Let’s Get Ready with Cedar Valley Publishing

I love giving my great finds away!  I firmly believe that life ain’t worth living unless you’re gifting others!

Based on my last two posts, I’m sure you can guess what I want to share with you!  Yeah, I’ll probably get a new nickname, like Scrubbing Bubble Stacey … or Ms. Mom Germ Police … that’s ok, I can handle it.  At least my house will be clean!

Today, let’s give away the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Max Heavy Duty Pad disposable toilet cleaning system and the Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber.

Want to win?  All you have to do is to leave a comment, with your email address.  If your name is chosen, I’ll contact you for information on where to send your prize!  Please note that this is for U.S. residents, only.   The winner will be chosen next Friday, April 4th.

Oh gee, April already?  I have a lot of spring cleaning to do!

And, ummm, if you don’t leave an email address, I can’t contact you … so, your entry will not be valid. 

Yesterday, I mentioned (ok gushed about) the SC Johnson Scrubbing Bubbles products for cleaning toilets.  I know, I know … it’s not a glamorous job, but we do need to keep our potties clean!

Today, I want to talk about another SC Johnson product, because that germ freak in me really loves sharing the things that I use in my home … with those of you who may not know about them or use them!

Today, let’s talk about the Scrubbing Bubbles® Action Scrubber!

The new Scrubbing Bubbles® Action Scrubber is the first replacement of a trigger and sponge, so instead of having to spray and scrub, you can simply wet and go. The Action Scrubber provides a deep action clean without exhausting, laborious elbow grease.

The Scrubbing Bubbles® Action Scrubber cuts through soap scum by combining the deep cleaning action of Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner, with an easy-to-use handle that reduces the need to use excessive vigor when cleaning the tub and shower.

• Specially designed, the handle is easy to grip and is flexible for curves and contours. It easily adheres to a disposable pad that has tiny scrubbing fibers and concentrated cleaners equal to 50 trigger pulls to provide enough cleaning power to cut through soap scum in an average tub and shower.
• The Scrubbing Bubbles® Action Scrubber’s unique concentrated cleansers and action scrubbing fibers combine to create a penetrating foam that loosens dissolves and lifts away soap scum to take the effort out of using a great deal of pressure on the bathtub surfaces.
• The Scrubbing Bubbles® Action Scrubber provides a deep clean without gritty chemicals so it rinses away easily, leaving a brilliant shine.
• The Scrubbing Bubbles® Action Scrubber is available at food, drug, do-it-yourself and mass-merchandise stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, CVS and many more.
• The starter kit includes one durable handle, four disposable cleaning pads and one reusable storage tub. Refills are available for purchase.

Read more about this product at www.ScrubbingBubbles.com.  You can print out a $1 off coupon for the Scrubbing Bubbles® Action Scrubber here:  http://scrubbingbubbles.com/coupon/2008-02-AMG/

As you may know, I am a germ freak.  I do have some cleaning help every two weeks, but I still vacuum just about everyday and clean my bathrooms in-between cleanings.  I started asking friends and family how often they change their toilet bowl brush – I heard some amazing answers:  1991 when they moved into their house; 1986 when they built their new house, etc.  I purchased pretty bowl brushes for each of the bathrooms in 1999.  YUK!!!  This realization just about freaked out the germ freak that I am.

We know we need to replace our tooth brushes and kitchen sponges regularly, so let’s get ready for spring cleaning this year with a new disposable toilet bowl brushes!!!

I love SC Johnson’s disposable brush system because that’s just it – it’s disposable!!! It’s easy to use for tough germs and great for touch-ups!   Being a Wisconsin Mom who lives an hour away from SC Johnson’s Racine, WI headquarters, I love that they are still a family business at heart with products that I simply love!  In fact as I write this blog post, sitting next to my computer is a bottle of Fantastik which I use daily to kill germ in my office. 

I am a firm believer that you need to keep the tools for your job near you.  So I have Fantastik in my office and each bathroom has its own set of cleaning supplies.  So, if I am in a bathroom and notice that it could use a touch up, I don’t have to go looking for cleaning supplies because they are right there when I need them.  I makes a two-minute touch up really a two-minute job!!!

The toilet is just one of several germ hot spots in the home, however it is generally cleaned less often than other areas of the house.  It’s easy to minimize and prevent the spread of bacteria in bathroom; whether handling quick touch-ups or tackling tough stains, the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush toilet cleaning system is an easy-to-use solution that quickly and effectively cleans the toilet bowl…and it’s disposable, so you don’t have to touch or store a germ-ridden brush.

Here’s more information about the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Toilet Cleaning System from SC Johnson:

• The Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush is the only toilet cleaning system that’s designed for tough stains (Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush MAX pads) and touch-ups (Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Flushables).
• Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush MAX pads remove stains like hard water, limescale, rust and more; once you’re done cleaning the pads can be thrown away.
• Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Flushables are great for quick cleaning and daily touch-ups and are safe for plumbing and septic systems.
• The Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush MAX pads and Flushables are interchangeable so they both fit on the same Fresh Brush handle.
• The Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush toilet cleaning system’s curved handle and disposable cleaning pads make cleaning easier, quicker and less disgusting.
• The curved handle lets you get into hard to reach places like under the rim.
• Disposable Max pads allow you to completely can germs by throwing away the pad when done.
• Flushable pads allow you to just flush the germy mess away™
• The Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush toilet cleaning system is available in the home cleaning sections of food and mass-merchandise stores such as Target, Wal-Mart and many more.
• Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. SO…close that toilet bowl lid BEFORE flushing.

For more information, and perhaps a mom-loving coupon, please visit www.ScrubbingBubbles.com.

Baby Einstein recently commissioned a survey among moms with children under the age of two-years-old. Following are some of the more interesting results:

• Moms are spending only 27% of each day engaged in what they consider fun, quality time with their little ones.
• Nearly 80% of moms acknowledge that daily household tasks take them away from spending quality time with their families.
• More than 90% of moms wish they had more time to focus on their children.

So, I ask you.  Can you find a way to incorporate your Mom fun-time with Baby Einstein?  I bet you can! 

Without exception, one of the most significant moments of discovery for any mom, is the day she realizes her baby truly recognizes her and wants her above all others.  That bond, the super-glue of parent child attachment, is the foundation for baby’s healthy development.

At Baby Einstein, each DVD is designed to reinforce parent-child interaction by providing visually interesting, entertaining content that you and your baby can watch together.  Whether the theme is art, music, or barnyard animals, each DVD offers an opportunity to cuddle, share, talk, or sing along with your baby.  The DVD can also be a jumping off point for more parent child interaction during your everyday routine. 

1. Talk! Talk! Talk!
   From the moment we say that first hello to our new baby, we begin developing our little one’s language.  So, when you’re watching a Baby Einstein DVD, you don’t have to be quiet.  This is a chance to create little stories.  For example, if you see mechanical toys on the DVD, describe the action to your baby—“see the seals go UP the ladder.  Now they’re sliding DOWN and around– very fast.”  If  your baby starts “talking” back to your sounds, praise, cuddle, and imitate your baby to keep the conversation going.  Even if you feel self-conscious about talking to a 6 month old, just stay the course. Your baby is probably listening and may  show you with a smile, nod, or squeal, the many different ways they understand your language. 
2. From the Video Theme to the Real World Scene
   Whenever there is an opportunity to link what you have seen on the DVD to other experiences in  baby’s life, make that connection.  For example, if you watched a DVD about animals, you might say, “Oh, look.  There’s a BIG fish on the screen.  Do we have another fish in our house?”  And off you go to look at your gold fish.  This kind of activity shows baby that something we see in one place can be seen in other places too. 
3. Bring it to Life
   If children or puppets on the DVD are jumping or dancing, you can hold your little one and dance along to show baby how it feels.  You can also play infant sized musical instruments to accompany the DVD Orchestra. Or, try using puppets or baby’s favorite stuffed animals to mimic the action in the DVD.  You may get giggles from your little one. Babies usually want to do what they see and you can make that happen.
4. Make it Personal
   Try making connections between what happens on screen with what happens in baby’s life.  If you have a DVD that contains sign language, try some of the simpler signs with your baby.  If you see how the puppets always do silly stuff, bring a puppet to mealtime to help you serve the food or provide additional encouragement to complete the meal. 
5. Make it a Family Affair
   Consider using DVD time as a way to interact with the whole family.  If baby has an older sibling(s) around you can invite them watch the DVD with you.  Encourage your older child to point out the names of the animals, say the colors, or even make animal sounds.  They will probably love playing with baby and will be excited about showing off how much they know!

A colleague of mine talked with Julie Aigner-Clark, a former literature and art teacher, two years after she started The Baby Einstein Company. They chatted about how she had created her very first Baby Einstein video, specifically for her newborn daughter, in her basement with borrowed equipment and black drop cloths, and edited them on her home computer. She aimed to create an interactive, hands-free way to play with her baby: in essence bringing a board book to life on the screen. At the time she had no idea that her project would ever develop into the Baby Einstein phenomena that it is today.

Now, ten years later, Baby Einstein has gone through its own stages of maturing, including the addition of more than 25 videos, an expansion into infant books, interactive toys and baby gear, a sale to The Walt Disney Company in 2001, and being caught in the midst of the debate surrounding babies and television/DVD viewing. On the one hand, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends absolutely no television for children under the age of two. On the other hand, I find myself hard-pressed to come up with more than a handful of Moms I know who ban TV entirely until age two.  In fact, I’d say that all of the Moms I know feel quite capable of making their own decisions about “appropriate” television and DVD viewing for their family.

This debate has led The Baby Einstein Company to take a long, hard look at not only how we Moms use its products, but at how to get back to what Baby Einstein DVDs have always been about from the very beginning – an interactive tool that provides parents with a connective, hands-free way to engage their baby and create moments of discovery together.

The Baby Einstein Company has posted their official perspective on the issue of children and television viewing on their Web site at www.babyeinstein.com, but a few excerpts that I thought were worth noting follow:

“The Baby Einstein Company believes that when used properly, developmentally appropriate video content can be a useful tool for parents and little ones to enjoy together.

Key to our perspective is our belief that parents/caregivers play a critical role in defining the ‘appropriate use of television.’ Alternatively, we believe in the power of parents/caregivers to make decisions on what they feel is appropriate for their children – and that includes whether or not they choose to use television, how much television their child is allowed to watch, what they are allowed to watch, etc.”

In response to the thousands of emails Baby Einstein receives from Moms on a regular basis about how they use Baby Einstein product, and in an effort to re-focus the conversation on what is truly important – spending quality time with your children – Baby Einstein is kicking off a Parent-Child Interaction campaign.  The initiative will engage parents and provide them with tips and insights regarding how to turn everyday moments into meaningful moments full of interaction and discovery with their baby. Visit www.BabyEinstein.com for more details on Baby Einstein’s meaningful philosophy.

We’re very scientific here at CVP, kindergarten science is what I like to call it! 

Spring break is taking us in all new directions, so I apologize that we couldn’t get the drawing completed on Tuesday.  Please forgive me!  But, we’re ready now – and we have a winner!!!

First, let me walk you through our kindergarten science … first, we printed out a list of all registrations:

Then, we cut all of the names out, so each name was on a strip of paper:

And we put the strips into a hat:

Then, it was time for a small arm to draw the winner:

Are you ready?  For the winner?  Here she is!

Congrats to Erica and THANK YOU to all who participated!  Stay tuned to the CVP blog, we have more (and more and more) great things on the horizon!

I’ve told you about Froose before, right?

Remember?  Fantastic flavors that my children love, even though it’s so very healthy.  And a woman at the helm of the company, a woman who knew what she wanted and who went after it while still being nice?  Ah yes, a woman after my own self-employed heart!

Now, for those of you who doubt me … let’s see if you can win some free Froose, so you, too, can see how wonderful this new drink is – for the kids, and for yourself!

We are giving away a 4-pack of Cheerful Cherry, Perfect Pear and Playful Peach!

To enter, leave your name and email address in the comments.  ONE lucky winner will be randomly chosen on Tuesday, March 18th.  Enter just once! 

Please note – this offer is only good for US residents.  The deadline for entering is midnight, CST on 3/18/2008.

I’m all about being green.  I realize I can’t save the entire world from its ownself, but I do feel that I can do my part in helping (and not contributing) to the growing world-wide pollution problems.

And to do my part, I decided I want a big green purse!

Do YOU have a big green purse?  Well well, let me introduce you to Diane!  She’s a wonderful woman, who is kicking some green behind and taking names!  She’s the wonder woman behind the Big Green Purse, a brand new book that you now have the inside scoop on!

Click Here for More Information on the Big Green Purse.

Diane MacEachern’s message is simple but revolutionary. If women change the way they spend their money, they can help solve the environmental crisis – and protect themselves and their families, too. Why women? Because women spend $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace. “Women have a whole planetful of power in their purses,” says Diane in her new book Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World (Avery/PenguinGroup USA, 978-1-58333-303-7, 03/2008, $17.95). “When they use it to buy green, they force manufacturers to make products that reduce pollution, slow global warming, and eliminate dangerous chemicals.”

And hey, since it’s *the* month for GOING GREEN, why not join Diane and myself in doing what we can do to change the world – one woman’s purse at a time!

Ask my close friends and family and you will understand that Green Bay Packer football runs deep in my blood.  I fell in love with the Green Bay Packers on December 31, 1967, during the famed Ice Bowl game…and decided by my fifth birthday, that someday I would be the first female coach of the Green Bay Packers. 

Okay, so I decided to take the long road.

As I approach the age of 45, maybe instead I will write a book on how I would have coached Brett Favre during his 17 year football career. 

I will say that this is the year that Brett Favre had the right coaching!  In fact, with the exception of three games this season, Mike McCarthy coached Brett to perfection!  I especially love the five-wide-out. I have been screaming for it for years. But Mike, please give up the delay draw! 

Aahhh, yep, I dream about Green Bay Packer plays all year long and have been known to talk Green Bay football for hours on end!  

I met Brett once, June 12, 1993 (of course I remember the date) at Rosie’s, a bar on Water Street in Milwaukee during the Harley Davidson 90th reunion.  I will always cherish that conversation.  It has become one my life’s defining moments. 

We were in a yuppie bar that wasn’t the usual home for bikers back in those days and as the only female in a group of big male bikers, I was getting some interesting glares from the ‘beautiful people.’  Gorgeous girls were lining up to fall over Brett and Frankie Winters, the Packer’s center (you know, the guy who snaps Brett the ball).  

That first season, Brett was throwing the ball all over the field with lots of crazy plays…some good, many bad.  So while all these people were lining up to pat him on the back, I gave him a piece of my mind.

“Brett, I have a bone to pick with you!  If I see you” … (I struck a pose here – me intimating Brett Favre, on the wrong foot, my head cocked and unable to see down field and me pretending I just released the ball to disaster) “with your head cocked back and your gun-slinging arm really to hammer the trigger deep…with your eyes not down-field, one more time, I swear I am going to come through my television set and knock you to the ground.”

Frank Winters exclaimed, “Finally! A Packer fan who actually watches the game!”  He burst out laughing and said I was “the only honest girl we have met tonight!”

Brett laughed and said, “You sound just like my dad.  He says the exact same thing about my head position.  You know, he was my football coach when I was growing up.”

“I know, Brett.  I have followed the Packers since the Ice Bowl and I always wanted to be the first female coach of the Packers,” I replied. 

And then it was just Brett and I talking football about specific games with Frank quietly listening.

“Brett, I have never seen someone throw the ball 60 yards down field, on the wrong foot, facing the wrong direction, like you.” I said.

He laughed, “I even amaze myself sometimes, but I just believe that I can do this and I love what I do.”

“It shows,” I smiled.

“I really believe that on any play, I can throw a touchdown and be the difference in the game,” Brett admitted.

“You can and you should keep believing that because that is what is going to make you one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play this game,” I exclaimed.

Frank Winters snickered. 

“Seriously!  You can be the next MVP of this league,” I said. 

Frank laughed.  Again.

“No, really!” I said. 

Joe Montana had just won his second MVP so I immediately said, “Heck you could be the leagues first THREE TIME MVP.” 

That really make Frank laugh, but Brett and I just smiled.  We both believed!

I also told him he should get a Harley.  Remember, it was during Harley-Fest…way before Mike Holmgren had his Harley.

“I don’t think the Packer’s and Coach Holmgren would like me riding around on a motorcycle,” he chuckled, highly amused by the thought.   

So today, I sit in my office, writing this blog post, very sad. I look at the three autographed framed pictures of Brett Favre that adorn my office wall.  Yes, as I predicted I have a picture of THREE TIME MVP, Brett Favre riding his Harley.

Was I surprised about his retirement?

I should have been surprised but honestly, I was not.  I am one of those extremely fortunate Green Bay fans who have family connections to a sky box on the same level as the Favre family.  I came out of the box to hug Doris, the amazing elevator lady, after that NFC loss to the NY Giants…at the same time as Deanna, her girls and others were leaving the Favre box.  It was evident that all had been crying.   I felt that I needed to say something and blurted something like, “It was a dream season — truly a dream season and we should hold our head up high and embrace this amazing season. No one expected us to be here at this moment only one step away (from the Super Bowl) — it truly was an amazing season and I am so happy for Brett.  But, he has an entire team with him to shoulder this loss.” 

I hugged Deanna and said, “I pray that we will see you back again (meaning Brett back again as QB) next year,” and she never said a word back…she just hugged me tight.  It came to me during that hug that it truly could be the end, so I panicked — I mean really panicked and told her to tell Brett how much we love him and how amazing he is and how amazing he made us all feel for this wonderful season and career.  I begged her to tell Brett that we love him.  I made her promise me a few time to tell him that we love him.

She probably thought I was one loony bird! 

The elevator door closed and that was it — I felt like I knew that it was to be his last game! 

So.  Please let me thank you, Brett, for all your boy-like antics and making us all feel your love of the game.  You are truly the IRONMAN of the NFL and my THREE TIME NFL FAVORITE of all time!