Cinnamon Burst Cheerios!

I had a chance to try Cinnamon Burst Cheerios! See what Moms like you had to say about them:



Cinnamon Burst Cheerios contains 20% of the Daily Value recommended for fiber (5g per serving), has 9 grams of sugar, is low in fat and free of saturated fat, and cholesterol free as well. Plus, with Cinnamon Burst Cheerios, you have 8g of whole grain. Typically, you'll want at least 48g of whole grain a day, so you're starting off right!

I really enjoyed the Cinnamon Burst Cheerios I tried. They weren't too sweet, had just a touch of Cinnamon, and a good breakfast always helps me get started on my workout. I try to workout every other day and walk a little on the days in between if I can. What do you do to start your day off right? Tell me and you could WIN!

We're giving away a Cinnamon Burst Cheerios cereal gift pack that includes a box of Cinnamon Burst Cheerios cereal for you to try, family 4-pack of cereal bowls, travel cereal chiller (LOVE this! Keeps your milk cold) and a cinnamon scented candle!


To Enter:


(Required for initial entry) Just tell me what you do to start your day off with a smile in a comment below!


Additional Entries:


Are you following CoolMomsRule on Twitter? That's another entry! Let me know in the comments.


Tweet about this contest and use the hashtag #myblogspark


'Like' Cheerios on their Facebook Wall


Contest Ends Midnight, EST Wednesday, March 2nd.

Good Luck!

I received a free box of Cinnamon Burst Cheerios in one of the gift packs as part of a MyBlogSpark campaign.

Tron Evolution: Battle Grids for the Wii

I'm old enough to remember both the original Tron movie and the videogame--which, back then, we played in this archaic place known as an arcade (look it up on Google, kids)--so this game, Tron Evolution: Battle Grids, based on the newest Disney movie, Tron Legacy, was, in some ways, like an old friend.

As in the original arcade game, Tron fans will be glad to hear you can ride Light Cycles, Throw Light Discs and battle Grid Tanks in Tron Evolution: Battle Grids.

Rather than the merciless spiders (Grid Bugs) I remember, there are Light Runners (cars) to race instead. I think this is a good move on the Disney and Propaganda Games' part: no nightmares for those arachnophobes out there, and also the game skews to a younger audience (sadly, Propaganda Games was closed down by Disney last month).

I played the game with the Master Strategist (the Owl) and the Suicide Shooter (the Rhino), and here are our thoughts on Tron Evolution: Battle Grids.

First off, we flet the Wii was the wrong vehicle for this game. As the Master Strategist put it, "The Wii feels like it is ten years behind the technology." For example, in the Light Runner section, you use the Wii controller, held sideways. For some strange reason, button #2 is accelerate, while button #1 is brake (which you never use). To shoot weapons, you rely on A. To me, the controls are counter-intuitive. A = accelerate in most games. But even without that impediment, directional thumbpads are far superior to the Wii controller for use as steering wheels. They do make steering wheels controllers for the Wii, but there is nothing in the game literature to indicate whether they are compatible with Tron Evolution: Battle Grids.

But putting those concerns aside, the Grid Tank section of the game offers some real enjoyment and even a bit of a challenge. The game offers you the chance to pick AI of various levels to play against in each of the game play modes, and you can choose between one and three virtual opponents. Aiming involves both moving the controller and zeroing in with an marker on the screen, like a big cross, to target your opponent. This is a bit tricky (at least for me) to master, which added to the replayability of the levels. Tough against any but the easiest AI, Grid Tank players must turn on their shields to protect against enemy tanks, lure their AI opponents onto mines or repeatedly pummel them with missiles or mortar attacks to emerge victorious. Definitely our favorite section of Tron Evolution: Battle Grids.

The Light Cycles were a bit of a disappointment, as we would have preferred an overhead camera view. You can certainly go fast enough, and the levels are large, but the size of the playing field makes it hard to gauge where you are in relation to the other cyclist(s), crucial if you are going to trap and crash them against your light trail. There is a small square, like a really simplified radar, with the relative positions of the riders, but you simply do not have time to correlate your actual vehicle with this while you are racing your Light Cycle at top speed.

The Light Discs in Tron Evolution: Battle Grids had an auto-tracking feature of some kind, which meant that wherever you were in the level, if you threw that disc you were going to hit your opponent. Thus, the game becomes more about maneuvering through the changing environment (the arena shifts, moving points on the grid up and down to create cliffs and valleys) than accuracy in aim or skill at shooting. My teen fellow testers did not approve of this. They wanted their accuracy to count for something. The auto-aim is probably best for younger players who have not yet mastered their gaming skills--but this begs the question, why is the aiming system on the Grid Tanks so much more advanced than that of the Light Discs? Not sure what the game makers were going for here.

Viv's Take: Overall, we were not impressed with Tron Evolution: Battle Grids for the Wii. We felt the Grid Tanks offered the best replay value, were not impressed by the Light Discs, would have preferred better controls for the Light Racers, and a better camera angle for the Light Cycle. We also felt that the Wii did not offer the best vehicle for the game.

TRON: Evolution – Battle Grids, rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older, for Wii has a $49.99 suggested retail price.

I received a copy of Tron Evolution: Battle Grids for the Wii for the purposes of this review.

Sweet Treats for Your Sweetheart!

It's February! And you know what that means? Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Have you shopped for your sweetie yet? Need a gift idea?  You can't go wrong with Donsuemor cookies!

The company, which gets its name from creators DON and SUE MORris, began with the introduction of their French madeleines in 1976. These soft, spongy cookies come beautifully packaged and they are delicious--just look at these heart-shaped, chocolate dipped treats above!

The above picture is their black and white assortment, with white-dipped chocolate cookies and more chocolate cookies dipped in extra chocolate. Donsuemor really caters to us chocoholics. ; )

I had an opportunity to try some Donsuemor madeleines for this review, and the selection I sampled was this Assorted variety, pictured above. They were delicious! We passed the cookies around our house when we had some guests visiting over the weekend, and they earned unanimous thumbs-up from all our tasters!

This special assortment is available beginning February 1st for Valentine's Day gifting.

Donsuemor also has French almond cakes, lemon-zest madeleines, chocolate madeleines and iced "cute" cakes (like little cupcakes) for year-round gifts. Or choose a variety pack if you can't make up your mind! Their online shop offers free shipping for purchases over $100.  

Viv's Take: We really enjoyed sampling the Donsuemor madeleines. Elegantly packaged, the cookies were soft and tasty, sweet but not overly so, and made for a nice indulgence. 

I received a sample box of the Valentine's Day Assorted variety from Donsuemor for the purposes of this review.

5 Minute Review: Clever Wraps Ringer Wraps

Clever Wraps has a simple concept: protect your phone from the elements with disposable bags, called Ringer Wraps.

And it's a good idea, and the wraps themselves are easy to use. They're like baggies that come in 3 different sizes to fit a variety of phones. They zip closed, and then additionally there's an adhesive strip to tighten the wrap around the phone. You can still type on your phone, text, make calls, the whole deal, right through the wrap.

I had considered putting the Ringer Wraps in our Holiday Gift Guide, as a pack of 5 costs about $10, and I thought they might make a good stocking stuffer.

And then I received a sample to test out, and had several teens try them, and...well, honestly, they didn't like the Ringer Wraps  much!

Our teen test group (one 16 yo, one 17 yo and one 15 yo) felt that they would just as soon pop their phones into Ziploc bags, which admittedly are cheaper (though don't have adhesive). We tried out some simple Ziploc bags, and turns out that yes, you can use your phone through them as well.

The teens also pointed out that the Ringer Wraps aren't water-proof, just water-resistant, which most cases are as well. They also said they worry more about dropping their phones than getting them wet, and of course Ringer Wraps don't protect against damage from falls. Finally, the teens just didn't like the ideas of putting their stylish smartphones in baggies very much. They wanted skins or cases that more reflected their own individual taste.

I can attest that I personally use an Otter Box case for my phone precisely because it protects my phone if I drop it (I am klutzy). Of course, as I reminded our teen panel, cases are much more expensive than Ringer Wraps, especially Otter Box cases! But I do think their points about the limitations of Ringer Wraps are valid.

Viv's take: Clever Wraps Ringer Wraps are inexpensive compared to many phone accessories, but not as cheap as more readily-available zipper sandwich bags, though they do offer additional security and a bit tighter fit with the adhesive strip and different size options. Bottom line, for occasional use, you may find you prefer Clever Wraps to a baggie from your kitchen when it comes to sand or the elements, but for year-round protection against all damage, you're better off shelling out some bucks for a quality phone case instead.

We're Back! Hi, 2011!

Happy New Year! Let's hope 2011 is less hectic than 2010.

I took a little time off after the holidays--with the kitchen remodeling finishing, literally, at 6 PM on Christmas Eve, with our guests (my folks) arriving at around 1 PM (ack!) with most of our kitchen stuff still out in plastic storage baskets in the living room, and then the Engineer's Dad staying from Christmas until New Year's Eve, me doing physical therapy for my aching right hip (I have, apparently, twisted my SI so that my hips are completely out of alignment, and that left hip is "really tight") and then the boys' sleepover at New Year's and last weekend and THEN the Rhino's games last week (the first week back in school, which was only 4 school days, was taken up by three soccer games and one practice)--I was ready for a break!

Now, the Engineer is in CA (left last night and barely got out of Atlanta at around 10 PM due to the 10 inches of snow), the kids are in school, and I was able to do my first post-physical therapy workout, really more of a stretch and floor work deal than true cardio (not quite ready for that yet, though I've been trying to walk a little more just as a routine, everyday thing, shopping and such).

So! We're back, and welcoming 2011 with a few 5 Minute Reviews!