Yanni is Back and He brought Some Friends

I will start by saying I have had no previous experience with Yanni's music, I've always known him as some new Age instrumental guy, but never really followed him. So, this CD was really a happy surprise.

I liked knowing that the artists were asked to write their own lyrics to Yanni's instrumentals, a nice collaberative effort. Right off, the first track Omaggio grabbed my attention because it was so uplifting. Nathan Pacheco's voice really blends well with the instrumentals. I also liked the 2nd track with Leslie Mills, The Keeper. It's really upbeat and snappy and kept my attention. I found Chloe's song Set Me Free to be a nice ballad that was both relaxing and a bit haunting. It is definitely one of the more contemporary songs on the CD. While I love Ender Thomas' voice, I was sad that both of his songs were sung in Spanish. I would have liked to hear him sing something more contemporary in English.

All in all the CD is a nice, relaxed listen that I would enjoy in an adult setting, like at a casual dinner party or as background music in a nice restaurant. There was a point halfway through when I thought the songs kind of started to sound the same, but I will definitely keep this CD around for moments when I need to bring the stress level down.

Disney on Ice - Turns Out Mr. Incredible Can Skate!

One of the blessings this blog has given me is the opportunity to work with businesses like Feld Entertainment and Mom Central.

Feld Entertainment and Mom Central were nice enough to send us to Disney on Ice last week, where we had a wonderful time enjoying the Disneyland Adventure themed skating show.

I have to be honest, I was a little afraid that my boys might not be into ice skating. But they seemed excited by the fact that it was Disney related, as our recent first trip to Disneyland is still fresh in their minds.

When we got to the US Airways arena we were able to meet and visit with other Mom Bloggers from Mom Central. We met some really great folks (Melanie at My Little Patch of Sunshine and the Hartung Family whose blog address I misplaced!) and had a light dinner before the Incredibles showed up for pictures. Our family loves the Incredibles...we so identify with their family dynamic!

The boys were really interested in looking cool with their cousin, who was our guest for the night!

After shaking hands with Mr. Incredible we went to the arena and took our seats. The souvenir vendors were out in force and of course the kids had to have a souvenir, and thankfully Grandma gave me some pocket money for the event. The boys chose a Dash cup with a snowcone in it. Pretty cool.

The show itself was really fun, the storyline was the adventures of The Incredible family as they visited Disneyland. It was really fun to see the different parts of the park being represented as the show unfolded...Frontierland, Pirates of the Caribbean, even the Teacups were all part of the presentation! Of course Syndrome showed up to try create some chaos and Frozone showed up to assist the Incredibles. The special effects created with the lighting were really interesting and fun and the skaters were all very talented, doing jumps and spins and really giving their all to make a good show.

Remember a few posts back when I was wondering how Mr. Incredible would do on ice? Pretty darn good, let me tell ya! The out-of-shape Mr. Incredible was the in-shape guy with a big belly pad.

The little girl behind us loved, loved, loved the show and screamed her lungs out everytime a new Disney character popped out onto the ice. My boys thought her reaction was a bit extreme (I think the exact quote was "she was crazy and LOUD, mom!") but I thought she was really cute and it was hilarious to see her get so excited.

The Disney on Ice show is over here in Phoenix but it's still going on in other parts of the country! Here's a link with the show schedules. It is a really fun way to spend an evening and if you go to Ticketmaster.com you can still get tickets. be sure to enter the coupon code MOM to get a discount on a family 4-pack!

Feld Entertainment has been in business since the 1960's and run by the same family for 3 generations. They focus on quality family entertainment and along with Disney on Ice, they also put on Ringling Barnum and Bailey Circus and Disney Live shows. One of the things that impressed me about Feld Entertaiment is their contributions to communities they visit. Through their ticket donations, Feld has provided more than 330,000 children with an opportunity to attend one of their wonderful productions.

Land's End Comes Out with New UV Protective Clothing!

This is NOT and advertisement, you can see the advertisement on my review blog.

Okay, have you seen my kids? They are difinitely fair skinned and prone to burning, which makes living in the middle of the desert a difficult thing.

Up til now it has been a constant battle of wills to get them to wear sunscreen. They are doing much better about covering their heads though. "It's stinks! It's sticky! It feels gross! It burns my eyes!" are all things I hear when I try slather them with stuff or spray them on their way out the door so they can run around outside.

So as a person who knows how badly sun can damage your skin, I am glad Land's End has come out with this new line of clothing. I am actually really excited to try it and seeing as how we are going to reach almost 90 today, I will soon have the chance!

Can I just take this opportunity to say again how much I despise living in Phoenix in the summer? March 2nd...the rest of the country gets snow, we get 90 degrees. I'm scared...will we reach 100 in April? I'm not ready for the brain searing heat, people!

New Snuggle Creme $2 Coupon

Laundry is one of those necessary evils in life...nobody really likes it, but it has to be done! One thing that helps me get through it is knowing that my clothes will smell nice and clean and feel soft to the touch when I pull them out of the dryer and put them on. Yeah...we pretty much get dressed by the dryer, 'cause I never get caught up enough to have all my clothes folded and put away.



Anyway...the folks at Snuggle have a new product and have offered all of my readers a $2 off coupon for their new fabric creme. I know...creme. It sounds so luxurious, doesn't it? Now for the record, I have not tried the product yet, but I am definitely up for an experiment when I have a $2 coupon to help me save on my purchase!

It's available in two indulgent scents - Sweet Almond and Jojoba Essence. It has a rich, creamy textures and delicate fragrance designed to leave your clothes feeling smooth.

The Liquid concentrate comes in 32, 50, 150 load bottles and it now comes in sheets as well, which come in boxes of 70 count and 105 count. I'm all for the dryer sheets...I'm totally into convenience!

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR $2 Coupon