Bentley Loves His New Shoes!

My almost 3 year old grandson Bentley needed some new shoes, and I was SO fortunate to win a pair of See Kai Run shoes in a blog giveaway a little while ago. Now, being a Grandma, I like to get the shoes a little big so they can grow into them-which is what I did in this case. He is wearing a 9, but the 9.5 gives him plenty of room to grow into. When I happened to stop by, he had just come in from outside and was eating his Spaghetti-O's, hence the tomato stained smile :) These shoes are really well made, and very cute! Blue is one of his favorite colors (as you can see from his clothing) so of course I had to get him blue shoes! Bentley is usually pretty camera shy, but when he saw those new shoes his face just lit up and he was super excited to have his photo taken with them. They have so many cute styles at See Kai Run! I know you will be able to find something for your little one. Make sure you check their sale page as well, since they have lots of cute shoes for both boys and girls at great sale prices too. Big thanks to See Kai Run for sponsoring the giveaway, my grandson really loves his new shoes!

Maine McDonald's Twitter Contest!

Do you love McDonalds? Do you live in Maine? After posting about my love for the new Premium McWrap which is available at McDonalds, I was contacted by the local Maine McDonald's twitter team asking me to help promote an awesome contest they have going on right now on Twitter! In addition to receiving an Archcard from McDonalds so we can try more of the Premium McWraps (we still have to try the sweet chili version and the crispy chicken version on a couple too-hubby loves the grilled chicken, but I prefer crispy!)I've been asked to tell you all about the Twitter contest currently going on! The contest goes on until May 1st and 10 random winners will win a coupon for a McWrap value meal! So, if you haven't tried it now you could tweet @McD_Maine and tell them where YOU would enjoy your Premium McWrap! Be sure to use the hashtag #UnwrapWhatsFresh in your tweet too! Now, just WHERE have we enjoyed our Premium McWraps? Well, the first time it was in the McDonald's parking lot-hubby was super hungry and couldn't wait to dig in! The next time? Why right here at home on the sofa! (see photos below from my review) And this last time (shhh.... don't tell, but we ate them 3x in one week!) it was such a gorgeous day that we headed up to Colby College and ate by Johnson Pond...very relaxing and a great way to enjoy the nice weather outside which I must say has taken a LONG time to get here! I've also been provided 10 coupons for Buy one Get one Free... which I would love to share with you all. So, if you are in Maine and would love for me to send you a coupon to use, please leave me your email below (you can leave it in format such as yourid at msn dot com or something like that to keep the spambots at bay!) and I will send you an email asking you for your address so I can mail you the coupon! Don't forget to get onto Twitter and start tweeting! @McD_Maine wants to know where YOU will enjoy those Premium McWraps! Disclosure: I received a McDonald's gift card/free product and coupons in exchange for promoting the Twitter contest. Good Luck!

Knot Genie Review

My 11 year old wanted to have long hair... unfortunately, with longer hair comes more care- I agreed to let her grow her hair out now that she was getting older, but ever since she was little she's had hair that would tangle up seemingly overnight. The next morning, the tears and fighting began as I would try my hardest to get those knots out. As a Mom, it hurt me as much as it hurt her trying to get those knots out and seeing those big tears. Even at 11, she runs from me if I come close with a hairbrush. Considering her hair is super straight and smooth, I wanted it to look that way in the back as well as the front. In the past few months, she'd managed to get her hair knotted up-whether it be from sleeping, not brushing too good, or as her Aunt Ana would say when she was younger- "Los Duendes" (also known as little mischief making fairies) would play with her hair and knot it up overnight. She managed to get most of it smooth on top but underneath it was a mess. Every day she would go to school with the top layer fine, and underneath it looked like a rat's nest. I finally told her that she could NOT go to school looking like that any longer, and that we had to deal with it. Hesitantly she brought me the brush, and even though I brushed as gently as I could, it was knotted so bad that I knew that there was no getting around a haircut. While she watched TV nightly I tried to get the hair free, but it just didn't work with the brushes I tried. My mom used to wear her hair teased many years ago, and I can remember her knotting up her hair with a big rat-tail comb. Maybe then, the messy look was in-but now, it definitely is NOT. Even my 'Big' hair of the 80's didn't have the knots that Deja had. Deja's hair looked teased underneath and it was a mess. One night, as I brushed, I kept a secret from her. What she didn't know was that I had a pair of scissors on hand to cut the worst area out if need be. I figured it was underneath the smooth layer so no one would notice anyways. As she concentrated on the TV show in front of her, I quickly grabbed the area in question and snipped it off. I wasn't quick enough... if you thought that the tears from the knots were bad, this was even worse! Yes, the worst area in question was gone. And no, no one could see any bald spots. But SHE knew it was there. And she was pissed. And lemme tell you, an 11 year old tween being pissed is not a good thing. I felt terribly guilty for what I had done, but it was either that or a more radical haircut. But there HAD to be a better way. After looking around the Internet, I discovered the solution to my problems. Her hair of course still knotted up, even after my cutting out the worst area-and I was getting desperate. I'd seen the Knot Genie (http://www.knotgenie.com/) online and on a few blogs I visit as well in the past year and it definitely got me curious. I had a small credit on my Amazon.com account and decided I would order one to see if it really worked. I didn't say anything to my daughter until it arrived. I called her over to the computer and asked her to watch the video they have online and asked her if she wanted to try it out. She said she would, but didn't realize that I had one already. Her eyes lit up as I pulled her hot pink Knot Genie out of the box and gave it to her. I will say that usually the Knot Genie is probably used by Moms who comb their daughter's hair, hence the unique design. At 11, she did NOT want me to brush her hair. That being said, she did complain a little bit when she tried to brush her hair herself due to the awkwardness of holding it and brushing. After some experimenting, she holds it in her hand and flips her head/hair downward,and brushes the underside first-it seems to work best for her that way and it works very well. I am enjoying having the Knot Genie since it means no more fights with my daughter over getting her to brush her hair. One thing I noticed is that with regular brushes she would often break her hair and or the bristles of the brush fighting to get the knots out. With the Knot Genie all those bristles are still intact and there are no clumps of hair or broken hair in the brush at all. It has worked well the last 2-3 months that we have been using it and while she still gets knots in her hair, they come out easily and without tears using the Knot Genie. Thanks Knot Genie for helping my daughter make brushing her hair a pleasant, not painful-task! Disclaimer: I purchased this product on my own, as a frustrated Mom and consumer who wanted to see if this would help my daughter out. I did not receive any monies or product from the company. This opinion is my own, your opinion may vary.

Review-McDonald's Premium McWrap

A nice, sunny day in Maine calls for no cooking... I'd gone to physical therapy earlier this morning and was sore from working out a bit and hubby had been working on his car outside for a good part of the afternoon when he came inside a little while ago to announce he was hungry. We had to go out to run an errand so I suggested we head up to our local McDonald's and get one of their new Premium McWraps. I really didn't have to tell him twice-he got into the car and impatiently awaited me. After a quick stop, we headed to McDonald's. This past Monday, he had tried the chicken bacon McWrap, and he was eager to try the chicken ranch one this time. Our local Maine McDonald's restaurants were having an awesome promotion which ended this past Monday where you got a free medium fries and medium soft drink if you purchased a McWrap, which was actually a great incentive to have us get out and try it initially. This time around, I purchased the Value Meal for him. Hubby prefers the grilled chicken, so that is what he went with. As you can see by the photos, the McWraps are good sized! I had him put his on a standard sized paper plate to show you how big it is. Also, he opened it up to show you what it looks like on the inside. There was no scrimping on the chicken, with nice big sized chunks of premium chicken and yummy veggies in it. It is filling, and according to him-it was delicious. (I was craving a Big Mac, so didn't get one this time around!) I am pleased that fast food restaurants are getting more creative with their menu offerings, and publishing calorie counts and other information regarding their food items on their website and in restaurants. Granted, I know when I go out to eat, irregardless of where-I am not going to be watching calories and other stuff. But knowing this firsthand, especially if dieting or on some sort of dietary restriction is helpful with those planning their meal choices accordingly. I myself have tried the McWrap earlier this week and was very impressed with it... the one we have NOT yet tried is the Sweet Chili Chicken flavor. While that is on my to-do next list, hubby says he will pass. He does not like anything sweet (sweet BBQ sauce, sweet n sour sauce, etc...) so I can't get him to try it. However, he said that he is thinking about asking McDonald's for a chicken/ranch McWrap and telling them to add bacon to see how that tastes. Providing you can add bacon to it and make it a grilled chicken, bacon, ranch flavor I think he will be happy, and personally I think that would be a great combination as well. If you like wraps, give the new McDonald's McWrap a try. I'd be anxious to know what you think about it! Disclaimer: I purchased this item as a consumer, and did not receive any compensation or free product for my opinion on the McWrap. Please note that this opinion is mine (and my husbands!) and your own opinion may differ from mine.