Half-Pint House Handouts

Dragon Face - Strategy Game Review

I was pleasantly surprised just now to read on the official description of this game that it is for the "chess and checkers enthusiast" because I've been describing this game as a sort of cross between chess and checkers for the past two weeks. True story. What am I talking about? Dragon Face by Blue Orange Games.

Get a better idea of it minus the theatrics here:

 

So it's like chess in that the three pieces serve different functions and can go in different directions. it's like checkers in that you can jump other pieces. The main goal is to protect the emperor at all costs.

Some important little details about the game:

• Ages: 8 to Adult

• 2 Players

• Play Time: 20 Minutes

Contents:
- 1 Cotton Game Mat
- 28 Pieces
- Illustrated Rules

I learned how to play this with my 8yo and she LOVES it. It's challenging for her, but she really enjoys the game. We took it with us to piano lessons the other day so we could play while other sisters were having their lessons.

I'm impressed by both the game's ability to hold interest as well as the quality of its construction. This one is definitely a keeper around here.

You can find Dragon Face on Amazon for $19.99 with free prime shipping. I can totally see myself getting this as a unique game for someone in the future. 

Well done, Blue Orange Games! This one gets the Half-Pint House Seal of Approval!

The game was sent to us for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received. We've received a lot of games in the past year and this one is definitely one of our favorites. I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Dial NutriSkin™ Saves the Day!

My two youngest girls give the best massages. They are willing to give them to just about anyone, though we have asked them to keep their fast fingers to pretty much within our immediate family. *grin*

I used to have a whole stash of lotions on the shelf because I don't use things like that up very quickly. But since my two youngest started giving awesome foot rubs, we've gone through our lotion stash pretty fast.

Yesterday, I took my two oldest girls with me to Walmart. We needed an oil change and we were also on the hunt for Dial™ NutriSkin™. We found it:

We debated on which one to get. We almost got the one for sensitive skin, but ended up with the one for extra dry skin because, well, we all have extra dry skin!

We also ended up with a few other things. Hey, it's Walmart. You can buy your lotion, your light bulbs, get your oil changed, eat some french fries, and find some Valentines Day clearance all at the same place!

The wait for the oil change was a full two hours. Yowza. Note to self - maybe get oil changed on a different day of the week in the future?

But in the end, it was worth it because my younger daughters give amazing foot massages. They were more excited than I was that I came home with a ginormous bottle of Dial™ NutriSkin™. They were happy to put it to immediate use.

And I was happy to let them.

For a complete picture of our Sunday afternoon experience, check out our #DialNutriSkin story via my photo album on Google + right here!

Don't foget you can find Dial™ NutriSkin™ online at these locations:

○ Dial™NutriSkin™ Website
○ Dial™ NutriSkin™Twitter @DialNutriSkin
○ Dial™NutriSkin™Facebook

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. All thoughts here are my honest opinions and not influenced by the compensated nature of this post. I keep a proper disclosure statement here.

Giveaway: Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner (4 Winners Win 2 Free Coupons Each!)

Okay, this may sound like a funny giveaway, but y'all, this stuff is amazing. I installed one of these in our guest bathroom a couple of weeks ago and have been SOOOOO happy with it. What am I talking about? The Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner. It really does work!

I thought about showing you pictures of this thing in action, but I figured you could just use your imagination. The install is super easy. Takes less than 2 minutes to get it going. Refills are supposed to last 30 days. In my house, and with no instruction from me to my kids to not step on it multiple times/day, the refill lasted 2 weeks. Hmm, maybe THAT'S why this worked so well at my house?

Anyway, without coupons it's a bit pricey for a 2-week replacement, so I've instructed them all not to step on it for fun anymore. We'll see how long this lasts...

Here are the benefits of the One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner:

• Powerful cleaner tackles toilet rings, hard water marks, and lime scale
• Just step & spray
• 360 degree sprayer cleans the complete bowl, even under the rim
• Refill lasts up to 30 days (when used as instructed)
• No batteries required

And now for the very easy to understand and follow directions:

• Device Set-up

  1. Set base of the device on the floor.
  2. Attach action sprayer to toilet rim.
  3. Move spray head up or down on the clip until the plastic ledge fits snugly under the rim. Level the action sprayer inside toilet rim. Attach hose to side of clip. The suction cup should rest on the outside of the toilet bowl. It’s not necessary for the suction cup to stick to the outside of the bowl.
  4. Insert a new refill into the base, and then press the can down until you hear a click.
  5. Place white sleeve over the refill. (The device can be used with or without the sleeve.)
  6. Step on foot pedal for one second to dispense—unit will spray as long as the pedal remains depressed.
  
  

  Refill Replacement:

  1. Remove white sleeve and set aside. Do not throw away.
  2. Remove can by squeezing the two clips, then pull the can out of the device.
  3. Insert a new refill into the device, press can down firmly until you hear it click.
  4. Place white sleeve over the refill.
  5. Step on the foot pedal for 1 second to activate the unit.

Seriously, this was easy. I've now set up two and replaced it once. Everything was simple to follow. I've been a Scrubbing Bubbles fan for a long time for bathtubs. This has now joined my list of things that really do make cleaning the house easier.

I have 8 free product coupons to giveaway. They expire March 15, 2012, so the turn around on this is fast. I'm going to send 2 free product coupons to four winners. The coupons are good for up to $8.99. This wasn't quite enough at my local Walmart to cover the entire cost, but it was close. I think I ended up paying $0.50-.75 each for the ones I got. I still call that a pretty decent bargain! And if you cash in both, they will have a value of $17.98 for each of you. Not too shabby.

Entry is through the Rafflecopter form below.

Be sure to check out the rest of my current giveaways and reviews here!

Giveaway: My-Q Enabled Garage Door Opener from LiftMaster! Woot!

Y'all, this is an AWESOME GIVEAWAY. Seriously AWESOME. First off, anyone remember the trouble I had with our garage doors last summer? To make that long story short, that horrid garage door company NEVER made things right with us. I reported them to the Better Business Bureau and they...did nothing either.

Turns out my dad was able to make the faulty garage door opener they gave us work. He's all amazing like that. And free.

So, for the past few months, we've had one working garage door opener. The other side just had a bad garage door opener attached to the ceiling, but not attached to the door. Like so:

Everyone's dream come true, right? Okay, not so much. What IS a dream come true is this new LiftMaster with MyQ Technology garage door opener that appeared at our house last week.

Y'all, I've never been so excited to park in the garage before! We haven't parked in our garage much since moving in here, but now that we have this new garage door opener for the side the van can more easily fit into, I'm ALL OVER IT.

And, quickly, while I'm singing the praises of this new garage door opener, let me just give a giant hat tip in the direction of Trotter Overhead Door here in Oklahoma City. J.D. spent a total of 45 minutes, taking off my defunct unit, installing the new one, and going over all the details of it with me. And, incidentally, one of the remote units did not work which he figured out when he was explaining it to me. He quickly searched his truck for a new one and couldn't find one, so promised he'd bring me another one soon. I almost got a little shaky because of my prior experience with the garage-door-company-who-shall-not-be-named, but then he remembered he DID have one in his truck and went back again. Presto. This one worked.

So, what's so great about this garage door opener? I mean, besides the obvious fact that IT WORKS? Watch these informative videos and check all this out:

• Equipped with MyQ™ technology that lets you monitor and control your garage door and house lights remotely by using a computer or smartphone (LiftMaster Internet Gateway™ accessory required)
• Timer-to-Close feature allows the door to automatically close after a pre-programmed number of minutes
• Auto-force feature constantly monitors garage door system and adjusts forces to temperature fluctuations, floor height, and door track movement
• The Smart Garage Door Opener® lets you electronically program security codes from the Smart Control Panel® or the powerhead
• Enclosed gear case provides continous lubrication for longer life and smoother operation
• A 6-foot power cord makes connecting to a power source easier than ever
• Whole-garage lighting with adjustable light time delay; compatible with CFL bulbs
• Energy-efficient operation consumes up to 75% less power in standby mode
• HOMELINK® compatible with QuickTrain™ technology
• Meets all UL325 requirements

Y'all, I can open and close my garage door by computer. In Hawaii. If I ever go to Hawaii, I'm totally going to open and close my garage door while I'm there just because I can.

So many awesome features right here at our finger tips. One of the most fun ones we're all currently enjoying is this:

I can close the garage door right here at my desk.

Isn't technology amazing? I've used this little feature way more than I originally expected to. I. LOVE. THIS. LIFTMASTER. I totally wish I could win this giveaway so I could replace the garage door opener on the other side too. *grin*

But enough about me waxing eloquent about my new garage door opener...who wants to win one for yourself? Y'all, this has an estimated value of $450-550 (depending upon local rates for installation). This is an awesome giveaway!!

Entry is through the Rafflecopter form below.

Be sure to check out the rest of my current giveaways and reviews here!

Ah, Insurance

Y'all, I really hate thinking about insurance. It's been the bane of our existence for as long as I can remember and when I hear politicians waxing eloquent about how government is going to come in and save us all, I get the willies. Not the good ones.

I'm still a little ways away from needing to seek out Medicare supplement quotes or anything like that, but my parents are square in the middle of it. I sometimes forget that in addition to qualifying for the discounted lunches and such, they also qualify for health insurance for seniors. How about that?

But it's coming around my door too in another decade or two. Maybe it's doing the same for you?

Winter Blast of Cash $700 Giveaway!

Yay for a $700 giveaway! This Winter Blast of Cash Giveaway is hosted by Giveaway Promote.  

A whole ton of awesome bloggers pooled together to give away $700 in cash to one lucky person. Check out the list of participating blogs at the end of this post. Complete the tasks below to earn entries into this giveaway. One winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries.  

Bloggers, join us in an upcoming event! Sign up for Giveaway Promote's event mailing list to receive information via email about their future events.  

This giveaway is open worldwide.
It will end at 11:59pm EST on March 4th, 2012.

Be sure to check out the rest of my current giveaways and reviews here!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway   This giveaway is brought to you by:

Giveaway Promote	Review and Giveaway	My Kids Review It
Baby Feeding Shop	Miki's Hope	Yummy Boy Mummy
Gone Klippin' Krazy	Mamacita La Cuponera	Mama Luvs Books
Colleen's Book Nook	Made.By.Jess	Frugal Gals
Kat's Corner Niche	Daily Digital Deals	Couponing4You
Mommies Point of View	Oh! My Heartsie	Money Saving Mindy
Military Wives Saving	Coupons Not Cash	Our Mom Spot
Shopaholic Mommy	Travel Mommy	Building Carpenters
I'm Not Superwoman	Half-Pint House Handouts	A Helicopter Mom
My Cloth Diaper Stash	Someday I'll Learn	Tidbits From A Mom
Blueberry Squash	Style 'n Decor Deals	Twingle Mommy
Its the Simple Things	My Kids' Cool Mom	Acadiana's Thrifty Mom
JustFindIt4U	The Frugal Navy Wife	Operation $40K
Whoreders	The Ladies Lounge	Ohayo Okasan
Taunya's Place Too	Faith and Family Reviews	Freebies With Attitude
Disney Contests and Sweepstakes	Emptynester Savings and More	Flaunting it with the Image Diva
Oh My Gosh Beck!	Our Share of Crazy	Carpe Diem
Potato Chip Cats	Perfecting Photos	Choosing Love
Happy Home and Family	Carmen's Coupon Blog	TheItMom.com
oc Deal Mama	The Anti-June Cleaver	I Heart Giveaways
Krazy Couponing with Trish	Random Deals	My Charmed Mom
Saving While Making Money	I Love My Kids	Fuggs and Foach
Coupon Hauls	Tory's This and That	SwagSaver
Cheap Junkie	Mothering Matters	Sister's Saving Cents
Savior Cents	Linda's Angels	Free Hot Samples
J Magnolia Designs	I Am A Couponer	Picture Clusters
2 Kids and a Coupon	Sweeping The USA	Mary's Cup of Tea
Feed Your Pig	Wonderful Things In Life	Grow With Stacy
Coupon Savvy Sarah	Book Flame	Family Makeover Maven
Coupon Coffee Shop	Capri's Coupons	Green-Baby-Goods
Mom Always Finds Out	Pinching Pennies with Heather	The Mommyhood Chronicles
Prolific Shopping	Bake Sew Write	Krazy Coupon Club
Southwest Coupon Clippers	Cheapskate Cafe	The Coup Diva
Mommy Who Loves Giveaways	Uncreative Mommy in a Sea of Crafty Bloggers	Life: Full of Unexpected Happiness
Arizona Moms Network	Bluegrass Savers	Extreme Coupon Professors
Saving For My Family	Sweet Pea Saving	Deal Doll
Wild N Mild Giveaways	Cute-Ecakes	Relax 'n Save
Adventures in Coupons	Nicki's Coupon Blog	Black, Divorced & Virtuous
Sassy Savings with Susan	For The Love Of Happy	Live. Love. Sticky.
Cheap Is The New Classy	Beauty and Fashion Diva	The Denver Housewife
Celebrate Woman Today	Finger Click Saver	Teach Me 2 Save
Whole Lotta Mama

 

Giveaway: Old Orchard Cranberry Natural Juice

Today I'm going to talk to you about Old Orchard Cranberry Naturals. You can see it in the photo above. Wait. You can't. What happened here? Oh, my family gulped both of these down IN ONE DAY.

Y'all, that's crazy. My family doesn't really care that much for cranberry juice, so I expected to have these pretty much all to myself. Boy, was I surprised!

We had Cranberry Grape and Cranberry Apple and they were both AWESOME. Seriously awesome. So awesome, that I'm tempted to keep all of the free coupons they sent me for myself. I'm not going to do that, mind you, but I want to.

Here are some facts you will want to know about this yummy juice:

• Has 40% less sugar

• Sweetened with Truvia

• No artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners

• 20% more real cranberry juice than leading brand

• All the benefits of cranberry juice but far less sugar/calories

 I'm definitely getting more of this the next time I'm at the store. No lie. One of you will be able to as well. I have two coupons for free bottles and three coupons for $0.50 off that I will give to one of you right now. Entry is through the Rafflecopter form below.

Be sure to check out the rest of my current giveaways and reviews here!

Energizer Champions for Kids - Winter Emergency Care Kits #EnergizerCFK #CBias

Oklahoma - The land where tornadoes apparently like to hang out socially and where they move their hang-out spots from town to town on a semi-regular basis. We moved to this awesome place last June and since June I've been meaning to pull together an emergency care kit for my own family, but still haven't done it. In my case it's simply a matter of oversight - I have the means and ability to do this, I just haven't done it yet. For many kids who live here, pulling together an emergency kit simply isn't an option.

Why do I think this is important? Check out these facts:

• Did you know that over 9 million kids suffer from non-fatal injuries every year? Accidents are the leading cause of death for children. Dangerous weather events cause hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries every year. [Source: CDC]

• 70% of power outages in the U.S. are weather related. There are many power failures resulting from natural weather episodes including lightening, rain, snow, ice, wind, and even dust. And...tornadoes! [Source: Diesel Service Supply]

• The Center of Disease Control recomends having an emergency preparation kit at the ready for the exact moment of need. Some of the things they recommend having in the kit include food, water, flash light, extra batteries, medications, first aid kit, sanitation and personal hygiene items, copies of personal documents, and other necessities. [Source: CDC]

Energizer is encouraging as many of us as possible to be Champions for Kids. They want us to gather friends, family, co-workers, fellow church members, etc. to help children stay safe and be prepared by putting together Care Kits for kids. But don't just stop there - after you put the kits together, then you take them to an organization in your community that serves children - schools, shelters, religious organizations, nonprofts, etc.)

I am participating in the Energizer Light Up A Life Simple Service Project this month. I was going to donate this to one organization, but after talking to my kids, have since decided to donate it to their school. They informed me that they have a little kit with a couple of band-aids, but really nothing else. I'm thinking it's time the school got a proper emergency kit.

Are you aware of a need in your own community? You can also get involved.

• Sign up at Champions for Kids and let them know you are planning to do a simple service project.

• Look for events in your own sphere of connection and influence where you can mobilize others to get involved with you. You can provide a list of needed items and a collection box and ask others to contribute as well!

• Invite a representative from the organization you are hoping to benefit to come speak with your group to help motivate people to participate.

Find out more info about Energizer and the Champions for Kids project through the various links below:

• Champions For Kids Website

• Energizer’s Website

• Energizer’s Positive Energy Website

• @Champions4Kids on Twitter

• @Energizer on Twitter

• Champions for Kids on Facebook

• Energizer on Facebook

This post has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. I agreed to participate in the project because I think it's an important one. I keep a proper disclosure statement available right here.

Clipix!

As if we all needed yet another draw on our time on the internet, Clipix is now here! What is Clipix? I just found out about it and basically it's another way to organize links, favorites, pictures, etc. online. Anything you see online that you want to save and come back to later you can clip to one of your Clipix boards.

Here's an example of two of the boards I just put together:

One thing I really like about Clipix is the ability to easily set a privacy setting on each individual board. As you can see in the snapshot above, My Wishlist is set so that only I can see it. Recipes I clipped can be seen by everyone who checks in on my page.

I can see some good potential for this. I created individual wish list boards for each of my girls. These aren't things I want the whole world to be able to see, but are things I'd like to access again in the future, particularly when a grandparent asks me what the girls are interested in at any given time. Next time that happens, I can just pull up my Clipix board and have an instant reminder of what we put there over the year.

Boards can be created for just about anything - articles to read, party ideas, great books, etc.

Another new thing about Clipix is the Syncboard. With Syncboards, you can add family members or friends to it. Everyone who is a member of that board can post things to it collaboratively.

The Multiboards are pretty great too. You can drag one board on to another and they get lumped together on a Multiboard. This is a great idea for better organizing online finds. For instance, I could have a Valentine's Day Multiboard and within that category have one for crafts, one for parties, one for food, etc.

Pretty fun, huh? Go check it out for yourself! Let me know what you think you might use Clipix for!

You can find Clipix on Facebook, on Twitter, and as an iPhone App too! Watch this video for an even better idea of what I'm talking about:

What are you waiting for? Try Clipix out for yourself and look me up while you're there!

Promoted Post

Giveaway: $100 Amazon Gift Card!

Once again 10 blogs have teamed up to offer a $100 Amazon gift card to our readers.

Each blog has a different Rafflecopter form for entry. You can enter on one or all the blogs, but the more you enter, the greater your odds of winning. Each blog has daily tweet options so that's an extra 10 entries a day. When the giveaway is over, all entries for all the blogs will be combined and one winner will be chosen via random.org.

The Blogs:

Baby Costcutters Mama Writes The Mama Report Half-Pint House Handouts World Bloggers Community Kelly's Lucky You Shopaholic Mommy Coupons For Wisconsin philzendia Musings From a Stay At Home Mom

Open Worldwide, 18+ Ends February 24, 2012

Good luck!