And the winner is....

#6... Amy! Amy and her family have won the family 4 pack of tickets to see Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's Zing Zang Zoom show on opening night, Wednesday, May 13th!

Sometimes I just ask Matt or Madison to pick a number for me to select winners, but since MANY of my close friends had all entered this contest, I used random.org to generate the winning number so that it was completely unbiased!

Have fun Amy and family!

Zing Zang Zoom: The Circus is Coming to Town!

It's the Greatest Show on Earth! And, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey want you and your family to get to see it! Come experience the all new Zing Zang Zoom circus playing at the Wachovia Spectrum!

How would you like to win a 4 pack of tickets to see the circus on opening night, Wednesday, May 13th? All you need to do is leave a comment to this post that includes your email address! This contest will end on Monday, May 4th and a winner will be notified! Good luck.

For all of you who may not be lucky enough to win the contest, I am excited to offer you a special discount offer on tickets to see this amazing show.

Purchase a 4 pack of tickets for only $44 by logging onto http://www.comcasttix.com and entering the coupon code: MOM**.

Don't forget that your tickets include a FREE All Access Pre-Show one hour before the performance begins

** Tickets can also be purchased by calling 1-800-298-4200. Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4, can be purchased for $11 each. Special Promotional pricing not available for VIP Gold, VIP, Circus Celebrity Seating or combined with any other offers. Other service fees may apply.

Philadelphia Show Dates:
Wednesday, May 13th at 7:00pm Thursday, May 14th at 7:00pm
Friday, May 15th at 10:30am
Friday, May 15th at 7:00pm
Saturday, May 16th at 11:00am
Saturday, May 16th at 3:00pm
Saturday, May 16th at 7:00pm
Sunday, May 17th at 1:00pm
Sunday, May 17th at 5:00pm

Enjoy!

Spot Shot rocks!

A few weeks ago, our friends at Mom Central asked me if I wanted to try out a new carpet cleaning product called Spot Shot. Now, given that I am the mother of 2 small children and a dog owner, carpet cleaners are something that I know a thing or two about! I was definitely willing to try something new to try to fight some of our nasty carpet stains. The best part is that Spot Shot is non-toxic and environmentally friendly!

The sample arrived complete with a product testing kit. They included a piece of sample carpet along with chocolate and amonia to "stain" the carpet with and the product to clean up the stains with. The Spot Shot completely removed all of the chocolate stain and all of the amonia odor! I was impressed.

I also wanted to try the Spot Shot on my own carpet stains, so I headed for the toughest stain in my whole house! I am completely embarrassed to admit that the photo below is a section of carpet in my master bedroom. While I was in my early pregnancy with McKenna and not feeling so well in the mornings, I set Maddie up on our floor with breakfast and a sippy cup to watch some television while I tried to muster the strength to get on with the day. And, well, the carpet took a little bit of a beating as a result of that!

And, below is that same section of carpet 5 minutes later. I promise... it's the same section of carpet and no trick photography. Spot Shot worked on even an OLD stain that I thought was never coming out! And, there was no scrubbing necessary! I just sprayed it on and started to blot and rub out the stain and it was gone. I am impressed with this product. If you have some stubborn stains in your house, it's worth giving it a try!

Happy cleaning!

Ask you doctor: Vusion Ointment

As a mother of a soon-to-be one year old, I know all too well that sometimes despite all of our best efforts, diaper rashes can occur. And, sometimes those rashes can be severe.

Severe diaper rash can sometimes be the result of yeast coming in contact with irritated skin and causing a yeast infection. Did you know that there is a prescription strength product to help your baby feel better quickly when the over-the-counter ointments just aren't working? I didn't know about this product until I heard about it from our friends over at Mom Central.

Vusion Ointment's prescription strength medication helps combat diaper rash complicated by yeast infections. This gentle ointment, the only FDA approved medication to treat this type of diaper rash, treats babies as young as 4 weeks old.

Next time your baby has a severe diaper rash, call your doctor and ask about Vusion Ointment.

The Greatest Show on Earth

Nothing quite compares to the experience of the circus: the anticipation followed by the sheer excitement of the lights coming up, the performers riding in on elephants, the colorful clowns, and the acrobats flying through the air. Attending a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus provides more than just a day out. It creates a memory that lasts a lifetime and a tradition that can be carried on from year to year and generation to generation. From the laughs that come at the clowns' expense, the gasps of delight at seeing a motorcycle making its way across the high wire, and the huge grins that come from seeing elephants and tigers up close, the circus truly feels synonymous with childhood.

I was so excited when the circus came here to Philadelphia this past spring. I have very fond memories of the circus from my own childhood, and knew that my animal-loving 3 year old daughter would just be blown away. So, we surprised her one Saturday with a day at the circus. We had so much fun together that day and the smile she had plastered on her face is permenantly etched in my mind.

Here she is with her FREE blinking clown nose - huge hit!

Mommy and Maddie making circus memories together!

To celebrate a variety of new and exciting Ringling Bros. shows in cities across the country this fall, I'd love to share a 20% discount code to my readers who live in or have family/friends in the following areas:

Indianapolis, IN - Sept. 4-7, 2008
Kansas City, MO - Sept. 10-14, 2008
Grand Rapids, MI - Sept. 18-21, 2008
Denver, CO - Oct. 2-13, 2008
Boston, MA – Oct. 8-13, 2008
Cleveland, OH - Oct. 24 - Nov. 2, 2008
Chicago, IL - Nov. 6 - 30, 2008
St. Louis, MO - Nov. 6-9, 2008
Auburn Hills, MI - Nov. 12 - 16, 2008
Highland Heights, KY - Feb 27 - Mar. 1, 2009
Cincinnati, OH - Mar. 4 - 8, 2009

To get your 20% discount on any of the above-listed shows, please use the code MCC. Feel free to spread the word to your friends and family near those areas. You can simply go to ringling.com and type your zip code to find the shows and purchase tickets online with the code!

And, in case you didn't know, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey offers a Baby's First Circus program! To help start the family traditions early, the Baby’s First Circus program allows babies to receive a free ticket voucher that can be exchanged for a free ticket to any Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performance, anytime, anywhere. No expiration date! Check for details online.

Have a great time under the Big Top!

Get Organized!

Heard about this great new organizational tool from Mom Central and just wanted to share it with everyone!

As Moms, we all participate in so many groups and activities that it can be hard to keep everything straight. From volunteering as a classroom Mom to coaching your son or daughter's sports team, getting groups organized can feel like managing the unmanageable, taking up time in already jam-packed days.

Enter Qlubb.com, which makes organizing your homeroom parent meetings, playgroups or book clubs incredibly easy. Qlubb is a web-based service that helps organize your real-life groups online, providing all the functions needed to easily and actively participate within a group. Qlubb allows you to connect, plan meetings, assign responsibilities and share pictures with all of the members of your group at once. Features include an event calendar, sign-up sheets, member rosters, a task reminder service, and bulletin boards, which every member of your community can access and update from their home computers.

Accessing and using the site is incredibly easy for even the least computer-savvy members. Qlubb's secure sign-in protects group information, so only members of your group have access. However, participants don't have to individually register and can simply sign in using the group password.

Go check it out and get some organization back into your life!