I am very passionate about my dog Bentley and the food he eats. So passionate that I can talk for quite a long time about the brand of food he eats and why I chose it. Due to his food allergies and my wanting him to be healthy, I choose to feed him a holisitic and all natural diet.

For a recent review of a website that sells dog food, I chose to buy Bentley Taste of the Wild Wetlands Formula with Roasted Fowl. I chose it because it is grain free and a grain free diet helps Bentley with his food allergies. This formula offers my dog a highly digestible energy which I believe he needs because he is still very active.

After purchasing Taste of the Wild, I was informed that they now offer different puppy formulas. I wish that I had understood how important a good diet was when Bentley was a puppy. I didn’t feed him the worst food out there, but I know I wasn’t feeding him the best quality.

Taste of the Wild has expanded their line by offering two most popular adult formulas in a puppy formulation. High Prairie Puppy and Pacific Stream Puppy are the newest additions to the Taste of the Wild family and were developed specifically to be more nutritionally beneficial for dogs under the age of 18 months.

The new puppy formulas have a total fiber content of 5% while the adult Taste of the Wild formulas have a fiber content of approximately 4%. The higher fiber content is achieved through additional tomato pomace, a natural vegetable fiber from ripe tomatoes, and will support improved digestion and contribute to overall good health. We include probiotics in all of our foods as an additional feature to support optimal digestive health. Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria that support proper digestion and suppress the numbers of any bad bacteria in the digestive system. We’ve also added twice the amount of prebiotics from dried chicory root to the puppy formulas. Probiotics are fiber ingredients that help maintain a normal, healthy balance in the GI system.

Another change from the adult formula to the puppy formula is the addition of Salmon oil, a natural source of DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, has been added to the puppy formulas. DHA is present in the mother’s milk and aids in cognitive, as well as visual development. Because the salmon oil can affect the palatability of the food, we chose not to use it in our adult formulas. The effect on palatability does not seem to be as pronounced for puppies.

Bentley has been on grain free diet for about four years. It has made a huge difference on his allergies, his coat and skin and his digestive system. My vet wanted to do cortisone shots to help with Bentley’s itching and chewing. He was chewing so bad that he would bleed. I let the vet do one shot to offer Bentley immediate relief but went home to do research. Years of cortisone shots would have affected his liver to the point of failure. It was then I decided to try a holistic approach and I haven’t looked back.

Taste of the Wild is offering one New to Mom reader a puppy prize pack! The prize pack will include samples of the new puppy formulas, the book and DVD “My Smart Puppy: Fun, Effective and Easy Puppy Training” and a $25 gift card to Wag.com who is an online retailer who carries the Taste of the Wild new puppy formulas. To enter, please enter on the Rafflecopter form below.

Disclosure: Samples were provided for me to facilitate my review. All thoughts are my own.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Every year about this time, my coworkers and I do a Biggest Loser type of weight loss competition. I’m in charge of keeping track of everyone’s weight and recording it.

We have a scale at work but I do not have one at home though. I have thought about buying one but just haven’t done it. I recently reviewed the iHealth Scale available at Best Buy. I thought a scale was a scale until I used this one. The iHealth Scale allows you to record your weight from your your iPod touch, iPhone or iPad through wireless Bluetooth technology.

Product Features and Specs:

• Measures your weight
  Along with calculating BMI to give you a view of your health.
• Supports multiple users
  On multiple mobile devices so family members can share and track their progress.
• Milestone feature
  Lets you set target goals for weight management.
• Product Height 1 ½”
•  Product Width 13”
•  Product Weight 4.4 lbs
• Product Depth 13”

My thoughts? I’m a little in awe on how technology is affecting everything, including personal scales. That being said, this scale fits my tech geek personality just fine. Since having an iPad, the iHealth Scale is the first time I’ve used something that works with my iPad. I thought the set up was super easy. It just involved downloading the app, getting on the scale and connecting via Bluetooth. That’s it. Just three simple steps.

I love the look of the scale. It’s very sleek looking compared to the old scale we use at work. The modern look to it makes it stand out in my bathroom.

The iHealth Scale app is fantastic. It will record and monitor my weigh ins, I can record the calories I take in and the exercise I do. I can enter my calories by meal and there is a search option to search for the food I ate. When I created my profile, I entered my basic information along with my starting weight and my goal weight.

I think iHealth Scale is going to be great for someone like me who needs to lose weight but who gets freaked out about where to start and where to go from there. I need something that is going to help me record the information and put it into a form that I can understand like a graph. I have to see on “paper” the progress that I’m making.

Disclosure: I was provided this product free from Best Buy to facilitate my review. All thoughts are my own.

Sometimes as mothers, we need to spend a little time and money on ourselves. Too often, I find that when I see new clothing for me or I think I want a new hairstyle, I change my mind and figure I should probably pass. Then I end up using the money on stuff for Jack. This isn’t a big deal, but I need to remember that I need new things once in a while as well. I need to invest in me.

I work full-time in an office setting. I wear black or khaki pants and a nice top with dress shoes, normally flats. I don’t have to be fancy, I guess it’s considered business casual.

After taking inventory of my winter clothes, I realized that a majority of my sweaters had little holes or what I’m guessing is bleach stains. I was appalled until I realized that these sweaters were bought at least 2 or 3 years ago. Maybe longer. This isn’t really the look I’m going for and will not help me get that promotion I’ve been hoping for.

So I did it. I splurged on myself. I went and got my hair did. I went to Lane Bryant and I went a little nuts. I went in to get measured for some proper under garments. I walked out with a bag full of stuff and an order for two bras. I hadn’t planned on buying all that. I was going to start with the bras and slowly add new pieces to wardrobe. But they were having this sale I couldn’t resist. I managed to find 4 days worth of work tops, one being a light cardigan I can wear throughout the year, a top I’m thinking may work for BlogHer 12, and new pair of black dress shoes to wear in the spring.

I’m a little disappointed in the fact that I let my winter wardrobe get that bad. Last spring, thanks to my parents, I was able to get enough work appropriate outfits. I don’t know what happened from there. I did buy a couple of new sweaters from Lane Bryant with a gift card I received from doing a blog post. But that’s it.

I spent more than what I was originally planning. But with a great sale and a need for new clothes, I couldn’t pass it up. I did manage to save just over $175! That’s a pretty good deal in my mind. Plus, I’ll have tops to wear next year that I can just add a couple of new items to.

One of my favorite channels to watch is the Food Network. I pretty much love all of their shows. One of my favorites is The Food Network’s Worst Cooks In America. It is a primetime competition show featuring top Chefs Anne Burrell And Bobby Flay. They each have their own team of the worst cooks in America.

The competitors are put through an eight week boot camp made up of different competitions in an effort to change these bad cooks into competent cooks. The person that shows the most progress and best performance gets a $25,000 grand prize. Their mentor, either chef Anne Burrell or Bobby Flay, get the bragging rights of having the winner on their team.
Chef Anne is making her third appearance on the show. Here’s what she had to say:

“After two undefeated seasons of Worst Cooks in America, I’m ready for a third,” said Burrell. “Going against Bobby Flay takes the challenge to another level, but I’m ready to whip these contestants into shape and the winner is sure to be from Team Burrell.”

I’m pretty sure she knows what she is talking about. She just happens to be the undefeated chef from the previous two seasons. I’ve seen her on other Food Network shows and just love her attitude.
Of course, Bobby Flay had his own thoughts on season three:

“Anne may have had some early victories in past seasons, but this show is ready for a change and I’m going to bring it,” said Flay. “I’ll work my team until they can chop, filet and grill with the best of them.”

You know what, I love him too. This is going to be an excellent season for the The Worst Cooks In America.  The season three premiere airs Sunday, February 12th at 9pm ET/PT.

Diversity on Demand is an initiative for digital cable providers to offer their customers on-going support and commitment to multiculturalism. To kick things off, Diversity on Demand is celebrating Black History Month throughout February.

Throughout the month, digital cable users are just a “click away” from watching programming that offers to revelations into the struggles and the beauty that are an important part of the African-American history.

To receive program updates, “Like” Diversity on Demand on Facebook.  From their Facebook page, you can also get links to trailers and you will see the various contests and giveaways during the promotion. Diversity on Demand on Facebook will be celebrating multicultural movies throughout the year with contests, polls, trivia, trailers and more.

Programming for Black History Month includes some of the following categories:

Milestones in Black History:  A look at the history of the struggles and strife, the tragedies and the triumphs of African-Americans in the U.S., including programming on the Civil Rights era. Everyone in the family can get in on the learning with documentaries like “The Black List” examining some of the reasons for Black History Month. And kids young and old can take a trip back in time understanding the importance of historical events with “Seizing Justice: The Greensboro 4,” “On the Shoulders of Giants” and “Birds of a Feather: Tuskegee Airmen.”

Profiles in Courage: The biographies of influential African-Americans come to life with dramatic profiles and stories of acclaimed leaders and others who are not so well known—but perhaps should be, such as that of Lena Baker in “Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story.”

Dramas:  Programs and movies like “Independence Day” showcasing award-worthy performances from notable African-American actors such as Will Smith. You can also explore and share real-life family relationship dramas like “Braxton Family Values.”

Hearth & Home:  Savor shows like “Down Home with the Neelys” that provide a look at food and other aspects of modern African-American society.

Of the People: Program content that exemplifies the contributions made by multicultural talent, shows written by, starring, directed or produced by African-Americans, like Morgan Freeman in “Million Dollar Baby.”

Powerful Portrayals:  Storytelling has always been an important part of African-American culture. Drama fans can enjoy Black cinema offerings, which chronicle the challenges of African-American protagonists in a variety of ways.

That’s Entertainment: Laugh along with comedy specials such as “Chris Rock: Bigger and Blacker,” while romantic comedies warm the heart. If music is your thing, there are shows and movies such as “Ray,” the remarkable story of one of America’s true musical geniuses, Ray Charles, that look into the past, present music-making of African-American artists.

As someone who loves history and especially movies that relate to historical subjects, I can really appreciate Diversity on Demand. I think it’s very important to offer digital cable customers programming that offers not only entertainment but quality program that can enrich their lives with knowledge.

To help celebrate Diversity on Demand, I am giving away a $25 Visa gift card to one New To Mom reader. Please use the Rafflecopter form below.

Disclosure:

This promotional sponsored post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign. All prizing for MSM giveaways is handled by a third party unless otherwise noted. For this reason prize fulfillment can take up to 90 days after the winners information is received.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The sickness has entered our house. As I write this, I still feel not completely right.

Jack woke up Monday night crying hysterically. He was just standing in my doorway crying and would not answer me when I asked what’s wrong. He eventually asked for a glass of water and went back to sleep. He woke up an hour later in my bed crying again. This time he said, “I just want to sit up”. There’s my answer, his ears are bothering him.  So I gave him some pain reliever and went back to sleep. He woke up about every hour to cuddle.

I took him to his doctor the next day for him to tell me Jack has a “nasty” ear infection. I’m guessing for it be nasty that he’s had to have it for awhile. Insert mom guilt. I had no idea his ear was bothering him. He’s had a really stuffy nose for the last week or so but no fever and no complaints about his ears or no fever. So he’s on an antibiotic.

After we left his doctor, we headed for mine. I have an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis. Turns out the sinus infection I had a couple of weeks ago never left and caused more problems.

I’m feeling pretty good today. I’ve been mixing cocktails of Z pack, codeine cough syrup and some Theraflu topped off with some Vicks. God I love Vicks. Jack seems on the mend. He actually was asleep before 9 pm last night. That’s a big change from the 10 or 10:30 he’s been doing.

I’ve got big plans this weekend of doing all those lovely chores I’ve been putting off this week. Unless I still don’t feel up to it. They may just need to wait a couple more days.

Since starting Project Life, I’ve found some really good sources for journaling cards on Etsy. I have found more Project Life cards. My newest find is from Project Radness. She offers digital designs for you to print your own journal cards. Don’t have a color printer? It’s cool because she’ll have them printed for you for a low fee and then send them your way. Just be sure to message her before you buy. That’s what I did.

I love her designs because the colors are so vibrant. Just what I’m looking for when making our Project Life scrapbook. Our book features 2 males and then me. So, I’m not looking for too many girly additions. Looking for girly additions, she’s got those too.  I love her choices of color combinations. I’m totally digging the orange/gray and yellow/gray combos.

I also think her designs are pretty cool and contemporary. By that, I mean that her designs give a modern feel to our book. Since our book consists of our family, so I’m looking for pieces or colors that appeal to our whole family.

She also offers monthly themed sets. Right now, she has a few different February designs to choose from. I’m pretty sure that I’ll find myself ordering a set each month. Not only does she offer month sets, she also offers different sets with a weekday card such as Sunday or Tuesday.

I’m pretty sure Project Radness is not going to help my Project Life addiction. Just when I thought I was getting a grip……

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I ordered from Project Radness on my own and paid for my items out of pocket.

I’ve been struggling as a parent lately. Pretty much the issue is that I’m too soft and Jack is four. It’s not really a good combination right now. I tell him one thing and I get “NEVER!!!!” or some other remark. Me being too soft, I let it go and go about my day.  Bedtime is becoming our biggest obstacle. I tell him very nicely that it’s time for bed and it doesn’t turn out so nice. I know that I need to be more stern, but I wonder if I have it in me. In general, I’m a quiet person. Not quiet in the form that I don’t talk. Believe me, I talk a lot. But I’m not one to raise my voice very often.

I keep telling myself that I have to nip this behavior in the butt before he ends up being 14 years old and he starts down a wrong path. I’m probably over exaggerating because I like to do that a lot. I’m an over thinker.  But I’m stuck on a way to make this happen.

I know some of it has to do with the fact that he is four and this can be tough age for everyone. A friend once told me that the 3s were bad, the 4s were worse and it doesn’t get better until they hit 5. I’m starting to think that is true.

I also know that it’s my job as a parent to explain the rules and enforce them. That’s where I’m getting stuck. I can explain them all day to I’m out of breath. But I’m doing a very good job at enforcing. You know it’s bad that a former daycare told me I needed to be more stern with Jack. I thought it was not her place to say that, but it’s true.

Do you have preschool aged children or children at all? What techniques do you use to help enforce your rules?

I sometimes find myself sitting at my desk wondering what we are going to have supper. If it’s one of those days, I normally end up ordering pizza. Instead of delivery, I end up going to pick up the pizza myself. I also found it very convenient that there is a Little Caesars right on the way home. I love them because there is no ordering over the phone. I can just stop in and take advantage of their current promotion for the $5 HOT-N-READY Pizza and we are good to go for supper.

Doing this saves me time of having to go home, order the pizza and then either wait for delivery or make another trip somewhere.  Most of all, it saves me money. Have you ordered pizza for your family lately? Maybe it’s just me, but it sure is getting expensive. I can order two $5 HOT-N-READY Pizzas and have a quick and easy supper for the three of us for just $10. I also save a bit on gas since I’m not driving all the way home only to leave again.

Want to know if you have a Little Caesars in your town? Use the store locator to find out. You can also find Little Caesars on Facebook and Twitter.

Would you like to win a Little Caesars gift card so you and your family can enjoy a $5 HOT-N-READY Pizza? One winner will win a $5 gift card to Little Caesars. Just leave a comment below about what is your favorite pizza. For extra entries, you can follow me via any social media outlets. Please see the right side of this blog for options and leave a comment for each one you do. This giveaway will end on February 9^th. Please be sure to leave your email address.

Disclosure: I received a gift card in return for this post. All thoughts are my own.

I’m going to BlogHer 12 this summer in New York City. Like the true planner I am, I’ve been watching the cost of flights. I live in Iowa and I have  three airports I can choose from.

I could fly out of Omaha which is usually the most cost effective. But when you add the cost of gas for the 1 ½ hour drive and usually a hotel, it’s worth looking into flying out of somewhere smaller but more local. To me, it’s worth paying a bit more for the flight if that means I can fly from somewhere where I don’t need a hotel room or find someone to bring and pick me up, or worry about leaving my car parked for five days in strange city.

We do have a local airport, it’s SUX. It doesn’t suck but that’s the airport code. Love it, don’t ya? Here is my issue with them. Or should I say, was my issue. Until recently, the cost to fly out to NYC had gotten close to $1000. While out of Omaha was $254 at its lowest price. The difference is definitely worth driving down to Omaha, paying the gas and hotel room.

However, American Airlines has come to town and so far it’s proved to benefit me. On opening day, flights from SUX to NYC were only in the $390 range! It was only $50 more than Omaha. That is so worth not having to make the drive to Omaha and all that comes along with it. Of course, I should have booked but couldn’t. After checking today, my flight went up to just over $500. Which is about $100 more than Omaha. But, it’s still worth the extra $100 after I factor in a $79 hotel room and gas.

It will probably be a week or two before I buy and I’m pretty persistent on checking the costs. I just hope they can continue to keep the pricing competitive. I do have to say that I’m excited that American Airlines is here and they do SUX. I mean that is the most nicest way possible.