Review: Yanni's Touch of Truth

I love music, both singing and listening to it. My favorites run a wide gamut, and there's nothing I like better in the summer than to be hanging out with some wine and a picnic at Ravinia listening to a concert. Most times, it's classical music that they play - and that's where I first heard Yanni.

I'd heard of Yanni before that concert, though I'd never heard his music. I knew he was a pianist and was expecting simple classical music with just the piano, though perhaps accompanied by an orchestra to give the music depth. That isn't quite what Yanni does, though. He uses more than just the "plain" piano and frequently uses the keyboard and the various instruments available via it. And yes, he is most certainly accompanied, but it's more of a New Age feel. It was not at all what I expected, but I really loved his instrumental music.

Fast forward to now. Yanni has recently released a new album, Touch of Truth that is even more reliant upon electronic music than much of what I've heard before. That isn't a bad thing, and I actually enjoyed many of the songs. "Voyage" was my favorite, I think. It had a very Middle Eastern flavor, to my ears, and it made me want to get up to dance. Honestly, I think it would be an ideal song for belly dancing - not that it is always a super fast song but the rhythms and feel of it are a great fit. "Vertigo" also has a bit of the same feel, but not quite to the same extent. It's definitely a song that wants you to get up and enjoy it rather than relaxing on the couch.

Yanni also had a few songs with vocals on this album, which was a bit of a surprise to me. "O Luce Che Brilla Nell Obscurita" and "Secret" for example were songs with words (the first in Latin and "Secret" in English). I enjoyed "O Luce Che Brilla Nell Obscurita" for it's classic sound and moving emotions - though I didn't understand the words. "Secret" was one I didn't enjoy as much. For whatever reason, it just wasn't as special for me, and it's definitely not something I would have picked out as a Yanni song anywhere. "Nobody's got to know oh no, nobody's got to know. I've got a secret. Can you keep it? Nobody's got to know oh no, nobody's got to know." It didn't fit in the album for me.

I also felt like many of the songs would be great on movie soundtrack - perhaps I've been listening to too much Cinemagic on my XM radio lately! I could see "Mist of a Kiss" would make for a great soundtrack to a thriller. "Seasons" would fit right in with an animated movie with someone on a quest. Although it doesn't have Asian notes to it, I could still see it in a scene like where Mulan is training or in "The Neverending Story" as they flew.

While this isn't a "typical" Yanni album, which may disappoint some of his hard-core fans, the album is certainly enjoyable. This may not sound like high praise - but it is if you know me - this album is perfect for listening to while cleaning the house. It has great rhythms and the music makes me want to keep moving. It isn't too distracting from what I'm doing, however, that I simply stop because I can't focus on what I'm doing. The lack of vocals on most tracks certainly helps, as I've been known to stop and sing when I should be pushing the vacuum back and forth instead! But again... this is definitely a new direction for Yanni and not what I'd anticipated. While I enjoyed it, I can see this album causing some controversy amongst his fans.

Judge it for yourself. Yanni is currently touring throughout the US. You can see tour dates near you here. Sadly, there are no dates in Chicago.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with a link to a digital download of the new Yanni album for review purposes by One to One Network. I was provided with no compensation, although I do have a chance to win a VISA gift card for posting my review. All opinions expressed are my own, as always.

Review: Chevy Traverse

I've heard that it takes just seven days to form a new habit. I can absolutely vouch for that, and I have to admit that I am now bereft without the GM Traverse I've been driving for the past week.

I had a really hard time backing out of my relatively short and very straight driveway this morning without a backup camera to verify that my way was clear. I kept hitting the wrong side of my steering wheel for the cruise control. And I was once again without Bluetooth in my car, let alone the friendly people at OnStar who've been giving me directions.

Note: All photos taken from inside the vehicle which required the vehicle to be turned on were taken either while the vehicle was in park or when in a parking lot and not moving. Physical safety of myself and the vehicle was taken into consideration, and neither of us were put into any danger for the photos - which is why you won't see photos of some features I discuss below.

It's a neat looking car, all sleek and modern - and not at all a Mommy vehicle. If you don't already know, I don't drive a minivan and never will (famous last words and all, but I really mean it). Right now, my "real" car is a Honda Pilot, so most comparisons will be against the Pilot, since that's the car I know best that's most similar to the Traverse. In looks, the Traverse wins hands down.

The Traverse also has some other wins over the Pilot. Not only does my car not have a seat warmer (granted, higher end models do, but my car does not), but the Traverse also has seat air-conditioning for when it actually warms up in Chicago. I love love love that idea. In the meantime, I'm using the seat warmer in the Traverse ... in April. Fortunately it isn't just an on/off switch, it has three different levels of heating so I can adjust it down a little on the days where it's sunny enough to start to feel mildly pleasant. I sincerely miss that seat heater right now.

The other way so cool awesome feature that I've never had in a car and didn't have a chance to take advantage of but still have to gush over because it's so incredibly awesome and no my car doesn't even come close to having it? The car I drove last week - the way cool Traverse - is a rolling hot spot. Seriously, people. It has a wireless router in the trunk area (that black box on the wall on the right hand side in the next picture) that makes your car truly 21st century. Up to ten devices can use it at the same time. Sadly, I wasn't at soccer practice (it starts Wednesday) where I could really have taken advantage of it, but I am so getting this feature in my next car. All that waiting around I have to do wasting time? Not anymore!

The Traverse also has a bit more trunk space than my Pilot does. It's probably only a few more inches - the giant box from Costco fit nicely into the back of the Traverse where I have to carefully push it just so to close the tailgate on my car. Anyone carting kids around can verify the importance of storage space. The Traverse also has an auto open and close for the tailgate on the key chain, something my car does not (but again higher models of the Pilot have something similar). The only problem I have with the tailgate auto close is that if something mostly fits and just needs a good shove... the Chevy Traverse will simply pop back open and not let me push it closed. My Pilot allows me to do my best to ummm fill the space in back and then try to close the tailgate.

Another difference is the captain's seats. My car has bench seating in the middle row. When I drive five kids in carpool, that means children are climbing over the second row daily in order to get out of the car - not my favorite activity in my car. With the captain's seats, not only do the kids not have to climb over the rows, but they also are able to get out faster altogether by walking through, so we aren't holding up the line as much. Score on that point.

That said, the Traverse is slightly narrower than my Pilot. I have a carseat and three booster seats to fit in there, which is always a question. In the Pilot, I can fit three booster seats in the middle row. The back row has Little Miss's carseat and another booster seat. In the Traverse, it is more of a squeeze. I was able to fit two booster seats in the third row, but both children in boosters had to buckle up before the girl old enough to not be in a booster could buckle up. That isn't the case in my Pilot.

Both cars have sliding seats in the second row so that I can adjust who gets who much leg room in the second and third rows. I absolutely adore that feature. It really helps keep everyone comfortable. The seats all fold flat, too, which is huge when transporting any sort of cargo - although obviously I only played with this feature since I have kids as my cargo right now!

When it comes to fun features, I love the way the radio is set up in the Traverse. I listen to a variety of radio stations in my Pilot on XM, AM, and FM. When I want to switch between AM and FM, I have to hit band and then select the station I want from amongst my favorites. Check out how the Traverse set it up - I can press button one and get to my XM channel, then slide over to button two for my AM update. The favorites can store different types of channels - awesome!

As with most other vehicles now, there is a DVD system - although we didn't use it (mean mommy!). There is a remote control so passengers can control what's on the screen. Even better? There are wireless headphones so passengers can listen to the DVD while I - get this - listen to the radio or my mp3 player. Or they can use the headsets to listen to my mp3 player while I listen to the radio. While we didn't take advantage of this feature, you can bet that any road trips would see this in use constantly.

I also fell in love with the backup camera. The Traverse offers the backup camera without requiring a GPS (the Pilot has a backup camera integrated with GPS in models higher than mine). It's in the rearview mirror - thought you can see things in the mirror behind the camera as necessary. It is a color camera, which is very cool. As you get closer to an object, it beeps faster and faster at you to help you know where you're going. As someone who's parallel parked in Chicago with the best of them, the beeping was a bit cautious for me. I really really miss this feature especially right now.

Another very cool feature in the Traverse? The side mirrors have "pop out" mirrors - it's the best way I can think of to describe them. The mirrors don't just show your traditional side view but an extended view so you can see into some of the blind spot. I really liked the extra vision, and it made me feel more comfortable driving.

The OnStar features were also very cool - they can help you with just about anything, though I primarily asked for directions. The best feature? If you're in an accident and the emergency OnStar contacts you but you don't answer, it will send not just one ambulance to the scene (yay GPS) but one ambulance for every seat belt in use, as there is a sensor in the buckles that knows how many "people" are in the car. How awesome is that? And not that you should need more motivation, but here's yet another reason to buckle up!

The directions are also nifty. OnStar finds your desired location then downloads the directions to your vehicle. It doesn't only provide verbal directions, but it also has a visual of your next turn in the radio section of the dashboard. I liked the big arrow telling me where to go next and the beep as I got close to my turn. That said, I still prefer the GPS on my phone that offers me a color view, real time traffic to offer alternate routes, and the like. For those who don't have access to Google Maps on their phones though, this is a nifty feature.

Another feature my car doesn't have is Bluetooth connectivity. While it is again offered in higher end Pilots (my dad's has it), the one in the Traverse is superior. It was a snap to set up, just pressing the phone button on the steering wheel, saying "Bluetooth" then "pair" and finding the match on my phone. Done. And the sound quality? As my mom put it, "It's a thousand times better than trying to talk to your dad on his Bluetooth" because it's actually clear and doesn't constantly cut out. Some friends found it more clear to talk to me on the Bluetooth in the Traverse than it is to talk directly over my phone. Go fig. That's a huge win - and bonus? The gas mileage part of the dash shows the phone number of incoming calls so you can more easily determine if you want to answer them or not.

That said, there was one major negative with the Traverse. I could not get the Traverse to average above 16.9 miles per gallon. The listed mileage is 17 city and 24 highway. Where I was driving was suburban/highway type driving (e.g., long stretches of open road where I averaged 42.9mph - yes, there's a setting that tells me that - with periodic stoplights). I tend to be a conservative driver. I drive with the cruise control on almost all the time. I coast to stoplights. I accelerate gently. My Pilot offers 17mpg city and 22 highways. Driving my Pilot the same way for 65 miles today and yesterday running errands, etc as I did while driving the Traverse, I averaged 19.8mpg. That is almost a 3mpg difference, with a big deficit to the Traverse. Frankly, I was shocked by the mileage of the Traverse as it is two years newer and slightly smaller than my Pilot.

My only other pet peeve was the cruise control, but that's minor. When I drive on cruise control by me, speeds change a lot. We go from 45 to 55 to 45 to 35 to 30 back to 40 and the like. When the acceleration is 5mph, I use the res button on the cruise control one mph at a time to get to the new speed limit. On my Pilot, it's pretty accurate, gently speeding up a single mph each time. With the Traverse, pushing the res one time would eventually get me one mph faster, but it would overaccelerate and quickly push me past the desired speed before coasting and getting back to the set speed. I would have liked to have seen this work smoother, as it does for my Pilot and did for the Explorer I owned before that.

All in all though, I really enjoyed the Traverse. It was great for carpooling, and Little Miss really misses not having it now, as she's informed me repeatedly. It was roomy and had some truly great features. There were all kinds of toys for the driver that were designed to keep my hands on the steering wheel - almost too many - and I love many of the features Chevy now offers. It will definitely be on my shopping list the next time I look for a car!

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with a Chevy Traverse to test drive for a week for review purposes by GM. I was provided with no compensation. All opinions expressed are my own, as always.

Giveaway: Math Blaster Membership

The wee ones are in early elementary school - kindergarten and first grade - and don't yet have too much homework. There are still a lot of expectations over what they will learn and absorb, and we look for ways to help them and make it fun. We do math in the car, and we play games to help them learn. We've now discovered Math Blaster, a website that is another tool we're adding to our arsenal.

Math Blaster is a new math website filled with games for kids to play. It comes from Knowledge Adventures, which also runs the JumpStart website that we reviewed over a year ago. The cool thing is that a Math Blaster membership also grants you access to JumpStart, something the wee ones are very excited about.

This educational website isn't free, but there is a ton of content, and it has access to both sites. You can also have up to six children on a site, so you aren't paying more for each child in your family - and that helps me out a ton, especially as I think about all the different camps and classes and enrichment activities I do have to pay for! You can gain access to the stie for $7.99 monthly, $74.99 annually, or $149.99 for a lifetime. Plus, you can also download four other JumpStart games for free.

Much like JumpStart, you create an avatar to represent yourself throughout the game. This one is called a Blaster, and the wee ones had a blast choosing what it would look like from the skin color (alien) to the hair (wacky and brown) and more. That avatar starts out at the Blaster Academy before they become members of the Intergalactic Space Patrol and explore a futuristic world, voyage to strange new planets and discover wacky alien races, all while practicing math skills.



Even in the few weeks that we've been playing with Math Blaster (yay for something educational and entertaining to do while Mister Man has been home sick the majority of March), many new games have been added and the area has been redesigned to make it even more fun.

There are tons of different types of games and skill to practice from addition and subtraction to decimals and place value and more. With this game, I've been able to explain the concept of tenths and hundredths in place value as well as gaining a stronger understanding of division.

That said, Mister Man is struggling with his addition and subtraction math facts. While he understands the logic and problem solving behind those concepts - as well as many other concepts - he hasn't bothered to just go about memorizing the math facts. Instead, he calculates the majority of them each time. With these games, he's more compelled to start to memorize them so that he can get further in the games and score more points - and I'm all in favor of that!

While this isn't the only way that we're working on our math skills, I do like having this as another option. The more varieties of ways we play with math and use it, the more it sticks - and it keeps them from getting bored with it. And I do like how there are different ways to play the games from fast-paced type things in as fast as you can or you'll eventually lose to games where you can take your time and getting the answer is the most important thing.

Mister Man's favorite game so far is Oozami. He really likes the idea of caustic slime building up while he's searching for the right answers with his guy - trying to find where the 5 in the thousands place is or searching for the 6 in the hundredths place. This is the game that has really helped him solidify his understanding of place value, both what he's being taught in school now (tens, hundreds, thousands) and what isn't yet being taught but concepts he can figure out (tenths, hundredths).



These games are ones that Mister Man can pretty much play on his own. That said, he still does enjoy having me "help" him by moving the character and typing in the answers where required while he shouts them out to me. His fine motor and hand eye coordination still leaves a bit to be desired, and this helps him compete in the games more successfully - and I like the ability to work on them with him, both spending some quality time with him and getting a sense of what he does and doesn't understand in math so I know what to work with him on.

While most games are math oriented, there are some that are purely for fun. The B-Force Blaster game is strictly a target laser shooting game. The more targets you hit - except the good guys - the better your score. The Galaxy Grand Prix is also more for fun - a speedster game where you race your space vehicle around a track. Granted you can build your own tracks and use some geometry there, but it's not a strictly math game in my mind. Those are fun to keep interest in Math Blasters up, but they aren't the ones that I encourage Mister Man to spend most of his time playing.



Periodically, there is a red alert where all cadets are called to man brigade and help protect the space station from enemy forces and space debris. When the emergency alarm goes off, you head to one of the three Red Alert portals to play a shooting game where you earn points for each piece of debris that you prevent from hitting your ship in a timed play.



As with JumpStart, the graphics are simply amazing. The action is smooth, and there is so much detail that really makes it fun from the creativity of your individual Blaster to the fish that swim under the floor in the Training Academy and more. You can turn in all directions and see under or over or behind objects that move as they would in a 3-D world. It definitely makes the game more fun - and again, it's so much more advanced than the graphics of the games I grew up playing!

While the game is targeted at ages 6-12, this is something that Little Miss (5 1/2 and in kindergarten) is well able to play and enjoy, as well. I am pretty sure that Mister Man will be finished with this game before he's 12, however - but that's also partly because he is already doing division in first grade. I do love that Math Blasters allows the wee ones to choose what level and and type of math they're going to do so that it is appropriately challenging as they progress and learn more.

As I mentioned previously, Math Blaster is continually evolving, especially as it's only been live for a few months now. There is a Math Blaster Blog that helps keeps parents up to date on new additions to the game, which helps me know what to look for, and it explains a bit about what some of the various items are. While there are various tutorials within the game to help you find your way, some things need a little more explanation, and the blog has definitely helped out with that.

That said, the game isn't perfect. I have had a problem for weeks with the Alien Wrangler game. In this one, you are riding an alien in place of the stereotypical mechanical bull. As math problems flash on the screen, you type in the answer to keep the alien calm. If you don't answer quickly enough or if you answer incorrectly, the alien becomes more wild until you're finally bucked off. I am able to get the alien to recognize answers from me for awhile - perhaps the first eight questions or so - but then it simply stops allowing me to type in anything and Mister Man is bucked off as the alien becomes more wild because we "haven't answered" anything. I have yet to find a solution to that, and it's been frustrating to Mister Man, as it is otherwise one of his favorite games - or at least the concept of it.



This has been a great diversion for us while Mister Man was sick, and I definitely see us playing it - both Mister Man and Little Miss - over the summer to help keep their math skills sharp when they aren't in school. It's another way to make math fun and practice it, and I know they enjoy it!

So what do you have to do to win a six month membership to Math Blaster (which will also work on the JumpStart website) for yourself? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!

This contest is open until Monday April 18 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 48 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: what helped you learn math growing up?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter and tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Get your math on! Help keep your kids' math skills up with Math Blaster from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/hkyGKr" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Like my blog on Facebook and let me know what name you used to like it.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with a membership good for Math Blaster and Knowledge Adventure at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided. There was no compensation involved.

Giveaway: Moe's Southwest Grill

There are some restaurants I adore and go to time and again. And there are some restaurants that I drive past and say to myself, "I really want to try that place!" time and time again. And again. Moe's Southwest Grill had been such a place, ever since it opened up a location near me ohhhh maybe four years ago now.

I love southwestern food, with its slightly spicy and oh so flavorful tastes. Thus my recent foray into making homemade mole (Mexican red sauce) again. Burritos, rice bowls, nachos - oh great, my mouth is watering again.

Why I never went there, I have no idea. It was always on my to do list, but I never did. I have now. And now I regret not having gone earlier. They have a huge menu - including a kids' menu with kid sized tacos, burritos, or quesadillas.

Oh, and did I mention that you get free chips and salsa with every meal you order? And this is a beautiful, rich, chunky salsa with some really great crispy chips. I could make a meal of just this ... but I didn't.

Instead, I made myself order something else.

You don't want to know how long I stood there hemming and hawing and trying to decide if I wanted a burrito or a rice bowl. Or how long I debated between quesadillas or a salad. I really wished I'd brought a friend along at that point, but it was too late.

I finally decided on a burrito, loving that they have both the regular version and a smaller "junior" size, meaning I'd have less to take home. As much as I love to eat, I still only eat until I'm not hungry and then save the rest, and I detest wasting food. Decision made, I went with the junior joey bag of donuts. Ok, seriously, do you or do you not love restaurants with creative names for their dishes? I love the whimsy of it and to me it shows people who love food and aren't just cooking because it's a job and their business.

My junior joey bag of donuts - which still makes me smile to just type - was made just for me, and it came out in the cutest box I've ever seen! As I dug in, I was in heaven. Along with my free salsa and chips - I did mention that every order comes with free salsa and chips, right? - I sat and munched and enjoyed my food. I loved that it was all fresh food, nothing frozen here, and I could taste the difference.

Even the junior size ended up being too big for me, so I took it home to eat later, which worked out nicely when I didn't have time to make dinner that night. There is the option to make your entree into a meal by adding a drink and a side of guacamole, a side of queso, a cup of beans, a cup of rice, or a cookie. As delicious as those sound, I wasn't up for it that day. For me, that would be a great way to have a light meal with a friend - enjoying the entree with our chips and salsa and a side. Yum!

I resolved to try the nachos next time. Or maybe the quesadillas. Or to maybe bring a friend so we could have both. Because, really? Yum. And with the nut free dishes and the gluten free options and dairy free options, this has now become my favorite suggestion for friends with kids who have allergies and intolerances - and there are lots of those!

As great as the food tastes, I like the philosophy behind Moe's, too. They are focused on providing healthy options - and I love that their allergen information is so accessible and that there are no nut items onsite or in their recipes at all - and going beyond that into environmental sustainability. As they put it:

Sustainability is all about meeting the needs of current generations without affecting the needs of future generations. We are doing our part to reduce environmental impact by serving ingredients like grass-fed steak, grain-fed pork, local produce (where our safety and quality standards can be met), and a delicious meat alternative - organic tofu.

Do they have a dollar menu? Nope. Would I rather be ordering off this menu with grass-fed beef and local produce with no rBGH, steroids, trans fats or MSG from a restaurant with neither a microwave nor a freezer? Yeah. And that doesn't mean it was expensive, either. Tacos are under $3, and there isn't an entree option at $9 - and that includes their Fat Sam fajitas (see more fun names!) with choice of meat with lettuce, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, grilled peppers, onions, guacamole and sour cream and three tortillas. That is a lot of food, people!

Moe's is on a mission to help people make healthy choices, with their food mission wheel. The wheel highlights special menu items that may fit into your healthy eating from gluten free items (the sour cream, chicken, steak, pork, and more than 20 fresh ingredients) to their whole grain tortillas (and why whole grains are good) to their meats (and what makes them unusual in a good way) and more. I love it!

And I'm pretty sure you will, too. Wanna try Moe's if you haven't already? Here's hoping there's one near you. I've got a $25 gift card for you to check out Moe's - although I suggest bringing a friend so you don't get stuck in the ordering dilemma I did!

So what do you have to do to win a $25 to go try out Moe's for yourself? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!

This contest is open until Sunday April 17 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 48 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: With Moe's new vegetarian entrees, they are participating in Meatless Mondays, a trend to eat less meat for a variety of reasons. What's your favorite Meatless Monday meal (either from Moe's or at home)?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter and tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Yum! Get dinner tonight with a $25GC from Moe's Southwest Grill & @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/i6jF8K" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Like my blog on Facebook and let me know what name you used to like it.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a $25 Moe's gift card for review purposes, as Food Mission mousepad, and Moe-vision sunglasses. There was no compensation involved. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mommy Party: Nutella

I love Nutella. I adore it, could eat it on just about any food you name - or plain if you prefer - not that I would ever dip a spoon or a knife or a finger into the jar of bliss and do so. Nope, not me. I've loved it since I was a child, as I was lucky enough to live in Belgium for awhile where it is a breakfast table standard.

I was thrilled when I went to Germany for two weeks shortly after graduating college and found the breakfast still consisted of many of my favorites: various breads and rolls, cured meats, good tasting yogurt, and Nutella. Ahhh, the Nutella. These days, we always have a Costco sized jar (or more) in our pantry, and we possibly eat a little more than our share.

I've introduced it to many friends over the years, as it's gorgeously nut peanut free (it's made with hazelnuts, which have such a great flavor) and it's like semi-solid truffles - but with a justification you can offer for eating it. There are no artificial ingredients in it - nothing that my family doesn't eat (e.g., no dyes, no high fructose corn syrup, nothing partially hydrogenated) - and a 2 tablespoon serving (which is pretty generous and larger than what we usually use) has only 21g of sugar - less than many other breakfast options from yogurt (go check, you'll be surprised) to many cereals. It does contain 11g of fat, but that's from the nuts, primarily, as only 3.5 of those grams are saturated fats.

Needless to say, there's a lot that we pair Nutella with around here. The focus of the Nutella for Breakfast campaign is of course on using Nutella at breakfast as a complement to other foods to provide a well-rounded breakfast that includes whole grains that works for families. Nutella is great on just about any bread product you can think of, and there are weeks when my husband eats nothing but whole grain toast spread with Nutella, some fruit, and coffee for breakfast. It's quick and easy.

For my mom's party, I brought breakfast to the moms of my PTO who were hard at work stuffing invitations for our gala. They give up their time to sit and work, and many of them have not yet had a chance to eat breakfast - or will happily take the chance of a second breakfast if one is provided. I obliged and provided.

(Yes, those are homemade bagels that I brought for the occasion. Recipe will appear on Tuesday, and it is amazing how easy and quick they are to make - and how many of the moms then asked me for the recipe!)

Bagels and Nutella are a natural combination, and all the moms agreed (as we noshed!) that this was a quick and relatively healthy breakfast for kids. For the moms who had never had Nutella before, I think we've got some converts. It really does taste like a huge treat, even though it's very similar in nutritional content to peanut butter - long a staple of American kitchens. Comparing my 100% natural organic peanut butter to Nutella, the peanut butter has 10 few calories than Nutella per 2 tablespoon serving (200 versus 210), but more fat (15g v 11g for Nutella), less protein (2g v 3g for Nutella), and more sodium (65mg v 15mg for Nutella).

In addition to the breakfast grains campaign that Nutella is currently on, we love Nutella on all sorts of things. I've put it on pretzels - soft pretzels, pretzel rods, waffle pretzels, you name it - apples, pears, bananas, strawberries, oranges (really), and more. For those moms who have kids who also don't like fruit, this is a great way to make it more palatable to them - or to give them a special treat.

All the moms were happy that after our chatting and enjoying of the food - no one disliked the Nutella, and many were pleasantly surprised by what they learned - that they got to take home a Nutella goodie bag that had a sample of Nutella in it, along with a Nutella spreader, a Nutella travel mug, and recipes and information about Nutella.

In fact, the PTO Nutella party was so successful, there were more attendees than gift bags and they all quickly disappeared. As we chatted, there was one more idea that the moms suggested as a way to make the Nutella breakfast even more portable.

Introducing the Nutella rollup. And no, I'd never thought of or done this in all my Nutella-loving years:

Nutella spread on a whole wheat tortilla, and sprinkled with dried cherries and flax seeds before being rolled up. Portable, not messy, and containing all the staples of a good breakfast in my book! (Thanks, Moms!)

That said, I do have a favorite Nutella recipe. Have you seen my s'mores pizza? Y-U-M.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with the jar of Nutella and goodie bags to be used at the Mommy Party by BSM Media. I received no compensation or goodie bag myself, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Review: ZhuZhu Puppies

The wee ones were introduced to ZhuZhu Pets via the Kung Zhu line last fall. They fell in love. They each named their ZhuZhu Pet, and they and their friends played with them for hours. The Kung Zhu have moved into our basement, where the wee ones still get them out to play with, setting up the battle arena and giggling like mad once again.

Now we have a new ZhuZhu Pet to introduce to the wee ones. They are ZhuZhu Puppies! While we like dogs, we don't have a dog of our own. The wee ones have asked in the past, and my response was simply, Do you see how Grandma and Grandpa have to go home to take care of Stella whenever they go somewhere and have to leave early and not have as much fun as they'd like? Would you rather have a dog or have fun like we do? Thank goodness they were smart and chose having fun. Ahem.

The ZhuZhu Puppies are adorable, and now Little Miss can pretend she has a dog all her own. They are tiny, just a little larger than the ZhuZhu Pet hamsters, and adorable. They actually look like the different breeds - mostly "real" ones - and primarily the lap dog type. Although some are pink and very girly looking, others are more gender neutral, like the Husky and brown or grey and white puppies.

The puppies, of course, need somewhere to play, and you know they have one. There are two "play yards" where the puppies can go in and out and race around the center circle. And yes, we have discovered that the play yard does attach to the Kung Zhu track, so we've had quite the interesting set going on. Fortunately the Kung Zhu hamsters haven't tried to battle the puppies - yet. I'm sure it's coming though.

The puppies are another really cute addition to the ZhuZhu Pet family that already includes the original hamsters, ZhuZhu Princesses (fairy tale hamsters), ZhuZhu Babies (just what they sound like), and of course Kung Zhu.

They are available at all major retailers, in store and online for around $16 apiece. And fortunately, we've yet to go through a full battery, although given the frequency of play, I'm sure that will change (get it?) soon.

But really, I don't need to tell you about it. Little Miss does just fine with it. In her own words, a review from my five year old - the roving reporter.



In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided by BSM Media with two puppies, an outfit, and a play yard for review purposes. I was provided with no compensation. All opinions expressed are my own, as always.

Managing Family Finances

Thank you to TurboTax for sponsoring my writing about household finances. Learn more about how TurboTax can help you find every tax deduction you deserve. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I am the financial manager in the household. I pay all the bills, and I track our spending, transfer money between accounts as needed, and determine when we can afford major purchases we're anticipating. Ironically, my husband is the one who does our taxes, but that just keeps it real, right?

Because of this, I'm aware of every penny spent and where it goes. I have a spreadsheet - and no one who knows me should be surprised by this - where I break down all of our spending into category by month versus what we'd anticipated spending. To do this, I go through each credit card statement as they come in to ensure there isn't anything on there that shouldn't be, amongst other reasons.

That works great three quarters of the year. That last quarter? That's where I realized the problem came in.

When my husband and I were newlyweds, he planned an awesome trip for us for our first anniversary. We went to Spruce Meadows in Calgary for their summer show and spent four days there - including two in a really cool VIP tent super close to the course. It was awesome.

It wasn't, however, a surprise. Remember those credit card bills I and I alone peruse? Unfortunately, that meant that I saw the airline tickets to Calgary. I saw the hotel deposit. I saw the tickets to Spruce Meadows. And I knew exactly what he was getting me for our anniversary. Weeks in advance.

How much cooler would it have been to be surprised as we headed to the airport? How much more exciting would it have been if I hadn't been on the web exploring Spruce Meadows ahead of time? And how much more authentic would my happy face have been when he handed me the card with the details on our anniversary?

It isn't the knowing that makes me sad. It isn't not having the surprise. It's the fact that my advance knowledge meant that this completely cool surprise that my husband created for me was still cool but was no longer a surprise because I'm the one who handles the finances.

I needed to find a new solution because of him - because I didn't want to do that to him. And so of course I did. I simply don't look at the details of those credit card bills in the month leading up to my birthday, Christmas, and anniversary. I still pay them - and know the totals throughout the month by managing them online - but I keep the specifics a mystery. Or at least as much of a mystery as my husband creates! There's plenty of time to enter the line items into my spreadsheet after those glorious occasions have passed.

Because our anniversaries and birthdays aren't about the presents we receive. It's about the love our family and friends show us, the caring and the joy. And I'm going to do my part to ensure that none of that part gets spoiled.

Accountants are allowed to have fun after all, right?

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided compensation by Clever Girls Collective for writing this post. All opinions expressed are my own, as always.