Reviews & Giveaways

Ready to Get My S’More On

June 17, 2011 by melissa

You guys know that my family loves to be outside. A couple of years ago, we took Big Roo on his first camping trip. Not only did he sleep under the stars for the first time, he got his first taste of gooey, chocolately S’mores.

I’ll never forget his curiosity in watching the marshmallows roast. And that wide-open mouth as he tries to devour all the layers in one bite. It’s one of my fave memories of our first camping trip.

This summer, the Hershey Company is encouraging families to create their own S’mores memories with the Say S’mores campaign. And I’ll be working with them to spread the word.

Dang, that looks yum-tastic.

Capture and share your fave S’mores moment on their Facebook page for a chance to win some super awesome prizes like the grand-prize Canon Rebel Camera, slate marble outdoor firebowl, $250 SnapFish gift card, roasting skewers set and all of the ingredients needed to make S’mores, including Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars.

Plus, if you visit the page to download the Say S’mores application so you can participate in monthly photo contests, you’ll receive a $1 coupon good toward the purchase of any two Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar 6-packs. SWEET.

So, where does Adventuroo come in? Well, later this summer I’ll be posting something S’more-rific (but it’s a surprise theme- even I don’t know yet)! And I’ll be giving away a S’more kit so you and your fam can enjoy all the chocolate and gooeyness too.

In the meantime, grab your roasting stick and go check out the Hershey’s Facebook page to get your S’more on.

This post is a part of my participation in the Hershey’s “Say S’Mores” promotion. All opinions are mine.

The Elusive Date Night: Found!

May 23, 2011 by melissa

Before we had kids, we decided we weren’t going to be “those parents.” Ya know, the ones who NEVER went out on dates. We figured we’d at least have a couple of dates a month. Hellooooo, babysitter.

Um, yeah.

It’s been over four years since we brought Big Roo into the world. We laugh whenever we think of our pre-kid proclamation.

That’s not to say we don’t EVER go on dates. But to give you an example, since Little Roo was born 15 months ago, we’ve been on maybe five or six dates. I say MAYBE because I can honestly only remember like three but I’m sure my forever-baby-brain brain forgot one or two. I’m pretty sure one was a work Christmas party too so that probably doesn’t even count. According to our 2006 selves, we should have had 30 dates since Little Roo graced us. Hahahahahaha.

So, why don’t we have dates that often? Money and time. Mostly money cause I sure as hell would make the time. When you don’t have in-laws nearby, dates become a $100 affair for dinner and a movie. Even “cheap dates” still call for a babysitter (need to get on the co-op thing).

That’s why I was STOKED to get tickets from Disney to see the new Pirates of Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides.

Who? What? US? A date? Do you see how excited we are?

Look ma- no kids!

I honestly didn’t know what to expect with the movie. I mean, you get to the fourth movie in a series and you wonder if the series will jump the shark. But I was pleasantly surprised.

First off, I just loved that the movie brought back a “treasure hunt” we’re all familiar with: the search for the fountain of youth. The movie even brought one of the most famous pirates of all into the mix: Blackbeard. Oh yeah, and there were mermaids that freaked me out yet mesmerized me at the same time (the visuals in those mermaid scenes were fantastic). I actually enjoyed Penelope Cruz’s character even better than Keira Knightley’s. Did I mention those mermaids? They sure weren’t anything close to Ariel.

In fact, the movie was so great I felt pirate-y afterwards. Arrrrrgggghhhh, me hearty.

Like my dreads?

We were back in about 3.5 hours and spent most of the time watching a movie. BUT we did get to talk in the car to and from the movie without kids talking over us, screaming in the background or wondering aloud if we’re “there yet.” And that was just as great as staring at Johnny Depp—I mean, watching the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

So, tell me: how often do YOU get out for date night?

Disclaimer: I was given free tickets to the Pirates of the Caribbean 4 screening but decided to write this because helloooo we had a date. Let’s hope there are more dates in our future.

Barefoot Books: Review and Giveaway

May 17, 2011 by melissa

Books. Books. Books.

We’re big on books around this house. We read three books to Big Roo every night and Little Roo gets a couple too (super short ones since he doesn’t sit still long).

We also love letting the kids explore. The house, the yard, wherever. Big Roo has such a BIG imagination at his young age and I like to think it’s because we encourage him to be creative, instead of stifle him.

So, when I got my hands on some books and activity decks from Barefoot Books, I was in creative, nature-y, zen heaven.

Why I Like Barefoot Books

The company was started by two moms who “wanted their children to have books that would feed the imagination, while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet.” I love this! In a world of tv and video games (which we love in moderation), it’s so refreshing to see a company that creates products that are so good for young souls. I also love that they’re social media savvy. The have an active You Tube channel with fun animations of their books and even podcasts with new songs and stories each week. Fun, right?

Their books and their activity decks are packed full of great ideas and stories. One thing I noticed about the decks is that they’re full of various levels of ability. For example, in the Yoga Planet deck, we can do some of the poses and activities but others we can’t. I like this because he can grow into them.

The decks are also so easy to follow. The fronts of the cards include supplies you’ll need, time to make and other key info while the backs include more detailed instructions. This makes it easy to pick an activity right for us at that very moment.

Finally, the books. The artwork is so colorful and vivid that the kids can’t help but be drawn to them. The content is educational in a not-so-boring way. I love the fact that the kids can learn about the world around them through fun rhymes and interesting stories.

Big Roo’s Favorites

Big Roo was super excited to get a package full of goodies. The activity decks really piqued his interest. As I mentioned, we’ve been working through all three decks we received.

The Kids’ Kitchen includes 40 recipes divided into five categories. Big Roo LOVES to cook, even when it’s boring stuff. So imagine how excited he was to cook recipes like Topsy-Turvy Munchies and Fab Fruit Gelatin. I love the variety in the recipes. Some are super easy and some take a little more effort. Here’s the gelatin we made:

As you know, we’re also outdoor junkies. The Kids’ Garden deck has 40 activities for both outdoors AND indoors. We started off with a simple one… to measure the rain by placing a jar outside with a ruler taped to it. Big Roo kept asking to go check on it during our last thunderstorm. I was pleasantly surprised just how excited he was by it (even after the dog knocked over the first inch of water)!

When we first opened the Yoga Planet deck, I had no idea I was in for an hour of “games” as he called them. He sifted through the cards, holding one up and saying “I wanna try this one!” To say he got a kick out of this is an understatement. I mean, who can argue with hanging upside down?

A lot of the moves in this deck were above his age level, but we had fun trying anyway. Some aren’t even poses. They are exercises and games like Don’t Wake the Dragon, Rainbow Breath and Appreciation Circle that help kids connect with others and gain greater awareness of their own bodies.

Finally, Big Roo also received some books. He is absolutely in love the The Beeman. It’s a story of a beeman’s job, told in a fun, catchy rhyme. He’s always asking about the types of bees (queen, worker, etc) in the book so it’s fun to see him that interested in the way nature works.

Little Roo’s Favorite

There were some goodies for Little Roo as well. His favorite was easy: Who’s in the Garden? It’s a peek-a-boo book where he can look through holes to see different animals in the garden. As you can see, it’s a hit:

Win a Book or Deck of Your Choice!

Barefoot Books has over 500 books and decks to choose from and you can have any one of them! We’re giving away a Barefoot book or activity deck of your choice so you can break out some yoga moves of your own or watch your kid light up with a peek-a-boo book.

Mandatory Entry

Visit Barefoot Books and then leave a comment with the book or card deck you’d love to win.

Extra Entries

If you’d like more chances to win, leave a comment for each one of these you do:

Like Barefoot Books on Facebook
Follow Barefoot Books on Twitter
Like Adventuroo on Facebook
Tweet this: I just entered to win my choice of book or activity deck from @livebarefoot and @adventuroo! Stop by and enter: http://ht.ly/4WmDG

The giveaway ends on May 29, 2011 11:59 p.m. Giveaway is open to US and Canada. Winner will be drawn on May 30 and notified via email (and I’ll post it too). Winner will have 48 hours to respond. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I received a box of books and card decks to review. The opinions are all from me (and the kids).

Rustic Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

April 19, 2011 by melissa

Tomatoes and I have a strange history. I enjoy (and don’t enjoy) tomatoes according to my own spectrum. On one end, you have something like raw tomato slices on a sandwich. Blech. That’s my “don’t enjoy” side. Just can’t do them raw.

In the middle somewhere, you have fresh salsa. I LOVE LOVE LOVE salsa but as long as it’s not too chunky like pico de gallo. I know it’s raw (just like that sliced tomato) but for some reason it doesn’t bother me.

At the other end of that spectrum you have cooked tomatoes. That’s the REALLY enjoy side of it. I’ll eat cooked tomatoes all day long. Tomato soup, tomato sauce, cooked diced tomatoes… I could go on and on like Bubba about his Bubba Gump shrimp.

While Big Roo has no clue what the government considers dietary guidelines for Americans, what he does know is that eating veggies makes him strong. Tomatoes are no exception. In fact, the guidelines actually say that people should try to eat one more serving of them each day since they’re good for your heart. (I’ll do it as long as they’re cooked!)

While I don’t share recipes all that often on Adventuroo, my hubby and I make this rustic spaghetti sauce that’ll knock your socks off with its taste and simplicity. We use canned tomatoes like Hunt’s for a couple of reasons. One: I don’t actually like cutting up raw tomatoes (remember my spectrum?) and two: the lycopene in canned tomatoes is easier for your body to use than from raw tomatoes, and you get seven times more lycopene from canned tomatoes than from the raw version. That statistic blows my mind.

I want to dedicate this recipe to Big Roo because this kid has a LOVE of cooking just like his parents. He watches cooking shows, he helps us in the kitchen and he eats veggies like no other kid I know. He’s only four but he already appreciate healthy food that’s yummy to boot. Now, onto the recipe…

Rustic Spaghetti Sauce

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cans Hunt’s whole plum tomatoes

2 tablespoons Hunt’s tomato paste

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (herb blend)

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons sugar

salt to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and onions. Cook until onions are transparent, about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle salt on the onions and add Italian seasoning.

Now… it’s only rustic if you get to be messy. Open your cans of Hunt’s whole tomatoes and squeeze them into the pan just like this:

Now doesn’t that look like fun? So, Daddy Roo got to squeeze them this time but we let Big Roo squeeze them into a bowl first so he doesn’t have to lean over the stove. Kids love squishing food!

Let it simmer while you boil your pasta noodles. Reserve some of the pasta water to use in the sauce to get it the consistency you want. Just remember it’s rustic so it’ll be chunky!

When you’re done with the sauce, serve over your noodles and sprinkle with parmesan. Ta-da!

Do you make any recipes in honor of a loved one? Have a super secret spaghetti sauce recipe that you pass down? I’m curious since spaghetti sauce recipes vary so much from family to family!

This post was sponsored by Hunt’s and The Motherhood. I received a stipend but all opinions and the recipe are from yours truly. Okay, well, my hubby would probably claim the sauce as his creation but we’ll share the glory.

I’m Practically Jumping Up and Down at How Cute These Pictures Are

December 15, 2010 by melissa

I’m picky about pictures. While I love taking pictures with my own camera, I love a good photography session from someone else even more.

Last week, I welcomed Sarah Fitzgibbons over to the Casa de Culbertson to capture a few holiday shots of my ever-squirming children and to get Little Roo’s nine month shots.

A good photographer makes everything look pretty darn perfect, even if behind the scenes it’s more like me corralling the kids while things like this are going on: running, crawling away, flailing, squirming, fake smiling, jumping, twitching and who knows what else. Then the photographer finishes up and you hope- HOPE- that they captured at least a few shots worthy of a shiny frame.

Well, Sarah sent me proofs and I’m blown away, y’all.

Blown away NOT because I doubted her talent but because these pictures capture everything– the boys’ energy, our home looking its best and pure squeezable love.

Love the angle of this one and the santa hats. Good thing they wore the hats for a total of 30 seconds.

And this one… I look pretty chill but inside I’m thinking. “O.M.G. Crazy. Boys. Are any of these shots going to look good?”

It had snowed the day before and so we didn’t get a chance to buy a tree in time for the photo shoot. Crazy person that I am, I spent the evening before the photo shoot grabbing boxes out of the attic and wrapping them to create some sort of nice backdrop. Sarah had the idea to leave a box open to put Little Roo in. Of course, Big Roo couldn’t miss an opp to jump in a box either.

I really can’t even stop posting these pictures because I love them so much. Humor me.

And now some of Little Roo for his nine month photos…

*kerplunk* That’s the sound of me falling over from the cuteness of that picture.

One thing I love about Sarah is that she saw things about my house that I didn’t see. I saw an ugly gold kickplate of the front door. She saw a reflection of my little munchkin.

She brought all sorts of props and was at the ready if we needed them. Love how prepared she was.She also tried fun angles and perspectives rather than only straight-forward smile-at-the-camera shots.

I couldn’t be happier with how these pictures turned out!

Just For the Locals…

Sarah moved to Raleigh not too long ago and is building up her photography business. She’s an outdoor lover like me which is how we connected.

If you’re in Raleigh and looking for a photographer, she’s offering a generous $50 off her normal session rate of $225 if you book between now and December 31 (you can schedule the session for 2011, just need to book by the end of 2010 to score the deal).

For $175, she’ll come to your house (or wherever you want to do the session), provide you with 35-50 of the best edited images AND give you a DVD containing high resolution files and a print release so you can print them wherever you’d like. Professional prints are available for an extra charge. You can even give the photo session as a gift if you won’t be needing it anytime soon.

As you can see I’m happy as a mommy clam with Sarah’s work. The pictures truly beautiful. Now I have to finish designing my Christmas cards before it’s actually Christmas!

To see more of Sarah’s photography or to schedule a session, visit her website. You can also see more on her Facebook page.

Disclaimer: I would have never discovered Sarah’s awesomeness if she had not provided me with a free photo session. The gushing over the photos is genuine. She rocks.