First day of school 2012

Brie (sophomore) & Chardie (Senior) 

I can't believe how fast time has gone by. My girls are so grown up and today they start their new school year for 2012-13. They were up early full of excitement for their first day back. It was a whirlwind of emotion for me. My oldest is a high school senior and my younger daughter has outgrown us all! We had such fun in the car on the way to school. We shared a lot of laughs and reminisced about them being in elementary school. I am looking forward to the stories we will share this year.

Wishing everyone a fantastic school year ahead!

Scotch-Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes for back-to-school

It's back-to-school time and this means new clothes, school supplies, books and of course, all those pesky germs. I think almost every school year from kindergarten all the way to middle school, one of my girls got sick during the first week back.

This year, I will be sending the teachers things like Kleenex and Scotch-Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes. These wipes kill 99.9% of household germs and can be used around kids, pets and food. They leave no residue, don't require rinsing and are made from botanically pure plant extracts. It's nice to be able to breathe easily while you clean.

You can find these wipes at most Walmart stores and other retailers as well. They are priced at around $2.99 for 35 wipes and $4.99 for 75 wipes. I did see them last week at Walmart for $1.97 for the 35 count. I bought one for my husband to keep in his desk in the event someone uses his phone or computer. You can't beat one step sanitizing. These are so convenient and I am sure your child's teachers would appreciate them in the classroom!

Stay connected with Scotch-Brite via the web, Facebook and Twitter to learn about new products and special offers. Also be sure to grab a coupon here to help you stock up.

I hope your kids have a great new school year with fewer illnesses!

I received a product sample for review and all thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Got ants? Get rid of them with Combat Source Kill Max (Giveaway)

**Contest is over** The winner is Jared. Congratulations!

It's summertime and this means ants. I think that every time it rains, I find ants outside and sometimes inside the house. Living in the south it seems like there is no getting rid of them! I tried out the Combat Source Kill Max Ant Gel and Baits. My husband got excited when he got to try out the syringe with the ant killing gel in it. He squeezed some into a crack where some ants made there way into one of our windows and within an hour, all signs of ants were gone. It has been a week and it appears they will not be coming back!

I sent the ant baits over to my mother-in-law since she was complaining of ants making it into her kitchen area. Since she just put them in place yesterday, she will still have to give it a chance to work and hopefully get rid of those pesky ants for good.

Right now, you can enter to win $1000 in the Combat Bug-Free Backyard Bash Sweepstakes. Imagine what a fun, bug-free backyard event you could throw for your family and friends with $1000 and a variety of Combat Ant killing Baits and Gels! It is easy to enter and you can even get a coupon after you enter your information. It took me about a minute to complete. Go enter! Good luck :)

Combat is providing one Momfiles reader a Source Kill Max Ant Killing Kit. Entering is easy in the Rafflecopter widget.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway is open US Residents only and will end on Sept 1. Please leave your email address if you do not have a Blogger Profile. All entries will be verified so please follow rules or your entries will be disqualified.

I received products samples for review purposes and all thoughts/opinions are 100% mine as always

Washy Wonder Review

Do you feel like the cost of resealable bags have skyrocketed? I know I do. I don't buy them as often as I used to and if I can, I wash them to reuse them. I receive a neat gadget from Washy Wonder that is a bag saver system that you can use in the dishwasher. 

The way it works is you put your bag over the Washy Wonder paddles and attach  them to the prongs on your washing rack. It works on both straight and bent prongs. Once you have the paddles attached, you will find that your bag will fit more securely. Then you just let it run through your washing cycle along with your dirty dishes.

It did clean the bag well and I like the idea of the burst of steam to help sanitize the bag. The winning points for me is the fact that I can reuse my expensive bags, you can also wash reusable cloth bags and it is a smart choice to cut down on the use of plastic bags to help out the environment. I did find that I had to remove the Washy Wonder with the bag and transfer it to my dish drainer to let it finish drying off. Even through the full dry cycle, it remained wet.

Over all, Washy Wonder is a great item to have and I keep it stored in the dishwasher so I remember to use it. There is a special on their website where you can buy one set and get one free.

I received a product sample at no cost for review. All opinions are 100% my own.

COVERGIRL and Olay Review

I received a great product package from COVERGIRL on behalf of BzzAgent. My review pack came with a COVERGIRL & Olay Tone Rehab 2-in-1 Foundation and a COVERGIRL & Olay Pressed Powder. I have been wanting to try these products from the first time I saw them advertised in TV and magazine ads. I have always loved COVERGIRL cosmetics and have been using Olay moisturizer since I was a teenager. I figured with both brand combined, you get the best of both worlds!

Before I received my package, I had concerns about COVERGIRL having the right make-up shades to match my skin tone. I was really surprised when I saw how rich and dark enough the color was. The foundation was in Tawny (shade 165) and the powder was in medium/deep (shade 360). The 2-in-1 Foundation is supposed to help cover discoloration and age spots as well as hydrate to improve skin tone over time.

I started off with a clean face and applied a little bit of the foundation with a sponge wedge so it would be even. I didn't need much. It spread well and was not sticky or heavy. It had a fresh cosmetic scent and was not strong or irritating at all. I then swiped over some of the pressed powder to even out my skin tone. I did apply a little gold eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss to complete my look. I took a before photo but decided I didn't want to scare you all. Here is the finished look. What do you think?

My daughters were envious of how glowing and pretty my face looked. Even my husband admitted that he was admiring me from the moment he saw me. I did not feel like I was wearing any make-up at all. I really love it! I look forward to seeing how it will continue to work over time. So far, so good!

Be sure to check out COVERGIRL on Facebook to get updates on new products and promotions. If you would like a couple coupons for $2 off (expires 10/31) send me an email and I will get them mailed out to you.

I received products samples from BzzAgent for review purposes. All opinions are completely my own.

Food Lion $25,000 Kitchen Makeover

Food Lion is launching a sweepstakes to win a $25,000 kitchen makeover! The sweepstakes is open to residents in both North and South Carolina and runs from 8/15 – 9/12. There will be a Grand Prize, a 1st & 2nd place prize, as well as multiple Food Lion gift card giveaways.

~ Grand Prize: $25k Home Makeover Package
~ 1st Place: $10k in cash
~ 2nd Place: Free Groceries for a Year
~ 100 weekly $20 Food Lion gift cards (400 total)

This made me think of all the things I could do if I won the big makeover for my kitchen. $25,000 is a lot and even the 10k in cash is not too shabby.  My kitchen is very small so I could see trying to expand it just a bit. Of course my ancient cabinets and counter tops would have to go! I would even volunteer to be on the demolition team! I can just see the dark cherry wood cabinets with pewter fixtures and brand new charcoal gray granite counter tops. I would stick with a traditional double sink and a swanky new faucet with matching fixtures. So after all that is done I would go for all new appliances. I don't have to have the fanciest ones but I would LOVE a convection oven with a flat top range. Okay I admit, I entered the sweepstakes. It took me all of one minute. I would love love love to win!
Go check it out for yourself and you can get additional entries through "checking in" on Foursquare and Facebook and purchasing My Essentials brand products. Be sure to stay connected to Food Lion on Facebook and Twitter.

What would you want to make over in your kitchen if you won?

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Food Lion. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.