#Torani Review

Thanks to Torani for allowing me a review pack and the chance to try some seasonal flavors. You may know of Torani because so many coffee houses use these in their coffees. But did you know that you, too, can bring home the coffee house flavors and have them in your own home? I was aware, but I'm not a coffee drinker so these have never really gotten much attention from me.

Well, this box came with two flavors, Salted Caramel and Peppermint plus 5 coupons for $1 off plus a recipe book. It's the recipe book that was so amazing. The recipes range from coffee to other drinks, cookies, appetizers and more. I couldn't believe the wealth of recipes. I decided to try a few of my own and see how it went.

I think our favorite experiment was the hot chocolate recipe try. It sounded good to give my hot chocolate a little flavor kick. So my hubby and I each tried one of the syrups in our hot chocolate. He's not a big peppermint fan, so I made mine to be Peppermint Hot Chocolate. (I made the hot chocolate according to directions and added a small splash (1/2 - 1 Tbsp) of Peppermint Torani. YUM!!! Sean liked his Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (and so did I...I had to sample his...for review purposes...you know how important that is!)


Feeling like I'm the queen of creating recipes, I decided to try adding a splash to some sugar cookie dough to make peppermint sugar cookies. Since this mix calls for so little liquid, I substituted half of the water with the Torani. It was a little strong, so I should have gone slightly under half with the Torani. But, they turned out delicious and good. And they are cookies...who can resist those?!?!

Torani has so many flavors, you are certain to find one you would like. Be sure to check out the Torani Website for all the flavors. And, to get your own coupon for $1 off of Torani Syrups, please click here. 

Enjoy your coupon savings and be sure to add a little sparkle to your Christmas season with some Torani Flavors.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned items at no charge in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own and I was not compensated in any other way. 

Reverse Charades Review and #Giveaway

 Have I found an amazing game (or two) to share with you today. I had the honor of testing out the game of Reverse Charades. Since my children range in ages from 6-15, I had asked if I was better suited for Reverse Charades or for Reverse Charades Junior Edition. (It's the 6 year old who throws off the suggested age.) I was so surprised at how well she did with the standard Reverse Charades game. The Junior Edition was definitely easier for her to play, but she could hold her own on the standard version. 

We haven't had this much fun in ages. After a few rounds of teams, we ended up splitting into whoever wanted to act and whoever wanted to guess. We stopped keeping score and just played for the sheer fun of the game. We were laughing until we were crying. This is going to quickly become the standard party game at our family and friend gatherings. 

How to play:
Split into teams and use the included timer to see how many words the guesser can guess in one minute. Each correct word is a point. Play until one team wins. 

Featured on NBC’s Today Show and Radio Disney, Reverse Charades takes the classic (and boring) charades game and gives it a hilarious twist that makes it an absolute riot to play with any active group.  It's a fast-paced, fiercely-fun competition where teams have 60 seconds to act out (without speaking) as many words as one person can guess.  Words like: synchronized swimming, piñata, paparazzi, dogpile, leapfrog, pillow fight or CPR.  With 720 words in each edition, they're must-have gifts if your readers are looking for a fresh, new and affordable idea to create memories and brighten the holidays—and every day—with hours of laughter and interactive fun for everyone!  
Check out the game in action at www.youtube.com/sedarahc. 


Here's one of my favorite clips:


New in 2012
And just in time for the holidays, there are THREE NEW expansion packs.

• Girl's Night In Edition--women-themed words like mani-pedi, blind date, Charlie's Angels, shaving legs, aerobics and soccer mom. (A portion of the sales of this edition goes to support breast cancer research).
• Sports Edition--with athletic themed words like grand slam, fumble, Olympic torch, 7th inning stretch, synchronized swimming, kickboxing and tag team wrestling.
• Holiday Edition--with holiday themed words like Frosty the Snowman, mistletoe, snowball fight, sleigh ride, pinata and 10 Lords a-leaping.

Would your family like a chance to try out Reverse Charades or Reverse Charades Junior? Enter for your chance to win your choice of games below.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided a copy of Reverse Charades and Reverse Charades Junior Edition for this review. No monetary compensation was given and all thoughts are my own. 

Kmart $15 Pay It Forward Sweepstakes

     


             Coolestmommy is happy to be joining in with Tammie's Reviews, Giveaways and More for a special one week pay it forward event. Tammie and I have similar philosophies in giving to others. I hope you enjoy a little bit of paying it forward this holiday season.

From Tammie:

"Paying it Forward is something I grew up doing.  I was taught, if you have 2 of something, give 1 to someone that needs it

         That is why we are having this giveaway.  We have 2 Kmart's $15 Gift Cards and we are giving away 1 of them to a lucky winner of this giveaway.

          Just enter on the easy widget below.  Thank you for entering and Good Luck!"

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Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post. This post was sponsored by Kmart and Tammie's Reviews and Giveaways.

My Black Friday at Home

I have to give a lot of credit to my friend and fellow blogger Nicole from Mom Saves Money. In her recent blog post "Why I'm choosing not to shop Black Friday", she was able to articulate much of what I've been feeling and so I talked it over with my husband and I'm sleeping in and staying in this year. I think of Black Friday as no sleep, long lines, and bitter cold temps. There are only two items that might tempt me to go out--a new laptop that I've been waiting for a good sale on and a Dream Light for my daughter since it's all she talks about. (But I've been looking, they are not on sale.)

My kids have too much stuff. We can't contain it in their rooms, we have a basement overflowing with stuff--most of it played with once then discarded. Our living room is often an ocean of toys. I'm done. I look around some days and get concerned that the crew from Hoarders is going to show up on my doorstep. I'm working on digging out from under 15 years of accumulation of kid (and grown-up) stuff. I'm slowly working into these areas and reclaiming them for us. So instead of adding to the clutter with a lot of unnecessary junk, I'm working to purchase a few (as in 2-3) gifts that they really wanted. The desires of their hearts. The thing that will be loved and cherished and not discarded on Dec. 26. So my kids won't have as much under the tree this year. I'll spend about the same amount of money on them--but getting the things they want instead of a bunch of  'great stuff' that was 80-90% off. 

And if you know me well, you know how hard it is for me to turn down a deal like that. But I've made a decision that I am working at sticking to. One of our goals as parents is to instill in our children the attitude of gratitude. And while I know they like ripping lots and lots of paper, I'm trying to give them more. We're talking about purchasing less, saving the money and doing better things with it. In part, we're giving a little more to charities this year because they are hurting, too. Some will go to our vacation fund. We're putting the savings into our family and taking away some of the power of the 'stuff'. 

I'm blessed with three fantastic children. They have never been kids who circle magazines of what they want (like I did). They have a good head on their shoulders. But I look at our clutter and hoarde of stuff and then look at their precious faces...and I wonder what I'm teaching them by my own lifestyle. And so I'm looking at a better future for all of us. One with less clutter and more of the things that matter---family and time. And with those thoughts in my head, I will stay home, watch a movie with my kids, not be exhausted and not fill my house with even more clutter. And while they might be disappointed with less under the tree, I think the long term benefits will be worth it for all of us.

Happy Black Friday from Coolestmommy and the Coolest-Crew

(located for today at home)

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

From our house to yours,

Happy Thanksgiving

Thank You Veterans on Veterans Day

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble. It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the VETERAN, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote. Today and every day-- THANK YOU TO OUR VETERANS!

Remember to Vote

Remember that the opportunity to vote is a right and a privilege. 

Many men and women have sacrificed their lives for us to have the opportunity to vote freely. 

On November 6th, go vote.

And remember, if you don't vote, you can't complain for the next four years. 

Congrats to my "Superior" boys

Congratulations to Andrew and Nathan. They participated in the State Music Festival and BOTH boys received a Superior Rating (highest rating) and a trophy.

Andrew and Nathan with their trophies. I loved the "We Are Music" banner. Every time I passed by it, I hum the jingle, "We are farmers, bah bah dah bah bah bum bum bah."

They have worked hard for many months to polish and perfect their two songs.

We are so proud!

Andrew and Nathan, your dad and mom think you are beyond superior kids, we're just glad you got the same rating in piano. 

#NeonTikiTribeParty and Giveaway

I was honored to sponsor a Mommy Party to show off the Neon Tiki Tribe books. The Neon Tiki Tribe are Super-Positive Superheroes. The easy to read books with engaging illustrations captivated not only my children, but the neighborhood children at our party. 

As a mom, I appreciated the moral stories being presented in a manner that kept the kids entertained and actively listening. 

The other thing I discovered is that these books are printed in a new font called Dyslexie. This new font is specifically created for people suffering from Dyslexia. It makes reading easier for them. While my kids don't have Dyslexia, I have one with autism and I understand the importance of small details like this. 

Be sure to check out their site at www.neontikitribe.com. 

Nathan loved the glasses that came with our books for the party.

Post party, a gaggle of girls were out on our block wearing their glasses and the big girls were reading the books to the younger ones. It was a wonderful thing to see.

The giveaway:

I'm sending one lucky person a pair of these cool glasses and one of the Neon Tiki Tribe books. Use the Rafflecopter entry form below to get registered to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received free items for the purpose of this promotional review. All opinions are my own.

Wordless Wednesday

Life is not measured

by the number of breaths we take,

but by the moments

that take our breath away.

First Husker game. Happy Birthday, Andrew!!

Thanks to my incredible Godmother for giving him the opportunity to go. 

Day of Fun

We recently had a family day of fun. Went to see an Imax at the zoo where the little ones wanted to play on the lions. 

From there, we went over to the trains where we got to see a fantastic exhibit about soldiers (no photos allowed in there) and then Rebekah took us for a ride on the streetcar. 

Tickets, please.

What's so funny??

Ahhh--sorry the crazy driver Rebekah hit you, Dad.

Facebook Fan Event with Prizes

I am so happy to have found Tammie's Reviews, Giveaways and More. She is a wonderful woman who recently hit a very big milestone---she now has 10,000+ Facebook Fans. That's an amazing accomplishment and I'm happy to be able to pick her brain and share in her celebration event.

Congratulations, Tammie!!!

Tammie wanted to tell all of you, "Hitting a milestone like this could only be accomplished by wonderful and awesome Fans and Followers like all of you. I want to thank each and everyone of you for helping me to achieve this."

     Enough said....Let's get on with the Event!!!!

           Tammie is allowing me to share in the fun and be a part of this mega giveaway event.

Is providing a $25 Gift Card

RewardIt is a web site where they offer sweepstakes and contest. I really like the site and it appears your chances are better for winning a prize.

imusa is providing a Bristro 4 cup electric espresso maker with white cups. 

The machine is featured in the picture above.

imusa is a company that offers products to make your world easier.  They offer a wide arrange of products from cooking to others.

is supplying a Gift Basket filled with cat and dog toys and some cat food too!

Tammie shops at PetSmart for her 2 little furbabies.  They have everything and anything you may be looking for.  They never disappoint and always are sure to please you.

  is supplying a code for $42 to use on their site and it comes with FREE shipping on what ever you order. 

I (Robyn) have recently discovered this site. It's a really neat place offering lots of beautiful stationary and scapbooking items to just about anything you may be looking for to make your life easier and more organized.

Tammie has pulled this event together and decided to share with us. She says, "Some of the most wonderful and terrific Bloggers have come together to help me promote this Event.  I do not know where I would be without them.  So without further ado....LET'S GET THIS THING ROLLING!!!"

The Event will be live from 10/1 at 9 p.m. to 10/22 at 9 p.m.

The Giveaway Tools widget is very easy to use, just follow as it prompts you....It will not let you enter an entry if you did not do what it is asking for.  If you have any problems or need to ask a question...just email Tammie at pankuch1605[at]hotmail.com and I will get right back to you.

     Do not forget to let the page fully load.

Good Luck To Everyone And Thank You For Entering!!!

Loading Entry-Form...

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Disclosure~ Tammie's Reviews, Giveaways and More along with the bloggers helping to promote this Event are not responsible for prize fulfillment. The first winner chosen has 1st choice and 48 hrs to respond to the sent email. Once the 1st winner is done then a 2nd winner will be picked and the procedure repeats from there and so one and so forth. Tammie's Reviews, Giveaways and More has final decision, should there be a problem in this procedure.

Only open to U.S and Canada only If you wish, i love love any new followers and you can do that as GFC(right hand side of blog), Facebook and/or Twitter

Wordless Wednesday

Life is not measured 

by the number of breaths we take, 

but by the moments 

that take our breath away.

Rainbow Rebekah

One of her favorite shirts actually matches one of my favorite pairs of leggings. 

But if this look isn't quite enough....

She had to accessorize with her stick-on jewels (earrings). 

She picked matching purple, of course. 

My baby grows up...

Have you ever seen this commercial? It gets me every time.

And it is so true.  When I look at my oldest baby, Andrew, I often see this:

But in reality, he looks like this:

My firstborn baby turned 15 this month. Fifteen!! He's studying so he can get his permit. Can you imagine...a permit? I truly don't think I'm old enough to have a freshman...or a fifteen year old...or anyone with a permit. 

So here's a brief walk through memory lane. Happy Birthday, Andrew! I love you!!!

Mom

With baby brother, Nathan.

Happy 6th Birthday!

Omaha Royals Fan--Baseball Face paint

 With baby sister, Rebekah

Improv Fest--7th Grade

Math Competition Medal - 8th Grade

Today

Harvey Prince Perfume Giveaway, THREE Winners!

Harvey Prince was founded in 2010 by two brothers in a heartfelt devotion to their Mother for one special Mother's Day. The brothers enlisted the help of leading perfumers, designers, and dermatologists to craft a fragrance that would pay tribute to their mother’s effortless, youthful vigor. Their gift to her was ageless the world’s first anti-aging fragrance and the first of Harvey Prince’s scent collection. 

Harvey Prince believes in creating exceptional scents of purpose: both in empowering women to feel younger, happier, slimmer, and sexier, and in using the highest quality natural and essential ingredients from around the world.Their products are crafted locally in the USA, using the finest natural and essential oils from around the world. All fragrances are hypoallergenic, 100% cruelty-free,with absolutely no animal testing, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol,benzene, GMOs, or triclosan.

With all of their hard work today Harvey Prince is a emerging designer, manufacturer, and marketer of high-quality,youthful perfume,skin care,and beauty products under it's own brand that you can get from www.harveyprince.com.  Harvey Prince has been featured in leading print, television, and digital media, and its fragrances are loved by loyal customers in 37+ countries around the world for their innovative design, premium ingredients, and accessible price point ($21 for 8.8ml EDP, $55 for 50ml EDT, $98 for 100ml EDT).

Eau Flirt is an alluring blend of wild lavender, playful pumpkin, and sensuous nighttime amber, this bewitching fragrance inspires spontaneity. Inspired by devil-may-care, uninhibited nights of dancing and flirtation, Eau Flirt is the perfect accessory to your Little Black Dress.

Harvey Prince was kind enough to allow Ada's 2 Cents to host a giveaway and she allowed some friends to join in on the fun. I appreciate Ada's allowing me to join in on the fun for all of my readers. Good luck!!! 

 The Prize: 

3 lucky readers will have the chance to win one {1} 100ml bottle of Eau Flirt Perfume ARV $98.

This giveaway will end on 9/1 at 12:01am EST and is open to US & Canada! Good Luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclosure:  Coolestmommy's Coolest Thoughts is not responsible for giveaway prize fulfillment.

Tips on Tuesday: To Err is Human

Do you ever have one of those out-of-body experiences that bring a facet of life into blinding clarity? While I would love to say me neither, the reality is that I'm learning how true it is that with age comes wisdom.

Maybe it's the record heat this summer, maybe it's a lack of sleep, maybe it's just me...and maybe it's (*gasp*) age, but I find myself apologizing more often for mistakes I've made. I can't decide if I am more cognizant of my faults and realize more quickly that I may have made a mistake or if it's because I make more mistakes than ever before. 

My excuse is "Mommy Brain." But now that I have a high school student, it feels like that excuse may have worn thin. I don't know if holding the clutter of schedules, papers, homework, etc. for three children has caused me to lose the ability to mentally file things for later retrieval. And yet, no matter how you slice it, I make more mistakes than ever before.

And I'm learning--in crystal clarity--the truth and wisdom behind the adage, "To err is human, to forgive is divine." I'm grateful to be surrounded by family and friends who are willing to forgive. They forgive my failings and my shortcomings and the things I don't get done "because it fell out of my brain." They forgive my sporadic communications. Best of all, they forgive ME! No matter how great or how small of a mistake that I make. 

It is a wonderful thing to have such amazing friends!

Eau Flirt Perfume Giveaway coming soon...

Hello Blogger Friends,

If you are interested in participating in this giveaway, sign up below.

Reader Friends, 

Check back on August 21st to enter to win this Eau Flirt Perfume.

Ada's 2 Cents will be hosting a giveaway for 3 100ml bottles of Eau Flirt Perfume sponsored by Harvey Prince and will also be allowing other bloggers to join in on this awesome giveaway for free!

Dates: 8/21 - 9/1 and Giveaway will be open to US and Canada!

Details: Each blogger signed up will receive 1 free link of their choice to either Facebook, Twitter or Google+ to be added on the giveaway form.

To Sign Up: You will need to post the announcement that can be found here 

and then fill out this Sign Up Form!