The summer picnic season is upon us, and one of the biggest weekends of the summer is almost here! With the Fourth of July right around the corner, it’s time to plan now for a safe and sober way home.
While many of us focus on fireworks safety each Fourth of July, we also need to keep our roads safe for the drive home after the festivities.
Whether at a family picnic or viewing the local fireworks display, many of us will be on the road this Independence Day. It’s time to spread the word about the dangers of buzzed driving and to remind people that Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving, and the best way to stay safe is to plan ahead.
We need your help in keeping the roads safe for everyone this July Fourth by spreading the word that buzzed driving IS drunk driving.
There are four steps you should take to protect your loved ones on the Fourth of July.
1.) Designate a sober driver before you leave for your Fourth of July events.
2.) Be ready to take alternate transportation such as a bus or taxi.
3.) Have the phone number of a taxi service stored in your phone before you leave for the party.
4.) Call 9-1-1 if you see an impaired driver on the road.
Even if you will not be drinking alcoholic beverages this Fourth of July, keep in mind that over the course of 2008, 1,179 people in other vehicles were killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers. And there were a total of 491 motor vehicle traffic fatalities during the Fourth of July Holiday period (Thursday, July 3rd, 6 pm to Monday, July 7th, 5:59 am). And for those who say they don’t plan on over-indulging . . . a buzzed driving crash looks the same as a drunk driving crash.
Guests celebrating the Fourth of July at Walt Disney World Resort will have a choice of fireworks shows plus other patriotic treats – including appearances by “Benjamin Franklin” and “Betsy Ross.”
The spirit of the Fourth of July is up in the air after dark, and three Disney parks will be making a bang, with Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios presenting special pyrotechnics and Epcot adding a patriotic “tag” to its famous “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” spectacular.
Here’s what’s in store on July 4 (entertainment and park hours are subject to change without notice):
Magic Kingdom – “Celebrate America Fireworks” will fill the sky at 9 p.m. After the fireworks, guests can enjoy Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” of lights, music and magic at 10 p.m. and midnight. Park hours are 8 a.m.-1 a.m.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Special fireworks set to a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack will be presented at 9:50 p.m., providing guests with a bonus nighttime entertainment extravaganza to complement “Fantasmic!” (which will be at 9 and 10:30 p.m.). Park hours are 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Epcot – “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth,” which features dazzling special effects, colorful lasers, brilliant fireworks and fiery torches all choreographed to a musical score, becomes even more dynamic on July 4 as the normal show is supplemented with a patriotic finale. The performance begins at 10 p.m. Earlier in the day, guests will be treated to the Voices of Liberty 4th of July Concert – featuring an expanded cast of singers plus the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps and Disney characters – at 12:30, 1:45 and 3 p.m. on the America Gardens Theatre stage. In addition, Betsy Ross will be engaging guests inside The American Adventure with storytelling, while Ben Franklin will be making appearances on the promenade near the attraction. Park hours are 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Guests can enjoy all the regular attractions and shows from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
I like to be organized when I go shopping…especially grocery shopping. I usually shop with a list and coupons in hand…actually the coupons are in my pocket and I often forget to use them when I am paying. Well, I’m going to share not 1…not 2…but 3 awesome and affordable gadgets to make your shopping experience more organized. All of the gadgets come from Momcepts.
These 3 products are the List Caddy, the Koala Pouchand the Koalabiner.
The List Caddy is a sturdy plastic clip that clips onto the shopping cart and holds your list, coupons and pencil right in view so it is easy to shop, and remember to use the coupons you brought with you. The List Caddy has a magnet on the back so when you return from your shopping trip you can put it on the refrigerator and start the next list!
The Koala Pouch is a nylon pouch that velcros over the shopping cart handle. The front has a coupon organizer pocket with dividers, a cell phone pocket and a pencil sleeve. The back of the Koala pouch has a pocket that holds 2 reuseable shopping bags that are included.
The Koalabiner is an adorable Koala shaped carabiner that clips over the shopping cart handle to hold your purse and/or diaper bag. It also comes in handy to attach toys to the shopping cart so you aren’t chasing dropped toys all over the grocery store.
If you want to be more organized when you are shopping or if you are looking for a useful gift for a friend, all 3 shopping gadgets from Momcepts are great, affordable choices.
When I was invited to participate in a blog tour for Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice, I jumped at the chance. I am always looking for ways to add whole grains to our diet. I knew getting my family to eat brown rice would be difficult…we love yellow rice but seldom eat even white rice. I’ll be honest with you, this food experiment didn’t go well…hopefully you will have more success than I did.
I received boxes of 3 different types of Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice:Uncle Ben’s Boil-in-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice, Uncle Ben’s Fast & Natural Instant Brown Rice, Uncle Ben’s Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice.
I also received 5 recipes…none of which my family would like (too many veggies or foods mixed together). Since I had no recipes to use I just made the Boil-in-Bag rice as a side dish to go with grilled chicken breasts. For us, the brown rice didn’t have an appealing taste or texture. The flavor is a bit nutty and we were not fond of it. Finally, after digging teriyaki sauce out of the refrigerator, we were able to eat it. I have looked for other recipes to use and I have had no luck finding anything that my picky family would even try. (I have one son that doesn’t like food mixed together so stir-frys, casseroles etc are out of the question). I know lots of families aren’t as picky as mine but this was one food experiment that went bad. I am still looking for recipes that my very picky family will eat. If you have a yummy recipe that you think we would like please link it to me in the comments. The extra boxes of rice-that we haven’t opened will be given to the families in my ladies group at church.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Uncle Ben’s and received samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Back in March I told you that Ridemakerz was coming to Downtown Disney Westside for a limited engagement. I knew Jordan would be in heaven at Ridemakerz; so for his birthday I suggested to relatives that a Ridemakerz gift card would be a great gift. When we headed to Downtown Disney on June 6th he had $50 to spend on his custom car.
How to make a Ridemakerz car
If you don’t know what Ridemakerz is the easiest way to describe it is…Build-a-Bear but with cars and trucks. We had a lot of fun watching Jordan build his car. Being a Ford man he went straight to the Mustangs and got started. He had done his research on the Ridemakerz website so he had a good idea of what he was going to do before he got there.
Jordan chose not to make his car a remote control car because that would have put him over budget. Here is a video of our trip to Ridemakerz.
In the end Jordan spent $46 and change on his car. A week later when we were back at Downtown Disney he decided to get the hood scoop he had chosen not to buy on the first trip and he is already saving up for another trip…hopefully he will save enough money before Ridemakerz leaves Downtown Disney this fall!
If you have a car guy or gal in your family I recommend a trip to Ridemakerz so they can make their dream ride.
My family likes dipping food into sauces…it can be ranch dressing, ketchup, mayo, teriyaki sauce…whatever. When I was asked to review the newFrench’s Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce I new it would be a hit with my family. This sweet, creamy sauce is perfect for chicken nuggets, french fries, pretzels just about anything you can dip. My family liked it best with french fries.
French’s Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce is made with real honey and #1 grade mustard seeds. There are only 60 calories in a 2 TBS serving and 0.5g of fat so dip away! When you visit the French’s website you can print off a coupon to save $0.75 on your bottle of French’s Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. Happy Dipping!!
Disclaimer: French’s provided 1 bottle of sauce for me to use to craft this review. All opinions are 100% mine.
Last year I introduced you to First Impressions Baby Apparel. Since working with First Impressions last year, I have purchased several of their pieces for baby shower gifts and they are always a huge hit. First Impressions is only available at Macy’s and Macys.com. First Impressions sent me some adorable clothes to review.
Baby Girl 5 Piece Set
Can you believe all that retails for only $11.99!?! The clothes are cotton, machine washable and includes two bodysuits: Short-sleeved; snaps on bottom; lap shoulders; one with allover floral pattern and ruffled sleeves, one with flower embroidery at chest. What a bargain! The cotton is soft and would feel great on baby’s skin. Honestly, these clothes are the best quality and most affordable items you can buy for a baby!
They also sent an adorable, sweet, cuddly stuffed animal-who quickly joined the rest of the stuffed menagerie that resides in our home.
Lastly, I received an adorable, cotton top and leggings. This sells for $13.99 and is available in a variety of patterns. It has 3 snap closures at the back and the pants have an elastic waist. This is the item that you get to win! It is a size 12 mos.
So, how do you enter to win this adorable outfit? The mandatory first entry is for you to go to Macys.com and look at all of the First Impressions Baby Apparel then come back here and leave me a comment with the name and price of your favorite item.
Bonus Entries: Leave a separate comment for each.
Subscribers to my blog get 1 entry
GFC Friends get 1 entry
Networked Blogs followers get 1 entry
Tweet about this giveaway-use @Mommaven and include a link to this giveaway in your tweet. Leave the tweet URL in your comment. (you may do this 2x a day)
The winner will be chosen at 9pm on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 by Random.org.
The winner of the Touch’d Bath Butter…is Jenny aka @JennyMariePhoto from Twitter! Jenny said she would like the Cucumber-Melon Bath Butter…sounds wonderful to me! Congratulations Jenny!
Don’t forget to enter my other giveaways that are going on right now…
This entry is part 11 of 16 in the series mamavation
Here we are at the dawn of another new week. I am hoping slow and steady wins the race because this week…I have maintained. I am still at last week’s weight…and that is ok. I worked out 1 time…and was on the verge of heat exhaustion. It is too darn hot and humid here in Florida to do anything outside that doesn’t involve a pool, and I don’t have one of those. I will get in at least 2 workouts this week.
My eating has been good, I’m getting in 2-4 fruits a day, which is amazing for me! Water isn’t a problem at all, as long as I start drinking it by 10am I can easily get in 100+ ounces a day. Last week one of my favorite meals was when hubby surprised me with Subway for dinner while I was a t a meeting!
My other goals for this week are to comment on at least 10 of my Sista’s Mamavation posts and to make it home in time to be a part of Mamavation TV tonight…I’ve missed 3 weeks in a row cause I haven’t been home in time…hopefully tonight.
I spent part of this weekend pondering if I should apply to be a Mamavation Mom again this round since this is application week…but I decided the timing isn’t right for me, maybe next campaign, there just isn’t enough time in my day to fully commit to the program right now with my summer job and some large projects looming. I can’t wait to see who applies this time. If you want to know more about applying for the Mamavation Campaign click here.
The summer picnic season is upon us, and one of the biggest weekends of the summer is almost here! With the Fourth of July right around the corner, it’s time to plan now for a safe and sober way home.
Back in
My family likes dipping food into sauces…it can be ranch dressing, ketchup, mayo, teriyaki sauce…whatever. When I was asked to review the new
They also sent an adorable, sweet, cuddly stuffed animal-who quickly joined the rest of the stuffed menagerie that resides in our home.
The winner of the 
Here we are at the dawn of another new week. I am hoping slow and steady wins the race because this week…I have maintained. I am still at last week’s weight…and that is ok. I worked out 1 time…and was on the verge of heat exhaustion. It is too darn hot and humid here in Florida to do anything outside that doesn’t involve a pool, and I don’t have one of those. I will get in at least 2 workouts this week.
karen M on 
