If you are a regular reader, you know I only do like 10% of the grocery shopping for our household. My husband is out and about almost every day, while I run 4 online businesses from home, so it just makes sense that he does the lion’s share of the grocery shopping. I couldn’t wait to try out the Lotus Trolley Bag so I took it with me to do my Thanksgiving dinner grocery run at Walmart. My list included 4 pounds of cream cheese, a 3 pound turkey breast (because I never get to bring home leftovers from either of our Thanksgiving dinners), 6 cans of cranberry sauce, 8 tubes of crescent rolls, and much more.

I wandered through Walmart with the Lotus Trolley Bags attached to the handle of my grocery cart. They did stick out beyond the cart handle just a tad so I had to be careful maneuvering through the crowded store. When I arrived at the checkout I told the cashier that I had my own bags. After I unloaded my groceries onto the belt, I set my Lotus Trolley Bag into the cart and opened them up. The cashier exclaimed, “What fresh magic is this? I’ve never seen anything like it!” I quickly loaded my groceries, paid my bill and headed out of the store. When I arrived at my car, I separated the bags and placed them in the back of my SUV. Once home, I put away my purchases and re-attached the bags to each other and rolled them up. Now I just need to train hubby to use this instead of plastic bags

The post Lotus Trolley Bag-Reuseable Grocery Bag appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The games are a series of fun physical challenges inspired by everyday “green” acts. Four teams comprised of Disney stars from around the world will play on behalf of a global charity-Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. As part of the games Disney will make a $125,000 donation to each charity and the winning team’s charity will receive an additional $100,000 donation from Disney.

By visiting Disney.com/projectgreen kids and families can pledge actions they will take part in to help the planet. Kids can also become involved in helping the planet while having fun by playing online versions of the games that took place during Disney’s Friends for Change Games and donate their earned points to their favorite teams. the team with the most online points will be named the regional “Fan Favorite” team, and each of the three global region’s “Fan Favorite” will be awarded an additional $100,000 for their team’s charity.

Meet the Teams:

Red Team-World Wildlife Fund

Captain: Mitchell Musso-Pair of Kings

Doug Brochu-So Random

Zendaya-Shake It Up

Carlon Jeffery- A.N.T. Farm

Kelsey Chow-Pair of Kings

Davis Cleveland-Shake It Up

Dean Delannoit-Disney Channel Belgium and Holland

Jake T. Austin-Wizards of Waverly Place

Blue Team-Ocean Conservancy

Team Captain: Debby Ryan-Jessie

Doc Shaw-Pair of Kings

Roshon Feegan-Shake It Up

Jake Short-A.N.T. Farm

Stefanie Scott-A.N.T. Farm

Olavo Cavalheiro-Disney Channel Brazil

Allysin Ashley Arm-So Random

Hutch Dano-Zeke and Luther

Yellow Team-UNICEF

Team Captain: Bridgit Mendler-Good Luck Charlie

China Anne McClaine-A.N.T. Farm

Logan Miller-I’m In The Band

Gregg Sulkin-Wizards of Waverly Place and Disney Channel UK

Valentina Colombo-Disney Channel Italy

Adam Irigoyen-Shake It Up

Sierra McCormick-A.N.T. Farm

Jorge Blanco-Disney Channel Mexico

Green Team-Fauna and Flora International

Team Captain: Brandon Mychal Smith-So Random

Ryan Ochoa-Pair of Kings

Bella Thorne-Shake It Up

David Henrie-Wizards of Waverly Place

Valerie Baroni-Disney Channel Argentina

Sterling Knight-So Random

Eve Ottino-Disney Channel France

Paula Dalli-Disney Channel Spain

Adam Hicks-Zeke and Luther

So…which team is your family’s favorite? I’ve chosen mine!

The post Disney’s Friends For Change Games Begin June 24th appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Keep checking back for more giveaways coming soon!

The post SKOY Cloth Winner appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I’m the first to admit that I am just not a huge “eco-friendly” mom. I don’t search out or spend more on products that are eco-friendly. On the other hand, I am all for trying these products and honestly willing to switch to them if they work better and are cost effective. The latest of these products is the SKOY cloth. My SKOY cloths arrived just before Christmas and we put it through its paces during our Christmas baking marathon.

SKOY is an eco-friendly household cleaning cloth that outlasts 15 rolls of paper towels. This new approach to cleaning boasts a cloth that is 100% biodegradable, natural, and re-usable. The SKOY cloth has an absorption factor of 15x its own weight, which makes it far superior than any other cloth on the market. SKOY is a durable cloth that is washer and dryer safe, which means it can be used over and over again. This European-made product is non-toxic and utilizes original artwork designs to add fun as well as function to the kitchen or bathroom.

Our SKOY cloth worked very well for cleaning dishes, pots and pans. It got my cookie sheets cleaner then they have been in ages. I also used the SKOY cloth to wipe down my kitchen counters too. I’m sure the SKOY cloth wouldn’t outlast 15 rolls of paper towels in my house because we mostly use paper towels to dry our hands and wipe down the counter and you can’t dry your hands with a SKOY cloth. The SKOY is very durable and I love that you can pop it in the dishwasher to clean it.

I know you want to try some SKOY cloths of your own, right? Well I have a 4 pack of multicolored SKOY clothes for 1 lucky reader of The Mom Maven.

Mandatory 1st Entry: Visit the SKOY website and look around then come back here and tell me something you learned on their website.

Bonus Entries: Leave a separate comment for each entry

• Like SKOY on Facebook and leave this message on their wall I want to win some SKOY cloths from TheMomMaven.com http://bit.ly/gcQ3ap
• Follow @SKOYcloth and @MomMaven on Twitter and tweet this I want to #green my cleaning with @SKOYcloth and @MomMaven http://bit.ly/gcQ3ap (you may do this 2x a day-leave the tweet URL in your comment)
• Blog subscribers, GFC friends, Networked Blogs followers and Facebook Likers get 1 entry each
• Like this post on Facebook using the button at the bottom of this post.

This giveaway ends 9pm on January 17, 2011 and will be chosen by Random.org and is open to US residents only.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and the Tomoson weekly featured sponsor Favorite Wigs – Shop Name Brand Wigs at Low Prices! Large Wig Selection of Forever Young Wigs, and other Quality Wigs. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

The post SKOY Cloth-Review & Giveaway appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The winner of the Sasquatch Collection from Carolina Pad is #78 degood. Congratulations! Make sure you visit Carolina Pad for all of your Back2School needs!

The winner of the GoPicnic meals is #13 cstironkat. Congratulations! Don’t forget you can use code GPMOMS to get 20% off your GoPicnic purchase!
> There were 6 entries for each of the Mitchel Musso concerts and #1 was the winner for each so….hotmammatrish2 will be going to the St. Pete concert and Laurie Cooper will be going to the Orlando concert! Congratulations to you both! You can still buy tickets to all of Mitchel Musso’s upcoming concerts here.

Current Giveaways:

PLAY-DOH

Little Tikes

Upcoming Giveaways:

Jones GABA

The Well Planned Day

Attune

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Yoplait

The post Back2School Bash Winners Round 1 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I’m kicking off the bash with Carolina Pad! Carolina Pad has been in business since 1945 focusing on a core philosophy of “service, reliability, and quality at a fair price.” The 2009 product lines are cool, chic, affordable and very useful! Their products are truly “too cool for school”. They have appeared on the CW’s new “90210” and ABC Family’s “Greek” and have been seen being carried by music sensations Miley Cyrus and Carrie Underwood.

Carolina Pad sent me a sample of their 2009 products to review and I love them. They are high quality and good looking. I have already used some of them to get my desk and homeschool paperwork organized for the new school year.

From the Simply Chic collection I received the 13 Pocket File, 12 Decorative File Folders and a 7×5″ spiral notebook. I am using the 13 Pocket File and the file folders to organize my upcoming blog posts for my 4 blogs. The 7×5″ spiral notebook lives in my purse for note taking on the go.

From the Whimsical Flower Collection I received the Composition book and the always handy 2 Pocket Folder.

I received the Hot Chocolate Collection’s 1″ 3 ring binder which is already holding my 2009-2010 homeschool lesson planner and a sweet 8.6×6.5″ 3 subject notebook.

The trendy Chit-Chat spiral notebook is waiting to see which of my tech savvy teens is going to claim it! I also received the Pattern Play 5 decorative tab dividers and 2 pockets but none of my photos of them came out well at all. They are already at use in my Hot Chocolate binder.

Now that you are excited about all of the great collections that Carolina Pad has, I have one more to tell you about. The Sasquatch Collection is Carolina Pad’s new eco-friendly line. from the website

What Makes Sasquatch Products Eco-friendly?
Sasquatch Brand products use less virgin wood products. They are made of mostly recycled paper. This means fewer trees are cut down and less water and fossil fuels are used during processing. This helps reduce air and water pollution and helps protect wildlife from harmful chemicals and habitat changes.

Carolina Pad is offering The Mom Maven readers a 15% discount on all orders placed between now and August 22, 2009 using promotion codeBTS2009 also, all orders of $30 or more after discount are eligible for FREE shipping!
The Prize: Carolina Pad will be sending approximately $35 of Sasquatch Collection products.
Mandatory 1st entry Visit the Carolina Pad website and choose your favorite collection and product and come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what you chose.
Bonus Entries:

• For 3 entries-Grab my Back2School Bash button and place it on the front page of your blog. It must remain there theoughout the Bash. Leave a link to your blog’s front page in the comments. (Leave 3 separate comments).
• For 1 bonus entry-Follow @MomMaven and @CarolinaPad on Twitter and Tweet- “I just entered to win the Sasquatch Collection from @MomMaven and @CarolinaPad you can enter too! http://bit.ly/3ZO8Nm #giveaway” then leave the tweet URL in the comments section
• For 1 Bonus Entry-Become a fan of the Sasquatch collection on Facebook

This giveaway ends Saturday 8/15/09 at 7:00pm. US Residents only

The post Carolina Pad Back2School Giveaway appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I am a totebag queen, there are probably 20+ different types of totebags in my house. None of them have been good for grocery shopping-until I got my Joey Totes. My boys and I have used our Joey Totes and have carried a lot of grocries in them. The Joey Totes come in 2 sizes the Big Joey is 18″ x 28″x 5″ and folds into its attached 9.5″ x 5″ pouch. The Small Joey is 14″ x 21″ x 4″ and folds into its attached 8″ x4″ pouch. I carry my 2 small Joeys inside my large Joey and they fit right in my purse so I always have them when I need them.

I will say Joey Totes are probably the least fashionable of all of my bags-they are steel gray ripstop nylon, but they do a job none of my other totes do. My 3 Joey Totes carry at least the equivalent of 5-6 plastic grocery bags, including a gallon of milk! Joey Totes can be hand washed and line dried so if something should spill in them, you can clean them right up.

You can only purchase the Joey Totes at their website, the awesome people at Joey Totes are offering all of The Mom Maven readers 10% off of their orders during the month of May! Just use the coupon code MomMavenSaves at check out and receive your discount.

but you can win a Joey set (1 Big Joey and 2 Small Joeys) here at the Mom Maven.

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Joey Totes website and look around. Come back here and let me know 1 fact about the Joey Tote that I didn’t mention in this post.

Bonus Entries:

• Subscribe to my RSS feed and leave me a comment saying you did.
• Place my blog button on your website, or tell me it is already there and leave me a link to your page in the comment.
• Fave this blog on Technorati using the button in my sidebar and leave me a comment letting me know you did.
• Place an order at Joey Totes using the discount code listed above. Leave me a comment letting me know you did.
• Tweet about this giveaway and copy the url of your tweet in the comment.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and the winner will be chosen 5/10/09 at 10:00pm. Good Luck

The post Day 4 of 10 Days of Celebrating Mom-Giveaway for the Green Mom appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The post Ecostore Gift Certificate Winner appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Ingredients

• Palm and coconut based non-ionic surfactants
• Silicates and carbonates including sodium meta silicate (simple mineral salts)
• Citrates and natural citrus oil
• Cellulose (plant based)
• Fatty acid derivative”

We have done 3 loads of dishes using the Auto Dishwash Powder and it works great! We are not a family who is great a scraping all the food off of our plates and rinsing them well before we put them in the dishwasher. As a result, we often end up with a few plates and silverware piece that are still dirty after washing. Since using the Auto Dishwash Powder, our dishes and silverware are much cleaner. I must admit it also feels good to know that I’m not subjecting my family to the chemicals found in our other dishwashing detergent. The Auto Dishwash Powder is cost effective too. You only use 1 TBS for a load of dishes so you can get approximately 83 loads from one container and this would put the cost at less than 15 cents a load. My usual detergent costs 25 cents a load! For my family, that would save almost $55 a year plus no chemicals on our dishes and silverware.

The Rosemary Orange Shampoo
From the Ecostore website: “This shampoo gets excellent results on fine and oily hair.

Combining nature’s best products and aromatherapy Ecostore USA has created a wonderful shampoo that will bring volume and life back to your hair. (6.8 fluid ounces)

Ingredients

• Water
• Lauryl-glucoside (from glucose)
• Derivatives from coconut and palm oil – olefin sulphonate
• Laureth-2
• Polyol Coconut Fatty Acid Ester
• Sodium Hydroxymethyl Glycinate (from natural amino acid)
• Citric Acid
• Certified Organic Cider Vinegar
• Essential oils of Rosemary Cineol, Orange Sweet Organic, Pine Scotch, Sage and Cypress.”

I wanted to try this product for my 16 yr old son. Like many teens, he has excessively oily hair. We have tried many different shampoos but none have allowed him to go more than 24 hours without shampooing. It seems to be a vicious cycle. I gave him the shampoo and asked him to try it. He was afraid it would smell to “girly” -but it doesn’t. He says you don’t need to use much shampoo and it does work best when you lather it up and let it sit there for a minute or two before rinsing. Since using the Rosemary Orange Shampoo, his hair has been cleaner and softer. He has actually been able to go 2-3 days between shampoos and he hasn’t been able to do that in a long time. He is very happy with his hair and says the shampoo, “Works great!” The shampoo is not as cost saving as the dishwash detergent. Since there is no exact measurement for how much shampoo to use, I had to figure out the price per ounce. For the Rosemary Orange Shampoo it is $1.61 per ounce where his regular shampoo is 33 cents an ounce. To me, the cost difference is worth it because my son feels better about himself and if he is only using it every 2-3 days versus daily the bottle will last for a while.

I bet you want to know what you need to do to win a $25 gift certificate to Ecostore.
How to Enter:
For your first entry: Go to Ecostore and look around. Then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what you would get with the gift certificate. You must also follow or subscribe to this blog and leave a comment here telling me that you have done this Please leave a valid e-mail address or twitter name so that I can notify if you win. **You must do all of this to be entered.

If you would like extra entries you can earn them for doing any or all of the following:

* tweet this contest and post the url of the tweet as a separate comment (you can do this 1x per day each day of the contest-just post each tweet url in a separate comment)
*Fave this blog on MomFaves-just click this link
* blog about this contest and link to this post (not just a link to the contest) then leave me a link to your post in a separate comment
* stumble this post with a review and link it here in separate comment

The winner will be chosen on Thursday, March 26th at 10:00pm. Good Luck!!

The post Ecostore Review and Giveaway appeared first on The Mom Maven.