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.

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!

This DVD is suggested for 3rd-5th graders and our kids loved it. The Life Science DVD discusses the Life Cycle of a butterfly, the food chain and food web, plant and animal cells, and then there’s the rubber plant that entertains with his catchy songs. We really love Rock N’ Learn’s approach to educational DVDs because they strike a great balance between comedy, visual stimulation and educational facts that really help kids ‘get it’ with out being preachy and with out going over their heads.

Now-what’s even better than finding a DVD that kids love so much that you find them watching it and singing along again and again? Winning the DVD! That’s right-two of our readers will get to win this DVD just for filling out the form below

About Rock N’ Learn (from their web site):
Rock ’N Learn, Inc. began as an idea that would help children learn by putting educational material to music with a current sound—the kind of music that kids enjoy and find motivating. Now with over 50 products, we have sold millions of audio/book and video programs to teachers and parents throughout the United States, Canada, and other countries.

Visit Rock N’ Learn online and see all of the titles they have available today at:
RockNLearn.com

-Creating new outfits for their new friends with hundreds of cool looks, hairstyles, sunglasses and clothes

-Playing mini-games with their friends including Treasure Hunt, Tag, and Ball Rush

-Collecting toys, snacks, gifts and surprises and sharing them with their friends

-Their friends will share new games to play, new places to explore and cool new clothes, hairstyles and looks for them to try out

-They will be able to explore the playground, the woods, the ice-rink, soccer pitch and more in Friends World for special items and un-lockable items

-Swap yourtheir friends and gifts with other Nintendo DS players or chat with them using DS Wireless Connection

See the trailer below:

Two of our lucky readers will win a copy of this game just for entering their information below.

We viewed Gotta Catch Santa Claus with kids ranging in age from 2 to 12 and they all agreed, Gotta Catch Santa is a hit! Watch the clip below to see for yourself:

Funky, fun and fabulous-enjoy a modern Christmas tale with Gotta Catch Santa Claus!

Suggested Retail Price: $19.98

SPECIAL FEATURES
Deleted Scenes
Santa Behind-the-Scenes Footage
2 Sing-Along Songs

About this DVD:
Title Copyright: © 2007 Enemes Inc./Gotta Catch Santa Claus Inc., a subsidiary of Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. Cookie Jar™ and Gotta Catch Santa Claus™ Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

Because different types of chocolate are made with different ingredients, we have included the four formulas for making modeling chocolate at home, no matter what your flavor. This recipe is for real chocolate or real chocolate chips. You can try to use almond bark or candy melts, but some have quite a lot of vegetable oil in them and can cause the chocolate clay to be greasy or softer. If that happens, blot the extra oil with paper towels then, if your clay is too soft, stick it in the refrigerator for a little while. Keep in mind when working with modeling chocolate that all modeling chocolate gets softer with the heat from your hands-if you find your piece getting to soft, just walk away for a little while and it will stiffen up.

Dark Modeling Chocolate: (use this one if you are trying to make black modeling chocolate-you’ll use less food coloring and get a better effect!)
7 ounces (200 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips
1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup

Semi-Sweet Modeling Chocolate:
7 ounces (200 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chips
3 1/2 - 4 tablespoons light corn syrup

White Modeling Chocolate: (you can color this with gel food coloring or paint after its been formed with gel food coloring and vodka)
7 ounces (200 grams) white chocolate, chopped or chips
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Milk Modeling Chocolate:
7 ounces (200 grams) Milk Chocolate or chips
2 1/2 - 3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions:

1) First, melt your chocolate in a double boiler (you can also use a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water).

2) Stir your chocolate until it is fully melted.

3) Remove your melted chocolate from the heat and stir a little more to make sure that it is completely melted.

4) Add the corn syrup to the melted chocolate.( Your chocolate will start to get very thick and clay like pretty fast). Keep stirring until completely combined.

5) Put the modeling chocolate into a sturdy plastic freezer bag and refrigerate or leave at room temperature until firm (appx 2 hours).

6) When the clay is firm, knead it until it is soft enough to work with. If you find it too hard to work with, cut it off into small pieces (skip the refrigerator next time), and knead until soft and pliable. You should grease the counter or table where you are working with oil or non stick spray so the chocolate won’t stick.

7) You did it! Now make something just like you would out of regular clay-flowers, letters, animals-there really is no limit other than your imagination.

What if you don’t use it all? Well, if it is wrapped well, it should keep for months-although its really hard to be sure because anytime I have extra, I let the kids make little characters and eat them

Disclaimer: As with all recipes, TheBestMoms.com does not guarantee what your results will be. We just know what works for us, and we provide recipes to the public in the hopes that your results will be as good as ours were. Please feel free to contact us with any feedback and/or photos of your creations!