"Green" Brushing

Did you know you can now find toothbrushes made from 100% recycled plastic at Target? I didn’t.

I stumbled upon them the other day when I was picking up some essentials for my trip to Oklahoma (look for a post on that debacle later…) – a new toothbrush, travel toothpaste, travel face wash, etc. when I found them. They are made by a company called Recycline. The super sleek and fun line of toothbrushes are called Preserve (Preserve your health, Preserve the Earth) and they’re made from 100% recycled plastics. The pricing I thought was really fair at around $2. In addition to getting the toothbrush, the packaging doubles as a travel case (bonus!).

I looked them up online and according to the Recyline Web site, when you are finished with the toothbrush you can print out a pre-paid postage label from their site and send the used toothbrushes back to them. It’s a little bit of effort on your part but they’ll recycle them into something new and that’s is a good thing.

For the little ones, they also makes Preserve Jr. brushes with animal colors and shapes.

So, here is the cool part. The same day that I found the toothbrushes at Target, MomCentral emailed me about them, and offered me a coupon to share with my readers for a $1 off the purchase of two Preserve toothbrushes.

Even without the coupon I’d probably buy these. They are made from recycled materials, they have really soft bristles (I have sensitive teeth), they actually fit in my toothbrush holder and they’re reasonably priced at $2 -just a $1.50 each if you use the coupon.

PS. I went to take a picture but I couldn’t do it justice. I ended up just stealing one from their Web site……

Norton 360 2.0 – Software Can Be Easy

When Symantic offered to send me a copy of Norton 360 Version 2.0 I was both excited and nervous. I was excited because I’ve had good experiences with their products in the past and definitely was ready for an update with regards to computer security, but also nervous because I’m horrible at installing software. I am the gal who almost always makes the wrong choice or hits the wrong button causing the download to mess up.

Contrary to my fears, installing Norton 360 was super easy. To load the software you simply insert the CD into your disk drive, entry your product key and then you are off. You don’t have to do anything else. It was great. It takes about 20 minutes to load, but during that time you can still use your computer normally. I took the opportunity to check up on my bloggy friends and send a few tweets.

If you are not familiar with the latest version of Norton, Norton 360 Version 2.0 is a software program that not only protects your computer from viruses but that works to provide back up support, identity protection and tuneup.

After going through the upload process and using it for the past few days I would definitely 1 – $recommend Norton 360. The software ranges in price for $43 – $91. It was also named Editor’s Choice by PC Mag (I know I am a geek like that)

Some of the features I like about the software include:

• Ease of installation – You don’t have to be tech savvy
• Blocking hackers from accessing my computer
• Removing viruses from email s and instant messages
• Adding Phishing protection to Internet Explorer
• Backs up Photos and even iTunes files

If you are in the market for a security software program for your computer I’d highly recommend you check out Norton 360 version 2.0. It’s well worth it!

New Organic Juice – FROOSE

When Mom Central approached me about trying out FROOSE, a new organic drink for children I jumped at the chance. What mom isn’t always on the prowl for the next great, HEALTHY, drink option for their kids?

So what is FROOSE?
FROOSE is an organic juice that combines organic whole grains (sounds weird but it works) with fruit to make a juice that is both low in sugar (whoo, hoo) and filled with fiber. It was created by a mom (bonus points!) named Denise Devine who wanted to find a more nutritious drink for her children.

For the sampling we were sent four each of Cheerful Cherry, Playful Peach and Perfect Pear. The juice boxes come in a 4 oz size, which worked well for my 2-year old but was not enough of a serving for my 5 1/2 year old (he would drink 2).

Throughout the week I gave the boys FROOSE with their dinner. Two flavors really took home the prize at the Boyer household, with the B-man loving the peach and SM sucking down all of the pear. Don’t get me wrong, they liked the cherry, just not as much as the other two varieties.

The texture of the juice is a little thicker than what you would find in a Capri Sun or other juice pouch type drink. I would compare the consistency/texture to that of a thinner smoothie or drink from Orange Julius.

So Where Can You Get It?
FROOSE is not yet available in stores (I believe they are working on that) but you can order from the FROOSE Web site. To try a sampling similar to what I received costs $9.00. When you break it down, it averages about $.75 per juice box, which isn’t bad considering each 4oz box is like eating a whole piece of fruit. Plus, just knowing it’s organic adds a little piece of mind.

I’ve got a picture to add but the feature isn’t working on Blogger right now….

One Sweet Valentine’s Day Idea

My First Big Giveaway!!!

With SM’s first school Valentine’s Day coming up I jumped at the chance to check out Fruit Roll-up’s My Fruit Roll-ups Web site.

The fun and interactive Web site allows you and your children to create and design your own custom Fruit Roll-ups. The designing takes place in the Fruit Roll-ups Invention Center. As you move through the Invention Center you are able to add both text and images to your creation. I was actually pretty impressed by the huge inventory of pictures, they had lots of photos in just about every category you could think of.

The boys and I had a lot of fun playing around on the site and created quite a few designs before we agreed on one to order (Apparently cats are cool whether your are 2 or 5). While you can create and save your designs on the site without ordering them, the cost for a box of 30 is about $30, or $1.00 per roll-up. It seemed a little high to me at first but I think it’s not bad if you looking for a cool, unique gift.

Want to Win your Own Customized Fruit Roll-ups ??
Sticking with the Valentine’s Day theme, share a sweet Valentine’s Day message you’ve sent or received in the comments section between now and Saturday at Noon (EST) and you could win a free order of customized Fruit Roll-ups from My Fruit Roll-ups, a $30 value. I’ve got three promotional codes to giveaway and I’ll pick the winners and post them here Saturday afternoon.

If you don’t win but still want to create your own Fruit Roll ups, head on over to the My Fruit Roll-ups Web site and use the promotional code BEMINE to save $10.

NOTE: Please submit your entries on this post over on http://www.mommybits.blogspot.com/

Cheerios Snack Mix – Worth Trying

Most Moms are familiar with Cheerios – the cereal, but did you know that Cheerios now makes a Cheerios Snack Mix?

The good folks are General Mills recently sent me a bag of the Cheddar Cheese variety to test out and I have to admit that I barely ate any — only because as soon as the boys tried it they annihilated almost the entire bag. They loved it – it totally ruined their dinner (we opened it when I got home from work).

A lot like the Chex Mix that adults eat, the Cheerios Snack mix contains Multi grain Cheerios, Chex cereal, pretzels, and crackers in a cheddar cheese flavor (It also comes in Original flavor). The nice part, when you compare the two, in my opinion is that the types of snacks in the Cheerios mix are a little more kid friendly (think choking on Melba toast, etc.) .

Cheerios Snack Mix retails for under $3. One thing to note is that it’s a pretty healthy snack, having 60-65% less fat than most potato chips. If you are looking for something different, I’d definitely recommend it.