American Girl--McKenna Shoots for the Stars

Do your girls love American Girl? Mine do! They can't go to sleep at night without Bella and Angel, their American Girl dolls.

McKenna was chosen as 2012's Girl of the Year and when we visited the American Girl store at the Mall of America a few weeks ago, my girls were totally enchanted with her.  "Mommy, that doll does gymnastics just like I want to do!"..."Mommy can we see that movie!?"  Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I was asked to help promote the release of Mckenna Shoots for the Stars!  

Just in time for the summer Olympics, McKenna comes to life on DVD in Universal Home Entertainment's An American Girl: McKenna Shoot for the Stars:

Meet McKenna Brooks, a determined and confident young gymnast, in this all-new, modern-day adventure. McKenna is on track to make the regional competitive gymnastics team, but off track in school, where she’s suddenly struggling to keep up. When her teacher suggests a tutor, she’s embarrassed and desperate to keep it a secret from her friends. Then a bad fall at the gym sidetracks her from her favorite sport. Will she recover in time to make the team? Can she succeed in school, too? McKenna needs to focus on her strengths to overcome her challenges—and, with the help of family and friends, find a way to believe in herself again. Starring Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Ian Ziering (TV’s “Beverly Hills, 90210”), and gymnastics champion Cathy Rigby, this heart-warming story will have the whole family cheering!

Click HERE to see the trailer (movie preview).  Both my girls and I loved this movie and I'm pretty sure your family will too!  Now both my daughters REALLY want to get into gymnastics!  Help!

Enter to win your own Blu-Ray and DVD combo pack of McKenna Shoots for the Stars!

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Melaleuca Products- tough and safe

When we were contacted by Carol to try Melaleuca  products I will say this, I thought "well, just another safe, eco-friendly company with their products." This was until I received the box in the mail! I have always been a fan of safe(r) products, green(er) products, eco-friendly(ier) products but quite a few fall short of my standards. (No, not all-I have some amazing "go-to" products that you would never be able to remove from my closet! It has taken a great deal of searching for me to find cleaning products that meet my standards. Melaleuca is a direct sales company founded in 1985, one of the world leaders in quality wellness products.

My standards:
Safe for pets and kids
Green(er)
No-harsh fumes
and the MUST- they must work!

This past weekend was "clean the bathrooms" weekend and I got the chance to test out Melaleuca's Ecosense Tub and Tile Bathroom Cleaner as well as the Tough and Tender Cleaning Wipes. I mixed the Tub and Tile cleaner according to the directions and sprayed it on my clear glass shower doors and waited a few minutes to see if any magic occurred. We don't have terribly hard water but the people that lived here before us must not have been bothered by water stains, calcium build up and lime scale because our glass shower doors showed it. I tried quite a few green and eco friendly products to get the doors sparkling but I will say I resorted to a well known, non-green brand because it did the job I needed. After a few minutes I hopped back in the shower and took my tub scrubber and gently rubbed the glass down and then grabbed a glass and rinsed away the Tub and Tile cleaner. To my surprise and astonishment my glass doors were completely clear and free of water spots. Score 1 for Melaleuca! The only negative I would give about their Tub and Tile cleaner is that it does tend to have a more harsh and strong odor (I started coughing in the shower when I sprayed it on the doors.) But after a crack of the window and a flip of the fan switch I was able to breathe without a care and I will say that it is worth it because my shower doors are SO pretty now!

I finished wiping down the counters, sink, toilet and bench in my bathroom with the Tough and Tender Cleaning Wipes and they worked fantastic too! I am not a fan of wearing rubber gloves when cleaning (my hands get too sweaty) so my hands usually feel like sandpaper when I am done cleaning the bathroom. Not this time! These cleaning wipes were exactly as they said: Safer for your home, highly effective, powered by nature, eco-friendly and a better value. They didn't leave a streaky mess behind either! Score 2 for Melaleuca!

Carol was sweet enough to send a few other products along with the samples! She supplied me my hubby with a Attain nutrition bar in Chocolate Caramel Nut flavor and Sweet and Salty Nut flavor. He also gave a good test run with the On The Go Sustain Sport-Ruby Red Grapefruit performance hydration drink. Why didn't I try them? Well, if I am being honest (and I always am) I don't exercise (insert jaw drop here). And, I know my husband has a REALLY hard to please palate. Well the verdict was in... Score 3 for Melaleuca! He said the Attain bars were awesome! He loves the Sustain sport drink too! He said they didn't have a "diet" taste to them and he really liked that! These products contain no High Fructose Corn Syrup and are low in carbs (which is amazing if you are a diabetic!)

So what is the final score? Ahhhhmazing products! Thanks so much Carol for introducing us to Melaleuca and their products! We hope that all of you will take some time and visit her site by clicking on her ad on the side bar.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Carol of Melaleuca. The opinions and text are all mine.

Free Pizza For a Year at Old Chicago!!

As we mentioned in a previous post, Old Chicago is re-branding themselves.  This means they are getting a whole new look and a whole new menu!  Don't worry, they still have their same great pizzas and their same great beer selection, they are just expanding to make them better!

The Old Chicago in Eden Prairie Minnesota is the first in the nation to undergo this re-branding!  Lindsi and I had a chance to check out the new look and menu this past weekend (more to come later...) but the public re-opening will be on Monday, March 19th at 10:45 am.  The first 100 guests at the public re-opening event will receive free pizza for a year!

In addition, the first Toys In The Dryer reader to find me, and the first Toys In The Dryer reader to find Lindsi at the re-opening event (can not be the same person) will get a swag box containing a $25 gift card and a t-shirt!  How cool is that!?

Can't make the re-opening event?  No need to worry, we are giving away a t-shirt a day plus one more $25 gift card on our Facebook page!  Just head over there every day and answer that day's trivia question to be entered to win.  A random winner will be chosen at 10:00pm Central Time each day from the correct trivia answers.  The day of the re-opening event, we will choose a random winner from all the entries over the past days to win the $25 gift card!

When I think of Old Chicago, I think of a bar/restaurant that is dark and crowded.  Not any more!  The re-design is much more open with vaulted ceilings and lots of light!  There's now plenty of room to have your family and friends eat!  See above?  Yep, that's a baby sling!

In fact, the new Old Chicago now has multiple options to choose from when it comes to accommodating your family!  With 6 children between the 2 of us, that really stood out to Lindsi and me! 

Their new menu has many to-die-for foods!  In addition to their already famous pizzas, they've added new appetizers, sandwiches, salads and more!  We highly recommend the Dippin' Dough appetizer (*drool*) and Italian Beef Panini sandwich (hungry now!)!

The new bar area?  Totally awesome!  Open and airy with a combo of old and contemporary style.  They've added more taps so you can enjoy more fresh beer!

 

They even have this really awesome screen that tells you how fresh the beer is and who's checked in via Foursquare!

So Twin Cities readers...come join Lindsi and me at Old Chicago in Eden Prairie on Monday, March 19th at 10:45 for their grand re-opening and hopefully get free pizza for a year or a $25 gift card and t-shirt!!

One more thing before we end this post:

Lindsi's reaction to a "really beery beer!"

*Lindsi and I received tickets to the VIP event and other promotional items for this post.  All opinions are 100% our own.