We’ve had a hard year, but know others have it far worse, so we’ve decided to ‘adopt’ a family this Christmas. If I win the contest, my prize will go to them, along with other things (like a Safety 1st Complete Air car seat that I reviewed back in August!), so please vote! It’ll make it that much easier for me to truly make a difference in the lives of a special family this holiday season.

Out of my 5 entries, the two on the right have the most votes so far, so…

• To vote for my daughter, please click here: TODDLER
• To vote for my niece, please click here: PRESCHOOLER
• My 5-year old wasn’t eligible, unfortunately. {Too old!!}

You can vote once a day in each category, everyday until 11/19.
Please bookmark those sites and vote again and again… and again!

Thank you!!

Playskool
Explore and Grow
Tumble ‘N Twirl Top

For 6 months & up

Your baby will love the bright colors and excitement that this ball-spinning top provides! Put the balls in, pump the plunger to watch them spin, or open the sliding door to watch them shoot out, and then have fun chasing after them. You’ll never know where the balls may land! The Tumble ‘N Twirl helps develop an infant’s gross motor skills and improve hand-eye coordination. It comes with the spinner and 4 light-weight, colorful balls that are compatible with other Explore and Grow products. Retails for $21.99.

• Click here to buy it online.

LeapFrog My Pal Scout

For 6 months & up

The LeapFrog My Pal Scout is an interactive plush friend that helps children learn with an entertaining twist. You can customize it with your child’s name and favorite things! Choose from a database of thousands of names, and My Pal Scout will use your child’s name in phrases (such as “I love you”) and in a variety of songs. The application also allows you to choose your child’s favorite color, animal, and food to personalize even more of Scout’s phrases. Press Scout’s paws for lullabies, learning songs and activities with numbers, animals, food and more. My Pal Scout comes with three “AAA” batteries, one USB cable, Quick Connect Guide and Parent Instructions booklet. You’ll need to have a computer with Internet access to take advantage of all the features LeapFrog provides. Retails for $19.99.

• Click here to buy it online.

Playskool Explore and Grow
Busy Ball Popper

For 9 months & up

My toddler played with this for 45 minutes straight the first time she set eyes on it! There’s something about the colorful, air-powered ball-popping and upbeat music that is both exhilarating and unexpected. All it takes to start the fun is to pump the plunger and drop the balls onto the spiral track. When the balls reach the bottom, look out, because the balls pop out of the top! You’ll be running around the room chasing after them. With 8 different songs, and 5 colorful balls that are compatible with other Playskool Explore and Grow toys, the Busy Ball Popper will keep your kids entertained for a long time! Requires 4 “D” batteries (not included) and retails for $29.99. Keep an eye out for a review of this and the Tumble ‘N Twirl Top coming up soon!

• Click here to buy it online.

MEGA Bloks
Build’n Go Table

For 12 months & up

This toy provides a building platform, portability and storage all in one colorful package! MEGA Bloks are very durable and big enough that they don’t pose a choking hazard. The table is the real sell here. It only comes with 20 MEGA Bloks, however bigger sets are available to add on to it as your child grows. There’s a handy storage compartment underneath the tabletop that can hold the MEGA Bloks when they’re not being played with. The table is lightweight, sits on four foldable legs, and with two handles on the side, you or your kids can carry this like a little suitcase… to grandmother’s house we go! Retails for $39.99.

• Click here to buy it online.

Baby Genius
Singing School Bus

For 18 months & up

Available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores nationwide, the new Baby Genius line of toys incorporates the Baby Genius principle of music as a core learning tool to engage and encourage children to communicate, connect, discover, and use their imagination to express themselves. The Singing School Bus plays the “Wheels on the Bus”song so kids can roll it around and sing along. The Singing School Bus comes in yellow and pink and comes with 5 Baby Genius friends that are chunky so that little hands can easily grasp them for playing in or out of the bus. Stay tuned for an in-depth review of several of the new Baby Genius toys.

Fun Posts

• Metropolitan Mama shares her 11 tips for flying with babies + toddlers. Very helpful with the busy holiday travel season almost upon us!
• In case you haven’t noticed, Twitter has a new feature. Lists. Mashable created a How To: Use Twitter Lists tutorial that’ll help you make sense of it all.

Cool Websites

• The Must Pop Words game is a workout for my brain. And it’s addicting. Must… pop… words.
• When is it too early to start planning for college? InsideCollege.com is a unique online college guide created by Alloy Education that helps students find schools that best fit their individual lifestyles. The ultimate information database for high school, college, even former students, Inside College allows users to search through hundreds of lists tailored to specialized interests. Lists cover everything from “Schools Where Geek is Chic” to “Campuses Where Movies Were Filmed”, “Schools for the Clothes Horse” to “I Want to Be a Doctor…But Wait, I Forgot to Take Science” and everything in between. Additionally, the site offers a monthly $2,000 college scholarship that is open for all to apply.

Food

• Read about 10 Things to Make With Halloween Candy at Zakka Life. If you have any left, that is.
• Learn how to make a Homemade Apple Crisp: So Easy, a 2-year old Can Do It on Feels Like Home.
• Need a delicious new idea for dinner tonight? Visit Tablespoon.com, a new web site where General Mills has posted more than 25,000 of its best kitchen-tested recipes, all in one place! Tablespoon features simple recipes from well-known brands like Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Bisquick and Progresso. It’s easy to find a recipe – you can browse categories (course, ingredient, occasion or theme), get recipe recommendations, check out popular recipe collections, or use the easy search filters to find the perfect recipe. You can also tweak any recipe on the site to make it your own and then share it with friends. Plus, you can often find more than $100 a month in grocery coupons and sign up for a weekly email newsletter.

Blogging

• Find out How to Make a Scroll Box for HTML Code (like my button code at the bottom of this page) at Blogging Basics.
• Speaking of code, if you’re not afraid of experimenting, check out Smashing Magazine’s 10 Useful Wordpress Coding Techniques.
• Feel the need to get personal? Get ideas for 14 Types of Stories You Can Tell On Your Blog at ProBlogger.

Photography

• Find 10 Photography Tips for Moms at Skimbaco Lifestyle.
• Five MORE Ways to Improve Your Photography Without Buying Gear at Photofocus.
• When choosing your clothing for family photos, Dress to Match the Sofa! Sounds funny, but something to think about over at Digital Photography School.

Freebies

• I posted a freebie for Playtex Sport tampons a while back, and here’s more: free sample of Playtex Gentle Glide tampons. You get 3 of ‘em!
• Register on the L’Oréal Paris website and get a free sample of EverPure Hair Care Product.

Giveaways

• With the holidays just around the corner, The Children’s Place is pumping up the volume during the countdown to the holidays with a chance to win a holiday package from Leap Frog! Every day from now until November 24, The Children’s Place will be giving away a Leap Frog prize package valued at up to $70! To be eligible to enter, just become a fan of The Children’s Place on Facebook. Random drawings will happen daily.
• Win a $100 Visa gift card from BlogHer and Ragu. Enter by 11/11 at 10 different blogs: Stop, Drop & Blog, The Frugal Girl, Bonggamom, Steeces Pieces, The Karianna Spectrum, Home Slice,I have things, Welcome to Quadville, Mom to the Screaming Masses and Eat Real.
• Another BlogHer giveaway!! Win a $200 Best Buy gift card from BlogHer and Samsung! Enter by 11/15 at 8 different blogs: MckGiveaways, Angie’s Giveaways & Reviews, Shop with Alanna, She Just Reviews It, Totally Together Reviews, Nikas Culinaria, Fluid Pudding, and Quad Mom. Good luck!
• Even MORE chances to win a $100 Visa gift card!! From BlogHer and Sonicare. Enter by 11/15 at 10 different blogs: Swistle, Painted Maypole, The SmockLady, Twinsanity, This Woman’s Work, Home Grown, TheJoyfulChaos, The Karianna Spectrum, Miss Merrittocracy, and Black Belt Mama. (I won a gift card from a BlogHer contest a couple of months ago, so I know it’s possible )
• Win a Baby Abuelita Bilingual DVD & Plush Doll on Saving Moms Money. Ends 11/10.
• Win a $100 Sam’s Club gift card on The Art of Being Mom. 4 winners. Ends 11/11.
• Win a Name Your Tune CD on Did You See That? Ends 11/12.
• Win Baby Banz on Networking Witches. Ends 11/14.
• Win a Zhu Zhu Pet (the hottest toy this holiday season!) on Rave and Review. Ends 11/15.
• Win a FLOR rug on Seeryus Mama. Ends 11/15.
• Win a PlasmaCar on Piece of Me. Ends 11/16.

Promotions

• Nickelodeon has teamed up with Lea Furniture ( a La-Z-Boy Incorporated company), to produce cool new kids bedroom furniture based on Dora, Diego, iCarly and SpongeBob SquarePants. Called ‘Nickelodeon MyRoom’ and developed around research conducted to ensure the design was responsive to parenting, kids, technological and lifestyle trends, the new Nickelodeon bedroom furniture supports creativity, independent play and customization, which are all part of kids development! Two examples:
  
• Families who purchase an Adventures by Disney vacation between now and January 15, 2010 will receive a free three-night Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. Disney created this special offer in an effort to help parents and children spend more quality time with each other through family vacations. For additional information on this offer and Adventures by Disney, visit www.AdventuresbyDisney.com/freecruise.
• For Los Angeles readers: For one weekend only find discounts on Ella Moss, Splendid and Splendid Mills for men and women, as well as children’s clothing from Splendid Littles, Splendid Girl, Splendid Mills Jr, Little Ella and Ella Moss Girl. When? November 20 – 22, 2009 (Friday 9a-4p, Sat 9a-4p, and Sun 10a-3p) Where? Cooper Building, 860 s. Los Angeles St. 8th floor, Los Angeles, CA 90014. Only cash, Visa, Master Card, and American Express accepted. All sales are final—no returns, no exchanges, no refunds, no exceptions.
• For Canadian readers only: The Pillsbury Baking Challenge is happening now! It offers a great way for the creative Canadian baker/recipe maker to win for their creations!  The Grand Prize winner will win a dream suite of kitchen appliances courtesy of Whirlpool, cleaning services for a full year courtesy of Molly Maid, and a year’s worth of groceries, all valued at over $11,500. To participate, visit the official contest site at www.bakingchallenge.ca, select the Pillsbury product that you would use as the basis in your recipe, add your additional ingredients/preparation instructions and you’re done! Upload as many recipes as you want until November 15 and keep track of the latest competition buzz by following the hashtag #pillsburybc on Twitter.

Have a great week!

Yoplait Kids yogurt has 25% less sugar than other leading kids’ yogurt. It has a nice thick and creamy texture that sticks to the spoon, minimizing snack time messes. It also contains no artificial sweeteners or flavors, so I feel good about serving it to my kids.

In addition, Yoplait Kids is a good source of vitamin D and, according to two new studies that provide the first national assessment of the crucial nutrient in young Americans, millions of U.S. children have disturbingly low vitamin D levels, possibly increasing their risk for a variety of health concerns, including bone problems.

About 7.6 million children, adolescents, and young adults have vitamin D levels so low they could be considered deficient! It can be challenging for growing kids to get enough vitamin D because this nutrient is only found naturally in very few foods; however Yoplait Kids makes it a little easier to incorporate a delicious source of vitamin D and calcium in your child’s diet.

MyBlogSpark has kindly allowed me to give away 2 Yoplait Less Sugar, More Fun prize packs to my wonderful readers! Perfect for accompanying this fun afternoon snack, the prize pack includes coupon for Yoplait Kids yogurt, a travel cooler (to take your yogurt on-the-go), a fun spoon that changes colors in warm water, a reusable place mat with games to keep the kids happy while snacking, and a fuzzy tangle puzzle for some after-snack fun. To enter to win, please share how you make snack time fun for your kids!

*This coupon offer for a free six pack of Yoplait Kids yogurt is not valid in some states, including Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Tennessee.

For extra entries:

• Subscribe to my feed (or let me know if you already do).
• Follow me on Twitter (@OhMariana) and tweet about this giveaway: I just entered to win a Yoplait Kids prize pack from @ohMariana! http://bit.ly/2WXM56
• Grab my button (at the bottom of the page) and link to me in your sidebar or blog roll.
• Become a fan of Riding With No Hands on Facebook and share this with your friends!

Contest ends: November 18th, 2009 11:59 pm EST. US entries only. Leave a separate comment for each entry & a valid email address/blog URL. Winners, chosen at random, have 3 days to claim their prize.

Written for MyBlogSpark, who supplied the information above, as well as the product for review & giveaway. The opinions are mine; other than a product sample, no compensation was received for this post.

During one of our visits to La Tasca, a local Spanish tapas restaurant, I had an apple salad that fit these requirements perfectly. On the menu, it’s described as:

Ensalada de Manzana
Thinly sliced, crisp green apple slices tossed with slivered
almonds, soft tetilla cheese, and a lemon quince vinaigrette

This salad was heaven. It really was! Tart apples, crunchy almonds, creamy cheese, and a subtle sweetness in the dressing… if I could just figure out what all the ingredients were, and where to buy the cheese, I knew that I could recreate this at home.

The next day, I bought the following at the grocery store:

• Green apples
• Slivered almonds
• Soft cheese (I couldn’t find tetilla, so I settled on Mexican manchego)
• One lemon
• Quince paste (in the Latin American food section)

I already had extra virgin olive oil and vinegar in my pantry. Champagne vinegar would probably work better, but I used white balsamic because that’s what I had on hand.

To make the lemon quince vinaigrette, combine:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar (or to taste)
• 2 ounces quince paste
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

The first time I made this, I coarsely chopped the quince paste, which is a little denser than a jam, but still soft. The second time, I pulsed it in the blender along with the other ingredients. I kind of prefer the big chunks, though, so I’ll just chop it by hand from now on!

This is quince paste, or ‘ate de membrillo’ -

• Preparing the salad is easy. Just thinly slice a couple of apples – green are generally a little more crisp so they hold up to the dressing better – and throw in a handful of cheese that’s been cut into small cubes. Toss it all with the lemon quince vinaigrette, sprinkle with almonds, and that’s it.

MJ couldn’t wait for me to finish!

• This would be a great appetizer, a side dish alternative, or a yummy dessert. It wasn’t quite as good as the restaurant version, but my kids and my husband all loved it!

Submitted to Grace’s Kitchen Friends.

{wiping the sweat off my forehead}

I can’t wait to start rolling it out! I have some fabulous ‘toys for all ages’ that I’ll be sharing with you, as well as a few fun giveaways, too!

But before all that fun starts, be sure to enter my current giveaways!

• Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Trilogy – ends November 16th
  
• Marie Callender’s Home-Style Creations – ends November 15th
• Consumer Reports Best Baby Products book – November 13th
• Unilever Assortment - ends November 12th
  
• Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 - ends November 12th
  
• $25 McCormick & Schmick’s gift certificate - ends November 10th
  

I was thrilled to log on to Fancast.com and see they have 30 episodes of Desperate Housewives available to watch instantly, including the newest one. After looking around, I noticed that I can catch all my favorite guilty pleasures – 90210, Grey’s Anatomy, Melrose Place, Flash Forward, GLEE! – on my own time, any time. And did I mention it’s free?

A few facts about Fancast:

• Debuted in January 2008
• Content comes from more than 100 sources
• Has more than 10,000 hours of online video programming, including:
  • More than 60,000 videos
  • Over 13,000 full-length shows
  • And more are being added every day!
• For those who are pop culture junkies, there are tons of extras like films, trailers, pictorials, blogs, listings, live chats and Q&A with stars.

Not only can I watch all the newest shows, but I can also go back and revisit classics like Friends, Family Ties, The Love Boat, and the original Beverly Hills, 90210, and canceled shows that I never had the chance to watch, like Arrested Development. It’s easy to find what I’m looking for by name, network, or genre, and it’ll even highlight new episodes of my favorite shows so I don’t have to go looking for them.

There are limited commercial breaks, but only 15-30 seconds long, so it’s not a big deal. I’m usually working while I watch TV, so I don’t even notice. Those short commercials are what keeps the site free, so it’s understandable.

All in all, Fancast is pretty cool. The fact that it’s free and that I can watch at anytime won me over!

Written for One2One Network as part of a campaign for Fancast. No compensation was received for this post and all opinions are mine.

A synopsis:

The sub-zero heroes from the worldwide blockbusters “Ice Age” and “Ice Age: The Meldown” are back, on an incredible adventure…for the ages. Scrat is still trying to nab the ever-elusive nut (while, maybe, finding true love); Manny and Ellie await the birth of their mini-mammoth, Sid the sloth gets into trouble when he creates his own makeshift family by hijacking some dinosaur eggs; and Diego the saber-toothed tiger wonders if he’s growing too “soft” hanging with his pals. On a mission to rescue the hapless Sid, the gang ventures into a mysterious underground world, where they have some close encounters with dinosaurs, battle flora and fauna run amuck – and meet a relentless, one-eyed, dino-hunting weasel named Buck.

Just released last Tuesday, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is fun for the whole family. We haven’t watched the previous movies, but that didn’t make this one any less enjoyable. The romantical relationship between Scrat and his new girl, Scratte, is adorable and drew us in immediately, but the real action began when Sid’s dinosaur eggs cracked and out came three lively baby T-Rexes. I won’t give any more of the story away, but it kept my daughters on the edge of their seats for the full 94 minutes the movie lasted.

With voices by Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is available now at retailers nationwide, and online at Amazon.com for only $14.99. I thought my girls were too young when Ice Age 1 and 2 came out, but I’ve now added them to my Netflix queue for sure! I could totally see us having an Ice Age marathon one wintry day.

Speaking of the previous installments… I have an Ice Age Trilogy to give away to one Riding With No Hands reader! This will be a wonderful holiday gift for a lucky Ice Age fan. Comprised of 3 Blu-Ray DVDs, this prize is valued at approximately $70. You can also find the 3-disc set for sale on Amazon.

To enter to win the 3-disc set, please leave a comment on this post. For extra entries:

• Subscribe to my feed (or let me know if you already do).
• Follow me on Twitter (@OhMariana) and tweet about this giveaway: I just entered to win the Ice Age Trilogy from @ohMariana! http://bit.ly/3Ef8Cs
• Grab my button (at the bottom of the page) and link to me in your sidebar or blog roll.
• Become a fan of Riding With No Hands on Facebook and share this with your friends!

Contest ends: November 16, 2009 11:59 pm EST. US entries only. Leave a separate comment for each entry & a valid email address/blog URL. Winner, chosen at random, has 3 days to claim their prize.

Can’t get enough Ice Age? Visit the movie’s website for fun games and downloads. Watch this cute music video, sung by Queen Latifah. I can’t get the song out of my head, but that’s not a bad thing!

Come on, sing it with me – “Open the door, get on the floor! Everybody walk the dinosaur!”

Home-Style Creations capture the homemade flavor Marie Callender’s is famous for in a convenient, microwavable meal that stores easily in a pantry or desk – requiring no refrigeration or freezing. Similar to Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers, Home-Style Creations use patented tray-in-tray steaming technology that creates fresh-tasting flavor by separating ingredients during preparation. They are available in six home-style varieties, including:

I was sent a sample of the Garlic Herb Chicken and Traditional Stuffing & Turkey meals and tried them out this weekend with my daughters. I have to admit it was nice to have a break from fixing lunch! I started with the Garlic Herb Chicken, which is pictured in the photos below. My girls shared it and ate it all up! The 5-year-old said “it tastes like chicken soup.” Nothing more home-style than that, right? I had the Stuffing & Turkey, and it was good. It tasted exactly like the Stovetop stuffing that I make ever so often. I probably would use a little less water if I were to eat this again, though. I found it to be a little mushy. Overall, I found the meals to be hearty and very filling. The container may look small, but it holds quite a bit! The meals were easy to prepare and we ready to eat in minutes, with only 3 basic steps:

1) Prep.

2) Cook and strain.

3) Mix and serve!

Marie Callender’s Home-Style Creations can be found in the pasta or soup aisle of your local grocery store, at the suggested retail price of $3.49 each, though I’ve seen them cheaper. For more information, please visit www.madewithloveandcare.com.

One of my readers will win two Marie Callender’s Home-Style Creations meals. The same ones that I received – Garlic Herb Chicken and Traditional Stuffing & Turkey. To enter, please leave a comment telling me which variety you think you’d like the most!

For extra entries:

• Subscribe to my feed (or let me know if you already do).
• Follow me on Twitter (@OhMariana) and tweet about this giveaway: I just entered to win Marie Callender’s Home-Style Creations meals from @ohMariana! http://bit.ly/3DYoBn
• Grab my button (at the bottom of the page) and link to me in your sidebar or blog roll.
• Become a fan of Riding With No Hands on Facebook and share this with your friends!

Contest ends: November 15th, 2009 11:59 pm EST. US entries only. Leave a separate comment for each entry & a valid email address/blog URL. Winner, chosen at random, has 3 days to claim their prize. Other than a product sample, no compensation was received for this post.

I thought I’d post these photos from last weekend, and wish you all a Happy Halloween!