She Scribes

When you are having dinner in the evening, who are you having dinner with? Are you eating with you spouse only? You children only? Your whole family or by yourself? I know its hard to get people to have dinner together, especially with everyone having different schedules. However having dinner together as a family is really important, especially for children.

Did you know that teens that frequently participate in family dinners are 3.5 times less likely to abuse drugs? Or that teen girls that have dinner with their families are 1/3 less likely to develop unhealthy eating habits like abusing diet pills or anorexia? 

I think the most important thing that comes from having dinner together as a family is connecting with one another and getting to know what is going on in their lives. I have seen so many families that end up being “strangers” to one another because they don’t spend time reconnecting at least once a day. I would NEVER allow that to happen with my family.

I understand that sometimes the family dinner can be “boring”, especially for tweens and teens. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can have a lot of fun at the dinner table. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have cried hysterically from laughter at things that happen at the dinner table. My husband is such a comedian. He’s also a big kid. HE starts food fights sometimes! To be honest with you I look forward to dinner. Not when it comes to the cooking and the dishes but rather I know that its going to be fun. The only time dinner is ever “boring” is if one of the kids is in a “mood” and ruins it for the rest of us. Thankfully those days are few and far between.

What do you do to have fun at the table? Do you tell jokes? Play games? Talk about your day? When our kids were younger we used to ask them to share with s their favorite part of the day, no matter how little it was.

Dinner time can also be a source of headaches when it comes to making something EVERYONE likes to eat. My daughter is super picky when it comes to food. She wants to be a vegetarian but won’t give up nuggets and burgers. I’m pretty sure you have to give those up too. LOL!

Its not uncommon for me to end up making different dinners. Usually my son goes along with whatever I make. My daughter on the other hand fights me tooth and nail if its not mac & cheese, pizza or chicken nuggets.

Speaking of chicken nuggets, have you tried any of the new Perdue Whole Grain Chicken products? My family has tried the whole grain chicken nuggets and cannot – I repeat – CAN NOT get enough fo them. Oh my goodness! My kids would eat them every day if I let them. They like chicken nuggets and will eat whatever kind I buy but the whole grain chicken nuggets are by far their most favorite. My husband’s too.

I like the whole grain chicken nuggets (yes, I tried a couple) because they taste fresher then the ones you find in fast food places. They are also baked, not fried, which is by far much healthier for you. I also like that they contain white meat. The kind you buy from fast food places often have white and dark meats mixed together, as if you are getting the “left over” pieces from other meals formed into a nugget. Ewww!

These nuggets go great with Honey Mustard dipping sauce, BBQ sauce, sweet & sour sauce and the good old standby – ketchup!

One serving of the whole grain chicken nuggets from Perdue (5 nuggets) give you 8 grams of whole grains, 4 grams of fiber and 12 grams of protein. As you know its not easy to get kids to eat enough fiber and protein. I don’t think I have ever met a child that didn’t love chicken nuggets.

The only downside is that I wish they had less calories (210), fat (13 grams – 3 of which are saturated), cholesterol (35 mg) and sodium (480 mg). I’m sure as long as your child doesn’t eat bags of chips and other unhealthy foods during the day then the fat, calories and so forth in the nuggets are fine. Remember you need to count the overall amounts that you eat throughout the day, not just one food. These numbers are fine as long as the rest of your meals are within reason.

Perdue would love to know how you and your family spend your dinner time together. Take a digital photo or have one of your children draw a freehand picture of your family having dinner and submit it to the Perdue Family Fun contest, http://www.PerdueFamilyFun.com. You can enter up to September 30, 2010. The grand prize winner get a family cruise for four people (winner and three guests) valued at $5,000. NICE!  The first prize winner will receive a year’s worth of Perdue products. Also NICE! Eight second prize winners will each get an assortment of Crayola products and a free package of Perdue frozen fully cooked chicken. 

For more information about Perdue please visit www.Perdue.com. I tried to find a Facbook & Twitter account to share too but I can’t seem to find anything for them.

What a fun contest the whole family can participate in. To get you excited about the contest, and to help you draw your own family meal time memories, I have a special giveaway from Perdue. The first prize winner will get a box of Crayola crayons (96 count with sharpener) and 3 coupons for FREE Perdue products. The second place winner will get two FREE Perdue product coupons and the third place winner will get one FREE Perdue product coupon. Thank you Perdue!

To enter please comment on something funny that happened at the dinner table with you and your family.

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.

- Subscribe to She Scribes and/or connect with Google Friend Connect. Both options are found on the right side bar.

- “Like” She Scribes on Facebook (click on the Facebook button on the right side bar, then click “like” on the next page).

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter (@She_Scribes

- Use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this post to promote this giveaway and/or the Perdue contest. Be sure to tell me what you did and if possible provide a name and/or URL.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on September 20, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winners will be chosen at random from all eligible entries using  a random number generator. The winners will all be contacted via e-mail and will have three days to reply with a name and mailing address (no PO Box) or a new winner will be chosen.

Other great giveaways are found on the right side bar under “Win It”.

Kimberly

*I received free product samples and a box of crayons in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own. Perdue is supplying the crayons and free product coupons.

I have never had much of a good sleeping pattern. When I was in college I was working two part time jobs, interning and attending college full time. Talk about “burning the candles on both ends”. I didn’t know if I was coming or going. Sleep was no on my agenda.

Right after college I became a Mom. As you know its hard to get a good nights sleep with an baby waking you up a few times during the night.

The last couple of years has been the worst. I TRY to get a good nights sleep but I find myself either unable to sleep (insomnia) or getting a decent nights sleep but waking up feeling like I never slept at all, feeling groggy and tired. If you had a decent nights sleep why would you wake up feeling that way? It makes no sense.

Because my sleep patterns were so off I would often fall asleep after dinner while watching TV. I would sleep soundly for a few hours (my husband could never wake me up) then I’d wake up and be wide awake all night. It was a vicious cycle that I wanted to get off.

I refuse to take sleep medication. NO WAY! I don’t like to take medication unless I have no choice in the matter.

I have tried things like Dream Water to help me sleep (Dream Water works great!) but that ends up being costly.

Surely there has to be something to help me sleep and feel better?

About a month ago I was asked if I wanted to review PureZone. PureZone is a personalized air filtration system that helps to remove 99.97% of the allergens in the air that can effect your sleep. Allergens cause allergies.

I did some research and found that allegens can cause you to feel fatigued (which I always feel), experience daytime sleepiness (which I have) and effect the quality of your sleep. WOW… could my sleep problems have something to do with allergies? I do wake up stuffy a lot. I never really gave allergies a thought when it came to getting a good nights sleep.

If you do an Internet search for sleep and allergies or allergens you’ll find a lot of information.

We live in a shoe box sized condo with FIVE pets. We also face the parking lot which means if the windows are opened the dust from the parking lot comes in our home (trust me, I am constantly dusting!). It is very possible that allergies could be causing my sleep problems. I am also prone to bouts with Asthma if I get congestion in my chest.

Seeing as how the PureZone removes 99.97% of allergens I jumped on the opportunity to review it.

PureZone is a compact filter system that plugs into an outlet near your bed. It also comes with a special pillow case and a “tube” that connects the two.

PureZone is a simple concept to understand. Air goes into the filter system, the filter removes all the allergens then blows the “clean” air up the tube and out the pillow that you rest your head on. As you are sleeping you are breathing in the clean air that is all around you, thanks to the pillow.

The set up was a piece of cake. I had the unit ready to go in about 10 minutes. Its a lot smaller then I thought it would be which is great since space is a premium in our condo. I have the unit in the space between the bed and my husband’s chair.

My first concern was the noise. The last thing I wanted was to listen to a motor running all night long. Even the clicking of a clock can get on my nerves in the middle of the night. Thankfully PureZone is very quiet. To be honest with you I have been using the unit for around 3 weeks now and not once has the sound bothered me or my husband. I don’t even notice it.

When you first turn the PureZone on you’ll notice that the pillow case inflates. That is because its filling up with pure, clean, allergen free air. It was funny to see the pillow look like a giant marshmallow. Once you rest your head on it the pillow goes down (of course) but the air continues to filter through it just the same.

I made a video to show you how the air puffs up the pillow. I’m sorry about the quality. Hopefully you can make out the fluffy air filled pillow. I’m also sorry that I can’t get the video to center in the post.

The PureZone can be adjusted to give you warmed or cooled air. I prefer the cool air, especially on a hot and sticky night.

My husband and I have to sleep in the living room on a daybed/trundle set up (our kids have to share the only bedroom). I am unable to sleep with the PureZone pillow horizontally so I have to sleep with it vertically. It was a challenge at first but I’m used to it now.

The first night I used the PureZone I don’t even remember what time I fell asleep. I seemed to get sleepy sooner, which is rare for me. I slept through the night and woke up feeling like I had actually slept for a change.

Over the next few days I noticed that I would fall asleep faster, sleep all night, and wake up feeling rested and refreshed. I can’t even tell you how long its been since I felt that way.

For the past few weeks I have NOT experienced any day time sleepiness. My fatigue level is not as bad as it was (I’m severely anemic so I’m always going to feel some kind of fatigue). I find myself going to sleep around midnight (give or take) and waking up around 7 Am feeling alert, rested and no groggy. Another words – I feel great!

I have been making comments to my husband about how I have NOT fallen asleep after dinner in weeks, even since using the PureZone at night. I feel more energetic and less cranky too. I truly believe that having a good nights sleep for a change has really been a life altering experience for me. I haven’t felt this good in YEARS.

Just to make sure I wasn’t imagining things I went a few nights without using the PureZone. The first night was OK but in the evening of the following day I fell sleep around 8 PM and slept until 10 PM. That threw me off BIG TIME! I had a hard time falling asleep that night.

The few nights I went without using the PureZone I found that I went to bed later and started to wake up a big more groggy in the morning. I don’t know if its a coincidence or what?

After my experiment I went back to using the PureZone again and I feel great again. No more dragging myself out of bed at night. I actually, dare I say, spring out of bed in the morning. I feel like I can accomplish so much more. Even my mood is better. I’m less cranky and moody.

I still wake up stuffy in the morning sometimes, so the allergies are still there. I guess not everything is eliminated. But as far as getting a good nights sleep is concerned I am totally sold on PureZone.

To learn more about PureZone please visit www.PureZone.com. You can watch some product related videos on YouTube on the PureZone YouTube Channel (click here). PureZone is also offering a $99 risk free trial. Please check out the site for more information.

PureZone has generously offered to give a very lucky She Scribes reader a PureZone Personalized Air Filtration System. This is a $329.00 value! Thank you PureZone!

To enter please visit the PureZone website, look around, then come back here and tell me something that you learned from the site. There is a lot of great information on their site including information about allergies which I found very interesting.

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.

- Blog about this review/giveaway and please link back to both this post and the PureZone website. Please provide the URL of the post.

- Subscribe to She Scribes and/or connect with Google Friend Connect. Both options are found on the right side bar.

- “Like” PureZone on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Eden-Prairie-MN/PureZone-Technologies/105891602785558?ref=ts.

- Follow PureZone on Twitter, https://Twitter.com/PureZone.

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter (@She_Scribes) and tweet about this review/giveaway. Make sure to include me in the tweet so I can see it too. This is limited to three tweets per day, space apart (not one after the other).

- Use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this post (Stumble Upon, Digg, Facebook…) to promote this review/giveaway. Please be sure to let me know what you have done and if  possible provide a name and/or URL.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on September 19, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and will have three days to reply with a name and mailing address (no PO Box) or a new winner will be chosen.

Other great giveaways are found on the right side bar under “Win It”.

Kimberly

*I received a free sample product in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own. PureZone will be providing the prize.

School is finally here. Even after much stressing out over supplies and clothing we’re STILL missing a few items. Not too much (thankfully) but my son needs a Snare drum for band and our kids are still in need of cooler weather clothing. They did pick up a few outfits but not nearly as many as they will need in the coming weeks.

My kids attend public schools. There are no uniforms required and only a few rules as to what kids cannot wear (tank tops with thin straps, clothing that is offensive or revealing, flip flops…). There are times however that I really wish that the kids did have uniforms. In the long run it would save us a lot of money because we wouldn’t have to indulge the kids in fashions that their classmates are into. For my daughter its all about the labels. How she got that way I’ll never know. I’m happy with sneakers from Payless. She’s after the $80 Nike Air Force Ones. Plus if its not by Abercrombie & Finch, Hollister or Aerop0stale she won’t wear it.

Grrrr!!! It kills me to have to pay top dollar for something that has a moose on it (logo). At the same time I was a teen once too. Back in the day I dreamed of owning a pair of Jordache jeans but my Mom would never cave in and get me a pair.  

I think that having a school uniform is not such a half bad idea because it would eliminate a  lot of the ” must have” fashions that kids crave for. If everyone had similar clothing then there wouldn’t be no urgency to run right out and pick up the latest fashion craze.

I guess you can say I’m “on the fence”. Some days I’m all for uniforms, other days I’m not.

What about you? Do your kids have to wear uniforms to school?

I honestly thought that school uniforms were very pricey to start off with but more cost effective over all.

French Toast offers an extended variety of uniform essentials for both boys and girls and from toddler sizes to teens. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the prices were comparable to non-uniform pieces available at the mall.

French Toast offered to send me a few pieces to review. I wanted to get a mix of girl and boy products to try out with my own kids but my daughter wouldn’t go for it. My son on the other hand was more then happy to be my “c0-reviewer”. He actually found several pieces that he really liked.

I was pleased to see that uniforms don’t necessarily mean drab and boring. There were plenty of pieces that I really liked. For example the Belted Hidden Button Cargo Pant. They look like dress pants like my husband wears to work (Dockers style pants), so they are dressy yet they have a cool feature that my son really likes – cargo pants pockets! My son loves those pockets on the legs. That is where he keeps pens, pencils, lunch money and gum. The pants also come with a really nice belt with a classy looking belt buckle.

I tired to take pictures of the pants but it didn’t turn out as well. Here is a picture of the button fly closure and belt (I moved the belt to the side to see the button) and a photo of the pocket.

As much as my son loved the fashions he didn’t want me to take pictures of him doing a “fashion show” (his words).  He had to remind me that he was a boy (as if I didn’t already know that) and “boys don’t do those things” (meaning put on a fashion show).  I should have snapped his picture this morning. He was wearing one of the French Toast pieces. He would have never even known I did it.

The pants seem to run pretty true to size. They are also a nice weight which makes them ideal for fall and winter (although I wouldn’t recommend playing in a pile of snow in the pants).

One of my favorite French Toast pieces is this pull over sweater. It’s wonderful! Its a true knit sweater but it feels really nice (not scratchy) and I LOVE the collar. It features a button up collar (with wooden like buttons) and a “kangaroo” pocket in the middle. It looked so nice on my son. Paired with the navy pants from French Toast and he looked very much like a little man instead of a little boy. This outfit will be great for school pictures and the holidays when he needs to dress up a bit.

The flash from the camera made the pants and top look a lot different in color. In person they match pretty well. Also the area where the buttons are looks like a different color but as you can see from the professional photo it is not.

My son also received a long sleeve and short sleeve Pique Polo shirts. My son wore the short sleeve one to the first day of school yesterday. I don’t have a picture of him! His bus came just as we got to the bus stop. I need to ask one of the other Moms at the bus stop if she can e-mail me the picture. Earlier when our daughter was waiting on her bus the other Mom took a picture of the younger kids (my son included) together.

Even though it was around 85 degrees yesterday my son said he felt fine in the short sleeve Pique Polo shirt. I love that it comes in a variety of colors. At $9.50 each you could easily pick out several colors.

My son also picked out a long sleeve Pique Polo shirt. Its just as affordable at $9.98 each and is also available in a wide array of colors. My son has the green one and it is so nice looking. Its soft to the touch too. The sleeves feature a cuff at the end. This shirt also looks great with the cargo pants.

Lastly my son received a hooded sweat jacket in black. He actually wore it today for school as mentioned earlier in the post. Its a typical hooded sweat jacket. Its ideal for this time of year when its a bit chilly in the morning but warms up in the afternoon. It was chilly this morning due to some rain we had pass through.

This is a nice sweat jacket that can be stuffed inside a backpack when not in use and doesn’t come out all wrinkled.

My son chose black which is not exactly the best color to have with five furry pets around. The color black seems to work like a pet hair magnet. Ha Ha.

Whether your child attends public or private school  you can certainly find some great fashions at French Toast. They offer quality clothing at affordable prices. As a Mom I am very pleased with the clothing from French Toast and I appreciate their affordable prices.

To learn more about French Toast please visit www.FrenchToast.com. French Toast is also having a 15% off sale on everything until September 13, 2010 if you use the code QEJ9FA.

French Toast has very generously offered to give a lucky She Scribes reader a FABULOUS prize package. The winner can chose THREE tops and THREE bottoms (boys or girls, any size). That means the winner will essentially win three outfits (less socks and underwear of course). THANK YOU French Toast!

To enter please visit the French Toast website. Look around then come back here and comment on TWO ITEMS you would love to win – BE SPECIFIC.

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional.

- Subscribe to She Scribes and/or Connect with Google Friend Connect (found on the right side bar). ♥

- “Like” French Toast on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/pages/FrenchToastcom/119383800713.

- Follow French Toast on Twitter, http://twitter.com/FrenchToastcom.

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter (@She_Scribes) and Tweet about this fabulous review/giveaway. Please be sure to include me in the tweet so I can see it too. This is limited to three tweets per day, spaced apart (not one after the other).

- Blog about this great review/giveaway and please link back to both this post and French Toast. Please provide the URL of the post.

- Use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this post (Facebook, Stumble Upon, Digg…) to promote this review/giveaway. Please be sure to tell me what you did and if possible provide a name and/or URL.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on September 18, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to reply with a name, mailing address (no PO Box) and a choice of three tops and three bottoms (sizes too) or a new winner will be chosen.

Other great giveaways are found on the right side bar under “Win It”.

Kimberly

*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opionions expressed are my own.