Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Introducting 100% Whole Grain Pasta from Ronco (Big GIVEAWAY!!!)

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We all know that whole grains are much better for us than enriched ones. We tried to make the switch to whole grain flour, but found it to be just SO dense. But we’ve had great success combining it with the enriched stuff….we are very used to the taste, and find it to be quite yummy, actually!

We’ve also tried out several different brands of whole grain pasta. Let me be honest, I haven’t had complete and total success in this department. In fact, most everything I have tried has been not so good, and I’ve rarely bought those items again.

Ronco has just released their 100% Whole Grain Pasta line, and they worked really hard to maintain a taste that consumers would love all while giving us all the benefits of those whole grains. It’s really cool to read the label. Wanna hear the ingredient list? Here goes: durum whole wheat flour. That’s it!!!

I just tried their spaghetti noodles the other day, and while I can’t say that they taste like enriched noodles, I will say that they are truly the best tasting 100% whole grain noodles I have ever tried. I would definitely buy them again because I think that their flavor is close enough to what we normally eat that we could get used to it, just as we have with our flour. I’m excited about this, because I always feel bad about serving enriched pastas to my family.

Buy it!: Wanna give it a try? Now is the perfect time, because if you like Ronco on Facebook, you can snag a $1.00 off coupon (while supplies last).

Win it!: In celebration of Ronco’s new launch, one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel 4-Piece 12 Quart Pasta/Steamer set and 4 boxes of Ronco 100% Whole Grain Pasta! The contest will run until June 8th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT OF STUFF PARENTS NEED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GIVEAWAY. YOU CAN SIGN UP THROUGH MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me your very favorite type of pasta!

My answer: Penne!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Ronco on Facebook (don’t miss the coupon!)
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my hompeage.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Toe-Tapping Music for Chilled Out Fun (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I was recently introduced to one seriously great children’s music performer, Hope Harris. Have you heard of her? Here’s what one critic had to say of her, “Hope Harris combines country and swing with a little touch of show music…Harris has a clear and friendly voice that reminds one of Kate Taylor and Patsy Cline.”

She does, indeed, have a pure and smooth sound, and I found the tracks on her latest album, Cousins Jamboree, to be very easy to pick up and sing along with (jazz hands optional, unless you are me, in which case they are mandatory). Even with all its personality (and it is packed with it), I really like that this album keeps the vibe relaxed. Not sleepy, by any means, but definitely chilled out.

There are also great lessons to glean from each piece. I was really struck by, “Hang on Friend,” which is all about learning how to stand in line and wait your turn. I hadn’t yet thought about that lesson for Darah, and the fact that we aren’t born knowing how to wait our turn for things!

Here’s a new fun video that features the title track from the album!

Buy it!: Cousins Jamboree is available online for $15.00 and is recommended for ages 3-10. It runs a comfortable 42 minutes and has 16 fun songs!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Cousins Jamboree! The contest will run until June 7th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN A PRIZE. YOU MAY SIGN UP THROUGH MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO, ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me the song your child loves to sing the most right now!

My answer: Skidda ma rinky dinky dink is Darah’s favorite song of the moment!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Hope Harris on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need via RSS or email

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary cd for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

NOVICA Launches Home Party Division (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I love shopping with NOVICA. Not only will you find one of the best selections of unique gift ideas from around the world, but you will also be supporting global artisans with your purchase, and ensuring that they are paid a living wage for their work. Everybody wins when you shop with NOVICA! I just picked up a very cool gift for Tim. Be sure to check out all of their gifts for dad, as June 19th is right around the corner!

I just heard from NOVICA that they have launched a home party division called NOVICA Live. How exciting! If you have a knack for direct sales, this is a REALLY good time to get started with NOVICA Live. It’s early in their launch, and that means that there’s plenty of room for you to build a client base! And how great will it feel to earn some money in a flexible work environment all while supporting these fantastic artists and craftsmen?

The starter kids are $199 and have over $400 of samples included. Kits also come with $150 in business materials. And get this….they are running a lot of promotions for their early batch of consultants, including earning a trip to BALI!!! Yes, Bali! AKA Earth’s Eden! 🙂

So, wanna learn more? Please go check out NOVICA Live. If it feels like the right opportunity for you, please tell them Stuff Parents Need sent you over. I’ll get some funds to shop with at NOVICA if you do, and I’m happy to shop with you! 🙂

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is about to win a $35 gift certificate to spend at NOVICA! Yay! The contest will run until June 6th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY. YOU CAN SIGN UP THROUGH MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me what you want to buy at NOVICA!

My answer: I’m digging on several of the women’s robes! This one might be my favorite! http://clothing.novica.com/womens/robes/batik-robe-bali-meadow/177934/

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like NOVICA on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: Thanks to NOVICA for providing the giveaway gift certificate, and one for my personal use. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Applying Economic Principles to Snacking

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Are you a chronic snacker? I totally am. I eat little bites all day long. And if I’m not careful, I eat big bites/small meals all day long, which is not so good, because I certainly don’t skip the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Sometimes, the problem is in the presentation. For example, if you get out a large bowl for your ice cream, only intending to eat a small bowl as a snack, it’s kind of hard to actually succeed with this plan, as the serving just looks so tiny! Likewise, it’s probably hard to eat a very small serving of cake on a large plate. I know this from experience!

Today I’m highlighting a very cool product based on a simple concept: portion control made easy! Check out the Yum Yum dish. It is a 4 oz ceramic dish that is absolutely perfect for anyone out there who loves to snack but needs a bit of help knowing when snack time needs to be over.

When you want a snack during the day, use your Yum Yum dish to get the appropriate serving amount (I’ll be honest, it’s probably smaller than what you are normally getting). What I love about the dish is that written along the inside is, “Yum Yum time is……” and at the bottom it says, “over!”

Now, clearly this method will not be effective if you just go refill it with more ice cream every 20 minutes throughout the day. But I think you’ll find that if you give your body time to start digesting your snack, your craving will subside. Your body will be satisfied, and you will not have over-indulged!

The Yum Yum dish actually beautifully demonstrates the one concept I learned in my Economics class in college: diminishing marginal utility. When applying this concept to food, it basically means this: the very best bite of any dish is the first one. All bites after that will diminish in how much you enjoy them. You can consume so much of a food or drink that there will be a point where you don’t want to consume it any more, even if it is your favorite thing in the whole entire world.

So by using the Yum Yum dish, and eating 4 oz of ice cream, or potato chips, or whatever snacky food you are eating, you are maximizing your enjoyment, and minimizing how much of it you are going to eat at a lower level of enjoyment. Make sense?

Buy it!: The Yum Yum dish comes in a set of 4 for $22.00. They are adorable! Plus, for the next 2 weeks, Stuff Parents Need readers can get a $5 discount on their purchase of as many sets as you like! Woo hoo! Just use code PARENTS at checkout!

To learn more about great tips on healthy eating, sign up for the Tip of the Week from Lisa Mosley, a contestant on Season 10 of The Biggest Loser! It’s on the bottom right of the linked page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

My Top Summer Read Recommendation

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In need of a good read this summer? Allow me to make a suggestion, if I might.

PUH-LEEEZE get your hands on a copy of, When Did I Get Like This? by Amy Wilson, author of the off-Broadway hit, Mother Load. I have laughed and cried and shouted, “Amen, sister!” countless times while devouring this book. I even stayed up late and woke up extra early to get my fix, and finished it in just a few days. I haven’t read a book that quickly since BEFORE Darah was born.

One of the major things that I appreciate about this book is how Amy breaks down why so many of us find ourselves to be guilt-ridden chronic worriers as young mothers. I’m not saying that none of us possessed any of those tendencies before we got pregnant, but if you are able to NOT possess them by the time you pass your first trimester, then you are a rare breed, indeed. And it’s no wonder, because everywhere we turn, we face an onslaught of CRITICAL information, much of it contradictory, and we had better pick a path to follow, because it will impact our children FOREVER. Oh yeah, and whatever path you pick, there’s another path (or 12), filled with folks pointing at you and telling you that YOU CHOSE WRONG!!!!

Here’s an example. When you find out you are pregnant for the first time, you will probably pretty quickly read up on the “best practices” for your pregnancy. For those of us who need a cup of coffee in the morning, Amy points out this tid bit that we learn, “Caffeine causes miscarriages! (Wait, no it doesn’t! (Hold on, yes it does! (Sometimes!))) When we can’t be sure that anything is safe, what are we supposed to do but worry?” (p. 5). Oh man, when I read that passage memories just flooded back to me of staring down teeny tiny cups of coffee that I poured for my pregnant self in moments of reckless abandon, and then berated myself heavily about for even THINKING about taking a wee little sip. I tortured myself over this issue. And countless others. Did I mention the coffee was decaf? But see, I read somewhere that even decaf coffee has a little bit of caffeine in it….

One other section that really resonated with me in this chapter was when Amy talks openly about the trouble she and her spouse had conceiving. While I never had to take infertility drugs, my first pregnancy was actually a chemical pregnancy, and so I miscarried. When I found out I was pregnant again a few months later, I was VERY guarded with my feelings on it. I was downright suspicious until I got further along than I had with the first pregnancy, and I remained skeptical at best until I heard a heartbeat at 8 weeks. Amy hits the nail on the head about having trouble conceiving when she writes, “Infertility robs you of many things along the way, but the last thing it steals from you is the ability to celebrate being pregnant, if and when it actually happens. You are told not to believe too fully, to want too much. You cannot jubilate. You only, slowly, exhale” (p. 25).

There’s SO much good stuff in here, people! I only highlighted things from the beginning, but I think they give you a taste of the insight that Amy has to share about why it is so extremely difficult to not be a giant sack of worry as a new mom, and she also shares, through her own story, ways to get to the other side, to the “good enough” place that will set you free.

Read it.  Seriously.

Edit: This giveaway is closed

Win it!: No excuses, here’s your chance to win an autographed copy of When Did I Get Like This? The contest will run until June 4th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GIVEAWAY. YOU CAN SIGN UP ON MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me something you thought you’d never do as a parent that you definitely do, at least on occasion:

My answer: I had every intention of being VIGILANT about keeping Darah away from television until she was 2, and then letting her watch 15 minutes a day, at most. I still secretly wish I had stuck to this ideal, but uh, yeah. Totally didn’t. Some days she doesn’t watch any tv at all, and other days, she watches an hour. There, I said it.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to Amy’s blog. It’s refreshing. You’ll love it!
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary book for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

My Top Five Picks for Kid-Friendly Summer Fun Getaways

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Do you remember how awesome summer was when you were a kid? No school, no homework, long days to play outside with friends, lots of slumber parties (even on weeknights!) and of course, family vacations.

My family wasn’t very big on taking major vacations, although we did often go to the beach and to water parks. The beach was only 2 hours from where I lived, so day trips were very doable. I do wish we had been able to do more in the way of vacations.

I think if you don’t plan ahead, the time just escapes you (and the funds, too!). Tim and I have made a list of 5 vacation experiences that we think Darah should get at some point in her childhood. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Time at an amusement park of some sort. When my youth group would take trips to Six Flags over Georgia, I would always sign up to go, even if it meant that I had to sell candy at school as a fundraiser for months. I LOVE roller coasters and cheesy boat rides and even the live entertainment that they have at these places. I love water parks even more than places like Six Flags, and I will most definitely be taking Darah to Shipwreck Island in Panama City Beach when she is a bit older. The lazy river ride calls my name every single summer! And Disney World….I had been 6 times by the time I left for college! I really do have a “Disney fund” for Darah, and I put $25 into it every single month!

2. Camping/hiking. Ok, so I’ll admit that I’m not necessarily thrilled about this future vacation. I’ve NEVER camped overnight anywhere. I just don’t have the interest. But Tim’s family would do these kind of trips and do lots of hiking on them. He has some of his best memories of his family happened on hikes, and talks about how shared crisis really brings families together. I can see his point. This would most definitely be a bonding experience!

3. Time with family. I went on a few vacations as a child with one of my cousins, and I had a BLAST! Tim would go on a vacation with his cousins every single summer. Darah has so many cousins (all girls so far, but a little boy is on its way!), and I want them to know each other as they grow up, even though they don’t live near each other. Planning some vacation with family is the best way to make sure this happens.

4. Beach trip. Oh heck yes you need to take your kids to the beach! The time in front of the ocean is relaxing for mom and dad, and there’s endless entertainment at the world’s biggest sandbox and swimming pool! Just be sure that you keep everyone slathered in sunscreen and get one of those sun tents for extra protection. I say this as someone who has suffered from MANY sunburns over the years. The beach is fun, but the sunburn is NOT. There are ways to prevent it and make sure that your beach memories are awesome ones!

5. A cross-cultural experience. Taking your child to another country is ideal if you have the means to do it. If that is out of the question, just get outside of the norm. If you live in a rural area, pick a big city to explore, and stay downtown, right in the middle of all those skyscrapers. I’ll never forget my first trip to Atlanta in the second grade, seeing all those tall buildings. I totally fell in love with the city right then and there! If you already live in an urban environment, find a quiet place to go to and explore. I have always wanted to go out West and go horseback riding and stay at a dude ranch (isn’t that funny, since I am not really interested in “roughing” it, otherwise?). Those areas that are known for great skiing in the winter months have their own charm during the summer (and vacationing there is likely a bargain since it is out of season!).

What about you? What kinds of experiences do you think all gets should have during their summers. What are your plans with the kiddos this summer? Do tell!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Every Kid is a Superhero (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Recess Monkey is a super awesome band that plays music that both kids and adults will love (promise!). The Final Funktier is an album I reviewed earlier, and all the tracks pay homage to space in one way or another. Their latest album is called Flying!, and it is all about how every one of us has a superhero inside.

This is a cd to play when you (or more likely, your kids) have energy that they need to burn. We’ve enjoyed listening to it in the late afternoon, after nap time but before dinner. The last time we listened to it, we were inspired to build an indoor fort while we sang and danced. Darah was positively giddy from all the fun!
Flying! will be available for sale on June 21 for $14.99, and is ideal for kids ages 3-8 (and their parents…promise that this cd will have you tapping your toes). It runs 47 minutes. This is definitely the soundtrack for all our little superheroes in training.
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a copy of this cd before they are available to the public! The contest will run until June 3rd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.
REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER OF THIS BLOG VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GIVEAWAY. YOU CAN SIGN UP THROUGH MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO, ALREADY.
Mandatory entry: Tell me your favorite super hero (one with or without a cape!).
My answer: She-Ra!
Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Recess Monkey on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Snikiddy Snacks: So Good You’ll Swear It’s Junk Food (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Did your parents ever call snacks Snikiddy snacks? Mine did. They also called them Scooby snacks. Because of those memories, I’m particularly endeared to the product I’m featuring today.

When we were without power for 6 full days, I quickly realized that it is really important to have a good supplies of shelf-stable snacks on hand, not only for Tim and me, but also for Darah. Fortunately, Snikkidy products showed up on our doorstep on day one of the outage.

I’m going to be honest with you; Snikiddy products taste like honest to goodness junk food. You know, those savory and salty snacks that you love so much but that are SO bad for you. And yet, they deceive! These products are BAKED (you will NOT believe that when you taste them, I swear). They also have the following attributes:

  • no preservatives (woo hoo!)
  • gluten & wheat free
  • no corn syrup
  • 50% less fat than regular potato chips!
  • No trans fats
  • cholesterol free

Wanna hear the great flavors?

  • Barbecue
  • Southwest Cheddar
  • Sea Salt
  • Bold Buffalo
  • Cheddar Cheese
  • Classic Ketchup
  • Original Seasoning

I promise you, you aren’t going to believe your taste buds when you try Snikiddy products. If you or someone you know just can’t seem to shake the potato chip (or Cheetos) habit, give Snikiddy a try. You’ll be so glad you did!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a 3 pack of Snikiddy products, a Snikiddy chip clip and an art kit! Awesome! The contest will run until June 2nd at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER OF THIS BLOG VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PRIZE. YOU CAN SIGN UP THROUGH MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO, ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one snack you enjoy that feels like a guilty pleasure, but really isn’t!

My answer: I do enjoy having a scoop of peanut butter from time to time, and I stick to the more natural stuff so that all I’m getting is good stuff!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Snikiddy on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

A New Recipe Resouce: Cooking with Coke (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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In most societies all over the world, food is a key element in bringing people together and sharing memories. What’s a family gathering without joining together around the table, or hanging out in the backyard with a plate of food in hand? We mark holidays, milestones and even seasons of the year with food. But the food, as good as it might be, isn’t the end goal. It is a means to an end of bringing people together with one another. Food is often a reason to gather, but the memories that are formed when people get together are the reasons that we keep planning events, and menus to go along with them!

There’s a very cool new web resource for finding yummy recipes that will draw a crowd of various sizes, be it enough to fill your dining room table or enough to fill your house. It’s called Cooking with Coke. You will, of course, find an excellent selection of recipes that feature Coca-Cola as an ingredients (who knew you could do so much with it?!), but beyond that, it features recipes that readers have submitted, along with stories of memories that they have related to the food. I find this to be one of the most enjoyable features of the website, as it it fun to read about why a particular dish is so special to someone. I’ve actually found that the dishes that have those great stories are the ones I’m most interested in trying for myself. The dishes on their own sound good, but its the memories they have created for someone else that makes them irresistible!

Additionally, Cooking with Coke features two celebrity chefs, G. Garvin and Ingrid Hoffmann, and some of their favorite recipes to share (along with video demonstrations of how to make them! Awesome!).

I want to encourage you to spend a bit of time on the Cooking with Coke website. You can create your own recipe book right on the website and print it for yourself or to share with others. There’s nothing to lose and only great memories to make!

Win it!: In celebration of the launch of Cooking with Coke, Coca-Cola has offered one Stuff Parents Need reader an Ingrid Hoffman T-fal Tamale Pot and Steamer (it is BEAUTIFUL!), with a retail value of $49.95! The winner will also receive a Coca-Cola oven mitt! The contest will run until June 1st at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

REMEMBER, YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC FOLLOWER OF MY BLOG VIA GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A GIVEAWAY. YOU CAN SIGN UP THROUGH MY SIDEBAR IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO, ALREADY.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one recipe that catches your eye on the website, or share a food that brings back great memories for you!

My answer: I am going to be trying these, “Fastest Ever” Chicken Enchiladas. Sign me up for anything that looks that delicious and comes together that fast!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Coca-Cola on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Rare bonus entry: Submit a recipe to the website (doesn’t have to have Coke in it!) along with a memory. Come back here and submit a link to your post, and you will earn 3 extra entries (be sure to submit your link 3 separate times in the comments).

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: The prize was provided by The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company is not a sponsor, administrator or connected in any other way with this giveaway. T-fal® had zero involvement with this contest.