About the movie:

From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous. 

A stop-motion animated film, “Frankenweenie” will be filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience.

Frankenweenie comes out October 5, just in time for Halloween!

To learn more, be sure to like Frankenweenie on Facebook!

But, just like how we change & grow as we go from being the one with the baby shampoo mohawk to being the one giving the bath, Johnson’s has changed & grown, too! Recently, Johnson’s debuted their line of more “green” products: Johnson’s Natural!

The Johnson’s Natural product line is great for several reasons: it still has the No More Tears formula that has become synonymous with Johnson’s, an allergen-free fragrance {great for my little dude who has sensitive skin}, & best of all- it’s made up of 98% natural ingredients! There are three items currently in the line: Johnson’s Natural Head-To-Toe Baby Wash, Johnson’s Natural Baby Shampoo, and Johnson’s Natural Baby Lotion. &The line recently won the 2012 Better Homes and Gardens Best New Product Award!

I received a sample of each of the products to test out on Shane, which was no easy feat. While he loves the bath, he hates getting clean. I did manage to try everything out, though- eventually!

Johnson’s Natural Baby Shampoo: Even though Shane gets upset when I put shampoo on his head, I’m confident that he didn’t shed a single tear due to this shampoo. It has the No More Tears formula, and is paraben-free, dye-free, and allergen-free, with no essential oils & 98% natural ingredients from plants and fruit. It was nice & sudsy and a little bit went a long way to get his hair clean!

Johnson’s Natural Baby Lotion: Also free of all the icky stuff, this lotion is actually 99% natural, which I think is very impressive. The allergen-free fragrance smelled really good & it didn’t seem greasy to me.

Johnson’s Natural Head-To-Toe Baby Wash: This one was my favorite because it makes washing easy. Since Shane already fights me when it comes to getting clean, it’s a lot easier for me to just use one product to wash everything. The more time I spend rinsing the pouf & grabbing a new product, the more anxious he gets, so having one product that can do it all is great. I also liked that it came out as foam, which also made washing up a lot faster.

We like to try to incorporate “green” things into our lives, but we’re not as adamant about it as I’d like. We’d like to do more, but we just can’t find the time or money to do the big stuff, like use compost buckets, ride a bike instead of drive, etc. But we do the little things: recycle, turn the lights off, and now, use 98% natural body wash, shampoo & lotion for Shane!

Make sure to check out the Johnson’s Natural Website for more information about the products & ingredients, to receive coupons & to watch a series of videos full of tips on how to affordably start incorporating natural living into your everyday family life!

What small steps do you take to make your life a little bit greener?

Susie’s Note: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Johnson’s Natural and received a product sample to facilitate my review, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Anyone want to win $25? Well, some blogger friends & I want to give it to you!

This giveaway runs through the 29th- come back daily for more entries! Just enter using the super simple form below- Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Since it opened for business in 1957, Toyota has been giving back. To date, Toyota has donated over half a billion dollars to nonprofit organizations all across the country. They have several ongoing philanthropic campaigns that they participate in, such as Toyota Driving Expectations, which is a free safety program that puts teens and their parents through real-world driving scenarios to better prepare them. Toyota also has several other philanthropic programs, and this year they are continuing the great work they did last year with 100 Cars for Good!

Last year, Toyota gave 100 cars to nonprofit organizations that were voted on by the public. These organizations varied from soup kitchens, to service dog programs, to children’s hospices. &This year, they’re doing it again!

Do you know of a nonprofit organization that would benefit from a new, free car? Be sure to encourage them to apply! Starting March 12, 2012 and lasting either until March 26, 2012 or when 5,000 applications have been received, whichever comes first, organizations can apply for their chance at a new car. Voting will again be done by the public, and will begin on May 14, 2012.

You can learn more about 100 Cars for Good by going to Toyota’s Facebook Page & clicking on the “100 Cars for Good” tab.

Disclosure: I was selected for participation in the TWIN community through a program withClever Girls Collective. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post, or payment in exchange for participating. The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not reflect the views of Toyota.

Neosporin Essentials Eczema Care is a new line of skincare products designed to prevent & calm eczema reactions. The line has three steps that work together to make life with eczema more bearable- a Daily Body Wash & Daily Moisturizing Cream, to prevent flare-ups, as well as an Anti-Itch Cream for fast itch relief during flare-ups.

Recently I received a kit with trial-sized versions of each of the products. I gave them a test drive with my skin & below are my thoughts on the products:

Daily Body Wash: Fragrance-free, dye-free, and soap-free, this body wash is safe for use with any member of the family, including baby. I liked the body wash a lot because it didn’t cause any irritation for me, even when I used it as a shaving cream like I do with my old body wash.

Daily Moisturizing Cream: Unlike most “fragrance-free” products, this one really has no scent, which is nice because those other lotions that are supposed to have no smell usually smell really bad, which is not something I want on my skin all day. The cream soaks in to your skin fairly quickly, which is great because my hands have been very dry but I don’t want greasy lotion hands, either. The bottle says that it’s clinically shown to restore visibly healthier skin in 3 days but it actually only took about a day & a half {2 night uses, & 1 morning use} for my dry skin spots to go away completely. &You don’t just have to use it on spots that are already dry and/or have eczema reactions- you can use it daily on your entire body to help prevent a reaction.

Anti-Itch Cream: I have to say that I actually barely used this, which I attribute fully to the other two products working well. That said, I did have a trouble spot around my elbow for a couple of days & instead of pulling out the super hardcore prescription cream I usually use, I gave this a go. While it didn’t clear the flare-up the same day like the prescription medicine does, it only took one day longer & since it took the itch out, I didn’t even notice it. It contains 1% Hydrocortisone, which is the same ingredient in my prescription cream, but at a dosage that I feel much better about.

I really liked this line & found it very helpful to me, so I plan on continuing to use it!

If you or someone you love suffers from eczema, be sure to check out the Neosporin Essentials product line!

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Neosporin Essentials and received a product sample to facilitate my review, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Well it’s been a week, so it’s time to check in with my progress on Nutrisystem!

This week, I’m down 1.5 pounds. That’s not a lot, but it’s right on par with the suggested weekly weight loss of any healthy diet plan, Nutrisystem included, which suggest you lose between 1 & 2 lbs. per week.

I totally could have done better though. I “cheated” with dinners the first two days, since I had food in my fridge that was going to go bad {I didn’t know when my shipment of foods would come & had gone grocery shopping earlier in the week}. I also cheated with lunch once when I was at work & realized I had left my lunch at home. I can’t really leave for lunch, so I ordered off of the food service truck that comes by. AND, it was obviously Valentine’s Day this week, so I totally had a couple of pieces of the candy I bought for Shane.

But overall, I was really good about sticking to the plan. Cheating on 3 out of 21 meals isn’t too bad if you ask me, especially for my first week. I also didn’t do all my exercise this week- I was still adjusting to life on Nutrisystem and didn’t want to overwhelm myself. I plan on making this a priority this week though, that way next week I’ll have a bigger number to report!

This week’s weight loss: 1.5 lbs
Total weight loss: 1.5 lbs

What are your favorite types of exercise?

Want to join me on my weight loss journey with Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visiting http://www.nutrisystem.com/nsblog

Susie’s Note: Nutrisystem is providing me with their food in exchange for me blogging about my experience. All experiences are authentic & all opinions are my own.

1. Baby bathrobes: While these are OHSOCUTE, they aren’t functional & will never get used. When baby gets out of the bath, he or she will need a diaper immediately. By the time the diaper is on, the purpose of putting a bathrobe on baby has been defeated. If you have a photo shoot coming up & want to shell out $15 for a photo prop, fine. But don’t count on actually using baby bathrobes in your day-to-day life.

2. Wipe warmers: We had one of these for our son, and they actually dried out his wipes. &By the time the wipe got from the warmer to my son’s butt, they were already cold again anyway. Save the money & skip this one- your electric bill will thank you.

3. Nursery bedding sets: While bedding sets are cute and can add to the theme of your nursery, they are very expensive & not at all functional. They almost always come with crib bumper pads which are NOT safe to be used in cribs. They also feature blankets & quilts, which are not safe to use in infant’s cribs, and diaper stackers which you’ll probably end up not using anyway. The only functional pieces of a bedding set are a sheet, and a mobile {which you also don’t NEED but aren’t harmful, either}, which if bought separately will cost you about $30 combined. Compare that to the base price of $120 for the bedding set & you’ll see why this one’s a no brainer.

4. Baby detergent: Babies have very sensitive skin, but usually just to harsh dyes & fragrances. In almost all cases, using a regular brand of detergent’s “Free” version {which means it’s free of those dyes & fragrances} will be just as good for baby. &They’re about half the price, too. Of course, if your baby has especially sensitive skin, your situation may vary.

5. Bassinet: We got our bassinet for free, and I still feel like we paid too much. Shane slept in it the first night home from the hospital- and that’s it. Even if your baby likes the bassinet, they’ll outgrow it within 1, maybe 2 months. So don’t waste your money- bassinets start at $100 at most stores.

Of course, every baby is different, and every parent is different, so your list may differ from mine. But after having my own little bundle of love, as well as talking with other moms, I’ve come to the conclusion that none of these things are necessary.

What’s on your list of unnecessary baby items?

There’s a new pamphlet out at Safeway stores called “Be Well. Save Well.” It has valuable coupons featuring some of my personal favorite products, like Clorox Wipes and Kleenex Cool Touch tissues, but even better than that are the tips for staying healthy that are included!

You can click the image below to enlarge it enough to read them:

Inspired by the tips in the pamphlet {and my hatred of being sick}, I set out to make a cold & flu kit! I headed to my local Von’s, which is the Safeway chain out here in Vegas, since they have such great prices and because they’re the ones who inspired me to do this in the first place! To make my body less susceptible to illness, I stocked up on produce & nuts- but more importantly, I also got a big ol’ jug of Florida Orange Juice!

I also stocked up on my must-have’s for when I’m sick: Hall’s cough drops, DayQuil & NyQuil, Ginger Ale, crackers, Be Koool patches {those ones are for Shane}, and of course the Kleenex Cool Touch tissues featured in the pamphlet. {If you haven’t tried them yet, do so immediately. I’ve decided they’re the only kind I’ll use now.} I got Clorox Wipes, too, to help prevent the spread of germs.

My kit is all packed & ready to go so the next time someone gets the sniffles, I’ll just have to grab the basket from the closet & we’ll be good to go.

As I said, it’s still cold & flu season, so now’s a good time to go stock up on sick day essentials at your local Safeway store. &Make sure to pick up the “Be Well. Save Well.” pamphlet for some great coupons to use!

Learn more about the kit I made by viewing my Google+ story!

Be sure to check out Safeway on Facebook & Twitter, and learn more about 100% Florida Orange Juice on their website or Facebook page!

Susie’s Note: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All experiences are authentic & all opinions are my own.

 ♥

How was your Valentine’s Day?

It became our meal as we used it to reconnect during the time when Shane was just a newborn & Justin was working a lot. It was time that we were able to spend together, dicing onions & warming soup side-by-side without any other distractions. Then last March, when we took a trip to Colorado with his parents & sister, we made these for his family. We were proud to share our meal with them, and I’m proud to be sharing it with you now!

VELVEETA® and RO*TEL® are hosting an amazing sweepstakes to encourage simple, easy weeknight family meals and entertainment ideas. Winners will be picked each week, and the more points you collect the more chances you have of winning! The grand prize winner will receive $15,000, so enter today!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of VELVEETA/RO*TEL. The opinions and text are all mine.