If you have a giveaway you would like to share with readers, please link it up below! If you could use the format name-prize-restrictions-end date (eg. My Blog-Awesome Prize-US-1/15), that would be wonderful. Happy giveaway entering!
Burt’s Bees Super Shiny Natural Hair Care-Review and Giveaway
January 26, 2012 By 65 Comments
I have what I can only really describe as normal hair. It’s straight, doesn’t really style very well and most of the time it’s pulled back in a ponytail because I don’t know what else to do with it. But every once in awhile, I let my hair down…literally. And when I do, I want it to be shiny and manageable, just like in the commercials.
When possible, I like the hair care products I use to be natural ones, and when I received the conditioner from the new Burt’s Bees Super Shiny hair care collection, I was so excited. The conditioner is free of sulphates, parabens, phthalates and petrochemicals and enriched with mango seed and avocado oil. It looked like the perfect product for my tresses and I couldn’t wait to test it out.
The smell of the product is one of my favourite features. It has a refreshing mango and citrus aroma that I really loved and it was great to know the fragrance was all natural. I squeezed out a dollop of conditioner to apply to my hair.
It seemed to me that I needed a little bit more of the Burt’s Bees Super Shiny Conditioner than I usually take when using another brand. But when I rinsed it out and dried my hair, I knew that using a little extra conditioner was no big deal if I was going to get great results out of it!
My hair had taken a bit of a beating after a week of minus 40 weather and bone-chilling winds. But after using the conditioner, my hair was smooth, manageable and, yes, shiny! The mango seed and avocado oil had done a great job of hydrating my hair and I was delighted by how much softer and sleeker it was.
There is no doubt in my mind that natural products have the power to do almost anything, and Burt’s Bees obviously agrees; they offer their hair care products in More Moisture and Very Volumizing formulas too! But if shiny hair is a requirement of your dream hairstyle, check out Burt’s Bees new Super Shiny hair care products for yourself. You’ll love how effective this fabulous natural shampoo and conditioner are!
Buy It: Burt’s Bees new hair care collection is available at major retailers across North America
Winners-January 21
January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Congratulations to the lucky winners of the January 21 giveaways!
- The Chickadees The Froggy Hop Children’s CD – 155 – Bridget Hopper
- SpongeBob Squarepants: SpongeBob’s Frozen Face-Off DVD – 834 – Kelly Hutchinson Sweeper
Winners, you have 72 hours to respond to the email I sent or I will draw another winner. Thanks so much to everyone that entered!
Benjamin and the B-Word
January 26, 2012 By 4 Comments
So it was one of those precious moments that every parent loves, some quiet time sitting on the couch cuddling with my beautiful two-year-old boy while he played with my hair and touched my face. I was enjoying every minute of it when suddenly Benjamin stopped, looked up at me with a loving expression and said ever so sweetly, “Mommy, you b**ch!”
Because I want my children to always be comfortable talking to me and not feel ridiculed regardless of what they say, I have a pretty darn good poker face. But I have a feeling it flickered for just a second there.
My mind whirred like a wind-up toy. Where would my son have heard that word? I’m sure he doesn’t know what it means, does he? But where did he learn it to begin with? What is going on?!
“What was that, honey?” I asked calmly and pleasantly.
“You b**ch!” he repeated with a smile.
Now I couldn’t be sure, but he sure wasn’t saying it like it was just something he had just heard and repeated. He was saying it like he had picked it especially for the situation. I decided that I must be misunderstanding him. Sure, it was the clearest pronunciation I’ve heard from him yet…but he couldn’t be saying THAT.
“I’m rich?” I asked.
“No,” said Benji with a slight frown.
“I pinch?”
He shook his head.
“I pitch? I stitch? I flinch? I hitch? I itch?” I asked, somehow managing to hide my increasing dismay.
“No,” said Benji with deliberation. “You B**CH.”
I still kept the poker face. Just barely. And because I didn’t know what else to say, I said, “I’m sorry, baby. I don’t understand.”
We looked at each other silently for a moment, both knowing we weren’t communicating and both wondering how to proceed. Then, suddenly, Benjamin’s face lit up like a ray of sunshine in an overcast sky. “Mommy,” he said slowly and carefully, “You…bi-cess!”
In my head there was wild applause as trumpets blared a victory song. I hugged my son and said, “Oh my sweet boy! You were trying to call Mommy a prince! And how smart you were to remember the word princess instead!”
“Yes,” Benjamin said simply. He beamed his bright smile at me once more and I cuddled him close with a silent sigh of relief.
I might have a little trouble making out my toddler’s words every once in a while. In fact, I may even think that he’s saying something irrelevant or inappropriate.
Fortunately, he’s smart enough to help out his poor foolish Mom and get his point across!
Disney Treasure Buddies Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack-Giveaway
January 25, 2012 By 55 Comments
If you have younger children and haven’t heard of the Disney Buddies, five adorable puppies with a love of adventure and a talent for trouble, you and your kids are missing out! The Buddies have starred in six slightly cheesy, feel-good movies so far and their newest full-length feature Treasure Buddies looks like a perfect choice for plenty of family fun. Here’s a brief synopsis:
Disney’s talking canine superstars are back in “Treasure Buddies,” their 6th all-new adventure. This latest story is told from the perspective of the Buddies’ newest friend, a mischievous Egyptian monkey named Babi. As Babi tells us, more than 40 years ago a young archaeologist named Thomas Howard, travelled to Egypt with his dog Digger to search for the lost necklace of Cleocatra. They managed to discover half of an artefact, the Bronze of Bastet, but their find triggered a booby-trapped cave-in, which they barely escaped. Forty years later, Thomas is living in Fernfield where he manages a museum. Digger’s grandpups, Rosebud, B-Dawg, Budderball, Buddha and Mudbud also live in Fernfield and, in fact, Mudbud belongs to Thomas’ grandson, Pete.
Thomas is about to close his museum due to lack of funding when he gets a visit from a mysterious stranger, Dr. Philip Wellington, who reveals the other half of the Bronze of Bastet and invites Thomas and Pete to accompany him back to Egypt to resume the quest for the legendary Cat’s Eye Jewel. Pete offers to bring Mudbud along but Wellington refuses as he travels with Ubasti, a hairless cat who is allergic to dogs. When Mudbud learns that Ubasti plans to steal the necklace for herself and use its power to dominate both dogs and humans, he rallies the other Buddies to stow away on the private plane in order to overtake the expedition and thwart Ubasti’s plan.
Once they get to Egypt, danger lurks around every secret sphinx, cryptic crypt and puzzling pyramid. With help from lovable new friends including Cammy, a baby camel and the clever Babi, the Buddies avoid booby traps, solve puzzles and explore a mysterious tomb in their most exciting and challenging adventure yet.
With action, adventure and, of course, puppies, this movie looks like a great pick for a fun-filled movie night when you want something that is filled with adventure and excitement without being too scary. While you’re waiting for the release, why not entertain the kids with a fun Treasure Buddies maze! And if you just can’t wait to check this movie out for yourself, you’re in luck! Disney Canada is very generously offering Mommy Kat and Kids readers the chance to win one of three Treasure Buddies Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Packs! So grab the kids, make a bowl of popcorn and get ready for a movie filled with fun in the sun courtesy of the Disney Buddies!
Buy It: Disney Treasure Buddies will be released on Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack on January 31, 2012, so check your local DVD retailer or pre-order online now
Tim Hortons Egg White Breakfast Sandwich-Review and Giveaway
January 25, 2012 By 67 Comments
Healthy eating is one of those resolutions that gets sabotaged fairly easily simply because most of us have such busy days! When you have to rush from one place to another, sometimes your options end up being to either eat something unhealthy or just go hungry, and neither of those choices is good for overall health. But Canada’s favourite drive-through coffee shop has a new solution that will fill you up quickly without the guilt!
Tim Hortons’ new Egg White Breakfast Sandwiches are a healthier alternative for people that didn’t have time to eat at home and don’t want to fill up on sugary or greasy fast food. The sandwiches contain a scrumptious egg white omelette with your choice of hickory-smoked ham or bacon on a whole grain English muffin. With 17 grams of protein per sandwich, they’re a breakfast that’s sure to satisfy! Recently I received a Tim Hortons gift card so that I could try the new sandwich for myself.
My husband and I each ordered an Egg White Breakfast Sandwich with bacon and, of course, a legendary double-double coffee. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I bit into the sandwich. To be honest, I don’t generally enjoy the taste of eggs from fast food restaurants. They always seem rubbery and tasteless to me.
That certainly wasn’t the case with the Tim Hortons Egg White Breakfast Sandwich! The egg white omelette is flavoured with cheese and onion and it really had a fresh, natural taste. I’ve had so many bad breakfast sandwiches that I subconsciously expect the texture of rubber when I bite into one. This breakfast sandwich tasted just like something I might have made myself and I was delighted about it. My husband loved the new breakfast option as well, but what really impressed me about the sandwiches was how satisfying they were! One sandwich filled me up completely and gave me the energy I needed to finish our errands that day.
The Tim Hortons Egg White Breakfast Sandwich is available right now for a special price of only $1.99 and is a great choice for anyone that wants a less fattening, protein-rich alternative to other breakfast sandwiches. Thanks to the whole grain English muffin, it even has three grams of fibre!
I was so impressed by the great taste of the Tim Hortons Egg White Breakfast Sandwich and I’m glad that when I’m having a busy morning, I won’t have to choose between a greasy breakfast and going hungry. If your busy day makes healthy eating a challenge, check out the new Egg White Breakfast Sandwich for yourself. It’s a great way to get the energy you need without the extra fat!
Buy It: The new Egg White Breakfast Sandwich is available at Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada
Wordless Wednesday with Linky-Is There a Problem?
January 24, 2012 By 20 Comments
"Okay, we're ready to go! What...is there a problem?"
If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, feel free to link it up below; I’d love to check it out!
Wednesday WordPress Quick Tips-Spam
Welcome to my series of quick tips for WordPress bloggers! Please note that nothing I post here will be for experienced users. Instead, the series is just quick little tips that I’ve come across since moving to WordPress. If you happen to have a random question about WordPress that doesn’t have to do with actual programming issues (which I know nothing about), feel free to send me an email and I’ll do my best to hunt down an answer!
This weeks quick tip…spam!
I’ve already talked about the importance of a good spam filter Plugin like Akismet but even when it’s not being published to your site, spam can cause problems for you. If you let your spam folder get too full, it can overload your site’s resources and get your site shut down. And some themes keep a record of old spam comments so even if you delete your spam, it will still gradually clog up your files. When it comes to spam, the less you have, the better!
It took me a long time to figure out some tips and tricks for dealing with the spam on WordPress, but I’ve finally found some ways to make the spam situation more manageable. First of all, that horrible WordPress feature that tells people they are posting comments too quickly is actually in place to protect blogs from spam! If you run giveaways using comments as entries, you really have no choice but to use a Plugin to disable the feature (unless you want your readers to go crazy, that is!) but if you use Rafflecopter or another third-party giveaway method, do NOT disable this feature! Computers can post spam comments much faster than people can type them and this setting helps prevent your site from being flooded with comments about pornography and Zune.
Another important tip is, of course, to empty your spam folder regularly. This is one of those jobs that is pretty tedious but very essential. My best advice? Try to find some humour in it! Take, for example, this fabulous comment posted on a lip balm review:
Thank you for sharing. Not to many people in your position are so gracious. Your article was very poignant and understandable. It helped me to understand very clearly. Thank you for your help.
All I can say is, that man really must have needed some lip balm. Or this fabulous comment on a post announcing some recent winners:
If I told U I didnt agree? Would I be shot down like a… couldnt think of an analogy which is funny cos I am usually full of them.
Umm…it was a list of giveaway winners. What’s to agree with?
Of course, since 99% of spam is left by malicious computer programs, it’s no wonder the comments are so hilariously irrelevant. But as I mentioned, they can also be horribly harmful to a website’s operation. And so my very best quick tip for dealing with spam is this: turn your comments off after a certain number of days.
Changing the settings is easy. Click on the Discussion tab found under Settings in the WordPress dashboard. In the category Other Comment Settings you’ll find the option of automatically closing comments on articles older than __ days. Check the box, enter your desired number of days that you’d like to accept comments and then save your changes!
Of course, if you have posts that still get comments years after you’ve posted, this may not be a good tip for you. But if your comments tend to mostly come within the first few months, setting your comments to turn off automatically can be a lifesaver. Because I run giveaways for two to three weeks, my comments on a post turn off automatically after 30 days. Since changing that setting, my spam comments have dropped from over 1500 comments weekly to about 200. That’s a lot less you-know-what to sift through!
If you are completely desperate, there are plenty of Plugins to help minimize comment spam even more, from programs that block spam computers from even accessing your site to ones that add CAPTCHA words or math problems to comment boxes. But like all Plugins, they will eat up some of your site’s resources as well, so if you don’t need to leave your comments open indefinitely, closing them off is a much more resource-friendly way to deal with the problem.
Spam is one of those inevitable burdens website owners have to deal with. But a quick setting change or two could make that burden a lot less heavy. So try some different options out and see what works best for you!