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 is.

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.

Are you a fan of the “Twilight” series? Do you have a craving for more “True Blood” episodes on TV? Or do you love the classics like Star Wars? What is YOUR “guilty pleasure”?

What I mean by ”guilty pleasure” is not chocolates or wine or a foot massage (although those DO sound nice!), but rather books that have just the right amount of fantasy, romance and excitement to act as the perfect antidote to the craziness of the real world and life’s adult-sized problems. 

The Twilight series has certainly peaked people’s interest in paranormal romance, science fiction and fantasy and opened the door for books that, although considered “young adult fiction,” are now widely read by many, many adults.

The numbers don’t lie:  a recent survey revealed that 47 percent of 18- to 24-year-old women say most of the books they buy are classified as young adult (YA). In fact, nearly one in five 35- to 44-year-olds say they most frequently buy YA books for themselves.

If  you  secretly LOVE to curl up with a great book teeming with romance, faeries (or vampires or angels or ghosts or mindreaders!) and teenage angst – you are NOT alone!

As a response to the groundswell, the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour was created.  The twelve-city, two week tour features eighteen of today’s most buzzed writers of young adult paranormal romance – from international bestsellers and award winners to the genre’s hottest newcomers. 

Featuring six to nine Chicks at every venue, the author line up in every city will be different so no two events will be exactly the same. Here’s the link to the tour information, including dates, times, locations and who will be appearing at each stop: http://www.smartchickskickit.com/schedule.html.

You can also learn more at the official website and on their blog, 

www.smartchickskickit.com

http://smartchickskickit.blogspot.com

The tour kicks off on September 13, 2010.

In conjunction with the Smart Chicks tour I have three books I can offer to one lucky reader. The books will all be from  from authors appearing on the tour. You can check out the books from the Smart Chicks here: http://www.melissa-marr.com/_SCKI/ (just click on the posters – they will enlarge for better viewing of the book covers). The books will be random based on availability.

To enter please comment on what is your favorite genre of book to read? Do you like true crime stories (I do!), horror, fantasy, biographies… What is your “guilty pleasure” when it comes to reading?

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. All options are found on the right side bar. Please leave a separate comment to let me know what you did.

- Subscribe to She Scribes.

- Connect with She Scribes on Google Friend Connect.

- “Like” She Scribes on Facebook (click on the Facebook button then click on “like” on the next screen).

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter.

This giveaway is open to both US and Canadian residents and will end on September 17, 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 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 was not compensated in anyway for this post. I posted this information for the benefit and enjoyment of my site readers.

Pediatricians, moms and authors, Laura A. Jana, MD, FAAP and Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP offer a wealth of “parent-tested, pediatrician-approved” advice in Heading Home With Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality, Second Edition (American Academy of Pediatrics, September 2010). Available on the American Academy of Pediatrics official Web site for parents, HealthyChildren.org. Also available in bookstores nationwide.

The following are excerpts to help you navigate those first crucial weeks of parenthood and caring for a newborn:

Following the Rules: Parenting by the Book
Nowadays it seems you can find well-defined rules about everything from feeding and sleeping schedules to dressing, diapering, and discipline. As convenient as it may seem to have someone write out for you an exact recipe for parenting success, we believe that there is not just one right way to do things. As with diapers and baby clothes, we are convinced that parenting techniques are not simply one size fits all. Our goal is to help famil- iarize you with the basics of baby care, and even more importantly to build your confidence as a parent right from the beginning during what many consider to be an overwhelming time–the newborn period. With a little knowledge and a positive attitude, you will find that you are very capable of anticipating and reasoning your way through even the most challenging aspects of what lies ahead. It’s a great feeling to find yourself comfortable enough in your parenting abilities that you don’t have to live life with a quick reference guide–ours or anyone else’s–tucked in your back pocket.

Breastfeeding Advice
What’s “Natural” Doesn’t Always Come Naturally
Yes, the act of breastfeeding is “natural,” but the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t always come naturally. All too often, new parents expect to be handed a newborn who gracefully latches on, nurses no more than 15 minutes on each breast every 3 hours, and delights in a plentiful supply of breast milk within a few short days. While we can only wish this scenario on all of you, clinging to this idealistic picture of breastfeeding bliss is all but guaranteed to set most of you up for perceived failure. If, however, you prepare yourself for the distinct possibility that your newborn may lack interest or sucking stamina, that each feeding may be different, and your nipples may be a little worse for wear early on, well then you only stand to be pleasantly surprised. The most likely scenario: Breastfeeding may be natural, but expect it to be a learning process for you and your baby. Some babies are quick learners, while others take their own sweet time.

Progressive Production
The changeover from colostrum to transitional and then mature milk is an important one. It gives you and your baby’s doctor reassurance that all is going well. Because the actual transition is not always so clear-cut, as some women notice very little change in their breasts as their milk supply increases, it is useful to be aware of several other clues that can help you figure out that everything is moving ahead as planned. They include:

* Your breast milk is white instead of yellow in color and appears thinner or clearer.
* Your baby makes more obvious gulping and swallowing noises when nursing.
* Your baby begins to pee and poop much more frequently
* Your baby no longer is losing weight or just holding steady, but instead has begun to gain weight relatively noticeably both on and off the scale.

Formula and Bottle Feeding Advice
We admit it. In many ways, feeding your baby formula may seem much easier than breastfeeding, especially in the beginning weeks. After all, you don’t have to worry about having enough of a supply, it’s rather painless (if you don’t count the sleep deprivation that comes with round-the-clock feeding), and it’s easy to monitor your baby’s intake. Granted, formula can be costly, you have to wash your supplies, and on occasion a baby will be finicky about which nipple and formula she is willing to accept, but at some point during their child’s first year, most of today’s parents end up using formula. With that in mind, we intend to give you a practical approach to formula, buying and cleaning bottles and nipples, and troubleshooting for newborns who don’t seem to play by the rules.

The Model Bottle: We’ve found that in reality, most babies go along with their parent’s taste in Bottles and there really isn’t such a thing as a single “model bottle” – one that outshines the rest. Nevertheless, we have found the following considerations to serve bottle-buying parents well:

* In general, a transparent (ie, not colored) 4-ounce bottle is the most practical choice for newborns.
* Larger (6 or 8 ounce) bottles are fine if you don’t mind using them half-full until your baby is bigger.
* Angled bottles and those with disposable nurser bags, built-in vents, or flow and control systems are said to help decrease the amount of air your baby swallows (although regular bottles held at the proper angle will also).
* Disposable bags have the added benefit of, well, being disposable; you only have to wash the nipples after each feeding.

A Bit About BPA
BPA (bisphenol A) is a chemical used in many hard plastic products, including some baby bottles, and the plastic lining used in cans of ready- to-feed formula. What’s the concern? Studies have shown that this potentially toxic chemical can leach out into food and pose a potential health risk–especially to infants and young children. The likelihood of BPA contamination is thought to be greatest when BPA-containing plastics are scratched or heated, contain warm liquids or food, or are washed with harsh detergents. While the use of BPA is not yet banned in the United States, several cities and states are considering or have already prohibited its use.

The advice we have for parents? Minimize your baby’s exposure to BPA by purchasing baby bottles that are labelled “BPA-free” and consider avoid- ing plastics with a #3 or #7 recycling symbol on the bottom (since these recycling categories may sometimes include BPA-containing plastics). And lastly, check for labels that state “dishwasher safe” or “microwave safe” before placing plastic containers in the dishwasher or microwave.

*Book excerpts from Heading Home with Your Newborn (Second Edition/Copyright 2010/American Academy of Pediatrics).

 Kimberly

The Heading Home with Your Newborn excerpts are sponsored by the Role Mommy Writer’s Network.

Today is THE DAY! My kids start back at school today. However they do not have to be in school for long. They are off on Thursday and Friday for the Jewish holiday. It would have made better sense to send the kids back to school next Monday so that they had a full week. It seems silly to send them to school for two days and then give them a four day weekend.

This is the first time ever that my husband will be home in the morning. For the past 10+ years my husband got up for work at 4:50 and left by 5:30. That gave him plenty of time to make his lunch, have breakfast, get ready and walk the dog before he had to leave for work.

I used to get up at 6:00 AM on school mornings. I enjoyed having my morning coffee while checking e-mail BEFORE having to deal with the kids and the chaos of getting ready for school in the morning. I used to get the kids up at 6:45. Thankfully they both went to the same school so they got on and off the bus at the same time.

This year is going to be INSANE! My husband now works 9-5 hours. That means he doesn’t have to leave for work until around 8:15.

Our daughter goes to Junior High. Her bus comes at 7:35. She takes FOREVER to get ready. Today we got her up at 6:15 which gives her an hour and 15 minutes to get ready.

Our son, who takes about 5 minutes to get ready once he has breakfast, doesn’t have to be at the bus stop until 8:10. Sadly my kids share a bedroom so when one gets up the other wakes up too.

Now instead of enjoying my morning coffee and checking e-mails I have FOUR people trying to get ready at the same time. I have three lunches to make and three people to make sure they eat a good breakfast. My husband’s idea of breakfast is a handful of chocolate chip cookies. How he’s not overweight I’ll never know. I just look at cookies and I gain 5 pounds. Sigh…

We’ve all been up for an hour now. The kids are the only ones to eat breakfast, I had to make one lunch (my son wants to buy), and our daughter has yet to get out of the ONLY bathroom that we have. My son and husband haven’t been able to get ready yet.

As for me? My coffee is cold, I haven’t had breakfast yet and I doubt I’ll see the bathroom until around 7:30 when our daughter has to get to the bus. The good thing about having my husband home is that I have an extra person to get the kids to the bus, especially now that they go to different schools at different times.

The afternoon/evenings are not going to be any easier to get used to. My husband used to come home at 3 PM so he was able to get the kids off the bus. Then his hours switched so he didn’t get home until 3:45-4:00 PM. He wasn’t able to get the kids off the bus (unless someone took the late bus home) but he was home in time for us to have dinner at 5:00 PM. Now my husband works until 5:00 PM which means he’s not home until 5:45-6:00 PM, making us to have a later dinner.

Now dinner has to be changed around, the time the kids spend doing homework needs to change, the kids will get off the bus at different times so I’ll have to hang out at the bus stop for around 30 minutes to get both kids.

CRAZY! CRAZY! CRAZY! I am so NOT used to any of this.

My husband is off today. He has always taken off on the first day of school to see the kids off in the morning, then we spend the day together (much needed “couples time”). Needless to say I won’t get much posting done today. I’ll most likely post this evening.

Have a wonderful day!

Kimberly

On September 8, 2010 at 8:00 ET/ 7:oo PM CT, PBS will be airing a documentary called Through a Dog’s Eyes. The documentary is sponsored by Milk-Bone.

This documentary is based upon the book by the same name written by Jennifer Arnold. Jennifer is the founder and executive director of Canine Assistants, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing service dogs for people with disabilities. 

Through a Dogs Eyes gives the viewer a glimpse into the very special bond between human being and canines. As a dog lover and dog owner I know that I have a special bond between my four legged family member. After watching this documentary I have learned even MORE about the special bond between us.

The documentary gives the viewer a detailed view behind the scenes on how a dog is trained to be a canine assistant. They actually start training the dogs the moment they are born! As soon as the puppies come into this world they are handled by a team of experts to get the puppies to used to being around humans.

I knew that training a dog to be a canine assistant would require a lot of work and effort but I never realized just how much is involved. There is so much more to the training the dogs receive from the facility. They also need to received additional training by their new owner.

Throughout the documentary you will meet some of the people who are going to receive their own canine assistant. You’ll meet a young man name Bryson. Bryons survived being over Iraq during the war, only to come home and get into a car accident that left him in a wheel chair.

You will also meet Destiny. On the surface Destiny looks like a normal, happy and healthy young girl. However Destiny suffers from severe epilepsy that has caused her to stop breathing. There has been many documented cases where dogs have picked upon a seizure before they occur. Destiny and her Mom are hopeful that Destiny’s canine assistant dog will help alert her Mom to her seizures before they happen so that Destiny’s life can be saved.

Another young boy you will meet is Aiden. Aiden is a young boy with Cerebral Palsy. He is such a character! He likes to speak his mind and he doesn’t let his disability get the best of him.

I never knew that the dog had to pick the owner, not the other way around. I just assumed that you went to one of these facilities and picked out your dog. That is not how it works. The dog has to pick YOU!

I was also very surprised to learn that not all pairing work out. There are cases where the dog and human are not 100% compatible after all. In that case a new dog is given to the person who needs it and the other dog is returned to be paired up with a new owner.

The documentary was truly eye opening. I learned a lot about the special bond between humans and canines. I was also very touched by the people who came to Canine Assistants to find their “fur-ever friend”.

Through a Dog’s Eyesoriginally aired on April 21, 2010. It was such a popular documentary that PBS is going to air it again on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 8:00 PM ET/ 7:00 PM CT. Please check your local listings for channels and times.

For more information about Through a Dog’s Eyes  please visit http://www.PBS.org/Dogs-Eyes. You can also learn more about PBS  programming on their official website and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/PBS.

To learn more about Cannine Assistant dogs please visit http://www.CanineAssistants.org. They also have a Facebook page (CLICK HERE).

Milk-Bone is also helping out Canine Assistants. Every time you buy Milk-Bone dog snacks, a portion of the proceeds goes to help the Canine Assistants organization. To learn more about Milk-Bone you can visit www.MilkBone.com. You can also learn more on their special Facebook page, http://www.Facebook.com/itsgoodtogivemilkbone.

Mark your calendars and be sure to watch Through a Dog’s Eyes.

Kimberly

*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Have you ever heard of the poem The Tiger by William Blake? The first time I heard of it was when I watched the movie Burning Bright. Burning Bright was recently released on DVD by Lionsgate on August 17, 2010.

Burning Bright is the story of Kelly and her brother Tom. Their mother committed suicide leaving Kelly to care for her younger Autistic brother Tom. The pair live with their Stepfather Johnny.

Tom has these big dreams of opening up a Safari Ranch on the site of their home. Kelly doesn’t care what Tom wants to do. She has plans to attend college.

 Before Kelly can leave for college she needs to get her brother settled in at a facility that will take care of him while she’s away. Unbeknown to Kelly her sleazy Stepfather drained out her bank account, money that was left for her and Tom from their mother. Tom used the money to purchase a ferocious Tiger nicknamed “Lucifer” because he was pure evil.

Kelly and Tom return to their home so Kelly can confront Johnny. When they arrive home they find Johnny boarding up their home and the animals because a massive hurricane was heading their way. Kelly confronts Johnny only to learn that the money was gone and basically there was nothing she could do about it.

Distraught over the whole situation of not knowing what to do with Tom so she can go to college Kelly turns in for the night.

Unbeknown to Kelly and Tom someone releases “Lucifer” into the house and then boards it up. Who would do such a thing and why?

Kelly and her Autistic brother have to fight for their lives against a massive, vicious Tiger who hasn’t eaten in two weeks.  He will stop at nothing to make the children his next meal. There is no way out. They are completely sealed inside their home during a hurricane and there is now way out.

Will the pair survive? Will anyone come to their rescue? Who released the Tiger into the home and why? To learn more you’ll need to rent or purchase Burning Bright.

The part of Kelly is played by Briana Evigan. Those of you around my age (40′s) might remember her hunky Father, Greg Evigan from BJ & the Bear. Tom is played by a young actor name Charlie Tahan who was most recently seen in Charlie St. Cloud and Nights in Rodanthe. The singer Marvin Lee Aday, otherwise known as “Meatloaf”, also has a small part in the movie.

The movie was a bit slow at times and there were a few part of the movie that seemed a bit silly to me. For example, the Tiger is able to break through locked doors yet it took him a long time to break into a closet door where the children were hiding, giving Kelly enough time to tear a hole into the wall for them to escape. That seemed a bit far fetched for me.

The over all idea of being locked in your home with a starving Tiger running lose does keep you on edge. I couldn’t imagine being in that situation. I would be lunch meat for sure!

This was a good suspenseful movie. I wouldn’t call it a horror movie. I’d classify it more so as suspense and drama. There are a few edge-of-your-seat moments. The only “gross” part comes at the end when someone ends up being breakfast for the Tiger.

This would make a GREAT slumber party movie for teens and ‘tweens. There is no nudity, no gore (except for a minute at the end) and I honestly can’t remember any bad language. The main character of Kelly does run around in short shorts and a tank top but that is about it. I can see this the kids freaking out over this movie. Its rated PG-13.

I wouldn’t say this was a movie so great that you had to drop what you were doing and run right out and buy the movie. But I do think its a good enough movie if you love suspenseful movies that will keep you on your toes.

Burning Bright is available for purchase where most DVDs are sold such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Its also available to rent on Netflix.

Kimberly

*I received a free copy of the film in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.

Do you watch the Animal Planet channel? Its one of my family’s favorite channels to watch. I find the show “Animal Hoarding” so intriguing. Its a series about people who “hoard” animals. I’m talking about people with 60 dogs, 90 cats… things along those lines. I love our five pets dearly but I couldn’t imagine having anymore. It would be impossible to get them each the love and attention that they deserved.

The show “River Monsters” makes me never want to go into water again. LOL! There are some pretty freaky and HUGE things lurking in rivers. Eww!

Another show I find fascinating is “Whale Wars“. I admire how dedicated these people are in effort to save the whales, even risking their own safety and well being.

Animal Planet offers a lot of great family programing. Some of the programs I think might be geared more towards older viewers. I’m sure some of the shows might scare the little ones.

There are a lot of Animal Planet related products available on the market such as DVDs, toys and books. Now they have added pet products to their line up.

I L♥VE the Animal Planet pet toys. They resemble exotic animals you would find featured on the Animal Planet channel. The Animal Planet line consists of nearly 50 assorted products modeled after animals from around the world. 

Animal Planet also offers apparel, accessories and beds for cats and dogs. Additional items are being designed for smaller animals such as chews and edible environments.

The product line’s packaging will feature vibrant colors and animal facts.

The Animal Planet pet products are sold exclusively through PetSmart (www.PetSmart.com). A portion of the proceeds will benefit Animal Planet’s national non-profit campaign R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.), which aims to serve as “a voice for animals.”

We were sent a few products to review with our pets. My dog went nuts for the fuzzy Meerkat plush. It looks just like the Meerkat you see on “Meerkat Manor” on the Animal Planet Channel.

We also recieved  a big Gorilla. Our dog Espn (pronounced Es-pin) loves his “Monkey”. I know its a Gorilla but the kids kept saying “Monkey” so now Espn knows it as Monkey. I had to explain the difference between Gorillas an Monkeys to the kids.

The toys are made very well. Espn can be rough on his toys. The poor Meerkat has seen the most “wear and tear” but it still in great shape. Espn LOVES to “un-fluff” his toys too (rip the stuffing out) and so far he has not done that with these toys. He has managed to rip some of the Gorilla’s fur off (I find little tuffs of black fur here and there) but nothing major.

I think its cute that they use other animals for their pet toys. 

Animal Planet makes toys for BOTH dogs and cats. They also make pet accessories. 

We were sent a REALLY nice plush pet blanket with paw prints on it. I was going to give this to our dog but I ended up giving it to one of our four cats, Kitty (I know, not really an original name). We have pet pets plus our pets are allowed on the furniture but for some odd reason Kitty sleeps on the carpet in front of the “woofer” for our surround sound. It has nothing to do with the woofer because she sleeps there if the TV is on or not. Its the weirdest thing! While all of our other cats or our dog are nice and comfy in a pet bed or on a real bed, Kitty prefers to sleep in the same spot in front of the woofer. That is where I put the pet blanket. We folded it up and put it where Kitty sleeps. Now she has something soft and plush to sleep on too.

In the one photo you can see our dog bed (or shall I say cat pet) with our eldest cat, Velcro, sleeping on it.   

We do have a very soft and cushy pet bed from the Animal Planet product line. It is more ideal for our cats but Espn has laid claim to it. He can fit in it when he sleeps (he curls up into a little ball), but he looks too big for it. He won’t let the cats anywhere near it. Its HIS bed. LOL!

The bed is really soft. I wish they made “people beds” this plush. Its no wonder that Espn loves it.

The Animal Planet pet products are quality made products. I wouldn’t expect anything less from them. They offer a variety of products and designs sure to appeal to any our your four-legged family members.

To learn more about Animal Planet visit www.AnimalPlanet.com. You can also find them on Facebook, http://www.Facebook.com/AnimalPlanet and on Twitter, http://Twitter.com/AnimalPlanet.

For more information about PetSmart or to find a location near you please visit www.PetSmart.com.  PetSmart is also on Facebook, http://www.Facebook.com/PetSmart and Twitter, http://Twitter.com/PETsMART.

Kimberly

*We received a few product samples free to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.

I’m on a roll today! First I had a back to school money saving tip quoted on the Woman’s Day Magazine website. Now I have an interview I did for Thrifty Divas posted on their website.

If you would like to check it out you can read the interview at http://thethriftydivas.com/?p=14427. I was asked questions about blogging such as how to get products for giveaways, reviews, how I got started and what a typical day is like.

I would love it if some of my readers could leave me some “comment luv” on the interview post. I would appreciate that a lot.

You should also check out Thrifty Divas at www.ThriftyDivas.com. They have a HUGE list of freebies, couponing 101, plenty of printable coupons, and so much more. Its well worth the visit, especially when you can save a few dollars too!

Kimberly

If there is one thing I dread most about going on car trips its how quickly bored the kids get. When kids get bored they often end up bickering with one another. That makes the car ride even WORST!

I remember when I was a child. Even a half hour car ride seemed like torture. As an adult I can sit in the car for hours at a time and not give it any thought. I guess kids just have a different perception of time then adults do.

When I was younger my cousin and I had this game where bad people were after us and whenever we saw another car we would have to duck down in the seat until it was gone. My cousin lives in Pennsylvania and the roads are usually deserted so when we saw another car we pretended it was the bad guys. It seems so silly now but back then we had a blast.

We also used to love to make the truck drivers honk their horns at us. That is until I did it one time and it scared the heebie jeebies out of my Father and he got mad at me. So I never did it again.

I think its important to have a “Car Trip Kit” to not only keep the kids occupied but also to keep YOUR sanity. Ha Ha. Personally I always make sure the kids have their iPods and that they are fully charged before we leave our home. This helps to avoid all the fighting over what to listen to on the radio.

A portable DVD player also used to come in handy for my kids, for a while anyway. That is until they started to fight over what DVD to watch. So we tossed that idea.

I wish they still made Color Forms. Anyone who around my age (42) probably remember them. They were vinyl reusable “stickers” that you could set up on the scene that was found inside the box. Those were fun!

Portable games are always handy as well as drawing paper, crayons, coloring books, reading books and of course small toys. I used to rotate the toys that went in the car so that the kids didn’t get bored with them.

Books on tapes were another great idea. We had this one tape about a train (I forgot the name of it) that my son would want to listen to over and over and over again. So much so I think I dreamed about it in my sleep!

Going on a car trip with your child doesn’t have to be “torture” as long as you bring along plenty of fun things to keep him/her busy.

A Nissan Dealer here in the Northeast would love to help you keep your sanity on your next long car trip. They would like to give a lucky She Scribes reader a fun car activity kit valued at $40. The kit includes…

- 2 coloring and activity books with over 100 pages of coloring and drawing exercises.

- One pack of crayons for coloring and activity books.

- One toy (toy motorcycle for a boy or a small stuffed animal for a girl).

- One travel friendly Milton Bradley game (for example, Hungry Hungry Hippos or Connect Four).

- One Johnson and Johnson First Aid kit which includes 70 items in case of emergency bumps and bruises, including 54 band-aids of assorted sizes, 6 hand cleansing wipes, 4 gauze pads, Tylenol, 3 antibiotic ointment, and a compact carrying case.

 - One Johnson and Johnson supplemental First Aid kit with 12 more assorted items in a smaller case.

To enter please comment on other fun ways to keep kids occupied on long car trips, or even trips around town while running errands.

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each you have done. Extra entries are optional. Most options are found on the right side bar.

- Subscribe to She Scribes

- Connect with Google Friend Connect

- “Like” She Scribes on Facebook (Click on the Facebook button then click “like” on the next page).

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter.

- You can also use any of the social networking buttons found at the bottom of this pots to promote this giveaway. Please be sure to let me know what you did and if possible provide a name and/or URL. If you decide to tweet this please be sure to include me in the tweet and limit this to three tweets per day.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on September 12, 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 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 selected.

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

Interesting car, isn’t it?

Kimberly

*I was not compensated in any way for this post. I posted this for the benefit and enjoyment of my readers. A sponsor will be supplying the prize.