State Farm has partnered with Dr. Ian Smith of ABC’s The View and VH1’s popular reality series Celebrity Fit Club to create “The 50 Million Pound Challenge” to promote healthier lives and more nutritious diets.

As part of our series “New Beginnings: Being There for Your New Family,” sponsored by State Farm, Paige and Gretchen visited with a mom-and-daughter duo who are serious about taking the Challenge! Danielle Williams decided to join the Challenge because of her concern for her daughter Dasia’s health. When Dasia’s doctor warned that she was at risk for type-2 diabetes, Danielle knew she had to do something. Now, inspired by the Challenge and armed with online tools available at www.50millionpounds.com, Danielle is taking charge of her family’s health. Watch the show to get your own inspiration and learn what the Williams are doing — from restricting fast food to banning television. It is awesome! .

If you’ve heard about using your computer to record TV, but couldn’t figure out how to do it, then this is the show for you! Techno Paige shows Not-So-Techno Gretchen (and all the rest of us) how to set up your PC as a DVR. You can save money, take your shows on vacation, and use your television as a complete media center with your shows, movies, pictures, music, home movies, everything! Try it out and let us know what you think. You can go here to learn even more about Windows Media Center, or here, to watch another help video.

If you’re looking for a PC to DVR adapter, we recommend trying one of these: the KW-PVR-TV305U USB 2.0, the ATI-TV Wonder 650 – ATSC HDTV receiver / analog TV tuner / video input adapter – PCI, or the Hauppauge WinTV Express – TV tuner / video input adapter – PCI.

Is managing your media overwhelming? Do you have pictures on one computer, music on another, and videos somewhere else? As part of our Microsoft Mommy Tech Series, Paige and Gretchen spoke with Cat Lambson from Technogeekery.com about some of the super cool things you can do using the Windows Media Center to streamline your media experience, including streaming and recording your favorite television shows! Of course, Paige has to slip in a plug for Xbox; leave a comment if you want to play with her!

Gretchen and Paige spoke with actor and producer, Mark Consuelos about his support of the Lever 2000 Making Every Touch Count campaign. Mark says that the silver lining to tough economic times is the American family’s return to simple pleasures. Check out the show to get a sneak peak at Mark and his wife Kelly Ripa’s plans for their “classic” summer vaycay, and visit Lever 2000 to read the Lever 2000 Making Every Touch Count Study: A National Report on the Power of Touch & Family Closeness. You can also enter their Make Every Touch Count Photo Contest that helps to support the Boys and Girls Club of America.

Let’s just say it right at the beginning, Mark Consuelos is SO cute! Paige and Gretchen were lucky enough to talk to the actor, father, producer, and television personality about his endorsement of the Lever 2000 “Make Every Touch Count” campaign. Mark explained that this campaign is a great way to celebrate the power of touch in our families, and it helps support the Boys and Girls Club of America. Visit www.makeeverytouchcount.com to see how you can enter to win some great prizes and also lend your support!

Adding to their audio show, the mommies show you a sample of what MommyCast Videos will bring you. It’s fun. It’s educational. It’s MommyCast Videos!

When the creative minds at Playhouse Disney go to work on a new show they really pull out all the stops to make sure their preschool audience is engaged, entertained, and educated! Paige and Gretchen visited with Nancy Kanter, Senior Vice President of Playhouse Disney Worldwide, to talk about The Imagination Movers and what drew Playhouse Disney to them. She shared how Playhouse Disney connected with the Movers, and what (and who) it takes to make such a great show.

Paige and Gretchen have had a lot of fun visiting the set and meeting the stars of Playhouse Disney’s great new show for preschoolers, the Imagination Movers.  It turns out there’s a ton of talent behind the scenes too.  In this interview the mommies meet everyone from Skot Bright and Sascha Penn, the executive producers, to Donita Sather, the hair and make-up stylist.  Check it out to get a glimpse into what it takes to make such a fun show!

By now you’re probably familiar with Disney’s new hit show, “The Suite Life on Deck.” It’s great, right?  Your kids love it?  Well, when Paige and Gretchen were on board the Disney Wonder for the premier, they also had an opportunity to interview each of the stars about being on the show.  Check it out as they interview Cole and Dylan Sprouse, Brenda Song, Phill Lewis and Debby Ryan.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, three members of Playhouse Disney’s new show, “The Imagination Movers,” lost their homes.  Paige and Gretchen talked with Movers Smitty and Dave about how the group rallied around their project and in the midst of devastation made their dreams come true!  Their commitment to children and their community is pretty inspirational.