Dawniemom Reviews

I’m an Apple Jacks Kid. You?

Did you know that like adults, 9 out of 10 kids lack enough fiber in their diets. Kellogg Company knows how tough of a time Moms have finding ways to increase their child's intake, and they came up with a great solution by adding a boost of fiber to some of their most popular kids' cereals. They started with 2 kids favorites, and they were 2 of my kids’ favorites, Apple Jacks™ and Froot Loops™, so I agreed to do a review of them for Mom Central. I set them up a taste test.  I was curious...

30 Days & Counting!

It's official. The holidays are here. The stores tell me so. The radio playing non-stop holiday music tells me so. The fact that it's my brother's birthday tells me so. My brother was actually BORN on Thanksgiving, 28 years ago! As soon as the holidays come, my kids (and probably MOST kids) perk up. The winter break is coming, they can feel it. The big feast is coming - they can feel that too. But best of all, I think the extra time spent with mom & dad is what they most look forward to. We...

Black Friday, here I come!

There seems to be two different trains of thought concerning “Black Friday” or the day after Thanksgiving. 1 train says ‘OMG, no WAY am I going out in the cold(ish) just to get a few sales!” The other train says “Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Where’s the coffee?!?!” Can you tell which train I’m on? I had never given much thought to it either way before I had kids – and truthfully, even after I had (a) kid(s) but before I could AFFORD to go out shopping a whole month before Christmas. ...

Men of a Certain Age – preview

Look at these guys.  They’re as different as can be.  But one thing they do have in common is that they are Men of a Certain Age.   You know the ones.  The ones that are our dads’ ages (well, for some of us) – They’re looking at their younger years – staring down their older years – and examining both. TNT’s new series, Men of a Certain Age, follows these 3 guys.  Scott Bakula, Ray Romano and Andre’ Braugher co-star in a show that promises to show us just what th...

Green Teachable Moments

As a family, and specifically as a homeschooling family, I find myself always looking for teachable moments.  As a mom, I find myself searching for ways to impress upon my children the importance of keeping our planet the place we NEED it to be.  Clean.  Unlike their rooms, which never seem to be that way, it's a bit easier for them to understand that littering OUTSIDE is wrong.  But more than that, being a "green" person - no matter what their age, is not only important for THEM, but for everyo...

Getting Organized with Microsoft Office

Although I am a BIG fan of organization, my life is such that it’s virtually impossible to BE organized.  Like so many moms, I have so many things going on at once, at any given time, that it all seems to fall to pieces if I let it.  Between homeschooling my 3 kids, doing blog reviews for various companies, running 5+ blogs and many more websites, running a household for 5 people (and 2 furbabies), planning a long-distance Christmas and oh yeah – volunteering to help organize a 25th hi...

My Little Citizens

My Little Citizens of the world are pretty worldly characters.  They travel throughout the world (and sometimes beyond) in their imaginations, bringing back stories and treasures that they’ve discovered along the way. Sometimes, those discoveries are a bit strange. As a mom and a homeschooler, I’ve always encouraged my children to look at an issue – any issue – from both sides of the fence.  Particularly when I hear one of my children making a bold statement about perhaps a moment ...

All I want for Christmas is….

that’s what visionbedding.com wants to know…. They want me to show you WHY I want a new bedroom.  But the VERY sad fact is, i’m too embarassed to take photos of my bedroom to show you!  3 x 3 ft stack of clothes, cleaned, folded – ready for yard sale – that’s what’s in one corner. my bed – covered in more clothes at the moment – just a bed on a frame – that’s it – that’s in corner #2. Corner #3? The vacuum and the remnants of my computer – apparently it’s DOA. Corner...

It’s That Time of Year

I was at the market yesterday and spotted it. It instantly give me a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that it's there. For all I know, it’s been there for a month. But now, NOW that Halloween is over, I can say it – IT’S THE HOLIDAYS! I LOVE EGGNOG! Even though I’m completely and utterly dairy intolerant, it doesn’t stop me from buying it.  It doesn’t stop me from sipping it.  It’s the most awesome of holiday drinks.  You can have it at breakfast, lunch or dinner.  You can hav...