This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Lincoln.

BlogHer and Lincoln recently gave my family the opportunity to test drive the brand-spanking-new Lincoln MKT for a week. Although I had been a passenger in an MKT briefly (like, around the block) during last summer's visit to Ford's Taurus plant near Chicago, I was in a car full of women yelling things like WOOOOO! so I might have been a bit distracted. In any case, I was excited to get the chance to discover what the MKT was all about in some real world scenarios.

The morning they dropped her off, I immediately grabbed the camera:

I don't know what comes to your mind when you think of Lincoln, but in my mind, I used to think:

The beauty sitting in my driveway caused quite a few head-turning reactions, and open disbelief from friends, neighbors and total strangers alike. To which I say I KNOW. Also, look! It IS a Lincoln.

We had an absolute blast discovering all the super-fun bells and whistles on the MKT - and this experience has opened up a whole new world of must-haves for our future next car. First of all - check this out - when walking back to the car after the school's winter concert, I hit the unlock button on the keyless remote, and the whole car glowed with welcoming, golden light.

That's the car equivalent of a puppy wagging its tail when you approach, and it made me very happy during the cold, rainy week we had with the MKT. Also, I know, we're switching from black and white to color with the photos now. Pretend you've just landed in Oz.

The interior was luxurious and comfortable for my entire family of five. Lincoln has packed in so many thoughtful features that I don't even know where to start.

The third row of seating is easily accessible with a few quick hand motions, and if you've ever had three squirrelly kids sandwiched into a bench seat, you'll know what I mean when I say that third row of seating can make all the difference between your sanity and wondering why your car doesn't have a sound-proofed barrier between the driver and passengers. Actually, okay, I still wondered about that. Lincoln, would you please consider adding a soundproofed barrier for us harried moms? Please?

In the interest of science, I climbed into that back seat, and can say that I fit comfortably enough, although my head was barely clearing the roof, and I'm just under 5' tall. There was adequate legroom for my little peanut legs, too, but I think a larger adult would probably not want to sit in this seat. That said, I believe that there are different seating configurations available, and perhaps one of the other versions would make this space more accommodating to a grown-up sized grown up.

The leather seats were scrumptious, and the console storage was epic. Everywhere you look in the MKT you can find handy pockets, recessed compartments and consoles that open up to reveal enough storage room to hide a small child. Okay, a really really small child. Alright, fine - a ton of DVDs, portable gaming systems, shin guards, books, you name it would fit in the compartments.

Even more exciting for the kids was the refrigerated compartment in between the two back rows. And no, we didn't let them eat or drink in the car, but man - what a nice feature to have, especially if you are like me and constantly on the go from school to soccer to baseball and home again. No more coolers to kick around on the floor, or eat up valuable trunk space.

Other awesome features include integrated sunscreens on passenger windows and heated/cooled seats. Seriously. My buns were all about that. I kept on cooking and chilling my hiney, to the point that it was a little excessive according to my husband, who was getting tired of having to touch my rear repeatedly while I insisted he "feel it now!"

The panoramic roof was also a huge hit. Man, with a few taps on a button, you could open the roof all the way up, which made me wish that it wasn't raining, so we could take a drive out at the redwoods or the coast or something. This car totally made us want to take a road trip.

But, since we were limited on time and weather, we decided to test out a couple of my other favorite features while heading out for some family fun.

The SYNC system rocks. Within minutes of the car being dropped off (whereupon I stood in my driveway and waved cheerfully to the cutie-patootie driver until he was out of site and then did a weird end-zone dance) I had managed to get my iPhone not only talking to the hands-free phone function, but had imported my contacts into the system - all without cords or plugs or drama. Not only that, but it effortlessly (and wirelessly!) picked up music from my iPhone - allowing us to rock out to tunes on demand.

Not only that, but you can totally talk to the system, and it understands what you want. I was able to get driving directions, change radio stations, change the temperature of the car, and guide my family into the closest In-N-Out Burger all without touching the screen.

Mmm. In-N-Out Burgers.

Okay, so then it was back in the car for more rockin' out. That's how we roll.

I'm one of those people who regularly runs over my trash can on the way out of the driveway because my husband thinks it is fun to put the can right behind my car. I can't see it back there, and I always forget to look. That's a pretty significant problem, don't you agree? Never mind that that is also about the height of a child on a bike, and the fact that we live in a busy neighborhood full of not so attentive kids and... let's just say that while the rear visibility through the windows of the MKT was initially frustrating, I quickly fell in love with the rear-view camera and warning system.

There's some sort of radar built into the car's sides, too, that allows the MKT to warn you (via your side mirrors lighting up) if a car is approaching from your right or left when you're trying to back out of a parking spot, and it is this same radar that allows the MKT to parallel park itself, perfectly, every single time.

I tried to make a video of it doing this, but it was basically me screaming with glee, so I'll spare you. But I will admit that I drove around for about an hour repeatedly parallel parking, and it never got old. Not even a little bit old. That is some super awesome fun technology.

Another thing that really impressed the heck out of me was the Adaptive Cruise Control feature. I'm a chicken with using cruise control. I like the idea of it, but I'm always worried that someone is going to pull in front of me, and I'll have to stop using it, and then restart it, and it's confusing and waaaah. So when I learned that the MKT actually senses the speed of the cars in front of you and adjusts your speed to maintain a safe distance, and then will readjust back to your set cruising speed as soon as it is safe to do so - well, sign me up for that. We

There are lots of other amazing features on the Lincoln MKT - a V6 engine that performs like a V8, state-of-the-art safety features right on down to rain-sensing windshield wipers (cool!) and headlights that turn in the same direction as your steering wheel to better light your way.

We spent a lot of time looking at each other and saying "Shut. Up." about the cool things the MKT could do. It totally changed the way I'll evaluate cars in the future, and I feel really lucky to have had the chance to have this extended test drive opportunity.

Would you like the chance to drive a 2010 Lincoln MKT for a Night on the Town? Here's your chance to win a first class experience from Lincoln. Indulge in style. Enter to win a night of pampering with the Lincoln MKT. (valued at $1,500).

You and a guest could win:

• A chance to drive a 2010 Lincoln MKT* for the evening


• Local spa package for two


• Dinner for two at a local restaurant


• One night stay at a local hotel

To enter, please visit the BlogHer.com special offers page.

But wait, before you go... be sure to check out all the reviews, because each reviewer is giving away a $500 Visa Gift Card! Want to win MY gift card?

To enter, leave me a comment below and tell me your favorite technological feature in your car - or in your dream car - or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin January 25, 2010 and will end February 24, 2010. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.

Rules:
• No duplicate comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
• This giveaway is open to US residents, aged 18 and older
• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
• You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
• Please see the official rules here: Official rules

Posted by Jenny at 5:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (85) | TrackBacks (0)

This is a compensated review for the Ninja Master Prep.

In September, the lovely folks at Euro-Pro paid for my flight and hotel in New York City for a special blogger launch event for the Ninja Master Prep. I also received a Ninja of my own, in order to write this review.

The event itself was held at the super-lovely Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Will you look at the view from our reception room?

We were greeted warmly and allowed the opportunity to mingle with our fellow attendees.

(from left to right, Carmen from Mom to the Screaming Masses, Y from Joy Unexpected, Lotus from Sarcastic Mom and yours truly.)

Then, we were whisked into a special demo featuring celebrity chef Robin Miller showing us how to use the Ninja.

I announced my excitement:

And got random props from a roving band of ninjas:

This was just before things got underway for reals. I kept the silly tweets to a minimum, because honestly, I was totally into the presentation.

Right about that point, Robin was pulverizing ice cubes into snow, in a side by side demo with a blender. SNOW. She made a bunch of other recipes - a fish thing, salsa and guacamole, several blended drinks, soup... she had me at "SNOW."

After the presentation, we had the opportunity to play with not only the Ninja, but a whole bunch of other Euro-Pro products (reviews forthcoming on those as well.) We also got the chance to visit with Robin Miller.

We enjoyed a lunch featuring the dishes that Robin had demonstrated before scattering back into the city. All in all, the event was really fun and informative, and made me super-excited to get my Ninja on back at home.

So, here's the thing. I absolutely love love LOVE this thing. I've had blenders and I've had food processors, but neither was capable of effortlessly whacking just about anything into submission with almost no cleanup after the fact. The motor goes on top, and even if it is plugged in, it will not engage unless all the parts are properly seated, making it completely safe for even my seven-year-old to operate (provided I do the assembly of the blades.)

I have broken two blenders making frozen fruit smoothies. BROKEN. As in tore-up, motor-on-fire, can't- handle-it broken. Plus, I always had to stop it 500 times to stir things around, and mush things down so that the blades could do what they are supposed to do.

My food processor was great at chopping and mixing, but I always managed to make a holy mess with wet ingredients. Plus, you can't serve from the bowl - you have to disengage the whole thing from the machine, and then scoop or pour it into a serving vessel.

Now, I seriously just dump in the fruit and pulse it about 5 or 6 times, and I've got frozen fruit snow. SNOW.

In fact, we've successfully made fruit sorbet this way, that was ready to eat straight from the Ninja. This is a bag of frozen pineapple blended with a can of light coconut milk. That's it, and it was delish. No sweeteners needed!

I seriously use it every. single. day. We make salsa, guacamole, frozen drinks, smoothies and even whipped cream. That one blew me away. In LESS time than it takes to use my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, it whipped heavy cream perfectly. Like, six little pulses or so. That is crazy talk, my friends. It took longer to scoop it onto the pie than it did to whip it.

I use it so much that I've managed to rub the logo off the motor pod part. It's now known as the "JA" around here.

Hi-JA!

While I don't do the whole dual bowl prep, if you wanted to make, say, fresh salsa and frozen margaritas at the same time, you can! You just move the motor from one container to the next.

Some of the other great features: everything comes apart easily and effortlessly for cleaning, and the plastic used for the pitcher and smaller bowls don't discolor or get etched like my old food processor's bowl did. Because the motor is on the top, and the blades lift out of the mixer bowl, you can serve right from the mixing container (and they provide handy snap on tops if you want to store in the fridge.)

Part of the reason that my review is taking place so long after the trip and receiving the Ninja at my home is my 38-year-old sister was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after my return from New York. She's doing really well now, thankfully. As part of her therapy, she's modified her diet to include a ton of fresh, raw foods. Right away, I knew that she needed a Ninja of her own, and I was delighted to give her one on Christmas. I'm happy to report she's a convert, too.

Posted by Jenny at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The lovely gals at MomCentral recently gave my family the opportunity to play-test the great new game based on the movie Madagascar, Escape 2 Africa for the Nintendo DS.

As usual the second any new game arrives, the kids made off with it immediately. I can always tell when a game is a big hit, because I have to be sneaky to get a chance to play it myself.

The game follows the plot of the new movie, and allows you to play as 5 different characters. It has great music and the game play is smooth and intuitive. I really appreciated the onscreen directions that appeared at critical junctions of the game - they kids seemed to wiz right through the levels after an attempt or two, but it took a little extra prompting for me, and I'm glad it was built right in.

There is a lot of variety as you move through the game, too... you can switch characters easily, solve puzzles, win battles, and can unlock really fun mini-games as you play. You use the touch screen and occasionally the microphone to control the game play, and while even my five year old could successfully play, the game had enough challenging elements to keep my older kids happy and playing (for hours. Seriously.) Even better, there is the capability to play mini-games wirelessly with two or more other DS-slinging players.

Activision has created a winning translation of these great characters and totally captured the flavor and sass of the Madagascar crew. We all give this game a huge round of applause.

Thanks so much for letting us test it out!

Posted by Jenny at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As a mom to three elementary school aged kids - two of them girls - we're all about Hasbro's Littlest Pet Shop over here. All of my kids love these tiny little critters and their colorful play-environments. The only problem? Well, that would be me. You see, if I step on or trip over or vacuum up one more teeny tiny plastic pet, I'm going to snap. Perhaps they don't remember the Polly Pocket mass extinction of '06. Giant comets got nothing on a mom with a shop vac and a hate on for tiny rubber clothing.

But I'm getting off track, because The Parent Bloggers Network recently emailed me and offered me the opportunity to review Hasbro's latest collaboration with EA games - Littlest Pet Shop for the Wii. When the box arrived, I opened it with a flourish and presented it to my nine-year-old daughter, who immediately snatched it out of my hands and headed to the living room, teeth tearing into the cellophane wrapper in her impatience to get it going.

I trailed her and offered to assist with set up but she elbowed me out of the way, and within moments was naming her new characters. My soon-to-be-six-year-old was also able to easily manipulate the game controls, and although it is a single player game, the kids really enjoyed working together and helping each other select fashion accessories and create names.

I'll be honest, I didn't get the chance to touch the remote. This game was such a huge hit with my kids - even my son, who normally won't play with what he considers "girlie" stuff - that I finally gave up trying and let them have at it without me. They loved the 16 different mini-games and despite repeated playing, the ability to change the difficulty of the games has kept their interest. The four different worlds that are available for game play are charming and colorful, and really capture the imagination. They are well on their way to unlocking and collecting all 32 available critters, and while at first I wished that they could play together - the fact that they can't compete with each other, and have to take turns totally rocks, now that I think about it. No bickering!

Thanks EA and Hasbro for letting us have this opportunity. To check out what other Parent Bloggers Network moms had to say - visit the round up.

Posted by Jenny at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I totally enjoy Wii Boogie - the original game, although I have some issues with the available characters and songs being a little too sexy and mature for my elementary school aged kids. So it was with glee that I fired this up and noticed a new look for the characters.

Gone are the weird animal and monster-looking people. Instead, they have a whole host of male and female characters in a variety of kid and tween friendly looks that you can customize.

The game play is different too - gone is the need for the nunchuck controller, and the moves are triggered by the movement of the Wii remote. The basic dance moves are easy to master, even for my kids, and the tutorials were fun and easy to follow. Within ten minutes of opening the box, we were having a dance-off.

I really liked the onscreen move prompts - they are easy to follow, and simple combos are possible right from the get-go. We haven't tried choreographing our own routines yet, but I like that it is an option.

My kids really get a kick out of the American Idol-style stage and contest format and judging. I love that you can select your events and song, or leave it all up to the whim of the judges. I found the karaoke portion was more challenging than I expected, but then again, these songs are current hits - over 30 songs that you will actually hear on the radio, if you get the chance to listen to anything other than The Wiggles. I'm not as up on the lyrics and songs as I could be - and I'm betting most kids and teens are going to know all of these songs well.

# Angel, Love Like This [remix], Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
# Dance Like There's No Tomorrow - Paula Abdul
# Bullseye, Like Whoa, Potential Breakup Song - Aly & AJ
# The Great Escape - Boys Like Girls
# Everytime We Touch, What Hurts the Most - Cascada
# Fancy Footwork - Chromeo
# Thnks Fr Th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy
# Glamorous - Fergie
# Elevator - Flo Rida feat. Timbaland
# I Don't Want to Be in Love (Dance Floor Anthem) - Good Charlotte
# Wake Up - Hilary Duff
# Hold On, SOS, That's Just the Way We Roll, When You Look Me in the Eyes [remix] - The Jonas Brothers
# No One - Alicia Keys
# Take You There - Sean Kingston
# Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
# Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
# Shake It - Metro Station
# What You Got - Colby O'Donis
# I Don't Think About It - Emily Osment
# Nine in the Afternoon - Panic at the Disco
# Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
# Jump to the Rhythm - Jordan Pruitt
# Don't Stop the Music, Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna
# Yahhh! - Soulja Boy Tellem
# Radar, Toxic - Britney Spears
# He Said She Said - Ashley Tisdale
# Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
# Stronger - Kanye West

It did crack me up that the one song that sounded pretty familiar was Paula Abdul's new one from last year. Hahahaha. Mama needs to get caught up on some new music, I think. Boogie Superstar comes with one microphone so you can sing your heart out - or you can mumble along tunelessly like me, whatever works for you.

If you're looking for a fun, user-friendly game for your pop-star or dancing queen, this is a great place to start. I'm looking forward to getting a little deeper into the features of the game - but the fact that we were engaged so quickly, and having so much fun right out of the box, tells me that this game is going to be a big hit.

Pick up your own copy of Boogie Superstar with Microphone
here. To see what other Parent Bloggers reviewers had to say - check out the roundup post.

Posted by Jenny at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With three growing kids and a new school year just underway, my thoughts have been focused on new outfits for everyone. The back to school shopping routine has been complicated in the last two years as my kids' school schedule has shifted by several weeks. With classes beginning in the first weeks of August, there isn't a lot of motivation to stock up on the fall clothing they'll need in a few months, but they've played hard all summer in their warm weather clothes, and they all needed some wardrobe freshening.

Trying to decide what to buy now, and what to buy later... it's a challenge. That said, new socks and underwear are always on the list. So when the Parent Bloggers Network offered to outfit my kids with new socks and underpants from Hanes, I was thrilled.

My youngest wasn't quite big enough for the sizing offered for this program, but I was downright giddy to receive new boxers and briefs for my eight-year-old son, bikinis and briefs for my nine-year-old daughter and new ankle-length socks for both kids.

We're a Hanes family from way back. Early on, I'd try to save a few pennies by purchasing socks and underpants from other labels. I'd bring home packages of socks with toe seams that rubbed blisters into my kids' toes, and stretched out or wore out after just a few wearings. We've never had those problems with the socks we've purchased from Hanes - the yarns they use are simply stronger and thicker, and provide more cushioning for busy feet. The construction on the heel and toe fits better in their tennis shoes - no balling up or blisters from these socks - and best of all, the elastic ribbing on the tops of the socks just doesn't give up.

My daughter has always been finicky about her underpants - elastic that digs in or doesn't stay put causes her (and me) no end of grief. We've battled over panties for years - until once again, we found that Hanes made excellent, comfortable panties and briefs that do not ride up, and move comfortably with your kids without binding or irritating. They are 100% cotton, which is actually really super-soft and the tagless design is a huge bonus.

My son is very slender through the hips, and while he prefers boxer-briefs most of the time, he was delighted try out Hanes No Ride Up Briefs and No Gap Fly Boxers. The premium cotton and great styling - especially the tagless design and wide, covered waistbands make both of these options comfortable and non-irritating. I was really pleased to see how cleverly styled the No Gap Fly Boxers are - they allow total freedom of movement without the risk of accidentally exposing anything. Hanes, for the win!

Thank you Hanes, for allowing my family to go back to school in comfort and style!

To see what the rest of the Parent Bloggers Network reviews had to say - be sure to check out the roundup.

Posted by Jenny at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The box arrived with the usual fanfare. My dog hates delivery trucks, and started barking and leaping at the front door before the truck had banged to a stop. A quick slam of the gate later, I emerged, blinking against the bright sunlight to find a giant box sitting in the middle of my walkway, surrounded by my three children, who were hooting, doing some sort of tribal dance and drumming on the top.

As yes, the final week of summer vacation.

With the help of my kids, who were taking as much credit for the arrival of the box as a pack of Woolly Mammoth hunters would be for bringing down a furry elephant, we hauled it inside, and ripped open the seal.

See, I knew that I would be doing a review of the new M&M's Premiums chocolate candies for BlogHer, but I figured that I'd be getting a small sample, or a few coupons or something. I assumed this had to be something else.

As soon as I cracked the seal on the box and got a look, I started laughing. I had a giant box of 35 pounds of super-deluxe candies, nested in a shiny silver liner to keep them cool. I swear to you that as soon as the first flap was lifted, a chorus of angels sang and a sunbeam struck the silver liner, rendering the kids awestruck. I seized this moment of temporarily spellbound children to grab one of the end flaps on the box and started dragging that thing towards my bedroom as fast as I could go.

The kids instinctively knew that there was some high quality stuff in that box. I tried to convince them that it was rocks. Then, when they got the whiff of chocolate, I told them that it was special grown-up Lady Chocolate and not for kids.

LadyCandy. Aw yeah.

I handed each kid a random box and shooed them away. Faced with 57 remaining boxes of gorgeously colored chocolate, my mind began to work. Should I empty the boxes into a giant pile and play pirate's treasure? Should I wait until my husband came home from work and leave a trail of M&M's Premiums down the hall and into the bedroom, where I would be waiting on a bed covered with pretty little candies? Shaking the vision of doing M&Ms angels in a snowdrift of candy, I wisely decided to hold off on any drastic action.

I called my co-workers and taunted them about my giant box of candy instead. They loved that, as you can imagine, and advised me not to eat them all myself, because they were afraid the resulting sugar buzz and giggling fits could cause the earth to fall off its axis.

I really love the packaging - they have an elegant, hour-glass shape to the box, and the inner wrapper is resealable - which, as Chris noted, is so adorable. Actually, my nine-year-old is using a few of the boxes as storage for some of her little trinkets and collections of tiny things. At a generously sized 6 oz each, you can really get your snack on - and still be able to share with a friend.

One of the really distinctive things about these candies is the lack of the candy shell. I'm a girl who chews up my cough drops, and can't be bothered to let things melt in my mouth, but hand to the heavens, with the rich flavors and creamy consistency of the chocolate on these new M&Ms, I was moved to put one candy in my mouth at a time and just let it happen. And it was gooooood.

The five flavors are:

Triple Chocolate - "truly tempting layers of milk chocolate, white chocolate & dark chocolate"

Mint Chocolate - "sinfully good white chocolate mint wrapped in dark chocolate"

Raspberry Almond - "berry blissful raspberry flavored white chocolate & almond wrapped in dark chocolate"

Mocha - "simply tantalizing mocha flavored milk chocolate"

Chocolate Almond - "delightfully delicious freshly roasted whole almond wrapped in milk chocolate"

As you can see, there is something for everyone to love here. I'm partial to the mint and triple-chocolate myself.

Last Wednesday was the first day of school for all three of my kids - for the first time ever. After I returned home from dropping the kids off and settled down at my desk with a cup of coffee, it felt anti-climactic. Where was the party?

Right here. Here's a little party for ya.

I've been gleefully sharing my bounty with my family and friends - and the reactions have all been pretty dramatic - everyone is blown away by the great new flavors and beautiful gem-like colors.

You have GOT to try them.

Don't want to take my word for it? Head over to the roundup page and see what my fellow reviewers had to say!

Posted by Jenny at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)