Every now and then when my kids are watching television I scream out “pause the TV”! It’s usually because I happen to catch a commercial for a great contest. Today while they were watching Suite Life on Deck I heard “win a Disney Cruise.” If there were ever a moment to pause, this was one of them.

Here are the details:

One Grand Prize: A 7 night Disney Cruise Line vacation for winner and 3 guests leaving from Los Angeles, CA and taken aboard the Disney Wonder to Disney’s Mexican Riviera itinerary. Includes air fare if you live more than 200 miles from LA. Plus a Toy Story 3: The Video Game for the Wii™ console system.

75 First Prizes of a Toy Story 3: The Video Game for the Wii™ console system. (ARV: $50).

Contest ends August 15, 2010. Click here to get more details and enter.

We have an ongoing fight in my house about the dishwasher. I think that everything should be rinsed well before it is put into the dishwasher. My husband thinks that the purpose of the dishwasher is to wash the dishes and we should not have to rinse them. We found our compromise in Cascade Complete All-in-1 Action Pacs.

I was skeptical at first when I got my package in the  mail from My Blog Spark. According to Cascade’s “24 Hour Challenge,” I could bake a blueberry cobbler and let the baking dish set out for 24 hours. Then, without ever rinsing it, I could put it in the dishwasher with a Cascade Complete and it would come out completely clean.

My family isn’t into blueberry cobbler, so I made a casserole. Normally I would let the dish sit in the sink for a few hours and rinse it out before I put it in the dishwasher. I would then use my special “casserole scrubbing” function on my dishwasher to aim the water right at the dish. Even then, it might not get perfectly clean. Most of the time, I never even bother putting the casserole dishes in the dishwasher because of that. This time, I did what the challenge said. No rinsing, no scrubbing. No special pot scrubber function. Just Cascade Complete and a normal wash.

How excited was I when it came out clean?? No stuck on food at all. I had always used the regular Cascade gel pacs before, but I am now a believer in the All-in-1 pacs. Will I stop rinsing my dishes? It’s not likely. I still don’t like them to sit in the dishwasher for a day or more with gross food on them. But I won’t be so worried about scrubbing them down. And I will be more likely to put the casserole dishes into the dishwasher rather than scrubbing them by hand.

Have you tried Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPacs? What has your experience been? Tell me below plus get entered to win a Walmart Gift Card!

Want to win a $25 Walmart Gift Card so that you can try Cascade Complete yourself?

To Enter:

1) Leave a comment below telling us what you most hate to wash off your dirty dishes (one entry).

2) Twitter about the contest and leave a comment below with your Tweet (one entry).

3) Sign up for our newsletter on the right and leave a comment below (e-mail will be verified) (one entry).

4) Blog about this contest and leave your link to the post below (two entries).

Drawing will take place May 18 at noon Eastern. Must be a US Resident, age 18 or older to enter. Winner will be notified via e-mail and have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

**Legal Disclaimer: This product review was based on using complimentary Cascade product provided by P&G. Bloggers also received a Walmart gift card to share with their readers. P&G does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any of the statements or product claims made here, nor does it endorse any opinions expressed within this blogsite.

We came across two really cool contests this morning from national brands for women specifically. Both would make gret prizes!

Venus Embrace Dress Up for Date Night Sweepstakes Enter to win a $1500 gift card toward a shopping spree or the ultimate date night outfit. (ends 5/5/10)

Lean Cuisine Keep Life Delicious Ultimate Girlfriend Getaway Sweepstakes Grand prize is a trip for 6 days for you and three of your girlfriends. Stay at an award-winning Miami Beach hotel and spa while you are pampered with spa treatments, cuisine, fitness classes, beachfront amenities, and more. Plus you win Lean Cuisine for a year! (ends 6/13/10)

ShindigZ is giving away party supplies! You can register to win a $200 ShindigZ.com gift certificate each year for the next 50 years. That’s a total prize of $10,000! Use your gift certificate to order decorations, tableware, party favors, and party supplies every year.You can also choose to take it is a one-time certificate of $2000 or an AMEX card worth $1000.

Click here to see full details and enter. Contest ends April 30.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and we are excited to be partnering with Emitations to give away a present that any mother would love! Whether you enter to win one for yourself or a mom in your life, you will find this Baker’s Pink CZ Pave Cupcake Necklace to be the perfect addition to any spring outfit.

To Enter:

1) Leave a comment below telling what you would do with the necklace (one entry).

2) Twitter about the contest and leave a comment below with your Tweet (one entry).

3) Sign up for our newsletter on the right and leave a comment below (e-mail will be verified) (one entry).

4) Blog about this contest and leave your link to the post below (two entries).

Drawing will take place April 26 at noon Eastern. Must be a US Resident, age 18 or older to enter. Winner will be notified via e-mail and have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

Thanks to Emitations for sponsoring this terrific contest.

They have a beautiful selection of jewelry, and you can save 11% site wide between now and the end of April when you use code AFFMOM!

Added! Congratulations to Lawanna! Emitations will be contacting you about your prize!

I have been finding some great contests lately by national brands, but this may be one of my favorite. Discovery is giving away a Discovery Adventures Serengeti Wildlife Safari trip for two including airfare. The trip is values at almost $10,000!. Can you even imagine winning a safari trip through the African wildlife?

Even if you are not the lucky Grand Prize winner, Discovery is giving away a number of other prizes including a Life Ultimate Fan Set (which includes a Blu-ray Disc Player), a Life DVD Fan Set, and Life Extraordinary Animals Books.

Visit the Discovery Adventure of a Lifetime Sweepstakes for more information. Contest ends 04/23/2010.

My daughter came home from school the other day extremely excited about the chance for us to go to Alaska. I couldn’t understand what she was talking about except that some boy gave her a coupon out of his lunchbox. Once I got her to give me the coupon, I figured out that she was at least a little bit right. Our family might not be going to Alaska for free, but someone’s will!

Sargento (Moo Town) has teamed up with National Geographic Expeditions to give away a trip for 4 to Alaska. The trip includes all meals, transfers, accommodations, and tours for eight days. The total value is over $30,000! The one down side is that the trip must be taken August 22-29, 2010.

Click here to visit the contest page. The promotion ends on April 30. Even if you don’t win the Grand Prize, you may still win one of 100 first prizes, a National Geographic Alaska Traveler book.

The Weather Channel is giving away a Disney Cruise in its Choose and Cruise Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize is a  Disney Cruise Line vacation for 4 people to winner’s choice of the following: 10- or 11-night Mediterranean Cruise, 12-night Northern European Capitals Cruise, 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise, or 7-night Western Caribbean Cruise. Grand Prize also includes transportation to the departure port, a stateroom for 4, and $4,500.

Three instant win game prizes will also be given away and include a 4-night DCL Bahamian vacation for 4 people.  You can enter the Sweepstakes and play the Instant Win game twice a day. You can also get extra entries for sharing the contest with your friends. The sweepstakes ends April 2, 2010.

I’ve always been a fan of Betty Crocker, mainly because she makes me look like a rock star in front of my kids. I can whip up cakes and cookies so fast when they come home from school that they think I have been baking all day. Now I’m a fan of Betty Crocker for another reason, the Betty Crocker Stirring Up Wishes program. I’m participating, and you can, too.

Betty Crocker is helping grant wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You can help in two ways. First, you can donate $5 on the Stirring Up Wishes website and be able to then download $5 in Betty Crocker Coupons. You can also purchase specially marked Betty Crocker products and 10 cents will be donated for each package purchased. Products include cakes, cookie mixes, muffin mixes, frosting, Bisquick, and more.

Thanks to Betty Crocker and MyBlogSpark, I also have a Stirring Up Wishes Prize Pack to give out to one lucky reader. It includes a Betty Crocker mixing spoon, a Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and a Betty Crocker Brownie Mix. In addition, they will make a $25 d0nation to the Make-A-Wish foundation on your behalf.

To enter:

1) Leave a comment below with your favorite Betty Crocker product (one entry).

2) Twitter about the contest and leave a comment below with your Tweet (one entry).

3) Sign up for our newsletter on the right and leave a comment below (e-mail will be verified) (one entry).

4) Blog about this contest and leave your link to the post below (two entries).

Drawing will take place March 24 at noon Eastern. Must be a US Resident, age 18 or older to enter. Winner will be notified via e-mail and have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

Thanks to Betty Crocker and MyBlogSpark for this opportunity!

Edited: Congrats to our winner, Pat Verner!

There are hundreds of moms out there with great blog contests that aren’t getting a lot of entries. This means that your odds of winning some of them are really good! We’re going to start listing some of our favorites each week courtesy of Twitter Moms. Here are a few ending soon:

Win a General Mills Grains of Goodness Gift Pack (2 VIP coupons for Big G cereal products, a breakfast chiller, a large cereal mug, and a tote bag–only 20 entries so far!)

Sing Along with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy (Personalized Music CD–only 28 entries so far!)

Dr. Seuss Books and Plush Toys (Five winners will receive Dr. Seuss books and coordinating plus toys from Kohl’s)