part of The Mom Connection!

 Now on to this week's topic!
How do you get your children to clean up and pick up thier toys? 

Here is what a few of us had to say:

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Welcome! I'm Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of 2 wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest is almost 4 and my baby just turned 1. This is how I handle cleaning up with my kiddos:

I am really looking forward to hearing all the other comments and tips. I really struggle with this issue and I constantly feel like a drill sergeant with my oldest daughter. I have a Type A personality and I am OCD when it comes to cleaning and messes. I really think God blessed me with free spirited, creative and MESSY girls to teach me a lesson.

Here are some tips that have helped me alleviate the craziness that clutter brings. I only clean my daughter's room on Sunday. I try not to let the mess that fills the room the minute after “we” pick up her toys consume me. I also purchased large organization tubs at Target. I just toss everything in and wheel into her closet and shut the door. We also pick up our toys in the playroom every night before bed. If she is stalling, which she does, I set a timer.  If her toys aren't picked up when the timer goes off, she loses TV after bath. Thankfully, the timer seems to motivate her.

  I also constantly remind my oldest that God gives us things and it's our responsibility to take care of them. I am trying to teach her appreciation for all the blessings in her life. So far, it seems to be in one ear and out the other, but that's why I have 2 children right? All I have to do is sing the "clean up" song and the baby puts toys away... for now. I am trying to train her young!

 So what works for us is to not "stress the mess" and to purchase organizational tubs!

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Hi! I'm Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I'm a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 18 months.

 Getting the kids to clean up toys is actually a very recent topic of concern for me. In 2008, I gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl named Emily, and then our lives turned into a whirlwind of activity that included two more babies and before I knew it, four years later, I was grudgingly cleaning up roomfuls of toys during nap time while wistfully daydreaming about sitting on the couch reading a novel. One day my mom snapped me back to reality by pointing out that my littles were well old enough to be cleaning up after themselves. Oh yeah, that one thing I'm supposed to be teaching them.

My first method of getting the kids to clean up included some yelling, a bit of bribing and lots of threatening. Fail. This left me with a messy house, three cranky kids and lots of frustration.

 I decided it was time to get creative. Lately we've been finding many more ways to clean up that are much more fun and exciting. For example, when cleaning up the blocks, we pick them up by color. I let the kids pick which colors in what order. First, we might put all of the red blocks into the basket, then the yellow and so on. Sometimes I let them each pick a type of toy to be responsible for - such as Emily picking up the books and Bentley picking up the toy cars. One of our very favorites, however, is pulling out each basket in our family room and lining them up in the middle of the floor. We then pick up each toy and try to toss it into the correct basket. This usually results in lots of giggles, but you can bet the toys get cleaned up!

 One last thing, I have to say on this topic is that the more organized your play area is, the better. Our small toy area is very organized {you can view it here}. There is one clearly-marked basket for each type of toy, and one basket for miscellaneous toys. Everything has a home. The more confusing and chaotic a toy space is, the more overwhelming it is for kids {and parents!} to clean up.

 So I supposed my advice is - get organized and have fun!

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My name is Casey Wiegand and I blog over at CaseyLeigh.  I am the mama of three kids. Aiden (3), Ainsleigh (2) and Apple (2 months).

Even though I am an artist and free spirit...I like things to be organized, clean and in some type of order. The most helpful thing to control the "mess" with the kiddos is shelves with baskets for all of the toys. That way they can play all day and at the end of each day my two toddlers know that we put everything back into the baskets. It gives a bit of "system" to the chaos.

Another thing that helped was putting all of the toys in our family room/office. Taking the toys out of their bedrooms and putting them all in one spot with the basket system has been amazing for our family organization.

Lastly, I love having a family calendar and a meal plan calendar. I like to be able to hand write on them both and keep them on my work desk. Both of these help me immensely!

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Hello! My name is Diana from Nanny2Mommy. I was a nanny for five years (thus the name) before I became a mom. During that time when it was just their older son, I would clean up after him and never encourage him to clean. I didn't because it was a job that I got paid to do it. 

When their daughter was born and as she got older, I was out numbered and needed help with the disasters they created. So I encouraged them to help me clean up. The older one was so used to me doing everything that he just wouldn't help. I had to say things like, "Oh your baby sister is doing such a good job cleaning up, could you help her?" or "Let's see who can clean up the most" or "the fastest" etc. Cleaning eventually became a part of his routine. 

My suggestion? Get them started early where they are used to it and it is just habit. My daughter knows what to do when I say let's clean up now and, although I have to go behind her, I feel I am setting her up for good habits in the future. And she likes it because we try to make it a game. She is even learning how to organize her toys now as well.

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Hello! My name is Janine and I blog over at True Aim. I am a Mother of 3 under the age of 5. I also have a Home Preschool and teach 3 other children.

Here are 3 techniques that I use to get my little ones to clean up their toys.

1. A Manageable Mess: Once a mess becomes too large, no one wants to clean it, including me. So, I have all of our toys and books divided up into containers. The rule is that each child may play with one container at a time. When they are done, they must put everything back before moving on to the next container. This method is great because at no point is the mess so large that it is unmanageable and our house is always moderately clean – just in case the neighbors pop in! 

2: Off to the Races! Often, my kids would drag the cleaning of large messes out all day. As long as I was watching they would clean, but the moment I left they would lose focus and begin playing. Also, they all cleaned at a snail's pass, hoping that if they waited it out, one of their sibling would eventually finish the job without them. That is why, instead of "cleaning a mess," we head "off to the races!" I set a timer and give everyone an area to clean up. Whoever cleans up their mess first wins the race

3: Repossession or Reward? When my children forget to put away their toys, I simply repossess them. Once a toy is repossessed, my children must buy it back with Popsicle sticks or by doing an extra chore. On the other hand, if they do keep their toys tidy, I reward them with Popsicle sticks or an occasional treat!

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Hi my name's Rachel from the blog, Lines Across. I am a mom of two kids, Benjamin (3) and Lyla (23 months). You can follow me on Facebook here.

As a crafty person living in a small house with two young kids, two cats, and a husband, it's definitely a struggle to keep things clean. I almost always have some sort of project out on a desk or tabletop. In fact, right now, I have a handful of balloons hanging from the shutters in our kitchen.

That being said, I think that it is so important to help teach your kids to clean up and be organized. We have made a point of keeping the kids' rooms clean and organized, and we want them to be a part of it. For me, the most important part of this is having good storage for toys. We got these bins from IKEA, and we love them. Every toy has a place in one of these colorful bins. My son, Benjamin, knows what toys go where, and he always wants to make sure that everything is in the right place.

We try to encourage him to clean up the toys he was playing with before he moves on to another room or another activity, but sometimes we are in a hurry or forget to remind Benjamin. That's why we have made clean-up time a consistent part of bedtime... after brushing teeth and right before we curl up and read a book together. It works well because my little 3 year old is of course looking for ways to stall going to bed and is always happy to help clean up his toys. Sometimes we even come up with games like lego basketball, color sorting, counting, or a reenactment of an episode of Thomas. Even though our house is never perfect, and there is always some chore that needs to be done, it feels so good to tuck my kids in at night in clean and organized rooms.

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Your Turn:

 How do YOU get YOUR children to clean up?
Do you have any tips or advice?
Love to hear from you!


Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory


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Saving Money on Organics @ Publix

Great week this week at Publix. Went after dinner. I love shopping with my fiend but trying to brave it with both girls in tow is never easy. Hubby helped me so much today. He watched Sweet Pea and let me do my thing. :)

BTW if you still want to link up to the Weekly Totals Linky, it's over HERE. :)



Here's how I did:

1 Fresh Express Salad Blend BOGO $3.99
- $3/1 IP (NLA)
= $1 MM!

1 Kraft Homestyle Macaroni & Cheese BOGO $2.49
- $1/1 Kraft First Taste IP
= $0.29

10 Campbell's 100% Natural Soup BOGO $2.49
- 2 $0.50/2 IPs & 4 $0.50/2 from 10/14 SS doubled (here's a $0.75/2 IP)
= $7.45 or $0.75 each

8 Libby's Vegetables BOGO $1.19
- 2 $1/4 IPs (there is also a coupon from 8/26 RP)
= $2.76 or $0.34 each

2 Country Crock BOGO $2.45
- 2 $1/1 from Yellow Advantage Flyer (exp today)
- 2 $0.55/1 IP
= $0.65 MM!

3 Van's Natural Foods All Natural waffles BOGO $3.15
- 3 $2/1 any van's product IP (NLA)
= $1.28 MM!

3 Kashi Entrees @ 4/$10
- $3/3 Yellow Advantage Flyer (exp today)
- 3 $1/1 Facebook IP (there is also a $1/1 Printable on Recyclebank)
= $1.50 or $0.50 each!

1 Snuggle Fabric Softener $2.99
- $1/1 Target IP (competitor)
- $0.50/1 from 10/14 RP doubled
= $0.99

2 Tombstone Pizzas @ $2.99
- 2 $0.75/1 Manus (NLA)
- 2 $0.75/1 Target IPs
= $2.98 or $1.49 each

8 Gerber Graduates Puffs & Crunchies @ 2/$4
- 2 B3G1 FREE Publix Printables
- 8 $0.50/1 any Gerber Graduate item MIR mailed coupons doubled
= $4 or $0.50 each

2 Frusion @ 2/$5
- 2 $1/1 yellow Advantge flyer (exp today)
- 2 $1.50/1 coupons.com savings club coupon
= FREE! :)

2 Muir glen tomato sauce @ $0.89
- 2 $0.50/1 IPs doubled
= $0.22 MM!

6 Cascadian Farm fresh Frozen Veggies @ $2.49 (reg price)
- 3 $2/2 Yellow Advantage Flyer (exp today)
- 2 $0.85/1 Manu IP (NLA?)
- 4 $0.75/1 Manu IP
= $4.24 or $0.71 each (even better if you have more $0.85 off coupons)

Publix Cocoa Butter $3.49 & isopropyl alcohol $0.99
FREE with Baby Club Coupons

Linder Chocolates $3.99
Free with Facebook campaign coupon (posted on my Facebook Page)

PUblix Whole Milk $3.39 (ouch!)

- $5 off Kroger Catalina (competitor)

Total: $22.63 including taxes!
Total Saved: $110.14

Total percentage Saved: 83%!!! :)

Here are some other great deals to be had!

$1.50 off any Folgers Gourmet Selections K-Cups - this coupon is RARE! I would grab it while it's HOT! :)

FREE Playtex 2-pack pacifiers with ANY bottle purchase - did a price check and you could get a bottle for as low as $3.27. That's AWESOME in my book!

$1/2 Ben & Jerry's Greek Frozen Yogurt - we don't need this in my house, me being on a diet and all but at Publix this week, the pints are BOGO @ $3.99! :)

Capri Sun are on sale $1.97 each at Publix, use this $1/2 Manu to get them or $1.47!

Kraft Salad Dressing is also on BOGO @ $2.95, use this $1/2 printable to get them for $0.98 each!

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