jack o' lantern teeth

I didn't have them.

But mine were bad enough to have to wear retainers all through middle school. These were the hated horrible type of retainers, the kind that forced you to talk with your teeth together. The kind that huuurt when you flipped them out (fellow retainer wearers remember the jarring thunk when that happened) and stank because you were forced to have them in your mouth all. the. time. To this day I can hiss out a clear instruction when the Mom-stink-eye has failed. (And my kids move then - they know I'm serious.)

I wish I'd had the opportunity to have Invisalign then.

Imagine - braces that you can take out! No yellow spots on your teeth! Brushable! And no avoiding certain foods! (I loved caramels. LOVED them. And couldn't eat them for three years.) No stink-mouth because they're easily cleaned!


And...the best part? It's not just for adults anymore. Developed with leading orthodontists who understand the unique treatment and compliance needs of teens and tweens as well as their active lifestyles, Invisalign is a great choice for kids who need teeth correction too. Invisalign is not limited to mild/cosmetic cases – Invisalign can help correct a broad range of problems:  Overly crowded teeth, widely spaced teeth, crossbite, overbite and underbite.

Wow. I really, really wish this had been around when I was trying to wear my retainer and speak up for the school drama production.

Cass might need braces. Our dentist pooh-poohs it, but I remember how my teeth odyssey began, while still hoping  that I'm wrong. I'd feel a lot better (and so would he!) if he could take his braces off to go through his judo and soccer classes, to be able to smile without a mouthful of metal winking in every picture he takes.

Invisalign is offering one lucky Canadian a free treatment - for you or your child. Get into this by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/3llvzu3 (rules and regulations are there too) but HURRY - the contest closes soon!!!



Disclosure – I am participating in the Invisalign Teen program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Align Technology, Inc.  I received compensation as a thank you for my participation.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

Cookies to lose weight?

 Smart for Life the "Eat Cookies. Lose Weight." program from television fame? I tried it last week.

Well, I should be more specific. I received a box of the different products to try out, with the specification that I would blog about my experience.

My box included:
2 four packs of underWAY, a supplement drink infused with special HeroFiber and heart-healthy vitamins. It works naturally to suppress your appetite and quench your thirst. The two flavours I received were acai-pomegranate and grape. The acai-pomegranate was odd, almost fakey-flavoured, but the grape, if ice-cold, was yummy. Grown-up (and good for you!) grape drink!

Cookies: Boxes of chocolate-chip and oatmeal-raisin. The chocolate-chip was good with a carob-y flavour. The oatmeal-raisin was...interesting, but didn't pass muster. A bit too dry and chalky and well, diet-ish!


Cupcakes: Carrot and double-chocolate. The carrot was great! Light, not-too-sweet, and had a vague flavour of almonds, which I enjoyed tremendously. The chocolate was good - very good at first bite, but there was an odd after-taste that lingered, and I found myself not wanting to finish the whole thing.


Soup: Mama's Chicken Noodle. This was great stuff. Packaged so I just needed to add boiling water, the broth was thick and full of flavour, and there were lots of veggies and noodles. Yum! I would definitely enjoy that at lunch everyday!

Cereal: Chocolate Berry Crunch. This was good, with a nice deep chocolate flavour and whole dried raspberries. I really liked that it didn't look particularly diet, with the bright berries and the dark cereal. It looked like a treat.

Bagel: I didn't eat this.

Crunch: This was a bag of nugget-like bits, probably good for people who get muffin or pastry cravings. My kids (who espied the chocolate stuff, and who could blame them??) were divided on these - my daughter liked them, but my son was disappointed that they didn't taste like the cupcakes.


Smart for Life programs involve meal replacement foods, such has cookies, cupcakes, shakes, cereals, bagels that help to control hunger while providing you with proper nutrition and quick, safe weight loss goal results.

Each Smart for Life cookie are made with extracts from all-natural ingredients including organic fruits, vegetables, wheat, milk and eggs. The program requires you to eat 6 cookies a day, drink 8 glasses water a day and a small dinner. For more information, check out the Smart for Life website.

You can learn more about Smart for Life and underWAY products, at www.smartforlife.com and www.under-way.com.

Would you like to try it?
You could win a case of underWAY

If you like to enter to win a case of underWAY to try, please leave a comment sharing "why you’d love to try underWAY and/or Smart for Life products."

I will select 10 lucky winners on August 4th.

Comments will close at midnight. Contest is open to Canadians only. (Sorry, Americans!) And you may enter the contest on multiple blogs but are only eligible to win once as part of the underWAY blog tour contest.



Disclosure - I am participating in the underWAY program by Mom Central on behalf of Better Health Beverage, LLC. I received a gift card as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Mastermind toy review and GIVEAWAY! WINNER!!!!

Mastermind is a privately owned retailer of high quality toys for all ages based in Toronto. They have eleven stores as well as an online store. I was delighted when I was contacted and asked to do a review, because so many toys seem to be cheap plastic (ahem my daughter's entire Christmas list) or be low-quality workmanship. I've been looking for well-made, fun toys that teach things as well as hold their interest for my kids this Christmas, and I'm pretty sure I've found a new website for my favorites.

They sent a toy for each of my children. Rosey was so excited about her Wobble Deck that she played with it for fifteen minutes before I even turned it on.

Highly scenic batteries not included.

It reminded me of that electronic game Simon (anyone else as old as me and remember this?) where you would push colored lights in sequence - but this you did standing up. By throwing your weight in a direction, you tip the board down so that the colored edge touches the ground. It was challenging and fun! Add to that three different games (match-the-color, speed play, and freestyle) a variety of sounds, and a high-low volume switch (such a nice and often overlooked toy feature!) and we were sold. Rosey can take it outdoors on the porch or on a hard flat surface, or it's small and inside-friendly enough to play with indoors. It stores easily and takes up very little room.

Cass's choice was a Rubic's 360, an update of the familiar Rubic's Cube from my childhood.

Picture from the Mastermind site.

This is a sphere, (inside a sphere, inside a sphere) with colored balls that have to be maneuvered into their proper place. And just like the original Rubic's Cube, this one sounds like it should be easy - and it's not. Cass's Sphere lives in his bookbag, where it travels back and forth to school, play dates, appointments, and errands. He usually brings it out when we're in the car, and flicks and twists it, trying to get those balls into their small cubbies. (So far, he's got two. It's a really challenging toy!)

And now, for the really good stuff -

Mastermind is allowing me to give away a toy! Yes, the winner can pick either the Rubic's Sphere or the Wobble Deck, and they will ship it to either the United States and Canada. Let's say leave a comment here before midnight, 10 December, and on the eleventh, I'll break out a random number drawer (or get Rosey to take one out of a hat) and the lucky person will get to have one of these toys for their very own!


(I would love to be able to guarantee that you'll get it for Christmas. But I can't, really. Presents in January are wonderful things too!)

Leave me your email address, please, or make sure I can find it if I have to go to your blog and look for it.

Full disclosure: I was sent two toys, one Wobble Deck and a Rubic's 360 Sphere. I was given these things with the clear expectation that I would blog about my experience, good or bad. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. The winner of the giveaway will receive from Mastermind either the Wobble Deck or the Sphere, your choice. Mastermind will pay for shipping. You must be willing to give me your name and your actual address to pass on to Mastermind so they can ship your prize out to you.


....And the winner is:

Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2009-12-11 20:54:22 UTC

Number 4, witchypoo! Congratulations! I'm going over to your blog now to leave you a note!

Thanks for playing, everyone!

mom central blog tour

I'm in! I get to be on the Mom Central comes to Canada Blog Tour this year!

What does this mean to you? I get to tell you about Mom Central and the chance to win 1 of 5 Canon PowerShot cameras, along with many more giveaways in the near future.

· Mom Central is a one-stop online resource dedicated to providing busy moms with smart household and parenting solutions.

· At Mom Central, you'll find information on everything from toddler toys and baby-proofing to household finances and green living.

· Check us out here at www.momcentral.com.

The best part for moms - the Mom Central Testing Panel! This is where Moms get to test out the latest and greatest products and services and have their voices heard by companies who care about their opinion. Moms can get involved today by clicking here to register for the Canadian Mom Central Testing Panel. If you sign-up during the month of June, you'll be entered into the draw to win 1 of 5 awesome Canon PowerShot cameras.

Contest is open to Canadian residents only. Contest runs from June 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009. Draw date will take place on July 6, 2009. Winners will be notified by email.