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If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that I like easy. I do quite a bit of cooking and baking in my home, but very little of it is done from “scratch”, I generally use pre-made products as a base to a recipe or as part of a meal. For me it’s not just a way to save time, but also to get a compliment of flavors that I probably would not think of on my own.

It’s always fun when I get an e-mail from a public relations firm or a brand directly asking me to try our a new product. Not only do I get to try it as it’s just hitting store shelves, but the products often inspire me to do something different for my meals.

Since many of my readers’ kids may be planning to spend at least part of the summer preparing for the SAT, Amber and I are going to review Kaplan Test Prep’s SAT course for you.

There are two ways that one can take a SAT Prep Course through Kaplan online:

Since summer is finally right around the corner, kids will be outside playing all day – being kids essentially! But among the dirt and grime they bring back inside, some germs may hitch a ride!

Pledge® Multi-Surface II Antibacterial Cleaner is the first antibacterial product that kills 99.9 percent of germs including bacteria like staph, E.-coli and salmonella and viruses like influenza (the Flu) when used according to directions.

It usually takes our family a couple of weeks to see a movie in the theater, if we go see it in the theater at all. Generally we wait the three or four months until it the movie is released on DVD, since it’s more economical for the three of us to see it that way, plus with the 3D TV at home we’re not missing much at all at the movie theater. That being said, we figured The Avengers must be worth doling the cash out since the rest of the world is speaking with their wallets, so earlier this past week we gave up daughter’s college savings, grudgingly parted with our money at the movie theater.

The story of The Borrowers has been told over and over again, in many different forms, and it’s time for another one to be introduced to your family. The Secret World of Arrietty (released May 22, 2012), available on Blu-ray & DVD Combo Pack. is a movie from Studio Ghibli (famous for Spirited Away and Ponyo) and Disney that tells another story of the mysterious Little People who ‘borrow’ supplies from the houses they hide beneath. It features the voices of Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Carol Burnett.

I like to change up what one normally does with ‘instant’ foods. Making things from scratch has never been my strong suit, but coming up with new ways to use pre-made products, that’s something I really enjoy doing.

Rather than just eat cinnamon buns made from the tube dough – how about some scrumptious Cinnamon Sticks?!

Do you like espresso? Then you’ll love this Café Mocha flavored cake that bakes up fast in your microwave and is portion controlled! It is inspired by a recipe from Hungry-Girl.com.

Summer vacation is right around the corner and Colortime products would make an awesome addition to the rainy days that you might encounter where staying inside starts getting you the, “Mom, I’m bored” whines. I’m sure any kid would love to color their own t-shirt, pillowcase or bag!

As summer vacation is here for some and is coming up quickly for others, we all know that the first couple of weeks are great for relaxing and unwinding, but as parents we hate to see the learning become stagnant until September rolls around again. That’s one of the reasons we decided to homeschool year round. Together parents and their high school children can avoid the “academic summer slide” by keeping their kids’ brains active by picking up some books on rainy days or during travel, that provide brain-challenging fun!