The 26th Annual Presentation of Robert Joffrey's "The Nutcracker"

"For the Theater Lover ~ young or old"

With Thanksgiving coming to an end tonight, the Christmas Spirit is already in the air. When I think of Christmas, I think of special times spent with my loved ones either at home watching movies, snuggling by the fireplace or out on the town doing one of our many holiday traditions. As long as we are creating memories, that's all that matters. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money, because you can't put a price tag on time spent together, any time of the year.

For the first installment of my 2013 Holiday Gift guide I wanted to talk about gift for the "Lover of the Arts". Now this could be an adult who has always enjoyed the theater, or even a young child experiencing a stage show for the very first time.

My daughter Lily is 4 years old and has been taking dance classes for a year and half now. She loves being up on stage, performing a show that her and her class practiced for many months prior. This year, she is performing to a song FROM The Nutcracker, so it makes taking her to this show even more exciting, for the both of us.

Kicking off December 6th and running through the 28th, The Joffrey Ballet presents "The Nutcracker" and what better way to put a sparkle in a little girls eyes than to take her to a professional ballet production for her first theater show? The show is taking place at the gorgeous Auditorium Theater, along with live accompaniment from Joffrey Music Director Scott Speck of the classic score of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. I can't wait to "Oooo" and "Ahhh" and watch Lily's face as she sees the ballerina's dance across the stage. I can't wait to hear what she thinks of the show over dinner at a fancy restaurant I plan on taking her to afterwards. And I can't wait to hear her tell all of her friends at dance class where she went and what she saw.

Tickets
Single tickets, priced between $31-$132, are available for purchase at The Joffrey Ballet's official Box Office located in the lobby of Joffrey Tower, 10 E. Randolph Street as well as the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University box office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by telephone at (800)-982-2787 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

I am provided with compensated tickets to the show in 

exchange for sharing this information with you.

As always, regardless of product provided or compensation,

all words, thoughts, and viewpoints are solely my own.

~~~~For the Grandparents~~~~ Mosaic Photo Books

I don't know about you, but there was a quite a shift in the realm of gift giving for my parents once my own children were born. Not only did it mean that the gifts I myself received were significantly different (instead of new clothes, purses, and boots, I was getting tickets to family friendly theater shows and pots & pans, which was cool too!), but the gifts I wanted to give them changed as well. I created handmade signs with saying about grandparents and their grandchildren, and I would frame pictures of the kids accompanied by one-of-a-kind artwork made especially for them by the hands of a two year old. Not that I didn't love creating these things for them, and of course the children loved putting their hands into it too, but they were very time consuming. And time is not something I have a whole lot of these days, and I am sure many other moms can agree with me on that.

Mosaic is a special FREE app that you can install on your iPhone or iPad that takes those millions of pictures stuck on our phones and puts them into a beautiful photo book to share with the world. Last time I checked, I had over 900 pictures on my iPhone, many that were impromptu photo opps that I captured on the spur of the moment. With Mosaic, I simply select my 20 most favorite pictures and the app places them directly into the digital version of the book sample on your phone. You can move the pics around and place them in whatever order you'd like and at the end you can flip through all the pages to make sure it is just how you want it.

PRO'S:
~So easy to do, could easily be done in under 10 minutes, from start to finish.
~You can choose black or white background on the pages.
~A gift ANYONE will love.
~You receive it VERY quickly. I think it only took 3 days! So it's great for last minute gifts too.
~It's a great price, $20 for the book and $5 for shipping.

CON'S:
~Only one photo per page, unless you edit and create collages on different programs BEFORE uploading to Mosaic. iPhone pics aren't always the best quality, so some of my pictures ended up a bit grainy and blurry. I don't normally use the HDR setting on my iPhone camera, but if I knew I was taking pics for a photo book such as this, I probably would have thinking it would make the picture quality better.
~The app creates a collage cover page for you that you CAN NOT edit individually. It randomly selects the pictures and places them. You can shuffle the pictures, but if you liked the placement of a few you most likely lose those while trying to improve the others.

And this product isn't only great for grandparents, I am seriously considering creating on for my son's kindergarten teacher as her "end of the year" present. Or maybe even making one for us of each of the kids with their top 20 pictures of the year. For the price and the quality, you can't go wrong.

~I was provided a promo code to try out a Mosaic photobook for free. 

I was not monetarily compensated for my post or time. 

As always, regardless of products provided or compensation received, 

you will always receive an honest and candid review here on Mommy Instincts.

~~~For the New Mom ~~~~ Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer

If you have a special lady in your life who happens to be a new mom, you might be struggling right about now trying to figure out what to get her for Christmas. Sure you could buy her a candle or some bath salts (and she would surely appreciate it, I'm sure), but if you are looking for a more useful gift, consider the Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer. I can tell you first hand that this is a product I would not want to live without!

I purchased one for myself when my oldest was just a baby. I couldn't fathom taking his temperature the "old-fashioned" way, so the Temporal Artery Thermometer was a life saver. I was skeptical at first, wondering if it was going to be accurate enough. Our first doctors appointment after I purchased it, I took it with to do a comparison. And sure enough, it was perfectly accurate, just like the medical grade ones (but much cheaper!). Within seconds you get a quick temperature reading, with very little contact. You can even do it while the child is sleeping!

New Mom's have enough to worry about, giving her a gift she can rely on to be accurate whenever she needs it, will be a gift she will be truly grateful for.

Product Provided

Coca-Cola ~ Live Positively

Last month I was invited to the Coca-Cola Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia for a two day social media mom blogger conference (along with about 20 other bloggers from across the country) Conversations with Coca-Cola. We got a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of some of Coca-Cola's biggest projects and a many of our tough questions were answered.

Megan Calhoun of Social Moms was our Keynote Speaker, and I couldn't have been more excited. I had heard of her before, but didn't know just how inspiring she was. She got me thinking about my blog and how to re-energize myself. She re-ignited my passion for blogging, something I had lost, for a long time. And now, I am able to slowly bring it back.

We also worked on "Vision Boards", something else very inspirational and amazing. I can't thank Coca-Cola enough for offering that session, it has truly helped me and given me a "visual" inspiration that I look at every day.

We got a chance to listen to Monica Vasquez, professional trainer for Subway Restaurants. She even got us outside and got us "exercising". She even taught us a few quick an easy exercises to squeeze into our busy days. Woohoo!

The Women in the Workplace panel was awesome. They were able to paint a picture for us on how successful corporate business women are able to balance Home Life-Work Life. The "Living Positively" principle is awesome (Coca-cola allows their employees to adjust work schedules/time at the office with their home life, so they don't miss out on important things with home and family too.). It is so refreshing to see a company like Coca-Cola caring so very much about the lifestyles of their employees.

We talked about an annual project called America is Your Park, where the community votes on their favorite park that is in need of restorations. They then present prizes to the top parks. I will be posting more about this in more detail in the coming days. It is a significant passion of mine (getting out and playing) that I need to devote an entire post just to America is Your Park!

Coca-Cola detailed for us their significant work in minimizing their environmental footprint. Pinpointing their work with Water Stewardship, Sustainable Packaging, and Energy Efficiency.

We also discussed the work Coca-Cola is doing to be "Committed to providing Choice". By clearly labeling all of their products with the amount of Calories in each serving, you can make an informed choice before purchasing, whether it is in the store, at a vending machine or at a fountain. There have been some reason debates on New York Health Department considering a ban on all LARGE sized soft drinks in restaurants and food establishments. I'm going to blog more specifically on this topic soon, but to see Coca-Cola's stand on the issue, you can read it here.

photo credit

Thanks to Coca-Cola for their generosity in covering all travel, hotel, and event costs for me and my fellow bloggers. I appreciate it the time you took to listen and engage with us, as well as give me a few days away to refresh and recharge. Thanks will never be enough.

*I was not asked to blog or promote Coca-Cola in any way in exchange for their generosity.*

************Toydozer************ Less Cleaning. More Playing. ~GIVEAWAY~

I would never say that there was a time that cleaning up was easy, but I can say that there was a time when it wasn't as tedious as it is now. The kids toys used to be bigger in size, easier to maintain, and less in quantity, but now....as the kids get bigger the toys get smaller. If you are a Mom, you know what I mean.

We are in the age of Squinkies, Legos, and everything comes with lots and lots of oh-so-little pieces, like barbie shoes, or board game pieces. And if I don't keep up on the "the clean" all day long, we have a major mess at the end of the day, along with a major amount of stress (from me).

This new, simple invention, The Toydozer has made clean-up just a little bit easier, and for that, I am thankful.

Not only does it scoop up small toys with ease, I have used it to clean off the craft table when the kids are done making their projects. Little bits of paper, glitter, and embellishments get collected up and tossed in the trash. Much easier than lugging the garbage can to the table.

And since the two main components (the "scoop" and the "gatherer") of the Toydozer can be velcro'd together when not in use makes it easy to store and find when needed.

BUY IT!

Use the code BLOGGER20 for 20% off at Toydozer.com (FREE SHIPPING TOO!)

WIN IT!

Toydozer and 2 Moms Media want to give away a Toydozer to one lucky Mommy Instincts reader! Go to the Toydozer website and come back here and tell me what color you'd choose if you won! Be sure I can contact you when you win by leaving an email address!

WANT EXTRA ENTRIES?

~ Follow "Mommy Instincts" via Google Friend Connect (on right hand side bar)

~ "Like" Mommy Instincts on Facebook

~ "Like" Toydozer on Facebook

~ Follow Mommy Instincts on Twitter

~ Follow Toydozer on Twitter

~ Tweet this!! Send out this tweet, letting other know about this giveaway. Be sure to leave the link to your tweet along with your comment. This can be done once a day!

"#Win a #Toydozer to help clean up life's messes from @Toydozer at @MommyInstincts! ends 5/4 {ARV $19} http://tinyurl.com/toydozer - #giveaway"

Fine print:

~There is a total of 18 entries available per person for this particular contest. Please be sure to leave a comment for EACH entry and be sure to complete the MANDATORY entry first.
~Contest is open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike, but you MUST make sure there is a way for me to contact you easily available. If I can't contact you, then you can't win!
~Contest ends Sunday May 4, 2012  at 11:59pm.

~Winner will be emailed and given 48 hours from initial congratulatory email to respond. If winner does not respond within that time a frame and new winner can be chosen and original winner forfeits prize

.~Winner must be USA or Canada  only.

~This post is part of a Toydozer blogger outreach campaign. Participating bloggers have been provided with a complimentary Toydozer to review and have been compensated for their time.  

~In respect of full disclosure, regardless of compensation or products provided, you can rest assured you will always get an honest review from Mommy Instincts. All thoughts and words are my own.

RedRover: Non-Stop Fun...Non-Stop

With two toddlers, I am a busy mama. Whether I am taking the kids to their weekly library story times, meeting friends at the park for play dates, or attending my 4 year old's twice a week karate classes, I am always on the run. But being on the run doesn't mean I have to miss out on planning my days (with or without the kids) and planning our play times (with or without fellow mama's and their kiddos).

I was recently introduced to a new app available for my iPhone (don't worry Android users, there is a download available for you too), called RedRover. And being the avid iPhone lover I am (and passionate about all things organizational), I knew I had to give it a try. RedRover is a little bit of planning,  a little bit of reviewing, and a little bit of action, all rolled into one. Here, let me show you.

I have been wanting to meet my fellow mama friends up at a local park for awhile now, but with our crazy busy schedules, it's hard to plan a time when we can all make it there. I have found, by using RedRover to pre-plan our outings, it gives all my friends (that I have linked to MY RedRover account, making it totally private, except to those you personally add to your friends list) a heads up on where I may be. They can see when and where I plan on visiting (park, zoo, beach, library, etc...) and if they want to meet up with me and the kids, then they can. It's as simple as that.

Of course, we can get more organized about it, a pre-planned birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and girls night out's on there too. Oooo, a Girls Night Out!

I really love the comment section on the "Hang's", because if I plan a zoo trip a few days out, my friends can let me know if they are planning on meeting up with us. Or if we are planning a Ladies Night, we can all chat about what times work best and where we'd like to go.

RedRover is location based, so you can scout out the restaurants, parks, and other fun locations nearby, whether you are familiar with where you are, or are traveling out of town.

But my FAVORITE feature of RedRover has got to be the "review" portions, where you can read other user's "2 cents" and how "kid friendly" the locations are. I have added plenty of my own input into locations we frequent and that are nearby; so other mom's will know about the "awesome play table, complete with coloring books, puzzles, and games" at a cafe across the street, or the fact that "this pizza place doesn't have a changing table! YIKES!". We can also discover new places to visit and meet new people, because of these reviews. Those kinds of things are important when planning a meal out or a play date, I am so happy RedRover was really on top of that when they created this app!

Not only is all of this information available at your mobile fingertips; but RedRover is also available on the web. So no matter where you are or what you are doing, you can check in to see what other mom's are up to and update your current (or future) status. I probably don't need to mention it, but the web and the mobile app are linked, so once signed in on either one, you can edit, update, or schedule events, and it will automatically update it on the other device. Genius, I tell you. Genius.

RedRover from RedRover on Vimeo.

My Top 5 Favorite Places to RedRover

And as if the app weren't cool enough for you to download right now, there is a little added mission that you can help accomplish, simply by downloading RedRover, for FREE!

For every new download of the RedRover app by July 26, 2011, they will be donating $1.00 (up to $20,000.00) to Every Mother Counts, an advocacy and mobilization campaign to increase education and support for maternal and child health.  Please visit their website to learn more about the organization and how you can help further.

Visit the RedRover App website
Follow RedRover on Twitter
"Like" RedRover on Facebook


Visit the Every Mother Counts website
Follow Every Mother Counts on Twitter
Follow Every Mother Counts of Facebook


Full Disclosure : This review is part of a paid campaign. Even though I was compensated for my time, energy, and thorough review of the RedRover App, you can be certain I provided an honest and unbiased post for you, the Mommy Instincts reader.