Congratulations to Monique for her win in the Best Supporting Actress Category for her role in the movie Precious.  I haven’t seen the movie Precious but it is definitley on my to-do list.  Monique has come a long way from her days of playing Nikki Parker in the sitcom The Parkers and a part of the Queens of Comedy. All I can say is you go girl.

Monique can now add the win at the Oscars to her list of wins for her role in “Precious.” Other wins for supporting actress includes trophies at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

I really hope this opens doors for Monique and hope that she can now be more selective of the roles she gets to show her true talent.   I was a fan before and I’m still one today.  Wishing you the best of luck MO’.

Congrats also to Sandra Bullock for her win for Best Actress.  Another one I think was deserved.

Eating out is one of my favorite things to do.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cooking for my family and I really enjoy it, but as I’ve said before, with the hectic schedules some of us moms endure, we deserve a break from time to time.  When hubby suggests a night out for dinner, I’m all for it and I welcome it with open arms.  For me, it’s more than about the food, it’s the time spent together discovering new places and revisiting some of our favorite places. Since eating out is such a pleasure for me, I’m glad to bring you some good news you might enjoy.

 For all of you busy moms out there who need a break from the kitchen, this one is for you.   Ok, I’ll be nice; dads and singles can play along too.   The nice folks at Restaurant.com thought you’d enjoy a night out of the kitchen by offering 4 of my readers a $50 Restaurant.com gift card.  

For those of you who haven’t heard of Restaurant.com, they are one of the best sources for finding great deals at 1000’s of restaurants nationwide.  You may find some of your favorite places and some you even haven’t the chance to discover.

About Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com is the trusted and valued source connecting restaurants and diners nationwide. The company offers savings at more than 14,000 restaurants nationwide with more than 25,000 gift certificate options—available 24/7. Restaurant.com brings people together to relax, converse and enjoy well-prepared and -served meals at affordable prices. To date, Restaurant.com customers have saved more than $100 million through the gift certificate program. Restaurant.com has operated since 1999 and is based in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Some of the online Favorites offering deals are Mrs. Fields Cookies, Spa Kist, Lobster Gram, DeLa Flowers, The Fruit Company and BBQ2You to name a few.  For those of you who enjoy a great new and discovering new places, Restaurant.com is a great resource.

OH! One more thing, I’d like to share with you before I tell you how you can win your very own $50 gift card.

In honor of its 10 year anniversary, Restaurant.com is toasting everyone who has contributed to the company’s success by launching the “Ultimate Dining Experience” sweepstakes. Individuals nationwide have the opportunity to enter online for a chance to win a weekend getaway to Las Vegas. The grand prize package includes an exclusive dining vacation experience, staying at the Mandalay Bay Resort and dining at Fleur de Lys, a participating Restaurant.com restaurant.

The Restaurant.com Ultimate Dining Experience promotion began Feb. 17, 2010 and continues until March 31, 2010. During that time, you can log on to www.Restaurant.com/Sweeps for sweepstakes entry and to play the instant-win game

NOW BACK TO OUR GIVEAWAY!

WIN IT!

Tell me in a comment why do you think you deserve this gift card and a night out of the kitchen.

This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave your email address in at least one of your comments so that I may notify you in the event you are the lucky winner!

 Extra entries:

• Subscribe to Cocktails With Mom
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (on the right sidebar)
• Follow Cocktails With Mom on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway! ( once Daily)
• Blog about this giveaway then leave me the link! ( 3 entries) 
• Leave a comment on any Non Giveaway Post
• Enter any of my other Giveaways!

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment!

Contest ends, Mar 22, 2010 at 12:00 mid CST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: I was not provided with a Restaurant.com gift card for this giveaway and no other compensation received.  The stated opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Open to US Residents only

Hey Mommas!  Remember I told you guys if I ever came across anything I think  may wanna know about or NEED to know about I would make sure I let you know?  Well, I found this very neat program I wanted to share with you.   It’s called GetNoodles!   GetNoodles is basically a web-based software that helps to make your childs time on-line more productive.  I’ll tell you more about it in a minute.

Let’s face it, Kids love the internet.  It’s Fun. They get to play games, look things up, chat with friends and create pages.  Problem is… some may argue that kids spend entirely too much time online and that can become a problem when it starts to interfere with school work.  Are your kids spending too much time online?  That may be a question you wanna ask yourself.   My kids are young and granted don’t spend a lot of time surfing the net.  But as they get older, I’m sure all of that will change.   This is why I like the concept of GetNoodles.

GetNoodles is a new FREE web-based educational software program that can be quickly installed.   It  will interrupt your child’s playtime on the Internet with pop-up multiple choice questions and quizzes from a wide variety of subjects. To continue, kids must correctly answer the educational question in order to resume their online activities.  I love it and everyone is happy.  Kids get to do what they enjoy while also getting an educational lesson in the process and parents get to set guidelines yet still allowing kids the freedom to enjoy what they love to do.

 GetNoodles is designed for use by kids in preschool through 12th grade and compatible on both Windows and MAC computers.

 Additional features of GetNoodles™ include:

• One parental account can have up to six children using the software.
• Parents receive a weekly email newsletter to show the child’s statistics and overall progress.
• GetNoodles tracks each child’s total time online.
• Parents can change the child’s settings from any computer 
• Can be customized for each child by changing  the educational subjects, timing and frequency as often as desired.
• Parents can easily and quickly turn off pop-up questions when adults are using the computer.
• Software will work on any computer running Windows98, XP or Vista .
• Subjects are categorized by School Subjects, College Preps, or Life Lessons
• Premium subjects include voice prompts and multiple choice questions.
• Available in many different languages.

 As an added incentive to learn, correctly answered questions allow kids to earn points qualifying them for raffle ticket prizes that include gift certificates from major retailers. Every point a child earns with a correct answer is also awarded to the parent, who then qualifies for their own raffle tickets.

 To find out more about GetNoodles and install their free software just go to http://www.getnoodles.com/

Thanks to everyone who has entered our giveaways over the past few weeks.  It’s been lots of fun reading your responses.  Be sure to keep an eye out for some really great reviews and giveaways coming up for our Spring Fling!  We will have another round of fabulous prizes and I hope you are one of the lucky ones!  Check out our winners below and stop by to congratulate them if you get a chance.

And the Winners Are!!!

OxiClean Stain Fighting Giveaway

Commenter# 60  Kerrie Mayans said:
I am a blog follower

Snapfish Photo Book Giveaway

Commenter# 8  Janna said:

I would get a photobook made of my nephews 2nd birthday!

Thanks for entering me! Great Contest!

Kustom Memories Personalized Kids Storybook Giveaway

Commenter# 33 Cassie M said:

I would love to give my daughter a personalized letter from the Easter Bunny! Kids these days stop believing so much earlier, no thanks to constant hints from television shows, and anything to help them believe a little longer is worth it for me!

My husband and I actually used to own a personalized storybook store back when the concept (and computers) was a new idea. My older two children have many personalized books from our old store, but since we closed the store before her birth my youngest does not. This book would be for her!
Cassie

With Springtime just around the corner, I’m sure most of you have spring cleaning on your mind and ready to CLEAN HOUSE.   For those of you with pets, I’m sure you look for a product that is not only effective but also safe around your pets.  You want something that tackles the dirtiest of messes yet pleasantly scented with a natural smell… so why settle for less?  Your home should be clean and safe too!

That’s where Paw Safe Household cleaners come in.   According to their website:

Paw Safe Household Cleaners are formulated without harsh chemicals, using natural plant-based ingredients like deionized water, vegetable derived surfactants, citric acid, emulsifiers, fragrance and organic pigments. All are safe and just as effective as traditional cleaners at cutting through grease and grime, lime scale and soap scum, without leaving dangerous chemical residues behind… PawSafe Household Cleaners earned the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for safety and cleaning effectiveness.

Not only are these products safe for your pets , they are safe for your entire family.  With small kids around, having a safe product is not an option, its a MUST.   

Keeping in mind that your family and pets are important to you, the makers of Paw Safe Cleaners have generously offered to give 3 of my readers each the FULL line of the PawSafe cleaners.  Now, how awesome is that!?

3 lucky readers will reap the benefits of the following products:

Paw Safe Window Cleaner
Paw Safe Floor Cleaner
Paw Safe Multi-Surface Cleaner
Paw Safe Tub & Tile Cleaner
Paw Safe Toilet Cleaner
Paw Safe Toy Cleaner

BUY IT: You can learn more and purchase all of the above Paw Safe Products HERE.

WIN IT: 3 Lucky readers will win the Full Line of products mentioned above.  Visit PawSafe and tell us which product you need the most.  

Mandatory Entry:

This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave your email address in at least one of your comments so that I may notify you in the event you are the lucky winner!

 Extra entries:

• Subscribe to Cocktails With Mom
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (on the right sidebar)
• Follow Cocktails With Mom on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway! ( once Daily)
• Blog about this giveaway then leave me the link! ( 3 entries) 
• Leave a comment on any Non Giveaway Post
• Enter any of my other Giveaways!

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment!

Contest ends,  Mar 15, 2010 at 12:00 noon CST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: I was not provided with any of the PawSafe Cleaners and no other compensation was received.  The Products mentioned above were for giveaway purposes only. The stated opinions are my own and I was NOT influenced in any way.

I’m a shoe girl and I just love shoes of all styles.  Fact is…I just haven’t had the means to splurge on a great pair of shoes lately.  With the way the economy has been going, I had to cut back on my shoe allowance which is why I was excited  to  discover shoe clips by Absolutely Audrey.   I was never into wearing shoe clips but with this option, I can put good use to the shoes I already have….and save some money in the process.    

 With shoe clips by Absolutely Audrey you can add glamour to your wardrobe with fashionable and high quality shoe clips. And, they are not only for shoes.  You can clip them on handbags, hats, and scarves to get an instant makeover!  The options are countless. Check out these before and after photos to give you some ideas and inspiration of what you can do with an pair of shoes in your closet that are just waiting for a make-over.

You can choose from a wide variety of styles and designs. Everything from bows, buckles, flowers and more.  There are even designs made out of pearls, rhinestones, crystals and enamels.    You can literally transform  a pair of ordinary flats or heels  into something fashionable.

Would you like to win your own pair of shoe clips?  Absolutley Audrey has generously offered to provide one of my readers with a pair of Twiggy shoe clips from her 2010 Spring Collection.

How To Enter:

Visit Absolutley Audrey.com and tell me another pair of clips you would like to have.  

This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave your email address in at least one of your comments so that I may notify you in the event you are the lucky winner!

 Extra entries:

• Follow Absolute Audrey on Twitter
• Subscribe to Cocktails With Mom
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (on the right sidebar)
• Follow Cocktails With Mom on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway! ( once Daily)
• Blog about this giveaway then leave me the link! ( 3 entries) 

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment!

Contest ends,  Mar 15, 2010 at 12:00 noon CST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: I was not provided with any shoe clips from Absolute Audrey.  Shoe clips were provided for the purpose of this giveaway and no other compensation received.  The stated opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Jiffy Lube gives back by helping raise awareness to Women’s Hearth Helath!

Statistics have shown that nearly 2,400 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day. To help fight heart disease, Jiffy Lube is participating in the 3rd annual Maintenance Partners for Life campaign – a program that raises funds and awareness for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women Movement.  The Maintenance Partners for Life campaign emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy heart and a healthy vehicle, and seeks to raise $1 million to help fight heart disease.

This campaign kicked off  February 1^st and will run until March 14th.  Customers at participating Jiffy Lube service centers across the U.S. can support this cause with a donation of $3, receiving in return a Jiffy Lube Maintenance Partners for Life savings book containing heart-healthy recipes, as well as $100 in savings from Jiffy Lube.  100% of the funds will benefit local AHA chapters in the communities in which they funds are raised.  People can also donate online at www.JiffyLubeGoesRed.com.  Jiffy Lube has raised $2.3 million for the cause since 2008.

Giveaway

To help spread the word about the Maintenance Partners for Life campaign, Jiffy Lube has offered to give (3) of my readers a $35 Jiffy Lube gift card as well as a Maintenance Partners for Life savings book with $100 in Jiffy Lube savings.

How to Enter the Giveaway (mandatory): 

To help Support the Cause:

• Please visit JiffyLubeGoesRed.com and tell me something you learned! (1 entry)
  

Bonus Entries:

• Become a fan of Jiffy Lube Maintenance Partners for Life on Facebook
• Take the Jiffy Lube Car Checkup  (2 separate entries)
• Take the Go Red Heart CheckUp  (2 separate entries)
• Subscribe to my blog and leave a comment that you subscribed (or you’re a subscriber).
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway
• Blog about this giveaway with a link to my blog ( 5 entries)

You have until Wednesday (03/10) at mid to enter the giveaway. I will choose (3) winners at random using Random.org. I will send the winners an e-mail. The winner will have 48 hours to respond with his/her contact information.

Disclosure: Jiffy Lube is providing the gift cards and coupon booklets for the winner.  I did not receive any compensation to write this post.  The opinions are all mine!

Seven Guidelines for Middle-Ground Communication
By Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD,
Author of The Power of Middle Ground: A Couple’s Guide to Renewing Your Relationship

If you need help regulating and resolving conflict, these guidelines are for you. They can help you make difficult conversations productive, steer you and your partner away from destructive talk, and help you nurture an atmosphere of emotional safety. Adopting these guidelines, whenever pertinent, will safeguard the middle ground within your relationship:

1. Avoid generalizing and stereotyping.  Do not generalize about your partner’s moods. When you think you know how your partner feels, but don’t stop to ask or listen, they’ll often feel neglected and misunderstood. Rule of thumb: there is often a difference between how your partner feels and how you think they feel. Your partner’s sense of emotional safety, as a result of generalizing, can become depleted.

1. Do not blurt responses. Do you identify with the following statement: “I didn’t even know what I was going to say until I heard myself saying it.” If so, this is an especially important guideline for you. Monitor your thoughts while speaking with your partner. There is always more than one way to say something, choose according to the effect you want your remark to have. Do not blurt the first thing that comes to mind at your partner.

1. No name calling. If you are disgusted with something that is going on and call your mate something mean, the communication flow stops. And turning it back on becomes more and more difficult, in proportion to the amount of name-calling that goes on. When thinking before speaking, edit out the put-downs. Basic as the guidelines may seem, under stress, sticking to them is a challenge for us all.

1. Speak honestly and judiciously. The abiding ways that you feel — positive and negative — need to be represented in your dialogue with your partner. Keeping dominant thoughts and feelings buried will not further the relationship. But pay close attention to how you share information. Notice for signs that your partner is getting flooded. Do not keep talking if they are feeling overwhelmed! Conveying your messages with finesse and forethought will payoff big time in trust and emotional safety dividends.

1. Develop patience. Sustain it. Patience within a specific talk and in the pacing of your dialogue overall can make a critical difference to relationship healing. Patience and humility blended together compose emotional stamina, which is fundamental to the creation of a secure long-term love relationship. Healing your relationship without patience? It’s impossible. So work on this one!

1. Think about what your partner says in terms of who your partner is. You need to develop a “relationship” perspective that features a good grasp of how the situation is understood by your partner as well as by yourself. Remember — understanding how your partner feels from within his or her purview does not mean you are acknowledging that their perspective is correct. You are not surrendering your point of view. You are simply acknowledging that yours is not the only legitimate point of view.

1. Time-out signal — have it in place; use it as needed. Using time-outs can allow you a sense of control in the pacing of your dialogue. In the case of complex and/or difficult emotional issues this can make the difference between whether you can or can’t discuss an issue productively. Without a pre-arranged signal to allow a safe method for temporarily suspending the dialogue, restarting it will be more difficult. Using time-outs does not mean that difficult issues go unaddressed. It does mean that partners have to work as a team to keep the flow of conversation going — not simply within a single talk but between talks as well. Carve a niche in your relationship that honors this dimension of awareness and sensitivity.

Can these seven guidelines help save a floundering relationship? The short answer is yes. Yes, they can. If you follow them consistently, you will see results. Putting these into practice with your partner will help you both learn to understand each other better, and come to find your middle ground.

© 2010 Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD, author of The Power of the Middle Ground: A Couple’s Guide to Renewing Your Relationship

Author Bio
Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD (New York, NY), author of The Power of the Middle Ground: A Couple’s Guide to Renewing Your Relationship, is a psychotherapist in private practice and a member of the Executive Supervisory Committee of FACTS (the Family and Couples Treatment Service) of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy.

For more information, please visit www.PowerOfTheMiddleGround.com.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to try out Rembrandts Whitening Collection and I can tell you, I am very pleased with the outcome. It has  really given me something to smile about and I cannot be happier.   This was my first time ever using any type of whitening system and did not know what to expect.  To be honest, I was skeptical at first.  I just didn’t think an over the counter product would work all that well, BUT it did.   I was really pleased with my results. 

I could not wait to share my results with my sister who happens to be a dental assistant.  In fact, she noticed a difference even before I could share all of the details.  That made me very pleased, even more reason to smile.   Now that I have completed the 5- day whitening process, I still need to maintain my bright smile.  I will continue using the Instense Stain Toothpaste, The Whitening Mouthwash daily, and the 2 hour Whitening Kit comes in handy for those special occassions and in between whitening needs. Oh! and I just love my limited edition Reach Toothbrush.  If you get a chance, check out my full review here and see more of what I had to say.

Now for some fun!   Since I am so pleased with my new smile, I was estatic to find out I would have the opportunity to give away a Rembrandt Whitening Prize pack to 3 lucky readers all thanks to REMBRANDT.

Here’s what you can win:    A Limited Edition Reach toothbrush, Intense Stain Toothpaste, Rembrandt Whitening Strips, Rembrandt 2 Hour Kit, and Plus Peroxide Whitening Mouthwash.

How To Enter:

Visit Rembrandt.com and come back here and tell us something you saw or learned on the site. 

This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave your email address in at least one of your comments so that I may notify you in the event you are the lucky winner!

 Extra entries:

• Subscribe to Cocktails With Mom
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (on the right sidebar)
• Follow Cocktails With Mom on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway! ( once Daily)
• Blog about this giveaway then leave me the link! ( 3 entries) 
• Leave a comment on any Non Giveaway Post
• Enter any of my other Giveaways!

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment!

Contest ends,  Mar 06, 2010 at 12:00 mid CST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: I was not provided with the Rembrandt Whitening Collection for this giveaway and no other compensation received.  The stated opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

This Giveaway is now closed.  A winner will be announced soon.

When it comes to doing laundry, stains are no stranger in my household. With two very active little boys  and a darling husband who works very hard – it seems as if a day doesn’t go by that I don’t  have to deal with some type of stain.  This is why I could not wait to try out a brand new product from OxiClean that will hit shelves this month ~  OxiClean Max Force Power Paks and OxiClean Max Force Gel Stick Pre-Treater .

I could not wait to try them out.  I had no problem finding a few pieces to put to the test.  Believe it or not, laundry is one of my favorite chores.  I just love fresh , clean clothes and linens.   It only gets frustrating  when my clothes don’t get their cleanest or my whites their whitest.   That is just one of my biggest pet peeves, but desides that, I love doing laundry….. with the exception of folding and putting away part,  now I don’t like that.  But oh well, it’s something we all have to do so I embrace it.

I have never tried OxiClean before-I’ve heard of it and even seen the commercials but never tried it for myself so I was excited to give it a try.  For this test, if stains are needed – I’ve got them  and now with OxiClean handy, I was ready to go.

The Gel Stick Pre-Treater works great on tough stains  – even ones that set-in on clothes for a week! Just rub the gel into the fabric and let it sit for a few minutes before throwing it into a normal load of laundry.  The Power Paks are pretty easy to use.  Just toss them  in with your laundry along with your detergent and let it do the rest.  I like that it’s mess free and  helps get rid of stains.

Each of these new products contains OxiClean’s “4-in-1 stain fighting power” so whether grease, oil, blood, or dirt, appears on clothing, you know that dabbing with OxiClean will leave the garment looking new again after just one wash. 

I was very pleased with this product and I just  LOVE how they make my laundry smell- so CLEAN and FRESH.  The best part about it is that they are  easy to use-  literally takes only a few seconds to grab a pak and toss it in.

 Win It!

One lucky reader will win a both the OxiClean Max Force Power Paks and the Max Force Gel Stick . You have until Friday, February 27th to enter to win.  A winner will be picked at random and you will have 48 hours to claim your prize!

To Enter:

 Please share with us one of your tough stain stories or why you want to give OxiClean a try.

Extra Entries:

• Subscribe to Cocktails With Mom
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (on the right sidebar)
• Follow Cocktails With Mom on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway! ( once Daily)
• Blog about this giveaway then leave me the link!
• Leave a comment on any Non Giveaway Post
• Grab my main button!
• List this giveaway on a Blog Contest linky and share with me the link

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment! 

Contest ends, Feb. 27, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. CST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. US Only (unless otherwise noted) 

 “I received a product for this review on behalf of the company. All opinions are solely my own. Others who may use this product or service may have different opinions.”