Fine. I took a few liberties with that infamous Shakespearian line but I did it all in the name of commerce. And soda. So I don’t think he would have minded.

Remember BlogHer13, the conference Mel and I attended in Chicago last July? Well, one of the many great companies we met there at the Expo was SodaStream USA. And thank goodness for that. In the weeks following the conference, we reached out to one of their incredibly cool reps (yes, I realize that sounds buttkissish, but I actually mean it!) about doing a joint product review and giveaway on our blogs … and SodaStream said YES! I immediately had visions of my kids carrying me around on their shoulders for weeks. We were getting a home soda machine!

So you can imagine how difficult it was for me to contain myself when that big box arrived on my doorstep. And I knew their homework and extracurriculars wouldn’t allow us to open it (and give it the proper pageantry) until the weekend. I nearly exploded. Much like a well-carbonated bottle of SodaStream when shaken. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

When Saturday morning rolled around, Dave and I could hardly control our excitement. So we grabbed the big box and ran into the kitchen so we could surprise the kids.

“SODA FOR BREAKFAST!!!”

We all immediately began tearing through the box and checking out all the flavors inside. (You were very generous, SodaStream. Thanks.) Setting up the machine took literally two minutes. The shipping box was huge because of all the flavor bottles but the machine itself is no bigger than a standard coffee maker. Actually, it’s lighter and smaller than mine in every direction except height. And it doesn’t even plug into the wall. So moving it in and out of a cabinet is no big deal if you don’t want another appliance on your counter.

The kids each picked a favorite flavor: Cola for Dean and Root Beer for Vivien. Dave made both back to back in less than three minutes. And that included clean up and drinking time! They all liked the cola. (I’m going on record as saying I liked it better than “the real thing” but I’m purely a diet soda drinker.) They also loved the root beer. Even my parents, who conveniently stopped by during the taste test, loved it. They said it tastes like old-fashioned root beer, like New Orleans’ own Barq’s brand. There’s no higher praise for root beer in these parts.

When everybody finally backed away from the machine, I tried the Crystal Light Fruit Punch. It was good (“tastes just like Kool-Aid!” says Vivien) and it makes me really look forward to trying some of the other diet flavors like Diet Cranberry Raspberry, Diet Cola with Lime and Diet Green Tea Pomegranate Peach. Seriously, there are over 60 flavors of cola, tea, lemonade, punch, energy drink, flavored water, etc. Or you can omit the flavor and just make your own sparkling water at home. Personally, I’m looking forward to making a little rum punch or maybe a white sangria sometime soon with the Sparking Orange Pineapple. (Who’s with me?)

And speaking of all their flavors, I took this next part about their Sodamix brand right off their website. “Regular Sodamix flavors contain less sugar, calories, carbohydrates and sodium than national drink brands. Regular flavors contain no high-fructose corn syrup, and are sweetened with a blend of sugar and sucralose. Diet Sodamix flavors contain no sugar, no aspartame and are sweetened with Splenda® brand sweetener. Sparkling Naturals are sweetened exclusively with cane sugar.” The flavor bottles sold at SodaStreamUSA.com and retail locations like Target cost about $5-7 per unit and they make 50 servings each. (That’s 10 to 14 cents a glass, no calculators needed.) And, at the end of that flavor bottle, ONE 16.9 oz. container will go into my recycle bin, instead of FIFTY 7.5 oz. cans. You get the idea, right?

Still not convinced? How about this 15 second demonstration video my adorable daughter made of herself using the machine? It’s just THAT easy.

Click HERE to view.

So, let’s recap the SodaStream benefits.

1. No more flat soda.

2. Better ingredients.

3. Less expensive.

4. More Earth-friendly.

5. SOOO easy!

Seriously … WHY ARE YOU STILL SITTING THERE?!!?

Wait, what? You expect me to just GIVE ONE AWAY? That’s insane. It’s crazy really. Because Mel and I are actually going to give TWO away! (Say thank you to SodaStream, everybody!) Each of the prize packages includes the following items: