thebestmoms.com

Let me be brutally honest…I have a soda problem. By soda problem I mean that I have not written a grocery list in the past 10 years that did not specifically say “Soda”…even when I had plenty in the pantry. It all started when my mom would buy Diet Coke when I was a kid, and it was her treat. We kids we supposed to drink water or milk(which I still don’t drink), even Kool Aid, but never mom’s Diet Cokes. I would often come home after school and open the back of the 12 pack box of Diet Coke and sneak one all for myself before she came home from work and when she got home, not a soda was missing from what she could see. Skillz.


I have been known to send the Mr. to the store on a soda run in the middle of the night because it is just that serious to me. He’ll happily tell you that I’m not doing that anymore. The people over at Soda Stream USA sent us a fountain jet and all of the soda flavors that we would need to give the Soda Stream a try. At first, I was a little intimidated because it does have the pressurized carbonators and I didn’t want to, well, blow up-as usual, an over reaction on my part. Then I flipped over the machine looking for a plug and couldn’t find any so I finally decided to read the instructions. It turned out to be very simple to click in the carbonator and go-no plug, no batteries.

Now for the embarrassing part of my story…

After getting it set up (and once you get yours and see just how simple it is to set up, you’ll say that I should have labeled my last paragraph as embarrassing as well), I threw my instructions aside-how difficult can it be from this point, right? I stuck the soda stream bottle, filled to the fill line with tap water, right up under the carbonator, pressed the button and got sprayed like a clown in a circus! My kids LOVED it! It turns out that you are supposed to screw the bottle in (its way simpler than it sounds) not just hold it there, while you shoot carbonation into it. After drying off and doing it the right way, we had soda!

Now, I’m a soda snob-true story-and I was worried that it wouldn’t be bubbly or that the flavors would be ‘just okay’ but I was pleasantly surprised. The sodas were very good and you would have never guessed they were made with tap water. Now that I have used it for the past month, making soda has become second nature and it only takes a minute to do. The kids love watching me make the soda and they take turns picking their flavors. We have even had a get together recently and used the soda stream to make mixers for our cocktails-super convenient because who wants to run back to the store mid-get-together? And because the soda stream doesn’t need electricity, we plan on taking it to the beach and camping this spring.


Do we still buy sodas? Yes-not as many though. That may very well change if they ever come out with a Cherry Coke Zero flavor for the machine! Oh, and one last thing, for you energy drinkers-they also have a sodamix for energy drinks that taste-I kid you not-just like Red Bull and according to their web site, it costs about $0.20 per serving, not $2. Give it a try-we did, we were skeptical, and we were pleasantly surprised.

Check out their web site to learn more and to learn about the green aspects of the sodastream and see how soda stream stacks up against the national soda brands in calories, sodium, carbs and sugar-something to think about.

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TheBestMoms.com was provided a soda stream unit and an assortment of sodamix flavors for the purpose of reviewing the product(s). TheBestMoms.com was not compensated for, nor influenced in writing this review.

Have you ever heard one of your kids recite an entire song from the radio with out any effort, then turn around and swear to you that they just can’t remember anything that the teacher has taught them? Yeah, us too! Luckily, the geniuses over at Rock N’ Learn figured out a way to help our kids understand division-with their title Division Rap!

The kids we tested this DVD out on loved it-and we’re sure your child will love it, too! So much so, that two of our lucky readers will be getting their very own copy of Division Rap-FREE! All you have to do is fill out the form below to be considered-Good Luck!

To learn more about Rock N’ Learn and all of their educational titles, go to RockNLearn.com today!


Here’s a clip from their Multiplication Rap title below:


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What do you get the girl that’s gone tech? My Secret Diary for Nintendo DS! We had the opportunity to give this new Nintendo DS game a try and it was fantastic. Your daughter will be able to password protect her journal entries, keeping them safe from pesky little brothers, and send her friends that also have a Nintendo DS secret messages when they are 30 meters apart or less. Think diary under the mattress, computerized.


We love this title and we are sure you will, too-infact, two of our lucky readers will be getting this title in their mailbox for simply filling out the form below. Good Luck!!


About this title:
My Secret Diary is a fun new diary and organizer game. Store your secrets, keep a journal, have fun with mini-games, and send secret messages and invitations to keep in touch with your friends. Store and set reminders for special events, and stay in the know by saving your friend’s birthdays, contact information and personal details. Customize your profile to record your personal information and update your calendar. Play a variety of different games, personality tests and mood quizzes.

The Nutcracker and The Mouse King is not your average Christmas tale! This highly imaginative story tells an enchanting tale of Christmas magic and fantasy. In fact, we enjoyed the story so much that we are on our second reading of it at our house. This is a wonderful Christmas story with drama, excitement, magic and fantasy that has been richly illustrated so that you can not help but feel apart of the tale yourself.


About The Nutcracker and The Mouse King:

On Christmas Eve, Godfather Drosselmeier has arrived with gifts of marvel and enchantment for his young godchildren.  Goddaughter Marie falls in love a bewitching nutcracker doll and claims him as her own.  Yet when the clock strikes midnight, something terribly amazing happens to Godfather’s handcrafted toys…they come alive.  Marie is swept off her feet on an incredible journey with the Nutcracker in this astonishing classic story by E.T.A. Hoffman.  Critically acclaimed artist Gail de Marcken’s stunning illustrations bring this spellbinding tale to life.
Retail Value: $18.99

To learn more Click Here

And guess what? Two of our very lucky readers will get their very own copy of The Nutcracker and The Mouse King just for filling our the form below!

If you are looking for a heartwarming story this holiday season, you can not go wrong with The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thomas and Caldecott Honor. This story tells the story of a very loving and caring Santa that cares for all children individually. Along with a beautiful story about the magic that goes into Christmas, the illustrations provided by Artist Jon J Muth bring the story to life in a way that children love.This story can easily become a classic in your household that both you and your children can enjoy.

About The Christmas Magic:
Far, far North, when the nights are longest and the stars shine brightest, Santa begins to prepare for his big night of giving. He gathers his reindeer, feeds them parsnips and berries, and polishes his bells and his sled. Then lovingly, he chooses toys for every child in the world. For Santa loves them all, and he knows what each child at heart wants most. Then, with the thrum of magic that makes reindeers fly, he spreads the Christmas joy and warmth throughout the world–as he always has — and always will until the end of time.  From best-selling author Lauren Thomas, and Caldecott Honor Artist Jon J Muth. To learn more Click Here


Two of our very lucky readers will get their very own copy of The Christmas Magic just for filling our the form below!