Friday, January 13, 2012

Finally Home Family Widget and Amazon GC Giveaway!

"For many service men and women the day they return home is the happiest day of their lives!  We have all seen the happy reunions of families during the holidays, but what happens after the reunion is over?  For many men and women it’s the beginning of a new struggle, the struggle to put their families back together again, and it’s not easy.  Military divorces have increased 42% since 2001, and that number is sure to increase with the number of service men and women returning home from Afghanistan.  
With the Finally Home To Family widget we all can help the men and women who have defended our country fight the war in their backyard!   
  • What’s Your Romance Recipe Quiz! Did you ever wonder what your spouses secret ingredient for romance is? Now, you can find out with the Finally Home To Family Romance Recipe quiz!  With just a click of your mouse answer a few questions and you’ll have your customized romance recipe!
  • Finally Home Dates!  Is your relationship in a rut?  With the exclusive Finally Home Dates PDF you can download great date ideas that will help add some spice into your romantic life!  All within the click of a button!  
  • Awesome Stories!  Do you ever feel like you are the only one going through struggles in your relationship? Well, you are not alone!  So many couples struggle with the same things you do and in this section they have shared their stories to help other couples in the same situation!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Gorton's Grilled Review & Giveaway + Sweepstakes...


We really enjoy Gorton's Seafood products. The are always ready in minutes and they taste amazingly fresh! The grilled versions are perfectly seasoned and are easily dressed up with a little lemon butter, creamy dill or white wine sauce.   If you are looking for a quick, healthy lunch or dinner idea for your family, Gorton's has a ton of delicious affordable options to choose from!  ABCD Diaries gives Gorton's frozen seafood an A+!

Don't forget to check out the current Gorton's Sweepstakes:

Pajeda's Snacks Review & Giveaway...

"Pajeda’s are available in 10 delicious flavors: White and Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips, Nacho and Ranch Tortilla Chips, Lil’ Dipz Dipping Size Tortilla Chips, Crunchy Cheese, Puffed Cheese, Corn Chips, Party Mix and Onion Rings.

All Pajeda’s are trans-fat free and are retail priced at $1.
Dig into a bag of your favorite Pajeda’s snack today. Delicious, high quality snacks at a fantastic low price every single day – no coupon clipping required."

Check a few of the Pajeda's snacks we reviewed:




What we thought:  Delicious!  We loved every single variety of Pajeda's snacks we tried!  All 10 of them:)  We found that we actually preferred the flavor of several of them over their name brand counterparts.  B especially enjoyed the nacho and ranch flavored tortilla chips.  He said they taste more like tortilla chips and less like artificial flavoring and he liked them a lot.  The kiddos and I devoured the puffed and crunchy cheese snacks and the party mix.  The onion rings were also a hit, even with the kiddos who claim to not like onions...I guess they like the onion "flavor" just fine:)  We used the tortilla chips in taco salad and the corn chips in chili pie and they held up really well.  They stayed crunchy just the way we like them.  I don't know that we'll ever pay full price for name brand snacks like these again!  ABCD Diaries gives Pajeda's an A+!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Importance of Caring for Your Eyes...



ZEISS is a great resource for information regarding the health and care of your eyes.  They have a wealth of well-categorized information regarding important facts you should know about vision and lenses, tips for selecting an eye doctor, questions to ask at your next eye appointment, and facts to know about age-related vision changes.

Here is a little sneak peak of what I found on the website:
"1.Know The Three Os:
a.An Optometrist performs eye examinations and writes prescriptions for corrective lenses. Most Optometrists can diagnose and treat many medical eye conditions and prescribe certain medications.
b.An Ophthalmologist is a medical doctor treating the full range of eye diseases and conditions. Ophthalmologists perform surgery for cataracts and other eye conditions.
c.An Optician fills the prescription from the optometrist or ophthalmologist and specializes in fitting eyeglasses and providing lenses to correct vision problems.

2.Children should have eye exams:
a.At ages six months, three years and when beginning school.
b.Every 2 years (even with no vision issues) to check for early signs of eye disease.

3.Adults should have eye exams:
a.Every two years, even with no vision issues.
b.Annually starting at age 40 as your eyes start to experience natural age-related vision changes.

4.Not all lenses are created equal. Zeiss Individual® is the first progressive lens to integrate how your frames, face and prescription work together for a one-of-a-kind lens that is precisely personalized for the wearer. ZEISS technology is used to create these customized progressive lenses, which are clinically proven to be preferred by consumers over conventional progressive lenses to improve their vision and quality of eyesight.

5.Know your coating options:
a.Anti-reflective: Reduces reflections to a minimum for crisper, clearer vision in all lighting situations.
b.Anti-scratch: Provides optimum protection against scratches which can interfere with vision.
c.Anti-static: Repels dust and dirt so lenses stay cleaner longer.
d.Hydrophobic: Dirt and moisture slide off the surface, so the lens is quicker and easier to clean.
e.PureCoat® by ZEISS: This high-tech coating offers all-round protection including hard anti-scratch coating, anti-reflective coating, and the anti-static function all in one.
f.UV coating: Some lens materials block 100% of harmful UV rays. Those that don’t require a coating or treatment that offers full UV protection.
Additional options include:
a.Self-tinting lenses: Tint reacts to changing light, darkening in the sun and clearing indoors. Self-tinting lenses like PhotoFusion® by ZEISS also offer full UV protection.
b.Polarized lenses: Sun lenses that filter out almost all glare created by sunlight reflected off of water, snow and other surfaces."

Here are a few important questions to keep in mind at your next eye appointment:
1.What is a “coating” and what does it do?
2.How do I avoid reflections on my eyeglasses?
3.How do self-tinting (photochromic) lenses work? What brands of self-tinting lenses are available?
4.Does my prescription limit the type of frame I can wear?
5.What are “computer lenses”?
6.Do I need special lenses for playing sports?
7.What lenses are ideal to reduce sensitivity to light and reflections?
8.If I have difficulty driving at night, what type of lens is recommended?
9.How can I prolong the life of my eyeglasses?

Your eye doctor should be able to answer all of these questions and work with you to figure out the best eye care and vision plan for you.
Check out ZEISS before your next eye exam to get a better idea of your options. 



Disclosure: This is a paid post through MomSelect.  The opinions expressed in this post are ours and ours alone.

Smart Snacks Peek-A-Boo Muffins Review & Giveaway...



Smart Snacks® Peek-A-Boo Color Muffins™
"These tempting baked goods provide dozens of opportunities for creative play and active learning! Five realistic muffins help children learn their colors as they match muffin cups with fruit fillings. Muffin tops that pop on and off help strengthen little fingers. Rotating stand keeps things organized and ready for a play tea party at a moment’s notice. Includes 5 durable, plastic 2-piece muffins and 5 fruit fillings that store in rotating stand. Ages 2+."

What we thought:  The Smart Snacks Muffins have been a lot of fun.  Both kiddos enjoy mixing and matching and "baking" and serving these cute muffins.  The serving tray is pretty nifty too...a great way to store the muffins when we aren't playing with them.  These muffins encourage sorting, color recognition, matching and fine motor skills and the added element of the peek-a-boo surprise is really a lot of fun!  ABCD Diaries gives the Smart Snacks Peek-a-Boo Muffins from Learning Resources an A+!

Buy It: Available at www.LearningResources.com and other online retailers and specialty stores

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Gamewright Review and Giveaway...

"Gamewright was founded in 1994 by four parents whose kids wanted great games. From the start, our mission has remained clear: Create the highest quality family games with outstanding play-value. Guided by themes and experiences that transcend age and salted with a bit of irreverence, our games are designed to foster laughter, learning, friendship and fun.  Over the years our family has grown to over 50 games, 150 awards, and countless happy players."
"Knock Your Blocks Off brilliantly combines two seemingly disparate elements into one powerhouse game. In a sense, you’re getting two games in one: a fast-paced visual puzzle and a fine-motor dexterity challenge. At first one might not expect “brains and brawn” to work well together, but as our play testers told us – they give the game depth as well as the opportunity for players with different strengths to shine.
Promotes: Hand-Eye Coordination and Strategic Thinking"

"They say that the ocean is the inspiration for countless works of great art. Such is the case with Mermaid Beach, a game that came about while 8-year-old Emily Ehlers spent an entire year living aboard a sailboat and travelling the world by sea. Emily, along with help from her brothers, Jake and Drew, came up this wildly imaginative card game that has all elements of a great Gamewright game: fantastic art, whimsical characters, and a set of rules that are easy to learn, yet engaging enough to lure you back for more. No word whether Emily visited a real Mermaid Beach during her trip, but if so, we hopes she returns there someday to teach the mermaids her game!
Promotes: Counting and Matching"

What we thought:  We played these games at our New Year's Eve celebration and they were a huge hit!  Both games were a lot of fun and enjoyed by both the adults and the children who played them.  Knock Your Blocks off encouraged creative and strategic thinking and allowed for competitive, but fun play.  Mermaid Beach had beautifully illustrated cards and combined the most fun elements of several card games in one deck.  We played these games on "teams" with our kiddos who are 3 and 5, but the older kiddos were able to play both games solo.  If you are looking for a few games to add to your family game night stash, we recommend Knock Your Blocks Off and Mermaid Beach:)  ABCD Diaries gives these Gamewright games an A+! 

Buy It:  Find out more about these and lots of other fun games at Gamewright!

If You Care Baking Products Review & Giveaway...




"What is an IF YOU CARE® Environmentally Friendly Product?
· 100% unbleached paper products which help reduce the amount of toxins in our lakes and streams and 100% recycled aluminum foil which can be used over and over again
· All manufactured materials are made from renewable resources
· Only vegetable-based inks are used for printing and graphics
· All packaging materials are made from recycled paper
· Landfill safe paper products
· Biodegradable paper products"

What we thought:  What a great way to reduce your carbon footprint!  These products were pretty cool:)  We reviewed the sandwich bags, the parchment paper and the foil.  They were all easy to use and worked really well.  The bags are great to put in A's lunch...they are big enough for a sandwich and can easily fit a good portion of pretzels, chips or other snacks.  There isn't a closure on these bags, you just fold the top over.  To ensure A's food stayed in them(the backpack can get a little crazy on the walk to school:) I use a small sticker which also "decorates" the bag:)  I was especially impressed with the silicone covered parchment paper...way better for you than other papers that can contain chemicals.  We also reviewed the green cleaning cloths which are super useful and washable.  They are great for wiping down counter tops and sinks:)  ABCD Diaries gives If You Care Environmentally Friendly products an A+!

Buy It:  Find out more about these eco-friendly products at If You Care!