A cereal killer

Growing up we really did not do big fancy breakfasts very often. Mostly we had lots and lots of cereal for breakfast. I still prefer cereal as I am not much of a morning person. I like something that I can shove into my face with minimal forethought. I only ever make big breakfasts on nights that we have breakfast for dinner.

I have become a bit of a connoisseur of cereal so I was excited to review a new cereal called Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters. I have been having a hard time coming up with the motivation to write this because the cereal was simply meh. The raisins were small, the oat clusters were minuscule and the flakes were overly sweet. It was edible and did not taste horrible, but it also did not taste good enough that I would rave about it. It does have more fiber I will give it that, but if you are looking to up your fiber intake there are other, more tasty, ways to do it.

A really fantastic raisin bran that I adore is Raisin Bran Crunch. This cereal has it all: big fat raisins, great tasting flakes and awesome oat clusters. If you are looking for a great raisin bran with extra fiber eat this and add some Fibersure.

Tags: cereal, raisin bran, fiber

Smells

I am a sucker for really nice smelling things. I have a rather large collection of scented hand lotions and soaps. I was very excited to review the new Sweetleaf Baby Collection, because most kids stuff smells too overwhelming and the scents are not very nice. One bubble bath I bought for the boys made them smell like grape bubble gum and I hated that.

I was given the shampoo and instant hand cleanser to try. The baby wash/shampoo smelt so, well the best way I can describe it is baby. I wanted to scoop my boys up and snuggle them all evening so I could smell their hair. Sadly they are very wiggly and were wanting to play instead of letting mommy smell them. It would be heaven to use this on a young baby that would be more than happy to let you hold them and smell their sweet babyness while they snoozed in your arms.

The hand cleanser had a nice smell and did not dry my hands out at all. The scent did not drive me as wild as the baby wash/shampoo but it was a nice clean scent that did not overpower me. It comes in a nice sized bottle that is not so small that it will disappear at the bottom of your diaper bag but small enough that it will not take up a huge amount of space either.

The biggest drawback to this lovely collection is the price. I am not the richest person and being a stay at home mother means we have to watch every penny. I would not use this every day on my kids, but I would give it as a gift to a special mother to be or I would buy it myself for a splurge to be used now and then.

With every fiber of my being (A contest)

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A mother's obsession with poop starts early. As her digestive system slows during pregnancy an unfortunate side effect is irregularity. Then, once the tiny infant is in your arms, your obsession kicks into high gear and never seems to entirely leave you. That is why I jumped at the chance to review two new Metamucil products that now out in stores.

The first one is called Berry Burst and it supposed to be a delicious drink that is a tasty way to keep you regular and in theory helps reduce your cholesterol. I will not even go in to the cholesterol claims, the science behind these claims are becoming a bit shaky. The delicious drink part of the equation is just not there at all. I am not even sure how this product made it to market. First off there is the artificial sweetener taste to get over. I hate artificial sweetener and the awful aftertaste but still decided to give this drink a fair try. The packaging claimed that the drink had a smooth texture and I agreed, if you compare drinking dirt to drinking this it is smooth. However, if you are a drinker of beverages like water or juice you will find it very gritty. The fiber also has an aftertaste all it's own that when combined with the artificial sweetener aftertaste makes this drink undrinkable if you are the owner of a set of taste buds. Don't buy it, you will be wasting your money.

The next product is called Fibersure. Essentially it is very much like Benefibre. Mixes well in liquids, lives up to it's claims of having no discernible taste and works like a charm. If you are worried that your kids are not getting the fiber they need from their diet of chicken nuggets and cheese it is a snap to sneak this into their milk or any other kind of drink they like. They will never know the difference. It is a bit tricky mixing this in cold liquids, you have to stir a lot, but it is worth it in the end (tee hee).

Now for the contest. I was going to give away your very own set of these products but since I was less than thrilled with the first one I will not be giving fiber away. Instead you are vying for a $20 iTunes gift card(which you don't have to have an iPod to use, you can download iTunes and listen to the music on your computer). All I want from you is for you to blog about your best (or most horrific depending on how you look at it) kid poop story (this child does not even have to be related to you). Link to this contest (so that we can spread the word) and then put the link to your post in the comment section of this post. You have until Wednesday to write your post. Then I will pick the top three and you will get to vote on which one you like best and that person will be the winner. Go forth and write!

Harry took a shine to the fiber containers. He actually took this one upstairs with him for his nap. I wish I could have gotten to my camera in time to show you a picture of him laying down with his little arm wrapped tenderly around that container. It was cute and very hilarious. He did not let me take it away from him until bed time and even then he was quite cranky about having to leave it behind.

Mother's Day gift Product Review

Some people (like me) prefer to receive cute gifts made by the kids. Some people like to get something a little more fun and possibly more useful. Best Buy will be selling a lovely gift package that has all your bases covered. It contains a 4GB iPod nano in your choice of pink or silver. It also has some very tasty (for milk chocolate) and a 10% coupon for an iPod accessory of your choice. The price is a bit on the high side, it will cost you $214.99 but if you want something a special for a special mom in your life this would make a great gift.

The iPod nano is a super easy to use mp3 player. Apple products are very intuitive and all it takes is a little exploring to figure out every thing that this little player has to offer. The nano is also perfect for mothers because it has a flash drive powering it. They are more robust when accidentally dropped and much less likely to break than the larger iPods. The small size is perfect for your purse or diaper bag yet it is still big enough that it will not disappear so you will have to dig for it.

If you have the money in hand and want a special something for a special someone in your life then starting May 6th these will be in stores.

I was planning on doing a super fun give away, but since I am a good wife I ended up giving away my lovely silver one (the one I got for Christmas) to my husband (who really wanted an iPod bad) and took the pink one for me. Sorry!!!

Awesome Mom becomes a corporate shill

Awhile back I was approached to do a review for Fruity Cheerios. I jumped on the chance since it meant a free box of cheerios. I had already actually bought several giant boxes of them at Costco, so I was already in love with the product.

They have a nice fruity flavor with out being overly sweet like the competition cereal *cough*Frootloops*cough*. They are also smaller which gives them a much nicer texture. My LDS readers will be happy to know that they pass the sacrament snack test. Less sugar means that the nursery leader will be happy to see you since your kids will not be all hopped up on sugar.

Parents may love them for the reason above but kids love them for the taste. When Evan saw me pull the box out of the package he instantly wanted me to open them so he could have a snack. I gave in (I had already been planning on giving them a snack any way) and gave the boys some of their beloved "cheeieerios". Harry decided that they went especially well with dirt since he dumped the bowl on the patio floor for easier consumption.

Adding in: If you like contests check this one out. You could win $500 and/or a case (10 boxes) of Fruity Cheerios.

See? I attempted to civilize the boys.

But Harold the Destroyer thwarted me yet again.

Mmmmm.... dirt and cheerios

Evan made a slight attempt to put them back in the bowl but kept dumping them back out again, so his progress was nonexistent.