Look Ma, I'm Flying!

We had a really windy day here last week, and the 40mph wind gusts provided the perfect condition for Joey to find out if he could fly. 

Joey has many acrobatic qualities.  Fearless, oddly flexible, and he has an innate ability to cause slight heart attacks while performing high risk stunts.  I had to talk him out of "flying" off the tall climber in our yard, and he and I both agreed that a large Rubbermaid storage tote would be a sufficient flying platform.

Over and over again my funny boy climbed up, whipping his cape behind him and waited for a strong wind to catch.  According to him the further he jumped, the better his flight was. 

His cousin Jack wore the first cape he could find (happened to be a pink one... he does have his own somewhere around this house!) and played along.  Not even close to being the climbing monkey boy that Joey is, Jack often played the role of wind watcher, and jump encourager.

At one point he looked like he might take the plunge, but instead carefully climbed off and decided it wasn't worth the risk.

All tired out, it was time for a nap on the swing instead.

Whole Grain Cereal Review and Giveaway

We've all heard a lot about whole grains being an important part of a healthy diet.  However, sometimes it is challenging to determine if a certain product does in fact have whole grains in the ingredients.  And its even more challenging to determine how much of that food is made up of whole grains.

General Mills has just made this whole situation a little bit easier for us shoppers.  Now every cereal with the white check has more whole grain than any other single ingredient with the same great taste. You will see “whole grain” as a part of the first ingredient on the ingredient list, indicating that whole grain is the first and most prevalent ingredient.

To help with choosing products with whole grain, General Mills developed “Fast Lane for Whole Grain,” an online educational game. Consumers can navigate virtual grocery store aisles and identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient, with the option to enter a sweepstakes to win one of each of the 50 cereals with the white check.
Make a commitment to add more whole grain to your diet by simply pouring a bowl of cereal with the white check including Cheerios^®, Lucky Charms^®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch^®, Honey Nut Cheerios^® and Total^®.

For more information on the importance of whole grain and a chance to enter the “Fast Lane for Whole Grain” sweepstakes, visit http://www.wholegrainnation.com/.

General Mills and MyBlogSpark sent me a great prize package complete with 5 boxes of Whole Grain First Ingredient Cereals.  My kids are crazy for cereal, and this box included several of their favorites.  I feel good about giving them food they love that is also good for them.

I also have a prize pack available for one of you!  To enter to win, leave me a comment telling me what your family does to eat more whole grains.  You can do some or all of the following to earn some extra entries:

• Become a follower of Thou Shall Not Whine (3 extra entries!) *Just click the little "follow" button on the right-hand sidebar, then leave me 3 additional comments stating, "follower #1, follower #2, etc."
• Follow my blog on Facebook (2 extra entries) *click on the networked blog button on the right-hand sidebar, then leave 2 additional comments stating that you did!*
• Grab my button and display it on your blog (2 extra entries!)
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back to it. (2 extra entries!)
• Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post. (leave an additional comment here to count as your entry!)

This giveaway starts now and will conclude on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012.  Winner will be selected via Random.org and contacted via email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen

Disclosure:  The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Winner Announcement

Well, this giveaway clearly was not super popular, and no Random.org screenshot needed... with only one entry, the winner is Donna, who said "With both kids in school, I feel like I'm baking on a weekly basis. Not that I mind, but some free cookies would come in handy. Hope all is well with you."  Thanks for entering, and it's great to hear from you Donna... we'll get your prize pack out to you ASAP.

As for the rest of you... where is everyone?  I promise to write on my blog more often if you promise to leave me more comments and enter my giveaways.  Do we have a deal?  Good.

Pillsbury Ready To Bake Shape Cookies Giveaway

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, my mind is fixated on making some special treats for my kids and my little friends at the preschool where I teach.  I don't have tons of time (shocking, I know) and that's where companies like Pillsbury come in to play.

Just in time for Valentine's Day Pillsbury sent me a cute prize pack consisting of a cookie jar, spatula, oven mitt, and a free pack of the new Ready To Bake Shape Cookies featuring Disney characters!  What a great way to show all my little Valentines how much I love them.  I know my kids are going to be so excited to see these cookies that feature Mickey & Minnie, and Princesses Belle, Ariel, and Tiana.  And better yet, their ready to serve and enjoy in just 10 minutes!

Want to try them out for your little Valentines? (or you can eat them after your kids go to bed... not that I'd ever do that, duh.)  Click this link to download a printable coupon for $1.10 off of the purchase of (1) package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies today!

Want to win a prize pack too?  Great!  Leave me a comment on this post and tell me how you're going to make Valentine's Day special this year.

You can do some or all of the following to earn some extra entries:

• Become a follower of Thou Shall Not Whine (3 extra entries!) *Just click the little "follow" button on the right-hand sidebar, then leave me 3 additional comments stating, "follower #1, follower #2, etc."
• Follow my blog on Facebook (2 extra entries) *click on the networked blog button on the right-hand sidebar, then leave 2 additional comments stating that you did!*
• Grab my button and display it on your blog (2 extra entries!)
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back to it. (2 extra entries!)
• Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post. (leave an additional comment here to count as your entry!)

This giveaway starts now and will conclude on Monday, February 13th. -Yes, this giveaway will only last for 3 days, so hurry up!  Winner will be selected via Random.org and contacted via email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen

Disclosure:  The VIP coupon, prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.