After a month long of blog hiatus, we are back! Things may not be moving as fast as it used to but we are definitely going to get the ball rolling with our first blog tour for 2012.

So, fellow Parent Reviewers, be on the lookout for our email on the tour!

 AND  

We have finally decided to announce to all that this blog will be on a hiatus while we try to adjust our respective schedules and hopefully, be able to find time to make a comeback.

Meantime, we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone of you

A HAPPY, HEALTHY & PROSPEROUS  NEW YEAR 2012

  AND

TO THE WINNER OF

Alphabeast

Marita #10

The winners are required to do the following:

1. Submit your relevant info via the Winner’s Submission Form Below; AND
2. Leave a comment in this post to let us know you have submitted.
3. If any winner does not claim her prize by the 8th January 2012, we will do a second draw.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED.

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I’m sure many of you can attest, our daily lives are driven, in a large part, by the technology we use. That means that technology must be congruous to our lives—constantly changing and adapting based on what’s happening, and simple and effective—enabling us to live our lives and not holding us back in any way.

That’s exactly what AVG has realized and tried to create with its new 2012 edition of its trusted Internet Security software. Protection that works behind the scenes to keep you protected and productive. Protection that anyone can use and then not have to worry about. Protection that enhances, rather than limits, the cool things you do online.

AVG 2012 now comes with the all-new AVG Accelerator and AVG Advice features as well as additional protection technologies. Other new features worth mentioning are:

• Social Networking Protection–each web page and link is checked so you won’t download a virus by clicking on a link you see on Twitter.
• Uninterrupted gaming– Provides continuous protection during non-stop action in multi-player games without annoying lags and freezes.
• An early warning system that identifies and stops new threats–Emerging threats are identified in the cloud and are blocked before they reach you.

If it sounds too good to be true, let’s take a look at what our reviewers who had tried and tested the AVG Internet Security 2012 thought of it:

3 Boys and A Dog – Once again, I am impressed at the ease of use of AVG. It is all I have ever used and I have no desire to switch. As a reviewer, I have tried other virus protection programs, but nothing has compared! Just so you can see what it looks like, I took a few screen shots while setting it up and running it for the first time.

Captain Fussybuckets -My favorite feature of AVG Internet Security is that you can adjust the speed and amount of resources used while scanning. If you’re going to be away from your computer, you can set the scan to run on “High Priority” so it will scan quickly. There are also three other options you can choose, depending on what you’re doing on your computer and how fast you want it to scan. In the picture below, I have it set to “User Sensitive” (see bottom left) because well, I’m typing this blog as AVG scans! It’s not interrupting what I’m doing and I’m not interrupting the scan!

Babas Farm Life – One improvement that I’m loving is the speed accelerator for watching videos! I watch a lot of videos on youtube and normally have no problem but it’s nice to know that a bit of acceleration is there if I need it. This is what pops up when I watch a youtube video now. The AVG accelerator makes downloading faster and watching videos without interruption easy and fast. I love that!

Right Reads - Yay!!! The 4,000 over errors have been fixed! Thank you so much, AVG Technologies, for cleaning up my laptop. Everything’s in tip-top condition now and the laptop does run faster now that it’s all cleaned up. Feels as good as new.

Sewing Mom – The download was super simple and took maybe 10 minutes time. AVG Internet Security 2012 is not just an anti-virus protector, but also helps block spam. What I really like is that it also protects this netbook from picking up malicious links from Facebook. With Facebook recently having been hacked, it made it clear that we do have to protect ourselves even from our favorite websites. The AVG security software also checks links as you surf the web, ensuring that websites are safe before they open up in your browser. With this netbook being something my daughter uses on a daily basis, I feel like I’m not just protecting her computer, but I’m protecting her. Isn’t that my job as a mom afterall?

Jamerican Spice – I was skeptical that this accelerator would work and tried it a bunch of times because I always have buffering going on in the videos I have to watch. I seriously squealed with delight when I realize that it was working and does work! I think this is one of my favorite features because I am always listening to music and watching videos!

Living in Lala Land - Starting up a new internet security can sometimes be difficult to understand and set up. The AVG was easy to get started. I went to the site, agreed to the user agreement, activated my license, selected the custom install and downloaded it. Once it was done downloading I had to restart my computer and I was good to go.

Busy Mommy Product Review – Another piece of technology that I LOVE is the AVG Accelerator. Most of the other security products that I have used slowed down my computer. AVG Internet Security 2012 actually SPEEDS IT UP! It accelerates the download of binary files and minimizes the hangs and delays while watching videos on YouTube. AVG Accelerator is enabled as a default setting when you switch on.

 This Southern Girls Nest - Every once in a while when I have a few things open at once, usually Pinterest, email, Facebook, and a website, AVG will do a little “boost” to help keep things moving quickly. Not sure how in the world it does this, but I’m not complaining. Also when it does get a little overloaded it will pop up and say that I should close such and such and reopen it to get it to move faster. Love this feature!

TO THE WINNERS OF

Sebamed Liquid Face & Body Wash

Justin #20

AND

Cadbury Premium Baking Hamper

Jasmine1485 #61

The winners are required to do the following:

1. Submit your relevant info via the Winner’s Submission Form Below; AND
2. Leave a comment in this post to let us know you have submitted.
3. If any winner does not claim her prize by the 5th November 2011, we will do a second draw.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAD PARTICIPATED.

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1. Kim Holsapple

2. Becky Horn

3. Pending for winner to reply (please check your mails)

For the month of October, we will be giving away one lucky reader from the United States a collection of DVDs from The Bar Method, including the Beginner’s Workout, Dancer’s Body Advanced Workout, Pregnancy Workout, and Super Sculpting Workouts I & II, worth, in total, $100! Woo hoo!

Check out in detail below what our winner will be getting:

Beginner’s Workout DVD

Joey Decker, dancer, choreographer and owner of the Burbank, California Bar Method studio, guides beginning students through the Bar Method’s basic body-sculpting exercises such as “standing seat-work” and “kickstand curl” in this 37 minutes long, full-body workout. Joey’s humor and precise instructions helps beginners and more advanced students to brush up on their form and get a great workout at the same time. Joey’s fellow performers are Jennifer Keyes and Joyce Miraflor, teachers at Joey’s studio, Tiffany Baldwin, a Los Angeles master teacher, and Whitney Bania, co-owner of the Newport Beach, California Bar Method studio. Price: $20

Dancer’s Body Advanced Workout

Actress, singer, dancer and master Bar Method teacher Marnie Alton delivers a no-holds-barred, super-advanced Bar Method DVD workout that will slim down and sculpt your body quickly. In this 62-minute Bar Method workout, Marnie draws from the principles of dance to target the muscles that give your body a beautiful, defined, graceful appearance. Exercises include: “water-ski thigh-work,” “arabesque,” and the Bar Method’s ultra-challenging new abdominal exercise, “the clam.” Marnie’s fellow performers are Denise Burchard, co-owner of the Portland Bar Method studio, Marin Van Vleck, upcoming owner of a Dallas-area Bar Method studio, and Michael Lowery and Katelin Chesna, both long-time Bar Method teachers in Los Angeles. This DVD will inspire you to get serious about changing your body! Price: $20

Pregnancy Workout 

Master teacher Lee Potter in her third trimester with twins adds her own special wit and playfulness to the Bar Method’s pre-natal workout, a long-standing and popular class at its flagship studio in San Francisco. Lee leads you through this 45-minute long series of gentle, safe and challenging moves, including free-weight work, thigh exercises, standing seat-work, and abdominal strengthening exercises performed while propped up on pillows. Lee’s fellow performers are Hannah Blue, co-owner of the Downtown San Francisco studio and Lauren Dunning, a teacher at the Downtown San Francisco studio, both appearing in this DVD in their second trimester. As Lee puts it, this DVD “will help you feel strong during your pregnancy, will assist you in delivering your baby, and will snap you right back into shape.” Price: $20

The Bar Method Super Sculpting Workout

Bar Method founder Burr Leonard has packaged together the Bar Method’s most fast-acting body-reshaping moves into one super-targeted 59-minute workout. The exercises include four sets of thigh work and the Bar Method’s famous ‘pretzel with the ball’.  Burr also utilizes the Bar Method ball to zero in on problem areas such as the inner thighs and seat. Burr’s fellow performers are Chelsea Glavinovich, co-owner of the Walnut Creek and San Ramon Bar Method studios in San Francisco’s East Bay. Keryun Dukellis and Mike Najjar are both teachers at the San Francisco’s flagship Marina studio, and Tera Roth is a teacher at the Downtown San Francisco studio. If you want the quickest results possible, this is the workout for you! Price: $20

The Bar Method Super Sculpting II Workout

Tighten your seat-belts! Bar Method founder Burr Leonard puts the pedal to the metal in this 58-minute workout by combining her most aerobic variations, many of them never seen except in studios, with a fast-tracked pace. Included is five sets of thigh work, one of them performed with the Bar method ball and two sets of seat exercises that simultaneously challenge both legs. During the abdominal section, Burr leads safe, beautiful-looking sequences that sets abs on fire! Presenting the workout with Burr are Sharon Demko and Keisha Ramey-Presner, both teachers at the Bar Method flagship Marina studio in San Francisco and Juan Barba, a teacher at the Bar Method studio in Burbank, California. In Keisha’s words, Super Sculpting II is “intense, but with reach for someone to work up to. The choreography is really fun, and Burr inspires you to do it.” Price: $20

About The Bar Method

The Bar Method is full-body exercise program created by Burr Leonard. The workout utilizes a ballet bar fitness technique and draws from the principles of isometrics, dance conditioning, interval training, and physical therapy. The result is a noticeable “Bar Method” sculpted body featuring:

• ·         Firm, elongated muscles
• ·         Reduced body fat
• ·         High muscle definition in the chest
• ·         Improved posture
• ·         Long, narrow thighs
• ·         A lifted seat and defined hamstrings
• ·         Strong, flat abdominals
• ·         Increased stamina and energy
• ·         Extended youthfulness

And all you needed to do to win $100 worth of prizes is to subscribe to our feed via email. How cool is that!

Disclosure : Prizes courtesy of The Bar Method.

I recently received a lovely sample of Cadbury Premium Baking Products and I just knew I had to start baking with them! What I received in the goodie box were the Cadbury Bournville Cocoa 125gm and 250gm, Premium Baking Chocolate  200gm each(Dark and Milk) and Baking Chips 230gm each (Real Dark Chocolate and Real Milk Chocolate). I was practically salivating just looking at them, and my boys wanted to chomp on them asap, but of course, the mother in me, said, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not yet!”

So, off I went on a baking spree all with my super handy Thermomix! I effortlessly prepared a Torta Caprese, which is a Flourless Almond Cake, with the Bournville Cocoa and it was wiped out within the day.  Next in line, was the Hazelnut Spread, which I used the Premium Baking Chocolate (Dark), and it was really amazing. Even though I used less sugar, the Hazelnut Spread was so rich with the Dark Chocolate, nobody complained!

Then, of course, it was my absolute favourite, the best Chocolate Chips in the world! Since I baked two batches of them, both Dark and Milk Chocolate Chips were used. I passed them around to some friends, because sharing is caring!

The last thing I did, was of course, with the Premium Baking Chocolate (Milk), make Chocolate Lego people and blocks! I have a complaint about that.. I NEED TO GET MORE PREMIUM BAKING CHOCOLATE! I’m actually making the Lego people for a birthday party bag, and I need at least 24 people, and I only made half! So..off to the shops I’m going!

About Cadbury Premium Baking products :

Cadbury is celebrating the launch of five new real chocolate baking products; Cadbury Dark, Milk and White Melts, new White Baking Chips and new White Baking Block. The range features a brand new look that celebrates the heritage of Cadbury chocolate and the joy of baking. The Cadbury Kitchen website has also recently been launched, to cater for most of your chocolate baking needs as well as enabling you to save your favourite chocolate recipes on line for easy access.

Lovers of chocolate will be pleased that the entire Cadbury Baking range is made with real chocolate, which gives a delicious rich flavour, creamy smooth texture and brilliantly glossy appearance. Real chocolate also stays melted for longer, making it easy to work with.

Buy It! : It’s true. When I tempered the block chocolate, I was so worried that it would harden before I could pour them into the Lego molds. As it was, the Lego people were so small, I didn’t want to rush it. Thankfully, it never hardened, and I managed to pour it all in. Well, not exactly, I took the liberty of licking clean my Thermomix bowl..because it was just so delicious!!!

I really liked the packaging as well. In all of them, you’ll get recipes and in the Bournville Cocoa, the history of how Cadbury started.

Win It! : This is the most awesomest part!!!! Cadbury is generously giving one lucky reader, a Cadbury Baking hamper. This hamper contains a selection from the whole Cadbury Baking range including melts, chips and blocks in milk and dark chocolate blocks, Bournville Cocoa and an exclusive vintage Cadbury tea towel, and all you have to do is:

• First mandatory entry - Tell us which of the Cadbury Kitchen recipes you are most interested in baking.
• Second additional entry – like Cadbury Dairy Milk Australia on Facebook (and tell them we sent you). Leave us a comment below including that you liked.
• Third additional entry – subscribe to Parent Reviewers on twitter and tweet this giveaway. Leave us a comment including your twitter id and the tweet url.

Giveaway ends Oct 19th, 2011. Giveaway is open to Australian residents only and a winner will be picked using Random.org. We will not be emailing winners, so please make sure you subscribe to our feed or check back here for the winner announcement post.
Disclosure of Material Connection : http://cmp.ly/2

TO THE WINNERS OF

Starmaid Hamper

kerry santillo #64

AND

Wisharoo Park Prize Pack

Patricia #5

The winners are required to do the following:

1. Submit your relevant info via the Winner’s Submission Form Below; AND
2. Leave a comment in this post to let us know you have submitted.
3. If any winner does not claim her prize by the 17th October 2011, we will do a second draw.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAD PARTICIPATED.

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“Paris Goes to Los Angeles” is part of the “My Friend Paris” series, where Paris shares her many adventures with her twins and her travels. In this book, Paris and her little twin sisters, goes on an adventure as they drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles to celebrate her uncle’s 50th birthday, with their parents. They stop by a historical landmark, Hollywood’s walk of fame, plat at the Venice Beach, get a helicopter ride treat and my favourite, visit the San Diego zoo!

Their adventure with her cousins continue until Uncle Phil’s 50th Birthday Party, at his home! This is a very colourfully illustrated book, perfect for kids who are a little more proficient in reading and for those who love adventure as well. As a parent, I like it as this book teaches them how to write their own travel journals, with a flow from the start to the end.

I’m actually a little astonished that this book series is written by a 15 year old lass, but it goes to show… what young people can do, once they set their minds to it! Well done, Jenna!

You can continue Paris’ adventures online as well, here.

About the author :

Jenna is 15 years old and lives in Calabasas, CA where she attends High School and enjoys musical theater and playing softball along with her 13 year old sister Sarah.

“Perfectly Crazy” is a lightweighted romance novel, focused on “Nell” and her perfect life. Nell is a beautiful, smart and successful woman, who has the perfect husband and children to match. However, she finds herself developing a relationship with her best friend, and knows that she has to restrain herself, or her life will be thrown into an imbalance. All of the sudden, her husband dies tragically, in a plane accident. And just like that, a whole new world opens up for her!

About the author :

Mitzi Penzes grew up in Hungary, where she trained and practiced as a neurologist. She has lived in the US for the last twenty-five years, where she pursued a career in lab management before becoming an entrepreneur. She lives with her son, husband, and cat in Napa, California.

Some of our reviewers had a chance to review the books and here’s what they have to say :

Chanel’s Journal : This book ‘Paris goes to Los Angeles’ had a lot of interesting illustrations, making it a cheerful way of presenting about Los Angeles to kids.

Mom2bbreviews : The first time I lay my eyes on  Paris Goes To Los Angeles, I was already attracted to the colourful and cute illustrations. I cannot emphasize enough the importance  of attractive illustrations when it comes to children’s books as it helps increase their attention span.

Lisa Reviews : The book “Paris goes to Los Angeles” is a short and easy read, so it definitely great for Madison’s age group.  I also love the illustrations — they are very engaging and help tell the story.

Asha’s Butterflys : My son really enjoyed this book since he has never been to California he had a lot of questions about the different places in the book. For a book that would be a really quick bedtime story turned into a topic about California.

Adventure in all things food : Yes, as a read it was a wild ride. Bumpy, and windy but I held on with both hands till the end. I am not sure I would have survived a longer book. White-knuckled, I might not have withstood the suspense to see where all the characters ended up.

This Southern Girls Nest : I read through the synopsis of each book and when I got to Perfectly Crazy I knew that this was a book that I would probably like.  I was right!  Luckily I was chosen to get a copy to review!

Sewing Mom : When I first began reading the Perfectly Crazy, I was drawn in by the fact that the main character, Nell, was a strong, beautiful and independent woman. The very first sentence of the book says, “Nell was a looker, and she knew it, too.”