Valentine’s Day isn’t what it used to be for me.  No longer do I get gifts from my husband.  Now, it is gifts from my kids that are the highlight of my day.  So, in turn, I like to do things for my kids to make them happy.  This year, I have a very fun way to surprise the kids and they can even help me do it!  We are going to make some Pillsbury Ready-To-Bake! Shape Cookies!

My kids are huge Disney fans so I was very pleased to see that there are now Disney shapes in the cookies.  They are going to be so excited!  It is so simple to make these cookies that anyone with an oven can do it.  They are ready to enjoy in 8-10 minutes and can be found at your local grocery store.  You can celebrate with your kiddo’s favorite Disney characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Disney Princesses Belle, Cinderella and Tiana.  The only problem may be deciding which ones to get!

We have made these cookies and I must say, they are delicious! My kids love to be involved in making them and doing things with them and enjoying the “fruit of our labor” is an amazing feeling for them and for me. I encourage you to grab some of these cookies the next time you go to the grocery store and make them with your kids (or husband, friend, parent, anyone!) and enjoy spending time together.

You can now get a coupon for $1.10 off the purchase of (1) package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies today!

I also have a very fun giveaway for one of you!  One winner will receive the following:  a VIP coupon to purchase a package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies, a cookie jar, a cookie spatula, and an oven mitt.

Enter as many times as you like but all entries must be included in the Rafflecopter to be considered.

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Disclosure: The VIP coupon, prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

I have mentioned time and again how much I love to read.  When I was chatting with my friend Jolyn Palliata, I was telling her how much I enjoyed her books and we decided it was high time I gave some away to my readers.  I want you all to enjoy her writing as much as I do and this is your chance!!!

Jolyn kindly offered to give 5 winners their choice of one of her books.  There will be several ways to enter but you win with them all because you will be able to keep in touch with Jolyn and all the faulousness that she is.  Jolyn is going to gift these books to winners on Amazon so you must have Kindle software BUT you do not need a Kindle!  If you have a smartphone, PC, Mac, or tablet, you can have Kindle software.  If you need any help with that, let me know.

Below are the summaries from Jolyn’s three books.  I want you to know that I have read all of these and loved every single one.  They are fantastic with a capital F!  They are super with a capital S!  They are terrific with a capital T!  You get the idea…

Amber Eyes (Entwined Souls Trilogy)  (Young Adult Paranormal Romance, retail $2.99)

 ~ Eyes are the window to the soul, in a time when souls are ancient. ~

After an accident, one she shouldn’t have walked away from, Lexi’s life finally begins. She meets Dez, a new student with the most beautiful eyes she’s ever seen. And since gazing into them, Lexi has had vivid waking dreams that pull her back through time, and into the warm embrace of a mysterious stranger—a stranger who becomes all too familiar. When offering an explanation for her detailed visions, Dez changes her world forever with two simple words: Soul mates.

For the first time in her life, Lexi feels safe and complete. But lingering in the shadows is the embodiment of evil, coveting the light within her. He’s a threat to Lexi’s very existence, and to a love that has transcended time.

Connected (Twists of Fate) (Paranormal Romance, retail $1.99)

A rock group’s rhythm guitarist, Rhys Alexander, dies and finds himself bound inside the body of a woman he’s never met. Can she help him move on to the other side, or will he end up finding the love of his life…after his has already ended?

NOTE: Connected is a 37K novella which launches the Twists of Fate series.

A Modern Love Story (Contemporary Romance, retail $2.99))

After the death of her parents, Robbie Byrne is put in foster care where she meets her exact opposite, Luc Cintrone. Abandoned as a small child, Luc is a foul-mouthed rebel who takes it upon himself to be her defender, whether she likes it or not. As they grow up, they fumble through their different roles in each other’s lives—family, confidants and then, ultimately, lovers.

Just as the couple is settling into their newfound relationship, they encounter a beautiful lawyer, Payten, who is immediately taken by Luc’s rough edges. But he denies her, making him absolutely irresistible in her eyes. Payten is a woman who has grown accustomed in her privileged life in obtaining whatever she wants, no matter the cost or sacrifice. And she is fairly confident Luc will eventually see things her way…one way or another.

Which one sounds good to you?? Which would you like to read first?

Here is your chance to win one of these fabulous books. Follow the directions below and enter your information in the Rafflecopter form to enter.

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©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

As a mom of two kiddos in diapers, I frequently buy my baby supplies in bulk and Sam’s Club is the place to go!  We buy diapers, wipes, and laundry detergent in bulk.  Today, I want to share a very special deal with you… one too good to pass up!

For a limited time, from February 1–29, 2012, you can get a $10 Sam’s Club Gift Card when you purchase any two of the following baby items at Sam’s Club:

• Pampers^® Swaddlers^® or Pampers Cruisers^® Diapers

• Pampers SoftCare^™ Scented Baby Wipes

• Similac^® Advance^® Powder or Similac Sensitive^® Powder

• Dreft^® Liquid Laundry Detergent

Both items must be purchased at the same time and gift card requests must be submitted online by March 14, 2012.

For more offer details and to request your Gift Card, visit SamsClub.com/giftcardoffer.

To get you started on this fantastic deal, I have $25 Sam’s Club cards to give away to one reader!

How to enter: The mandatory entry must be completed in order for all others to count.  All entries must be recorded into the Rafflecopter widget.

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Disclosure: The Sam’s Club Gift Card and information have been provided by Sam’s Club and P&G through MyBlogSpark. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

My kids eat “fruit snacks” all the time.  The words “you are going to turn into a fruit snack” may have come out of my mouth at one time or another.  We buy them in bulk.  Just saying.  So, when we were given the chance to review some new fruit flavored snacks, I knew we just had to give them a try.  When the Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks showed up, the box was greeted with “yay” and “yippee”.  No joke!

For the sake of review, you knew I had to try them too, right?  I swear, it was for the review and not because I happen to love “fruit snacks” too.  We broke into the first box, the Assorted Fruit, right away.  Yummy!  They were really good.  They were a bit too chewy for my liking to be honest but they had better flavor than many other fruit flavored snacks we have tried.  My kids didn’t care about the chewiness at all and think they are really good.  They ask for either the Assorted Fruit or the Berries and Cherries variety before any other fruit flavored snacks we have.

The Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks are made with real fruit juice and natural colors (from natural sources) and flavors.  These Fruit Flavored Snacks are made with apple, pear, and cranberry juice concentrate. See package for a list of complete ingredients. They are not intended to replace fruit in the diet.  They are 80 calories per bag, gluten free and contain 100% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C.  And, to make them even better, they are available with year round Double Box Tops.

I encourage you to give the Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks a try.  We love them and will be buying them in the future for sure!  Right now, you can click here to download a printable coupon for $1.10 off of the purchase of (2) Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored snacks!

I have a fun giveaway too!  FOUR winners will win 6 boxes (3 of each variety) of Ocean Spray^®Fruit Flavored Snacks!

How to enter: The mandatory entry must be completed in order for all others to count.  All entries must be recorded into the Rafflecopter widget.

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Disclosure: Ocean Spray® Fruit Flavored Snacks, information, and giveaway have been provided by Ocean Spray® through MyBlogSpark. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

How do you like that post title???  I figured I would just lay it all out there for you today.  So, here’s the scoop… My friend Jolyn Palliata released a new book this week called A Modern Love Story (review below) and is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card in celebration.   In addition, right now this book is on sale for only 99 cents for Kindle but you have to act fast because it will only be this price for today.  After that, it is going up to $2.99.  Have I mentioned how much I love Indie writers???  Only $2.99 regular price is pretty darn amazing but I wanted to give you the heads up for the 99 cent price because you really, really should read this book!

A Modern Love Story blew me away.  I read it last night and this morning and fell in love with the characters… well not all of them.  For a little bit I was pretty angry at the lead male, Luc.  The story follows the characters from the time they are 12 which leaves a different perspective than other romance books I have read.  Here is the summary:

After the death of her parents, Robbie Byrne is put in foster care where she meets her exact opposite, Luc Cintrone. Abandoned as a small child, Luc is a foul-mouthed rebel who takes it upon himself to be her defender, whether she likes it or not. As they grow up, they fumble through their different roles in each other’s lives—family, confidants and then, ultimately, lovers.

Just as the couple is settling into their newfound relationship, they encounter a beautiful lawyer, Payten, who is immediately taken by Luc’s rough edges. But he denies her, making him absolutely irresistible in her eyes. Payten is a woman who has grown accustomed in her privileged life in obtaining whatever she wants, no matter the cost or sacrifice. And she is fairly confident Luc will eventually see things her way…one way or another.

Now, the story line with Payten was totally surprising.  Jolyn has quite the imagination to come up with the twists and turns and downright evilness that Payten posseses.  It added a level of drama that you don’t always find in romance novels.  I went from wanting to punch Luc for his behavior to feeling sorry for him.  How does that happen?!?  All along, I felt the desire to hold poor Robbie who keeps getting the short end of the stick.  The addition of Conrad and Lizbeth made for a fun dialogue and you could almost feel the emotions of these characters stuck in the middle of their friends’ problems.

What am I saying?  Read it!  You have to read it to fully understand what I am talking about.  It is super fantastic!  This is much more than a romance novel… romance, intrigue, suspense, treachery… you will find it.  One warning…. it has some cussing because Luc starts off a foul-mouth snot (my words haha!).  Don’t forget that it is only 99 cents right now (Thursday) but is still a very affordable $2.99 after that.  Let me know if you read this book.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

It’s that time again…. enter your giveaways for others to find or hop over and try to win some yourself!

Here are the two I have open right now:

$25 Sam’s Club Gift Card (2/4)
$100 Grocery Gift Card & Blue Diamond Almonds (2/4)

Enter what you have below!

Please use this format so everyone is consistent:

Giveaway item (end date)

Please link directly to your giveaway (not your blog).  When you are finished, I would love a comment and a tweet of this post (click on the Twitter icon above the post).

Note: Spam entries will be deleted!

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

If you are anything like me, you think about your kids while they are away from you.  Whether at camp, school, or daycare, I think about my kids and hope that they remember how much they mean to me while they are away from me.  That is why, when I was sent the Talkatoo Clip to review, I was very excited to give it a go.

I send little notes to Johnny in his lunchbox but Joley can’t read.  I have always wanted a way to share my love for my babies while they are away from me and Talkatoo Clips make that so easy.  This is such a fun product that works for both kids and parents alike.  I can record little messages to my babies and they can have those messages with them while they are away from me.  Or, if I am missing my kids or they want to remind me that they love me while I am away, they can leave a message for me on the Talkatoo Clip!  This could also be used for spouses to take with them when they go on a trip or leave at home to be remembered.  The options are only limited by your imagination!

These are perfect for any family that wants to stay connected, even when they can’t be together.  For the great price of only $14.95, you can even afford to buy them for all your family members.  All you need to do is record the message and it can be played back as many times as you want… or re-record and have a new message.  Your family will love it!

If you hurry and order now, you can get 15% off your order!  This ends when January comes to a close but you can still get it now.  Simply enter the code 21619 at checkout to get this great deal.  Start the new year out making an effort to be closer to your family in every way!  Let Talkatoo Clips help you do that.

Be sure to let me know if you order one.  I would love to hear about what you are doing with your Talkatoo Clip.  I bet you will love them as much as we do!

Disclosure: I am an Organized Parent Product Reviewer and received the product mentioned for the purpose of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

I realize it is after Christmas but I wanted to make sure you have seen that there are two movies available for Disney fans.  Beauty and the Beast is one of my all-time favorite movies and I was so excited to see that there are some special edition movies available now.

Beauty & The Beast:  The Enchanted Christmas is a wonderful, magical movie.  Joley and I loved watching it and it is now one of our favorite movies to watch any time of the year, but especially at Christmas time.

We also received Beauty & The Beast: Belle’s Magical World.  Joley loved this one more than the other but I think they are both super and bring the true beauty of the story to light.  This is a Disney DVD re-release of the 1997 Disney animated film based on the 1991 Oscar-winning film of the same name.  It is well worth the purchase and I enjoyed it very much.

Be sure to check out both of these DVDs while you can. They are a great addition to our collection and I am sure they would be for yours too!

Disclosure: We were given the products mentioned for the purpose of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

Joley has an obsession… Dora the Explorer. She spends all day talking about, singing songs, or watching Dora the Explorer. She absolutely fell in love with Dora the Explorer: Dora Loves Boots when it arrived.  She thinks Boots is funny and has so much fun watching this DVD.

Here is what you get with this DVD:

Dora the Explorer: Dora Loves Boots Episode Synopses:

Boots’ First Bike
Boots is really excited because soon he’ll be getting his very first big bike.  The Delivery Duck flies in with a postcard of a shiny yellow 2-wheeler bike for Boots.  His new bike is finally ready to be picked up and he can’t wait!  It’s going to be a series of “first” adventures as Baby Blue Bird takes her first flight, Lil’ Piggy sails on her first pirate ship, and Tico’s baby cousins learn how to safely cross the street and make it to the bike shop.

Bouncy Boots
Boots’ favorite boots are back from the Shoe Shop, but when he tries them on, he starts to bounce. Dora and Boots set off to find his favorite boots on a bouncy adventure past the Giant Gates, then across the Snail Bridge where their French friend Amélie teaches them how to play Escargot — a French Hop-Scotch game. They sing all the way to the Shoe Shop, but will Boots’ shoes be there?

¡Vacaciones!
Dora and Boots are meeting Diego and Baby Jaguar for a night of camping under the stars.  Along the way, they run into other friends who are going on vacation too. At the Nutty Forest, Tico and Benny give them a ride on his nut-powered car. Then they help Isa water her vegetable garden before she heads out to the Snowy Mountain.  Before they arrive at the Rainforest Campground, Swiper takes their snacks. Diego and Baby Jaguar come to the rescue in a canoe and together retrieve the snacks and row all the way to the Campground.

The Bed Red Chicken’s Magic Wand
The Big Red Chicken is doing magic tricks and he turns Boots into a chicken!  When he tries to turn Boots back into a monkey, his beak starts to twitch and he lets out a big sneeze that sends the wand flying off into Magic Land.  Big Red Chicken accidentally lands on his wand and breaks it!  On the way to the Wand Shop they play a picture puzzle game to go through the Magic Mirrors, a math game to get the Giant Dice to disappear and then do a scarf trick to enter the Wand Shop.

This DVD can be purchased now for the suggested retail price of $16.99.  We recommend it, especially if you have a Dora fan!

Disclosure: We were given the product mentioned for the purpose of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.

Men stink.  No, I am kidding.  Kinda.  Okay, the truth is that many men don’t know how to take care of their skin.  They jump in the shower, use the same soap on their face, body, and hair and call it a day.  But, what men need to realize is that they need to take care of their skin just as much as women do!  It isn’t that hard either thanks to Dove Men + Care!

We were sent a nice set of Dove Men + Care products for my husband to try.  He is one of those previously mentioned guys who doesn’t have a clue how to keep his skin moisturized and looking fresh so I was eager to see what he would think of the products.  His reaction?  He loves it (his words) and thinks they are great (again, his words).  I have even tried the bar soap to see how well it moisturized, ya know for the sake of review.  I have to admit that I enjoyed the smell myself and it didn’t dry out my skin at all.  I think these are great products and I will be buying them for my husband in the future.

In order to help you and your man out, I have some skin care tips from Dr. Carolyn Jacob that I wanted to share with you.  These explain ways in which Dove Men + Care can help keep your man’s skin healthy and refreshed all year round!  Here you go!

• Wipe out winter blues with a hydrating body wash.  Although men can tolerate stronger facial products than women (they have thicker skin and typically more oil glands), they are still prone to dry skin in the winter. Dove Men+Care Clean Comfort Body and Face Wash is clinically proven to fight skin dryness without irritation and will help men avoid winter dryness.
• Don’t sweat it – embarrassing sweat stains are the pits. For years only women had a large choice of antiperspirants since sweat may be “macho” for men but not attractive for women.  The truth is many men suffer from hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, which is why stronger antiperspirants like Dove Men+Care Clinical Protection are available for men today. This antiperspirant provides prescription strength protection against wetness while also guarding against odor.
• Simplify skincare. Many men aren’t interested or don’t have the time for a daily grooming routine, but it’s easy to keep your skin healthy looking. Wash your face twice a day, and put moisturizer with sunscreen on in the morning. It is that simple!
• Cleanse daily for clear skin.  Refresh your skin and wash away stubborn impurities by cleansing your face at least once a day. For normal to dry skin use a moisturizing cleanser and for break-out prone skin avoid oil-based products. If that doesn’t do the trick, visit your dermatologist and get a topical medication that will help to prevent breakouts.
• Moisture is the key to care. Dove research shows that most men blame their socks for the dry, itchy skin on their legs. It may be your socks, but I’d say switching to products that contain built in moisturizers, like Dove Men+Care Body and Face Wash, and taking short showers that are lukewarm will solve this problem. The Dove Men+Care Body and Face Wash contains ultra-light micromoisture technology that boosts the skin’s natural moisture barrier to combat dryness and fight against irritation. Applying moisturizer immediately after showering is also helpful, as it will trap the water and hydrate your skin.
• Understand your skin. Individuals with darker skin tones tend to have oily skin and should wash their face twice a day. Additionally, products that contain both moisturizing and cleansing ingredients like the Dove Men+Care Deep Clean micromoisture Body and Face Wash that cleanses and moisturizes with purifying grains are great because they prevent visible dry spots, which are a common problem for those with darker pigments.
• Travel with your moisturizing essentials. While travelling can help you wind-down, it is not so kind on your skin. Airplanes are extremely dry and can affect your skin severely, which is why it’s always important to hydrate and moisturize before and after you take off! I’d recommend packing TSA friendly Dove Men+Care Body and Face bar, which fights dryness with Dove signature ¼ moisturizing cream. Also, when visiting a dry climate, pack a heavier facial lotion or cream with sunscreen and for more humid environments, be sure to bring a lighter facial lotion with sunscreen.
• Fight underarm discomfort with Dove Men+Care Antiperspirants. Dove Men+Care global research found that over 50% of men experience some form of underarm discomfort.  Dove Men+Care antiperspirants combine powerful 48 hour odor and wetness protection with a non-irritating formula that’s tough on sweat, not on skin.
• Know your grooming aisle. The simple but technologically advanced Dove Men+Care product line makes it the #1 dermatologist choice, making it easier for guys to navigate the men’s grooming aisle, packed with products that have exploded onto drug store shelves.  Arm yourself with knowledge they next time you visit a “guy aisle” and know what products are right for you.

There is so much that Dove Men + Care has to offer so be sure to check them out.  You can also find Dove Men + Care on Facebook.

Disclosure: We were given the products mentioned for the purpose of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

©2012 To Be Thode. All Rights Reserved.